Surveyor Quality - are you happy?

[jeshoffstall]

Wife and I have owned a couple of Flagstaff products in the past and were happy with the quality. We really like the looks of the Surveyor 201RB and went and looked at one in person today.

Somewhat disappointed that one of the reading lights was flopping around due to stripped screws, the show curtain was broken from the track (lower track was bent) and EVERY drawer and door pull was obviously crooked. I know the industry is in bad shape, but teenager must of done the finish work. As much as the wife wanted to buy, I walked away worried about what I could plainly see was a lack of care/attention to detail - she thinks I am overreacting?

Thoughts - would you buy again?

Thanks,
Jack

[ptt87]

We've been very happy with ours.....2012 SP280. No major issues; good features; excellent quality. But like anything else, things can change over the years. But based on our experience with this one, we would certainly look at Surveyor first if we were looking for a new one.

[jeshoffstall]

Thanks to a fellow GA RV'er - we do appreciate the input.

[tragusa3]

As impressed as you can be with the quality of travel trailers...I have been. We've put about 20k miles and 2-300 nights in our Surveyor and it has been a pleasure. Sure, there were a few "what were they thinking" discoveries and a few things that broke not being up to the abuse. When comparing to others, we're very pleased!

[yakmeat123]

We looked at quite a few different RV's and I, as a home builder, could find something wrong with most of them if I wanted the perfection I demanded when I first started building homes 35 years ago. Now we have a Surveyor 265 RLDS due at the end of January. The key is the overall quality and being within a reasonable distance of warranty service (hopefully it's one that doesn't scare you with the "if you didn't buy it from us" line). That way the little items that invariably arise will be fixed. Remember that building with "light" materials can have some inherent risks if not treated respectfully. The Surveyors are nice units but if you ask me in 6 months I might change my mind but I don't think that will happen.

[chadande]

We've got two seasons on a 2016 245BHS and have had no issues. We've thought from the beginning that the materials and build quality are above average. Others have stopped in to check it out and thought the same thing. Surprised to hear that you are finding otherwise. Hopefully they are not cheaping out and letting quality slide.

[Coolharts]

We have been very happy with our Surveyor. IMO it has held up well and very few things have needed attention. Our biggest headache was the furniture and nose cap fading but our dealer has been awesome in getting that stuff fixed, a couple of things even out of warranty.

[jeshoffstall]

Thanks everyone for the replies - well aware of declining quality across the industry, just wanted to make sure Surveyor was at least middle of the road. I think the unit we looked at was rushed, they have a second one inbound that we will probably purchase!

Thanks,
Jack

[relee52]

We just spent a year full timing, most of it in our 265 RLDS. We had zero problems with the rig until I tried boondocking and the freaky water pump didn’t work. Otherwise, all good and we put on a lot of miles, used all the systems except as noted. We really. Like our surveyor. FR did cover repainting the faded front and rear.

[Coolharts]

Originally Posted by relee52

We just spent a year full timing, most of it in our 265 RLDS. We had zero problems with the rig until I tried boondocking and the freaky water pump didn’t work. Otherwise, all good and we put on a lot of miles, used all the systems except as noted. We really. Like our surveyor. FR did cover repainting the faded front and rear.

Our water pump quit too. The dealer found a kink in the hose above the water tank. I do have the 1 year warranty extension and it paid for a new water pump.

[RitaB]

Originally Posted by jeshoffstall

Wife and I have owned a couple of Flagstaff products in the past and were happy with the quality. We really like the looks of the Surveyor 201RB and went and looked at one in person today.

Somewhat disappointed that one of the reading lights was flopping around due to stripped screws, the show curtain was broken from the track (lower track was bent) and EVERY drawer and door pull was obviously crooked.
Thoughts - would you buy again?

Thanks,
Jack

I have a 2016 RBS, haven't used it very much yet because of scheduling, but I found the quality very good. The only thing I found was the kitchen water pressure was low, I checked the usual things without resolving the problem. I called when we got home, they asked me to bring it right in and fixed it by replacing the faucet, they had to get a new one at Lowes. They didn't want to make me wait until FR sent them out a new one.
What I would question is the quality of the dealer. My dealer was excellent, I know that they would never even show a model with those problems. Everything that is fixable should have been done. If the dealer doesn't really care about the problems you can see, What about those that you can't see.
If the dealer doesn't care about the quality that they sell, will they care about the buyers coming back for warranty repairs. You are right to walk away.

[acadianbob]

Found a couple of minor things on our Surveyor Fifth Wheel before we left the dealer. They took care of the items right on the spot. Haven't been back since. 2 years and 10K miles.

There is one 110V outlet that isn't straight.

