Dear Forest River, Why is Quality Control non-existent?!

[Prism 24G]

Hello everybody,
QUALITY of our toys depending on US only.
All manufacturers playing with us, we have a power to teach them a lesson.
Take the photos of every wrong thing and file the Lemon.
After hundreds or thuousands claims are start resolving and our toys returning to the manufacturers, quality of their product will go where need to be .....

[EastlakeRoo]

Lots of great discussion on the quality of our rv industry. Would be nice to see a complete turnaround in quality or a new manufacturer step in and start producing high end quality trailers that aren't sitting on lots with defects from the factory.

At this point I think folks will take their business else where if a proven manufacturer steps to the plate producing high quality trailers. I for one would pay more if i knew there were quality standards in place versus just shipping low quality trailers at a premium price.

[dieselguy]

Ksilvi ... I totally agree about the lack of quality in new units ... I own one that has had more issues straight from the factory than my last 3 SOB's combined. However ... you refer to a grey tank valve being inside the underbelly. Since my 2000 SOB to my current Silverback, all holding tank valves were inside the underbelly. That's how designers accomplish year round livability in these units. Plumbing hanging out in winter months would quickly freeze.

[Probwrm19]

Obviously FR is owned by some other (bigger) corporation that doesn't give a hoot and that corporation is owned by someone else. If my memory serves me correctly, FR is ultimately owned by the richest man in the USA. He owns some type of investment company. I just can't remember his name. To make this short, that gentleman should be copied on every email (when we locate his address), receive a copy of every letter of complaint and be bombarded with phone calls about the poor construction and quality control at FR. Remember, s--t flows down hill. What do you say people? It's time for a little rebellion!

[Steve DCW]

Right now, every RV manufacturer is selling every RV they make and cannot keep up with demand. Thus, there is no incentive to instigate any real level of QC.
Rather than spend time/money on rigorous QC, the manufacturers rely on customers doing the QC in terms of finding the problem, which they then claim they will fix under warranty.
But, as many posters know, buyers are often hundreds of miles from their selling dealer and either rely on a local dealer making warranty repairs (though many (most?) dealers who did not sell an RV are reluctant to do warranty service) or, as others in this thread have said, owners would rather make repairs themselves whenever possible because they don't simply want the problem to be fixed back to its original condition because it was lousy design/build in the first place!
Using this strategy, the manufacturer saves big bucks in terms of factory time doing QC, and/or making repairs under warranty.
The situation will not change until some kind of federal regulation is put into place a la automobile industry, or, as one poster suggested, one RV manufacturer takes the moral responsibility of building a truly quality product at a competitive price. Buyers would flock to that product!, and, after all, it only takes a little more effort to do the job right the first time.
In the meantime, it's best to hone your carpentry, electrical, plumbing, and mechanical skills. I have learned more than I ever thought I wanted to know about RV's in the last five years, and have decided it's all just part of the great adventure we call camping!
Happy Trails!, and

[Iwritecode]

Originally Posted by Probwrm19

Obviously FR is owned by some other (bigger) corporation that doesn't give a hoot and that corporation is owned by someone else. If my memory serves me correctly, FR is ultimately owned by the richest man in the USA. He owns some type of investment company. I just can't remember his name. To make this short, that gentleman should be copied on every email (when we locate his address), receive a copy of every letter of complaint and be bombarded with phone calls about the poor construction and quality control at FR. Remember, s--t flows down hill. What do you say people? It's time for a little rebellion!

Warren Buffet

[danc]

I wanted to add a additional 15a circuit breaker to the panel so I took the cover off to access the breakers and found a ground wire lug that had been tightened down so much that they actually cut the wire with the lug. Also two other lugs were so tight i stripped the head of the lugs trying to get them loose. Seems to me their just careless with no QC.

[strat56]

Check this site out and buy an RV from one of the higher rated manufacturers.

RV Rating - Customer Survey of RV Makes and Models

[ozarkcamper]

I basically agree with Jim34RL, you need to design quality IN, not thru inspections. I am generally very please with my 2015 Columbus 320RS as well. A few small things but none the less aggravating all the same. My dealer told me, you will have issues, they all have issues and while I appreciate his honesty, it is not very reassuring.

[Myrle]

Speaking from experience almost all these cabinets are particle board. I used to install store fixtures if torque is set wrong they will strip out, likewise if not heavy it won't tighten bolts or taps. Once they clutch slipping they are do ne with it. As for other issues like you said no quality control and most employees don't care or take any pride in their workmanship.

[Vern]

This forum is a valuable asset which serves many purposes.

