The Grand Design frame flex lawsuit is a nationwide class action filed in April 2025 by Weitz & Luxenberg against Winnebago Industries and its Grand Design RV subsidiary, alleging that 2020–2023 fifth-wheel trailers were built on frames too weak to support heavier living quarters and that the companies concealed the defect from buyers.1Weitz & Luxenberg. Grand Design RV Lawsuit2The Autopian. Winnebago’s Luxury Camper Brand Updates Its Frame Design The case is in its early stages. A separate federal safety investigation is open but has not produced a recall.
What the Lawsuit Alleges
The complaint centers on frame flex, the bending of a fifth wheel’s chassis beyond safe structural limits during travel. Owners have reported cracked welds, sagging floors, separating walls, misaligned doors and cabinets, and slide-outs that partially extend while the trailer is being towed.3Weitz & Luxenberg. Grand Design RV Frame Flex Lawsuit
Weitz & Luxenberg makes three core claims:
- Grand Design increased the weight of its RV living quarters in the 2020–2023 models without redesigning the frames to carry the added load, creating a latent structural defect.3Weitz & Luxenberg. Grand Design RV Frame Flex Lawsuit
- The companies knew about the defect and covered it up through nondisclosure agreements, buybacks, misleading marketing, and the removal of negative online reviews.1Weitz & Luxenberg. Grand Design RV Lawsuit
- Grand Design’s warranty is effectively illusory because of restrictive conditions and a requirement that owners transport their trailers to Indiana for repairs.1Weitz & Luxenberg. Grand Design RV Lawsuit
The firm is asking for monetary damages, punitive damages, a formal product recall, and a full buyback of the affected trailers. It has requested a jury trial.1Weitz & Luxenberg. Grand Design RV Lawsuit2The Autopian. Winnebago’s Luxury Camper Brand Updates Its Frame Design
The suit includes a nationwide class along with subclasses in Arizona, California, Florida, Illinois, Minnesota, New Hampshire, and Ohio.1Weitz & Luxenberg. Grand Design RV Lawsuit No class certification ruling has been publicly reported.
This is not the only litigation. An earlier class action, Gorecki v. Grand Design RV, LLC, was filed in April 2021 in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida and remains listed as open. At least 15 individual lawsuits have been filed against Grand Design since 2023, most alleging violations of the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act.4UniCourt. Gorecki v. Grand Design RV LLC5Hunterbrook Media. Winnebago Grand Design Investigation
Which Trailers Are Covered
The class action targets 2020 through 2023 model year Grand Design fifth wheels in four product lines: Reflection, Influence, Solitude, and Momentum.1Weitz & Luxenberg. Grand Design RV Lawsuit
Grand Design characterizes the issue as affecting only a “small number of larger Solitude and Momentum fifth wheels,” and Winnebago’s CEO has said on an earnings call that frame flex affects “less than 1% of all RVs” produced by Grand Design.6Grand Design RV. Frame FAQ7Hunterbrook Media. Winnebago Update Repair specialists cited in press reports have described a much higher rate. One shop told Hunterbrook Media that 70% of the Grand Design units it inspects show frame problems.5Hunterbrook Media. Winnebago Grand Design Investigation
The Federal Safety Investigation
On October 9, 2024, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration opened Preliminary Evaluation PE24029 covering roughly 55,887 Grand Design Momentum and Solitude trailers from model years 2017 through 2023. The agency is examining whether excessive frame flex poses “an unreasonable risk to motor vehicle safety.”8NHTSA. Preliminary Evaluation PE24029
NHTSA has documented 22 complaints of cargo or entry doors opening during transit and six reports of slide-outs partially extending on the road. One injury has been reported.8NHTSA. Preliminary Evaluation PE24029
Grand Design and its frame supplier, Lippert Components, do not fully agree on the severity. Grand Design has maintained the damage is cosmetic and confined to the upper deck. Lippert has told NHTSA that the effects of frame failure may extend back to the trailer’s front axle, pointing to a more serious structural problem.7Hunterbrook Media. Winnebago Update
The investigation remains in the preliminary phase. It has not been upgraded to a formal engineering analysis and has not led to a recall.9NHTSA. Information Request PE24029-01 A separate recall (25V-784) issued for certain 2022–2023 Solitude and Momentum units addressed loose refrigerator fasteners and fire risk, not frame flex.10NHTSA. Recall 25V-784
What Grand Design Has Done in Response
In May 2024, Grand Design CEO Don Clark emailed owners to address what he called “rumors and misinformation” about frame flex, saying the company was working with its frame supplier, a third-party structural engineering firm, and industry experts to evaluate its products.11RV Miles. Grand Design RV Offers 5-Year Retroactive Warranty to Cure Frame Flex Woes12Grand Design RV. 1-3-5 Warranty5Hunterbrook Media. Winnebago Grand Design Investigation
Grand Design also published an FAQ attributing excessive frame flex to road impacts, overloading, use of unapproved hitches, and “competing suspension” between the tow vehicle and trailer.6Grand Design RV. Frame FAQ The company has not voluntarily recalled any of the trailers named in the lawsuit.
In November 2025, Grand Design introduced a redesigned “Omega” frame, built by Lippert in collaboration with a third-party automotive engineering firm. The new frame uses thicker steel, more fasteners, larger lag screws, additional adhesives, stronger outriggers, larger gussets between the upper deck and chassis, and additional crossmembers in high-stress areas. It is used on 2026 Reflection, Solitude, Influence, and Momentum models.13Grand Design RV. Omega Fifth-Wheel Frame14Grand Design RV. Omega Frame The Omega frame is a forward fix for new production and does not retrofit existing trailers.
What Owners of Affected Trailers Can Do
Owners of 2020–2023 Reflection, Influence, Solitude, or Momentum trailers who believe they are experiencing frame flex have a few options in parallel with the litigation. Grand Design’s customer service line is (574) 825-9679 or (855) 879-4746, and the extended five-year frame warranty applies retroactively to 2020 model year units.6Grand Design RV. Frame FAQ12Grand Design RV. 1-3-5 Warranty
Owners can also file a safety complaint with NHTSA, which adds to the record in the open PE24029 investigation, and contact the firms handling the class action or the individual Magnuson-Moss cases. One point worth weighing before signing anything: Winnebago has confirmed that its settlement agreements typically include confidentiality and non-disparagement clauses, and consumer attorney Ronald Burdge has argued that NDAs preventing owners from discussing safety issues are “legally unenforceable.”2The Autopian. Winnebago’s Luxury Camper Brand Updates Its Frame Design5Hunterbrook Media. Winnebago Grand Design Investigation