Journey with Confidence RV GPS App RV Trip Planner RV LIFE Campground Reviews RV Maintenance Take a Speed Test Free 7 Day Trial ×


Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Old 11-02-2015, 02:15 PM   #1
Senior Member
 
Jerry01's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2013
Location: Valencia, Ca
Posts: 200
Structure issues!

On our last trip as we were bringing the slides in, when the left main slide had about 2-3 inches to go, we heard what sounded like something ripping. Upon further inspection, the bottom of the wall just above the top of the slide ripped away. At first we thought that the seal had folded over vs wrapping around the wall like it should and just pushed the inner wall away. Well I went out this past weekend and took a closer look. The middle 5 feet or so of the wall has severe dry rot about 4-5 inches up from the bottom of the wall! The seal is still in great shape and we haven't had much of any rain for the past 2 years (we live in Souther California) because of the drought. My wife and I are just beside ourselves. I understand that we all need to perform routine maintenence, but this sure seems beyond what we should be required to do. We are almost 1 year out of warranty, but this obviously didn't just happen. I used my shop vac to suck up all of the dry rot and re-attached the slide seal using two sided tape on both the inside and outside of the wall. I have been talking to Dan Dobecki in regards to our other main slide which no one seems to be able to adjust properly. Now this. I believe this is something that FR needs to cover, but I wanted your opinions as well. Pictures and videos coming. Thanks, Jerry.
__________________
2005 GMC Sierra 2500HD, Duramax CC/SB
2022 Rockwood 2613 BS
Jerry01 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-02-2015, 02:18 PM   #2
Senior Member
 
Jerry01's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2013
Location: Valencia, Ca
Posts: 200
Click image for larger version

Name:	ImageUploadedByForest River Forums1446491803.511808.jpg
Views:	522
Size:	90.7 KB
ID:	93552Click image for larger version

Name:	ImageUploadedByForest River Forums1446491824.438152.jpg
Views:	494
Size:	292.9 KB
ID:	93553Click image for larger version

Name:	ImageUploadedByForest River Forums1446491841.012439.jpg
Views:	492
Size:	93.0 KB
ID:	93554Click image for larger version

Name:	ImageUploadedByForest River Forums1446491854.285841.jpg
Views:	497
Size:	98.6 KB
ID:	93555Click image for larger version

Name:	ImageUploadedByForest River Forums1446491875.180007.jpg
Views:	476
Size:	98.6 KB
ID:	93556Click image for larger version

Name:	ImageUploadedByForest River Forums1446491890.070870.jpg
Views:	498
Size:	92.9 KB
ID:	93557Click image for larger version

Name:	ImageUploadedByForest River Forums1446491904.544914.jpg
Views:	484
Size:	294.9 KB
ID:	93558


Sent from my iPhone using Forest River Forums
__________________
2005 GMC Sierra 2500HD, Duramax CC/SB
2022 Rockwood 2613 BS
Jerry01 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-02-2015, 02:49 PM   #3
Phat Phrog Stunt Team
 
TURBS's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: Iowa
Posts: 34,507
Looks like there's been a leak?
Any idea where?
TURBS is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-02-2015, 06:03 PM   #4
Senior Member
 
Jerry01's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2013
Location: Valencia, Ca
Posts: 200
I'm thinking that since it is only in the middle of the slide and only a few inches from the bottom, I think water got in the seal that goes around the wall and the wood just soaked it up. That's my guess anyway. Jerry


Sent from my iPhone using Forest River Forums
__________________
2005 GMC Sierra 2500HD, Duramax CC/SB
2022 Rockwood 2613 BS
Jerry01 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-02-2015, 06:45 PM   #5
Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2012
Posts: 59
I left a response on the Cardinal Club site. Check it out. There has been some discussion about this happening to some Cardinals. It has to do with the style of the slide seals being changed. The water is entering around the seal, then being absorbed by the wall.
wvcampers is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-02-2015, 07:27 PM   #6
Senior Member
 
Jerry01's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2013
Location: Valencia, Ca
Posts: 200
Quote:
Originally Posted by wvcampers View Post
I left a response on the Cardinal Club site. Check it out. There has been some discussion about this happening to some Cardinals. It has to do with the style of the slide seals being changed. The water is entering around the seal, then being absorbed by the wall.

Thank you for your response. That is what I was kind of thinking. Although I didn't know they had changed designs. Is this something that FR is warranting? Jerry


Sent from my iPhone using Forest River Forums
__________________
2005 GMC Sierra 2500HD, Duramax CC/SB
2022 Rockwood 2613 BS
Jerry01 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-02-2015, 10:02 PM   #7
Senior Member
 
Jerry01's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2013
Location: Valencia, Ca
Posts: 200
Structure issues!

Sorry duplicate post
__________________
2005 GMC Sierra 2500HD, Duramax CC/SB
2022 Rockwood 2613 BS
Jerry01 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-02-2015, 10:13 PM   #8
Senior Member
 
jacknife's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2013
Location: Ramona Ca
Posts: 302
I think forest river will and should cover that. Probably have your trl picked up .
jacknife is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-03-2015, 10:19 AM   #9
Senior Member
 
Jerry01's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2013
Location: Valencia, Ca
Posts: 200
Great news! Just received an email from FR and they will be picking it up and take it back to their plant for repair, then bringing it back. Can't ask for more than that. Jerry
__________________
2005 GMC Sierra 2500HD, Duramax CC/SB
2022 Rockwood 2613 BS
Jerry01 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-03-2015, 11:06 AM   #10
Senior Member
 
Keystone's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2015
Location: South Central MN
Posts: 340
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jerry01 View Post
Great news! Just received an email from FR and they will be picking it up and take it back to their plant for repair, then bringing it back. Can't ask for more than that. Jerry


Excellent!
__________________




US Army, 1979-1990 95BZ6
Keystone is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-20-2015, 12:12 PM   #11
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Oct 2015
Posts: 15
Have the same problem with my 2013 3675. FR will only cover parts and I will need to find my own shop to repair it which I think is BS. Estimate to repair is over $4000. Labor alone is $3300.

