So disapponted with our new 2010 356rl lemon plus major slidout problems - Page 2

Luv to camp · 08-20-2010, 10:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by donn

I said it before and I will say it again. INSIST that Forest River take it back to the factory and fix everything. It is obvious that the service department at your dealership is in over their heads.

The service department is saying it is Forest River that wants to repalce a piece at a time. Any suggestions on how I can make this happen. I have already told the owner of the dealership that I wanted a replacement or my money back & he said I had to give them a chance to fix it.

Heck the bubbles in the roof are normal as far as the dealer is concerned. I was told by a local RV repair shop that dealers don't like to do warranty work because the manufacture will only give them a certain amount of time to fix something & if they go over that amount of time the dealership eats that.

revrnd · 08-20-2010, 11:39 PM

On the other hand if the manufacturers had built them properly in the 1st place, there wouldn't be the warranty repairs.

Luv to camp · 08-27-2010, 05:14 PM

Update....

Spoke to the dealer today & I am fit to be tied I cannot believe some of the things this man told me. The service man says in needs to go back to the factory the owner says it doesn't heck none of them know what they are talking about & as far as the dealer is concerned none of the probelms we have are major & it is stil usable so he just isn't sure what the problem is. He refused to conference call Forest River with me stating they were taking care of the problems he just needed to consult with the service man & time to get it fixed. I told the dealer I bought new so I would not have these problems & he told me if I would of bought used I would not of had a warranty .

Hey at least the slide outs coming out when traveling is supposedly fixed now we have slideout seal problems. The serviceman claims it has to go to the factory & the whole room has to be removed who knows.

I called Forest River & spoke to I believe his name is Jeff he is a really awesome guy & has assured me the water leaks are a mojor problem as well as the slide outs. He was astonished that the returned the RV to us the first time with out the slide outs fixed & claims he told them the first time they had it in it was the cylinders leaking. He agreed with me there was no way they go of done the PDI test & not found the water heater hooked up backwards or the leaks in the water lines.

So here is the plan we are going to take it & use it until the season is over with at that time I will get in touch with Jeff & review the problems we are still haing if it warrants they will come & get it, take it to the factory go thru & fix everything run it thru their PDI facility & return it to us. Jeff said that anything they fix at the factory will have a 1 year warranty from the time of repair.

Sorry so long.

milzat · 08-27-2010, 05:35 PM

Glad to hear Jeff; and FR will take care of everything.

Hope all goes well.

NWJeeper · 08-27-2010, 05:46 PM

From the tales we have seen here I have found that FR is usually really good at taking care of folks even out of warranty in many cases. Dealers are another story as you have found out. It's too bad that dealers can put such a negative light on the manufacturer for their incompetence.

I trust things will get taken care of and you will be able to really enjoy the rig. I also hope that you have taken the time to post a report in the "bad dealers" section about your experience with yours.

revrnd · 08-27-2010, 08:21 PM

You would think that in preserving future sales, FR (& the other OEMs) would want to weed out these dealers. Mind you w/ so many OEMs out there, a bad dealer has just start selling another brand.

milzat · 08-27-2010, 09:00 PM

FR tries to weed out the bad dealers. I've seen this first hand with a local dealer.

IMO, FR needs to own and operate their own dealerships, such as some Automotive, Industrial & Agricultural sector have done. This way, they are able to operate the dealership properly. In most cases, the factory owned dealerships have done a better job at customer delivery & satisfaction.

Most of the RV dealers are profit drivers, get rich quick and fly-by-night folks. They speak with forked tongues and focus on quick sales without service. When things start going down hill, they close the business down and move on to another line of work.

ynott96 · 08-28-2010, 08:32 AM

We purchased a bradn new 2008 Georgetown 373DS Class A and from day 1 when the brake lights refused to work...dealer said it was a Ford chassis problem and would not assist us....this was our day of picking up the "new" coach....from then on 117 days in for service...slides in/out on their whim, 12 volt lighting system in a shorted mode, entire inverter burned up while camping,not one of the TV's worked!,finally filed Lemon Law posting in Florida..went to mediation..Forest River very pleasant and honest to work with...we wound up trading out for different model 374, 2008, and have been extremely pleased since,,only 2 minor problems...nothing of consequence!

