Our Georgetown 369 XL Would We Buy Again?

[mdalb20]

We purchased our coach, a 2018 Georgetown 369 XL in May of 2018.
We have had issues and this forum was extremely helpful. Would we buy it again? We have made a video where we tell you our top favorites of this rig as well as the things that are not our faves. At the end of the video we tell you if we would do it again. Check it out.
https://youtu.be/_28aAQHMQs4

[Mr. October]

I just watched your video and commented there before i realized you had linked here. I am chuckling about the bathroom sink. As you are probably aware they went to a new sink but maybe they over-corrected since now with the factory sink and faucet you can barely get your hands under the water to wash them. (And we all know how important that is these days.) But a trip to Home Depot and 10 minutes and that is solved.

*edit* I'll never figure out how to properly align pictures for this forum.

[mdalb20]

Looks great! I may change out the faucet on the front bathroom to see if it makes a difference but it’s probably more the shape of the sink. Just another project when we get back to NJ

[NXR]

Originally Posted by Mr. October

*edit* I'll never figure out how to properly align pictures for this forum.

I cheat. I take the picture with my phone and send it to my email address.

I then double-click the attachment and it opens in the Windows 10 Photos app. I use the Photos app to rotate the picture to the correct orientation. There's a curvy arrow in the top menu to do that.

I then use the Windows built-in app called Snipping Tool. It lets you "draw a box" around the part you want to capture. I then use Snipping Tool's "File - Save As..." menu selection to save the file to my desktop. I upload it from there.

Ray

[NXR]

Nice job on the video. We have a 2020 GT5, not an XL.

The comment about turning the driver's seat around made me smile. I now know exactly how to do it but it took me a while to figure out. Steering wheel full up, seat tilted full forward, seat moved forward and futz with the fore-aft position as you're turning it. We have plenty of wire length underneath. The biggest issue is that the seat can end up too far back after it's repositioned to the original forward-facing position and then the slide retracting could hit the seat if you don't do a thorough obstruction check first.

We were in a friend's Winnebago Sightseer and they had the passenger seat turned but not the driver's seat and they were parked for three months. I asked why and he said it won't do it. I moved his driver's seat the same way I do mine and they were amazed because they'd owned the thing for years. They did make it home OK so they must have figured out how to un-do what I did.

We do not have a residential fridge but I thought most coaches had a separate inverter for the fridge. We have a 2,000 watt inverter that runs some outlets while driving but we also run the generator while driving for extra air conditioning for the dogs.

We have a plethora of 1-amp USB outlets in this thing, four (I think) on the center console, two at the passenger seat, and two above the driver in the shelf area. There's also three 12 VDC power outlets, two in the center console and one by the passenger seat. We also have a 120 VAC outlet by the passenger's right knee but I do not know if it's on the inverter. There's an outlet and USB adapters in the recliner arm rest compartment, two on each side of the bed, and a few other places.

No trim has fallen off. Yet. We do not have any trim on the bottom of the three slides. Rather, we have a rubber seal that does a great job of keeping cold air out.

The Thomas Payne theater seating recliners we have are very comfortable. The built-in vibrator and seat heat are very, very nice. I wish I had them in my house.

Our three Summit TVs have the ports on the side. The TV in the living area is on a pivoting swivel arm. The TV in the bedroom is actually on a hinged mechanism and tilts up, so the storage behind it is built-in now. The outside TV has an HDMI port cabled into one of the basement compartments along with a USB outlet and a 120 VAC outlet. When parked we plug a Roku Streaming Stick into the basement compartment. The outside TV is also wired to the outside radio's Aux input so we have much better sound by playing the TV through the radio and its speakers.

The cushions on our "Dream Dinette" are comfortable. There's also a door in the aisle at each bench seat for underneath storage. I'm going to add some sliding shelves under the bench seats as others here have done.

The XL has now been replaced by the GT7 series. The super glossy dark wood cabinets that showed every fingerprint have been replaced with lighter wood that does not show fingerprints. They also got rid of those raised bowl sinks and went to the same one in Pete's picture, which we like much better.

So it looks like Forest River has fixed a lot of issues in the current versions.

