RV review: 2024 Grand Design Transcend Xplor 24BHX—Affordable but not ‘cheap’

Today’s RV review is of the new-for-2024 Grand Design Transcend Xplor 24BHX travel trailer. We’ve all been talking about de-contented rigs and how RV companies are starting to focus on making their offerings less expensive.

Well, this is sort of the superstar of that race. 

What is the Grand Design Transcend Xplor 24BHX?

What we have here is a very simple, basic bunkhouse travel trailer. Honestly, for a lot of families this might be just the right camper. It’s light, affordable and simple. But you could sleep up to eight people in here, although that would be a bit tight—but I know people who would do it. 

This has no slide and is a “stick-and-tin” build, which means aluminum skin over a wood frame. This is a new, even more affordable variant on the Grand Design Transcend series aimed at people who just don’t want to spend a lot of money on an RV. 

That makes sense. 

While plenty of us use the heck out of our RVs, I think there is a huge swath of the population who barely use theirs at all. If they buy something and get 2-3 weekends’ use out of it, they’re doing well. 

My reviewing RVs in this space is based on someone who would use the heck out of their RV, and judging the features and components with that mindset. But RVs like this are probably for more people than you might imagine. 

This trailer is also less content-rich. Some of the decisions made are done with price in mind rather than being fancier. Still, it’s not like it feels cheap, and it’s not going to make you wish you spent more just because basic features are missing. 

For example, you still get a heated underbelly. The water system still features a Nautilus control system. 

The company is still using thicker aluminum sheeting on the front of the trailer, and they’re still doing a good job with insulation. 

Grand Design Transcend Xplor 24BHX - 2024

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What’s inside the Grand Design Transcend Xplor 24BHX?

This is a pretty traditional floor plan. You have a separate bedroom, and Grand Design has stuck with the proper-sized queen bed in here. Good job!

There are cubbies behind the closets in here, as is becoming more common. Grand Design stuck with the full range of power outlets—household and USB. 

The kitchen is an “L” shape with a decent amount of cabinets and drawers. Something I was quite surprised to see was a cabinet with a specific trash can in it. That’s a nice touch. 

There’s also a bureau, of sorts, by the front door with a drawer and also cubbies, including a shoe cubby. This has a table top on it that matches the kitchen counter. Any flat surface in an RV that even remotely looks like a counter or tabletop is appreciated. 

But there are also hooks in the hallway for keys or jackets or whatever. So, right at the entryway, Grand Design has hit a home run with this floor plan. 

Under the fridge is a decently-sized cabinet with a drop-down door, which might be a great place for pans. But below that is a drawer that has a pair of plastic pet bowls in it. You could remove this insert if you don’t have a pet, obviously, and gain a wee bit of drawer space. 

The main living space features a folding couch and a dinette with knee-knocker table poles. But this does give you seven places for hind ends—more if they’re younger and smaller humans who fit into tinier spaces. 

What’s missing in the Grand Design Transcend Xplor 24BHX?

So, where did the cost savings come in? 

Well, there is just a curtain at the bedroom instead of a door. There are open cubbies in the bathroom instead of a door. Doors aren’t cheap. 

The bunks have a common power outlet to share, but that makes sense. 

There is no oven in this and many, many of you have said you don’t use one anyhow. There is a regular microwave, but this isn’t the rig to get if you like to bake biscuits. Although you could use the Omnia Stovetop Oven for that. 

The fridge in this is also a shorter model at only eight cubic feet of capacity instead of the ten so many are going with. But this is fine if you’re out for a weekend and the beer can be in a cooler or something. Perhaps a cooler like a 12-volt cooler I reviewed in the past, which is where you’ll often find my beer. 

Another thing you won’t find here is a TV, and I love that. I’m not judging those of you who value having a TV with you. But for those of us who don’t, why pay for something we don’t need? 

And, for those of you who do watch TV, I’ve noticed that many of you upgrade what came with the RV, anyway—so this makes sense. 

Boondocking and travel access

What you won’t find here at all is any solar system. That’s just fine with me. If you’re not going to use it, you didn’t have to pay for it. If you do want it, you can always have it installed or do so yourself. 

Grand Design has prewired the trailer for up to 600 watts of solar. There’s a provision for a 30-amp charge controller and 2,000-watt inverter. So, installing a solar package, if that’s your goal, shouldn’t be that big of a challenge. 

Since this has no slide room, the whole trailer is accessible all the time. And not having a slide room is fine if you’re not using the camper a lot. You have one fewer thing to maintain—and that’s a good thing. 

Conclusions

For some reason, Grand Design has developed this stellar reputation for building travel trailers that is really the envy of the rest of the industry. The company has a very loyal following in their products and, quite honestly, I don’t get it. 

There’s nothing wrong with their products, per se, but I see the company making cost-focused decisions instead of quality-focused decisions oftentimes. I guess if you don’t use your camper all that much, these low-grade suspension systems and lesser fans, ovens, and other pieces don’t really make a huge difference. 

What Grand Design has done, however, is establish a great reputation for working with their buyers and supporting them. Further, they do initiate some of the better floor plans in the industry, by what I’ve seen. 

But this just shows that there is a tremendous opportunity in this industry to work with your customer base, which can create intense brand loyalty. I am starting to see this with a few other brands. 

As for this camper, it makes a lot of sense. At an MSRP of $25,458, I can see these things flying out of dealerships. If you figure the normal discount of RVs that seem to have returned, these things will probably be on dealer lots at around $20K. Figure that many of these rigs are financed for very long periods of time and this becomes very, very affordable. 

There is a lot to like about this camper with some thoughtful details. I couldn’t fault someone for making this choice from a brand that has a reputation for supporting its buyers well. So, I guess, that does make this a pretty Grand Design. 

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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