Trying to Decide

Ckresmery · 05-29-2017, 03:23 PM

Hi,
We are trying to do some homework on the various manufacturers.
It seems that most people are happy with Forest River.
Am I right or wrong?
I am also thinking of the Jayco brand of travel trailers.
Could use some help.
Thank you

CampingGator · 05-29-2017, 03:38 PM

We are happy with our Forest River Salem Hemisphere. We have had it for two years. We have had some issues, but, truly, our issues have all been as a result of other manufacturers. We have had to replace the air conditioner twice, the TV once, and the radio once. The stabilizer switches were indoor switches. Both eventually malfunctioned and had to be replaced. The slide was a little off track on delivery, but that was easily fixed. Somehow the carpet on the slide had a ripped edging upon delivery, but that was replaced as well. That was due to human error on the part of the dealer or transporter. All of these things were done under our two year warranty. I'm sure that other manufacturers have the same issues. I would purchase another Forest River product in the future, and we probably will when we purchase a fifth wheel after we retire in five or six years.

DreiHunde · 05-29-2017, 03:42 PM

Very happy with our Coachmen.

Ckresmery · 05-29-2017, 03:44 PM

Thank you very much

glsimms · 05-29-2017, 03:59 PM

We are happy with our Coachmen for the most part. Since we purchased our unit in December, we have had it in the dealer for warranty work twice. Would I buy another FR product? Not sure......

**bikendan** · 05-29-2017, 04:01 PM

We had a FR hybrid TT, for over 10 years and loved it.
Just sold it as we bought a new FR TT in March, that we so far are loving.

You do know that Jayco got bought by Thor Industries last year.
So it's no longer a family-owned business.
Many expect that Jayco's quality will suffer as a result.

dblr · 05-29-2017, 05:19 PM

We had a Cedar Creek for around 6 years and it served us well and if needed we had great support from the factory, we just upgraded last year to the new River Stone Legacy. The Cedar Creek Champagne was our next choice.

Igave · 05-29-2017, 05:58 PM

We are happy with our forest river MH. Lotta bang for the buck. Very few issues and those few forest river and freightliner have been excellent in taking care of even though some dealers don't want to work on something they didn't sell. I see a ton of forest river rv's in campgrounds and they all pretty well are having fun. That's the point, seems like. We worked thru it and I think you'll find that with every brand. I've had a couple of comments from a couple of other brand users who condescended ( and made zero apologies for doing so) and felt it their duty to let me know I spent less than they did and they consider it as entry level. Ignorant. We've also had three jayco fifth wheels ( an eagle, designer and the last a pinnacle)!and altogether probably towed them 50k miles and had very few issues and excellent warranty service. I think: find what you like, something that does what you want it to do, do your due diligence in researching and dealing, and go for it. You won't be sorry. We spend 90% of our time worrying about stuff that never happens...

ba964 · 05-29-2017, 08:54 PM

Very happy with Cedar Creek brand. Have had great factory support.

pgandw · 06-02-2017, 07:17 PM

I am happy with my Rockwood A-frame. It does what I expected it to do, and pretty nicely. Quality control is poor due to cheap materials and lack of time/assembly jigs for the workers. Screws that miss the thin wood, sawdust, scratched veneer, and poorly made electrical connections are examples. Despite all that, there were only a few warranty items, and none of those were assembly line issues. They were a propane fitting that was a bad casting internally, the dealer forgot to give me the lock for the door during the PDI, and the outside shower hose connections loosened and leaked after a couple of trips.

The WFCO converter never met its own specs. The poorly-designed Dometic fridge vents need fans to pass enough air for the fridge to work properly. The standard mattress is garbage.

But the above is not unique to Forest River. Quality control seems pretty poor across all manufacturers of pop-ups. My previous pop-up was a Coleman, which was supposedly higher end. In reality, it was no better than our current Rockwood.

Again, I take the flaws in stride because we enjoy our little A-frame so much. It's just that the little things are a throwback to the quality of cars in the 1960s - I've gotten spoiled by today's automotive quality.

Whatever unit you buy, make sure the critical parts are in decent shape. Don't accept the unit unless they are. In the A-frame world, roof panel distortion and/or misalignment is very difficult to fix - and it happens occasionally.

Fred W

Dakota EV · 06-02-2017, 07:30 PM

We are happy with our 2015 Sierra 330rls now. We did have some issues early but Forest River and our dealer were finally able to get things fixed. We have completed a few modifications that have made our 5th wheel even more to our liking. But overall we are happy with the camper.

rockfordroo · 06-02-2017, 08:00 PM

I'm on my second Forest River and I'm pretty happy. A few minor problems I've fixed myself.

Read any complaints you see carefully. There are MANY folks here who complain about Forest River quality because their microwave died or their water heater didn't work. But Forest River did not make those.

No one bad-mouths the builder of their house because their Whirlpool dishwasher died, but they sure seem to do it with Forest River and other RV manufacturers.

spock123 · 06-02-2017, 08:47 PM

Look at all brands, you can find things wrong with all campers. I brought a Wildcat DW says Polecat and then we traded for a Cedar Creek. Both campers made by Forest River, Cedar Creek a great camper, the Wildcat a POS that should have never left the factory. A lot of my friends have Wildcats and love them. Take your time and look for one that fits your budget and this lifestyle. Enjoy camping

HangDiver · 06-02-2017, 10:11 PM

Couldn't be happier with my Forest River Micro-Lite.

LinCarol · 06-03-2017, 10:02 AM

Does anyone own this motorhome and are you satisfied with it? Is the difference in price worth the diesel. Thanks.

sgtlm17 · 06-03-2017, 10:06 AM

I have the Forester and couldn't be happier

510Rick · 06-03-2017, 10:11 AM

I love my little trailer but I hate the way everything is laid out as far as the electrical goes and that type of stuff . I also hate the generic manuals they provide . Why cant they take the time to print model specific manuals? I also hate the cheap ***** chinese tires they come with . Id pay $200 more for my trailer for some good tires . I dont blame FR for this one but why are all the electric awning such flimsy garbage ?

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