Considering the Sierra or Sandpiper 351BHT

[aggiearcaya]

My husband and I love the 351BHT floorplan. Reading online I find lots of Forest River "haters", talking about how bad they are, problems they have with the dealers and Forest River themselves. There's a lot of talk about leaks. We love this plan, but feel stupid buying one if it gets nothing but bad reviews. Can I get some opinions on this? Any positive feedback, but honest would be appreciated. Thanks

[aintgotnun]

First to FRF!

Every travel trailer, 5th wheel, and motor home out there from the least expensive to the most expensive is going to have its issues. You are always going to find more complaints than praise regarding anything. People just plain like to complain. Most RV complaints stem from fit and finish issues and expectations of the dealer regarding repairs for issues encountered. Depending on the time of year it may take several weeks for a “simple” repair to be accomplished. If you are handy enough to do your own maintenance and repair jobs and stay on top of all issues no matter how small, you will be happy with any RV. You need to remember that an RV is not a house. These things get bounced around through potholes over railroad tracks, curbs….. and they still manage to hold together. Do your research, inspect every aspect of the RV and get the problems fixed before taking possession and you will probably be very satisfied. Forrest River RVs have a pretty good “bang for the buck” as far as quality and fit and finish. I don’t own a Forrest River RV, I own a Thor. I researched for close to a year then looked at many different RVs for several months before my family and I decided to purchase ours. I’ve seen many RV forums trashing Thor RVs. We have had ours for close to 2 years now and have had no major issues and are very pleased with it. My father has owned his Thor for about 7 years and is still happy with his. An RV is much like a house or car in that it is what you make of it. Maintenance, maintenance, maintenance. The more you take care of your rig the happier you will be. Tire maintenance is extremely important as a blowout can literally rip sections of an RV off (no matter how much you paid for it). Get your tires balanced, carry an extra spare, there many tips and suggestions on this forum. Forums like this one are great places to get information, they are also great places to get opinions good and bad.

Good luck and keep us posted on what you decide!

[dimurrrw]

Greg's post about says it all. Consider that those who have a problem with their trailer or dealer are the ones likely to post concerning those problems. The ones who are satisfied usually say little, except in response to an issue posted by someone else. Naturally, you will see more posts about the products of a high volume manufacturer, as more of their products are out there. Many issues are legitimate design or fabrication problems, but look at the date of the post. Unless it was pretty recent the manufacturer may have already corrected the problem. There is also the consideration that higher end trailers may have fewer problems. Unfortunately, not many of us have a spare 80,000 to drop on an Airstream, for example.

[aggiearcaya]

Thank you both for your replies. We pulled the trigger and ordered the Sandpiper 351BHT yesterday. Hopefully it will be here by the end of Aug. Thanks for your advice.