Taking trailer back to factory

[trbomax]

Its official now,the 315wp has to go back because "the issues are not repairable at the dealer level".Today I get the call from FR to bring it down,drop it off (feb 1 2016) and they will call me as to when I must pick it up.Has anyone else had to pull thier unit 300+ miles,drop it,go back home (300+ miles) wait for a call to pick it up,then run another 600+ miles to bring it back? All warranty items.

[davel1971]

this says alot about the RV industry. It's fairly common for a unit to go back to the factory. In NO OTHER industry does this happen. Service techs for anything else are smart enough and trained enough to fix anything that could happen.

[chiro]

I have a camping buddy that had taken his back twice from Atlanta ha to Elkhart Indiana. His selling dealer couldn't fix the 5er after it sat there for three months. He now takes it to the factory because he knows they will fix it correctly.
I will never buy from cw after hearing from his experience.

[trbomax]

So,when you pick it up , do you get a pdi,or just hook up and go? Ive got a pretty long list,

[rmac04401]

Plus you have to tow it in Indiana in the snowy weather. That sucks.

[rmac04401]

On another thread they picked the trailer up and dropped it off. Don't remember the thread.

[rmac04401]

Forest River that is.

[trbomax]

Worst part is that we had winter almost figured out,alabama and fla. I guess we sit in snow another year.

[asquared]

My sabre went back to the factory twice (3 times if you want to include the Goshen rally). Both of the times Palomino/FR paid to have my fiver transported to and from the factory. It also was not that long of a wait to get it in. I did wait a few weeks for them to clear other units. Climb the managerial ladder with Cherokee and you will likely get some more help. Inform them of your plans that are being disrupted, they may get able to help you out. On the other hand, if you go to deliver and pick it up, you know how your rig is travelling instead of someone flying down the highway with it. You can also look it over and make sure everything is repaired to our standards. Just some options available to you.

[dblr]

I left my Cedar Creek at the factory after the FROG Rally and went back a couple of weeks later to pick ii up, other option was to set something up at home thru the dealer to fix, figured factory was the best choice.

[purduepete97]

Maybe a compromise is to ask FR to get it to the factory for you, and then you can go to pick it up. That'll allow you to personally inspect the fixes before you take it back home, and will save you one 600-mile round trip.
Good luck!

[EastlakeRoo]

We had a Forest River Trailer we had to take to factory for full wall replacement. I drove the trailer there, had them do the repairs and paid their transporter a few hundred bucks to bring it back to my house from Indiana. Worked out for us as I didn't have to take any time off and the repairs looked good. Trailer was better than new it appeared. So yes, very common to take trailer back to factory. In some cases the work being done is better at Factory then at selling dealer.

[Lloydg]

Just had my Surveyor picked up by FR Wednesday for repairs not able to be made at the rally. Even though they said they would return it, I think I will probably pick it up so I can inspect the repairs. This interrupted our usual fall color vacation, but the repairs will come first. Thanks to Surveyor and Forest River for standing behind their product.

[covey9257]

We have had two fr Flagstaff trailers sent back to the factory. Both times the dealer handled getting it there and back. Both were new trailers that needed to be redone.

[lori08360]

We had a Rockwood that went back to the factory twice for delamination. The first time, my husband towed from NJ to the factory in Indiana for the warranty work driver side of the trailer. Forest River delivered back to us and a few months later the passenger wall began to delam. That time Forest River took it to Indiana but my husband had to pick up when it was fixed. The factory gave him the "gate lock code" for him to let himself in and hook up and go because he would be arriving after hours. So in total he made 2 round trips at our expense. There was no compensation for gas, miles or tolls. Good Luck and safe driving.

[SGTMARY]

Years ago, we had a Fleetwood 5th wheel which needed to go back to the factory in Nebraska. The unit was returned to the factory 3 times. The 1st time - my husband dropped it off (1400 miles one way) and the factory transported it back to our dealership The 2nd time - the factory provided the transportation both ways - door to door. The 3rd time - my husband transported the unit to the factory, where it was swapped for a new 5th wheel (factory was not able to repair original unit). My husband brought the new unit home. I must add - husband was reimbursed for all his travel expenses by the factory

[numbersman]

I have a 2014 Cedar Creek down at the factory right now. Waiting to get word when to pick it up. Denise Davis in Quality seems to be real customer oriented. Been real unhappy with this trailer (over 30 issues) with problems with the electric slides, commercial refrig, doors coming off hinges, etc., etc.!. If they fix it like they promise and give me an extension on the warranty, we will be happy. Unit is beautiful, Engineering and design are not what they should be. We are being reimbursed for the cost of gas to and from Michigan (two trips). We will let you all know! Bill and Michelle

[FloFlo]

Originally Posted by rmac04401

On another thread they picked the trailer up and dropped it off. Don't remember the thread.

That was me. I wrote to FR and explained my MANY problems we had. They phoned me and had someone p/u our tt and went far above what we needed fixed. They wanted to bring it back to Long Island, NY but we opted to go get it out selves. Why not write a letter and send it "snail mail" to the attention of the president. You can get all the info online.

[Flybob]

It amazes me that some smart bean counter at the FR divisions has not figured out it is much less expensive to build a quality product up front than it is to do warranty repairs on a high percentage of the units. All sectors of manufacturing have warranty repairs, but I doubt that most major companies would remain profitable if they had the same high percentage of warranty work as the RV industry.

[numbersman]

Flybob
You must not have worked in mfg. Unless the President or General Manager (who is the BOSS of the Mfg Mgr) understands the numbers that he has been given on a daily, weekly, but certainly monthly basis) and has the gonads to hold his mfg people's feet to the fire, nothing will be done. The greatest fiasco now in Mfg is to have the Quality Manager REPORT to the Mfg Mgr. Quality must report to the President and he must have enough integrity to place the emphasis on Quality. You can't inspect quality into the unit at the end of the line! It must go into the product at each step of the mfg operation. Continuous Improvement must start at the top and be implemented at all steps in the operation especially in the RV industry where it is sorely lacking right now!