First trip, what a nightmare!

[Mark and Linda]

A little off the thread but on the manufacturing process. I bought 12x60 mobile home back in 1972. They were made in the county in which I was living at the time. I had several problems with it. The repair man was there every Sat. morning for awhile. We got to be friends. He told me some things that needed to be fixed and to call the dealer so they could call the factory so they would schedule him to fix the problems. He didn't want them to know he told me what was wrong. I had an electrical problem, called the factory to see if they had an inspector and they said yes, gave me his name. It turned out to be a neighbor of mine that lived about two miles down the road. It was a lemon...but they repaired it.

[Hitch Pin]

Originally Posted by Allamand

I only have taken our 2012 Catalina 291bhks camping once so f and thankfully have had minor issue. The one ajar on was the fame of the queen bed pulling out of the front wall, and braking the 2x2 frame. Not sure who designed such a mess, but I beefed it up with a cross brace in the middle and some out at the foot of the bed. Hopefully they will take care of the issues with your camper.

Where did your frame come apart, did the 2x2 that runs across the front wall come off of the wall, or did the 2x2 bed slats come lose from the 2x2 that runs across the front wall?

My slats came lose on the other end, if the 2x2 that runs across the front wall came off can you tell how it was fastened to the wall? I figure mine will come off before its over with.

[great white]

Originally Posted by Hitch Pin

... When I told them about the fresh water tank sliding from side to side more than a foot, he said that was normal...

It most certainly is not!

The hubs don't make any sense to me unless the dealer removed them. These trailers are towed from the factory to the dealerships by hot shotters and brother, you know they don't travel slow or check much of anything on the way there....

[Allamand]

2x2 frame on the right side pulled out from the wall, had two screws holding it and the pressure from the bed shock was simple to much and it could not handle the force of closing the top. By running some ceder I had laying around from my deck in the middle, I was able to reduce the pressure put on the front, also picked up 1x4 oak and used it alone the bottom. Easier access now for the dirty laundry too. I did take the whole frame out and used screws to reinforce the staples they used.

[Hitch Pin]

Originally Posted by Allamand

2x2 frame on the right side pulled out from the wall, had two screws holding it and the pressure from the bed shock was simple to much and it could not handle the force of closing the top. By running some ceder I had laying around from my deck in the middle, I was able to reduce the pressure put on the front, also picked up 1x4 oak and used it alone the bottom. Easier access now for the dirty laundry too. I did take the whole frame out and used screws to reinforce the staples they used.

Thanks for your reply. My bed is not made like yours, but they both seem to be poorly built.

[BlakeB]

This is all crazy! I feel for you guys! I own one of what I guess is the El Cheapo model's of Forest River...the Gray Wolf and I dont have ANY of these problems. I was mad that they didnt give me a spare tire, or a fresh water vent hose.... I dont feel so bad now.

Only real big issue I had was a wire falling off the back of the switch for the awning and tripping the breaker under the front of the TT. Im a firm believer if you want it done right, fix it yourself! That and I dont have a warranty as I bought a used 2012 model from the dealer.

All in all, this Gray Wolf is "ok" at best. I guess I got what I paid for though and can't complain. It's a "starter" TT as I traded in a Jayco popup. I think I will be upgrading next year and am still unsure if im actually going to buy another Forest River.

[sledhead77]

Originally Posted by BlakeB

This is all crazy! I feel for you guys! I own one of what I guess is the El Cheapo model's of Forest River...the Gray Wolf and I dont have ANY of these problems. I was mad that they didnt give me a spare tire, or a fresh water vent hose.... I dont feel so bad now.

Only real big issue I had was a wire falling off the back of the switch for the awning and tripping the breaker under the front of the TT. Im a firm believer if you want it done right, fix it yourself! That and I dont have a warranty as I bought a used 2012 model from the dealer.

All in all, this Gray Wolf is "ok" at best. I guess I got what I paid for though and can't complain. It's a "starter" TT as I traded in a Jayco popup. I think I will be upgrading next year and am still unsure if im actually going to buy another Forest River.

We were actually considering buying a Grey Wolf but then decided to "splurge" on what we thought was a much more superior product. Boy were we wrong! This Coachmen's been nothing but junk since the day we received it! Ugh! For sure going back to the dealer at the end of the season, no doubt! Actually the dealership told me to use it till the end of the season and then to take it directly to Coachmen! We'll see how that all works out.

[Alan JS]

Heart wrenching. Terrible service at that campground as well as a mess on your new Coachman. PDI had to be non existent. Makes want to spend the night near the dealer before I leave with ours the day of delivery.
You are right about the progressive lack of quality and pride in workmanship in this country over the past 10 years. It saddens me.

