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Old 09-18-2019, 09:54 PM   #1
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New Isata 3 problems

Took delivery of a new 2019 Isata 3 FW onSeptember 12th. Before delivery I emailed dealer to do a pre delivery inspection where I outlined several items I wanted checked out. It appears as though it was not done.
An all day all night rain produced a roof leak, water coming in two of the small lights in the roof.
The batteries are dead after 2.5 hours with just the interior lights and the radio on, fridge on propane. Tried two times same result. (From full charge). Repeatedly leaving lights on in the coach at the dealer kills batteries.
One of the exhaust fans not working.
The entry door has a 1 inch gap at the bottom.
The steering wheel has a shimmy from 65 to 72 mph.
There is no way to hook up my portable satellite. Apparently the exterior coax connection labeled cable/satellite goes to the Winegard connect 2.0+ on the roof. There is no coax cable in the audio/video cabinet above the fridge.
And lastly the sewer hose storage is a 4’ pipe under the rear of the coach, not accessible from the side with a door that doesn’t even latch. Really Dynamax??
I really had high hopes for this coach (our 5th) but sadly the rv industry deteriorated quality control both at the manufacturing end as well as the dealer network leads to frustrated owners.
On travel 5 hours from dealer i called the dealer and was told to call the nearest forest river dealer, I did and was told they may be able to squeeze me in the end of next week. Blaaaa
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Old 09-19-2019, 06:34 AM   #2
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Sorry to hear about your issues.

You asked the dealer to do the PDI? you didnt do it yourself? I spent about 5 hours at the dealer doing the PDI and had intentions to stay in the area over night while things were handled, luckily everything was in working order.

I have never seen a 1" gap on the door, ours has a slight bend at the bottom, I believe the doors have a negative bend so the latch area is the tightest part.

Wish you luck, sounds like the dealer has some work to do.
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Old 09-19-2019, 08:38 AM   #3
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I did both. Took an afternoon to go over the coach. Leaky roof, bad batteries, were not replicated at dealership. Spent the night at an rv park in town, plugged in, no rain. Didn’t notice coax cable until i got home to hook up satellite. Didn’t notice door gap until road noise came in. Then vent fan worked at the dealer. The sewer hose storage, really? Point is the buyer shouldn’t have to do the pdi. The manufactures and dealers have come to a point where quality just doesn’t matter. They are selling these rigs as fast as they can produce them. What ever happened to pride in a product. I thought by going with a Dynamax I would have a better chance of getting a quality product. We really love the coach. The floor plan is great, the bed is very comfortable, the drive is just superb. I read on this forum for at least three months before purchase and figured help was close at hand. Now a 5 hour drive back to the dealer.
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Old 09-19-2019, 09:13 AM   #4
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McNown2dog,

Thank you for being a part of the Dynamax family.

Please accept our sincerest apologies for any inconveniences that you have experienced with your new Isata 3. Your satisfaction is very important to us; accordingly, we invite you to contact Dan Dobecki in our Customer service department through the following personalized and direct link: http://www.dynamaxcorp.com/DirectSer...44847356443930.

This direct link is provided for your convenience in order that we may resolve your concerns as quickly as possible. We will strive to respond to you within 24 hours of receiving your correspondence.

Respectfully,
Forest River
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Old 09-19-2019, 09:59 AM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by McNown2dog View Post
Took delivery of a new 2019 Isata 3 FW onSeptember 12th. Before delivery I emailed dealer to do a pre delivery inspection where I outlined several items I wanted checked out. It appears as though it was not done.
An all day all night rain produced a roof leak, water coming in two of the small lights in the roof.
The batteries are dead after 2.5 hours with just the interior lights and the radio on, fridge on propane. Tried two times same result. (From full charge). Repeatedly leaving lights on in the coach at the dealer kills batteries.
One of the exhaust fans not working.
The entry door has a 1 inch gap at the bottom.
The steering wheel has a shimmy from 65 to 72 mph.
There is no way to hook up my portable satellite. Apparently the exterior coax connection labeled cable/satellite goes to the Winegard connect 2.0+ on the roof. There is no coax cable in the audio/video cabinet above the fridge.
And lastly the sewer hose storage is a 4’ pipe under the rear of the coach, not accessible from the side with a door that doesn’t even latch. Really Dynamax??
I really had high hopes for this coach (our 5th) but sadly the rv industry deteriorated quality control both at the manufacturing end as well as the dealer network leads to frustrated owners.
On travel 5 hours from dealer i called the dealer and was told to call the nearest forest river dealer, I did and was told they may be able to squeeze me in the end of next week. Blaaaa
1. I have seen the lights get pulled and not seated back in properly. Could be on replacement...sometimes I have seen the vibrate loose if not seated properly. They are a rubber gasket, should be an easy tweak. Where are you seeing the leak?

2. If the dealer did not properly maintain the batteries, they could be toast. A 2019, could have sat on the lot over a year at this point. So I will have to look into that.

3. We have very few issues with that exhaust fan, but every now and then I have gotten a bad one.

4. Entry door should have bene adjusted.

5. If there is a shimmy it is likely wheel balance. if it is the aluminum wheel, that seems to be the one that we see it on. For some reason (we send this out to a tire shop) we have had some weights fall off in transit. 99% of the time, that is it. So its not always something we see right away, but certainly is covered under warranty.

6. The coax on the exterior is for park cable. It goes to the Winegard plate which is then distributed to all of the TV's. We offer an in-motion satellite which would provide coax to the AV area. We do too specifically set anything up for a portable satellite, but I know you can run the coax from the satellite, directly to the back of the receiver if need be. Maybe not ideal, but the issue is not having coax, but not having the receiver provide "power to the dome".

7. Sorry about the sewer hose holder, but we USED to do a door in the side of the coach with a latch. The problem is, NONE of the new hoses people use today fit. If you put it in a door on the side, it runs into the chassis frame. It WILL fit a 20' blue hose without the fittings, but it seems no one uses those any more. So we started installing a "super tube" which lets you put the hose in WITH the fittings.

https://www.dwincorp.com/product/super-tube/

I also felt like it was a little farther back then it should be, so I have asked my guys to change the way it mounts. Back then they were just using the chassis frame (great mount point (but it centers the tube on the chassis) and now I have asked them to use the driver side chassis frame and then hang something from the wall so that the tube is flush with the sidewall...making it easier to get. It should have a hatch on it though.

If you can shoot me your VIN, selling dealer, I'd be happy to take a look.
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Old 09-19-2019, 01:59 PM   #6
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Help.

Purchase dealer was Van City Colorado Springs
Vin. WDAPF4CC5J9770415

You mis understood the lights did not fall off, the roof leaks and the water comes in through the little lights. The biggest and most alarming problem is the roof leak.
As common as portable satellite dishes are i am totally shocked there is no accommodation. Very poor planing, another wire run to the cabinet above the fridge would be soooo simple. Do you have a fix for me other than draping wires through the window to the cabinet? Does the coax from the exterior hookup go directly to the Winegard? Can the dealer disconnect it and run a wire down to the cabinet?
List:
Roof leak
Bad Batteries
Exhaust fan inop
1’ Gap at door bottom
Coax cable for satellite
Air conditioner vent fell off ceiling
Front end shimmy 65 to 71 mph.
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Old 09-19-2019, 02:43 PM   #7
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WOW,,,, Its like rolling the dice, to see if you get quality, from "Made in America" products,,,, Saw it more and more before retiring, Really sad! No one takes pride, in what they do, any more!

I bought a used MH, I had some things to fix, that's expected, but nothing like what your having to deal with....SORRY to hear it, Hope they take care of it! As they should.

From what I have read here. If I were you, DO NOT LEAVE IT at the dealer! Insist on making an appointment, that you expect to, wait , while it is fixed, with quality work, on the same day, and quickly! While you are Waiting at the dealer for it. OTHERWISE>>They do not make money from your needed repairs, and will put it on the bottom of the pile of repairs!!! Good Luck!

