Beware of 2019 Arctic Fox (sorry, Arctic Wolf)

[BigRon]

I purchased a 2019 FR Cherokee Arctic Fox fifth wheel 28drl in January. I used it for the first time this past week. The floor of the main slide out separated from the wall and was falling out by 2-3 inches. On day one! I towed the unit to my dealer and by the time I reached them a cabinet door had fallen off onto the floor and broke. My dealer said they will contact FR since it’s within the warranty period. Please someone tell me that I didn’t just spend a ton of money on a piece of junk? Not sure why the photos are not oriented properly. I can’t rotate them from my phone.
Feeling hopeless right now.

[TheGerman]

I hate to be the bearer of bad news but these kind of issues are very common with the majority of Forest River products. The economy is booming and they are cranking RVs out at a breakneck pace.
As a side note, these trailers are called Arctic Wolf not Arctic Fox. Arctic Fox is a more quality oriented brand by a different manufacturer but I wouldn't put it beyond FR to choose a similar sounding name to confuse consumers.

[bikendan]

Yep, Arctic Fox is made by Northwoods Manufacturing Inc, not Forest River.

[BigRon]

Am I missing something here? FR is who is handling the claim.

[BigRon]

I’m sorry I stand corrected it was late when I wrote the comment it is the Arctic Wolf

[LI Guy]

Originally Posted by BigRon

I’m sorry I stand corrected it was late when I wrote the comment it is the Arctic Wolf

Did you have the slides out during the PDI?

[shadows4]

Originally Posted by TheGerman

I hate to be the bearer of bad news but these kind of issues are very common with the majority of Forest River products. The economy is booming and they are cranking RVs out at a breakneck pace.
As a side note, these trailers are called Arctic Wolf not Arctic Fox. Arctic Fox is a more quality oriented brand by a different manufacturer but I wouldn't put it beyond FR to choose a similar sounding name to confuse consumers.

Do you have any facts to back this up? I doubt it. Yes some units have problems, but the majority of FR products? And all the manufacturers need some quality control. Op'er, remember the squeaky wheel gets the grease. Be firm but nice in telling the dealer or the manufacturer what you want or need. Good luck

[Kimber45]

all new units have a break in period where issues come up, some serious some simple. Yes the rv industry is in boom town building units like crazy. The trick to owning a new unit and working through the break in period is either being handy yourself or having a good dealer with good service to take care of. I was lucky on my last new unit purchase. nothing serious and I kept a punch list and had it all fixed at the end of camping season prior to the warranty ending.

big difference between an artic fox and an artic wolf both in mother nature and the rv world

[Daycruiser]

Originally Posted by BigRon

I purchased a 2019 FR Cherokee Arctic Fox fifth wheel 28drl in January. I used it for the first time this past week. The floor of the main slide out separated from the wall and was falling out by 2-3 inches. On day one! I towed the unit to my dealer and by the time I reached them a cabinet door had fallen off onto the floor and broke. My dealer said they will contact FR since it’s within the warranty period. Please someone tell me that I didn’t just spend a ton of money on a piece of junk? Not sure why the photos are not oriented properly. I can’t rotate them from my phone.
Feeling hopeless right now.

You meant Arctic Wolf not Fox. FR is Wolf, Northwood is Fox. Easy to confuse.

[TheGerman]

Originally Posted by shadows4

Do you have any facts to back this up? I doubt it. Yes some units have problems, but the majority of FR products? And all the manufacturers need some quality control.<snip>

LMGTFY

That's 4000+ hits on this forum alone, and only a fraction of FR owners are members here. While I didn't feel the need to complain, I've found quite a few issues with my trailer that I fixed myself, like a propane line underneath that passed within an inch of the clamp that was supposed to hold it to the frame. Wood and aluminum chips abound, with the occasional screw mixed in, the microwave was not supported in the back and only held on by the flimsy frame in the front.

I should have written "product lines" though, with higher priced motorhome lines being the notable exception from what I gathered.

[dsmiths]

I have purchased two new FR products , a 2011 R Pod RP 172 and our current camper a 2018 Palomino Real Lite 181, neither had any problems before, during or after delivery. Both units had really good fit and finish, no gaps, no leaks , squeeks Period. I did a couple of Mods on them and wiped up some dust but that's it.

[Skip12]

BigRon, was the cabinet that fell out in the slide with the problems. Hopefully all of your problems are localized to the same area.

I second the advice about doing your best to keep healthy conversations going. Also, I would try to have a direct line of communication with Arctic Wolf and not let the dealer always be the go between. If it were me, I'd want the factory to fix something like this.

Good luck and please let the folks on this thread know how things progress.