I know some people just need to rant and vent. I also understand that RVs don't measure up to the very high expectations held by uninformed (particularly first-time) buyers. Such persons find an audience here.

It is regrettable that many do not make the effort or take the time to become acquainted with or develop the competencies to personally judge the quality or construction when selecting and purchasing an RV. We often hear stories from those who essentially purchase a new rig sight-unseen from a dealer they've never met, which has the rig delivered from 1,000 miles away by a hired driver. The buyer then foregoes an owner PDI (imagining that as the dealer's sole responsibility, not one share by the buyer). Such buyers come to the table with expectations that the purchase of a new RV is (or should be) like buying an automobile or a new house, as they often so state here. If something is wrong, they just take it to the local dealer, only to learn the local dealer has its own full plate of work for its existing customers and is reluctant to drop everything to repair the rig which they did not sell. [On the other hand, anyone who is fortunate enough to find and research forums like this one before making that decision come to the task with a much more informed understanding, a discerning perspective, and reasonable set of expectations, equipped with the tools necessary to have at least a fighting chance in the purchasing process.]

Members should remember that FRF is not affiliated with Forest River, and its members are not the enemy, just fellow owners. The forum is, therefore, probably not the best place or channel via which to attempt to register initial or formal complaints with the company, IMO. I care because the bulk of complaints overshadows the "good" stuff available here, sometimes unnecessarily. The squeaky wheel only gets the grease when you are addressing the party with the grease gun.

Personally, I miss the days when it seemed a majority of the posts here involved people raising specific use, maintenance and repair issues involving their own rigs here on FRF, then received helpful assistance from the many experienced RV owners who belong to the forum in addressing their concerns. The educational value of looking in on those conversations and the sense of community from seeing the "troubleshooting by committee" on here make us each more competent and confident owners and operators of our respective RVs. Ultimately, with respect to most of the issues and defects about which people complain here, that free education provides answers and competencies which help members to deal with the consequences of the "poor QC" so often complained of here, and equip us to better plan, purchase, and operate our RVs going forward, with less help from or reliance upon dealers or Forest River.

[EdnKat]

I've seen everything from popups to million + dollar Prevosts / Bluebirds with CC issues. Their work force comes from the same pool. Good QC begins with management. (Same as parenting. Kids or dogs)
Bad, or, good water runs downhill. 3 things you have to know to be a plumber;
1- Slop runs downhill. 2- Payday's on Friday. 3- Don't bite your nails.
Now you're a plumber. Yesterday I could not spell 'plummer'. Now, I R 1.

[aceinspp]

One thing different plants have better QC. For one the first plant that has been in business since day one has probably the least of issues on the TT. This plant is at Millersburg and I've had two tt built there with the least amount of issues. Mostly Amish workers third generation. We toured the plant during the Rally. Later RJD

[SuicideSaints]

Originally Posted by Vern

This forum is a valuable asset which serves many purposes.

I know some people just need to rant and vent. I also understand that RVs don't measure up to the very high expectations held by uninformed (particularly first-time) buyers. Such persons find an audience here.

Members should remember that FRF is not affiliated with Forest River, and its members are not the enemy, just fellow owners. The forum is, therefore, probably not the best place or channel via which to attempt to register initial or formal complaints with the company, IMO. I care because the bulk of complaints overshadows the "good" stuff available here, sometimes unnecessarily. The squeaky wheel only gets the grease when you are addressing the party with the grease gun.

Personally, I miss the days when it seemed a majority of the posts here involved people raising specific use, maintenance and repair issues involving their own rigs here on FRF.......

So eloquently put!

[JoeNanMinn]

our 2014 Sabre has a factory bike/cargo rack rated at 450lbs. The first time I went to use it when I let it down I immediately noticed that bolts were missing from the hinge plates attaching it to the frame. 4 bolts on each corner were supposed to be there. 5/16" bolts were supposed to be there. (and they are too small). what i found was two of the four bolts on one side were not there at all. The other two bolts were 1/4" because the plate holes did not line up so they just shoved a smaller bolt that would fit into them.
THe other side had one 1/4" bolt, one 5/16" bolt and two open holes, again because the holes didnt line up. I had to drill them all out to get the proper sized bolts to fit.
Now that could have been a serious liability issue if I hadn't noticed this and just loaded the rack up with stuff. To me this is just lazyiness on part of the line worker in this instance.

The next big PIA issue that took me 3 days to find, figure out and correct were the kinked, improperly installed fill and vent hoses from my freshwater tank. I could not fill the tank past 1/3 before all the water came back out the fill hose. The fill line was run along the frame like a roller coaster ride track. up and over, up and down and over things along the frame. The vent hose was totally kinked because the elbow fitting was not installed right for the hose to come straight onto it. The outlet fitting on the bottom of the fresh water tank over to the water pump was the same. I had to drop the underbelly cover in order to get at all of this to correct everything.

