2007 T26BH "lemon" revisited.

[eightrac]

You all might remember me from a post I left back in 2008 or so. I had this TT that I had bought new and had an extreme amount of trouble with it. I would like to take this time to explain some the problems I've had since the day I bought it and what I had to do to correct these issues. You must understand, I'm still battling a ton of issues that threaten to destroy this TT nearly every day. I brought this TT to a separate rv dealer to have it inspected and they found nothing. It was a new TT so I'm sure they weren't too in depth.

Day one; TT is overly heavy weighing in at over 9900 lbs at a local weigh scale. The sticker I found in the cupboard claims 7680 but I read somewhere that the weight is what the trailer weighs without furnishings. This is believable to me. The bad part is the brochure claims "5660". I have corrected this with some modifications to the tow vehicle just to get some better fuel mileage and to allow a little easier towing. Namely 4.88 gears and a supercharger.

Two years later I find discover the "tarp" material covering the bottom insulation of the TT sagging in the front. I cut a very small hole and nearly 80 gallons of water came out. Needless to say, the entire belly "tarp" material and insulation needed removal. Found several leaks in the front edge seals, the water heater exterior panel, the baggage door, the exterior shower, the city water connections and the baggage door open catch. All of these were installed without butyl sealing tape. I repaired all of this just to find the same thing last spring. Removed all of the "new" tarp material and insulation to dry the belly of the TT. Found the water heater connections to be loose and leaking. When I purchased this TT, I was told that the water heater was LP only. When I found this leak in the rear of the water heater, I then found the electrical plug tied to the water heater not plugged in. I clipped the zip tie and plugged into the water heater outlet and boom! electrically heated water. Just to find shortly thereafter that the water filter "fill line" near the wall had been leaking towards the wall for nearly three years and was contributing to the mess under the floor. Also, went to put up the awning one day and while I was reeling it up, the whole upper bracket just pulled out of the wall causing everything to come crashing down. Found that the upper bracket bolts are fastening the upper support bracket to NOTHING BUT ALUMINUM SIDING. I had to take down the cabinets with and the stereo, remove part of the interior wall and put a stud in the wall to re fasten the bracket.

During all of these problems I have called FR throughout, the first time I called was almost exactly one year from my date of purchase. They told me I was out of warranty and that I would be responsible for any damages. Needless to say, I wasn't happy with this and probably will not but FR again.

Now, fast forward to this year. This years camping season started the same as last year. More leaks. Two words of warning; DO NOT BELIEVE THAT DICOR LAP SEALANT WORKS. DONT TRUST FOAM STYLE LUGGAGE DOOR SEALS. Once again. The normal purging of the TTs floor....... Almost have it done this time but I think I have it done for good. I have sealed every gap, crack, space, exposed beam or anything that can leak with rubber sealant. OH!!!! AND I HAVE A NEW PROBLEM!!!! The ladder is on the RH side of the rear of the TT. Near the bottom rung I find a DAMN RUST HOLE about the size of a dime. I wash this thing literally ALL OF THE TIME to ensure it lasts. I opened up the hole more to remove the corrosion to find no leaks!!???? Its dry. Why did it rust????? After all of this I find ALL four tires tread is separating from the side wall. Nice, now I need $350 worth of tires. I put it up on jacks stands in winter and cover the wheels with covers at every opportunity. I think I'm just cursed. All of the paint/sticker/gray crap at the bottom of the TT is peeling off so my wife painted it with oil based paint to match. She did a good job but this thing is starting to look like its a 1987 not a 2007. I'm angry....... The worst part is that I still owe more than 5 years on this pile.....

I've fixed most everything else. The roof vent in the bathroom was a bad application of sealant. I still get an overload light on the power unit, I deleted the water filter and use an external now and I'm waiting on a new luggage door. I have permanently sealed the current one to allow use of the TT.

[Herk7769]

Wow. Worst tale I have ever heard.

[threegr8katz]

So sorry to hear all of this have you talk to a lawyer?

[eightrac]

Originally Posted by threegr8katz

So sorry to hear all of this have you talk to a lawyer?

Initially, yes. I was told that cases like this are difficult to prove as you cannot prove that the manufacturer caused the problems.

Recently, I was told by an RV dealer to park it under a bunch of dead trees and wait for it to be crushed to claim insurance. He said that his service advisor had never seen so many problems with a TT in such a small time. He asked me why the siding was wrinkled in the front and when I showed him the pictures of it opened up and with huge lines of liquid nails and rotten wood, his jaw dropped in shock. Funny thing was, the pictures were taken when the TT was only 14 months old....... You should have seen it, the plywood backing behind the diamond plate aluminum in th efront was nearly disintigrated. There were studs in the walls that werent connected at the bottom and had moved making large black marks on the inside of the wall paneling.

I have noticed some other things about it too in the past few days of working on it. The siding was very hastily installed. There are sharp, jagged cuts in it where there was an obstruction and there is nothing sealing the exposed wood from the elements. The slide appears to be crooked. I have no idea whats going on there. The slides are straight and it rolls in and out fine, its just crooked.

