Would you buy forest river again if you had it to do over again?

[hrlyguy2]

I'm second guessing this now.
Been having alot of issues over 2 years.

[RKR]

Don't know. Looking to upgrade this off season. Going to check out in detail FR's upscale models and some lightly used DRV's. Not looking for all the bells and whistles. Just looking for quality, frame, suspension , exterior , roof , furniture, appliances, utilities, etc. The salesman said that the one I have now is not for full timing. After one year of ownership he wasn't kidding. It's been good to us but I couldn't imagine it lasting if we lived in it. I'm getting out of it what I paid for it.
I need a full time rig to have a part time rig that will last over the years. If I can't find a good FR product then we will try and find a lightly used DRV.


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[dave961]

I bought mine based on the floor plan, it had little to do with Forest River. However, they have the most models and widest variety of floor plans, so chances are... yes, I would. I'm pretty sure to stay competitive, they don't overpay their work force. Therefore you will always have some units better made than others, like cars. In my opinion, fixing a travel trailer is easier than fixing a car you have to use every day. May be different for those quarter million dollar coaches.

[WJC]

I would not buy another primetime! I might look at other forestriver products but after the problems we had with our tracer my wife will not look at another trailers or do any more camping!

[williamsju]

We purchased a new 2015 328 Georgetown triple slide in July 2014. It has been in the shop three times since then with lists of problems. Each time I carry it back to Camping World Fayetteville, NC. I have to drive over 200 miles and gas isn't cheap. The inspector who put his stamp saying Ok to ship should be fired. I have to admit that they have fixed most of the problems but now the invertor has quit working. I don't think I would recommend any Georgetown Class A to anyone. We went from an Outback 298RE to the Georgetown and I wish I had it back.

[donanddona]

I do believe the voting is skewed. The full timers should be allowed two votes!

[RSchleder]

We currently own a wildcat 24RG that we bought in April of this year. We live in Iowa and keep the Wildcat in Seattle where we spend 2-3 months a year. Do we like our Wildcat---Oh YEAH! So much so, we'll be buying a second one, a 28RKX next Spring to keep down South where we winter for 3-5 months each year to get out of "sunny Iowa" during those not so nice months!
That's the very best recommendation I can give, not only would I buy a second Forest River product, I definitely WILL very soon!!!

[harderd]

I have never purchased a FR product. I joined the forum b/c I have a 2007 Coachman toy hauler. Having read quite a bit on this forum I would be leary of purchasing anything from FR.

They definatley have quality issues. Now I also noticed quit a bit of these issue stem from Lippert products which seem to be the largest company supplying the RV industry. However, it is still FRs responsibility to control their suppliers which they seem to have problems with.

I am sure that other manufactures use the same suppliers and may also have some of the issues but if they do a better job of incoming inspection and sort out the issues and also controlling the suppliers then they would have a better product and less warranty issues.

I do not have any data to compare but you can bet your sweet bippie that I would investigate the KPIs before making a purchase and perform a thorough inspection before signing anything.

I would like to see what KPIs FR tracks and what the KPIs are. I would also like to see this from the other manufactures. That will tell the real story. A breakdown of warranty claims also. That will tell you what problems to look for and what supplier has the most issues.

[OldCoot]

Originally Posted by harderd

I have never purchased a FR product. I joined the forum b/c I have a 2007 Coachman toy hauler. Having read quite a bit on this forum I would be leary of purchasing anything from FR...I would like to see what KPIs FR tracks and what the KPIs are...

You better hope you don't grow tired of your present trailer because you will encounter the exact same problems with all other manufacturers, even the $1,000,000 Prevosts have problems.

Don't know what a KPI is, so can't comment.

[TURBS]

Originally Posted by harderd

I have never purchased a FR product. I joined the forum b/c I have a 2007 Coachman toy hauler. Having read quite a bit on this forum I would be leary of purchasing anything from FR.

They definatley have quality issues. Now I also noticed quit a bit of these issue stem from Lippert products which seem to be the largest company supplying the RV industry. However, it is still FRs responsibility to control their suppliers which they seem to have problems with.

I am sure that other manufactures use the same suppliers and may also have some of the issues but if they do a better job of incoming inspection and sort out the issues and also controlling the suppliers then they would have a better product and less warranty issues.

I do not have any data to compare but you can bet your sweet bippie that I would investigate the KPIs before making a purchase and perform a thorough inspection before signing anything.

I would like to see what KPIs FR tracks and what the KPIs are. I would also like to see this from the other manufactures. That will tell the real story. A breakdown of warranty claims also. That will tell you what problems to look for and what supplier has the most issues.

What year did FR buy coachman?

Turbs

[TURBS]

Originally Posted by OldCoot

You better hope you don't grow tired of your present trailer because you will encounter the exact same problems with all other manufacturers, even the $1,000,000 Prevosts have problems.

Don't know what a KPI is, so can't comment.

Isn't kpi keystone?


Turbs

[Tiggerdad]

Would not buy again. Issues for many with the Darco wrap and it has been over a year since the issue has been reported on this forum with no acknowledgement that there is an issue. Many are now out of warranty.

