Problems with 5th wheel fiberglass end cap paint and clear coat.

[97flhtcui]

Mine is a 2015 and 14 mo after I brought it home my caps faded. Mine were replaced with new primed caps that were taken to a paint shop to be painted the creme color rather then the mocha. I requested this and I was charged for the painting portion. Did you buy it new or used? That will make a difference.

[Sbosserman]

According to the dealer, the fading is NOT due to no wax, it is a defect in the manufacturing process of the nose caps, mostly in the gray colors. Forrest River factory also offered me $800 to have my nose cap painted, but when the dealer told me that the nose cap painting would run about $2000, I didn't accept it, so eventually Forrest River gave in and paid for my nose cap to be painted.

[jbcmsp]

Who did you contact at the factory to get the repairs done ?

[Sbosserman]

The dealer (Camping World, Vacaville, CA) contacted the factory a second time and got them to pay for the repaint of the nose cap 100%. It's the only thing that this dealer ever did for me that satisfied me.

[17 Oaks]

We have been producing fiberglass cars in the US since 1953. I have seen Corvettes sitting in junk yards in the Texas sun for over 15 years and very little fading, even on those they did not have clear coat. Helped a friend restore a 54 he found with a shot driveline but good body. Few cans of rubbing compound, can of wax and it looked great.

We can better, but it has to start at the OEM level.

[dalford]

Originally Posted by jbcmsp

Who did you contact at the factory to get the repairs done ?

For Cedar Creek try Sullena Halsey shalsey@forestriverinc.com. She got us scheduled for April at Amish Family RV Service...

[Sbosserman]

The problem was not cured with rubbing compound and wax. The dealer tried that, lasted for about 2 or 3 months. It is a brand wide problem with the manufacturer of the gray colored front nose cap. Just look around any large RV park next time and take note of the large amount of newer gray colored nose caps that are faded badly on Forrest River products.

[17 Oaks]

Originally Posted by Sbosserman

The problem was not cured with rubbing compound and wax. The dealer tried that, lasted for about 2 or 3 months. It is a brand wide problem with the manufacturer of the gray colored front nose cap. Just look around any large RV park next time and take note of the large amount of newer gray colored nose caps that are faded badly on Forrest River products.

No it won't be and I hope you do not think I was suggesting a couple of cans of Rubbing compound would solve the probelm. The point I was making is that fiberglass production (Corvettes and boats) is not mystical or hidden secrets, been around for a LONG time. The OEM's could raise the bar and up their game and reap rewards as a result, thru better resale value becomes more customers.

Sure quality fiberglass as found in boats and 'vettes is not cheap, but nothing secret there, better paints and post-coatings, better resins and some quality control leads to a longer life, lower warranty costs and happier/loyal customers...DUH!

[jackandjoanne]

I was at Cedar Creek yesterday and the replaced the cap on my 2014 silverback 29 IK . They tried more UV stabilizers and the caps were still fading so they are putting on a painted cap. I was impressed that they stood by the product and made it right. They offered $750.00 to get it painted and a free decal or bring it out at my expense for a replacement. After Ohio and Indiana tolls and gas it was a $1000.00 trip. But it looks great and we are very happy with the unit

[17 Oaks]

Originally Posted by jackandjoanne

I was at Cedar Creek yesterday and the replaced the cap on my 2014 silverback 29 IK . They tried more UV stabilizers and the caps were still fading so they are putting on a painted cap. I was impressed that they stood by the product and made it right. They offered $750.00 to get it painted and a free decal or bring it out at my expense for a replacement. After Ohio and Indiana tolls and gas it was a $1000.00 trip. But it looks great and we are very happy with the unit

Its GREAT that they made good, but it still cost a you and FR $ and time.

Lots of old sayings that have stood the test of time, this one comes to mind: You have one chance to do it right the first time!

Sorry if I sound like a broken record, but I own a mfg company and sell to the public. I am obsessed with quality and customer service...

[goduc]

Originally Posted by 17 Oaks

No it won't be and I hope you do not think I was suggesting a couple of cans of Rubbing compound would solve the probelm. The point I was making is that fiberglass production (Corvettes and boats) is not mystical or hidden secrets, been around for a LONG time. The OEM's could raise the bar and up their game and reap rewards as a result, thru better resale value becomes more customers.

Sure quality fiberglass as found in boats and 'vettes is not cheap, but nothing secret there, better paints and post-coatings, better resins and some quality control leads to a longer life, lower warranty costs and happier/loyal customers...DUH!