But yeah, the air conditioning is still very loud and I am not about to spend a couple of hundred dollars for the Wacko silencing kits. Not only are they expensive, they eliminate the "dump" feature we use in hot climates. https://wackoproducts.com/

Your final conclusion was good to hear although this might be a spoiler.

Ray

[MRichaud]

Originally Posted by mdalb20

We purchased our coach, a 2018 Georgetown 369 XL in May of 2018.
We have had issues and this forum was extremely helpful. Would we buy it again? We have made a video where we tell you our top favorites of this rig as well as the things that are not our faves. At the end of the video we tell you if we would do it again. Check it out.
https://youtu.be/_28aAQHMQs4

Great video and information - will be looking at your other video covering the outside and inside.


Question: I noticed you're pulling a Wrangler Unlimited - the same as we have. We're looking at upgrading our current motorhome (ACE 29.3) and are interested in the Georgetowns. Are you satisfied with the towing capability?



Mickey

[mdalb20]

Originally Posted by NXR

Nice job on the video. We have a 2020 GT5, not an XL.

The comment about turning the driver's seat around made me smile. I now know exactly how to do it but it took me a while to figure out. Steering wheel full up, seat tilted full forward, seat moved forward and futz with the fore-aft position as you're turning it. We have plenty of wire length underneath. The biggest issue is that the seat can end up too far back after it's repositioned to the original forward-facing position and then the slide retracting could hit the seat if you don't do a thorough obstruction check first.

We were in a friend's Winnebago Sightseer and they had the passenger seat turned but not the driver's seat and they were parked for three months. I asked why and he said it won't do it. I moved his driver's seat the same way I do mine and they were amazed because they'd owned the thing for years. They did make it home OK so they must have figured out how to un-do what I did.

We do not have a residential fridge but I thought most coaches had a separate inverter for the fridge. We have a 2,000 watt inverter that runs some outlets while driving but we also run the generator while driving for extra air conditioning for the dogs.

We have a plethora of 1-amp USB outlets in this thing, four (I think) on the center console, two at the passenger seat, and two above the driver in the shelf area. There's also three 12 VDC power outlets, two in the center console and one by the passenger seat. We also have a 120 VAC outlet by the passenger's right knee but I do not know if it's on the inverter. There's an outlet and USB adapters in the recliner arm rest compartment, two on each side of the bed, and a few other places.

No trim has fallen off. Yet. We do not have any trim on the bottom of the three slides. Rather, we have a rubber seal that does a great job of keeping cold air out.

The Thomas Payne theater seating recliners we have are very comfortable. The built-in vibrator and seat heat are very, very nice. I wish I had them in my house.

Our three Summit TVs have the ports on the side. The TV in the living area is on a pivoting swivel arm. The TV in the bedroom is actually on a hinged mechanism and tilts up, so the storage behind it is built-in now. The outside TV has an HDMI port cabled into one of the basement compartments along with a USB outlet and a 120 VAC outlet. When parked we plug a Roku Streaming Stick into the basement compartment. The outside TV is also wired to the outside radio's Aux input so we have much better sound by playing the TV through the radio and its speakers.

The cushions on our "Dream Dinette" are comfortable. There's also a door in the aisle at each bench seat for underneath storage. I'm going to add some sliding shelves under the bench seats as others here have done.

The XL has now been replaced by the GT7 series. The super glossy dark wood cabinets that showed every fingerprint have been replaced with lighter wood that does not show fingerprints. They also got rid of those raised bowl sinks and went to the same one in Pete's picture, which we like much better.

So it looks like Forest River has fixed a lot of issues in the current versions.

But yeah, the air conditioning is still very loud and I am not about to spend a couple of hundred dollars for the Wacko silencing kits. Not only are they expensive, they eliminate the "dump" feature we use in hot climates. https://wackoproducts.com/

Your final conclusion was good to hear although this might be a spoiler.

Ray

Thanks! It's great to hear that many of the issues have been addressed. Thanks again for watching and as I said this forum has been very helpful when I have had problems. Enjoy your rig!

[mdalb20]

Originally Posted by MRichaud

Great video and information - will be looking at your other video covering the outside and inside.


Question: I noticed you're pulling a Wrangler Unlimited - the same as we have. We're looking at upgrading our current motorhome (ACE 29.3) and are interested in the Georgetowns. Are you satisfied with the towing capability?



