First and Last Forest River Product

[Cseagle]

We bought a 2012 FR TT in 2011 through RVDirect. We loved it. Never had a moments problems. We bought a 2008 Montana Fifth Wheel in 2014 and it was awesome. Again, not a moments trouble. We just bought a 2015 Itasca Suncruiser Motorhome and we are hopeful for the same result. We realize how blessed we’ve been. We’ve had friends who paid big bucks for new 5 th wheels and had nothing but trouble. As many of us as are out ther, we ought to be able to force them to do better. They are just turning them out so fast they aren’t checking them properly. We should have some
Consumer Power here

[carbuthn]

I just purchased a Forest River Arctic Wolf, I seem to be having mostly design issues instead of quality control issues.

The fifth wheel was delivered from a dealer that was 1250 miles away. After the trip about half of the underbelly was pulled down. it only had screws in the middle of the plastic cover. I added additional screws near the outside frames.

The wiring for one of the slides was pull out of the hole that was only held in by foam. Printed 3D grommets to hold / support the wires and re foamed the seal through the frame.

The biggest issue was the gray and black water drain valves, the gray water valves had extension rods that came to the side of the RV, but were unsupported so that one was bent down about 30 degrees. The black tank valve was mounted parallel to the frame with the handle 30" from the side of the RV. You would have to physically lay down (at a dump site) slide under the trailer to open / close the valve. I ended up adding 3 electric valves for about $360.

Most of the rest of the construction seems good.

As a precaution we re-sealed or checked every hole in the roof and sides as well as every window / door. I will check status of the sealant at least once per year.

One other issue that lead to the purchase of the new fifth wheel was the destruction of my old 39' toy hauler by rats while working out of state over the winter. The underbelly and non accessible areas have plenty of rat poison inside them.

Only time will tell.

[kpcape]

We have a Rockwood Signature and also are having the same trouble as you regarding the heater. We purchased brand new April of 2017 and have had our own issues. These campers are coming off the line so quick nothing is checked. Our camper is in the shop as we speak since May 2 and the main reason is for the heat. Front living area is like a meat locker and back bedroom is a sauna. Was yours fixed? Did they know what was wrong with it? Any feedback would be greatly appreciated. thank you

[isimar]

So true, sold my wildcat and bought a $140,000. Motorhome and the dealer had it for the first 11 of the 12 weeks I owned it. And it still had issues !
Catching up on the small stuff myself, but you can’t expect quality from a mass produced RV.

[Capt. Mike]

Originally Posted by janke1

I totally agree, I bought a new 2011 Lexington,it was a total piece of crap,nothing but problems, coach step, fridge,AC, stove etc. Finally gave up and sold it and felt guilty about it. I would never buy another FR product,and would recommend the same to anyone I know.

OK, so you bought new in 2011, sold that unit, and will never own another Forest River product, yet this is your first post on the FOREST RIVER FORUMS. So, what brings you here? What am I missing?

And what kind of a unit do you have now? I'm guessing you have some kind of an RV, or else why would you even be hanging out on an RV discussion site?

[bdhooper]

The heater issue is quite easy. You can buy floor registers with adjustable baffles from a home improvement store. That lets you control the distribution of the furnace air. RV manufacturers don't bother to use floor registers with baffles.

[Kkareem52]

I heard on the news (maybe fake news?), there are so many people in CA that are turning to RV living because real estate is so expensive. There has been fire and safety issues because of the way RVs are made, that the lawmakers are starting to discuss new codes to make RVs more safe. If that happens, maybe the quality will get better, but the price will probably go up as well.
I recently retired, bought a 2017 Puma destination trailer. Although I see the real lack of quality and the cheap material it's made out of, I just figure, that it keeps he price down and makes it light enough to tow. If and when things break, we'll fix it unless it's something big and expensive, then I'll turn to the warranty. (Hopefully, they stand by the warranty because I bought extended for 7 years)
All in all, I love my RV and I love the park I'm in. LIFE IS GOOD!

