Today’s RV review is of the Grand Design Reflection 320MKS, a couple’s fifth wheel trailer with some nifty touches. If you’re already familiar with this model, know that there aren’t drastic changes to the 2023 version. But that doesn’t mean that some things haven’t changed.Â
I recently took out the theater seats in my own travel trailer—yes, my brand-new trailer—and replaced them with office chairs and adjustable-height tables that we are using as desks. We’ve been on the road since April as we tour this beautiful land and meet all kinds of people and see new places.Â
But I also need to continue to check out the latest and greatest RVs to share here, obviously.Â
The theater seats were delightfully comfortable for watching TV and lounging, but I don’t watch TV. So, I gave them to my nephew, who helped me get them out—and in came the new office.Â
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Road work
What does that have to do with this Grand Design fifth wheel? You can get a desk already ready, already. While a dining table might be nice enough to use as an office, if you’re going to spend any time in your RV you’re going to want to get stuff done. A desk solves that, and it’s there at the rear of this trailer.Â
There is also a dinette here that’s an interesting configuration. The dining table and theater seats are in a slide along the road side of the trailer. The dining table has an ottoman on the back wall for seating and two dining chairs opposite that. We’ve talked about this configuration before and some of you are big fans, others not so much.Â
It’s neat because the ottoman also offers storage and portability. You can move it around and use it as a place to sit opposite the theater seats—if the people from down the row at the campground want to come and visit but you don’t want them to stay all that long. After all, there wouldn’t be a back rest.Â
Kind of like those chairs some smart people had in their office where the front feet were cut just a little bit shorter than the back to encourage people to get up and not linger longer.Â
When the ottoman is at the dining table, though, there is a backrest. You just don’t want to mention that to those visitors.Â
But there’s also a couch at the forward bulkhead of the living space. So the ottoman factor may be moot.Â
Kitchen in the Grand Design Reflection 320MKS
I recently wrote a piece about my own experiences with the GE 12-volt fridge and talked about modern refrigerators. One of my big issues is that we, as humans in 2022, know what temp the fridge should be. Why not just put a display on the fridge to let us set the fridge to that temp? Well, the 16-cubic-foot 12-volt fridge chosen by Grand Design does just that.Â
There’s also a nice big oven plus a convection microwave. There’s also an island, so prep space is plentiful.Â
Top floor upstairs
Upstairs there’s a typical larger fifth wheel bathroom. But Grand Design actually installed a showerhead you won’t likely be replacing before you leave the dealership. I wonder how many factory-installed RV showerheads are in the landfills?
You have a choice of king- or queen-sized beds. The bed is in a slide, so choosing the queen gives you more space beside the bed for devices and such, obviously.
A closet spans the nose of this rig with space inside, should you choose to add a washer and dryer. There’s also a bureau on the camp side with drawers and such. The bedroom has a nice warm feel which is brought about, to me, by the padded headboard.
Other details in the Grand Design Reflection
It’s clear that Grand Design was paying attention to details with this rig. One of the things I thought was super-nifty was the little LED lights on the bottom of the bedroom slide. There is just enough light here that, should you need to get into the compartment below them, you won’t hit your head. Though the bottom of this slide room is about 6’ off the ground or so.
On the subject of the front pass-through storage, this one is huge. Further, there are two doors on the camp side to get into it, one that flips up and has a magnetic hold-back and one that opens toward the rear. You could almost park your Smart car in there. Almost.
Boondocking and travel access
The vast majority of the people I know who spend a lot of time in fifth wheels tend to spend that time at RV parks, even though fifth wheels are particularly good at boondocking, depending on where you go.
But the camp-side slide room does block the refrigerator when closed. So there will be no mid-trip stops to refuel the reefer unless you can use enough parking spaces to open that slide room. You can get to the bathroom, of course, and that may be the biggest priority, depending on how many road coffees you’ve enjoyed.
In summary
Overall this is a floor plan that I think could really make sense for a lot of campers. There’s plenty of seating space and even a desk.Â
I like the little details, like the lights under the slide room, as well as big things like the huge storage compartment. You could say this is a… grand design.Â
More from Tony
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Tony comes to RVtravel.com having worked at an RV dealership and been a lifelong RV enthusiast. He also has written the syndicated Curbside column about cars. He also works closely with a number of RV manufacturers to get an inside look at how things are done and is a brand ambassador for Rockwood Mini Lite with his wife, Peggy.
You can also check out his RV podcast with his wife, Peggy.Â
These RV reviews are written based on information provided by the manufacturers along with our writer’s own research. They are based on information from a single unit and may not reflect your actual experience. Shop your RV and dealership carefully before making a buying decision. We receive no money or other financial benefits from these reviews. They are intended only as a brief overview of the vehicle, not a comprehensive critique, which would require a thorough inspection and/or test drive.
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##RVDT1902
I really wanted this model, I own the 303rls. What killed the decision is the windows out are not on the campsite but to the neighbors. If the floor plan was swapped I would consider it for future. Outside kitchen is not a must for me.
We have a 16 cubic feet 12 volt refrigerator in a 2022 Reflection 303. When we closed on the trailer we couldn’t take it home because the refrigerator didn’t work. A month and a half later they came up with a new fridge, and installed it. Now 6 months later we are in Wyoming and the new 12 volt refrigerator quit working. I am not convinced they are a good idea.
The refrigerator has no latch to hold it closed while traveling. After cleaning up two messes, we finally found the right fix–two strips of heavy duty velcro across the doors, besides pieces of pool noodle wedged in the handles, and velcro holding the crisper drawers shut inside the refrigerator. Otherwise, because the fridge is on the left side of our trailer, eliminating all left turns would be another solution.
That huge fridge way in a back corner of a towable would be a concern for me. With glass jars of various things inside bouncing around on rough roads, I would be afraid of what might happen.
My “grand design” would move the fridge to the pantry spot, putting it over the wheels more, and the pantry next to it aft. The stove would be where the fridge is with a counter going over to the desk. This would create a large “counter” across the back, albeit at different levels. The desk could play double duty for setting out food, if needed, and the counter could be a spot to set a printer, when not used for food prep.
That probably screws up the outside kitchen though.