Forest River Bla Bla Bla

[BigJohnD]

I won't bash nor praise FR. I consider ours just another fast production line product no better than the next one. FR has taken care of us, and that's great, they are a pretty good company, BUT, there is still no excuse for some of the issues. I don't exactly love our unit. I just kind of like it.

[keith_h]

Originally Posted by B47

I'm interested in knowing why you say " Everything you mentioned should have been caught by your dealer."

Why weren't they "caught" at the factory before the unit left the line? The Dealer is the second set of eyes to see/check the unit. Granted some dealers are worse than others when it comes to this area,but the factory should build/install/test their unit to assure that everything is done properly.

Actually numerous studies and real life experience show that quality will never improve dramatically when the manufacturer/developer relies on a third party. When the manufacturing repairs show up as nothing more than a charge it requires a lot of money going out to make a dent in the profit scheme. In fact it can actually be cheaper to repair after the fact than during manufacture. On the other hand catching defects earlier in the process during manufacturing does improve quality. The reason is it becomes more than a monetary loss on a report but also impacts the production line and schedules. These are items are seen very quickly by management and executives as potential revenue loss and additional production cost so get they give them their attention. IMHO the RV industry needs to make these changes but it won't occur until they see it as a customer service issue affecting their sales.

As far as our TT goes. We are generally happy with the unit. Now that we know more we would still be likely to buy the same model. There have been some problems which we expected and did not expect. A couple I attribute to it being a new model. Others are things that are just shoddy workmanship and QC. I think the most frustration part isn't so much the defects themselves but the lack of callbacks/e-mail replies and customer support from the manufacturer. When I have been able to discuss the issues with Palomino the outcomes have been good. I don't think I would see anything different with another RV company as the issues seem to be systemic to the industry. Not to mention they all appear to use the same suppliers so, for example, a slide problem will be a slide problem regardless of who assembled the RV.

[Falcon35]

In our first year they had to replace the four door fridge the two coach battery's + microwave and toilet. All of those could have been in our coach if they would have been assembled buy many other manufacturers. Forest River also replaced our Lippert Steps with Kwike steps at the Frog Rally last year after breaking the main bolt twice. Only the fridge was done by the selling dealer the batteries by a dealer in TX at the request of Forest River the balance at at FR service center in Elkhart.
I have been more then happy with how Forest River has looked after us. If They did build rv's with parts and production standards the way we would like I for one would not be willing to pay the price they would need to get for them.

[dcheatwood]

Rogerhjr. Sorry for your bad experience. No one should have to go thru that. But unfortunately it happens, and in EVERY brand. Check the other forums. That lemon snake rears its ugly head way too often. I hope you haven't lost your love of RV travel thru this trouble. Best of luck. David

[BamaBob]

Originally Posted by B47

I'm interested in knowing why you say " Everything you mentioned should have been caught by your dealer."

Why weren't they "caught" at the factory before the unit left the line? The Dealer is the second set of eyes to see/check the unit. Granted some dealers are worse than others when it comes to this area,but the factory should build/install/test their unit to assure that everything is done properly.

Completely agree with you B47 that these items should have been caught at the factory! (Obviously lean six sigma is not in the vocabulary in some FR product lines).

I made a mention in another thread about different QC standards for different product lines and that got me in trouble so I will leave it at that

Still, the dealer is the person selling you the unit. It seems to me that they would want a good reputation and would comb over the unit to make sure their good name is not sullied. I say this because this is what our dealer told us (they have a PDI TEAM for guys that has the sole job of checking out units before they go on the lot and then walking new owners through a 6+ hour PDI when they pick up their uint.

[B47]

Originally Posted by HSVBamaBob

Completely agree with you B47 that these items should have been caught at the factory! (Obviously lean six sigma is not in the vocabulary in some FR product lines).

I made a mention in another thread about different QC standards for different product lines and that got me in trouble so I will leave it at that

Still, the dealer is the person selling you the unit. It seems to me that they would want a good reputation and would comb over the unit to make sure their good name is not sullied. I say this because this is what our dealer told us (they have a PDI TEAM for guys that has the sole job of checking out units before they go on the lot and then walking new owners through a 6+ hour PDI when they pick up their uint.