George

The_Stuff · 08-29-2010, 10:59 AM

glad FR is doing something for you!

Boyd · 08-29-2010, 12:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Iggy

Sorry to hear about all the problems you have had over the past year.

All I can say is your case is very rare because we have many satisfied customers here and no where has anyone had so much problems as you.

Don't get me wrong but raving here isn't the solution.
Have you had a 5th wheel before this one?
Who is your dealer?
Has your dealer been communication with Forest River?
Has your dealer been working trying solve the problem?
Who has your dealer been working with at Forest River?
Have you contacted Forest River directly?
Has Forest River made any concessions to you?
How many days has your rig been in for repairs?

Forest River has bent over backwards to insure their customers are satisfied. I would suggest to talk with someone at Forest River.

Good luck

I have a 2010 Freelander Dreamer 30' QB (Coachman) which had quite a few issues to be resolved after 4 months of use, many of which we were to naive to notice before driving it off the lot.

The dealer/service department where you buy, or have your rig serviced, is the crutial link between the manufacturer and the customer. If you get a lousy dealer interested only with profit and allows shoddy service your whole RV'ing experience is dampened.

I live in a remote area, The Upper Peninsula of Michigan, and it's been frustrating having to deal with extreamly poor workmanship exhibited by my dealer. Having to drive 90 miles and back, to and from Ishpeming for repairs that fail within weeks is downright discouraging. Consequently, (even though I'm still under warrantee) I've resulted to repairing what I can and hope I'm not voiding my warrantee.

The one issue I've delt directly with the manufacture, Forrest River, is about air/light gaps beneath my open slide. The ill-fitting seal around the slide-out rail not only lets in dust and cold air but the bees during supper is more than troublesome for this hyper-allergic fellow. The Forrest River lady that answered the phone call I placed to them was very helpful and gave me the number of the person I needed contact. When I talked with the fellow about the air leak, his response was, "That's just the way it is, it's not a *perfect* seal." I wondered if Forrest River had designed/developed a retrofit for the problem. I was willing to buy anything to make it right. "No," he said. I asked if this type of slide is still being manufactured and put into new RV's. His reply, "Yes."

It is a plain poor design that is used just to save on manufacturing costs with minimal concern for the end user....us. I don't know about you, but to me, it is sort of like buying a tent with a hole in the side.

My advice, for what it's worth, to potential buyers of rigs with slides,
is to check out how effective the seal is when the slide is out. Get down on your hands and knees, lay on your back if necessary and give it a good, up-close exam.

Life is good.

Happy travels and caviat emptor

revrnd · 08-29-2010, 07:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Boyd

My advice, for what it's worth, to potential buyers of rigs with slides,
is to check out how effective the seal is when the slide is out. Get down on your hands and knees, lay on your back if necessary and give it a good, up-close exam.

Life is good.

Happy travels and caviat emptor

After reading the issues people have had w/ slides, I'm glad I went against conventional thinking & bought a TT w/o a slide.

Iggy · 08-29-2010, 08:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by revrnd

After reading the issues people have had w/ slides, I'm glad I went against conventional thinking & bought a TT w/o a slide.

You do know that you only hear about the bad news from folks with slides. The rest or 99.9% are silent because they don't have any issues.

What I'm saying is most bad issues here are just a few and I can understand that. You take the information and make your own decision like you did. NO SLIDE. My past 2 5th wheels have had slide and I have not had any issues with any of them.

revrnd · 08-29-2010, 08:20 PM

Well I hadn't heard about the bad slides when I was shopping, so that really play a part in my decision. I like to subscribe to the KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid) Theory. Since I'm not dealing w/ a family of travellers, the 2106 is a perfect size.