[shuthrbug]

I spent $100k on my first fr an will nt buy another, product & service suck. Best rv I ever had was a Winnebago..

[Oaklevel]

We have bought 3 Forest River Products the quality is very good and typical of all RV manufacturers.


.....and yes I would buy another when the time comes.....

[spock123]

Originally Posted by janke1

I totally agree, I bought a new 2011 Lexington,it was a total piece of crap,nothing but problems, coach step, fridge,AC, stove etc. Finally gave up and sold it and felt guilty about it. I would never buy another FR product,and would recommend the same to anyone I know.

I highly recommend Cedar Creek by Forest River. My rear cap faded and Cedar Creek replaced the cap for free, the camper is four years old. I call that standing behind your product

[GarFish]

I bought new 2015 Forest River Shamrock 21BD,
Love the trailer itself ! But while under warranty , I keep having front bunk detach from main frame of unit , they refused to fix and said nothing was wrong. Had several conversion with Forest River representative and RV dealer ship. I decide to contact my attorney, after I got though with conversation I decide to contact my attorney , when I went to Forest River website and ask for legal dept. address, i got it. After about 10 min the rep.I had been talking to called me back and was not happy about but agreed to to replace the bunk canvas and canvas door / Bed and mental frame ! But had to threaten to get attorney! Should not have to fight to get what is deserved and agreed to "Warranty"

[gdkeese]

Howdy fellow RV's, OP here checking in.
Thanks for the responses. It may appear from my first post that this was my first go-around with trailers and camping but I have been at this game for nearly a decade (our first camper was a Jayco that we should have kept.) I understand the need of the manufacturers to crank out trailers quickly but I also cannot get past the idea that most people are just okay to let minor issues slide without some level of accountability from the manufacturers. I also understand this is something that will need some TLC over the years but it just bugs me these issues are not caught at the factory. How many of those making such comments would be okay with the same low level of quality in their tow vehicles.
To the point that this is not a Forest River moderated forum. I am under no illusions they own or run this site. I do however hope that they are at the least monitoring it to see what the customers are saying about their products. A company is only as good as its reputation and I think the large number of posts about technical issues would be of great concern for them.
As for the state of the industry, I feel as if the public has brought this upon ourselves. We wanted to have these mobile mansions that allowed us to live the good life out in the middle of nowhere but demanded the manufacturers accommodate our small tow vehicle capacities. This meant cheaper materials were needed to keep weights down and that lead to more failures of a structural nature. I wonder if the good folks at Airstream (way out of my price range) are having the same issues.
Thanks again for all the responses. Sorry it took so long to respond but after putting off chores so I could go back to school the wife's honey-do list is very long. Doesn't allow me much time to pound on the keyboards. And besides, I gotta finish the other 20% of my work kit so I can keep from freezing in the mobile mansion.

[Halfmast]

Not long ago I stood in a high-end, $100k+ 5er where the manufacturer's rep told us that 3.6% of the purchase price of their RVs goes towards warranty work.

I have been very fortunate so far with my new Coachmen, needing nothing more than a Leatherman to fix what sneaked past the factory and the dealer. Recently I noticed on a different forum that someone had purchased a $150k Mobile Suites 5er and had a list of complaints. The advice on that forum was near identical to this thread.

The issues are not brand specific, they are industry-wide. And I guess it depends on whether or not you are a part of the 3.6%, whether that is an acceptable percentage and business model.

[spock123]

I really don’t think anything will change in the rv industry, they will still be some bad units built but most campers are built great. No company wants to ship out bad products but a few do get shipped. It’s the bad ones that we hear about. Two companies own at least 85 percent of all the campers, Thor and Forest River. There use to be someone from Wildcat that chimed in every so often, Wildcat Chris. But mostly no one from Forest River looks at this forum.

