Are we being too fussy

Bored Engineer · 10-17-2015, 07:48 AM

Good Day All,
We have had our first brand new TT, a Vibe 268, for a couple of months now. After a couple of weeks of buyer's remorse, I can say we love it. Just had the best Thanksgiving weekend ever in it. (Yep, we are Canadian)

Why buyer's remorse - the build quality is shocking (and it is a bit longer than we realized, but that is totally on us). I have rehung the bathroom door so it stays shut, resealed the top of the shower, remounted the shower head support, and accepted that Forest River use their accountants to do the welding (no welder would accept the quality of our welds, but the accountants would accept the cost savings

) I put the general quality down to weight saving - which I can accept.

As we get ready to winterize the TT I wonder what everyone's opinion is on the remaining issues.
1 - the awning has a very small hole in it. It looks like it will spread. Our dealer have suggested they will patch it. I don't want a brand new TT with a patched awning. Am I being unreasonable.
2 - the myRV linc blows its 30A fuse everytime we use it to bring the slide out in. The dealers fix is to replace the fuse. Any thoughts what this could be so I can suggest a better fix. I am sure we are not being fussy here! FWIW - when we went out last weekend the battery was also completely flat. Not sure if this is connected
3 - the shade behind the lazy boys

will not stay up. Are these adjustable or do we need to request this gets replaced.
4 - and finally, the fridge in the outside kitchen sits so low the door will not open. Does anyone have a tidy fix for this? I have it resting on a couple of 1 x 3s

Wow - that turned into a long post. We love our trailer, very sad to put it to bed for the winter, but would like some guidance on our remaining issues.

Thanks all.

Vern · 10-17-2015, 07:57 AM

With respect to #3, if those are day/night type shades you are talking about, you may be able to adjust (re-tension) the cords to make them a little tighter. Often a small adjustment is all that is required.

Vern · 10-17-2015, 08:00 AM

With respect to #1, hard to say without more info. You'll find plenty of folks on here who will want to hijack your thread with rants about poor quality, the fact (who would disagree) that this is "not acceptable on a new TT", and "lawyering up". My TT is 3 years old and I found a pinhole in the awning this spring, which a piece of clear awning repair tape seems to have fixed to my satisfaction. However, I was beyond warranty and had no sense this will spread (post-repair).

Vern · 10-17-2015, 08:03 AM

With regard to blowing the fuse when extending your slideout (your issue #2), I would not find that acceptable. A fix is needed. I'd press the dealer and, if not capable, Forest River, to make that right.

clr · 10-17-2015, 08:04 AM

Regarding number 2 in your post. It is not normal to blow the fuse each time that you run your slide in or out and just replacing the fuse is not fixing the root cause of the problem. There is something wrong here that is causing the slide motor to draw to much current therefore blowing the fuse. This may be related to your battery have them check out the battery as well as the converter.

Vern · 10-17-2015, 08:04 AM

#4 calls out for a little owner ingenuity...but I'd inquire why this design is like this and whether there is a recommended fix (dealer and FR should be able to explain how it is intended to be used as built) before resting comfortably that I was happy with whatever fix you (or they) employ.

Vern · 10-17-2015, 08:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by clr

Regarding number 2 in your post. It is not normal to blow the fuse each time that you run your slide in or out and just replacing the fuse is not fixing the root cause of the problem. There is something wrong here that is causing the slide motor to draw to much current therefore blowing the fuse. This may be related to your battery have them check out the battery as well as the converter.

x2

aceinspp · 10-17-2015, 08:07 AM

[QUOTE=Vern;1011931]With respect to #1, hard to say without more info. You'll find plenty of folks on here who will want to hijack your thread with rants about poor quality, the fact (who would disagree) that this is "not acceptable on a new TT", and "lawyering up".

X 2 regarding Item 2 and 4 I would take them back for warranty work. Just replacing fuse all the time is not normal and a frid that is sitting to low show be there responsibility. Later RJD

trbomax · 10-17-2015, 08:14 AM

You only have 4 items and you think you may be too picky???? We have 3 pages with 18 items (make that 17,Ifixed one myself yesterday while winterizeing).

B and B · 10-17-2015, 08:15 AM

Sounds like there is some type of feedback loop (hall sensor or proximately sensor) on the slide that is not working correctly. With manual switches the person see the slide at the end or hears the motor labouring/ grinding and lets go of the switch. Withe tablet i almost would think some delay exists and therefore there should be some feedback loop to tell it to stop. I say there is a design problem with the Linc system or faulty equipment.

B and B · 10-17-2015, 08:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by trbomax

You only have 4 items and you think you may be too picky???? We have 3 pages with 18 items (make that 17,Ifixed one myself yesterday while winterizeing).

I don't think he is being picky at all. 2 of these are real issues withe the slide control and awning.

trbomax · 10-17-2015, 08:24 AM

I guess your right. Our slide is 2" out of square for the opening so FR is putting a new slide AND exterior wall on the lft side.The roof plywood has to come off too because some of the reinforcement was "forgot".We will have it looked at in a year or two maybe.

ColoradoRick · 10-17-2015, 08:26 AM

No, you're not being too picky.

Since my trailer had sat in the lot for a year before we bought it, the awning was already sun-damaged. (At 7,000 feet here, our UV rays are always extreme.) So my dealer ordered me a brand new one, from Forest River, when I bought the trailer and swapped it out for me when it came in. So I would ask for an awning replacement under warranty. (IF FR said yes to me, and mine only had UV wear, I don't know why they wouldn't with a hole in it!)

