FR extending my warranty??

k_allison510 · 10-12-2018, 10:10 PM

I hope this is in best place. I am having some water leak problems. Both inside the unit and into some of my rear basement storage. The trailer is only 6 weeks old but who knows how many times it has rained and gotten wet inside. I posted more detail about my issues in the wildwood heritage glen sub forums. But that is not why I am here. I am super worried about delamination in the future. Or soft floors or any number of the other problems that come with water damage. What are the odds that FR would extend my warranty to cover any future problems directly related to water damage?

**bikendan** · 10-12-2018, 11:13 PM

Doubt it.
Once it's repaired, that's all they have to do.
If something shows up before the end of the warranty, they can still be obligated to correct it.
But once that's done, no RV manufacturer is going to extend the warranty for any future issues.

Oldbyker · 10-13-2018, 02:09 AM

I'm just dealing with 1 year old Forest River RV that already has a small leak in the rear and puddles forming on the forward bunk. Even though I bought it "as is", the dealer, General RV, is doing a super job of finding and fixing everything for free. I'm learning that the leaks that I have are quite common.

However, I'm dismayed that Forest River has such poor design and manufacturing that they have significant leak problems in the first place. It's like low quality Chinese products 30 years ago. Just get it out the door as cheaply as possible.

I believe that it's not that difficult to design a seam structure that will have integrity when new and hold up over decades. But that's not the company's management ethics. They do a sloppy job and duck out with a 1 year non-transferrable warranty. A strict bean counter approach. Company first, end user last.

With all the problems that can develop with undetected water leaks, one would think that Forest River would build an outer shell that is inherently water tight. But they just throw a roof, side walls, and end caps together for some factory worker, with low wages and in a hurry, to properly clean the surfaces and squirt enough caulk into the gaps, hoping that the gaps won't wiggle enough for the caulk to separate or tear. And then there are leaking window frames that should never happen if done right the first time.

I'm not very worried about quality problems like crooked doors and staples going into air. But I would like to have an outer shell that is water proof for the life of the engine and chassis, just like my 10 to 40 year old boats.

So no, they won't extend the warranty if it's not a physical danger. They planned on you having leaks that they would not ever pay to fix.

Steve

NJKris · 10-13-2018, 07:40 AM

I read this thread, because the title made it sound like you got your warranty extended, and I was happy for you. I'm leaning towards the opinion of the other guys, but also hoping that since the problem was reported so early in your ownership, they would make a good faith effort to correct any problems that were obviously caused by the initial leak defect. Keeping my fingers crossed for you. I know I would certainly be up on the roof a lot monitoring those seams.

Oaklevel · 10-13-2018, 08:16 AM

First I doubt too that your warranty will be extended too many variables.

Also

"Oldbyker
Rant warning..Why would they extend the warranty? They know how poorly they're made.

However, I'm dismayed that Forest River has such poor design and manufacturing that they have significant leak problems in the first place. It's like low quality Chinese products 30 years ago. Just get it out the door as cheaply as possible."

....................And no they are not all poorly made........

Saying Forest River has a poor design is worse than saying all GM vehicles have a poor design. Simply not true........

but yes right or wrong you are entitled to your opinion.....

JohnD10 · 10-13-2018, 10:00 AM

As long as these problems were reported but not yet fixed during the warranty, those problems will still be under warranty.

You may have to fight a little bit...but they will be covered.

Unfortunately, basically anything involving caulking from the factory is NOT typically covered under warranty without a fight...even if it is only three months old!

On my previous TT, the day I picked it up brand new from the dealership they told me of a recall on this model where they had to remove the entire top aluminum panels on both sides to replace the insulation, and since it was September and we were flying to Florida for 10 days during the first weeks of October I arranged to take it there for this work while we were away.

Believe it or not...it was ready when we got back...but the caulking job they did was almost as bad as I would do (I'm not that great at caulking) and chunks would fall out behind the rain gutter every time it rained!

I had them redo the caulking three times and each time it lasted maybe a month before water would run down behind the awning and rain gutter down both sides of the TT.

I had it scheduled to go in one last time under warranty to get that redone the very day the Colorado floods hit, which flooded out the dealership and shut them down for a month.

By the time I was able to get the TT to them for this repair they tried to charge me for it as they said my warranty had expired.

WHAT? WHAT? WHAT?

I argued with the service counter person...then the service manager...then the dealership manager, reminding him that this was NOT a factory warranty issue, but a crappy work from their dealership's service department issue, who then said that they would give me one more repair "on them, then after that I'm on my own!".

To which I accepted, but also informed him that they just lost a customer forever...

And once I picked up my TT from them I've never set foot on their lot again!

I traded that TT in for a new 5'ver about a year later at a dealership about 10 miles from them.

And guess what...that caulking was falling apart yet again!

**F.R.O.G.** · 10-13-2018, 01:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by k_allison510

I hope this is in best place. I am having some water leak problems. Both inside the unit and into some of my rear basement storage. The trailer is only 6 weeks old but who knows how many times it has rained and gotten wet inside. I posted more detail about my issues in the wildwood heritage glen sub forums. But that is not why I am here. I am super worried about delamination in the future. Or soft floors or any number of the other problems that come with water damage. What are the odds that FR would extend my warranty to cover any future problems directly related to water damage?