Mickey

Towing has been easy. We tow with a Blue Ox, Patriot 2 brake system. I keep the rear camera on as I can hardly feel it back there on my XL. Thanks for watching the video and hoping to do a video on the tow bar soon
Mike

[NXR]

Originally Posted by MRichaud

Question: I noticed you're pulling a Wrangler Unlimited - the same as we have. We're looking at upgrading our current motorhome (ACE 29.3) and are interested in the Georgetowns. Are you satisfied with the towing capability?

Both the GT5 and the XL (now known as the GT7) come with a 5,000 lb hitch.

But the XL/GT7 are on the 24,000 GVWR chassis and that one has a GCWR of 30,000 lbs. So you can replace their hitch with a 7,500 lb hitch and tow more weight if needed, assuming you’re not overloaded on the GVWR.

We pull a 4,000 lb toad and dolly (total weight) with a GT5 and cannot even tell it’s back there. The dolly does have surge brakes.

Ray

[MRichaud]

Thanks, guys. Our ACE does OK; won't say that I don't know it's back there, but it does pull fairly well. But it weighs a good bit less than the larger units, so my concern is more about the performance than the capacity.



Mickey

[mdalb20]

Originally Posted by MRichaud

Thanks, guys. Our ACE does OK; won't say that I don't know it's back there, but it does pull fairly well. But it weighs a good bit less than the larger units, so my concern is more about the performance than the capacity.



Mickey

Hi Mickey
Regarding performance. In my case ... pulling my wrangler has been smooth and easy with my 369xl.
Best regards
Mike

[MRichaud]

Thanks, Mike!

[kenandterry]

As far as the statement “I don’t even know it’s there”

Honestly, if you were going to have a drag race from 0-60 then back 60-0 against a Georgetown without a toad, no one could make that statement, but then that’s not comparing apples to apples.

None of us with or without a toad is expecting phenomenal performance, but most combinations work just fine for towing with the Ford F53 V10 combination.

The biggest nuisance, or most noticeable time towing, is over certain bridge expansion joints, railway tracks or other significant irregularities on the road. That’s the most pronounced time of jerking back and forth of entire package when towing. Levelled off at a steady speed on nice roads and I too say....

I don’t even know it’s there!

[NXR]

Originally Posted by MRichaud

Our ACE does OK; won't say that I don't know it's back there, but it does pull fairly well. But it weighs a good bit less than the larger units, so my concern is more about the performance than the capacity.

Good to hear because it looks like you have 8,000 lbs towing capacity now. Some of the Georgetowns have 22.5" wheels whereas you have 19.5" wheels on the ACE so that should help if that also means larger brakes.

Do you have a 2017 or newer Thor ACE? If so, you likely have the 6-speed transmission that Ford introduced in the 2016 chassis. If you have the older 5-speed without a "tune" the 6-speed should be a good improvement.

I've only driven the 6-speed and from what I've read most people think it's a dramatic improvement over the 5-speeds. We've driven Jellico on I-75 a few times and done fine. Some of it is wide-open throttle but so was driving some other hills without the car.

Since there are a wide range of "Georgetowns" and many year-to-many year changes you might want to consider doing a new post with the specific year, model, and floor plan you're looking at. There's pretty good participation here and I'm certain people will offer their thoughts on the goods and bads.

Take care,

Ray

[Michael Hums]

@mdalb20 / Mike & Betty Ann... Read & watched your video the other day, I appreciate the review, that took a lot of effort. If you PM me your contact info, I’ll shoot you a token of our appreciation.

[NXR]

Originally Posted by Michael Hums

@mdalb20 / Mike & Betty Ann... Read & watched your video the other day, I appreciate the review, that took a lot of effort. If you PM me your contact info, I’ll shoot you a token of our appreciation.

Thanks for your participation, Michael. I consider it a big positive that Forest River employees are participating here. Your customers appreciate it.

Ray

[kenandterry]

Originally Posted by NXR

Thanks for your participation, Michael. I consider it a big positive that Forest River employees are participating here. Your customers appreciate it.

