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Old 09-18-2013, 09:04 PM   #1
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Angry 2014 Georgetown Forest River

I recently joined the forum to see if anyone else were having problems with their Georgetown. Well I quickly discovered that I am not alone.
I purchased my 2014 Georgetown 351sd bunkhouse in June of this year from a dealership in Texas. All went well until the trip home in my brand new 2014 RV. first the so called speaker "woofer" began making a buzzing sound so annnoying that i just turned the radio off. on my first outing with the wife and kids, one of the 13" tv's in the bunks went out, try explaining that to a kid as to why his sisters tv works but his doesn't. after about two weeks of haggling with the dealership they finally sent me another TV, my expense was to return the defective one via USPS with proof of mailing of which I had to proove that it was mailed to the dealership by faxing them a copy of my receipt, my follow up calls were that they had not received the Tv that I had sent. The same week I began having trouble with the darn screen door and the entrance / exit door that wouldn't stay closed i managed to make a few adjustments on the handle myself on that one. A few days later I began having trouble with the electric steps that did not seem to retract when the door was closed. my first call to the dealership i was told to give it some time. That was early July, by mid July the steps finally stopped working and of course they stayed in the open position, luckily i was parked when I noticed it. HERE is the good part. I have to manually tie the steps in place just to get home all the while hoping that the rubber straps I used would hold up on the way. callling the dealership i was referrred to forest river who referred me to a local Camper dealership that does warrarty work for forest river. First some company called "quickie" sent a motor which was not the problem, you could hear the motor whinning each tiem the door was opened and closed. I decided to take a look myself and found that a large bolt was very loose. Quikie sent a bolt.
i am no mechanic but i can tell when a bolt has been sheared and that was the problen then and its still a problem now. In the meantime i have not been able to use my New 2014 Georgetown until, and if the steps ever get repaired. Sure i have made all kinds of calls and a week ago today I finally made contact with someone in Warranty Service over the span of about 5 weeks, of which I had not been able to use the RV, i refused to hop in and hop out of a brand new 2014 RV. the warranty person assured me that they would order new steps for the RV. Thats another week and another tailgate I missed. In fact i called seversal times today only to get a voice mail.
This is one that I did not see coming. Its my first RV purchase and i have concluded that " I AM NOT ALONE". If only i could have read some forums prior to purchase instead of brochures and warranties. Hopefull i will get my new steps installed before the tailgate season ends. If not I intend to be an "X" rv owner very darn soon.
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Old 09-21-2013, 07:29 AM   #2
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Typical first year teething issues and they all seem to be supplier supplied items. No idea why your dealer was such a dope about a TV swap or the repair folks about a sheeted bolt, but again that's out of Forest Rivers bandwidth.

To be honest, if the TV and step issue makes you question RV ownership then get the FOR SALE sign now because they are like a house: there is always a project list.
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Old 09-21-2013, 10:44 AM   #3
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Every new RV has the these issues. It's not like the auto industry. I have a 350TS 2013 and have had the hydro pump replaced, steps replaced, etc. I have a list of about 18 more things that need to get fixed and am taking to the factory next month for repairs. Most dealers warranty service is absolutely worthless. Took the unit this spring to dealer where it was purchased....12 items on the list. They fix 1 thing and broke 2 more things in the process. That's dealers for you.......

It takes the first year or so to get the MH in shape, but hang in there....it's worth it!!
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Old 09-21-2013, 02:41 PM   #4
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Yep, dealer's warranty service is not generally the best. You bought "a box on wheels" like the rest of us. Problems do occur and require patience to remedy. Your issues are with the "components" that are installed in the MH by FR. I don't see how anyone came blame FR for that. IMHO, Forest River is one of the better RV manufacturers in the business. Call April at FR warranty service in the corporate office and see if you can get some relief from her.

Otherwise; I recommend putting up the "for sale" sign in it and go buy a Bagowinnie; or go swap it with the Robertson's "Duck Dynasty" motorhome.
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Old 09-24-2013, 06:15 PM   #5
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We have a 2013 Georgetown 360XL. Same type of PITA problems. Leaky windshield, leak where shower skylight meets body, loose trim etc. this is our first Class A and I wish I had bought another brand. The dealer servicing our unit does a good job, but I'm tired of constantly finding things to repair.
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Old 09-25-2013, 12:07 PM   #6
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Like others who have posted, ALL RV manufacturer's will have their share of problems. This certainly is most prevalent upon delivery and the first year or so of use. Why does this exist in the RV industry more than others, who knows. Makes you wonder how some supply companies such as Lippert stay in business, though I believe they did go bankrupt a few years back and Berkshire Hathaway, parent of Forest River, bought them at a fire sale.
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Old 09-25-2013, 12:17 PM   #7
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I really feel bad reading all of these issues that people are having. We couldn't be happier with our dealer. We had a Cub earlier and had nothing but problems. Our dealer bent over backwards and argued with Forest River to help us. Then after everything was fixed we got a 29U, then that was totaled because of hail. We now have a Surveyor and had some preliminary issues but nothing earth shattering. So to make a long story short, we really love our dealer.
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Old 09-25-2013, 03:56 PM   #8
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As stated above, MANY motorhomes have MANY problems the first year. I have had motorhomes made by Fleetwood (4) and one Itasca (Winnebago) and now a FR. At the end of the first year, everything was working correctly. I still have things go wrong (I use my mh), and most are easily fixable. Remember you have a house that goes through an earthquake everytime you move it. A RV owner needs to be patient, flexible and somewhat of a handyman. But as also stated, it is worth it.

