Forest River's new website...

[taken]

I haven't seen anyone post on this and apologize if it's been covered. FR recently revamped it's website which was all fine and good but a huge improvement in customer service is they are now providing contact info. Each line has contact phone numbers and email addresses which were previously very hard to find or unavailable. Thumbs up FR for making yourself accessible!

[KDHfan]

Was just checking out the new website tonight. I like it.


2015 Coachmen Apex 288BHS
2014 Toyota Tundra 5.7L CrewMax

Sent from my iPad using Forest River Forums

[Gilm2113]

That website is a great improvement. They incorporated a lot of the things people have asked for.
I was impressed with the ice fishing shacks they make!

[Old car]

Sabre is a Palomino fifth wheel which is part of Forest River. Wonder why it isn't on the new website?

[Oakman]

Originally Posted by Old car

Sabre is a Palomino fifth wheel which is part of Forest River. Wonder why it isn't on the new website?

Go to Forestriverinc.com, click on recreational line, click on RVS, and then scroll down to Palomino. Voila, you found it.

[Old car]

Hey Bob, how are you doing? Happy New Year! We must be getting different pages because I am not getting anything with "recreation line". Everything I see has the campers broken down by category: travel trailer, fifth wheel, etc. No Palomino on the fifth wheel tab.

[F.R.O.G.]

Here's a link to another thread with more information about the new website:

http://www.forestriverforums.com/for...age-73399.html

[F.R.O.G.]

Originally Posted by Old car

Hey Bob, how are you doing? Happy New Year! We must be getting different pages because I am not getting anything with "recreation line". Everything I see has the campers broken down by category: travel trailer, fifth wheel, etc. No Palomino on the fifth wheel tab.

Old Car, even though they're Forest River Divisions, Coachmen, Dynamax, Palomino, Prime Time, and Shasta have their own websites and are not included on the "Contact Information" on the new Forest River RV site.

As noted in the link in the previous post, you can go to their websites for contacts. Take a look at the thread linked here:

http://www.forestriverforums.com/for...age-73399.html

[bikendan]

Palomino, along with the ones mentioned by Bob, were recent acquisitions during the recessions and not original FR brands.
that's why they are on the FR corporate website but not the FR division website.

[RLHAMILTON]

Just checked out the new website. Agree great improvement. Thanks folks.

[ependydad]

Originally Posted by F.R.O.G.

Old Car, even though they're Forest River Divisions, Coachmen, Dynamax, Palomino, Prime Time, and Shasta have their own websites and are not included on the "Contact Information" on the new Forest River RV site.

As noted in the link in the previous post, you can go to their websites for contacts. Take a look at the thread linked here:

http://www.forestriverforums.com/for...age-73399.html

If you don't mind sharing this with the website staff--

As a consumer and end user, I'm not positive that this makes sense. I shouldn't have to know which brands were purchased when and which brands have their own web site to be able to get to a contact page. For this new FR Contact Us page, couldn't it just as easily link to the Palomino contact us page?

[Oakman]

Originally Posted by ependydad

If you don't mind sharing this with the website staff--

As a consumer and end user, I'm not positive that this makes sense. I shouldn't have to know which brands were purchased when and which brands have their own web site to be able to get to a contact page. For this new FR Contact Us page, couldn't it just as easily link to the Palomino contact us page?

For all intents and purposes FR does provide a link to the Palomino contact page. If you read my previous post where I mention clicking on Forest River, instead you would scroll to Palomino and click on that link and their contact us button is at the top of the page.

[ependydad]

Originally Posted by Oakman

For all intents and purposes FR does provide a link to the Palomino contact page. If you read my previous post where I mention clicking on Forest River, instead you would scroll to Palomino and click on that link and their contact us button is at the top of the page.

Following your steps, I was able to locate Palomino. But, I'll be honest- as I poked around a little bit earlier this morning, I started at the new Contact Us page and wasn't able to locate Palomino:
Forest River RV Contact Us - Forest River, Inc.

From this page, you cannot find Palomino in the list (as indicated above). Nor can you find it if you click on "RVS" in the navigation bar at the top. Even clicking the "Home" button didn't take me to it. It only works if I type in www.forestriverinc.com to my browser directly.

