Oh No, not my new RV, HELP - Need Advice PLEASE!

[bob34787]

well he was still there on the 7th of November, as I was speaking to him about my trip and he did not indicate he was planning to move on.

[tomcamper]

Private sale, $700 for 9 year old Honda 1000 genny. Used 10 times dry camping first 2years then sitting around unused for past 7. They would start it a few times each year. They say it works fine with no problems. Have to drive two and a half hours to see/buy. CAnadian funds. What do you smart genny types think and what should I be looking for? That is the genny I want for dry camping no AC. Your advice/comments appreciated. Thanks, tomcamper.

[tomcamper]

That is a 2000 genny sorry. How do I start a new thread instead of horning on someone else's?

[Dave_Monica]

Originally Posted by tomcamper

That is a 2000 genny sorry. How do I start a new thread instead of horning on someone else's?

Go to the forums section of the site.
Find the appropriate section that your posting belongs in...in your class the classifieds.
Click on the new post button and type in your posting.

Dave

[Chasracer]

And now back to our regularly scheduled program.....

After reading through this material and owning my rig for a few years now, I think there are two things that come to mind. One and however you say it, FR units are an entry level motorhome. I liked mine because the floor layout was different, the options were decent and the price was right. I had owned for a very short time an older unit that we never really did anything with so I basically had zip for experience. If I had known what I know now, I either would have purchased a better unit or none at all. There isn't hardly a day that goes by that I don't learn something about mine. And while most issues are rather minor at this point, I don't think you have any business buying one of these if you are not a basic handyman or DIY type person. In other words, the person that can't change the oil on their family car should just forget it. The original complaint here was that they noticed a leak somewhere forward of the ac unit near the vent. What were you thinking? Roof leaks are akin to total destruction for an RV. If you can't get it in right away to be repaired at least spend $30 for a plastic tarp to put over it until you can. Did you think the leak was going away by itself? Sorry to be so hard about it, but I am on the roof of mine several times a year checking the sealant, making sure nothing has been broken and so forth. Oh and just in case you don't already know it, those plastic vents and caps on the roof - it only takes a few years in the sun for those items to simply fall apart. If you can't or don't know how to replace them, you're going to have a mess on your hands. Bottom line to me is you had better be a rather decent mechanic, electrician, plumber, roofer, appliance repairman and janitor to own of these babies or have the wad of money to pay them. 'Nuff said!

[nemo45]

Entry level, mid level, or high end, they all have their problems. So, I'd suggest you'd better be pretty handy before you buy any type of RV, more so with a motorhome because you've got the engine and chassis to deal with. Otherwise you'll be paying someone else to repair things once its out of warranty. Structure problems caused by leaks etc., I think should only be handled by the factory. A friend of mine had a Winnebago Adventurer, which I would consider a mid level gasser, before he purchased his 2011 378TS and he said he had just as many if not more problems with that as he's had with his Georgetown. Besides, I would consider the Georgetown VE series to be entry level and the Georgetowns with the full body paint to lean toward the mid level. Maybe not even with a Winnebago, Tiffin or Newmar gasser, but near there.

[bob34787]

well folks, after a few emails and a call, all of which went unanswered , I think Mike might be gone. He never ignored my emails before so I assume he has moved on, too bad he was a nice guy.

[georgetown]

Originally Posted by Chasracer

And now back to our regularly scheduled program.....