Some RV MFG's do have caps made with a better Gel Coat process. Thats why you only see certain caps from certain MFG's fade.
And thats why you don't see dark grey or dark brown anymore. If you do it's more than likely a painted front cap.

[spock123]

I’m going this month to have the rear cap replaced on my Cedar Creek, the factory replaced the front cap last year. Amish Family RV is replacing the rear cap paid for by the factory this year

[spock123]

We are having some more work done on camper this year at Amish Family RV in Topeka IN. We have had two Cedar Creek’s and the caps faded on both. We hope this is our last camper.

[BandJCarm]

Everybody wants the trailers to be perfect the first time. It would be great.

But it appears it isn't going to happen. So we, the customers, have to decide whether to buy or not buy. That's all we got.

At least this Division of FR is replacing these caps as fast as they find them, and not balking. Is any other Division doing that? Any other manufacturer? I've sure seen a ot of other brands with terrible fading............

[17 Oaks]

Originally Posted by BandJCarm

Everybody wants the trailers to be perfect the first time. It would be great.

But it appears it isn't going to happen. So we, the customers, have to decide whether to buy or not buy. That's all we got.

At least this Division of FR is replacing these caps as fast as they find them, and not balking. Is any other Division doing that? Any other manufacturer? I've sure seen a ot of other brands with terrible fading............

You may have a point, maybe expectations are too high. Maybe.

Having bough RV's 3 new and 1 used. My expectations have always been the same as buying a new car. It works properly when I drive out and only I need to bring back for minor issues and I don't expect a critical component to immediately fail or not work.

I had 2 issues coming out the gate:

1) Central vac failed on first use. OK, find No big deal, does not affect our opening trip, warranty will take care, sort it out when we get back

2) Black tank valve stuck closed. Whoa, this is critical, means for almost 2 weeks we had to find other places to go this became a real hardship.

But it got worse: Go to the dealer and their response is...Sorry all booked up, can work you in, in about 6-9 weeks.

In our case we use our 5th wheel for business travel since we have 5 dogs, moteling is out, This is a critical use component and I STRONGLY feel the dealer should have yes, park it over there, will get to THAT (ONLY) immediately to get you going, the vac, come see us in a few months.

Our brand new, less than 1 week old 5th had a list of issues we discovered on the trip back home after buying it. So we went to the dealer, this was in April, Dealer said, I can work you in, Sept or Oct! BUT if you want to pay out of your pocket I can get you in this week.

Well we did that on some of the key items, filed for reimbursement and were denied, so I was out about $3xx or so, ok I can absorb that, but not the point. NOTE this is not the first dealer that has said that to me.

Anyhow got rid of that 5th and bought a Cedar Creek and while our dealer is backed up, FR/CC helped us find an approved shop to do the work and we have got reimbursed by FR.

My exp over almost 20 years is that FR and Northwood Mfg (Arctic Fox etc) have been more supportive than most. Found the overall quality better and easier to work with in getting repaid for our exp that are covered under warranty and more receptive to agree that yes its under warranty with out a string of gottchas.

[BandJCarm]

Originally Posted by 17 Oaks

You may have a point, maybe expectations are too high. Maybe.

Having bough RV's 3 new and 1 used. My expectations have always been the same as buying a new car. It works properly when I drive out and only I need to bring back for minor issues and I don't expect a critical component to immediately fail or not work.

I had 2 issues coming out the gate:

1) Central vac failed on first use. OK, find No big deal, does not affect our opening trip, warranty will take care, sort it out when we get back

2) Black tank valve stuck closed. Whoa, this is critical, means for almost 2 weeks we had to find other places to go this became a real hardship.

But it got worse: Go to the dealer and their response is...Sorry all booked up, can work you in, in about 6-9 weeks.

In our case we use our 5th wheel for business travel since we have 5 dogs, moteling is out, This is a critical use component and I STRONGLY feel the dealer should have yes, park it over there, will get to THAT (ONLY) immediately to get you going, the vac, come see us in a few months.

Our brand new, less than 1 week old 5th had a list of issues we discovered on the trip back home after buying it. So we went to the dealer, this was in April, Dealer said, I can work you in, Sept or Oct! BUT if you want to pay out of your pocket I can get you in this week.

Well we did that on some of the key items, filed for reimbursement and were denied, so I was out about $3xx or so, ok I can absorb that, but not the point. NOTE this is not the first dealer that has said that to me.

