Disappointing First Outing with Salem 179DBK

[itat]

JohnD10, the bunks in the OP's Salem are double size except for angles on the access corner. What makes you think those should be limited to supporting small kids? What if someone wanted to use them for buddies at a hunting camp?

I think the 500# limit is applicable to cable-supported beds on a hybrid but that's probably too much to expect with a bunk bed. You'd think the OP's double bunk beds should support 250 to 300#.

Maybe it was something to do with how he climbed/jumped up on the bed? Regardless of the rating, 2 screws is totally inadequate and couldn't reasonably have been seen in a PDI.

Schaef291234, KyDan is right that we see a lot of new members come and their first post is just to vent and complain about a problem, but not seek help. Its equally wrong though for others to bash you for doing so and not offering any help. That's what this forum is supposed to about - helping others. I've been help a tomn here. If the Site Admins have a problem with a post they should deal with it as soon as it comes to their attention rather than seeing what happens when people "slug it out". For the vast majority of threads, the Site Admins do an excellent job moderating the discussion and cleaning up posts that violate forum rules. Kudos to them for that.

[JohnD10]

Originally Posted by itat

JohnD10, the bunks in the OP's Salem are double size except for angles on the access corner. What makes you think those should be limited to supporting small kids? What if someone wanted to use them for buddies at a hunting camp?

I think I already said it...COMMON SENSE!

[cardwellmarty]

Originally Posted by ES_FR

Schaef291234,

Thank you for being a part of the Salem family.

Please accept our sincerest apologies for any inconveniences that you have experienced with your new Salem. Your satisfaction is very important to us; accordingly, we invite you to contact Miranda Blackburn in our Customer service department through the following personalized and direct link: Forest River RV Direct Service Contact - Forest River, Inc..

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

I did not think Forest River Corperation had anything to do with this Forum, that this was only individuals which owned Forest River RV's, nothing meant bad by my statement but was just wondering??

[moshe1436]

Like a great number of you, I have read this thread which unfortunately has turned into a mud-flinging contest with no-one coming out a winner. The OP has concerns that we, as fellow members of this forum, ought to try to help and not turn him into the villain.

It is only natural for an individual who just spent a sizable amount of money to be upset by the apparent lack of quality he is experiencing and certainly was expecting. I think any of us would react the same way. I hope that the OP finds satisfaction from the post from FR offering to help. If we throw away that kind of positive gesture from FR, we don't deserve to be allowed to post here. Yet I saw no comments responding to the FR RV representative!!

There probably are quite a few first time owners who have had disappointing "first-time outs" only to find help eventually from either the manufacturer, dealer or some other support system. And I would suspect most of those disappointed owners are now enjoying their units, looking back at all the negatives as distant memories.

And of course, those of us who have been happy with our RV experiences are not apt to post as much as one like the OP who is rightfully upset. We hear a lot more negatives than positives and that is the case with any forum. But we must read with empathy any post like what started this thread and have some sense of sadness for him and hope that he finds a way to make his purchase a positive one.

For a lot of us, we do the fixing ourselves and rely on our own creative ingenuity to solve our problems. But that isn't the way with everyone and we should recognize that and give as much help to those who may not be so creative in the same way.

Following along on the same line of thinking of the thread, I would like to know from anyone (who wants to bother to respond) about what year do you think the perceived lack of QC began in the RV Industry? Were the units built 30 years ago put together better than today; 20 years ago; 10 years ago? 5 years ago or more recently? I don't want to know about specific manufacturers, model lines or even TT vs 5thrv vs Motorhomes, just a general feeling when this change began to happen in the overall RV Industry.

Be positive and not negative with your posts -- it serves all of us better that way!

Mo

[JohnD10]

Originally Posted by cardwellmarty

I did not think Forest River Corperation had anything to do with this Forum, that this was only individuals which owned Forest River RV's, nothing meant bad by my statement but was just wondering??

Originally Posted by moshe1436

I hope that the OP finds satisfaction from the post from FR offering to help. If we throw away that kind of positive gesture from FR, we don't deserve to be allowed to post here. Yet I saw no comments responding to the FR RV representative!!

That person is not an FR employee...only posing here as one.

[cardwellmarty]

Originally Posted by moshe1436

Like a great number of you, I have read this thread which unfortunately has turned into a mud-flinging contest with no-one coming out a winner. The OP has concerns that we, as fellow members of this forum, ought to try to help and not turn him into the villain.