[RKR]

OC , I believe what he means by KPI is key performance indicators. Many companies use this type spread sheet to track service quality.
We've been using it for years to detect trends, weaknesses , and strengths. We do one after every job then I compile them for our dept at the end of each month and send to our VP.


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[harderd]

Key perfomance indicators. It is how industry tracks how they are doing. Some may track things like scrap, returns, productivity, etc. They will also track supplier quality.

Supplier quailty can have extreme ramification on your business so it is imparitive to control the suppliers. Consider the frame issues posted on here (which is very small data set compared to the atcuall problem) FR and most likely other manufactures have a huge cost for warranty claims even though it will be pushed back on Lippert. It still cost FR and it is the FR name that gets hurt not Lipperts.

Most don't know who made the frame, they think it is FR and blame FR, FR name suffers but FR is resonsible for suppliers. The compnay that does the best job at controlling their suppliers will ultimately have less warranty claims and less hits to the their name. Unfortunately for some reason must companys won't put the resources to supplier quality needed so quality for their products will suffer through the supplier base.

So, looking at KPIs for both the business and the supplier base will indicate how well they do with overall quality control.

As I said I do not have any data to compare. I know all manufactures are going to have some issues but one is the best and one is the worst based on the KPIs.

The other side of it is customer satisfaction when there is an issue. More KPIs

[TeamPlumlee]

Most definitely!

[Evereddie]

Voted YES but not from the same dealer.

[mobile mechanic]

Originally Posted by SKnight

After the punch list of issues, all pretty small but numerous, the incompetence of the only local dealer and the recent failure of my fresh tank framework (My fault, but a poor design overall) I think I'll pass on FR next time around.

I do love my camper, and I don't quite regret my purchase yet, but can't see me coming back for more.

Edit to add- I also have a problem with FR customer service, as in there's no easy way to contact them. I tried to contact them regarding the issues I've had getting warranty work done and the fact that I took it in July 23rd and to this day ordered parts STILL aren't in. I'm stuck working with my dealer which does nothing but roadblock me.

you need to attend the goshen international rally where you can you repair work done for free

[keith_h]

I don't know if we would get another FR product or not. Nothing in our TT is such that it has created any type of brand loyalty with us. When it comes time to replace the trailer what we buy will depend more upon who has the features we want as opposed to the brand.

I will say for our next trailer we will spend more time shopping for the dealer/s we purchase from. Being neophytes we expected RV dealers to be more like you have with automobile dealerships. Boy have we had our eyes opened. So dealers first, then RV.

[TURBS]

Better be the original owner of the unit tho as I heard that that is going to be a requirement.

Turbs

[mud yapster]

We bought our 2014 Palomino Columbus 3650TH in Aug. and have only had it back to the dealer once on purpose for the livingroom slide which they replaced a gear on it and fixed the 5er brakes that wouldn't work 1/2 the time. No brakes hauling 16,000 lbs. loaded is to say the least scary!!! They fixed several other small issues while they had it also. After they replaced the gear on the slide they said they opened and closed it a dozen times and it works perfectly, ok I took their word for it, my mistake for doing that. I got it home and it was all out of alignment and wouldn't open properly or close properly so I had to align it which was better than taking a long trip back to the dealer and leaving it again. I have fixed alot of other issues myself and still need to seal the underbelly holes they neglected to seal at the factory.
Sense this was my first brand new 5er I really didn't know anything about the walk thru before signing any paperwork so another mistake on my part in taking their word on the rig and not testing every little thing on it or looking at the unit in hole very closely. I can fix what ever is an issue with it but if I come across something that is a major problem with a really high expense then I'll have to go back to the dealer for warranty. All of these issues with mine have been just quality control issues from the factory that should have been corrected before it left their facility.
We have taken 5 trips so far and haven't had any issues on the road or while camping but that has been because I have corrected most things on it while at the house. All and all I would give the 2014 Columbus 3650TH FR factory a rating of 6 to 7 because of the high price of this unit and all the small issues I have had to repair or correct on it and really shouldn't have had to. If I did buy another FR product I would really look it over and preform all functions of the RV personally which I should have done. I was never shown a check list of item to check on a pre sale walk thru and I see why they didn't or they wouldn't have made a sale that day. I'm living and learning the world of buying a new 5er from any manufacturer and I'm sure it is the same with all of them. Can't say just yet if I'd buy another one from FR time will tell how this thing holds up and how much babying it I have to do.
This is our camping time of year that we enjoy most because it is cooler out so we will be on at least 2 trips a month so we will know more on quality very quickly from here.
I think FR has our black tank crossed with the larger grey shower holding tank and I will be investigating that this week or this weekend. The spec states a 43 gallon black tank and a 78 gallon gray tank but we have 2 gray tanks which it should, one for the shower and bath sink and one for the kitchen sink. I was wondering if they split that in half and it is really 78 gallon divided by 2 meaning 2 gray tanks of 39 gallons each, I don't know but will try to find out. Maybe someone here knows.