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Sixmax,
Do you still have your 2013 Wildcat? Have you learned anything further regarding the many issues you listed? I'd be interested in hearing any possible solutions you might have come up with.
After reading all these posts I can say that over the short time I've had my 327CK, I've experienced all these issues and more. I know that most of these postings are years old but I feel it's important to list my experiences so that anyone else experiencing the same issues might be able to ask me and I might be able to ask others regarding solutions and so anyone not already stuck with this RV can possibly make an informed decision. Issues I've experienced: (faulty wiring, leaking slides, major problems with slides not operating properly and not aligning due to breaks in welds and bad design, kitchen hanging lights constantly tripping breaker and blowing bulbs, outside outlet not working, wipe seals not making contact with slides causing major water leak when I first got unit, wrinkles in rubber roof, small water leak in pass-through storage compartment, broken landing gear shaft, factory installed incorrect thermal breaker, etc.) My latest problem which brought me to this forum again is my Jensen TV in living room made loud electrical popping sounds and is no longer working. I suspect this is due to the quality of the wiring but not sure yet. I once took this RV to my brother's home in Texas for a stay and since he is a Master Electrician I asked him to look at my problem with the kitchen hanging lights constantly blowing, tripping breaker and outside outlet not working. After about an hour my brother came out from behind the basement service panels with a look of dismay on his face and politely asked me to move my RV further away from his home, in case it catches fire!! He was amazed at the quality of wiring and receptacles used, the haphazard way it was run through the trailer, he said it looked like the trailer had been completely wired by someone who lacked even the basic principles of electricity. BTW...he traced the outside outlet problem to a short in the circuit after leaving the panel and inside the wall cavity itself.
Some problems and solutions I've dealt with: I've always had some minor problem with the slides and had to have them re-adjusted twice to prevent leaks but about 3 months ago I tried to close the open slide and the large living room slide started to mis-align and only the top of one side would close, the bottom of the other side was still sticking out by 3 feet, to the point I couldn't even tow it. I had a mechanic come to the trailer and after many attempts he was able to mechanically get it in enough to tow it to the dealership. When I got it to the dealership I was talking with one of the mechanics who normally doesn't deal with customers and he told me that Forest River designed that slide framing and rollers in a way that was the biggest blunder he had ever come across. I didn't pay much attention to his comments until the warranty company rejection response was "they do not cover this issue due to it being a failure directly related to the way the slide was designed". The warranty rep was very familiar with this problem and considered it a manufacture's design flaw for being under engineered. The master tech at my dealership completely re-built the slide framing using a stronger square frame and hardware which he had specially made at a fabrication shop because he said the manufacturer's parts are such bad quality and strength. Since then this slide has worked perfectly although i worry about the same thing happening to other slide. The tech told me there's a good chance it won't happen to the other slide because it's so much smaller with less weight. I would caution those who haven't learned this yet to always keep an eye on the couch when operating the slides. As others have said the couch has a tendency to not move freely with the slide which would normally not be a big deal but combine that with the slide alignment problems you start running from outside, back inside to the controls, trying to figure out why the slides aren't operating correctly, moving the slides through the full motion several times to align them....that you can easily get distracted to the fact that your couch is getting kinked up between cabinets and the other slide. Mine is hydraulic slides which means it has more than plenty of power to crush anything in the way and since Forest River's choice material is OSB and particle board it will first break the legs and frame of your couch and then start crushing and breaking the OSB sub-floor into pieces. Typically a good RV owner will always check the clearance of slides and make sure there's no objects to obstruct the free motion of the slides but like I said be extra cautious you don't become distracted dealing with slide problems and cause yourself another problem. -I've also just starting experiencing the same front cap appearance of oxidation that many other Forest River owners are having. I say appearance of oxidation because I take very good care of my unit and this problem can't be blamed on lack of care. I've had my unit professionally cleaned and treated every 3 months and I'm still having this problem. The latest issue of Trailer Life mag dealt with this problem and they recommended cleaning, polishing with rubbing compound and if none of this works to have the end cap taken to a body shop for professional intervention. Since I've been doing all the beginning steps I guess I'm going to have to take the RV into a body shop which is unacceptable for the age of the unit.
- I had the same problem with the round door at the end of the kitchen cabinet not working properly and this was a fairly simple fix which can probably be expected with any RV. I basically had to replace the door catch inside cabinet and it has worked great since, before that i had to zip tie the door handle to the other door handle to keep it from swinging open and busting cabinet during travel.
-I had many issues with the installation of the trim and caulking. It looks like Forest River gives the job of caulking and installing screw fasteners to the less skilled workers or the workers who have little pride in what their doing. I found many places on the RV were weather stripping was cut too short but it was still used, or outside trim which wasn't sized correctly and was couple inches short. Sometimes it was only cosmetic but others it was the source of the many small water leaks i had when i first got the unit. I paid out of pocket to have my dealership re-caulk the outside of the unit and it really does help with those mystery leaks.
The key problem in Forest River production as i see it, is the quality of materials and absolute lack of quality control. I wouldn't consider it a positive statement for FR to announce these units were assembled in America. No American can take pride in whats being thrown together at FR. As someone being tasked with running a small business and dealing with quality labor problems i can honestly state that it wouldn't surprise me in the least if FR wasn't using unskilled, temp labor for the bulk of their production staff...or this is how it seems to me. To be fair to FR i have looked at dozens of RV manufacturers and even more models and the quality of a luxury unit that costs >$100K isn't much better when you get down to the bones of the unit. There's obviously a problem within the industry to set it's own quality standards and there's a terrible need for a 3rd party QA organization to start insuring that consumers are getting a decent product for the massive amount of money they are spending. I personally would be glad to pay a considerable amount more for an RV if i knew that a respected standards organization had certified the unit and that certification actually meant something as obviously the existing organizations which have attempted this already have failed.
If anyone reading these posts have come up with any unique solutions to address these problems or has any new warnings i would be appreciative for any advice give. Has anyone else had problems with their L/R Jensen TV shorting out, having electrical problems with the TV or with the back outlets that the TV is plugged into?
Thanks!
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Later RJD
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