Forest River fails to pay for Warranty Service!

[JohnD10]

Originally Posted by Dan n Gerda

We have a 2016 Forester 25 ft MBS. Any warranty work done that has been supposedly covered by Forest River the company has short changed our dealer who is honest! He always eats the cost difference! We have never taken it to anyone’ other than an RV dealer (pre read blogs) even on two round trip cross country trips! We also have extended House and Sprinter warranties both better than Foeset River reliability! Dan

Dealerships already know the deal with the manufacturers...

Don't even worry about them taking it in the shorts as they made a boat load of money already from you when you bought the RV!

Chances are that if dealerships spent a little more time prepping our RV's and doing an extensive PDI with us instead of letting it sit behind their fence until an hour before you are to arrive to pick it up, then run you through the PDI in 20 minutes instead of the four hours it really should take, they wouldn't have to deal with as many warranty repairs on your RV while you waste away a whole camping season waiting for them to get those warranty issues fixed.

And if you think I'm making this up...think again!

[Was]

Sorry for all your bad luck, but if I didn’t have pre authorization for the repair I absolutely would have kept the failed parts for the manufacturer.

[831 BHDS Flagstaff 2015]

Equalizer?? Isn't that called a weight distrubtion also? That is a add on to my knowledge and not part of the RV that comes from the manfacturer. Dealer may have sold it to you as a package deal. I have never bought a RV that came with a equalizer. No manfacturer will warenty a add on. I would go to dealer he would of had to install it

[bob213]

Sorry for your troubles. I had a bad axle on a SOB trailer and it wore the tires down to the threads on a trip across country. I replaced the tires and when I got home requested reimbursement after they replaced my axle. They wanted to see the tires. I guess no matter how big or small the part we need to keep it if we expect reimbursement.
Just wondering...how do you get $300 worth of food in an RV refrigerator?

[JohnD10]

Originally Posted by 831 BHDS Flagstaff 2015

Equalizer?? Isn't that called a weight distrubtion also? That is a add on to my knowledge and not part of the RV that comes from the manfacturer. Dealer may have sold it to you as a package deal. I have never bought a RV that came with a equalizer. No manfacturer will warenty a add on. I would go to dealer he would of had to install it

The equalizer is that pivot thingy that is connected between the leaf springs.

[JohnD10]

Originally Posted by bob213

Just wondering...how do you get $300 worth of food in an RV refrigerator?

Easy...

Very thick steaks and expensive booze!

Or over packing the fridge, which actually will keep the fridge from staying cold.

[NMWildcat]

Well now you know for certain next time, you have to get pre-authorization for third party fixes and keep the parts just in case.

And that is true for anything you have ever owned that is under warranty, so pleading ignorance won't gain you any sympathy.

[dbarr]

Originally Posted by JohnD10

The equalizer is that pivot thingy that is connected between the leaf springs.

The cheapest of those pivot thingies are only about 15 bucks and 15 minutes of labor each side. I think FR would have an issue with $900

[D W]

Originally Posted by dbarr

The cheapest of those pivot thingies are only about 15 bucks and 15 minutes of labor each side. I think FR would have an issue with $900

X2. $900 is a bit over the top!

I'd like to see the pics of the failed items...

[Dmay2141]

Originally Posted by madsledet

Did replacing them solve the problem?

Yes

[Dmay2141]

Originally Posted by bob213

Sorry for your troubles. I had a bad axle on a SOB trailer and it wore the tires down to the threads on a trip across country. I replaced the tires and when I got home requested reimbursement after they replaced my axle. They wanted to see the tires. I guess no matter how big or small the part we need to keep it if we expect reimbursement.

Just wondering...how do you get $300 worth of food in an RV refrigerator?

It is a residential size fridge in our trailer

[SeaDog]

Dmay2141 I don't know if this is your first rig I see you have been a forum member for around 3 months. I'm sorry you had such a bad time. Experience is a hard teacher she gives the test first and the lesson latter. So now you know kick back put it out of your mind and enjoy your rig. I'm going to have a gin and tonic to your future fun RV experiences.

[CHICKDOE]

sorry for the problems. we have a cardinal and love it. yes, there are some things that could operate better but it is what it is.

what model do you have? with two axles there are only two equalizers involved. ours are the morryde 3000 and i'm having a hard time understanding how they would fail. have you tried to contact the actual component manufacturer? you might also want to contact the california bureau of automobile repair. i doubt the will do anything but it's a long shot.

why did you lose the food if the refrigerator didn't work from day one? i'd be right back at the dealer and be demanding that he get it resolved. ditto with ice maker. by chance was it not working when on battery / inverter power? ours can drain the batteries pretty fast so that the inverter shuts down power.

[myredracer]

Is it one of the equalizer types below? I can't understand how one of these would fail. I can see the cheap plastic bushings fail though, which can fail in just a couple thousand miles.

Just what does pulling strangely mean? And what does "about to fail" mean? I have a feeling you were taken. Not keeping the "about to fail" parts was a big mistake. Besides trying to get re-imbursed after the fact, a lack of physical evidence, proper photos, measurements or a report from a professional is a problem.

Was the trailer tracking to one side or was there unusual tire wear? What if it isn't really anything to do with the equalizers and perhaps a bearing issues or defective frame? I would take the trailer to a reputable frame & axle shop and get it properly inspected and if necessary, a report outlining the problems.

[poriggity]

Sorry about your situation, but I have to say, if I were in FR's shoes, I wouldn't cover the warranty either. I would be asking to see the failed parts as well. Not saying that you did this, but how do they know you did not upgrade to higher quality equalizers because you wanted to, and not because they failed, and then you told FR that they failed. Of course they are going to want proof before they cover any part of it under warranty, and I can bet they are going to want more than just a few photos, especially because the work was done before any agreement with FR that it would be covered under warranty.

[johng4706]

I'm confused. The 3825FL is a two axle, 5th wheel. How could you have four equalizers? I had mine replaced on my TT with less than 400 miles on it because I was concerned with the plastic bushings. I bought the Dexter equalizer and took them to my tire dealer. They installed them for less than $200. Total, about $300.

It sounds like the shop you had the repairs done at should have had the equipment to install. You mentioned also that the shop appeared to be an equalizer dealer, so no overnight airfreight. It sounds like they took advantage of you. Not having the parts to send to FR, your explanation of the repairs, four equalizers instead of two and the cost to have them shipped to you couldn't cost $900.

If the shop really is legit, have you tried to get a letter of explanation from them? It sounds as if they, and NOT FR, is the ones that took advantage of you.