Cheers David
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Old 09-19-2019, 03:18 PM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by McNown2dog View Post
Purchase dealer was Van City Colorado Springs
Vin. WDAPF4CC5J9770415

You mis understood the lights did not fall off, the roof leaks and the water comes in through the little lights. The biggest and most alarming problem is the roof leak.
As common as portable satellite dishes are i am totally shocked there is no accommodation. Very poor planing, another wire run to the cabinet above the fridge would be soooo simple. Do you have a fix for me other than draping wires through the window to the cabinet? Does the coax from the exterior hookup go directly to the Winegard? Can the dealer disconnect it and run a wire down to the cabinet?
List:
Roof leak
Bad Batteries
Exhaust fan inop
1’ Gap at door bottom
Coax cable for satellite
Air conditioner vent fell off ceiling
Front end shimmy 65 to 71 mph.
I understood...I was saying i have seen some "clearance lights" come loose and if so, water can get in behind the gasket. It's something that happens normally after the rain test. All of these get flood tested...so if I ever see an issue it is the clearance light coming out a bit.

PS. The cable from the outside bay goes to the Winegard Plate on the wall. Then that plate distributes to all of the TV's. There is also a coax that comes from the Connect2, that goes to that plate as well. There are about 4 pigtails on the back side of the plate.
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Old 09-19-2019, 08:38 PM   #9
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Quality control

We all speak of the poor quality in items. Many of the "end items" we buy are just a bunch of integrated parts from the lowest bidder. Where does the lowest bidder get their parts to build the item that ends up in the final item? Look at the sticker on any American car and see just how many parts are made in the USA, of course it does not mean that they are not put together from other countries.
Just saying Ya know.
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Old 09-19-2019, 09:08 PM   #10
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We all speak of the poor quality in items. Many of the "end items" we buy are just a bunch of integrated parts from the lowest bidder. Where does the lowest bidder get their parts to build the item that ends up in the final item? Look at the sticker on any American car and see just how many parts are made in the USA, of course it does not mean that they are not put together from other countries.
Just saying Ya know.
While this may be the case for some OEM's, that is certainly not the case for Dynamax.

1. we leak test 100% of our units. Leaks do happen, but that one is on us to create a seal that does not budge.

2. batteries: we use pretty expensive AGM batteries, made by East Penn, in the USA.

3. Exhaust fan: I am sure this is built in China...but this is the upgrade, upgrade MaxxAir fan. It is the most expensive they sell. The only other one available is the fantastic fan and that is no longer privately owned, it was bought by Atwood now owned by Dometic

4. Door Gap: this door is about 1.5 times the door that we used when I got here, with an automotive style rotary latch. The next door up, is double the price of this one and is almost 100lbs heavier. Too heavy to use on a Sprinter, but we asked them to see if they can make a lighter one...we'd pay.

5. Truma is the most expensive on-demand water heater you can buy. It just works, which is why we install it.

Things break. It is unfortunate and certainly we try to figure out ways to eliminate failure...but at the end of the day, in many cases we DO have to reply on our suppliers as we are installing their parts.

You would think "Mercedes-Benz" oh, that is the cream of the crop. They built a batch of chassis for us with no arm rests. They don't even have an option to delete the arm rest. So now they have to come out and install arm rests. How does that get by all of the QC people? Humans...
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Old 09-19-2019, 09:44 PM   #11
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Concerning the satellite coax. I pulled the wineguard plate off, located the cable run, used a diplexer splitter, ran one back to the wineguard plate and the other to my satellite receiver. Now you can use a portable satellite or cable.
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Old 09-20-2019, 05:29 AM   #12
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7. Sorry about the sewer hose holder, but we USED to do a door in the side of the coach with a latch. The problem is, NONE of the new hoses people use today fit. If you put it in a door on the side, it runs into the chassis frame. It WILL fit a 20' blue hose without the fittings, but it seems no one uses those any more. So we started installing a "super tube" which lets you put the hose in WITH the fittings.

