No help from Forest River

[Namaw]

As suggested by other forum members & even our dealer, I called Forest River to express my frustration with the quality of our 2015 Sierra 360PDEK 5er & to share my bigger issues with them (I didn't even bother to mention the aesthetic stuff even if it does point to more poor workmanship) The gentleman that I spoke with from warranty, Wayne, acted as though he didn't understand why on earth I was bothering him. He told me to go the dealer & let them fix it, then did everything he could to get me off the phone. I got the distinct impression that he couldn't have cared less what was wrong. It isn't their problem. Hung up feeling more frustrated & angry than ever. I thought they were supposed to be so wonderful & willing to help. Clearly I was mistaken. I guess we will see if the dealer can fix all of the issues, including the structural ones & if not, I'm stuck with it as is. :/ VERY disappointed right now.


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[Kevin & Judy]

Hello
Try contacting Dan Evans at forest river. he was a great help for me. 574-206-7605
devans@forestriverinc.com

[Platokidd]

Try calling back and get someone else to talk too. Some folks are more helpful then others.

[Namaw]

I was told that he is the only one who handles Sierra & 3 other models. When I first called, his mailbox was full so I couldn't leave a message. I called back & asked to speak with someone else. The lady told me there was no one else. :/



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[Cajun Moon]

That's my impression with him also!


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[vinmaker]

Thanks for sharing this information. These facts need to get out there into the public forum so people are aware of these things. People will be able to make more informed decisions.

Vin.

[brewjaz]

Originally Posted by vinmaker

Thanks for sharing this information. These facts need to get out there into the public forum so people are aware of these things. People will be able to make more informed decisions.

Vin.

X2

[JRRoden]

Man I just had the same experience! FR is the worst hands down!


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[X96mnn]

From my experience, the overall satisfaction when trouble happens will be based on how good the dealer your working with is. It doesn't not matter which mass production line unit you pick through forest river, Thor, Monaco, just to name a few it will be the exact same. None of them are going to go out of their way to make a dealer do anything at all. Great dealer, great experience, good dealer, good experience, bad dealer......I think you get it.

Campers really do seem to be the luck of the draw on quality, just like a car I guess. Either the person will swear by them or just swear at them. Anyone who wants to really look for issues is going to find them.

[Volvodriver]

I know the "Wayne" you are referring to. You and the other folks need to contact factory #3 and speak with the real managers who build the Sierra's and Sandpiper units. I can help with that if you want. Send me a pm if you care to and we can get you to the right people.

As far as the dealer urging you to call FR, it appears to me, but not knowing all the facts, that they would like to wash their hands of this and get you and your WARRANTY problems down the road. If you have a 2015 then they should stand behind the WARRANTY, if the dealer ahs given you one when you purchased your rig.

We had plenty o' probs with our unit but FR came through. I personally would not have the dealer where we purchased ours fix a bicycle tire because they would tell me "its only flat on the bottom".

[SilverbackMel]

Sounds like you need to repair sustaining use items and pack your bags and sign up for the Rally in Goshen next year. Your problems will be addressed there.

Just a note: if your selling dealer is washing his hands of your problems, get approval on a per case basis to use another local RV repair service.
My selling dealer is 375 miles, one way. NOT going back for anything I can have fixed near home or during travel.

As far as the Rally, have not spoken to anyone disappointed by going there. We had 6 items repaired on our 2015 Silverback, all in 30 minutes.
After finishing, tech looked up at the front and saw LED landing lights were not properly sealed...bam; done.

Love my Silverback and FR!

[Volvodriver]

X2. Did the rally too, and could not be more pleased with FR. Fixed our list and then some, including 5 new HD rv specific tires and new steel wheels.

Dave

[asquared]

Sorry to hear that. We are having a bunch of issues but one email to the factory warranty rep and my fiver is now scheduled for a return trip to the factory on forest rivers dime. I know attitude has a lot to do with how helpful people can be. I wasn't there to know how your conversation went but I bit my tongue and stayed very pleasant and thankful for any and all help and communication. It paid off for me. If you tried that already, then i think you might need to go up the food chain as forest river is better than the service this guy is giving you. Good luck.

[Namaw]

Thanks for the information folks. Looks like there might still be more options to get our mess fixed. I will give the dealer (unfortunately, we have a bad one) the opportunity to make the repairs next month, when it is scheduled to be taken in. If they can't come through, I'll check into these other options. It is just SO frustrating that we have to deal with all of this. I think if the guy I spoke to at FR had just shown a little empathy, it would have gone a long way. Our punch list is up to about 40 items now.


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[SKnight]

My dealer screwed around four weeks of the six I gave them before ordering parts, they claimed that they were sooooooo busy they couldn't get to it to even diagnose anything.

So now I get to haul it back for the repairs that they had to order parts for, it's about $90 in fuel round trip. I don't know about you but in my little world $90 is a lot of money to waste.

Plus they declared things fixed that aren't. My door lock, the electronic part of the latch hasn't worked correctly since I got it. They put fresh batteries in it, underlined the factory default code in the manual but apparently didn't bother to see if it actually worked.

I took it apart because I didn't want to get stuck in my trailer unable to unlock the door and found that the output gear in the leetle tiny transmission that actuates the bolt was stripped causing the jam. I called Bauer and guess what? They're sending me one, I'll have it next week. Now, why is that so hard for a dealership?

The dealer also passed me on to Forest River, I was transferred to someone's voicemail who hasn't bothered to call back yet.

So I'm quite unhappy with FR right now. I'm very happy I didn't drop the extra coin on the FR extended warranty because if I have to fix things myself then it would be more wasted money.

[asquared]

Namaw---- when I spoke to the sabre rep he said I could take it to any forest river dealership for repairs if I had problems getting my fiver in at my selling dealership. He said they didn't even need to sell my brand. If you can find another Dealership willing to take you in then try them but ask for a time estimate before dropping off. I have been fortunate to have a great dealership. My only issue is the service manager is out for surgery and the parts manager is on vacation this week so their usual fast response is a little delayed right now. that's ok because my Sabre warranty rep is shipping me the propane line I need to keep camping via UPS today. This will hold me until my fiver goes back to the factory in about a month.

[Tm_rich]

Sorry to hear about your problems....we encountered the same problems with our sandpiper ...we purchased a 2014 PDEK 360 on 3/28/14 had it in our possession for a total of 22 days ....it was at the dealer and then sent back to the factory for three weeks then they decided to just swap us out with a new 2015 model at the middle of August. Sent the new one down and it was worse,off the other one...we told them no way....so they purchased our trailer back at full price what we paid for it and gave us a $2000 added for the payments we had made without having a trailer all summer long...then we just purchased a 2015 coachmen Brookstone 361 LS and absolutely love this trailer....you have to be patient but it will work out for you....


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[Volvodriver]

Happy to hear that some of the posters are getting the help that they need.
Patient, sometimes, is the key virtue in getting results. As I have stated, I would not take our rig back to our purchasing dealer to have them fix a bicycle tire. I would not hesitate, if the problems were severe enough, to take it to the factory in Goshen, because of the first class treatment we received when we attended the rally. The plant manager said to me, "if you need anything done, come by the factory", and "contact me any time, here is my personal email and cell number". Could not ask for better personal service than that. We're Forest River fans.