It is only natural for an individual who just spent a sizable amount of money to be upset by the apparent lack of quality he is experiencing and certainly was expecting. I think any of us would react the same way. I hope that the OP finds satisfaction from the post from FR offering to help. If we throw away that kind of positive gesture from FR, we don't deserve to be allowed to post here. Yet I saw no comments responding to the FR RV representative!!

There probably are quite a few first time owners who have had disappointing "first-time outs" only to find help eventually from either the manufacturer, dealer or some other support system. And I would suspect most of those disappointed owners are now enjoying their units, looking back at all the negatives as distant memories.

And of course, those of us who have been happy with our RV experiences are not apt to post as much as one like the OP who is rightfully upset. We hear a lot more negatives than positives and that is the case with any forum. But we must read with empathy any post like what started this thread and have some sense of sadness for him and hope that he finds a way to make his purchase a positive one.

For a lot of us, we do the fixing ourselves and rely on our own creative ingenuity to solve our problems. But that isn't the way with everyone and we should recognize that and give as much help to those who may not be so creative in the same way.

Following along on the same line of thinking of the thread, I would like to know from anyone (who wants to bother to respond) about what year do you think the perceived lack of QC began in the RV Industry? Were the units built 30 years ago put together better than today; 20 years ago; 10 years ago? 5 years ago or more recently? I don't want to know about specific manufacturers, model lines or even TT vs 5thrv vs Motorhomes, just a general feeling when this change began to happen in the overall RV Industry.

Be positive and not negative with your posts -- it serves all of us better that way!

Mo

Good post Mo....

[Mr. Dan]

Originally Posted by JohnD10

That person is not an FR employee...only posing here as one.

John, this is another of your posts that is incorrect. He IS a FR employee and is coded as a commercial member.

[Mr. Dan]

Originally Posted by cardwellmarty

I did not think Forest River Corperation had anything to do with this Forum, that this was only individuals which owned Forest River RV's, nothing meant bad by my statement but was just wondering??

Anyone can be a member of this forum including an employee of Forest River. The disclaimer (DISCLAIMER: This website is not affiliated with or endorsed by Forest River, Inc. or any of its affiliates. This is an independent, unofficial site.) does not preclude a Forest River employee from joioand contributing.

[JohnD10]

Originally Posted by Mr. Dan

John, this is another of your posts that is incorrect. He IS a FR employee and is coded as a commercial member.

OK...

This person has been asked by many here for several months about this and has not responded to any of those requests.

And every post is a carbon copy of the previous one, except for a name and phone number to call...

Which is why nobody takes him/her seriously.

Sorry for the mixup...

[Mr. Dan]

Originally Posted by JohnD10

OK...

This person has been asked by many here for several months about this and has not responded to any of those requests.

And every post is a carbon copy of the previous one, except for a name and phone number to call...

Which is why nobody takes him/her seriously.

Sorry for the mixup...

Do you know for a fact that this person has never responded to any of the MANY who have asked? Nope... you don’t.
There’s a software explanation for posts being carbon copies.
Some people take him seriously - just not you and a couple others.

[itat]

Originally Posted by JohnD10

I think I already said it...COMMON SENSE!

We'll have to agree to disagree on this one. We can debate all day what the bunks should be rated to hold but the OP said he saw only 2 screws (not sure if that's 2 screws per side or total). I hope we can agree that even 2 screws per side is inadequate for a bunk bed.

[stormer]

Originally Posted by Schaef291234

Before we set off on our journey, with our brand new 2019 travel trailer, I had noticed a few things wrong with it: one of the storage compartments didn't latch, a big scratch in the couch of the Murphy bed, a tear in the mattress of the Murphy bed, and a few other small things. Honestly, I was a bit surprised that these items wouldn't have gotten caught during the inspection, but whatever. I even found small attempts to cover up their mistakes and cut corners.

Then when we arrived at our campsite the first thing I noticed was that the electric motor for awning no longer worked . It worked fine during the orientation just a few weeks earlier. This was quite disappointing.

Then, 1 day into our camping trip I had to climb up onto the top bunk to check something. The next thing I knew the bunk collapsed. I weigh about 225 lbs. there is no posted weight limit for getting on the bunk. Once it collapsed I noticed there were only 2 wood screws holding it to the side of the wall that it collapsed on. Gimme a break. Imagine if my 3 yr old was in the bottom bunk when it fell.

Interestingly, once I pulled the mattress off the collapsed bunk there were all these screws in between the mattress and the board it was sitting on. Were these supposed to be screwed in? What kind of inspection process do these trailers go through? I am appalled.