The shop I'm having the repairs done at can't get a straight answer from FR on whether they are replacing the old seals with a better designed one or are they still using the same poorly designed seals for repair.

Anybody know? Couldn't get a response on the Owners club site.
918jeeper is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-21-2015, 03:37 PM   #12
Senior Member
 
Jerry01's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2013
Location: Valencia, Ca
Posts: 200
Quote:
Originally Posted by 918jeeper View Post
Have the same problem with my 2013 3675. FR will only cover parts and I will need to find my own shop to repair it which I think is BS. Estimate to repair is over $4000. Labor alone is $3300.

The shop I'm having the repairs done at can't get a straight answer from FR on whether they are replacing the old seals with a better designed one or are they still using the same poorly designed seals for repair.

Anybody know? Couldn't get a response on the Owners club site.
Did you talk to Dan Dobeki at FR? Why did they say they were only going to cover parts? This is a known issue so I am little surprised why they aren't covering everything. The way I see it is the water enters when the slides are open most likely when it was on the dealers lot. When the slides are closed, the slide itself is pushing on the seal making it a lot more difficult for the water to get in. So unless you do a lot of camping in the rain, this more than likely happened before you bought it. Just my thoughts though. Jerry.
__________________
2005 GMC Sierra 2500HD, Duramax CC/SB
2022 Rockwood 2613 BS
Jerry01 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-21-2015, 04:02 PM   #13
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Oct 2015
Posts: 15
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jerry01 View Post
Did you talk to Dan Dobeki at FR? Why did they say they were only going to cover parts? This is a known issue so I am little surprised why they aren't covering everything. The way I see it is the water enters when the slides are open most likely when it was on the dealers lot. When the slides are closed, the slide itself is pushing on the seal making it a lot more difficult for the water to get in. So unless you do a lot of camping in the rain, this more than likely happened before you bought it. Just my thoughts though. Jerry.
Yes I spoke with Dan Dobecki and since I'm the second owner they would only cover parts. Yes this definitely happened before I bought it because I've only had it for two months and only used it twice. I contacted the original owner and he had no idea this was happening or he would have dealt with FR himself and had it fixed before selling it. Very disappointed in Forest River. I wouldn't be surprised if they are slapped with a class action lawsuit when more of these start popping up. I was at the RV repair shop today and they still have not given them a definite answer on whether they will be sending the same seals for repair. My guess is they will and if so I will have to pay more to have the shop do it right with good seals.
918jeeper is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-28-2015, 12:48 AM   #14
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2015
Posts: 3
Jerry01


I've just about finished my repairs for the exact same thing in the exact same location. I'm with you on trying to recover from forest river, I have a 2012 cardinal 3450.
Attached Thumbnails
Click image for larger version

Name:	IMG_1713[1].jpg
Views:	235
Size:	342.8 KB
ID:	96872   Click image for larger version

Name:	IMG_1712[1].jpg
Views:	239
Size:	358.0 KB
ID:	96873   Click image for larger version

Name:	IMG_1690[1].jpg
Views:	260
Size:	325.0 KB
ID:	96874  
John mc dade is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-28-2015, 01:42 AM   #15
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Oct 2015
Posts: 15
Did you put a new seal in? Did FR refuse to fix it for you?
918jeeper is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-28-2015, 04:22 PM   #16
Senior Member
 
SilverbackMel's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2014
Location: Dacula, Georgia
Posts: 1,283
You know, if FR has records of existing unit issues repaired or paid repairs, you may have a legal claim.
History, once subpoenaed by a lawyer, will either support what you "think" you know or disprove it. I would NEVER sit back and accept that a previous, original buyer, DID NOT KNOW.
I suggest you find counsel that has manufacturer expertise and initiate conversation with FR through him/her.
It's very ez to blow past complaints once out of warranty, EXCEPT, when there are settled issues!
You have a legal responsibility to disclose your repairs of this magnitude down the road ( if asked) unless you sell "as is"..... You have little to lose by getting counsel.
Let someone with legal knowledge assist you. Even the previous owner may have responsibility of non disclosure.
Your situation deserves attention!
By the way, I am not Pro Legal. BUT,
I am for righting a wrong. I would guess FR will reconsider your situation IF THEY HAVE RECOGNIZED THE ISSUE AND SETTLED CLAIMS.
Just FYI, I have found FR very cooperative. I still have to go back a second time to Goshen. BUT, I am willing to make the trip to have a unit that will last us many years.
US Army Signal Corps motto:
" Think, Go, Do"
1963 - 1966.
SilverbackMel is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off


» Featured Campgrounds

Reviews provided by

Disclaimer:

This website is not affiliated with or endorsed by Forest River, Inc. or any of its affiliates. This is an independent, unofficial site.



All times are GMT -5. The time now is 12:21 AM.