Structural issue 2018 Flagstaff 8529RLWS

maillady04 · 08-06-2018, 06:38 PM

Has anyone had an issue with the kitchen cabinet, counter top, and tile backsplash separating from the wall when slide extends out and then returns flush when slide is brought back in? Our unit has been at the dealer for seven weeks now due to this issue. Dealer is saying wall is not structurally sound where slide meets the wall. Forest River is trying to put a bandaid on the cabinet with liquid nail. Countertop has already separated from the wall with the first extension of the slide after the bandaid fix.

SeaDog · 08-07-2018, 06:07 AM

From your description I would suggest your rig go back to the factory for repair.

nomad297 · 08-07-2018, 06:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SeaDog

From your description I would suggest your rig go back to the factory for repair.

X2, or to the Goshen Rally.

Bruce

maillady04 · 08-07-2018, 06:32 AM

Yes, I agree. Dealer said that it needed to be returned to the factory from the beginning. Forest River said that it could be fixed at the dealer and sent specific instructions for the dealer technician to follow to repair it. Dealer is still saying it needs to go back to factory for reinforcing the wall where the slide is located. I am constantly calling Forest River and dealer everyday. This is very frustrating.

jeff64 · 08-07-2018, 06:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nomad297

X2, or to the Goshen Rally.

Bruce

I've got to go along with this. You need the factory's involvement and help.

Frankie66 · 08-08-2018, 01:13 PM

We are having the same issue with our 2018 Flagstaff 8529RLWS. We bought it in November. We noticed that there was some separation in the caulking on the aft corner of the kitchen counter. The dealer recaulked before we took it off the lot last Nov. We brought it back for warranty work last spring and told them the caulking needed to be redone and backsplash put back on. We just took an extended trip from Southeast Ga. to California and back , May thru July. The kitchen counter now has a 3/8 inch gap and 18 inches of backsplash has fallen off. It does close up when the slide is retracted. We also have noticed that partition between the dining room and living room has also separated from the wall . This gap does not go away when the slide is retracted. The counter and partition are fastened securely to the floor. Our RV is currently in the body shop being repaired due to one of the castle rock tires blew out and did $2100 of damage when we driving back in Oklahoma. We reported the wall separation to the dealer who is suppose to start repairs on the 15th of August.

maillady04 · 08-09-2018, 07:26 AM

Thanks for responding. Now we will have to check the other side as well. .l Do you have any pictures that you can post? It sounds like FR needs to put a beam in the wall right where the slide goes out. How is your dealer supposedly fixing the issue?

Frankie66 · 08-09-2018, 08:00 AM

They have not said how they are going to perform the repair. I will ask and let them know what you have been through.My wife just received an e-mail from a Forest River Rep stating they have not run into this problem before, and they hope our dealer can fix it. Oh well here we go, I will keep you posted. I did up load a picture hopefully you can open it. The picture needs to be rotated 90 degrees.

maillady04 · 08-09-2018, 08:03 AM

Here are some pictures after the technician followed FR instructions to fix it. The counter top and back splash pulled away from the wall with the slide being extended for the first time. The video shows all the liquid nail that was used.

maillady04 · 08-09-2018, 08:06 AM

This is after the fix.

dnm16 · 08-09-2018, 08:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by maillady04

Here are some pictures after the technician followed FR instructions to fix it. The counter top and back splash pulled away from the wall with the slide being extended for the first time. The video shows all the liquid nail that was used.

Here is the picture of the "quick fix" FR had the dealer do. Added a couple screws and lots of liquid nail to the left inside of the kitchen cabinet under the sink. This quick fix did nothing to solve the issue only prolonged this now 7.5 week back and forth battle.

Frankie66 · 08-09-2018, 08:32 AM

If they mechanically attach the kitchen cabinet and countertop with screws to the wall it will probably rip the cabinet base off the floor.

maillady04 · 08-09-2018, 08:51 AM

Sounds like this is a design gone wrong now that we know other people are having the same issue. Deb Reams is the FR warranty person on our claim. You can let you FR representative know that this is happening to other people.

dnm16 · 08-09-2018, 08:53 AM

Cabinet was already pulling away from the wall again with the extra screws and liquid nail so it wouldn't surprise me if the base came off the floor. As the slide was run in and out you could actually see the wall between the slide and the cabinet flex in an almost wave like motion.

dnm16 · 08-09-2018, 08:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by maillady04

Sounds like this is a design gone wrong now that we know other people are having the same issue. Deb Reams is the FR warranty person on our claim. You can let you FR representative know that this is happening to other people.

Deb Rimsa is our rep with FR. I have been on the phone with her almost everyday since the dealer told me the issue with the exception of this week when I haven't been able to get her to return a call since Monday.

AquaMan · 08-09-2018, 09:21 AM

Those trying to get in contact with the factory at this time, do be aware that the Goshen Rally is about to start and the factories are preparing for the rally. There is a lot of prep work that goes into the rally and trying to get all of that done and work with other claims becomes taxing. Keep up the communication, but don't get discouraged if you don't get a call back right away during this time.

dnm16 · 08-09-2018, 10:00 AM

I understand the Rally is next week but that doesn't give them an excuse to not take care of those of us who have had warranty claims in for weeks, in my case 7+ weeks, with no resolution.

maillady04 · 08-09-2018, 07:32 PM

Frankie66, Thank you for letting us know about the partition detaching also. We made a trip to the dealer for more pictures and found that the partition on our unit has also detached from the wall.

Frankie66 · 08-12-2018, 10:49 AM

Your welcome, we received a reply from our FR rep stating that we should bring our fifth wheel into a certified repair shop and let them look at it and submit a report to them so they can come up with a fix. Our RV has been in our dealers body shop for 3 weeks and is still waiting for repair parts from FR. The repair shop for the dealer has already looked at the the countertops and walls and we told this to this FR rep this last week. We will be calling our dealer and FR tomorrow.
I do have some good news the tire that blew up and caused all the damage to our RV was still under warranty. I submitted a claim form to be reimbursed for the tire, they do not cover collateral damage. To my surprise they are going to reimburse me for 5 tires. They would have sent me 5 of their tires but I don’t trust their brand which is Castle Rock. I am looking to buy Goodyear Endurance tires made in the USA. The name of the company is LionsHead speciality tire and wheel company they supply the rims and tires to FR.

dieseldodge · 08-13-2018, 06:40 AM

Threads like this make me cringe. Knowing I may have the same issues one day. Obviously the construction/design on these RV's are terrible. If it were to happen to us, we will try our best not to have it happen around Goshen Rally time.

Frankie66.....how many miles on the tire? When we bought a new FR Wildcat back in 2006 we knew the tires it would come with would be garbage so we pre arranged with the dealer to have him take them off upon arrival and we would supply him with replacements. The dealer gave us $100 a tire/wheel credit and we brought him some BFG truck tires to put on. Didn't have any tire issues with that trailer (had other issues....but not tires). Wish we'd done the same with our current Flagstaff.

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