Rather than asking about the odds on a forum, try contacting Miranda Blackburn at the Heritage Glen Service and Warranty Center and asking her. You can reach Miranda at (574) 533-2165, or by e-mail at mblackburn@forestriverinc.com.

johnlochbuie · 10-13-2018, 01:36 PM

That is because forest river keeps hiring college kids who just want to put their hours in and get their pay they don't take pride in their work my clipper had way to much caulking on the seams they even drop a big blob on top of sewer vent on the roof and just left it there.

k_allison510 · 10-13-2018, 06:25 PM

I did contact Miranda and have been waiting on a response since Tuesday. Both email and voice mail. Also been back and forth with the dealer for a cancellation of the deal. Or at least a different unit. The owner of the dealership did tell me today he is working on getting me an extended 5 or 6 year warranty. I am sure that will be outside of FR's factory warranty and will include a deductible, But I think that would give me enough piece of mind that we could live with the unit, assuming they can get the water leaks fixed in the first place.

JLeising · 10-13-2018, 06:35 PM

Read any extended warranty carefully. Believe most exclude water damage from leaks.

JohnD10 · 10-13-2018, 07:05 PM

Of course the dealer is working on you to buy an extended warranty.

RV extended warranties are a rip off!

Most especially when you purchase them from a dealership!

You'd be better served to open a savings account and put some money in there.

Otherwise, all you are doing is making someone else's Beamer payment!

**bikendan** · 10-13-2018, 07:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by k_allison510

The owner of the dealership did tell me today he is working on getting me an extended 5 or 6 year warranty. I am sure that will be outside of FR's factory warranty and will include a deductible, But I think that would give me enough piece of mind that we could live with the unit, assuming they can get the water leaks fixed in the first place.

Most of those extended warranties won't cover damage from roof leaks or delamination.

k_allison510 · 10-13-2018, 07:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JLeising

Read any extended warranty carefully. Believe most exclude water damage from leaks.

10-4. If it comes to that I will read every single word. As of now I am still shooting for a cancellation or different model. Thanks for the great advice.

And that is the exact reason I posted on the forum. I would never have thought to make sure any extended warranty covered water damage.

k_allison510 · 10-13-2018, 07:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JohnD10

Of course the dealer is working on you to buy an extended warranty.

RV extended warranties are a rip off!

Most especially when you purchase them from a dealership!

You'd be better served to open a savings account and put some money in there.

Otherwise, all you are doing is making someone else's Beamer payment!

Negative, the warranty will be at no cost to me. But it doesnt matter, if it wont cover water damage, then it is no good to me anyway.

k_allison510 · 10-21-2018, 10:40 AM

I just wanted to let everyone know that Miranda at FR did get back with me. We have exchanged a few emails regarding my request. She said once the dealer has made the repairs she will see what she can do about extending my warranty. I assume she will need to know the severity of the water intrusion ETC. But hey, it wasn't a flat out no, so there is hope.

Oldbyker · 10-21-2018, 03:03 PM

Dear Oaklevel -

I see that you have a soft top convertible car. That is a massively more complicated roof than an RV, but they rarely leak, especially in the first couple of years of ownership. I'd guess that virtually every person on this thread has had decades of cars that never ever leaked. Forest River has several lines of Class B motor homes that use a complete automotive van, including roof, for the shell. I doubt that these have any significant roof leak problems.

Forest River DOES have poor design and/or manufacturing in the Class C roof seams. I didn't say that the whole vehicle is poor, I'm saying that one particular part of the RV is made very poorly and can be done much better.

The leak rate of Class C RV's must be orders of magnitude higher than autos. There are lots of caulked seams in cars, but the production floor has definite procedures to do it reliably and are appropriate to the workers and tooling.

Even though simple water leaks can be hard to detect, and can do lots of expensive damage, Forest River, for one, on a corporate management level, is not willing to make the effort to prevent leaks.

I'm sure that there are many people in the company that could solve the problem in a very short time, but aren't given the authority and budget. It's completely the blame of upper management.

I, for one, having started my career in the Space Program, don't accept the attitude that RV roofs leak quite often and that's the way it is.

(Dear Forest River management - are you eavesdropping?)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Oaklevel

First I doubt too that your warranty will be extended too many variables.

Also

"Oldbyker
Rant warning..Why would they extend the warranty? They know how poorly they're made.

However, I'm dismayed that Forest River has such poor design and manufacturing that they have significant leak problems in the first place. It's like low quality Chinese products 30 years ago. Just get it out the door as cheaply as possible."

....................And no they are not all poorly made........

Saying Forest River has a poor design is worse than saying all GM vehicles have a poor design. Simply not true........

but yes right or wrong you are entitled to your opinion.....

NJKris · 10-21-2018, 07:46 PM

Absolutely agree Oldbyker. I watched my 2014 Stingray make it through the assembly line, ending with a trip into a booth that sprayed water from every direction, like a hurricane. The guy taking me on the tour laughed, saying how some Corvette owners brag their car has never been in the rain, yet this looked like a drive in a monsoon. I could see the factory worker inside the car while shining a flashlight everywhere while it was blasted with water, looking for any hint of water intrusion. Now THAT'S quality control. 4 years and 25k miles later, and my convertible doesn't leak a drop.

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