2024 Grand Design Reflection 100 Series 22RK—A fifth wheel for boondockers

Today’s RV review is of the new-for-2024 Grand Design Reflection 100 Series 22RK. This is a new small fifth wheel series from Grand Design that follows the industry trend of offering more affordable choices. While this absolutely falls into that category, some of the decisions Grand Design made in achieving that are admirable. But then some are head-scratchers. 

What is the 2024 Grand Design Reflection 100 Series 22RK?

This is the newest and smallest of all the fifth wheels in the Grand Design family, measuring 26’11” in length and weighing in at just under 7,000 pounds. This model features a kitchen along the back with seating in the slide along with a dinette. 

Very intentionally, Grand Design made choices to enable you to access the upper deck with the slide room in, which I think is fantastic. I don’t know if the folks at Grand Design are reading my articles or not (they are). But this is something I haven’t liked about fifth wheels where the access to the upper deck is on the road side and something they very specifically resolved with this design by shortening the slide box such that you can get by it when it’s in. 

I also like that the fuse panel is accessible with the slide in. I’ve seen fifth wheels where the fuse panel is blocked by the slide room or upstairs where you can’t get to it when the slide is in. That’s just about as stupid a decision as you can make because you know the fuse for the slide room mechanism is going to blow when the slide is in and now you’re just hosed. 

So, again, the conscious decision of Grand Design to make it possible to access the upper deck and the fuse box should be heralded, which is what I’m doing here. Great job!

For the price, there are a lot of things included in the 2024 Grand Design Reflection

The MSRP of this fifth wheel is actually comparable to a lot of travel trailers at $50,987. But there are a lot of things included you might be surprised to find. 

For example, this still has auto-level, which you almost never find in travel trailers but is more common in fifth wheels. They also used a 60-amp charge controller for the standard solar system, which means it’s outfitted to add additional solar panels without having to upgrade the charge controller. That’s smart. 

While on the subject of their solar package, I really like that they specifically put a solar disconnect in the loop. That means that, should you put this camper away for extended periods of time, you can specifically disconnect the solar system if it makes sense to do so. Nice. 

Like most fifth wheels, this also utilizes a 50-amp service, so you could easily add a second air conditioner to the upper bedroom without extensive rewiring. 

Grand Design Reflection 100 Series 22RK

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What’s inside the 2024 Grand Design Reflection 100 Series 22RK

The kitchen counter extends across the width of the rear of this trailer, with the stove over on the road side and a nice, wide counter the rest of the way. That means overhead cabinets and drawers below the counter are plentiful—more counter space means more drawer space. 

The entry door to this is at the rear. Ahead of that, you’ll find a nice cabinet that extends the amount of counter space the kitchen already has. This also has two drawers and four cubbies along with a shoe garage. This is a nice placement of this and will make for more usable storage and countertop. 

The rest of the camp side features a very traditional dinette with the infamous knee-banger table mounts. Someone should point out to Grand Design that they already have great legs for free-standing tables that they utilize, such as in their Momentum 25G toy hauler. I know I keep bringing this up but, doggone it, can we please stop using these knee-banger table poles already? Especially when there is truly something better already being ordered by Grand Design as it is. 

And, while on the subject of my famous dead horse that I keep beating, that stupid 17” oven is here, too. There is no place for this thing on the planet whatsoever. End of story. 

What’s in the slide room

In the slide room, you have a 12-volt refrigerator and then a choice of either a hide-a-bed sofa or a theater seat. That theater seat is directly facing the TV, which is high on the wall opposite it. Josh mentioned that it would be great if this thing were able to come down. Fortunately, that sort of TV mount exists and I’ve touched one in the Keystone Cougar Premium 260MLE fifth wheel. 

Oh, a nifty thing they’ve done is extend the upper cabinets to the forward bulkhead wall, which gives you just that much more cabinet storage. 

But, back in the slide room, there is carpeting along the edge of the slide which I thought I had finally seen the end of. Nope. Here it is. Now that I’m spoiled by that marine-grade flooring stuff, carpeting seems so yesterday. 

