New 2019 GT5 36b5 delivery *Ugly*

[bclinton]

I would be more concerned with the unseen than the seen. To expect the unseen to be ok when the obvious flaws you can see are ....well...obvious...I would be very concerned.

[MilCop4523]

SAD.... FR lost my business a couple years ago when for the price of 460$ they played tag with my concerns. Actually it was football, as they kicked the crap out of 75 emails back and forth.


when it came to one of their top reps sending me back an email stating _ "not my product" and refused to sign his name /signature block.


best of luck in getting your coach to where you anticipated and expected it to be.

[Thunderbolt 375]

Originally Posted by ICanFixIt

I would agree with Big Vic. With all this basic cosmetic damage that they let it leave the factory with, what do you think it looks like underneath and behind the walls where they know you can't see. Scary. I realize its hard to walk away so you'll need to have full confidence in your dealer.

These manufacturers will not change unless us consumers kick back and cause them pain and profit. Good luck.

This is true. Our thunderbolt 375 amp came in like this and We had to send it back. Even the axle spacing between the tires was wrong. They didn't have all the trim installed throughout the coach. We had a couple of pages that had to be resolved. So we told them that we wasn't going to pay for it. The dealer here said that They would just send it back to Forest River and it wouldn't be charged to them. So I called the Factory and talked to the Head of the Plant CEO and told him we was Very displeased with the workmanship and was returning the RV. He got in touch with the factory manager and sale manager. They contacted us and paid to take it back to the plant to fix all of the discrepancy. It still had issues after that but the dealership took care of them.
I would send it back to the factory.
Hope all goes well.
PS. for they are correct you don't know what is behind the walls and floor.

[upflying]

Maybe your new coach was this one?
http://www.forestriverforums.com/for...er-179896.html

[Cabinfever97]

Originally Posted by Dirt Sifter

I'm with Izzy. Photos and list to the head of GeoTown and FR with good word for the dealer who obviously cares a lot. There is no excuse for a unit that expensive leaving the factory in that condition.

I agree with this. Also maybe see if they will extend the factory warranty to two years. At first I would ask nicely to reassure you they will stand behind this unit. If nice doesn't work then maybe growl a little later in the process. Your dealer seems great so far. Ask if he will ,or has, double checked components he usually doesn't. Axle alignment, slide alignment, furnace install and ducts, HW install, etc. Hopefully FR will compensate him for the extra inspections due to the poor condition at delivery. Be sure to keep us up to date and good luck.

[sunnman]

It’s a shame that happened, it can be frustrating. But look at it this way, you have a good dealer that won’t hand over crap and protect their customers.

[Lifestylers]

If things are that bad visible, what is hidden. I would not walk, but trot are a really fast ass walk....Don't accept junk when in front of your face...

[aztrooper]

With all the obvious problems on the outside where you could easily see it, I would be afraid of the more serious problems where you can't see them. The dealer had the option to refuse it at delivery. I think you would have the option to refuse it now and make them send a new one or go with another manufacturer.

[SunseekerFunseekers]

How does anyone know exactly WHERE the scratches came from?! Not necessarily the manufacturer (but most likely)?! And EddieJ - Don't know if this will make u feel any better, but we had a good 2 hr walk-thru, on our MH, right?! Everything was noted, blah, blah. So, on our 2nd trip, I'm on floor playing w/dogs. I happen to glance @ underside of counter (kitchen) & it is a complete piece of ****! Uneven everywhere & tons of chips & scratches. I call dealer from camp (almost crying) & speak to "Warranty Mgr." Ready for this?!….. She literally says to me, "Oh yeah, I remember your unit, we even took pics of that counter." Followed by, "I'll get you an entire new counter right away!" (like she was doing me a favor)… All I could think was, "Effing seriously - you guys SAW the damage to the point u took pics, yet u STILL put her on the lot, ready for sale?!" Unbelievable... GOOD NEWS is that new counter took only 2.5 wks & the tech did an AMAZING install, way better than the factory did, on any of our counters! Ciao

[Steppenout]

If the workmanship is that poor where everyone can easily see it, think how bad it must be where they don't think anyone will ever see it

[SunseekerFunseekers]

Hi - You stated that Forest River lost your biz a couple of years ago. Just wondering why you subscribe to this forum?

[richardbrucewinquestjr]

Originally Posted by EddieJ

Well our coach came in earlier this week that we ordered from the factory. Dealer called and scheduled our walk thru for March 29th. I was surprised it was going to take that long and asked why as I had planned on doing somethings to it during the cold month of March to have things ready for hitting the sites in April. She said it came in a mess and with a few things missing. I went to see it yesterday, and yeah, what a mess. First off the carelessness of a huge scratch on the door of the fridge, huge scratch on living area TV screen, scratches all over the counter top. There were missing day shades, cracked plastic trims pieces, sinks not caulked, dirty stains on valences.. the list is two full pages. Now I went into buying a coach with eyes wide open. I understand these are all hand built ( I did a factory tour with the rep while ours was being built) and expected some problems here and there. But to see absolute carelessness and damage like that is kind of hard to accept. And when I see some of the work I just ask myself, when did pride in craftsmanship disappear? I guess they hurry to make sure those 8 units go out each day. Now I know the dealer will get things cleaned up but to have to wait for replacement parts from pure carelessness does not sit that well.

