New member researching forest river rvs-any help?

[beachbum107]

Good morning all-I just joined the forum because I am looking to purchase my first rv and am really interested in the forest river sunseeker 3170ds. I am hoping to get some feedback from members about the forest river company, I know it is one of the largest manufacturers but I want to hear positive or negative experiences anyone has had with them. Anyone out there with an opinion would be helpful-I'm really looking forward to getting started "rving".
Kim from the Jersey Shore

[hockeytownmom]

Welcome!!

I've only had my HTT for a couple months, but so far so good.

[miatared]

Welcome.

With a beverage of your choice, kick your feet up, relax and start searching and reading here, you will find much information. A lot of information.

By the way HTT stands for Hybrid Travel Trailer - 'cause it's a cross between a standard travel trailer and a pop up trailer, it has fold out beds at the extremities, canvas beds.

Regards,

[tmmar]

Can't help you with your question but wanted to Welcome you to the forums!! You'll find a great deal of info here so take a look around!

Good luck making your selection!

[rracer5]

Check out Prime Time Manufacturing, Manufacturers of travel trailers and fifth wheels. They are a new company with a different approach - OUTSTANDING CUSTOMER SERVICE. And a great product lineup to boot. Read through the post in the Prime Time section of this forum and see what owners have to say about the units, quality and customer service (when we've had to contact them) they are GREAT. They are under the Forest River "banner" but, operate completely independant of FR.

Check them out. I think you'll be pleased!!

[Sand duner22]

I've had my FR for about 10 months now and am very happy with it. One piece of advice when you decide to purchase; pay close attention to the orientation when taking delivery. Ask lots of questions and take notes, especialy if you are new to the RV world. God luck and hope you find the right one.

[RetirededTX]

Welcome BeachBum,
I'm also a new member to this forum. I've been on other FR forums in the past and am on my second FR trailer. The first was a Flagstaff DS21 TT and the current one is a 8280SS 5r. I've stuck with FR despite several issues, the main one being the dealership's ability to perform maintenance (warranty or not) in a reasonable amount of time and quality. Find a good dealer.

In the ultra-light category I think FR has produced a pretty good product. There are compromises to be made to keep it light, sometimes they went cheap, others they designed light. My experience has been that RV stands for Repair Vehicle, and it hasn’t changed over the years. A lot of experience and help by reading forums has kept me out of most trouble, and solved many problems.

Since I'm a consummate DIY’r getting parts has been a bit of a hassle, but can be done. Sometimes I was able to get parts shipped directly to me, other times I was forced to go through the dealership (they say patience is a rewarding virtue, I’ve had to wait enough to gain one heck of a lot of virtue). Judge your own capabilities in this area, if it looks cheap, or under built can you fix it, or do you need to pay someone to do it for you?

Shopping list (just a few things to think about):
Layout – think about traffic and comfort, can you sit anywhere and see the TV, is that seat more than a bit too firm, can you get to everything when the slide is in, how much storage do you need? Can somebody cook and not get run over?
Size – can your tow vehicle handle it, with a reasonable degree of margin? I towed the 8280SS with a highly modified F150 for almost 2 years, but I wouldn’t recommend it for most, now I’ve got the 3500 Dodge diesel and have no problems with power and capacity.
Fit and finish – look inside the cabinets, and under the sofa, how’s it put together? I’ve seen considerable difference with models on the same lot.
What axle and tires does it have, are the tires really new, compare the posted weights (somewhere inside the kitchen cabinets usually). Mine came with tires that weren’t rated for a full load, and my personal experience with Carlisle tires was not good, so the week after I bought the trailer I sold them and bought new ones with a much larger safety margin. After some 14,000 miles of travel, one of the 3500# AlKo axle decided to bend and wear one side of a tire down in less than 1600 miles. So now I’m replacing the axles (not with AlKo).

No matter what you buy, there will be headaches, but research, planning, and thought should minimize them.
Good Luck and Happy RVing.

[Glenn5995]

Welcome to the forum! We have had our Rockwood 8281SS for 5 years now, bought it in May of 2006. Our fifth wheel was very problematic for the first two years. If you had asked my opinion of Forest River during that time frame, I would not have spoke very favorably of them. However, they did stand behind their product and get everything right finally and it has been trouble free for three years now. I am quite sure they made no profit off our unit and most likely took a loss after all the costs of repairs.

I am not saying this to discourage you as it seems all RV manufacturers crank out some "Friday before a holiday" units, but rather to let you know my experience is that if you do have issues, they will work to get it right. Good luck with your decision.

[bikendan]

IMHO, FR makes the best quality for the price.

found other brands that were cheaper but the quality was lacking. found some brands with slightly better quality, but were more expensive.

FR strikes the balance between the two, better than any other brand i've found.

[janegraves]

I just received my Sunseeker 2300 3 weeks ago. My first real trip was over Memorial Day weekend. I decided on the Sunseeker because it had a nice queen size bed and I upgraded to the Serta pillowtop mattress. LOVE IT! The Forest Rivers were one of the few that included a gas oven in addition to the microwave oven. Everyone who has seen it is amazed how much I got for the price. The 2300 is small enough to be an easy drive yet loaded enough to be comfortable while stopped. So far I am happy with my purchase.