Why won't Forest River work with our dealer? Feeling Buyer's Remorse

auntieshoes · 08-04-2014, 09:15 PM

I know that potential buyers look here to help them make a decision about whether to invest in a certain MH and at this point they need to know about our ongoing problem and Forest River's unwillingness to work with the dealer to fix our problem. At this time I would strongly recommend against buying a FR product. I know someone else posted that they would be happy to just turn in the keys and get a refund and I know exactly how they feel.

We bought our FR3 25ds on May 9, and we were so excited. It was our first RV and we were really looking forward to the fun times ahead. Sadly, it has been at the dealership for more time than it has been available for us to use since we bought it, but we are still making full payments on the rig, and paying for the full cost of storage. At this point the fun vs. frustration and annoyance scale has tipped.

While the dealership tells us that all of the smaller issues have been resolved, like a faulty drawer and sealant for the windshield, they are completely stumped as to how to fix the air conditioning for the coach. They have tried at least 3 different units and still the problem exists.

This was a problem that started the first weekend that we had the RV, and nearly 3 months later there is no solution. I don't doubt that the dealership is trying to get it fixed. We talk to them at least once a week and they sound optimistic, but then the problem is not solved.

Our first big trip was 12 days on the road in Arizona and Colorado. We knew that the AC was not working so we tried to stay in places with cooler temps. But there were a few times when we would have used the AC had it been an option. We were very thankful that we spent the $500 to get a fantastic fan installed during our first service visit.

Here is a summary of most of what we have been through so far regarding the coach AC. I don't have all of the details but this is what I can recall.

When we try to use the coach AC is that it comes on for a few seconds and blows cool air but then the circuit trips. At first they decided that the problem was that the breaker is 20 amps and the AC was pulling 21. But the AC was only meant to pull 20. They explained that because we are in AZ it's working harder than it was intended, so they were going to order one that was designed to run on less than 20.

Then we were told no such AC exists. Then we were told that a special high efficiency unit was ordered and that should fix the problem. It didn't. Then the new tech was hired and he was going to be able to find the problem and fix it. He was trying to trace the wires but he says he can't do that without the wiring diagrams. Last Thursday we were told that in spite of asking for them neither Dometic or Forest River has given them a wiring diagram so that they can see if the problem is in the wiring.

As of last Thursday, the dealer says they tried for 2 days to get the wiring diagram from FR and they still have not provided it. Justin Williams from FR called my husband Thursday morning saying that this was the first he had heard of this being a problem for us or anyone else (I know I've seen other posts here about the AC not working). When the dealer still did not have the diagram by noon on Friday (which is 3:00 in Indiana) my husband tried to reach Justin and got only voice mail, run around and no call back when he left a message. That is the same situation I ran into trying to reach FR parts/warranty department after meeting with Mike Hums several weeks ago.

On Sunday (yesterday) while cruising the message boards I found the diagrams that someone else posted, so we sent the link to the dealer with a cc to our contacts at FR, Mike Hums and Justin Williams. Our dealer was excited to have them and when we spoke to the service rep hei thought that FR had provided them.

It's Monday evening, and we don't know if the dealer figured out how to fix the AC, and we don't know if FR communicated with the dealer - but we have heard nothing.

FR3-SalesTrainer · 08-04-2014, 09:20 PM

What dealership are you working with?

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OldCoot · 08-04-2014, 09:26 PM

You will find that dealers all like to blame FR for their incompetence.

B and B · 08-04-2014, 09:28 PM

Sounds very odd a Dealer needs wiring diagrams for a 120 VAC circuit, A simple Digital meter could be used to confirm the AC feed is either good or bad. A circuit breaker can only safely be loaded to 60% capacity. Special breakers can be order for 80 % capacity but this sounds like a brownout issue. Has anyone checked the voltage under load? As voltage drops the current goes up. I know here in Goshen we had a brownout last Friday and my 15K AC was tripping its breaker. Once the voltage returned to normal current went back to normal.

auntieshoes · 08-04-2014, 09:29 PM

LDLP Mesa.

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Brewster McFrisk · 08-04-2014, 09:32 PM

We purchased a 2015 25DS in late June with the exact Ac problems as yours and we are working with Justin and Michael and was told the same thing about the wire diagrams. Has your problem been solved yet?