And, if you don’t like it here, you may be surprised to find it upstairs in the bedroom, as well. Plenty of it. This is fine if you don’t travel with pets or kids but, if you do, this could be a challenge. 

Queen-sized bed

What you will like about the upper deck is the bed, which is a proper queen-sized affair. However, you will absolutely want some sort of night light as the bedroom features a step up halfway along the bed that you do not want to forget about at night. Not super uncommon, but something to take note of nonetheless. 

The headroom up here is also noticeably good. 

Grand Design extended their extensive use of cabinets and drawers to this level, as well, with hanging closets and drawers at the rear wall of the bedroom. Combined with the hanging storage at the front, you get a surprising amount of storage in here, especially for a rig that’s barely longer than many travel trailers. 

No skylight in the shower

Since the headroom here is so good, a decision Grand Design made is one I applaud—no skylight in the shower. These things are often the first place where RVs leak and a common failure point, so the fact that they just didn’t put one in is worth celebrating. There is a higher ceiling in the shower and Grand Design did put a light here, but I like the lack of a skylight. Hooray!

Can I tow this with a half-ton truck?

One of the first questions I know people are going to ask about this is whether or not you can tow it with a half-ton truck. 

I recently upgraded my half-ton Ram to a three-quarter-ton Ram for just my Rockwood Mini Lite 2205S travel trailer. After getting the truck and trailer scaled, I realized we were definitely overweight (here’s that story) in what our truck was designed to carry. While the numbers tell one story, the difference in just how surefooted our new truck is with this same trailer is remarkable. While the old truck’s engine and brakes were quite capable of handling the trailer even when we went through Colorado mountains, this new truck is incredibly superior. 

My point in all of this is that I wouldn’t even consider towing this fifth wheel with a half-ton truck. Sure, the numbers might work for very specially equipped half-tonners. But having more capability than you need rather than barely enough can make all the difference in the world. 

We went from a mid-sized pickup in our first trailer (a Rockwood Mini Lite 1905S, which was a single-axle trailer) to a full-sized pickup. The towing experience was remarkably better with the larger truck. 

Now we went from a half-ton truck to a three-quarter-ton truck in a trailer that any RV dealership would easily sell you with a half-ton truck. And, again, the experience is night and day. 

So take it from me. I wouldn’t tow this with a half-ton truck. And those RV manufacturers who have fifth wheels branded “half-ton” should honestly be made to tow one of those things with a half-ton truck through the Rockies on a winter day. 

Conclusions

Even though this is a fifth wheel geared to be more affordable and lighter, it’s not shy on things you’ll like over time. There are Goodyear Endurance tires, a MORryde CRE 3,000 suspension system, and many other features that actually are evidence of good decisions being made over simply price-focused ones. 

I know a few of you had commented about disliking the Schwintek slide in other reviews, and I should clarify some things. First of all, this is not a Schwintek slide but is its cousin, the SlimRack^® Slide mechanism. Honestly, I think the Schwintek and SlimRack mechanisms are just fine so long as the slide room isn’t too heavy. I think the challenges with these systems come from people extending the slide room part-way and getting the system out of time. 

These systems count the number of rotations of the slide room motors to know when to start and stop the slide room. By extending them part-way you can literally throw this timing off. It’s easy enough to reset this but you have to know how. Based on posts on Facebook Groups, some people don’t have even the most basic knowledge of RV systems. Further, all RV systems require maintenance, and I bet people aren’t bothering with that, either. 

So, with proper use and a little understanding, Schwintek and SlimRack systems are perfectly fine. 

Holding tanks are questionable

One of the things I didn’t like, of course, was the fact that the main holding tanks for black and bathroom gray are a separate connection from the kitchen gray tank. Also, whoever put the sewer valve pull under the slide might be the same person who chose to name some of the fifth wheels “half-ton.” 

May your black tank overflow onto your dining room table. 

But considering what all you get for your money and the core design of this fifth wheel, I think it’s a good package overall. 

More about these RV reviews

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.

Tony comes to RVtravel.com having worked at an RV dealership and been a life long 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. 

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