Anyhow got rid of that 5th and bought a Cedar Creek and while our dealer is backed up, FR/CC helped us find an approved shop to do the work and we have got reimbursed by FR.

My exp over almost 20 years is that FR and Northwood Mfg (Arctic Fox etc) have been more supportive than most. Found the overall quality better and easier to work with in getting repaid for our exp that are covered under warranty and more receptive to agree that yes its under warranty with out a string of gottchas.

I can probably match you 2:1 in severity of first year issues. Not that either is good, of course.

But the car analogy is always used, and I believe it's an invalid comparison. The vehicle industry makes about 7 million units annually, and have been in business and learning since Henry Ford. RV's make about 375,000 units annually, and have been in business a comparatively short time. I don't know the comparison between total number of employees, but the ratio must be HUGE.

Just don't see the validity of that comparison.......as much as I'd like to.

My view is different. While I WISH it were 100% quality, I couldn't afford what I have if it was. I'd be without a camper, at my income level, if they were perfect. Or I might have a tent.

That said, and even with all my issues, I got them all fixed.........free.......although it took a while. And now it all works and I'm traveling all over in a great unit, and enjoying it immensely. I am very glad this company exists. They've treated me wonderfully.

And if/when my front cap fades, they'll fix that too. Most of the others won't.

[17 Oaks]

Originally Posted by BandJCarm

I can probably match you 2:1 in severity of first year issues. Not that either is good, of course.

But the car analogy is always used, and I believe it's an invalid comparison. The vehicle industry makes about 7 million units annually, and have been in business and learning since Henry Ford. RV's make about 375,000 units annually, and have been in business a comparatively short time. I don't know the comparison between total number of employees, but the ratio must be HUGE.

Just don't see the validity of that comparison.......as much as I'd like to.

My view is different. While I WISH it were 100% quality, I couldn't afford what I have if it was. I'd be without a camper, at my income level, if they were perfect. Or I might have a tent.

That said, and even with all my issues, I got them all fixed.........free.......although it took a while. And now it all works and I'm traveling all over in a great unit, and enjoying it immensely. I am very glad this company exists. They've treated me wonderfully.

And if/when my front cap fades, they'll fix that too. Most of the others won't.

I think you may have missed my point.

Point: Critical issues. An issue affects you or the RV in a critical way. If the black tank cannot be drained I think that is a critical issue that in order to use your RV you need the black tank operable and the answer from the dealer is NOT yea we can get to in Oct, 6 mo from now!

The Central vac, well we got that fixed on our CC a couple of weeks ago, over a year after we bought it...no big deal to me or wife, in fact the only reason we got it fixed was so when we went to sell it it would be working, she don't and neither do I use or care one way or another.


I bought a new car and the car had to be jump started the day I bought it. Dealer said cars sit up and battery dies, not big deal. 6 weeks, 4 new batteries, new alternator, and other assorted components, dealer calls and says come down, Chev has approved a new car and will give you credit dollar for dollar what you paid on a new car. Kinda critical that my car needed to start and not die over night, every night.

My last 5th the drain side of the kitchen sink was not hooked up, well we did not discover until the floor was getting real wet after my wife washed dishes and let the sink drain. With luck it was just a simple failure to hook up the drain pipe to the P trap, so I fixed it and we toweled up the floor. That is unacceptable, had I not crawled into and under the sink, pulled outa panel and looked would not have seen it. And had I not been able to that physically it would have been a real costly mess.

Expectations that the basic-critical thing work is not expectations that are to high.

As for the auto industry, for most of its long life there was no warranty and when there was it was on the dealer to make the call. Did'ja buy it here? Sorry go back to Dallas to get it fixed! Yea heard that more than once as did my dad, we were career military moving every few years.

What changed the auto industry was lawyers and the (hate to say this) Federal Govt finally stepped in and forced them honor the warranty no matter where it was bought and the influx os better made Japanese cars flooding the market.

I will fully agree, perfect is not gonna happen and don't expect it to...

[BandJCarm]

No, I got the point, I think.

My issues were:

Black tank fell out, after leaking all over

Slides all fell out in transit for a year. Wouldn't deploy. Wouldn't retract. Wouldn't stay in. Took replacement of five separate components to fix it.

Fresh water tank blew up, including supports.

HW tank didn't work.

Axles out of alignment. Tried shocks and aligning, but took getting I.S. to fix it.

THOSE are critical. Draining a black tank and a vacuum cleaner (that I never use) is NOT critical.

