First night. What a disappointment!!!!

[Ebirep]

2015 FR3 30DS

My family was so excited with our move from a toy hauler to a class A. Figured we should take it out for a night before loading it up just in case. What a disappointing first outing. Apparently my dealers idea of a pre delivery inspection is aiming a garden hose at the thing to knock off the dirt! We're not new to the RV world and realize how these things are built but this lack of inspection is over the top. My excitement in my choice of builder has faded rather quickly.

-Front door binding causing undo force to open and close
-kitchen sink leaking into cabinet
-Bathroom sink plumbing leaking so bad it quickly runs out on to floor. Tried tightening and didn't do a thing.
-only one family member was able to shower because it leaked so bad out the bottom of the shower track and beneath the shower unit where is meets the floor that water ran all the way to the back wall of the bedroom.
- heater worked well but when it reached temperature the fan would not shut off. Just ran constantly.
-freezer door outside panel dislodges every time you close it.
-A couple of the window coverings are too short to cover the window opening.
-large chip in the dinette top that we didn't notice when we picked it up.
-Outdoor TVs connection to the antenna is no good.
-horrible rattle under RV while driving. Sounds like the stairs but they are rock solid when you grab them.

And other minor issues. On the bright side it is a really comfortable inside and roomy for a 30 foot model. I hope my dealer doesn't make me wait forever to resolve these issues. Forest River get a clue. You obviously have people slapping these together with zero pride in workmanship!

Thank You to the Forum. It was a great source for research before I made my purchase. Sounds like the majority has had better luck then I.


Adam

[Campin Cajun]

Sorry for all your problems, if you dealer is worth his salt he will fix all these problems. Good luck with everything, if you are not satisfied with the dealer you can always call FR direct.

[edbroussard]

Sorry to hear about your FR3 woes. We bought a 2015 30 DS a couple of months ago, and had similar issues with workmanship. I will tell you though, the dealer has been semi-cooperative, and when we weren't satisfied with their service, we called Forest River directly. Although it has taken more effort than we think it should, we have finally had the issues resolved. Just don't accept excuses, and be persistent. In the end, we have a motor home that we are very happy with.

By the way, the fan runs all the time when using both the heater and the AC. You will notice the heater and AC compressor kicking on and off, but the fan stays on always. We were told this is how it is supposed to work. The fan is loud-we find ourselves turning the system off to watch TV.


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[asquared]

Originally Posted by Campin Cajun

Sorry for all your problems, if you dealer is worth his salt he will fix all these problems. Good luck with everything, if you are not satisfied with the dealer you can always call FR direct.

X2. Do not be afraid to go above your dealership if they aren't responsive or are taking a really long time.

[b1barnes]

If the fan is not set to AU for automatic it will run all the time and both the AC and heat fan will run. https://www.dometic.com/1fa178a7-95b...0e4c7895.fodoc will take you to the manual if you are like us and didn't get one one. Fan on AU and the blower runs only with heat and cool and at two speeds.. There are several other nice features the dealer most likely didn't tell you about.

We had the same knock and yes the stairs seemed tight, but when I went under I found the rear bolts loose. Tightened then and the noise went away.

The new ant for the TV sucks. I found most of the connections loose, and the splitter connected wrong. We are looking to up grade next spring.

For the plumbing yea, the dealer should have found them and they should fix.

[TURBS]

Did YOU not do a pdi WITH the dealer at the time of delivery?



Turbs

[Shinny]

Originally Posted by f1100turbo

Did YOU not do a pdi WITH the dealer at the time of delivery?



Turbs

That's what I was wondering.

[Bakka323]

What kind of quality control program does forest river have? At the manufacturing facility, forest river needs to complete a comprehensive final inspection. Do other RV manufacturers have this type of quality program in place? Eventually, I will be in the market for a new RV but all of these problems related to poor quality makes me question if I should find another source RR.

[Shinny]

Originally Posted by Bakka323

What kind of quality control program does forest river have? At the manufacturing facility, forest river needs to complete a comprehensive final inspection. Do other RV manufacturers have this type of quality program in place? Eventually, I will be in the market for a new RV but all of these problems related to poor quality makes me question if I should find another source RR.

I can't complain. During my PDI, I took an outlet tester (with other things) and I found an open ground in the outlet outside bu the door. The mechanic opened the outlet and found a very small piece of paper twisted in the wire causing the issue. That was the only problem. I noticed later that a screen was missing, but the dealer knew about it and already had it ordered. I was told that it came in without the sofa and that was remedied immediately before they told me it was in. If the dealer actually cares about their name, they will find and fix this stuff before they let you see it, IMHO.

[Rolling Magic]

Originally Posted by Bakka323

What kind of quality control program does forest river have? At the manufacturing facility, forest river needs to complete a comprehensive final inspection. Do other RV manufacturers have this type of quality program in place? Eventually, I will be in the market for a new RV but all of these problems related to poor quality makes me question if I should find another source RR.

I agree, it's now one year since we got our rig, and we still have issues with our 30ds. Iif Forest River wants us to brag about their product they better get their act together!