Look at the screenshot I included from their website that talks about how "conscientious" their manufacturing is and how "thorough" and "detailed" their inspections are, and how they don't cut corners. This couldn't be farther from the truth. The truth is these things are thrown together as fast as possible and there is zero accountability during the manufacturing process

Wow, that stinks!! Well, I'm glad you are getting it fixed. Listen, when it comes to RVs, it's always a "need to know". "You don't know what what you don't know until you need to know".

I'm sure folks on this forum have a long list of things that "gotcha" when they first started RVing. You learn as you go and hopefully read up on forums like this to find out information "before" you "need to know". I must admit, I wouldn't have thought your bunk bed would collapse like that. That could have been a serious liability issue for them. I hope they get that squared away and make it good for you.

As for your wife, once you get things fixed up, you'll be having a LOT of fun in your new camper.



Take care,

James

[Flybob]

This is a legitimate post by FR (the company). There are not a lot of details, but it appears FR is evaluating a semi automated attempt to assist with customer issues. It is not clear how problem threads/posts are identified or how they determine which FR employee to refer the member to. This appears to be trial by FR and may not involve all divisions of FR. It is unclear if it will be successful but it appears to be a move in the right direction.

Originally Posted by ES_FR

Schaef291234,

Thank you for being a part of the Salem family.

Please accept our sincerest apologies for any inconveniences that you have experienced with your new Salem. Your satisfaction is very important to us; accordingly, we invite you to contact Miranda Blackburn in our Customer service department through the following personalized and direct link: Forest River RV Direct Service Contact - Forest River, Inc..

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

[kevin211]

When we did our PDI inspection on our used 5er, we spent about 4 hours going through everything,Yes the dealer wasn't happy about un-winterizing coach only to re-winterize it when finished but you get what you pay for. And yes we found things wrong from factory that the other owners never saw and were fixed. We are the finial stop, if it's correct i bring it home, if it's wrong it stays

[JohnD10]

Yes...

If the dealership tries to rush you through it...don't let them.

A one-hour PDI is not a PDI.

A good thorough PDI should last three to four hours.

[bedubya]

Originally Posted by JohnD10

I call Shenanigans...

You show me a 500 pound small kid...

And I've got some ocean front property in Arizona for sale...cheap!

Maybe not 500 lbs. But since the OP's camper has "Double over Double Bunks," a 300 lb. expectation is not unreasonable IMO.


I am continually amazed at how lucky we must have been when we took delivery on our Salem 232RBXL. Compared to others, our problems were minor.

[Indy500]

Originally Posted by Leo1956

We just purchased a new 2019 Class C motorhome January 11th and while were were at the dealership we noticed several things wrong. They told us to take it out for the weekend and write down everything we found wrong. We ended up with a full page of items. Took it back the next week and they still have it. They are fixing everything. I feel like most of the issues should have been found prior to it leaving the factory. Thinking I should have hired a certified inspector prior to buying it.

That sounds like a great job, an RV inspector. As long as they are not hired by the manufacturer or dealer . An independent company with inspectors. It could be added into your financing on the purchase, totally up to the purchase., I might just look into this as a new career

[Indy500]

Originally Posted by KyDan

Hey Allen, just a couple observations from someone who's spent WAY too much time in internet chat boards like this one!

We often see 2 types of new member posts here at FRF.
A- someone has a new rig and they are looking for information, camaraderie, maybe help with an issue.
B- someone has more serious issues and they want to vent, complain, "punish the manufacturer".

Those are very general categories and there are many variations.

Here as with many other chat boards you more or less get back what you put in.
If you come here angry and post likewise, you probably will find other angry people respond to your thread.
If you come here with problems but looking for advice how to proceed what to do next, especially how to fix some specific problem- you will find the forum to be a wealth of information and people who love camping and RVing and want to help you do likewise.

My mother used to say "you catch more flies with honey than you do with vinegar". Corny but oh, so true.

ALSO- my moderator hat is on- we mods try to watch all the threads but no way can we read every one in it's entirety. If we see a new member with issues looking for help and we notice other member(s) posting less than helpful responses we will often step in and moderate.
BUT- if we see a new member posting angry and "slugging it out" we might step back and watch what happens....
We do try to enforce the "be nice" rule but if you're dishing it out you can expect some in return.

Hope you get your issues cleared up in time for a great camping season!
Happy Trails!

And this is why I love this forum, great job guys.