OH, and I highly recommend awning covers. (We have Awning Pro-Techs we bought on Amazon, for both the main awning and the slide-awning.)

Yes, also agree that those electrical issues need to be resolved. In the meantime, you will want to, first, get the battery(ies) charged up then disconnect them so they keep charged up while in storage. (Many bring batteries home and store in a shed or garage during the winter...to protect them from both severe cold and theft....but I've never done that...just make sure they are have a full charge before winter.)

**Flybob** · 10-17-2015, 08:37 AM

You don't mention when then fuse blows during your slide movement. There is a ratchet mechanism at both ends if it is mechanical and if this is not working properly, it will overload the motor and blow the fuse. If the fuse is blowing in the center portion of the travel, I would check alignment or an obstruction.

Mike ONeill · 10-17-2015, 01:22 PM

With in the first few months of purchasing our 2013 flagstaff 29RLSS the warranty covered a pin size hole on our TT and the awning fabric was replaced by our dealer under warranty all of your issues should be fixed under warranty

jkoenig24 · 10-17-2015, 01:55 PM

NO, you're NOT being too picky. I agree, build quality is shockingly poor. Look beyond the veneer to the guts. My Dynamax was built with FIBERBOARD as anchors for several shelves. I'm amazed the slide anchor screws held for the first two trips. Many other issues I won't go into here. I was at the FROG Rally back in August. 750 RVs attended, ALL needing repairs with many being less than one-year-old. It has to cost the factory a fortune to retroactively "do it right". I passed on a Class A Itasca motorhome after seeing how poorly the drawers were constructed (MSRP was almost $400,000.00!). I had to wonder that, if the manufacturer was unable to get something as simple as a drawer built right, what did they mess up on the engine ~ transmission?

BusyRetirees · 10-17-2015, 02:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bored Engineer

Good Day All,
We have had our first brand new TT, a Vibe 268, for a couple of months now. After a couple of weeks of buyer's remorse, I can say we love it. Just had the best Thanksgiving weekend ever in it. (Yep, we are Canadian)

Why buyer's remorse - the build quality is shocking (and it is a bit longer than we realized, but that is totally on us). I have rehung the bathroom door so it stays shut, resealed the top of the shower, remounted the shower head support, and accepted that Forest River use their accountants to do the welding (no welder would accept the quality of our welds, but the accountants would accept the cost savings

) I put the general quality down to weight saving - which I can accept.

As we get ready to winterize the TT I wonder what everyone's opinion is on the remaining issues.
1 - the awning has a very small hole in it. It looks like it will spread. Our dealer have suggested they will patch it. I don't want a brand new TT with a patched awning. Am I being unreasonable.
2 - the myRV linc blows its 30A fuse everytime we use it to bring the slide out in. The dealers fix is to replace the fuse. Any thoughts what this could be so I can suggest a better fix. I am sure we are not being fussy here! FWIW - when we went out last weekend the battery was also completely flat. Not sure if this is connected
3 - the shade behind the lazy boys

will not stay up. Are these adjustable or do we need to request this gets replaced.
4 - and finally, the fridge in the outside kitchen sits so low the door will not open. Does anyone have a tidy fix for this? I have it resting on a couple of 1 x 3s

Wow - that turned into a long post. We love our trailer, very sad to put it to bed for the winter, but would like some guidance on our remaining issues.

Thanks all.

No you are not being fussy. You bought and paid for a new trailer. You did not tell the dealer "Hey, give me one that has a bunch of defects". The dealer should fix all your problems under warranty but if he's like many of the dealers that have been talked about in these forums, you'll have to keep on his case till all is done to your satisfaction. Don't let them try to do quick and dirty on the repairs. Insist on quality. If you don't get satisfaction from the dealer, go to FR. I did and got results from my dealer on warranty repairs.

nikita · 10-17-2015, 03:54 PM

We truly love our 2015 Sabre, we picked it up last December then took off for Florida Snowbirding. We had little issues which we could wait until we took it to our home dealer - but the big issue was a major water leak, which we had to get permission from the Warranty in Indiana before we could allow the MOBIL RV repair. Forest River does not like MOBILE RV GUYS!!

The water leak was our bathroom sink pipes were never attached to the tank!!!!!!!!!!!!! Drip, drip, drip under the 5th wheel all day long. Took off the underbelly to a major NIAGARA FALLS!! After that we got a new AC in the living room and now we are waiting for a new motor for our TV! Last campout the TV would not go down into the pocket of the entertainment center - drove it right to the Dealer and they have a new motor on order. We are leaving for Florida on Saturday - hope it comes in by then. When we get it we can wait to have it fixed in FL, we will call the MOBILE RV GUY and pay for it ourselves

Evereddie · 10-17-2015, 03:55 PM

This was someone else's idea on this forum but don't you mean stealers, not dealers?

And NO you are not being picky.

slipf18 · 10-18-2015, 12:16 AM

We all have experienced issues with our trailers. Most of these can be solved with a little elbow grease and a few well chosen tools. It helps to be at least a little bit handy. Having said that...weight savings should never impinge on build quality. The RV industry is quickly earning a bad reputation for using cheap materials and tolerating sloppy construction methods. It really is a sad state of affairs.

You may also like: