‘World debut!’ Grand Design finally unveils its Lineage Class C motorhome

After a few “cutesy” video peek-a-boos of their new rig, they’ve finally done it. Grand Design has finally shown its Lineage motorhome, upfront and personal. There’s a lot of the same-old-stuff and some added bling. We’ve sifted through the details from a “salesman’s tour” and focused on the standout points.

“Immersive Glamping Event” reveal

The Grand Design RV official launch of its first motorized unit came on Saturday, June 22. At what’s described as “an Immersive Glamping Event” in the middle of New York City’s Bryant Park, there were plenty of social media folks on hand.

Grand Design touts its first motorhome, the Lineage Series M, as “an innovative Class C motorhome.” What’s the “Series M” mean? It’s the first of the Grand Design motorhomes, and the “M” means it’s built on a Mercedes chassis. The company rep mentioned a future “Series F.” Yes, Ford, too, will become a future chassis builder for the Lineage motorhome line.

More Grand Design propaganda-speak

Here’s more of the GD propaganda-speak. “Lineage Series M by Grand Design RV is a feature-rich Class C motorhome with superior quality, best in class warranty and brings a sense of community to its new and growing customer base.” Here come the company bullet points.

• Mercedes Benz 4500 Sprinter Cab Chassis (4-cylinder twin-turbo diesel/12,125 GVWR)
• Aerodynamic front cap with custom interior molded plastics
• Factory installed dual head rest with incorporated hidden safes
• MORryde steel chassis conversion, custom exterior luggage doors and hydraulic leveling jacks
• 70”x 80” King bed (Indratech Reinforced Comfort Design)
• Modern, European-inspired interior design with a neutral palette, square fixtures, dark ceilings, clean lines and task-driven luxury lighting
• Acrylic window and entry door package with integrated shades, screens, and trim kits
• Energy-efficient, quiet A/C with linear slot diffusers and custom return air plenum
• Spacious kitchen with a Smart Sink, matching appliance package, and 12V 10-cubic-foot refrigerator
• Lighted bathroom shower, deep bathroom sink, custom shower with linear slot drain, and a SeaDek™ Shower Pad.

Our takeaways after half-hour video review

We endured a 30-minute YouTube presentation that did a walk-around/walk-through with Mike Hums, a product manager for the Grand Design Lineage. We’re including it here, if you have the time and inclination to see it. (Matt’s RV Reviews is one of our readers’ favorite RV review YouTube channels.)

Since Grand Design has finally shown its Lineage motorhome, it allows us to focus on “points of interest.” Not having been able to zoom out to New York for our own walk-through, we’ve relied on the video.

Perhaps the most important takeaway is relative to cargo carrying capacity (CCC). After you’ve filled up the fuel and fresh water tanks, and loaded on passengers, how much stuff can you take with you? We have no idea as to how GD calculates passenger weight, but the bottom line is this: 1,000 pounds CCC.

That may sound impressive—a half-ton. But it doesn’t take much to make up 1,000 pounds of gear, food, etc. GD says they’ve gone to great (and no doubt expensive) lengths to invest in the higher capacity Mercedes chassis to attain that half-ton CCC. But wait! There’s a disclaimer in the video. GD’s rep is quick to point out that that CCC is not yet officially determined. Stay tuned—that half-ton could even be less.

One more thing. Plan on putting a toad car behind your new Lineage motorhome? With an already seriously low CCC, adding that tow car (allowable hitch weights not yet announced) will have a serious impact on the rig’s total Gross Vehicle Weigh Rating. There’s no such thing as a free lunch, so adding a toad car will undeniably reduce the amount of lunch-fixings you’ll be able to load inside the motorhome.

(Solar) power to the people

Other interesting numbers? Up roof-top is a “standard” solar panel array. The new Lineage M series will power you up with 600 watts-worth of panels. Pairing those to the standard two 130 amp-hour lithium batteries will keep you going for a while. We had to laugh as one of the video producers asked about how long one could run the air conditioning with this setup. Not missing a beat, the salesman pointed out that’s what the standard Onan LP genset was installed for. Not even the standard 1,000-watt inverter will “talk to” that air conditioner.

One number we were impressed with had to do with warranty. While nothing was mentioned about bumper-to-bumper warranty time, plumbing did make it on the comment list. The fresh-water supply system is based on SharkBite fittings, and comes with a 25-year warranty.

Inside bling in the Grand Design Lineage motorhome

Inside there’s plenty of bling. One such item is up in the cab-over bed loft. Suitably designed for small fry, instead of Junior reaching up and dirtying the privacy shade, he can push a button and electronics do the rest. Hopefully, that extra tough electronic system will last at least half as long as the plumbing.

Speaking of plumbing, step on over to the bathroom. Like the kitchen, the sink here is a deep well, square stainless affair. OK, toss out the plastic. But imbedded in the stainless sinks are Lineage logotype-embossed emblems. The designs don’t apparently make your hands or dishes cleaner, but they do remind you of what brand you bought.

Need to clean more than your hands? Step on in the shower. This is NOT built for tall folks. One video reviewer stepped in, and it was soon apparent that he’d have to bend over to rinse his hair, as his head stuck clear into the skylight. He was also big enough around that his elbow kept bumping into the soap dish in the diminutive shower enclosure.

And finally, here’s a security note for the Lineage folks. Since you’ve gone to the extreme of installing hidden security safes in your motorhome, try this. Don’t publicize the fact the “hidden safes” are in the cockpit headrests. We’d call that a “duh” move.

One more missing statistic

“Shipments of Lineage will begin soon,” says a company release. Expect them to be at dealerships come August or September. “To learn more and stay up to date on the latest from Grand Design’s motorized product team you can join an exclusive email list.”

Grand Design isn’t just playing coy with the “real” CCC number. There’s one more statistic that may be even more important than knowing how much gear you can stow on board. That number called SRP—suggested retail price. On Grand Design’s Lineage website it’s marked, “To Be Announced.”

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