[Indy500]

Originally Posted by moshe1436

Like a great number of you, I have read this thread which unfortunately has turned into a mud-flinging contest with no-one coming out a winner. The OP has concerns that we, as fellow members of this forum, ought to try to help and not turn him into the villain.

It is only natural for an individual who just spent a sizable amount of money to be upset by the apparent lack of quality he is experiencing and certainly was expecting. I think any of us would react the same way. I hope that the OP finds satisfaction from the post from FR offering to help. If we throw away that kind of positive gesture from FR, we don't deserve to be allowed to post here. Yet I saw no comments responding to the FR RV representative!!

There probably are quite a few first time owners who have had disappointing "first-time outs" only to find help eventually from either the manufacturer, dealer or some other support system. And I would suspect most of those disappointed owners are now enjoying their units, looking back at all the negatives as distant memories.

And of course, those of us who have been happy with our RV experiences are not apt to post as much as one like the OP who is rightfully upset. We hear a lot more negatives than positives and that is the case with any forum. But we must read with empathy any post like what started this thread and have some sense of sadness for him and hope that he finds a way to make his purchase a positive one.

For a lot of us, we do the fixing ourselves and rely on our own creative ingenuity to solve our problems. But that isn't the way with everyone and we should recognize that and give as much help to those who may not be so creative in the same way.

Following along on the same line of thinking of the thread, I would like to know from anyone (who wants to bother to respond) about what year do you think the perceived lack of QC began in the RV Industry? Were the units built 30 years ago put together better than today; 20 years ago; 10 years ago? 5 years ago or more recently? I don't want to know about specific manufacturers, model lines or even TT vs 5thrv vs Motorhomes, just a general feeling when this change began to happen in the overall RV Industry.

Be positive and not negative with your posts -- it serves all of us better that way!

Mo

I had a 1986 , it was built very good, sold it 5 years ago, everything still worked .

[Schaef291234]

Well, I must say this thread has gotten a lot more responses than I thought it would have... most of them very positive and supportive, which I am very appreciative of.

I wanted to clarify a few things:

As you can probably guess, I am brand new to RV'ing. Well, maybe not brand new. My parents RV'd back in the 80s and I tagged along, but I was just a kid and wasn't involved in any decision-making or repairing, etc. However, I AM a brand new RV OWNER.

That being said, like any other new venture, you don't know what you don't know. In other words, you don't even know the questions to ask let alone what the correct answers should be. You are really at the mercy of the dealer to tell you what you should be concerned about. Of course they're not going to tell you during the walkthrough that you will "probably find things wrong with it...", but I'm sure that's what they're thinking.

You can see in the picture of the original post that one side fell and the other side is still holding for the most part. The 2 screws were holding the top bunk to the one side of the bunk that fell. I have no idea how many screws are in the other side.

When the dealer reinstalls the bunk I am not going to trust that they have reinforced it properly. I am definitely going to install some strong L-brackets and aluminum braces and even climb up there myself and bounce around a few times to see how it holds.

As for "pre-purchase research" I felt like I did a very thorough job at the time, but who knows, maybe I didn't. I shopped around. I watch numerous youtube videos on "Things New RV'ers should look for..." My in-laws even bought me a book on RVs, which I read.

Naively, I expected the quality of my RV to be that of a new car or truck fresh off the assembly lines of Ford, Honda, or Toyota. Now that you are all laughing at that last statement I made, that should tell you how new I actually am to RV'ing.

Yes, I was (and probably still am) venting. I am just amazed that this industry has so little accountability and regulation. Not only is the collapsing bunk a "quality" issue, but it's also a "health and safety" issue. My 3-year-old son was playing in the bottom bunk just minutes before I climbed up there. I can't even imagine what would have happened if he was sitting on the edge of the bottom bunk when the top bunk fell. I don't WANT to know.

If there is a known weight limit, the manufacturer should place a sticker near the top bunk that says exactly what the weight limit is. If that was the case then the trolls in here would have a field day... "Why didn't you read the sticker you moron! It says right there that it wouldn't hold your fat *ss..." but there is no sticker and there isn't even anything in the owner's manual.

Since my original post I have contacted customer service at Forest River. They have apologized up and down and stated that the warranty will cover it. I guess that's all I can do for now. When I pressed them about their Quality Control process they really seemed to avoid that whole discussion altogether, which tells me that they're not really interested in getting to the heart of the issue. They seem to be fine with letting the warranty department handle the issues on the back end.

Again, thanks to you all who have posted helpful and encouraging comments. I appreciate you!

- Schaef