Parts On Backorder?

[blessed girlie]

Anyone else having "issues" getting parts from Forest River to your dealership?
We bought a 2012 Windjammer NEW from Dealership in NC. Had a tire blow out on the interstate (love those cheap Chinese tires FR puts on....NOT):
Had damage to our TT and has been at dealership for 3+ weeks waiting on parts from Forest River. Just told on Friday Forest River says another 2-3 weeks b/c parts are on backorder??? Seriously???And in the peak of camping season? This is a 2012 model...not some random older rig.
VERY FRUSTRATED with all of this.....Looking into a 5th wheel and pretty sure with this experience it WON'T be from Forest River....Is there a customer service rep/number I could contact to make sure I am getting the correct info from dealer?

[SaskCampers]

I guess it would depend on what parts you need as to availability as FR uses just in time manufacturing for a lot of their stuff which means they do not have spare stock laying around collecting dust. I had to wait 2 months for a new table top for our standalone dinette but a lot of that was waiting for delivery as it came in one of the new units the dealer had on order to save on shipping costs. It was no biggie to us as we could still use the unit but I understand your frustration with waiting.

[BarryD0706]

See post #26
here for contact information.

[tomjsas]

We bought our 8289ws mid-May. We asked for a 3rd Fantastic Vent cover over the living room vent to match the other two (kitchen and bathroom - didn't need bedroom as we got second a/c). it is just now shipping from Forest River. Don' know how much was communcation between dealer and FR versus the excuse that it was on backorder. But seems like there is quite the delay.

[bikendan]

someone else had similar issues.
i'll tell you what i told them.
contact FR parts dept.
many times dealers tell owners that the parts are on backorder, when in reality, the dealer hasn't even ordered them.
because they are waiting to get a bigger parts order together, in order to save more on shipping costs.

quite often the dealer will use the RV company, as a scapegoat and will blame the manufacturer, so that they aren't mad at them.

[cfsoistman]

Originally Posted by bikendan

someone else had similar issues.
i'll tell you what i told them.
contact FR parts dept.
many times dealers tell owners that the parts are on backorder, when in reality, the dealer hasn't even ordered them.
because they are waiting to get a bigger parts order together, in order to save more on shipping costs.

quite often the dealer will use the RV company, as a scapegoat and will blame the manufacturer, so that they aren't mad at them.

100% correct. I experienced this with our coach back when we made our punchout list. 10 weeks the dealer had the coach and kept stating they were waiting on parts when they hadn't ordered anything after 7 weeks. The dealers as stated wait until they have a large enough order to avoid high shipping costs.

[tomjsas]

Got notification today via myUPS that my vent cover will be here tomorrow. 4 months after we bought the unit.

[simplyrwc]

I have been waiting since June for hub covers. Had 5 lug in the fridge when I bought the trailer when I needed a 6 lug. My dealer told me that's what they come with. I emailed FR and they said they would send me some thru the dealer. Still waiting. Emailed FR and they said they are going to mail directly to me.

[blessed girlie]

After getting contact info . I talked personally with FR.....My dealer was correct...parts are still on back order....This is CRAZY....but at least my local dealer was honest (comforting).
Very disappointed with FR service after the sale....

By the way...just had new Goodyear tires installed all the way around...to avoid the blowout thing again....
Think I could sell those factory installed tires to anyone?

Thanks for all of your help!

[tomjsas]

Good to know that the dealer was being honest and probably so was mine. Haven't gotten my vent cover yet. The flooding here in Colorado has set the delivery back a couple of days. Amazes me that with all the roads that were closed that they are doing any deliveries!

[trudinator]

Originally Posted by blessed girlie

After getting contact info . I talked personally with FR.....My dealer was correct...parts are still on back order....This is CRAZY....but at least my local dealer was honest (comforting).
Very disappointed with FR service after the sale....

By the way...just had new Goodyear tires installed all the way around...to avoid the blowout thing again....
Think I could sell those factory installed tires to anyone?

Thanks for all of your help!

There are no guarantees that your Goodyear tires won't have a blowout. We're on our third year with our "cheap Chinese tires". haven't had any issues whatsoever. Since we've used them for three seasons and our TT sits outside in the elements 24/7/365, we plan on replacing them next spring. Sorry you're having issues with your parts though. we can relate; we waited 9 months for replacement couch cushions and about five months for a replacement table top. The wheels definitely turn slow at FR; I went through three different contacts at FR before I finally got a resolution. But at least we could use our TT while we were waiting.

[tomjsas]

Well got the package today. instead of a fantastic cover it is just a standard replacement one for the one in the living room! back to square one.

[pwb01]

Having been in a business for 40 years where I ask and wait for things on order, I find the term "BACK ORDER" is no more than a buzz word meaning I've checked, they know I checked and we still have no idea when it's coming. It doesn't really mean that any special action has been taken nor that something special is happening to expedite the process.

Somehow though we all feel better when we find out that what we need is on BACK ORDER.

[awellis3]

Originally Posted by blessed girlie

Anyone else having "issues" getting parts from Forest River to your dealership?

I live in Virginia and drove to RVWholesalers in Ohio to buy my 2014 Rockwood 2604WS, so my "dealership" is a few states away. Back in June, we had a stab motor go out due to water ingress. RVW had the part on my doorstep within two weeks. The reason it took that long was I had to trade e-mails and photos with Lippert to make sure I got the right motor. All this facilitated by RVW's warranty guru Laurie McCullough.
Last week the tongue jack went out (water again), so I took pictures and sent them to Laurie. My jack shipped yesterday.
So far - so good,
Teach

[JoeMazz]

Originally Posted by awellis3

I live in Virginia and drove to RVWholesalers in Ohio to buy my 2014 Rockwood 2604WS, so my "dealership" is a few states away. Back in June, we had a stab motor go out due to water ingress. RVW had the part on my doorstep within two weeks. The reason it took that long was I had to trade e-mails and photos with Lippert to make sure I got the right motor. All this facilitated by RVW's warranty guru Laurie McCullough.
Last week the tongue jack went out (water again), so I took pictures and sent them to Laurie. My jack shipped yesterday.
So far - so good,
Teach

After waiting 2 months for the new table tops for my brand new 2014 8282 WS I was able to intercept the cell phone number for the Forest River sales rep. I called his cell phone and when he answered he was not too happy that a customer had gotten ahold of his cell. I gave him an earful on why I thought 2 months for a tabletop was way out of bounds. Tabletop arrived three days later. Coincidence?