My dealer, Mike Thompsons in Colton, CA was great to work with, fixed everything, and FR has been good by approving all fixes, and even out of warranty problems.

Happy Trails, Forrest
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Old 09-25-2013, 04:17 PM   #9
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You almost need to be mechanically inclined and willing to fix things every time you go out. For me it's become somewhat of a challenge, "what's going to break this time"?........It is a house on wheels.....I also read a lot prior to purchase, so knew what to expect (and I'm getting it..). Plus I get to learn new things...last time out the slide broke and the generator low oil pressure sensor failed......now I know exactly how the cross shaft mechanism works to get my kitchen out. Can only guess what's next.

Enjoy...

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Old 09-25-2013, 04:36 PM   #10
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All that ranting over such trivial things. Heavens no personal TV for the kids?
Nothing here that would warrant no use of your motorhome.
One requirement for RV'ing is to be somewhat handy.
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Old 09-25-2013, 06:32 PM   #11
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It's a pity you did not tell FR that your spouse stepped on steps that were not there and that there is a broken bolt and your lawyer will be in touch, after she is released from hospital they understand that kind of language. I know this would not be true but it would be giving back what you are getting.
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Old 09-26-2013, 07:42 AM   #12
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Being handy is a given. However, at least I am discussing a new unit I should not HAVE to be handy. I also forgot, no dash AC from the factory, they drove a screw onto the wiring, dash board flapped like a wing, water leak under kitchen sink, etc.
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Old 09-26-2013, 09:04 PM   #13
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You are right, Rv's require constant upkeep, and many of the problems are not Forest River problems, but the component manufacturer. I must be one of the lucky ones, I bought a 2012 337XL and have driven it 25,000 miles with no problems that have warranted taking it to the dealer. Lots of loose screws, fittings, a bad switch and a few cabinet doors warping. But nothing that the manufacturer did wrong that I could not fix myself. Anyone who has an RV knows that you drive it, and you inspect it, and you fix what you can. The FR customer service people seem to be a lot more on the ball than the local dealers. They sell it then are not that concerned about you after that.,
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Old 09-29-2013, 12:42 PM   #14
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All, I just posted a message concerning issues we are having with our 2013 Georgetown 360XL. They have been on-going for over a year now so hopefully once they are fixed, if they are, we should be out of the woods. Hmmmm - a general question for the coach owners, has anyone checked with Ford dealers in your area to see if they will work on motorhomes? We are having AC issues with the dash unit and can not locate a dealer in SW Louisiana that will work on it because of the size of the unit. Ford warranty service was not much help as the only one they suggested was a couple hundred miles away.
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Old 09-29-2013, 02:02 PM   #15
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I had an A/C problem and finally found a dealer 30 miles away that had a lift that could handle it. It was covered under the Ford warranty.
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Old 10-01-2013, 03:06 PM   #16
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We have a Ford dealer (Fairway Ford - Yorba Linda) that actually has an RV center in the same dealership. They have 8 lifts that will accomodate up to 45 ft and 40,000 lbs.
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Old 10-05-2013, 05:57 PM   #17
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Thanks for the reply. Still no luck in this area with a dealership - the RV is still at the selling dealer. Good luck & God Bless.
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Old 10-05-2013, 10:42 PM   #18
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This kind of crap is whey we always buy "lightly used". Our present rig served its original owners for 8 years, during which they drove it only 12,000 miles and used the generator for 48 hours.

Sure, it's not a Rolls -Royce, but it wasn't a R-R price, either. We've had a few minor problems, mainly related to lack of use during the final two years they owned it. Medical problems resulted in them selling it.

Yeah, it rides like an 11-ton box truck - it IS an 11-ton box truck. The only difference between ours and the ones Ashley Furniture uses, our furniture is bolted down and we have a fridge, a sink and a shower!

I'd much rather spend money on CG fees and gas for our sow's ear than spend it trying to make it into a silk purse that we couldn't afford to use.
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Old 10-06-2013, 07:22 AM   #19
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Quote:
Originally Posted by F and E Damp View Post
This kind of crap is whey we always buy "lightly used". Our present rig served its original owners for 8 years, during which they drove it only 12,000 miles and used the generator for 48 hours.

Sure, it's not a Rolls -Royce, but it wasn't a R-R price, either. We've had a few minor problems, mainly related to lack of use during the final two years they owned it. Medical problems resulted in them selling it.

Yeah, it rides like an 11-ton box truck - it IS an 11-ton box truck. The only difference between ours and the ones Ashley Furniture uses, our furniture is bolted down and we have a fridge, a sink and a shower!

I'd much rather spend money on CG fees and gas for our sow's ear than spend it trying to make it into a silk purse that we couldn't afford to use.
Yeah, but I was the first one to fart in the driver's seat, furniture, and bed!
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Old 10-13-2013, 10:12 AM   #20
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Read all, but you have to admit. $100k + an it comes already broke is rather disheartening, not sure what's worse, this or wondering where the next bed bug going to come from in a motel.... motor on my friends ...
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