Grand Design preliminary evaluation PE24029
Frame Flex on Grand Design Fifth Wheel Recreational Trailers. NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation opened this preliminary evaluation about the structure on 14 model years (2017–2023). Opened Oct 9, 2024 and still open — 2.1 years so far, against NHTSA’s goal of eight months for a preliminary evaluation. open
What NHTSA says
Source: Office of Defects Investigation, as filedThe Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) has received twenty-three complaints alleging excessive frame flex on model year 2017-2023 Grand Design fifth wheel recreational trailers, models Momentum and Solitude. Twenty-two of the complaints allege that excessive frame flex resulted in a cargo or entry door opening while in transit, some with objects lost on roadways, while six complaints also state that slideouts extended out partially. ODI has been in contact with both Grand Design and Lippert, the frame manufacturer. Grand Design believes that some frame flex, generally considered to be vertical movement in the upper deck area of the fifth wheel, is normal. However, Grand Design has developed a technical service bulletin (TSB), to evaluate concerns of excessive frame flex, defined as vertical movement greater than 3/8 inch. Per Grand Design, the frame flex is only occurring in the upper deck area of the fifth wheel and is resulting in cosmetic defects such as moving sidewalls, damage to cabinets, binding doors, etc. However, Lippert believes that the effects of frame flex may also extend back to the front axle of the trailer. While Lippert provides frames for multiple trailer manufacturers, the majority of complaints are for these Grand Design products. Cargo and entry doors that open and slideouts that extend while in transit increase the risk of injury or a crash. ODI is opening this Preliminary Evaluation (PE) to evaluate the severity of the potential problem and to determine whether an unreasonable risk to motor vehicle safety exists. To review the ODI reports cited in the Opening Resume ODI Report Identification Number document, go to NHTSA.gov.
A Preliminary Evaluation is the first formal stage: NHTSA has decided the complaints and other information it screened are worth a closer look, and asks the manufacturer for its own data on the condition. The summary is the agency’s own text from its investigation file, unedited; the resumes carrying the full reasoning are linked below.
The paperwork NHTSA filed
Source: every document on this action, at nhtsa.gov- Opening resume — ODI’s own summary of why it opened this — the subject, what prompted it, and the vehicles in scope.
| Document | Code | Filed | At NHTSA |
|---|---|---|---|
| Opening resume | INOA | 2024 | |
| Information request to the manufacturer | INIM | 2024 | |
| Manufacturer's response — full submission | INRL | 2024 | 2 files 12 |
| Memo granting a response extension | INRE | 2024 | 4 files 1234 |
| Filed document | INOV | 2024 | |
| Filed document | INIS | 2024 | |
| Confidential business information notice | INCCS | 2024 | 12 files 123456789101112 |
| Filed document | INSL | 2024 |
These are NHTSA’s own files, served from the agency’s site — the resumes are what ODI wrote when it opened and closed the action, and the rest is the correspondence behind them, including what the manufacturer sent when the agency asked. They are linked, not copied: where a document names the people who wrote in, that redaction is the agency’s to make and its copy is the one you should read.
What owners had already reported
Source: complaints on file the day it openedWhen NHTSA opened this on Oct 9, 2024, owners had filed 198 complaints with the agency about the model years above, of which 65 named the structure NHTSA went on to investigate. Owner complaints are the agency’s main early signal, and more can be filed while an action is open.
This is what the complaint file held on that date, not a claim about which reports prompted the investigation — NHTSA’s complaint records carry no investigation number, so nobody can make that link from the data alone. The opening resume linked above names the reports ODI itself cited. Complaint records on this site begin with 2016.
What this means for an owner
Source: and what happens nextAn investigation is not a finding that a defect exists, and it puts no duty on anyone. NHTSA opens a Preliminary Evaluation when complaints and other reports suggest a condition worth asking the manufacturer about; it upgrades to an Engineering Analysis when the answers warrant testing; it closes either when it recommends a recall, when the manufacturer recalls on its own, or when no defect trend is found. The agency’s own goals are about four months for a petition, eight for a Preliminary Evaluation or a Recall Query and eighteen for an Engineering Analysis; many run longer.
This one is open. Nothing is owed on the vehicle today; if it becomes a recall, owners are written to and the repair is free. The moment to know is the day the campaign number appears — Recall Watch checks each VIN against every new NHTSA campaign and emails you when one lands, or take a free one-line alert by model year.
Model years it names
Source: as NHTSA filed themAlso named: 2017 Grand Design Momentum; 2018 Grand Design Momentum; 2019 Grand Design Momentum; 2020 Grand Design Momentum; 2021 Grand Design Momentum; 2022 Grand Design Momentum; 2023 Grand Design Momentum; 2017 Grand Design Solitude; 2018 Grand Design Solitude; 2019 Grand Design Solitude; 2020 Grand Design Solitude; 2021 Grand Design Solitude; 2022 Grand Design Solitude; 2023 Grand Design Solitude.
A vehicle page’s investigation list carries the same action; a name here is the scope NHTSA opened, not a list of affected VINs.
An investigation is not a recall. Yet.
If NHTSA’s questions become a recall, the campaign lands in the federal file first. Recall Watch checks your VINs against every new campaign the night it is filed.
Common questions
Source: NHTSA Office of Defects InvestigationIs PE24029 a recall?
No. A preliminary evaluation is NHTSA asking questions, not a recall. A safety recall carries an NHTSA campaign number and a duty to repair for free; this one has not produced one. Whether one particular vehicle has an open recall is a VIN question at nhtsa.gov/recalls.
Is PE24029 still open?
Yes, as of NHTSA’s latest file: opened Oct 9, 2024, 2.1 years ago.
Which vehicles does PE24029 cover?
NHTSA opened it on 14 model years: 2017 Grand Design Momentum, 2018 Grand Design Momentum, 2019 Grand Design Momentum, 2020 Grand Design Momentum, 2021 Grand Design Momentum, 2022 Grand Design Momentum and more. That is the scope of the inquiry, not a list of affected vehicles; a recall, if one follows, defines its own population by VIN.