Detaching Driver Side Wall

[Admiral Whipp]

September 24, 2015

I have a 2011 Georgetown 327 with 19,121 miles. This summer I noticed a loud bang on the driver’s side. At first I thought it might be the sway bar since it happened during the many sways of the Ford type chassis. I crawled under the driver’s side and couldn’t find anything amiss so I had no choice but to wait to see if it would get worse and reveal it self. I’ve read two forums in the past about walls falling off of these Georgetowns and hoped it wasn’t going to be this one. Finally it revealed it self, I looked under the driver’s side wheel well and I could see that the wall was separating from the frame, about a ¼ inch. Apparently Forest River doesn’t think it is a good enough reason for a recall.
One of the forums talked about a fix so I decided to follow their lead. I purchased 5/16 in x 5 in bolts, washers and lock nuts. I removed the trim and drilled 5/16 holes through the frame and bolted the wall back on. I noticed that the wall was separated all the way up towards the windshield so decided to put 4 bolts up along that part of the frame. The very top under the firewall still has some separation. I used a forstner bit to cut holes in the fiberglass that covered up the screws. I took photos for anyone that would like illustrations of the project. I do have to fill in the holes under the trim yet.
My curiosity, how prevalent is this problem?

[redneck 92]

Sorry for your troubles. From other posts it looks like it might be fairly common. It should be a recall. Wonder if other brands of Forest River motorhomes will have the same issue? Good luck with your repairs. Please let us know how it works for you.

[Admiral Whipp]

Originally Posted by redneck 92

Sorry for your troubles. From other posts it looks like it might be fairly common. It should be a recall. Wonder if other brands of Forest River motorhomes will have the same issue? Good luck with your repairs. Please let us know how it works for you.

Thank you - sorry about such a late reply - Looks like my fix is working out.
How ever I am reading more and more forums about Georgetowns having the same problem. Most of the people having this problem don't know what it is yet.
I decided to check out all of the walls and to my dismay there is screws backing out through out the entire coach. I just finished installing new bolts on the passenger side, today I'll finish up the driver side rear.

[MNtraveler]

You did some nice work there. What about sealant or caulking along that joint either before or after bolting? To keep dust, dirt, bugs and rain out?


Land of 10,000 Lakes
2016 Forester MBS 2401R

[Admiral Whipp]

Originally Posted by MNtraveler

You did some nice work there. What about sealant or caulking along that joint either before or after bolting? To keep dust, dirt, bugs and rain out?


Land of 10,000 Lakes
2016 Forester MBS 2401R

Thank you, I didn't caulk, I didn't even think of it. The fit is very tight and at least half of the caulking locations are inside the bins. I probably won't.

[Carmen]

I sent a message to Forest River about this very problem asking why there is no recall or at least notification to the owners of the affected vin numbers of the potential problem. I asked them if it wouldn't be better to proactively head this off before there are catastrophic failures and to build trust with the owners and potential repeat customers.....no response.....why am, I not surprised

[Puglover]

We have a 2013 Georgetown. I'll have to tell hubby to check. Better to find a problem before it is a catastrophe.

We do have one of the outside storage bins that has several screws missing and needs to be fixed before we leave the campground we r currently at. It is sticking out about 1 inch.