After reading through this material and owning my rig for a few years now, I think there are two things that come to mind. One and however you say it, FR units are an entry level motorhome. I liked mine because the floor layout was different, the options were decent and the price was right. I had owned for a very short time an older unit that we never really did anything with so I basically had zip for experience. If I had known what I know now, I either would have purchased a better unit or none at all. There isn't hardly a day that goes by that I don't learn something about mine. And while most issues are rather minor at this point, I don't think you have any business buying one of these if you are not a basic handyman or DIY type person. In other words, the person that can't change the oil on their family car should just forget it. The original complaint here was that they noticed a leak somewhere forward of the ac unit near the vent. What were you thinking? Roof leaks are akin to total destruction for an RV. If you can't get it in right away to be repaired at least spend $30 for a plastic tarp to put over it until you can. Did you think the leak was going away by itself? Sorry to be so hard about it, but I am on the roof of mine several times a year checking the sealant, making sure nothing has been broken and so forth. Oh and just in case you don't already know it, those plastic vents and caps on the roof - it only takes a few years in the sun for those items to simply fall apart. If you can't or don't know how to replace them, you're going to have a mess on your hands. Bottom line to me is you had better be a rather decent mechanic, electrician, plumber, roofer, appliance repairman and janitor to own of these babies or have the wad of money to pay them. 'Nuff said!

Well let's see, I have custom built my own house, did all plumbing, electrical, framing, etc. myself, all of which passed proper inspections. Also helped friends with their construction projects, all of which passed proper inspections. I build computers and repair them. I also am a licensed class A mechanic for cars and also class A licensed for buses and diesel trucks. I think i am quite capable of fixing anything that goes wrong with my RV and I have fixed anything that has gone wrong with it, I don't trust my dealer.

My problem is not what went wrong it's when and with so little mileage and use. It just should not happen. For others that are having issues with their units, again they just should happen. Maybe 5 years down the road, but some of these problems are on practically new units. If it was your car with a similar problem, and you only had it the same short time, what would you say if you got the same reply as some of us got from Forest River?

Sorry for the rant, but I feel the warranty on these rigs should be re-written.

Just seems that during the one year warranty period a rig may gets what a few weeks to maybe a couple months total use, the rest of the time it sits not being used while the warranty expires. A car gets used almost everyday of its warranty period. The rig can sit in a dealers lot for 6 months with no warranty lost, but the second you buy it the warranty starts ticking away and if it sits in your driveway for 6 months before you use it for the first time you just lost 6 months warranty. There is something wrong with that picture.

[BigRed]

I have to agree with you on that note. A one year warranty and if your lucky 2-years. ( I know you cam purchase the 2nd year for $125). And only using it a couple months at the most? Kind of crazy when you think about it! Just say in' !

[georgetown]

Forest River does not have the extended warranty for the extra year available for motorhomes only their other RVs. Funny how Ford can warranty the chassis/drive train for 5 years, but the rest of the unit can fall apart and I guess you're on your own.

I think if the car dealers did the same on new vehicles and only warrantied the chassis/drive train and not the rest of the car, i don't think we would tolerate it as much.

I think the RV industry gets away with it, just because it's an RV (recreational vehicle) and not our everyday vehicle we depend on daily.

Hmmm, so i guess that means that it's OK to be fixing our RV instead of enjoying recreation time we should have in it???.

For what we pay for these rigs, it, too bad there wasn't a way to somehow get them to have to change the warranty policy for these rigs to something that makes sense.

[capucine]

georgetown: this can be added also for warranty. If your trailer has to be sent for warranty work repairs ( mine was gone for almost 3 months ) than the warranty period should be extended for the unused time your trailer was at the factory for warranty work. It is not the case!!!!

[georgetown]

Originally Posted by capucine

georgetown: this can be added also for warranty. If your trailer has to be sent for warranty work repairs ( mine was gone for almost 3 months ) than the warranty period should be extended for the unused time your trailer was at the factory for warranty work. It is not the case!!!!

Totally agree.
There should be a way to get these warranty policies changed.
We need something like an "RV union" to fight for us?

[Chasracer]

I can't disagree with the thoughts on the warranty issue, and rather than time it should be set to a mileage number - period.