How it got out of the factory like that is beyond me.
My list of crap to deal with is long, but these were the big ones right off the bat.

[Vince and Charlette]

We can't ignore three other things: customer demand for highest quality, need to remain within weight limitations with lighter/thinner/lower quality materials, and the need to retain profitability in a competitive marketplace. Until customers stop buying this stuff, or until a high quality competitor (e.g. Japanese) enters the picture, I believe we must live within the boundaries we have. So, my advice- make your RV your hobby. OK, shoot!

[Vern]

Originally Posted by Vince and Charlette

We can't ignore three other things: customer demand for highest quality, need to remain within weight limitations with lighter/thinner/lower quality materials, and the need to retain profitability in a competitive marketplace. Until customers stop buying this stuff, or until a high quality competitor (e.g. Japanese) enters the picture, I believe we must live within the boundaries we have. So, my advice- make your RV your hobby. OK, shoot!

I concur. I always say customers want things good, fast, and cheap (translation: perfect, yesterday, and free). The unfortunate disconnect is that those three flavors just don't come in the same can.

[X96mnn]

Originally Posted by Vern

This forum is a valuable asset which serves many purposes.

I know some people just need to rant and vent. I also understand that RVs don't measure up to the very high expectations held by uninformed (particularly first-time) buyers. Such persons find an audience here.

It is regrettable that many do not make the effort or take the time to become acquainted with or develop the competencies to personally judge the quality or construction when selecting and purchasing an RV. We often hear stories from those who essentially purchase a new rig sight-unseen from a dealer they've never met, which has the rig delivered from 1,000 miles away by a hired driver. The buyer then foregoes an owner PDI (imagining that as the dealer's sole responsibility, not one share by the buyer). Such buyers come to the table with expectations that the purchase of a new RV is (or should be) like buying an automobile or a new house, as they often so state here. If something is wrong, they just take it to the local dealer, only to learn the local dealer has its own full plate of work for its existing customers and is reluctant to drop everything to repair the rig which they did not sell. [On the other hand, anyone who is fortunate enough to find and research forums like this one before making that decision come to the task with a much more informed understanding, a discerning perspective, and reasonable set of expectations, equipped with the tools necessary to have at least a fighting chance in the purchasing process.]

Members should remember that FRF is not affiliated with Forest River, and its members are not the enemy, just fellow owners. The forum is, therefore, probably not the best place or channel via which to attempt to register initial or formal complaints with the company, IMO. I care because the bulk of complaints overshadows the "good" stuff available here, sometimes unnecessarily. The squeaky wheel only gets the grease when you are addressing the party with the grease gun.

Personally, I miss the days when it seemed a majority of the posts here involved people raising specific use, maintenance and repair issues involving their own rigs here on FRF, then received helpful assistance from the many experienced RV owners who belong to the forum in addressing their concerns. The educational value of looking in on those conversations and the sense of community from seeing the "troubleshooting by committee" on here make us each more competent and confident owners and operators of our respective RVs. Ultimately, with respect to most of the issues and defects about which people complain here, that free education provides answers and competencies which help members to deal with the consequences of the "poor QC" so often complained of here, and equip us to better plan, purchase, and operate our RVs going forward, with less help from or reliance upon dealers or Forest River.

Love reading your posts!

[RussPastuch]

I must say that that I am very relieved to hear the comments about QC.

We are now on our third Rockwood, and while we love the designs, after every trip there is the walk about, looking for looses screws, squeaky pieces. and other small annoyances. Usually there is at least one item that needs to be tightened or replaced, especially those stupid use everywhere screws that don't hold and strip out.

Imagine holding a bathroom cabinet up with those machine screws, that did indeed, strip out on a bumpy road and almost dumped the cabinet on the floor.

Come on guys, use metal screws in metal, wood screws in wood, nuts and bolts where appropriate, and toggle bolts to hold things on hollow walls.

Thank goodness Home Depot is almost everywhere.

[Vern]

Originally Posted by aceinspp

One thing different plants have better QC. For one the first plant that has been in business since day one has probably the least of issues on the TT. This plant is at Millersburg and I've had two tt built there with the least amount of issues. Mostly Amish workers third generation. We toured the plant during the Rally. Later RJD

Interesting...My Windjammer was built there at Millersburg, too, and there have few very few issues with it. Tip of the hat to the Millersburg plant!