FR3 purchase

[95impala]

I am seriously thinking of trading in my 34 ft Hurricane for a FR3 30DS or the Georgetown, Any advice on quality would be appreciated.

[OldGunny]

Read through these forums!

I wish I had. I still would have bought my 2016 FR3, but I would have been much better informed.

[Jlreeves]

We went from a 38 foot fifth wheel and Chevy 2500 HD to an FR3 30DS and are very happy. We now fit in pretty much any of the thousands of local, county and state parks in FL. Replaced truck with a Chevy Equinox. It was all about right sizing. Very happy with our choices.

[PeteAndEd]

Originally Posted by 95impala

I am seriously thinking of trading in my 34 ft Hurricane for a FR3 30DS or the Georgetown, Any advice on quality would be appreciated.

I can't speak about the Georgetown, but I'd have serious reservations about purchasing any FR3 product in the future.

[imarollingstone]

Originally Posted by PeteAndEd

I can't speak about the Georgetown, but I'd have serious reservations about purchasing any FR3 product in the future.

What type of issues have you had?

[PeteAndEd]

Originally Posted by imarollingstone

What type of issues have you had?

Both slides failed within 2 years and cost over $1,000 each to repair; the bunk bed is now failing to easily go down all the way; the ceiling was covered in glue spots and took 3 trips to the dealer to fix; you look at the walls and they seem to scratch; the "wood" is drying up and you can now see it shrinking in spots; I had to remove the toilet 3-4 times because it got clogged up with sediment back flowing from the water heater; the driver/passenger speakers sounded terrible until the dealer did something to them; the door latch just broke and we were locked out of the RV (had to climb through a window to get at the door); the engine noise is loud while you're driving down the road; the screen door rattles like crazy while driving; it sways pretty bad when driving; shall I go on?

[PeteAndEd]

Originally Posted by imarollingstone

What type of issues have you had?

On the flip side, I love the look and feel of the FR3 series, like that it is a cross-over; like that it has no carpets...

[Carl17]

Bought ours 32 footer in 2014 Yes there were problems bug if you will but with any RV will have some. Very happy with it , more room than a class c or b and a better price, than a class A<B<C .

[Orider]

I had a 2016 FR3 30DS but being in Florida, I just picked up a 2017 32DS for the dual air, HUGE fridge and 50 amp service. After doing the CHF, I think the larger chassis is handling is so much better driving. No more 2 hands and white knuckles, it is a pleasure to drive now. I did not need the bunk beds, but the dawgs seem to really like the lower bunk with Animal Planet playing on their own TV. It is a lower end Class A, but it meets all our needs, and I get compliments from other RV'ers with much more expensive coaches. There is an old saying " Try it...you'll like it.."

[repsolgamma]

First time class a owners, we have one of the first sold, a 2014 ds25.

Enjoy our FR3, took it to Maine on first trip, got us there and back without so much as a whimper.

Nothing is perfect, so ENJOY THE RIDE!

[95impala]

Originally Posted by Orider

I had a 2016 FR3 30DS but being in Florida, I just picked up a 2017 32DS for the dual air, HUGE fridge and 50 amp service. After doing the CHF, I think the larger chassis is handling is so much better driving. No more 2 hands and white knuckles, it is a pleasure to drive now. I did not need the bunk beds, but the dawgs seem to really like the lower bunk with Animal Planet playing on their own TV. It is a lower end Class A, but it meets all our needs, and I get compliments from other RV'ers with much more expensive coaches. There is an old saying " Try it...you'll like it.."

Thanks,
What is CHF?

[Orider]

CHF Cheap Handling Fix https://www.youtube.com/results?sear...p+handling+fix you can search in FR3 and find thousands that have done this. I will almost eliminate the SWAY going down the road. Some have put steering stabilizers on but this should be done first. Takes about an hour total to do the front and the rear. You are just moving the position of the sway bars on the F53 Ford Chassis.

[HortMi]

I don't much about the Hurricane ,But I would look into a steering stabilizer or sway bars. I'm having both installed plus the Sumo Springs next week. Maybe you could work it into a deal.