[TeresaInCAL]

Originally Posted by BlakeB

This is all crazy! I feel for you guys! I own one of what I guess is the El Cheapo model's of Forest River...the Gray Wolf and I dont have ANY of these problems. I was mad that they didnt give me a spare tire, or a fresh water vent hose.... I dont feel so bad now.

All in all, this Gray Wolf is "ok" at best. I guess I got what I paid for though and can't complain. It's a "starter" TT as I traded in a Jayco popup. I think I will be upgrading next year and am still unsure if im actually going to buy another Forest River.

Me too! Felt really ripped off when we realized there was no spare tire, let alone the mounting bracket for one!

Our 2x2 bed hasn't broken YET, had it since 09, new. It's been one of the things on my "list", to beef up, because it looks SO flimsy. I figured, this is just the way they build them, to keep everything light.

[PawPawJim]

After three months of reading about, looking at, walking through, crawling under, etc, etc, we ended up buying a new Grey Wolf 26RL. It was simply the most trailer for the money with the floor plan we wanted. We're keeping our fingers crossed that it fares better.

We picked it up yesterday, the dealer had it all hooked up and went through most everything with us. I checked even more because of prior experiences owning travel trailers. We pulled it back to the house, I plugged it in, hooked up the water, etc, to make sure nothing had worked itself loose on the ride home, so far so good.

It is a cheaply made trailer no doubt, as were most of the units we looked at. I found several units from various manufacturers with issues that needed repairing before leaving their respective dealers, it's sad actually. Some of them were higher end units as well.

The "mattress" in our new unit is nothing more than a few layers of some kind of white matting with a paper thin zippered cover over them...absolutely pitiful. I usually replace the mattress anyway, just saying. There are no access doors on the dinette which doesn't make much sense, and not a single electrical outlet on the super slide. I'm sure I'll find more as time passes on, just hope it's nothing major, and the wheels don't come off heading down the HWY....

Of the six travel trailers I've owned over the years the '95 Catalina Lite was by far the worst, traded it in after less than a year of ownership.

Ironically enough I traded it in on the best trailer I've owned thus far, a '95 32Y Fleetwood Terry. Had it 5 years, and even lived in it a short time while working in south Florida. If the new 26RL holds up any where near as good I'll be thrilled.

Good luck getting your unit sorted, hope the manufacturer helps y'all out as well...

[Hitch Pin]

You know, I have been doing some thinking, I was a millwright for 33 years, I am also a very good welder, I have done a lot of fabricating. I also built our own house, with all that said, I know that I could build a better travel trailer than I can buy. I have a nice woodworking shop, may be a good winter project!

[Vern]

That might be true, Hitch, but here's the rub...When you are done building it, how little (i.e., much) will it weigh, and how much (i.e., little) will you be able to afford to sell it for?

[BlakeB]

PawPaw,

Im sure you will enjoy the Grey Wolf. Like I said, it's a cheaply made trailer without some of the bells and whistle's, it does have a lot of feature's much higher priced units have though.

Seeing all of these issue's people are having (some before DELIVERY) I am kinda glad I bought the unit I have. The only options that I really wanted were power tongue, stabilizers, and awning, and of course a slide was a must. So for the price I happened to look at a Grey Wolf and decided it suits everything I wanted. I have but about 3000mi on this TT this year and here are my only issue's to date:

1. LCI tongue jack failed... I paid for a better tongue jack (Husky Brute 4500) only because the dealer was going to put another LCI on it. Waste of my time if it fails again while camping. Plus my dealer is 80mi away. Amazon has them CHEAP!.... $171.00

2. A tripped breaker controlling outside power.... Troubleshot myself (with help of this site) and fixed myself.... $0


I have had no problems with my tanks, tires, slide, stabilizers, roof, fridge, AC, leaks, etc..

Come to think about it.....There really arent many complaints of things failing or leaking on Grey Wolf's.. (correct me if i'm wrong)

[BlakeB]

Originally Posted by hitch pin

you know, i have been doing some thinking, i was a millwright for 33 years, i am also a very good welder, i have done a lot of fabricating. I also built our own house, with all that said, i know that i could build a better travel trailer than i can buy. I have a nice woodworking shop, may be a good winter project!

carbon fiber!

[great white]

Originally Posted by Hitch Pin

You know, I have been doing some thinking, I was a millwright for 33 years, I am also a very good welder, I have done a lot of fabricating. I also built our own house, with all that said, I know that I could build a better travel trailer than I can buy. I have a nice woodworking shop, may be a good winter project!

Have a go. This guy did:

Homemade Fifth Wheel RV Camper - YouTube

Chad's Home Improvement, Furniture and RV Projects