[dirttracker18]

I have a buddy stuck with a lemon too. Mid 2000's Puma. Floor is pealing up first summer. That winter floor is replaced under warranty. Had a leak the second year, (likey the cause of the floor lifting the first place) leak fixed under warranty. Next season the floor is soft in all front compartments. Goes back, sorry out of warranty. RV dealer has changed owners, say manufacturer is responsible. Contact manufacturer, they have paid out for warranty repair already so dealer is responsible. New owners will not take responsibility.

Now making payments (last year I hope) on a POS that he can never get any money back out of.

I recommended "tree" fix as well.

Most unfortunate when you hear these storie. What ever happened to standing behind your product?

[eightrac]

Well, I've cured all of the leaks. Took all of about 4 years of searching to find them all. Took it on a trip last weekend to Virginia Beach and it worked, well, great!!! Everything worked properly for once, it towed without swaying (probably due to not having 80 gallons of water in the belly) and I'm actually really pleased with it right now.

My new project is to start re-sealing the roof as it's been 4 years and I'm not too keen on Dicor sealants right now.

Going ot Sandbridge, VA next weekend so hopefully everything works out.

BTW: I miss being able to use the forward storage compartment from the outside (as the baggage door is permanently sealed). Makes things a little difficult at times.

[greenliner]

It seems that you're not alone. We bought a 2011 Salem T21FBS at the end of March. Camping World RV Sales in Tucson didn't PDI properly, so we find dings in the table leg, and one of the doors, flyscreen ripped, microwave not opening or closing properly, a cracked light unit in the kitchen, and worst of all, the tires were only at 30psi. Since we've had it we have found,
1) There's a water leak around the slide (whether in or out)
2) When you turn the heater on, no heater, but the air-conditioning comes on
3) The microwave still doesn't open or close properly, but also hums loudly even when not working
4) The oven would not light (Magic Chef - after much running around are fixing this)
5) The shower head has a constant stream of water even when turned off - and that's on the pump, worse when I'm on good external pressure
6) The air-con keeps stopping and starting when cooling the trailer down - with a LOUD humming while it's stopped

Try to get hold of Forest River? That's a joke. E-mails not answered, phones not picked up. HOPELESS

Judging by the quality of the PDI, I'm not letting Tucson Camping World touch it - they haven't even got a workshop, and if they had - well the PDI was carried out by the 'workshop foreman', so would you go there??

Not sure if the AZ Lemon Law covers TT's or just cars, but I guess we will have to get legal representation.

[prof_fate]

The tire issues may be from the trailer being way way overweight.
I wouldn't think a trailer should leak, but washing it often may be a a partial cause - rain falls nearly straight down and with little pressure compared to a hose - you may be forcing water in or past seals.
Are you parking the trailer level when stored? The manual is very specific on this point as there are gutters, window drains and more that only work properly when level.
Loose water and pipe connections were something my dealer warned my about - and suggested i check them -all- every so often. The vibration of driving it down the road, the winter cold/summer heat and so much time just sitting 'dry' can rattle things loose, dry out seals, etc.

Now if they didn't connect the studs in your walls I'm sure that is a major cause of your leaks - shake and shimmy down the road and seams will open up for sure.

Anyone ever figure out why some vehicles are so friggin bad? I had GM buy back an 89 truck (BBB arbitration) because they couldn't fix the way way rich running condition (14 mpg and sulpher smells from a 4 cyl 5 spd truck? Really?).
Like your trailer - it was made on the same day as several others and your problems cover many areas so even a bad worker or 5 couldn't be the cause. Like my S10- after replacing the computer, TBI and converter and everything else checking OK, the problem hadn't changed at all....and who says there's no ghosties in the machines, huh?

[capucine]

eightrac; For shure you are not alone with all these water leaks. Many peoples that buy trailers will never check under for leakages etc until the whole trailer is ready forthe scrapward. When I took possession of my new 2011 rockwood I was so happy until I found that the water was dripping under the trailer through the darco black membrane. My happyness was over and after the leakage I cut a bit of that membrane I found several leaks coming from the back wall and leakages coming from under the baggage doors. The new trailer was already a nightmare for us. It went to the dealer a few times for repairs but the leakage was still there after causing even more damages to the inside wall and under. The dealer at the end decided to ship the trailer to the factory and there the trailer was totally separated from the frame and a new wall at the back was totally replaced and the 2 baggages door insert and the doors. A brand new membrane was replaced also. All this mess on a brand new trailer enough to turn you crazy. My trailer is okay now but at what price ( mentally )?

[rbarrieau]

How about u can't open the bed room window with out smashing the door into it
And the awnining support is right in front of the pass thru storage on the door side. What kind of dope was this designer on?

[laflow]

The bedroom window drives me nuts too. Should have some type of slide window instead of a crank.

[capucine]

I think we need more women designers to figure how to built a trailer.

[eightrac]

Just crawled underneath yesterday and no surprise, leaks again. Not nearly to the scale of the spring though.

[capucine]

eightrac: as you can see it is never finished with trailers. There is always something to repair. They are built fast and even if you get another one the other one will have some other problems over the period you own it. It seem to me that the trailers of the eighties were built much better than todays trailers even if the new trailers have better technology.