While FR does provide the link to the Palomino-specific contact page, you have to know how to find it AND it apparently matters where you start from. From a user experience, that's just not intuitive.

At the end of the day, regardless of when the brand was acquired or if they have their own web site + contact page- if there is a single "Forest River"-wide contact page, all brands should be represented.

[Oakman]

Perhaps they did it this way to keep the Forest River specific products apart from the other companies they now own.

Personally if I wanted to contact someone about a Sabre or other Palomino product I wouldn’t even bother with the Forest River corporate website but instead go directly to the Palomino website. I would do the same thing for Coachmen, Prime Time, Shasta, and Dynamax. They all have their own specific websites with information about their specific products. Perhaps it has something to do with autonomy for the companies FR bought out.

[bikendan]

the problem is that most people go to the FR-specific product website first, instead of their corporate website.

Thor Industries does the same thing. you have to go to their corporate website to see their divisions.
the difference is that there is no line of Thor RV's, like FR has. just the Thor Motorcoaches.
it's like going to Thor's Motorhome home website and complaining that there no links to Keystone, Airstream, Crossroads, Dutchmen, Heartland, KZ and Livin' Lite divisions of Thor.

[ependydad]

Originally Posted by bikendan

the problem is that most people go to the FR-specific product website first, instead of their corporate website.

Actually, from the ability to contact a company- this isn't a problem.

Originally Posted by bikendan

Thor Industries does the same thing. you have to go to their corporate website to see their divisions.
the difference is that there is no line of Thor RV's, like FR has. just the Thor Motorcoaches.
it's like going to Thor's Motorhome home website and complaining that there no links to Keystone, Airstream, Crossroads, Dutchmen, Heartland, KZ and Livin' Lite divisions of Thor.

I honestly don't know Thor at all. My issue at hand is that FR has some brands listed on portions of their site but not all. Unless you know there is a product-specific web site, you're left scratching your head.

[KDHfan]

Just my opinion, but I'd say leaving our brands off the list could be for many reasons.
My first guess would be because of legal jargon when the acquisition occurred. Owned by FR but separate from. It would explain why I was not able to purchase the second year warranty on my Coachman.
My second guess, and less likely, would be from a purely marketing stand point. FR felt these brand names stand strong enough on their own than under the FR name.
It could also just be timing... And that they will eventually find themselves being recognized as a member of the FR family.
Just my opinions... Doldrums of winter are here... Need something to pass the time... Might as well talk about something I know nothing about 😉


2015 Coachmen Apex 288BHS
2014 Toyota Tundra 5.7L CrewMax

Sent from my iPad using Forest River Forums

[Oakman]

Originally Posted by ependydad

Actually, from the ability to contact a company- this isn't a problem.

I honestly don't know Thor at all. My issue at hand is that FR has some brands listed on portions of their site but not all. Unless you know there is a product-specific web site, you're left scratching your head.

I think you’re arguing for the sake of argument Doug. If you Google Sabre, Canyon Cat, Puma, Columbus, etc. you will find the Palomino website is returned, not Forest River. It’s pretty easy to find the website for any RV manufacturer. Google Brookstone RV and the Coachmen website is returned, not FR. I don’t think anyone would be left scratching their head.

The brands listed under Forest River are the original brands FR owned before they began buying out other companies. For all I know FR corporate might consider Forest River RV a separate division. As I said, Forest River Inc. does provide a link to all the other companies and their specific brands.

[Oakman]

Maybe Pete Liegl will be at the Goshen rally this year and we can get the low down on this right from the horses mouth...so to speak.

[ependydad]

I really don't mean to be arguing for the sake of it, and really- this is the wrong thread for this discussion. The "Forest River's Contact Page" is likely the right one. I just disagree with the usability of this.

To what Dan was saying about Thor, I think the corresponding thought is: I'm not looking for "Sabre" to be listed, but I am looking for "Palomino". Much like the forums here on FRF are listed.

I'd be curious from FROG Bob as to the actual reasoning. Is it a matter of the timing of acquisitions? Are they considered separate entities? Does it simply have to do with a brand having its own website?