NWJeeper · 08-29-2010, 08:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Iggy

You do know that you only hear about the bad news from folks with slides. The rest or 99.9% are silent because they don't have any issues.

What I'm saying is most bad issues here are just a few and I can understand that. You take the information and make your own decision like you did. NO SLIDE. My past 2 5th wheels have had slide and I have not had any issues with any of them.

Well said John. We have 3 slides and no issues with them.

backin15 · 08-29-2010, 09:30 PM

Hopefully after all your problems you still luv to camp!
I also experienced several water leaks and a handful of other problems with my new Flagstaff but after half a dozen trips to the dealer I think my problems are behind me. I blame a lot of the problems on my dealer as I think they should have been caught. It was obvious they had never connected water to it when during the PDI when I asked to connect the water so I could test the faucets and a couple major leaks were discovered. A couple others were found during our first couple camping trips which like you led to running off the pump. We recently returned from a troublefree 2 week 1,000 mile vacation. Hopefully your problems will be corrected and you will have many years of happy camping. Have you considered bringing it to a different dealer? Any Forest River dealer should be able to do warranty work for you.
Don't worry about the bubbles in your roof, mine has them too and both my dealer and Forest River told me the roof is only bonded around the edges so it can expand and contract without tearing.
Boyd - I found the same thing with my lower slide seal. I am thinking of putting a couple slices in it with a razor knife so it will seal around the rail. I will say that last time we were out we were hit by a nasty storm with torrential rain and at least a 60 MPH wind sustained for about 15 minutes. The wind was blowing directly at my rear slide seal. I grabbed a flashlight and a towel and waited for the water to come in but - nothing. I was amazed there was no leakage with that combination of wind and rain.

grhodes50 · 08-29-2010, 10:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Iggy

You do know that you only hear about the bad news from folks with slides. The rest or 99.9% are silent because they don't have any issues.

Iggy is right and not just about slide issues. I have posted numerous complaints about my tt, but at the same time I realize I fall in that small percentage group. I do it for two reasons, one to vent. Got to blow off some of that steam sometimes. Second, to let other people know about the problem and what I was able to do about it, right or wrong, and to get help from fellow members.
As I have posted on other FRF threads, I'm looking at a Prime Time tt, a new division of FR. I don't believe there is any other manufacturer building RV's any better, if as good. But again, it does seem like people have more problems than they should and it does get frustrating. Sometimes I think it's hard for those who haven't experienced never ending problems to fully understand. Of course there are those who offer ideas, suggestions and support. I appreciate each one.
It seems like everyone who purchases a tt will have issues. Some more than others. Most people enjoy fixing the problems theirselves while others, for one reason or another, would rather have the dealership perform the repairs. I fall some place in between. My two previous tt's were relativley problem free and I enjoyed doing the small routine repairs and still do.
Hopefully we will all reach the point where we can enjoy our RV's. After all, that's what it's all about, isn't it?

rockwood06 · 08-30-2010, 04:52 AM

I have had problems as well with my slide out, three different time and three different problems. The more they are operated the sooner the problems will pop up, the more you tow your rig the sooner the problem will show with other issues that's just the way it is.
Manufactures of RV's are not going to make a units that will last a long time, most people will be buying a new one on an average between 5 to 7 years. I am on my second one and I just bought a park model because I know my Rockwood will not last another 5 years with out major repairs and at that point it's not worth it in my mine.
Sorry to be up front with this but there is no reason to suger coat the RV Industy, It's a mess just like other things in this country.

revrnd · 08-30-2010, 09:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Iggy

You do know that you only hear about the bad news from folks with slides. The rest or 99.9% are silent because they don't have any issues.

What I'm saying is most bad issues here are just a few and I can understand that. You take the information and make your own decision like you did. NO SLIDE. My past 2 5th wheels have had slide and I have not had any issues with any of them.

I guess w/ reading the posts about delam', bubbles, etcetera in composite walls, I should've went w/ the tin

. When I was looking last year for a TT, brother said that some folks did issues w/ the composites, but the tin trailers are more prone to the black streak issues.

You may also like: