Quality of Forest River products - Page 2

MtnGuy · 02-05-2011, 09:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rockwood06

However, i would like to suggest to others, think about this for a minute, if you had the luck like you and i have had and you bought your camper from a dealer that is 100 miles away from where you live instead of a local dealer, there would be a lot of running back forth, because we know that a local dealer does not have to honor the warrenty work unless you bought your camper from them.

My local dealer is close to 100 miles away.

grhodes50 · 02-05-2011, 09:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rockwood06

However, i would like to suggest to others, think about this for a minute, if you had the luck like you and i have had and you bought your camper from a dealer that is 100 miles away from where you live instead of a local dealer,

Once when I mentioned to FR that the long trips to my dealer was adding up, they told me it was my choice to buy from the dealer so far away. I told them to do a dealer search on their web site and check out the results.
At the time, the Rockwood was the trailer I wanted to purchase and the dealer I bought from was the closest that carried the Rockwood line, 180 mile round trip.

I also kind of ran into the problem yvesm mentioned in his post. My former dealer and FR were in litigation, which I found out about after I started having problems with the trailer. The dealership also had dropped the Rockwood line and were selling what remaining units they had on the lot when I bought mine. As I mentioned, I was unaware of this at the time I made my purchase. So I was caught in the middle of all that.
They still sell other FR products.

So you can't always buy where it's convenient and the two way relationship between your dealer and the tt's manufacturer is very important.

rockwood06 · 02-05-2011, 09:52 AM

Chap, but i am sure you have a good rig like most people here on the forum, it's just the unknown and there is no return, some of the problems are too late once they develop, like replacing walls after the bubbles show up on the inside. If you are handy then the small things are nothing to take care of and these thing will happen over time as the camper gets older, and if you can see what is getting ready to happen then it can be stop. Early development of major problems with a rig that is less then two years new makes me wonder much longer my rig will last. I guess when the time comes and it is time to retire it, i will take the roof and walls off of the frame and use it as one h-ll of a utility trailer and deliever firewood to the local campgrounds. Who knows, you may see my red Chevy truck setting on the side of the road we a sign saying " Firewood for sale".......

grhodes50 · 02-05-2011, 09:55 AM

Wade, just wondering. Does your chainsaw have heated handles too?

I appologize to the OP for getting off subject. Just couldn't help myself.
I do believe the subject of this thread is very important and there has been some very good info passed on.
I won't do it again... really.... I promise!

rockwood06 · 02-05-2011, 10:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by grhodes50

Once when I mentioned to FR that the long trips to my dealer was adding up, they told me it was my choice to buy from the dealer so far away. I told them to do a dealer search on their web site and check out the results.
At the time, the Rockwood was the trailer I wanted to purchase and the dealer I bought from was the closest that carried the Rockwood line, 180 mile round trip.

I also kind of ran into the problem yvesm mentioned in his post. My former dealer and FR were in litigation, which I found out about after I started having problems with the trailer. The dealership also had dropped the Rockwood line and were selling what remaining units they had on the lot when I bought mine. As I mentioned, I was unaware of this at the time I made my purchase. So I was caught in the middle of all that.
They still sell other FR products.

So you can't always buy where it's convenient and the two way relationship between your dealer and the tt's manufacturer is very important.

Gary, I agree and understand, this is some thing to consider for those who are just getting into RV'ing, there is a lot to check out before buying and i believe as members here we all are doing a great job on helping everyone out with our own experiences, and you a great point as to why a local dealer may not work for all.

rohlingerrv · 02-05-2011, 10:21 AM

I bought a new Flagsaff 5th wheel last year, and so far we love it and the only problem was the vents would not stay open, come to find out a bad batch of vents were installed on many campers, they were replaced by dealer. Even (knock on wood) our concertone is working great.

Big Dawg · 02-05-2011, 11:04 AM

We have had a popup, hybrid, and now a travel trailer from three different companys. I have joined forums for all three. Some people have no problems with their campers, and others have things that dont work. It's like a car, you need to make sure you take care of it, and maintain it. We have not been disappointed on any of our purchases so far, and dont expect to be on our FR purchase either.

Covfam · 02-05-2011, 11:05 AM

ll be honest i spent the last 6 years looking at every brand of trailer/5th wheel &motorhome that thor industries, forest river, and many other brands like jayco,evergreen/sunnybrook, gulfstream,winnebago,mobile suites,KZ and more.

Of the various forest river products of all types i find them to be much like winnebago products. not quite the best but they are well built and and affordable. ill be honest in our years of looking for trailers and motorhomes.

The ONLY thing bad about forest river's various procts is not the product themselves its the dealers they sell with.

Ive found that in general Born free,Evergreen,kz,Sunnybrook have better dealer networks. dont get me wrong there are good and bad dealer everywhere but ive found alot more slimy salesmen selling the Forest river products than with most others.

Unfortunatly thats an industry wide issue. buying a trailer/motorhome now fells like buying a car did in the 80's before the automotive industry started to regulate themselves and having standards.

Right now any ol slimeball can sell a trailer and has no problem lying through thier teeth let alone they regularly sell products that are dangerous to people. there are a few nice guys that are good dealers, but most dealers will try to sell you the largest most overloaded motorhome/trailer they can fleeece you with regardles of wether you can safely tow/drive it.

