New Forest River Park model

Chuckg · 04-13-2008, 07:47 AM

Hi all, We are about to buy a new Forest River Park model to leave on our site in the Pennsylvania. We have heard good and bad things about Forest River products. First question, is there really any difference between a Wildwood trailer and a Cherokee Trailer? Second question, are there really that many quality issues with Forest River Products? This is the first camper we have ever purchased new. Would appreciate any feedback.
Thanks

steveqvs · 04-13-2008, 08:25 AM

We purchased our first TT this past year late in fall. We have only had a few nights in it so far and we pretty much keep it at a seasonal place so we don't move it. But we love it. The build quality was great and we really haven't had any problems with it besides the Cherokee Sticker on the front. Seems the E wants to come off... and our dealer mailed us a new full sticker... I winterized it myself and have not found any surprises in build quality. But like everything else I guess some things can happen on the production line.

steve

NDJollyMon · 04-13-2008, 10:03 AM

Welcome!
I have a Forest River Salem Park Trailer.
I have NO ISSUES with it. Not sure what issues you have come across, but we sure love ours. The quality of this trailer is much better...like NIGHT AND DAY different than our KEYSTONE trailer was.

Chuckg · 04-13-2008, 12:34 PM

Thanks for the feedback. I have heard the Cherokees and Wildwoods have sound system issues, leaky sliders, leaky black water tanks, sliders that get stuck and unresponsive customer service. My salesperson said to me that if I was towing regularly he would suggest spending the the extra 10 to 15% for a Jayco. he feels that once set up and parked that the Forest River would provide just as good of service.

welshman599 · 04-13-2008, 01:21 PM

Probably need a little clarification here, you're looking at a part trailer not a park model.... those are a different beast. FR makes a number of those too, with names like Quailbridge, Summit, etc. I have a Salem Part trailer, 401-2b model. Several differences between the two, with the most noticeable being slide systems vs manual tip out slides. A lot of park models now have pitched roofs and are not accepted in many campgrounds.

We have 0 problems with ours. Park Trailers are typically BIG and would be something to try to tow all over the place, so if that is your plan, maybe a regular travel trailer would be more appropriate, regardless of maker. But if you check around you'll find plenty of complaints about Jayco or just about any manufacturer. My advice is to do a careful pre-delivery check of whatever you choose and pick a dealer with a good reputation... he is the go-between between you and the company.

wildwood · 04-13-2008, 02:35 PM

We just got a wildwood LE 29BHBS. We plan to essentially park it at the beach. We used it for the first time in late March, it was cold, very windy, and rained the entire time we were there. The heater and air worked fine, didnt find any leaks in slides or roof. Not sure about water heater recovery time but this is probably normal, seemed like we didnt have much water.

Cosmetic issues were noticed a bit. The TT quality is ok, not high end, maybe average quality, but we decided to go with this value trailer. It has lots of room, lots of both inside and outside storage, and the layout is excellent. We plan to deal with the minor finish and cosmetic items. As long as the major systems work and we like the layout we are ok. It is important to have a good dealer that will help you after the sale, it is hard to know how they will change after the sale, it is always good to either know their reputation, or have something in writing in the contract if you can. Many dealers dont want to hassle with you after they sell you and you pay, they are defensive about you questioning their internal PDI, and arent very informed on the product, but thats a fact we customers have to deal with at times. something else i have observed is that many dont have a real customer service attitude, i dont know how they expect to stay in business without repeat business. I have had good and bad experiences with dealers. We have had a coachman popup, have a fleetwood HTT, and now a FR TT, they all have been ok and served us well.

Enjoy your new camper , FR makes a lot of campers of good quality, make sure you agree with your dealer contractually that they will go over your PDI with you, many will tell you they do their own, may give you two hours of review/training and say bye bye, make them aware of your expectations.

My recommendation: Spend extra time checking out your dealer, talk with them in detail and try to have them to commit to spending sometime with you to do your own PDI, before you sign any papers. Review the manuals they provided and go over them and your major systems with them. If they say they will do things as part of your deal, have them assign a value so if for some reason they dont follow thru they will conpensate you for it; ie say they promise you to install a ladder and then they discover they cant. Also, find out how well they communicate and will answer questions for you in the future, do they have email answers to your questions you may have, or do you have to keep following up with them. Ask them to give you an estimated time that they will answer your questions via email/telephone.

Hope you enjoy your camper and have a great experience with your dealer, there are some good ones available.

Rockinwood · 04-13-2008, 05:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NDJollyMon

Welcome!
I have a Forest River Salem Park Trailer.
I have NO ISSUES with it. Not sure what issues you have come across, but we sure love ours. The quality of this trailer is much better...like NIGHT AND DAY different than our KEYSTONE trailer was.

I dont have the same trailer , but have a Rockwood Forest River product, and cant agree more with NDjollymon, I to also had a Keystone product, and no comparison in quality that Forest River puts into, the Cabinets are actually hardwood facing and not 100 percent particle board.

rockwood06 · 04-13-2008, 07:02 PM

I have a Forest River TT, it is an 06. I had problems with it the first one after 8 days, with keeping the story short I as able to get another one with in 3 weeks. The 06 I have now, I have had problems with it as well but only after the warrenty was up. I have found that most of the problems are due to poor engineering and quality control. However, I have heard that the park models are a little better and maybe so because they are not towed. Before I bought mine, I checked into there reputation and heard nothing but good things...... I don't know what has happen, but maybe it's my bad luck. I wish you the best. I am going to show you the start of my bad luck.

NDJollyMon · 04-13-2008, 10:43 PM

Rock...hard to tell in the pic....is it delam of the fiberglass?

rockwood06 · 04-14-2008, 04:18 AM

YES IT IS, when I first noticed it, it was about 3" long and heading up wards, it seem like it just came out of no where, by the time my conversation was over between the dealer and the Vic president of Forest River the delam grew to over 18" long and was starting to get wider, this happen with in two day after I first noticed the 3" delam. The dealer was stuck in the middle of this mess, and Forest River was really trying to dance there way out of this one, they did not want to give me a new one, but I Got it any way. I have more pic of the delam problem.

NDJollyMon · 04-14-2008, 06:40 AM

Many Keystone trailers were recently having delam problems as well. It's probably a widespread issue with many brands. My Keystone trailer didn't have any delam issues at all. But, you know what? I'm glad my park trailer is good old aluminum for the most part. (less worries)

SSport · 04-14-2008, 11:00 AM

I have a 2008 Cherokee 39BS...and thus far I love it. Spent the first weekend in it this passed weekend. Hopefully no problems start to appear as time goes on!

Chuckg · 04-15-2008, 06:53 AM

Hi SSport. I am looking at the layout for the Cherokee 39BS. Nice. One of the things I like about Park Trailers from Cherokees are the King beds. So many options with the king bed. We are looking at the 39L. We will decide this weekend. Did your dealer deliver and set-up your trailer for you?

SSport · 04-15-2008, 10:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chuckg

Hi SSport. I am looking at the layout for the Cherokee 39BS. Nice. One of the things I like about Park Trailers from Cherokees are the King beds. So many options with the king bed. We are looking at the 39L. We will decide this weekend. Did your dealer deliver and set-up your trailer for you?

Yep, I got the 39BS with the bunk/dinette combo up front, I love it.

The dealer offered to deliver and set up......for $300

I had a friend tow it for less than half that and we set it up ourselves. You'll save A LOT of money by doing it yourself, unless your dealer is fairly reasonable.

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