Last year we went looking at RVs. We started our search by scanning the internet and watching a myriad of videos on Youtube about RV life. Next we visited an RV show – the largest one in the US – the Tampa RV Show! They had everything under the sun at that show. We had pretty much settled on an RV from Grand Design and a friend of mine even had the very one we were looking at which we got to check out pretty thoroughly.
At the 2019 RV show, we visited the Grand Design section and looked and walked through all of their designs. It was unfortunate that we sort of fell for a different model that we ran across. Keep in mind that the layout was nearly identical to the one we had chosen but it was a couple of feet longer (not a big issue), about a foot taller (could be an issue with certain bridges and tunnels) and a little heavier (ooops – needed a different truck). The big draw was the additional headroom it offered and most importantly, the extra quality – overall build quality, materials quality, and just the general look and feel of it. It could also carry nearly an additional 1,000 pounds of payload. And of course, the expense – it was going to cost about $10k more. Well, if we were going to live in it nearly full time, might as well be comfortable.
As you can see, the interior of the RV looks really nice. This is the view from near the entrance door across the kitchen (notice the nice, large island? It includes a double sink, plenty of contertop space and it even has room for a dishwasher – an extra option we’re not ordering) and into the living room area. Lots of room and lots of windows! I think we’re going to live like kings when we finally take delivery.
The 2020 Tampa RV show found us back down there roaming the grounds. I ended up spending some time with an old high school buddy who has also been RVing for a couple of years and wanted to stop by to check out the show. This was the “big” event for us: the day we were going to place an order for our new RV. The factory was taking about 2 and a half months from order to delivery but we really weren’t going to be ready to take delivery in April so I was asking about the feasibility of delaying delivery while keeping the show pricing. I wasn’t really thinking that would be possible but you never know unless you ask the question. Along with a factory rep, the RV dealer figured out it would, indeed, be possible and the easiest way to accomplish that would be to just hold on to the contract and submit it to the factory with the correct lead time for an August delivery date. No problem.
Well, unbeknown to everybody at the time, the Corona virus has hit this country and the world and many places all over the US, including the Grand Design RV factory are temporarily closed. I called the factory last week to get a feel on their thoughts about reopening and what kind of backlog they were expecting. The agent I was speaking to said it looks like, assuming a restart time around the 1st of May, they are working on late July delivery dates. Which means now would be the time to submit the order. I was also told that the factory will be concentrating on specific customer orders and NOT doing construction for dealer inventory which will speed up build times without sacrificing quality. Good deal; I was concerned about that as well.
I called my salesman at the Lazy Days RV dealer and told him what I found out and that I was ready to submit the order with one change. I learned that there is now an option (not available when I initially filled out the paperwork) to add upgraded 8,000 lb rated axels and wheels which many people are doing after market anyway. He was going to check on the details and contact me later, which was supposed to be last Friday. Still waiting on the call.
So — the RV is ALMOST ordered.
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