Quality control? No Way!

[ltypd]

Picked up my brand new 373 last wednesday (10-12). The dealers PDI revealed the air mattress to be defective (doesn't inflate), one of the cabinet drawer guides to be broken and the grip tape on the steps to be damaged. Upon leaving the dealership enroute to home (400 miles away), the drivers side wiper began flopping around. I later learned the wiper "transmission" was stripped and had to be replaced. Upon arriving home, I ran the shower and found a leak coming from the hot water line. Can't set the clock or change bands on radio, "check tuner" message flashed on screen. My plans for my vacation were cancelled and after driving 90 miles to my "local" dealer, the parts have been "expedited" and should be available on Friday. Unfortunately, my dealer cant do the work until next Tuesday. By the time this is all finished I shoud be ready to winterize. This coach should have never left the factory in this condition. I have been in contact with Mike Burns at FR and am waiting his response. No joy in Mudville!

[ltypd]

Gosh, I forgot something. When you run the kitchen faucet, the water backs up through the shower. This happened when both grey and black tranks were EMPTY!

[f1100turbo]

Sounds to me like the dealer should have caught all these issues before you took it.

[cfsoistman]

Know the feeling all too well. Fixed most of the little things myself. Had to take it back to the dealer for the bigger items. Bad radio, missing counter extension and various other items. They had it 10 weeks and still didn't complete the list. I had to take it back again, a month after picking it up, once the counter extension finally showed up. 252 miles round trip-twice. At 8 MPG, it cost me a small fortune to get fixed what should have been taken care of before I picked up the coach. I still ended up running new coaxial cable from the rear to the front because the cable installed by FR was broke somewhere and had no picture on the rear TV. I ran a cable across the floor and connected it and got a picture so I knew the cable was bad. I informed the dealer about this prior to the second trip and they basically didn't do anything about it. Frustrating to think about how much you spend but it doesn't matter who the manufacturer is, they're all the same. Build it, get it to the dealer, then the customer does all of the QC Checks to find all the problems. We have two receptacles in the bedroom next to the bed. One worked, one did not. Upon opening the access panel under the bed, found the wire ran into a 1900 box but it was never connected. I understand it's a complicated item with lots of features but checking for water leaks, Reception on each TV and making sure all receptacles are wired should be a part of someone's responsibilty, not the customer's.

[camperou812]

Wow, really feel for you all. Must be really disappointing to be excited bout a new RV and having vacation plans canceled. Not to mention the added expense in time and money. We considered a new TT but decided on a slightly used one because of issues just like you state with a new one. Thought was that hopefully the originally owner had solved or checked out any QC issues. Good luck with yours, hopefully once its all fixed and you get joy in Mudville. Be interesting to hear how FR responds to the problems.

[Boyd]

I purchased a new Forrest River Class C product that was so shoddily constructed I can only wonder where the hands-on workers came from and where management was hiding when this unit was being built.

Not too far in the past we saw what happened to the U.S. auto industry because of lousy quality control and the "Caveat emptor" attitude toward customers.

From my little corner of the world I see the RV industry caught in an economic downturn and scrambling to stay afloat by sacrificing quality and customer care.

It's not often I wish to be shown my error, this is one of those times.

[trudinator]

I can't help but wonder why your dealer didn't find these items prior to your picking up the unit. And didn't you have an in-depth walk through to make sure everything worked prior to taking it home? We spent just about three hours at our dealership going over everything before making the trip home. We've had our Rockwood TT for five months and have had it back to the dealership ONCE to look at a small issue. I'd give your dealer a big "thumbs down."

[f1100turbo]

I guess from my point of view the dealer is the factories second line of defense.
if the dealer was doing what there supposed to do they should have caught these issues.
then your walk through is there third line of defense.
time should have been taken to kick the tires and twist knobs and flick switches.
I know your not happy and I wouldn't be either but forest river shouldn't be 100% kicked to the ground for all the issues.
I hope all get fixed and you love your camper..
Then tell us how great your trips are!
Have fun!

[F and E Damp]

The more I read, the less likely am I EVER to buy a new rig. Unfortunately, the RV industry hasn't caught on to the concept that, if the engineering is good quality, the manufacturing plan is good quality and the employees are properly trained, the resulting product will be good quality.

I remember doing a course at Boeing when post-production inspection was being discussed. One of the instructors said "Post-production inspection can't fix poor design. A perfectly built, zero defects Ford Pinto is STILL a Pinto!"

[Boyd]

Originally Posted by f1100turbo

I guess from my point of view the dealer is the factories second line of defense.
if the dealer was doing what there supposed to do they should have caught these issues.
then your walk through is there third line of defense.
time should have been taken to kick the tires and twist knobs and flick switches.
I know your not happy and I wouldn't be either but forest river shouldn't be 100% kicked to the ground for all the issues.
I hope all get fixed and you love your camper..
Then tell us how great your trips are!
Have fun!

Turbo, you are "Point-on," dealers need to bear a degree of responsibily before taking the cash and letting a unit leave their lot. I respectfully disagree that the consumer accept the burdon of inept and clumsy craftmanship during a "walk-through."

I consider myself fairly knowledgeable in construction matters but *assumed* (We all know where assumed takes us) plunking down $60K insured an acceptable product. It didn't and I lost, my bad. I think of those first time buyers (me) that are unaware of potential problems and then strugle to have them repaired. Coordinating repairs, cost of travel to the dealer and loss of their RV during repairs can become a nightmare.

Looking at it from business standpoint, I would think a company would want to MAKE SURE when their product landed in the hands of a consumer in was in tip-top working condition.

I.E. In our day and age of instant communication, I wonder how many potential RV buyers have been turned-off of a particular manufacture by negative comments posted on the internet.

Maybe I'm just of the old school where product quality and customer care mattered.