You bring up a good point here - that being delivering an quality product to the FR buyer is a joint endeavor between the manufacturer and the dealer. The dealer shouldn't be put in the position of having to correct problems that the manufacturer should have never allowed to happen.

Your dealer has a 6+hour PDI team? WOW

Kind of a off handed comment here, but if I was in charge of QA/QC at FR,I can just about guarantee you that the majority of these out the factory door problems would not exist. Of course I might ask another forum member to assist me.

[BamaBob]

Originally Posted by B47

You bring up a good point here - that being delivering an quality product to the FR buyer is a joint endeavor between the manufacturer and the dealer. The dealer shouldn't be put in the position of having to correct problems that the manufacturer should have never allowed to happen.

Your dealer has a 6+hour PDI team? WOW

Yep and they PDI *every* unit when they come into Dandy and before they are shown to any prospective buyer...

We were amazed (since we had experienced a crap PDI at our Huntsville Local RV Dealer when we bought our TT in 2005.)

Said it before but it bears repeating so folks know how a "Like A Boss" dealership works: Got there and the tech walked us through everything outside...1.5 hours, then inside, another 1.5 hours (included how to operate the entertainment system, switch refer to gas, HWH to electric and change the filter) Then a break for lunch (Pizza - our choice of toppings provided from a local pizza joint that is 7 outta 5 stars good!)

After lunch the tech took us back out to the bay and said close 'er up and get her ready for the road. (Our final test) then we hooked up the truck, dragged the 5er next door to their KOA and set up for the night - all under the watchful eye of the tech. Next morning the tech came by to make sure all was good in the RV world for us!

So, yeah, Dandy RV in Anniston AL rocks!!

Originally Posted by B47

Kind of a off handed comment here, but if I was in charge of QA/QC at FR,I can just about guarantee you that the majority of these out the factory door problems would not exist. Of course I might ask another forum member to assist me.

LOL I am a Lean Six Sigma Black Belt (if any of ya'll know what THAT means LOL) yeah I am somewhat amazed that FR lets some of these horror stories out the door. For SURE if I was in senior QC management some heads would roll!

[BombDoc]

Originally Posted by HSVBamaBob

Yeah, we were amazed (since we had experienced a crap PDI at our Huntsville Local RV Dealer when we bought our TT in 2005.

Said it before but it bears repeating so folks know how a "like a Boss" dealership works: Got there and the tech walked us through everything outside...1.5 hours, then inside, another 1.5 hours (included how to operate the entertainment system and switch refer to gas HWH to electric) The a break for lunch (Pizza - our choice of toppings provided from a local pizza joint that is 7 outta 5 stars good!)

After lunch the tech took s out the bay and had us prep the unit for the road (final test) then we hooked up the truck, dragged the thing next door to their KOA and set up for the night - all under the watchful eye of the tech.

So, yeah, Dandy RV in Anniston AL rocks!!



LOL I am a Lean Six Sigma Black Belt (if any of ya'll know what THAT means LOL) yeah I am somewhat amazed that FR lets some of these horror stories out the door. For SURE if I was in senior QC management so heads would roll!

I know what a black belt is, but I'm just a low yellow belt. Haven't had a higher class since they gave the yellow class two years ago.

[DDC]

LOL I am a Lean Six Sigma Black Belt (if any of ya'll know what THAT means LOL) yeah I am somewhat amazed that FR lets some of these horror stories out the door. For SURE if I was in senior QC management so heads would roll!

I know what you are talking about, the thing that amazed me was how the OP was chastised with such veracity I felt sorry for him.

[BamaBob]

Yeah I got "lucky" (is that right? ) in 2007 when it was all the craze. I went to Green Belt training and then got back, did my project and immediately went on to BB training - going to Germany nixed my MBB class LOL - glad I went to Germany

[roseberryc]

Originally Posted by Weezer

DDC,

kicked? I see others sharing their OWN experiences with FR, which so far are 8 to 1 positive.

YMMV

8to 1 is still too much.

I bought a FR3 2014 in end of June and I can't not use it presently in the midle of July because the bed slide out, the AC and the back camera are not working. The seller is waiting for pieces.

So, one is too much when you got the lemon

[madmaxmutt]

Originally Posted by DDC

I know what you are talking about, the thing that amazed me was how the OP was chastised with such veracity I felt sorry for him.

Exactly, He who lives in a glass house; err ugh, well just wait and see if their next unit is all they dream of.