Ray

I second that ^^^^^^^^ what he said up there

[mdalb20]

Originally Posted by Michael Hums

@mdalb20 / Mike & Betty Ann... Read & watched your video the other day, I appreciate the review, that took a lot of effort. If you PM me your contact info, I’ll shoot you a token of our appreciation.

Thanks Michael. I have responded via pm as per your request. We really appreciate that you monitor the forum
Mike

[congrejoloco]

Originally Posted by Michael Hums

@mdalb20 / Mike & Betty Ann... Read & watched your video the other day, I appreciate the review, that took a lot of effort. If you PM me your contact info, I’ll shoot you a token of our appreciation.

We purchased a new 2020 GT5 31L5 last November and recently went through a similar exercise as the OP. However, we reached the opposite conclusion. Our MH was spending more time getting warranty repairs than being on the road. I accept that it may be a one off and that most other GT5's have a better quality record.

Bottom line is we took it back to the dealership last week and have traded it in on a new unit from a different manufacturer. We have taken a big hit financially, but consider it worth it to get the peace of mind that comes from a better quality product.

This forum has been a great place to get help/advice.

Cheers,
Wayne

[NXR]

Originally Posted by congrejoloco

We purchased a new 2020 GT5 31L5 last November and recently went through a similar exercise as the OP. However, we reached the opposite conclusion. Our MH was spending more time getting warranty repairs than being on the road. I accept that it may be a one off and that most other GT5's have a better quality record.

Bottom line is we took it back to the dealership last week and have traded it in on a new unit from a different manufacturer. We have taken a big hit financially, but consider it worth it to get the peace of mind that comes from a better quality product.

So you only had it for six months at most. I'm very sorry to hear that but I certainly understand.

I just checked and I've given the selling dealer about 60 pages of write-ups not including everything we found on our PDI when we left it for a month. (I should put those emails and notes into a PDF just for future reference.)

Those write-up PDFs do include many pictures so thankfully it's not all descriptive text. There were nineteen new write-ups on this last one plus the carry-over items.

Almost all but not all are warranty-related. A few turned out to be "operator error" and a few were related to after-market add-ons like vent shrouds, MaxxAir Fan installs and similar. But most are plain old defects.

Many of the significant warranty-related issues we've had have been posted here already for the benefit of others so I won't rehash them. The chronic ones like that slide electrical chain jamming up is still a big worry and I have to watch it every time we move that slide. Based on our last trip, I'll say it definitely is temperature-related. Around 50 degrees or so that plastic seems to stick and bind a lot more but even in 80 degrees it still bunches up somewhat near full extension.

Despite the multitude of write-ups, so far we've only had a couple of potential trip-ending problems post-delivery but none did force us to leave early or require a mobile tech, thankfully: A water leak under the shower on the second trip (which came back on this last trip), the washer/dryer cabinet partially self-disassembling itself after a few trips, and the furnace fan seizing up when it was 35 degrees outside and at 4:45 AM.

We spent four months on the road this past winter and had some new problems, such as the kitchen sink partially breaking loose and water getting on the stuff underneath. But there was nothing we considered safety-related and only one that interfered with our enjoyment or usage so it's definitely getting better.

Because the Norcold 1210 still is not fully in compliance with the manufacturer's installation instructions for baffling within the slide, the freezer would go up to the high teens and low 20's during the afternoon heat. Eating ice cream through a straw is not my favorite method. At night the freezer is below 10 degrees, which kept the ice cream fairly solid.

Our dealer repairs took one month before we made the final payment, one week, one week, and two weeks for this last one. We're picking it up today but I don't know what is still left on the list.

I knew it was important to have a good, conscientious dealer but I had no idea how important it is. We almost bought at a dealer 120 miles away and that would have made this an entirely different story if just because of the distance. Our small family-owned dealer is about fifteen miles away. I just re-read my dealer review from last August and I still stand fully behind it: https://www.forestriverforums.com/fo...oh-193019.html

Unlike many owners, I had just retired when we took delivery so I had no schedule crunches. If we were planning trips around vacation time, school schedules, and work schedules this experience could have been a lot worse.

But we go out of warranty in five weeks. I really do not want to spend money for a third-party service contract but I've begun investigating them because they're cheaper while the unit is still in warranty.

Good luck with your new unit,

Ray