[tappsman]

We have a 2015 Surveyor 201RBS and are very satisfied with it. Have used it for 2 seasons and over 200 nights and the only issues we have had were a couple of trim pieces that came loose and needed to be reattached. We originally chose the Surveyor because I felt that the structural integrity was superior to most other trailers I saw in the price range.

Our 201RBS is currently for sale and we plan to purchase another Surveyor.

[Stovebolt]

I had two surveyors and had good luck with both. I know have a Heritage Glen and like it also.

[yakmeat123]

Fortunately or unfortunately the market is booming which makes finding superior craftsmen difficult. I always have found the house building to be the same. Higher demand and the quality can be questionable.Just have to have your eyes wide open when picking it up. Hopefully the one you saw was an anomaly.

[Alaskan SS]

I sold a 2008 Cherokee Lite M27T and took delivery of a 2017 Surveyor 285 IKDS in late June / early July 2017. I probably got in about 15 nights in the Surveyor before I winterized it and put it away for the winter. I chose it because I like the floor plan. DW wanted a kitchen island and I wanted an outdoor kitchen. The fireplace is a nice touch as well. Build quality seems to be good so far. There were a few minor items I should have caught in the PDI that I didn't (missing range vent light bulb, blind bracket not screwed in properly, etc...). The dealer I purchased it from never returned my calls about them, but my local dealer took care of them easy enough. It's clear that those issues were due to a rushed or complacent assembly. But I'd definitely consider buying another one. I thought the price point is good. I also really like the color scheme. I like blues and greys. Never been a fan of tans and browns. That helped me with my decision as well.

[modelrr]

We have a 2016 293 RLTS fifth wheel. Just finished camping in Maine from May to October of this year. We had a few finish issues and needed to replace the black tank flush vacuum breaker. (That was taken care of by our excellent dealer who had a nightmare of a repair.) Turns out the breaker is in the wall behind the shower stall rather than under the vanity sink. It took a lot of creativity and almost an entire day to get it out! Our dealer went to bat for us and to Forest River's credit they did finally cover the entire repair. We're happy customers!
At this point, other than the vacuum breaker, we've had very few problems.

[Jbrowland]

Originally Posted by jeshoffstall

Wife and I have owned a couple of Flagstaff products in the past and were happy with the quality. We really like the looks of the Surveyor 201RB and went and looked at one in person today.

Somewhat disappointed that one of the reading lights was flopping around due to stripped screws, the show curtain was broken from the track (lower track was bent) and EVERY drawer and door pull was obviously crooked. I know the industry is in bad shape, but teenager must of done the finish work. As much as the wife wanted to buy, I walked away worried about what I could plainly see was a lack of care/attention to detail - she thinks I am overreacting?

Thoughts - would you buy again?

Thanks,
Jack

Recently purchased 200MBLE here. I love the trailer and the quality of the FR trailers did appear to be better than most we saw. That said, to be honest, I was a little surprised by some of the things that were allowed to leave the factory or weren’t done at all. For example, FR forgot to install the bumpers that hold the table is place when it is used as a bed. All four of them. Not there. There were about ten other obvious things they let get passed them (two plumbing leaks, broken trim pieces, screws protruding in places they shouldn’t, wires not properly attached or not connected to a power source at all, broken microwave etc...) and that is a concern. We took five hours to go over this trailer before we drove it off the lot and we found even more minor issues on our first trip.

I suspect almost every manufacturer does this, not just FR. My recommendation is to make sure you are buying your trailer from a solid dealer that will take care of you because it appears the major manufacturers are relying heavily on the dealers to fix what they don’t do properly. Churn them out and then let the dealers and buyer worry about it.

All that said, it is rare that one will find an issue that can’t easily be addressed by the dealer. Once things settle, it is usually smooth sailing. Be kind and patient with the dealer and they should respond accordingly.

[DustyRoads]

We bought a 2017 Surveyor 251rks in June of 2016. I had compared it to a Keystone Passport 248rks. I had been looking at both for several months because of the tri-fold bed for quests. DW and I had looked at each model separately. DW liked the Keystone. I was worried about quality of both from reviews. We drove to a dealer in CT (Long View) from Albany NY. They had both models on the lot where we could walk back and forth between the two.

Wall paper was pealing from the walls in the Keystone. We saw many other quality issues in the Keystone. We saw none in this particular Surveyor. My DW agreed the Surveyor 251RKS was the better of the two. We have not been sorry. We literally have had zero issues that weren't self imposed. We have not had to go back to the dealer for any repairs. We do have a "Life Time Warranty", that we do have to take back once a year for an inspection. We have not had to use. Long View turned out to be a better dealer than then some of the reviews. I would buy again from them and I would buy another Surveyor again.

[tragusa3]

I've not heard of the "lifetime warranty". What does it cover? Same as factory? Do they charge for the annual visit?