[RonAnne48858]

We recently talked to a guy who purchased a new Luxe factory direct. During the PDI with the service center that was delivering it he came up with nine pages of problems that had to be fixed before he would take delivery. I don't know how much the Luxe fivers go for but I believe they are rather high-end. Jayco recently shut down for a week to correct manufacturing short cuts that had their quality sliding downhill rapidly. No matter how much you pay they all cut corners and push numbers over quality.

[Alan F]

I have a 2017 Forester which I bought new. I’ve had some serious problems, but the dealer and FR worked together to fix every one, and worked with my schedule. During a recent cross country 8,500 mile trip I had a catastrophic failure of the Leveler system, and the MH was out of warranty. The Warranty Specialist at FR could not have been better to work with. All repairs were made at their expense. All of them. Even out of warranty. Yes, there have been issues, but FR has stood by their product

[EdFla]

As with everyone here I had a problem with my Fr Sun Seeker . On my first Long trip when I was breaking camp at one of our stays my slide wouldn’t retract. I had to get a Mobil Rv repair to fix the slide. Well it took three trips and seven days for them to get my slide working. FR paid for parts and labor and because I complained about being stuck for seven days in one spot paid for the seven days at that camp site. So I have nothing bad to say about FR. They treated me right.

[themounties]

Originally Posted by 25TTRuck

Yes, RV's come with some challenges but they are also quite an affordable and comfortable way to get away from the daily grind and make it possible to escape the rat race that so may folks are trapped in. We have owned many RV's, motor homes and trailers. Only one was new. I enjoy making them better, adding features and making repairs. I learn a lot in the process. Last project was installing a washer/dryer combo. I have found that there is a creative solution to every problem that I discover. Dealers and RV builders often over promise and under deliver. Pass 'em by, get a pre-owned unit, expect to tinker and have fun with it! Life is too short to stress out over the little things.

Good post, life is way too short to worry about the little things

[SunseekerFunseekers]

Okay, this is my 1st post, so pleeze b kind... We just bought a new FR Sunseeker motor home; love it. But... (can't believe we didn't notice on walk-thru!) on 1st trip, I'm sitting on floor, playing w/dogs & notice nearly entire underside of kitchen counter is chipped, scratched, jagged, etc. When I run my finger along edge, it cuts me! So, I immed. call warranty & also send pics! "No prob, we'll order u a new one 2day, we'll call u, but give us at least 3-4 wks, etc & you'll need 2 leave RV here 4 about a week & we'll fix everything at once (about 10 super little things)… Industry standard on any parts is 2-3 wks, by the way. So, I call FRiver. Super nice guy calls me back & informs me that ZERO parts have been ordered (yet, we were told on walk-thru, that they'd ALREADY ordered a bunch of little stuff, that was missing (cargo net, towel bar, soap dish, etc). So, I then call warranty woman back (who, of course is on vacation), so I ask for her mgr, Sue. Sue is rather rude, asks me a few questions, says she needs to talk to someone, & will c.b. About an hour later, I get a super nice email from her, stating that my "new counter is on order," all happy, like. So, I call FRiver back, to discover she had literally just called, & ordered it! I DON'T want to piss off the dealer/warranty people (yet!), but am now concerned at 1) how long it's gonna take to get the stupid counter in and 2) assume I will then need to make appt, & leave motor home there for a week (how long will it take to get said appt?!) Dealer has LIED to us TWICE now (regarding not ordering stuff they've been telling us they did), hence my concerns... I HOPE this makes sense. Appreciate any advice. THANKS

[SunseekerFunseekers]

And... regarding the RV industry putting out junk - In 2017, RVs manufactured in the US alone, were up more than 17% from 2016. And, guess what?! 2018's numbers are expected to be 20% higher, still! The manufacturers are barely keeping up w/demand. I also read that the #1 reason is cuz so many older folks are suddenly unable to make their mortgage and/or rent payments (largely due to the steady increases in prescription meds!), so they literally sell everything, buy an RV & live in it. Sad, but apparently true.

2018 Forest River Sunseeker Class C 2420MS Motor Home (3.5 weeks old)
(We WANTED to buy used, but 2018 1st year they made this model, which we LOVE), so...