The guy got a raw deal and apparently no support. Then he gets jumped on for talking negatively about those that put him through it. Did they think he would write a nice, joyous story after all his misery?

[dcheatwood]

Originally Posted by HSVBamaBob

Yep and they PDI *every* unit when they come into Dandy and before they are shown to any prospective buyer...

We were amazed (since we had experienced a crap PDI at our Huntsville Local RV Dealer when we bought our TT in 2005.)

Said it before but it bears repeating so folks know how a "Like A Boss" dealership works: Got there and the tech walked us through everything outside...1.5 hours, then inside, another 1.5 hours (included how to operate the entertainment system, switch refer to gas, HWH to electric and change the filter) Then a break for lunch (Pizza - our choice of toppings provided from a local pizza joint that is 7 outta 5 stars good!)

After lunch the tech took us back out to the bay and said close 'er up and get her ready for the road. (Our final test) then we hooked up the truck, dragged the 5er next door to their KOA and set up for the night - all under the watchful eye of the tech. Next morning the tech came by to make sure all was good in the RV world for us!

That should be the industry standard.

[dcheatwood]

Agreed!

[BillyBass]

I agree with you guys I happy to.If you got a lemon trade it in just like a car

[B and B]

I had a 2703SS that had issues first trip out with a Schwintek in wall slide. I managed to get it out by pulling and having DW run the motor. My dealer rebuilt the slide, it ran in/out like a charm little to no effort. We still had issues and the dealer replaced all harness, motors and controller. I found the harness bad. if it wasn't for a good dealer we would have not bought a 8289WS the very next year. Did we get rid of a lemon, yes, FR even pair some money towards the trade to assist with the loss of faith in their products. All I did was ask.

Is your slide a in wall system? IMHO the schwintek system looks great on paper but not ready for prime time yet. I have heard many a horror story from non Forest River RV owners with same problems.

The second year FR warranty is pretty cheap. We purchased a 7 year warranty on the TT and transferred it to the Fifth Wheel.

[Big Paul]

Originally Posted by madmaxmutt

Exactly, He who lives in a glass house; err ugh, well just wait and see if their next unit is all they dream of.

The guy got a raw deal and apparently no support. Then he gets jumped on for talking negatively about those that put him through it. Did they think he would write a nice, joyous story after all his misery?

X2

[schrederman]

I have to agree with B47... The factory should put out good stuff and check and repair everything before the units leave.

[Weezer]

Originally Posted by madmaxmutt

Exactly, He who lives in a glass house; err ugh, well just wait and see if their next unit is all they dream of.

The guy got a raw deal and apparently no support. Then he gets jumped on for talking negatively about those that put him through it. Did they think he would write a nice, joyous story after all his misery?

My point was/is that I don't SEE anyone kicking or chastising the OP. I (and IMO others) simply related their own experiences.

Yes, I had negative emotions when we had what I considered to be an electrical hazard on our V-Lite (that thread is still located here). BUT, when our dealer and FR came through like gang busters for us I gave appropriate credit to both and moved on. Additionally, by my reporting of that hazard our dealer had at least two more identical units come in with the same problem and were at that time well prepared for the correction. Did those customers see my thread here or did they simply find the problem on their own? Don't know, don't care, just glad they were taken care and glad that our dealer and FR came through for them in the same manner they did for us.

So seriously, who is kicking whom?

[madmaxmutt]

Originally Posted by Weezer

My point was/is that I don't SEE anyone kicking or chastising the OP. I (and IMO others) simply related their own experiences.

Yes, I had negative emotions when we had what I considered to be an electrical hazard on our V-Lite (that thread is still located here). BUT, when our dealer and FR came through like gang busters for us I gave appropriate credit to both and moved on. Additionally, by my reporting of that hazard our dealer had at least two more identical units come in with the same problem and were at that time well prepared for the correction. Did those customers see my thread here or did they simply find the problem on their own? Don't know, don't care, just glad they were taken care and glad that our dealer and FR came through for them in the same manner they did for us.

So seriously, who is kicking whom?

The post wasn't directed at you, but you seem to have taken it that way. Sorry, for that. Flippant responses to those with (what appear to be legitimate) complaints don't seem kind and understanding, they just seem rude. Not all were flippant, but many were and just blew the OP off.