2011 SV302

[guitar-man]

Surveyor 302SV 2011
(Not sure where to post this so under new camper post i guess)
When we first bought our new camper we were so excited, we had camped with a very nice Zinger for the last three years but did not have enough cabin room for us empty nesters and we wanted to upgrade and we thought this was the perfect upgrade until we started using it.
We have camped only 4 times since we bought it in February but are really becoming disappointed with the quality of a lot of the little things. (We had our Zinger 3 years and only had to replace a single tail light. (really that was all)
So far our Surveyor has had the following issues.
1) Pilot light on oven wont come on. We must light the oven manually by heating the element over the pilot light tube EVERY TIME.
2) Drawer under couch/bed, screws came loose and bend runner so could not open
3) Slide out left side face completely came off. (We are not even sure how)
4) Thermostat does not click on when running on battery for heat. I have to get up in the middle of the night to "Jiggle" it
5) Bathroom door put on very poorly, top hinge bent and door not centered and bent away from the door frame. very noisy too.
6) Sewer cover cap was so flimsy it broke while simply screwing back on after a dump run. the $3 we replaced it with was twice as sturdy.
7) Screw on decorative side to dining table seat stripped out completely.
8) Seal on undercarriage came loose in and started flailing around the wheels while traveling on the highway. Also bracket literally pulled loose. Small screw on soft wood does not seem right size for that kind of application. (Really saving money on cheap small screws? I paid a lot more for better quality I thought!)
9) Battery had dead cell, first time using it without electricity battery died in 3 hours. (Dealer replaced, no questions asked)
10) Material on couch cushions looks like it is unraveling.
11) flimsy plastic bracket on re-fridge door holding heavy wood panel fell off and heavy wood panel almost broke my wife's foot. VERY DANGEROUS!
12) And, we also had to replace a tail light after just 6 months too!

So we have a really great dealer (Kettlesens in Denver) They have been great with us through this and have worked very hard with us to correct all of these many problems. We are very satisfied with them!
They have tried to make everything right with warranty repairs and replacing the battery but I am disturbed by the refer door and the danger of other things falling apart or breaking now. We take our dog on every trip and that door panel is heavy enough to kill a small dog. That should never been designed that way. My wife is sporting a huge bruise on her foot, (lucky no broken bones) and we had to duct tape it into place until we can bring it back to the dealer. (It happened right after we left it there for a week to repair everything)
And now the refrigerator is acting up and not working right. (Only gas not electricity...... UGH)
We love the floor plan, we love the looks, we love the bedroom, we love the shades, we love the chairs, we love the ease of driving it, we love the two doors. But we are so disappointed paying a premium for what we thought was an upgrade camper yet so many parts seem cheaply or carelessly made and the re-fridge door and slide out side are making us Leary of the safety of this camper. It has really not been very relaxing going camping because we are always watching out for what other major issue we will have. We camp ten times a year and take really good care of our camper, I just can't fix several things per trip.
I hope forest river stands behind their products. (And do they really only warrantee their seals for only 90 days? Zinger was like 2 years!

[quackor]

4) Thermostat does not click on when running on battery for heat. I have to get up in the middle of the night to "Jiggle" it

I noticed the same thing on our couple trips out. I'd be interested to hear if you find a "fix."

11) flimsy plastic bracket on re-fridge door holding heavy wood panel fell off and heavy wood panel almost broke my wife's foot. VERY DANGEROUS!

Our dealer had one trailer on the lot with this issue. Now hoping getting the raised panels was an OK idea.

[Buddhahawk]

After reading up on the best way to pick a quality trailer I still had to secumb to a floor plan that fit the family. Then find the highest quality within that framework and a few other factors. When it came down to it... I just didn't have a lot of choices when it came down to making a final decision. I knew Forest River had a fairly good reputation but I could tell that the quality that I would expect was not up to my standards for the money. Especially on the ultralight models. There are lots of nitpick things that could have been done way better. But, the end result is that the trailer performs fine and is built using decent materials (just not nice craftsmanship).

I also don't seem to have the larger issues that it looks like you do. Mine are generally small punch-list items.

If anything, at this point, I'm most dissappointed in the customer support scenario. The dealer is only open weekdays for drop offs which isn't good with my schedule. It would be nice to be able to drop the rig off on a weekend. As well, the 'customer service attitude' has definitley not 'exceeded my expectations' by any means. But, again, as with just about all things sales... I lowered my personal expectations ahead of time but I've still have a hard time sticking to that philosphy. People just don't seem to like helping other people the way they used to 'back in the day'.

As I fix things I'll try and remember to post them to this thread. In case any of that info ends up helping others out.

[Terier]

Originally Posted by Buddhahawk

After reading up on the best way to pick a quality trailer I still had to secumb to a floor plan that fit the family. Then find the highest quality within that framework and a few other factors. When it came down to it... I just didn't have a lot of choices when it came down to making a final decision. I knew Forest River had a fairly good reputation but I could tell that the quality that I would expect was not up to my standards for the money. Especially on the ultralight models. There are lots of nitpick things that could have been done way better. But, the end result is that the trailer performs fine and is built using decent materials (just not nice craftsmanship).

I also don't seem to have the larger issues that it looks like you do. Mine are generally small punch-list items.

If anything, at this point, I'm most dissappointed in the customer support scenario. The dealer is only open weekdays for drop offs which isn't good with my schedule. It would be nice to be able to drop the rig off on a weekend. As well, the 'customer service attitude' has definitley not 'exceeded my expectations' by any means. But, again, as with just about all things sales... I lowered my personal expectations ahead of time but I've still have a hard time sticking to that philosphy. People just don't seem to like helping other people the way they used to 'back in the day'.

As I fix things I'll try and remember to post them to this thread. In case any of that info ends up helping others out.

Do they give a reason why you couldn't drop the trailer off on a Saturday towards the end of the day after any PDI's?

I don't understand why RV service departments aren't open on Sundays - after all they sell it on a Sunday but not fix it? Even if the service department had extended hours on one or two weekdays would help.

I have a good relationship with my service department and since my tt had not had any major problems I can work with their limited schedule. During the week they've been good about letting me drop by when returning from camping if something pops up. On one trip I noticed a good size bump in the floor near the booth. Turns out it was a screw securing the propane line - they just moved it over out of the way. No more bump.

BTW- Do you remember the days when the banks were only open Monday-Friday 9-3pm?