Negative: Poor sloppy construction

[bkelleyrn]

We purchased our new 2021 Wildcat fifth wheel in April and have had nothing but problems. Pieces of trim falling off, screws came loose and all over the floor, microwave falling out, jack system won’t work, clean water tank leaks, water sensor doesn’t work, door won’t shut, bed slide out has holes open to the outside, shower leaks into the hallway, and much more. When contacting forest river they just tell us how busy they are. Dealer would not help until I contacted camping world (owner of Gander RV). Service won’t call back and doesn’t know their product. In 35 years of marriage we have never purchased such a piece of junk!!!!

[SeaDog]

When you contacted the selling dealer did you have a detailed list of problems? or a generalized list like in your post. What does door won't shut? is this all the time or only when the slides are out. water sensor doesn't work? is this the entire panel or just one tank? Jack system doesn't work? is this the landing gear or the leveling system. I understand you are frustrated but from what I'm reading some of these might be very easy remedied by you with help of the forum. Things like screws can be reinserted with a little dab of yellow glue and they will stay in place. The dealer not contacting you is wrong

[bkelleyrn]

I had a very detailed list that I had to give them several times. My point with the screws is that things are falling apart like the microwave coming out of the cupboard. To me, it points out the poor construction. What else is falling going apart that we cannot see. The water sensor is th whole thing, not just one part. The jack system won’t work period, says offline on the control panel. The entry door is the one that will not shut. I’m sure we can fix things but my husband has already spent multiple hours. For instance it took him 3 hours and many calls to get the jacks up so we could leave the campground.

[SeaDog]

I hear ya and agree with the lack of quality control and don't see that improving with the crush of folks purchasing RVs and the pressure on the Mfg to produce in a timely manner.

[bkelleyrn]

I agree, just sad what we get for our money these days

[asr524]

for the entry door you could check the striker plate is aligned correctly. super easy to adjust to help the door close easier....i assume your not traveling with the door ajar and it actually closes but may be hard or has to be slammed.

[bkelleyrn]

Thank you, the plate has been adjusted several times. I cannot close the door myself, my husband has to

[Greywater]

Our entry door won't close if the steps aren't adjusted correctly, or if you forget to raise it prior to taking it out of a steady level state. One "on the road" trick for screws pulling out is to stuff cut pieces of plastic zip tie in the hole prior to re-insertion. I've had to do that with a few of the non structural screws in ours.

[bkelleyrn]

Thank you, we will try it

[asr524]

Originally Posted by bkelleyrn

When contacting forest river they just tell us how busy they are. Dealer would not help until I contacted camping world (owner of Gander RV). Service won’t call back and doesn’t know their product. In 35 years of marriage we have never purchased such a piece of junk!!!!

I see in your profile your close to Haylett RV (Josh the RV Nerd on YouTube). Have you tried talking to them and bypassing Camping World/Gander? Might get better service with them vs a major chain....Just a thought

[acadianbob]

Our 2018 Wildcat is the worst RV by far that we have ever owned. The dealer sells hundreds of units a year and has 3 service bays. With all of the issues people have with RVs, good luck on getting your unit in for warranty work. It is MONTHS before you can get anything addressed (notice I didn't say fixed). My wife and I drove by the dealership yesterday, we saw well over 100 units up for sale, and remarked about all of the heartache sitting there waiting for people to scoop them up.

[bkelleyrn]

Thanks! Didn’t know

[Brewhedd]

Sorry to hear about your Wildcat. The RV industry is pathetic. We had pretty much the same experience with a 2019 Grand Design TT. Thirty issues that required a lot of trips to the dealer ($$) and over a year to get them fixed. Most notable were a leaking shower track, broken skirt bracing (along with rusting welds), rusting frame, cheap defective propane regulator, crooked carpet installation in a slide and refrig drain line not routed properly. Dealers can't even get the right parts ordered much less do correct repairs 100% of the time. They drag their feet until most owners finally give up and do a lot of the warranty work themselves. RV's are not cheap either, ours figured out to about $170 per sq. ft. of living area. Good Luck.

[richp]

What a change from the middle of the last decade, when I bought my fourth fiver -- my first Forest River.

I had a few minor items that emerged on the first trip out -- you can't really discern on a PDI that the oven won't hold a consistent temperature for an extended period of time and the refer fan was too loud for daily living. (Prompt replacement of the whole oven and remedial action on the fan.)

But the whole list was not a half dozen items, none of which were functionally limiting or structurally concerning. Nothing like we read about here.

I feel really bad for folks who are buying these days.

Rich Phillips

[Brewhedd]

Originally Posted by richp

What a change from the middle of the last decade, when I bought my fourth fiver -- my first Forest River.

I had a few minor items that emerged on the first trip out -- you can't really discern on a PDI that the oven won't hold a consistent temperature for an extended period of time and the refer fan was too loud for daily living. (Prompt replacement of the whole oven and remedial action on the fan.)

But the whole list was not a half dozen items, none of which were functionally limiting or structurally concerning. Nothing like we read about here.

I feel really bad for folks who are buying these days.

Rich Phillips

Yep, Our 2015 Rockwood TT, not that it was the best built TT in the world, had a handful of minor issues which were fixed within days.


The people buying now are probably running into a lot of issues and paying too much. Down the road 3 or 4 years when they sell they are probably going to be taking some big losses.

[phillyg]

Did you not peruse RV forums before purchasing? If not, welcome to our world. While some are better than others, they all seem to have problems. We got rid of our Wildcat within a year, even after FR offered to take it back to the factory. WRT to the poorly closing door, my experience is it will never be right unless it's removed, frame and all, and reset square in the opening. Keep after your dealer and FR to make it right.

[Camp63]

Welcome to the RV Industry. Nobody gives a Damm . Quality Control is nonexistent. You have to Fix Things Yourself if You Can . If Not it can be Frustrating as Hell .

[Florida.Traveler]

Does your state have "LEMON LAWS" file a complaint with the state if so, they will either get your funding back or force someone to fix the bad product.
FYI, this is typical for the RV industry both motorized or towed.

[bmaginness65]

Wow, I do wish I would have been more informed at purchase (my fault), we had FR in the early 2000s, like a few said, a few issues but nothing major and always fixed timely manner. This 2021 Coachman is the biggest purchase regret my wife and I have had, it should be an embarrassment to the industry. So far 1.5 months and we can't even use it. Dealer and warranty rep for them is working on it so we will see, still, I am amazed they are selling product that doesn't even function properly when it leaves the lot. And yes, looking into Nevada lemon law. Sadly this quality issue is what brought me to the forum.... sure would have enjoyed swapping camping stories instead of this....

To the OP, good luck, sounds like we all need it...