[aceinspp]

Another good system to use is Safe T Plus steering control. All I've talked to highly recommend the system. Later RJD

[Combatcoal]

Originally Posted by PeteAndEd

Both slides failed within 2 years and cost over $1,000 each to repair; the bunk bed is now failing to easily go down all the way; the ceiling was covered in glue spots and took 3 trips to the dealer to fix; you look at the walls and they seem to scratch; the "wood" is drying up and you can now see it shrinking in spots; I had to remove the toilet 3-4 times because it got clogged up with sediment back flowing from the water heater; the driver/passenger speakers sounded terrible until the dealer did something to them; the door latch just broke and we were locked out of the RV (had to climb through a window to get at the door); the engine noise is loud while you're driving down the road; the screen door rattles like crazy while driving; it sways pretty bad when driving; shall I go on?

A bunch of those items are easy fixes, but the others just suck. You’ve had more problems than most with their FR3 from all the time I’ve been on here.

[colourful64]

2015... fr3 30 Ds. Dash rattles and shakes. Clearly not well thought out... we’ve made a few mods to fix it but still not good... ( I really don’t think this should be a problem in a new vehicle and it was from day one)

The windshield ... delaminates and we got it replaced in time... before it just fell off.... that shouldn’t happen to any vehicle but has happened to many FR3...

The cabinet doors are made of wood... the actual boxes are made of something similar to sawdust and glue covered in wall paper... everywhere you rub .. turns white as the wall paper wears... we keep touching it up...

The headlights were unfit for driving... clearly a safety hazard... forest river sent us new ones... no brackets or anything and we had to install them ourselves.

The shower insert cracked... from the pressure of the screw that keeps it on the wall.. not our problem says forest river.

It’s not a joy to ride... the suspension is not adjusted properly... you will need to do. CHF ... doesn’t fix it entirely... you can still expect white knuckle trips and a sore neck just to keep the thing on the road.. the upside is... it keeps you well with in the speed limit and you burn less gas.

There is a weight issue... the rig allows you to carry very little weight... two people for a weekend and pick up your water when you get at camp....

You can’t walk around the king size bed... so you can’t. Make it very well and a midnight pee run means the inside person has to shuffle out... even if you wanted a queen size bed you’d still have a problem because of the huge platform under the bed.

The TVs are furrion ... and not smart... and ya really need a smart tv in this day and age.

The love seat is miserable... the foot rest won’t go in and out easily ,,, you have to lift the back of your legs because the cushion jams the mechanism.


The bunk went down once and never ever went back up ... we had an engineer look at it.. it’s a flaw in the design... we had to order new brackets and put them on .. just to get the bed back up... and the metal is bending again ... so we know that bed can never come down again.

There’s an issue with the generator no getting enough air.. forest river will send you the grate and you can just cut a huge hole in the door and fit that in there... problem solved.

And the captain chairs are too high... of you look through other post you will see that some people have replaced the base with a seven inch base... 6 foot men have the circulation cut off in the back of their legs. So you can imagine a shorter person.. of course you don’t notice this when you test drive it because it takes a bit of time to get uncomfortable... luckily the rattling and the banging and the fighting with the steering wheel... helps you to not sit long.

Would we Buy An FR3 again... of course we would... because we having had any problems with the slides yet and we absolutely love trouble shooting , repairs , maintenance and upgrading..

Of course you have to do your own study... and this is only the stuff that we have noticed ourselves.

[colourful64]

And you will have to add another air conditioner if you travel in a hot climate... that means you will need 50 amp

[colourful64]

We too have the yellow glue. And we also got locked out because the screws came out of the lock

[colourful64]

Originally Posted by PeteAndEd

Both slides failed within 2 years and cost over $1,000 each to repair; the bunk bed is now failing to easily go down all the way; the ceiling was covered in glue spots and took 3 trips to the dealer to fix; you look at the walls and they seem to scratch; the "wood" is drying up and you can now see it shrinking in spots; I had to remove the toilet 3-4 times because it got clogged up with sediment back flowing from the water heater; the driver/passenger speakers sounded terrible until the dealer did something to them; the door latch just broke and we were locked out of the RV (had to climb through a window to get at the door); the engine noise is loud while you're driving down the road; the screen door rattles like crazy while driving; it sways pretty bad when driving; shall I go on?

Check the side brackets in your bed .. the bolts are too short and low grade... if it’s like ours they twisted out and ruined the bracket

[colourful64]

Oh and the stairs ripped away from the warranty fixed it no charge