This is all simply my opinion. I realize it's not 100% shared. But I lived with that stuff, knowing it'd get fixed ultimately, so when they were all fixed I'd have a quality trailer, and I do, and I travel 200+ days a year in it, worry free now. If every trailer had ZERO defects, I could never afford what I have.

[spock123]

Originally Posted by 17 Oaks

You may have a point, maybe expectations are too high. Maybe.



Having bough RV's 3 new and 1 used. My expectations have always been the same as buying a new car. It works properly when I drive out and only I need to bring back for minor issues and I don't expect a critical component to immediately fail or not work.



I had 2 issues coming out the gate:



1) Central vac failed on first use. OK, find No big deal, does not affect our opening trip, warranty will take care, sort it out when we get back



2) Black tank valve stuck closed. Whoa, this is critical, means for almost 2 weeks we had to find other places to go this became a real hardship.



But it got worse: Go to the dealer and their response is...Sorry all booked up, can work you in, in about 6-9 weeks.



In our case we use our 5th wheel for business travel since we have 5 dogs, moteling is out, This is a critical use component and I STRONGLY feel the dealer should have yes, park it over there, will get to THAT (ONLY) immediately to get you going, the vac, come see us in a few months.



Our brand new, less than 1 week old 5th had a list of issues we discovered on the trip back home after buying it. So we went to the dealer, this was in April, Dealer said, I can work you in, Sept or Oct! BUT if you want to pay out of your pocket I can get you in this week.



Well we did that on some of the key items, filed for reimbursement and were denied, so I was out about $3xx or so, ok I can absorb that, but not the point. NOTE this is not the first dealer that has said that to me.



Anyhow got rid of that 5th and bought a Cedar Creek and while our dealer is backed up, FR/CC helped us find an approved shop to do the work and we have got reimbursed by FR.



My exp over almost 20 years is that FR and Northwood Mfg (Arctic Fox etc) have been more supportive than most. Found the overall quality better and easier to work with in getting repaid for our exp that are covered under warranty and more receptive to agree that yes its under warranty with out a string of gottchas.

Black tank is no big deal, you can find a cap that you can close at the outlet. My black tank valve didn’t work for two years. Some things you just have to fix yourself. This blog is a good place to find out about fixing stuff on the camper. I wish I had been on this blog when I was having so much trouble with my Wildcat. It was the prettiest camper I ever owned but at the time I felt like I had no choice but to trade

[17 Oaks]

Originally Posted by BandJCarm

No, I got the point, I think.

My issues were:

Black tank fell out, after leaking all over

Slides all fell out in transit for a year. Wouldn't deploy. Wouldn't retract. Wouldn't stay in. Took replacement of five separate components to fix it.

Fresh water tank blew up, including supports.

HW tank didn't work.

Axles out of alignment. Tried shocks and aligning, but took getting I.S. to fix it.

THOSE are critical. Draining a black tank and a vacuum cleaner (that I never use) is NOT critical.

This is all simply my opinion. I realize it's not 100% shared. But I lived with that stuff, knowing it'd get fixed ultimately, so when they were all fixed I'd have a quality trailer, and I do, and I travel 200+ days a year in it, worry free now. If every trailer had ZERO defects, I could never afford what I have.

For the 3rd time, I have never said the central vac was a critical factor (please quote me if you read that I did), in fact in my last post I stated we just got it fixed after over a year.

We travel over 100 days per year, for BUSINESS, I roll tomorrow, don't roll I take a financial loss, yea the black tank working is a critical item for us.

ZERO DEFECTS: Can you afford it? Well there is not ZERO, but you get rather close and the cost is less than it cost to repair. Its cheaper to do it right the first time than it is to repair and right now we as consumers are paying a high price to get them fixed no matter if its warranty or not.

For you Apple users: Steve Jobs knew when he launched the Macintosh line he lacked a logistics support and repair. Broke meant shipping to Cupertino Ca at great expense to Apple, repair, ship back. The solution, build it better and he did. In 34 years with Mac on my desk only once did it ever get shipped to Apple and that was to upgrade the motherboard for free.

I own a manufacturing company and based upon these principles: Obsession with quality and customer service.

"If you are unhappy for any reason, call or email our office and just say, unhappy with ____ product, I paid $____ and we will send you a check or give you a credit or replace (your choice) at our cost, no receipt needed, no return required."

Once in 8 years. My post product support costs are next to nothing, in fact not even a line item on my spreadsheet.