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[jamesroadking]

It's not just Forest River, I bought a $180K 40 ft. Monaco class A diesel coach with a Cummings diesel in 2007, we spent 3 years doing nothing but driving back and forth to dealerships, service centers. We drove it back to the factory in Indiana, spend two months there off and on. On the phone with Monaco Corp. office, and the financing banks customer service reps. Hired an Attorney. all in trying to work out a solution with all the problems in the coach. The bank would not intervene, said that their contract with the manufactures prohibits them from getting involved. I kept telling them that it's "your coach, you better take an interest". (Luckily, I had financed it 100%).
After months of phone calls and letters, all the attorney and the Lemon laws could offer was for me to take it back to the service centers, total waste of my time and money.
Finally out of desperation, I called the bank and told them to come and pick up "their" motor home.
We have sinced down sized to Forest River 30 foot Work and Play toy hauling trailer, and a new F250 diesel. A lot less things to go wrong, or break in a trailer than in a diesel motor coach. (Paid cash this time, credit was shot) and yes there were a lot of small problems with the Forest River toy hauling trailer, but none so serious that I needed to go to a service center, or back to the factory, the selling dealer was able to fix all the problems with the Forest River Work and Play toy hauler, 25,000 mile now on the Ford F250 and NO problems.

[bigben]

Wow - feel for all of you. Gotta say that my experience (so far) has been just about what I thought it would be - I bought a house on wheels and stuff was gonna happen. Not the sort of workmanship horror stories that you all are having. Coach Net has been EXCELLENT to work with on my issues. Got me in and fixed with very little "effort" on my part. Had an issue with a key breaking in the lock - not my fault - just a soft or cracked key and a seep type leak on the bunk slider. Locksmith showed up fixed the lock in the campground and went into Camping World for a bead of silicon on the slider to fix the slider.

Like I say, sorry to hear the horror stories.

Peace.

[KMP44]

Originally Posted by f1100turbo

Did YOU not do a pdi WITH the dealer at the time of delivery?



Turbs

Get what your sayin' but who takes a shower during a PDI? The PDI is mostly a training / demonstration session - especially if its your first RV or you are trading up to different type of RV. Its pretty hard to be learning where everything is / how it works and inspecting at the same time.

I know our dealer required PDI's to be scheduled 7 days in advance - because they do their best to inspect/fix ahead of time. But even then, some things probably won't show up until you use it a couple times.

Which is where it comes back to the factories need to do a better job. I'm sure FR does lots of analysis on warranty expense and whether its worth it $$ wise to do things differently, but regardless, there are obvious workmanship issues that could be improved. It doesn't cost any more to hook the speaker wires up tightly and in the right jacks than the it does to do it wrong... Or to seal the shower all the way instead of missing the last inch. And you save all the issues later on.

We had no issues at delivery. We probably had 12 little minor things after the first season. Dealer fixed everything, no problem. Year two - back 3 times for fairly substantial warranty issues. Dealer was very good about getting it back to us before our scheduled trips, and FR covered everything, so we're not unhappy. And we love the camper - but that repeated need to get things fixed takes some of the "luster" off what is a major purchase.

I think the OP summed it pretty well - its a disappointment to make a huge purchase and find a lot of defects after you get it home. If the factories can make fewer defects and the dealers can catch more of them, it would go along to way to improved customer satisfaction. Just saying there is room for improvement all the way around.

[mud yapster]

My dealer told me they don't look at or fix anything until it sells. They got that right with mine and me having to fix all the things myself. The one item my dealer touched which was the slide gear they replaced, I had to adjust the slide to work properly after they were done and they said they opened and closed it a dozen time. Guess they broke it again during there testing. With expenses over $150 bucks to take my rig there and wait and then return to take it back home and still have to fix what they look at, I just fix mine myself because they can't. That's just my dealer though not yours.
I feel your pain with the FR lazy, no quality control of testing what they have put together and sent out for you to buy.
P.S. I had to seal my shower also.

[TURBS]

During my pdi all systems were checked.
Both fridges were running.
Heat and a/c on
Hot water heater on

All faucets,showers and all water related equipment was tested as we stood there.

Leaks were looked for.

Money didn't change hands until everything was to our satisfaction.

needless to say everything was proper on our first outing.

Things like the op has found should have been caught before it was paid and signed for. Period.


Let me guess.....
Rv wholesalers dropped it off in the driveway?


Turbs

[Ebirep]

No the dealer assured me they did a thorough PDI before I arrived for pick up. And the rep at the dealer that checked us out had very little knowledge of this unit. I should have demanded better. I spoke with the salesman and I am bringing it back this week. Let's hope they do better on their second try.

[Ebirep]

Originally Posted by f1100turbo

During my pdi all systems were checked.
Both fridges were running.
Heat and a/c on
Hot water heater on

All faucets,showers and all water related equipment was tested as we stood there.

Leaks were looked for.

Money didn't change hands until everything was to our satisfaction.

needless to say everything was proper on our first outing.

Things like the op has found should have been caught before it was paid and signed for. Period.


Let me guess.....
Rv wholesalers dropped it off in the driveway?


Turbs

No I purchased from my local dealer just 10 minutes away. Just trusted what I was told about their PDI being mostly done before I picked it up. I am giving them a shot to redeem themselves this week.

[Shinny]

I hope it all works out for you.

[mud yapster]

Hope they are better than my dealer at fixing your rig. Keep us posted.

[TURBS]

Originally Posted by Ebirep

No I purchased from my local dealer just 10 minutes away. Just trusted what I was told about their PDI being mostly done before I picked it up. I am giving them a shot to redeem themselves this week.

Sounds like the pdi you didn't get will happen now!

Lol never ever TRUST a dealer.
As you can plainly see in your case it didn't work.

Good luck!

Turbs