https://www.dwincorp.com/product/super-tube/

I also felt like it was a little farther back then it should be, so I have asked my guys to change the way it mounts. Back then they were just using the chassis frame (great mount point (but it centers the tube on the chassis) and now I have asked them to use the driver side chassis frame and then hang something from the wall so that the tube is flush with the sidewall...making it easier to get. It should have a hatch on it though.
I waterproofed some blocking and screwed it to the inside of the driver side wall to attach the door end of the tube. The back end of the tube is zip tied to the chassis frame.
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Old 09-20-2019, 02:05 PM   #13
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My plate on the inside has no coax to it.
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Old 09-20-2019, 02:08 PM   #14
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My plate on the inside has no coax to it.
Behind it, it will. They come off the back side.
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Old 09-20-2019, 02:25 PM   #15
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Continues

We live in Pagosa Springs Colorado. Van City was the selling dealer, 4.5 hour drive away. Talked yesterday to schedule the repair work. They claim they need me to leave it for at least a week. First is diagnosing the problems, then they apply for permission form Forest River to do the repairs, then they order any necessary parts.
For me its 9 hours over and back then another 9 hours to retrieve. They sure do try their best to make as difficult as possible. The ulterior motive is to get me or some other local yahoo to do the repairs so they dont have to bother. Well just might work. 18 hours of my live i will never get back, plus the expenses. I do agree there is lots of parts going into a house on wheels which, in my opinion should just warrant more thorough inspections.
Anyhow we leave on another trip next week so repairs will have to wait. I climbed up on the roof and stuck some butyl caulking on anyplace that looked even remotely suspicious. I kinda knew there would be some problems just didn’t realize the fixes would be so challenging. Wish me luck. Thanks to all who have responded regarding upgrades and fixes.
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Old 09-20-2019, 02:27 PM   #16
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No, i took off the plate, no coax. Must be a different model. We have the Winegard connect 2.0 plus. Coax ends on the roof inside antenna.
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Old 09-20-2019, 02:28 PM   #17
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lol, I was going to suggest we find a closer dealer....but frankly, it looks like you are in the middle of nowhere. And I mean that in a good, national forest kind of way. It is pretty remote.
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Old 09-20-2019, 02:30 PM   #18
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No, i took off the plate, no coax. Must be a different model. We have the Winegard connect 2.0 plus. Coax ends on the roof inside antenna.
Can you shoot a picture? Are you sure you don't have a Winegard in-motion satellite? That would NOT have coax. The plate for the Winegard Connect2, has two small power buttons that light up green when you press them. They absolutely have coax behind them if you are pulling the right plate. Small little wires from off of an electronics board and at the end of the small wires is a barrel connector.
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Old 09-24-2019, 08:42 AM   #19
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Found your experience with your Isata 3 similar to ours. We found out upon our delivery of our 2018 Isata 3 RW to have a leak in fresh water tank caused during manufacturing process. Took us 3 months to get replaced but then on a long trip found out the jacks hydraulic line had also be nicked and exploded. All was obviously covered by warranty but was a big inconvenience. Just finished a month long trip without any issues. Hope that was the last of them. Good luck with yours. Chris
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Old 09-25-2019, 08:54 AM   #20
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Shimmy shimmy

On we go. Went to TWO local tire shops, one specializing in rv’s and large trucks, to have tires balanced in an effort to get rid of the shimmy between 60 and 70 mph. After the first shop shimmy was still the same. Went to the second tire store and they re balanced them, same result. I contacted the service representative I hade been assigned at Forest River/Isata. The reply was that these aluminum rims get bent during installation and at no charge they would get me two more. Sounds good BUT they want me to drive to a Mercedes Benz dealer to get the rims switched out, mounted and balanced. 4hrs over and 4 back. What these guys dont seem to understand is that its not at all free. I see fuel, one nights lodging food etc. i will be willing to bet that there a lot of facilities much closer to Pagosa Springs that can successfully mount and balance a couple of tires.
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