Tired of broken stuff on our Brand New FR3

[Urban_FR3]

We took ownership of a brand new 2016 FR3 30DS sold at the Hershey RV show October 2015. Let me just say, I wish we HAD NEVER BOUGHT THIS.

We have not used it once and has been at the dealer for warranty work most of the time from now back to October.

This weekend we finally got it back, getting ready to head to FL next weekend. Discovered that the drivers side windshield wiper has a broken mount. Snapped clean off.

This thing is a piece of cra*p, I will never recommend a Forest River product, EVER!

[Urban_FR3]

Let me expand on my rant from yesterday. I was tired and frustrated.

Here is my list of broken things to see if anyone else is experiencing these issues or did i just get a lemon.

1. Wet bay, the seal around the pipe pulled right off and had to be replaced with a different sealant.

2. Several of the outdoor compartment latches had gone rusty on the inside and were replaced. Now i have two different keys.

3. There was a leak around the AC unit on the roof and water was coming in the coach. We've never run the AC, it was rainwater.

4. The door latch sticks badly, sometimes i have to put my whole body weight into it to get the door open from the inside. I'm sure this will take its toll on the screen door and i'll break something. I've sprayed WD-40 into every crack and crevice I can find with little improvement.

5. The broken windshield wiper mount from yesterday. The driver side wiper is not functional and we leave in 5 days for FL.

I realize that none of these items by themselves are show stoppers, but after a while its like give me a break. The whole reason we traded in our older class C was to get away from having to fix stuff after every trip. this coach hasn't even gone on a trip yet and all we've done is fix stuff.

Did I get a lemon?

[Homebrew]

Make the dealer lend you a another for your trip.


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[hammer55]

Sounds like a forest river product, I am getting the things fixed right now that were there the first time I picked it up, FR extended the warranty time 120 days for some items because the dealer lolly gagged around so that the warranty expired, as soon as the warranty expired the slide started acting up, and I tried and tried to get it re-timed, but never could, as soon as possible I am going to trade it off and get something with out a lippert slide, don't the schwintek product at all

[AquaMan]

The items you listed for the most part are relatively minor, except for the broken wiper, and once repaired or adjusted you should be fine. Don't get too discouraged too quick. In the grand scheme of things you may not have another issue for the next 10 yrs.

[northstar1960]

What your dealing with is not out of the ordinary . all manufactures are putting out units so fast and money coming in so quick that don't care about what they put out . I've seen many brand new pos out there . just hope you can get it fixed in a reasonable amount of time . the dealer service dept should only take a couple months to fix the wiper .the manufactures are using the dealers to finish building the units ,
bottom line they don't give a hoot

[wnelsonfl]

Keep in mind the wiper was not installed by FR.

[bareftn]

Originally Posted by wnelsonfl

Keep in mind the wiper was not installed by FR.

Then who did?

[Big Vic]

I think some people have a bit of "buyer's remorse" shortly after the purchase of a new RV - even if everything works. The post buying reality sometimes does not live up to the months of excitement and high expectations that precede taking home the product.

As stated above, most of these issues seem minor, should be easy to fix, and you hopefully can get in a mind set where you will enjoy your new TT after a bit of tweaking.

I remind myself that I spend very little awake time in my RV. I am happy with the quality of my FR product. It could be different if full timing or always camping in bad weather - but to me, my RV just needs to be functional, not perfect. Most of your best camping memories will occur outside the RV.

[Ford Idaho]

Originally Posted by bareftn

Then who did?

Ford did in all likely hood, they are the ones who made the chassis, no!

[kenandterry]

I would hazard to say that Ford probably did NOT install the wiper.

I say this because I have seen the F53 chassis units as they leave the Ford assembly line. They go to a holding area next, and wait for orders from any of the manufacturers that make gas versions of A Class motor homes.

They are driveable off the assembly line with little more than a wooden crate to sit on and work the gas and brake pedal along with the steering wheel.
All of the instrumentation, exterior lighting, air vents, rocker switches for lighting, wipers, radios, and extensive wiring harnesses are in plastic bags for the various motor home manufacturers to assemble. Just look at the dash vents on any unit. Some are round, some rectangular, light switches and wiper switches locations are chosen by the "house" manufacturer part of the unit.....Forest River, Winnebago, Thor, etc.

Maybe Forest River did some work with the wiper assembly mounting them for final positioning on the front cap, but there was NO front to mount them to when the F53 chassis came off the Ford assembly line.

[Antone]

Motorhomes under $100k seem to be hit and miss. I have friends that have had no issues, a few issues, a lot of issues, minor issues, and major issues. I've had mine at the dealer 3 times and will be going back for a 4th next week, as well as at the Ford RV repair center, luckily 1/2 mile from my house, twice in the first 10 months. A lot of minor issues, but the way I see it, it's a first world problem that will get fixed. Annoying, frustrating, yes, but hell, I have a motorhome when some folks don't even have a home. Life could be worse. The timeout with the family and friends also outweighs all the small things. Just MHO.



Antone

2015 Forest River FR3 30DS - No Ragrets

Toad - 2011 Jeep Wrangler

[twojump36]

We had some minor issues too.... The last thing was a problem with the hot water hester ( flamed out and melted some wires ) TV quit... P-traps came loose...heater wire came off so the heater quit...stove fan motor quit.... Stove hood light burned out...
All that stuff was pretty minor... We enjoy the coach and realize all thst stuff happens to all M/H's...
It's a pia but fix it and roll on!

[camaraderie]

You don't have very much wrong of consequence with the coach. It is unbelievable that little stuff like this would prevent you from using the coach for so long.
You need to find another place or a mobile guy to fix this stuff quickly and coordinate that with FR after making your problems with the dealer known.

[khybskid]

I to have had many small problems with my wife's 2014 FR3. Being a boater most of my life i have gotten used to having to fix things that break or need adjustment. Having owned this unit for just one year my opinion is to warranty the chassis and take your chances with the coach. I have no use for the dealer promises. Maybe my next one will be a used one and one built with a little more quality.

[Jim Schings]

I have owned 5 RV's. I am pretty sure that I have had to repair something on EVERY one after EVERY trip. It was explained to me 20 years ago, that if you put your house on chains and pull it down the road for a few hundred miles and return, you will HAVE to repair something. That is RVing. It shouldn't be that way, but RV manufactures have never reached the quality or technical level of other manufacturers.

[DSQR]

Originally Posted by Ford Idaho

Ford did in all likely hood, they are the ones who made the chassis, no!

And I guess FR and the selling dealer have no responsibility for QA checks?

[drivmsafe]

Originally Posted by wnelsonfl

Keep in mind the wiper was not installed by FR.

Au contraire. The wiper motor was definitely installed by FR.


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[MrNiceGuy]

IMHO contact the Forest River division that manufactured your unit and ask if it can be taken back to the factory to have your issues resolved. Not sure where you are located but a visit to the Rally in Goshen is another place to have your issues taken care of. I have found Forest River extremely helpful when I have dealt with them directly. Hang in there!

[Urban_FR3]

But still, Forest River is the name behind the product, regardless of who assembled it, in my mind, they are still the responsible party if something fails. its their problem to deal with Ford