Myself the number of issues that came from the factory would be extremely concerning because while these issues can be fixed my thoughts are what about the shoddy workmanship that you cant see that may not be apparent ant will most likely cause problems down the road. Visual is one thing but what may be unseen is unsettling.

[Rick Davidson]

My wife and I purchased a 2017 Coachman Mirada motor home made by Forest River, we have been very pleased with the quality of our MH going on 2 1/2 years now, only two issues and they were taken care of with no problems. There is one thing that bothers me about what I hear on this and other blogs is the rv industry's quality is the lack of quality control, they say you need to study history and keep and know history so you don't repeat it. The automotive industry in the 1970's did the same thing, they were manufacturering automobiles and we're not concerned about the quality, there solution was we will let the dealers fix the problems, not bad but door handles falling off, scratches, one side had GMC logos the other side had Chevrolet and all this lack of quality gave the import's cars a foot hold in the US market, just a note to rv manufacturer's don't think that the US consumers will not buy a product from a foreign country if the quality is better just look at the auto industry, and once they get a foothold here its to late to change. Change Now!!! Just my opinion. P.S. I think that the USA automobile's are the best made in the world today, so I know the RV industry can do it also.

[J Autry]

Originally Posted by doc73

Pride and craftsmanship went out the door when they get paid by the piece and if they hurry can be done work by noon.

My brother, a general contractor, once told me: "If I'd pay them by the hour, they'll take all day. If I'd pay them by the job, they're done before lunch."

[Danshoes]

With what you could see of the lack quality, I would be very concerned about what you can't see. Wiring, tank installation, insulation, slide construction, etc. That stuff has a habit of failing at the worst possible moment.

[Iwannacamp]

It hurts me because of the lack of caring. If I did/sold/produced an item like that where I work I wouldn't get many chances...not counting what the customer might think.

Where is the pride in craftsmanship?

[dustman_stx]

Couple of thoughts-


First- the "safety net" in this country has become WAY too big and WAY too cushy. Very little incentive for people to work and a general lack of morals and decency today lead to poor workmanship.



Second- I think the factories should pay by the job, but they need to keep track of who does what. Anything that has to be redone, the employee isn't paid for. This would seem to incentivize employees to be efficient but also do a good job. This makes a lot of sense, though, so I'm sure there is a law against it.

[EddieJ]

I see lots of people say walk away, but this is a special order and to walk away because of some cosmetic issues caused by carelessness sounds pretty silly. I have been to the dealer a few times and have run thru most of the systems and so far so good. Now they are still getting it prepped and readied ( I did ask that they go over the systems maybe a little more than usual due to delivery condition) for our pickup on Friday, March 29th.

As for the "imagine what you can't see", well that applies to almost every single RV out there. Go on Newmar and Tiffin forums and look at the people with long punch lists just like mine. And that's a half million dollar coach. I definitely like the idea if there are more major problems of approaching Forest River about extending the warranty to 2 years.

As I mentioned, I went into this purchase knowing there will be issues here and there. That's absolutely expected. My dealer has been excellent to this point and the good thing is they are only 10 miles from my home.
Thankfully I am fairly mechanically inclined and take care of most repairs myself as well.

Thank you, everyone, for your input and helping my "Rant".

[EddieJ]

Originally Posted by Rick Davidson

My wife and I purchased a 2017 Coachman Mirada motor home made by Forest River, we have been very pleased with the quality of our MH going on 2 1/2 years now, only two issues and they were taken care of with no problems. There is one thing that bothers me about what I hear on this and other blogs is the rv industry's quality is the lack of quality control, they say you need to study history and keep and know history so you don't repeat it. The automotive industry in the 1970's did the same thing, they were manufacturering automobiles and we're not concerned about the quality, there solution was we will let the dealers fix the problems, not bad but door handles falling off, scratches, one side had GMC logos the other side had Chevrolet and all this lack of quality gave the import's cars a foot hold in the US market, just a note to rv manufacturer's don't think that the US consumers will not buy a product from a foreign country if the quality is better just look at the auto industry, and once they get a foothold here its to late to change. Change Now!!! Just my opinion. P.S. I think that the USA automobile's are the best made in the world today, so I know the RV industry can do it also.

The biggest difference is that automobiles are mainly built by robots and they make like what, 100,000 of the same model? RVs are all hand built and the same production line builds many different sizes and floorplans. We can never expect the same quality of an automobile in an RV. Well maybe in a Prevost conversion where you spend 2.5 Million and the conversion company produces like 20 a year.

[doc73]

Originally Posted by J Autry

My brother, a general contractor, once told me: "If I'd pay them by the hour, they'll take all day. If I'd pay them by the job, they're done before lunch."

Also from a construction background, I agree with your brother. But there is still also a limit to that thinking. Once it is found to be causing quality issues it needs to be dialed back.