My biggest issue with the warranty stuff that I did get fixed was having to go back and check their work and/or fix it again. I hate to beat up on RV mechanics but my assumption is that they are paid by the job so the more jobs they do the better their paycheck looks. From what repairs I have see, it is always the easy way out - not always the proper fix. And the quality of components used on these RVs is questionable too. My DVD has to be the pickiest in the world, that DVD movie is okay, this one isn't and they both can be brand new out of the box. I have replaced the gear drive in the antenna (nope - didn't hit it - it just broke one day), all of the vent covers, caps on the vent pipes, one marker light, fresh water pump, dash was replaced under warranty - cracked, one a/c unit and rebuilt the ladder with some new parts. Repairs have included the genset, the base of the main bed, shower drain and spray head, main TV mounting, CO2 detector, faucet set in kitchen, mirrored splash area, slide-out top mounted holders, basement locks, both house batteries and various bulbs, loose panels, trim, etc. Right now on my list is the driver's chair that is loose and the edge on the dinette table fell off. My rig will be officially 5 years old this coming January and has 8500 miles on it.

[semlohde]

After reading, and reading I guess my new 2012 356RL is doing pretty good. I'm taking it back for the 3rd try to get the black water valve to work Monday - it's a month old. This thing isn't fun to tow back but at least it's just 45 miles! The mechs are good guys, I think just over their heads but it sure "seems to me" hooking up plastic and a valve wouldn't be that hard and I don't get in there because - it's under warranty I called another RV repair shop and of course got - you didn't purchase from us so we don't know when we could get you in. And then got, and here's my question, if someone else has worked on it under warranty we can't do it - under warranty. You'll have to pay for it. WHAT?! Why wouldn't warranty work be honored anywhere especially if someone else worked on it. Well, I see SO many others having problems but this past week a higher level 5th wheel at Enid,MS has it's slides leaking bad. Made me feel a little better. Hope all had a GREAT THANKSGIVING, and at least my dealer is trying to be right with me. ed

[JDickson]

Hi to everyone and good luck with whatever problems you may be having with your motorhome.
I may be jumping on this band wagon a little late but I too had a very serious roof leak which caused a lot of damage.
I first sent Mr. Burns e-mails of my problem, I also sent photo's of the damage and the roof where I thought it was leaking from. I took a lot of pictures of inside and out and sent them all to him.
He was very polite and set a date to take it back to the factory for repairs.
They said it would take several weeks for repairs but when we got there and I told them we rented a motel room a would wait for them to get it done, they had it fixed in a week.
They did an outstanding job on the repairs, They kept us posted on their progress and we check in on it 2 or 3 times to make sure what needed to be fixed got fixed.
They however did not pay for our room or meals or travel exp. However I was just glad to have my RV back to the way it looked when I bought it.
I know any RV shop would have cost an arm aand a leg to do what they did.
Oh I forgot to yell you our unit was out of warranty, but the leak was caused by a loose awning screw so they offer to repair it, so I jumped on it.
Also I may be able to shed some light on why these things come with so many problems.
When we were there we took the factory tour and these things are built by piece workers. Meaning they get paid by how may units they can turn out, NOT how well they are built.
Our 2008 GeorgeTown XL 378 is fine and we enjoy it very much.
And I do agree that these are entry level units but you do get a lot of Bang for the Buck.
With the amount of problems these things come with it no wonder they try to avoid as many people as they can. It's up to you to make them do what is right anyway you can.
GOOD LUCK
Joe

[semlohde]

That was a good story and I'm glad you got so much repaired at the factory. I'm sure my black water drain is so butchered it'll have to be repaired by another dealer - at my cost. I regret getting my 356rl and sure wish the factory had this back for a full drain repair! I'm supposed to take it back Monday morning for the 3rd time but the forecast is snow overnight - they do the repairs in their parking lot, no heated buildings. ed

[louis cherry]

Mike Stump of Forest River told me they had the best workers in the RV industry and they checked every coach. As far as a entry level,I bought a ENTRY LEVEL F 350 and Ford stood behind it at all times.

[nemo45]

Originally Posted by louis cherry

Mike Stump of Forest River told me they had the best workers in the RV industry and they checked every coach. As far as a entry level,I bought a ENTRY LEVEL F 350 and Ford stood behind it at all times.

I wish you'd get off the bandwagon. Its over! You don't even have the unit you've been whinning about ever since I got on this forum a year and a half ago.

[we2lovecamping]

I agree! Get over it!