MotocrossCamper · 02-05-2011, 11:06 AM

So far we have been in our Sunseeker for 6 months and only one major problem that was easily fixed. The placement of the generator exhaust is almost directly under the living room slideout. We found out the hard way that if the wind is in the right direction the RV will fill up with exhaust fumes and set off the CO detectors. We now carry with us an exhaust extension so I can shoot the fumes to the front, back, or straight up and over.

capucine · 02-05-2011, 04:07 PM

We have a 2011 mini lite 1809s. I have been looking for over a year before I made the decision to buy one. My new trailer is at the factory at this time for water damages repairs. I am looking foward to get it back. It is the perfect trailer for us and our 2009 uplander is pulling it like a breeze . We went to see several brands of the same configuration and I will tell you what made me buy a rockwood versus other brands. First the bed. All the trailers that we have seen had a terrible junky mattres so soft that nobody can sleep on it except your cat. The cabinetry also was one of our decision even if the finish was not perfect they are nicely done. The look of the trailer also was our point of sale. We had 13 trailers over the years and to tell you all of them had their little defects that we learned to accept.

rockwood06 · 02-05-2011, 07:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by grhodes50

Wade, just wondering. Does your chainsaw have heated handles too?

I appologize to the OP for getting off subject. Just couldn't help myself.
I do believe the subject of this thread is very important and there has been some very good info passed on.
I won't do it again... really.... I promise!

Gary,

my chainsaw does not have heated handles, but it does a beer can holder.

...sorry fokes, i appologize as well.

Smokyroo · 02-05-2011, 11:06 PM

I believe the closest Rockwood Dealer to me is also over 100 miles away in South Carolina. I bought(ordered) mine through Tropical RV in Fla. Found them through the internet and they had great pricing. I find the dealer network to be a weak link in all this. Unlike cars and some boats where any dealer takes care of factory warranty stuff, it seems FR has an out here in a way or two in that only the selling dealer is obligated to help.

Warranty work is warranty work in my book I dont get why FR has this policy...I mean what if I lived in one part of the country and moved to another within the warranty period or I had purchased the extended warranty? This makes no sense to me other than to get people to buy local to combat internet pricing. Then again, the internet might keep some dealers honest in their pricing too...

**bikendan** · 02-06-2011, 02:27 AM

Bob, this not a FR policy, but it's an industry-wide dealer policy.

the RV manufacturers can't force their dealers to service anything they didn't sell. it's not like the auto industry.
because RV dealers often sell different brands of manufacturers. they aren't aligned with just one manufacturer.
so they can pick and choose who they service.
we had 2 out of 3 local Roo dealers tell us that if we bought from someone else, they wouldn't service ours.
FR found other FR dealers that were more than happy to do warranty work for us.

i think it's a scare tactic that dealers use so that you'll pay more money to have them service it for you.

Smokyroo · 02-06-2011, 09:16 AM

Ok....Bike, I see where you are coming from, I really do. Good points and I am learning stuff here I never knew. However, the industry is messed up then. I own a Grady White boat as you know. Boat dealers often sell other brands too. The Grady dealer in Columbia, the nearest one to me, sells 4 other boat brands. The dealer in Savannah I bought it from sells Regulator, Carolina Skiff and I think Sea Hunt or some other boat brand.

The marine industry does not "think and operate" like this at all. I think part of it is many shops depend on service, especially in this economy, for their bread and butter. I get my Yammaha outboard serviced at the nearest 5 star tech dealer in Greenvillee, SC...they aren't a Grady dealer at all.

I have not had any major issues with previous campers, so the dealer thing was not all that important to me. So given how the marine industry operates, the RV industry ought to take a look at it. If a producty is under warranty and the manufacturer says they will cover it, what difference does it make who does it?

I could be mistaken, but if you are a Grady dealer part of being a Grady dealer requirement is servicing Grady White boats, not just the ones you sell. It seems to me RV manufacturers could basically make this a condition of carrying their product lines. However, if only FR said this, I suspect dealers would likely freak out and a few might drop them. It would take an industry wide shift to adopt the marine industry model.

Covfam · 02-06-2011, 09:45 AM

smokyroo,

I dont think bikendan is justifying it just stating the situation. and i whole heartedly agree with you. the RV industry as a whole not just FR
is a pretty horrid operation that is just looking to fleece as many people as posible and provide as little support as possible.

its not just the boat and auto industry. look at best buy (i hate that place) they have a geek squad and my computer i bought online i can have serviced there at best buy. my lawn mower bought from woods lawn equipment can be serviced and bought from german hill equipment (who doesnt sell that brand) and you know what? john deere STILL honors the warranty. my rifle purchased online can be worked on by a liscensed gunsmith anywhere and the warranty still covers it if its a warranty issue.

dont get me wrong there are fishy dealers and junk in every industry but the whole RV industry (minus a few individual dealers) is about fleecing as much money out of people and put as many roadblock as possible force those people to get support (so they are forced to buy another one)

Our RV industry is following the Cell phone industry not the Auto/boat/tractor industry

Triguy · 02-06-2011, 09:53 AM

And they won't change the sytem either because there is no incentive for change.

tetsurvivor · 02-06-2011, 10:40 AM

Even though I am having problems with my new rig, it has been in the shop for four weeks now waiting for parts, both Forest River and Equalizer told me they are going to take care of the bill. I have it in an RV repair faciulity that is not on FR's list.

Smokyroo · 02-06-2011, 01:14 PM

Covfam,
I am really naive when it comes to RV industry and meant nothing negative towards Bikendan at all. Yall have opened my eyes a little here. I have never had a big warranty issue like I said with other TTs so for me, it is a no harm no foul kind of experience. Ignorance is bliss and I hope my bliss continues with my Roo when it gets here at the end of month or so

I have had several warranty issues with my boat and every time it was a pleasure dealing with Grady. Their service standard in the marine industry is second to none and perhaps second to none in most other industries too. I think in part because Grady is not a huge company in terms of volume like FR and they have been under private ownership since their begining 52 years ago and under the same owner since 1967.

Happy Super Bowl everyone ... I think I am for the Steelers or maybe I am for the Pack...

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