OldCoot · 08-04-2014, 09:35 PM

To be perfectly honest, it sounds more like a less than qualified technician working on your unit more than FR being uncooperative with the dealership.

FR3-SalesTrainer · 08-04-2014, 09:35 PM

Is it the coach as or the chassis AC?

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FR3-SalesTrainer · 08-04-2014, 09:36 PM

AC not as

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Brewster McFrisk · 08-04-2014, 09:41 PM

Chassis AC I'm sorry it's the couch AC

Bobb36 · 08-04-2014, 09:43 PM

Sounds like you need to find a new tech, I could rewire the complete unit in three hours let alone three months

B and B · 08-04-2014, 09:59 PM

Have they checked head pressure or refrigerant charge on the unit? Simple diagnostic checks might help.

OldCoot · 08-04-2014, 10:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brewster McFrisk

Chassis AC I'm sorry it's the couch AC

Whose unit are we discussing, auntishoes or Brewter McFrisk or just whose?

auntieshoes · 08-05-2014, 09:52 AM

A lot of interesting feedback. Thanks.

OldCoot - FR courted this dealership to take over their FR3 line. If the dealership is incompetent then FR should either raise their level of competence or refer me to someone else who can fix our rig. FR has been aware of our problems for many weeks and I have emails and text messages to show that. The rig has now been there for over 3 weeks this time around.

BandB - I'm sorry to say that in your first post you are talking over my head. What I can tell you is that we have tried it both connected to full hookups as well as with the batteries and it fails both ways. We have not been able to try it while we are driving down the road as it doesn't stay on long enough to get settled in our seats and get moving. The same is true for the dealership. As to your second post: Are you saying that MY unit should have the head pressure and refrigerant checked, or are you saying that those are suggested fixes for Brewster? We have had no less than 3 separate AC units installed and they all fail.

Brewster - I don't have any news. I posted that message around 8:00pm our time so there was no way to contact the dealership to see what they were able to do with the wiring diagrams that we sent to them. Hopefully today will provide us with good news. If so, I'll update the forum.

I imagine that some of the questions are for Brewster. To be clear, the problem that i am discussing is with the coach AC. Hopefully both Brewster and I can get some sort of resolution soon.

vinmaker · 08-05-2014, 10:10 AM

As with all diagnostics; one must first try to isolate the problems. The very first thing that should be done is to hard wire the unit to a 20amp extension cord and plug it in directly to a separate outlet to see if the unit is functioning. If it does function properly then you know the problem is within the RV wiring. That being said, the easiest fix would be to place the unit on its own dedicated breaker and switch. Have the RV people totally bypass whatever the heck is there and make its own isolated system.

Good luck.

Vin.

Albert1950 · 08-05-2014, 01:22 PM

With a clamp on amp meter, at the air conditioner, the tech can see if the air conditioner is drawing 20 amps or not. If it's not and the 20 amp breaker still trips, the breaker is bad or something else is wired to the load side of the breaker. That would be my guess.

Brewster McFrisk · 08-05-2014, 04:28 PM

Thanks everyone for all the wonderful ideas as soon as I get my coach back from the dealer I'll start working on it

zippyzrx · 08-05-2014, 05:35 PM

The sad part is you shouldnt have to work on it. The dealer should be able to track this down. If they cant...im not sure i would want them working on anything. As noted above simple tests to check and eliminate down to the problem.

z3406 · 08-06-2014, 08:11 AM

Just wondering if you got the same letter from Forest River that I did. Basically the letter gave a point of contact directly at Forest River in the event your local dealer wasn't meeting your standards.

auntieshoes · 08-06-2014, 09:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by z3406

Just wondering if you got the same letter from Forest River that I did. Basically the letter gave a point of contact directly at Forest River in the event your local dealer wasn't meeting your standards.

I did get that letter, but since I have been able to communicate with Justin and Mike from FR via email (and Mike by phone) I didn't go that route. I would get that letter out now and take a look at it, but I think it might be in my RV notebook, which is in the RV!

Yesterday Justin emailed the dealer and suggested that they try a different brand of AC. It sounds as though he has been talking with the engineers on his end. The dealer is going to try a Coleman unit, as soon as FR gets back to them with the warranty approval. The 3 hour time difference makes it harder to get things done because every step requires review and authorization.

It's possible that we will know if this suggested course of action fixed the problem by noon today.

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