To Buy or Not?

knipp4la · 01-03-2009, 12:25 PM

I'm looking at the 390 BH. The 34 inch bunks are the main reason...they are the widest I've found in a class A. I like the floor plan but have concerns about the quality. I've read both positive and negative about Forest River motorhomes. ( I have a Rockwood travel trailer so I've dealt with Forest River already.)
Would you buy yours again? What problems have you had? Any words of advice?

Thank you!

rockwood06 · 01-04-2009, 09:43 AM

to FRF Alot of great members here and there heads are full of info, just pick-away.

**Bama Rambler** · 01-04-2009, 10:26 AM

Welcome to FRF.

I'd definitely buy mine again! I have had one issue that I thought should have designed better but I fixed it permanently by adding some blocking.

GORVN4FUN · 01-04-2009, 10:47 AM

I would definitely buy Forest River again. I will first admit that I didn't feel the fit and finish were as good as the Itasca Sunova motorhome I was looking at, but close. I got more coach for the money and I felt that the quality of the XL line was way better than the SE. The fit and finish were plenty good. I wanted a higher-end entry level gas MH, and that's what I got at a good price.

No matter what you buy, it's very important to make sure to perform the appropriate routine maintenance. Also, owning a MH requires constant checking of everything before problems occur. It doesn't hurt to be mechanically inclined so that the small stuff can be taken care of. I actually enjoy the checking and tinkering part.

In this economy it doesn't hurt to have Warren Buffet behind the company too!

cfsoistman · 01-05-2009, 07:24 AM

I would buy another Forest River Motorhome. I agree there's definitely more coach for the money. Is there room for improvement? Sure, but no matter the manufacturer there is always something that could be designed better or built better. We've had a few problems, nothing big and between the dealership and Forest River everything has been taken care of.

When we're ready to step up from our Georgetown 370 the Berkshire will be the first thing we'll be looking at.

tmmar · 01-05-2009, 11:49 AM

I have the 390bh and have been very pleased with it. I have had a couple of problems also and Forest River has let me take it in to local rv dealearships that don't sell their product and have them fix the rig. I pay the dealership and Forest River reimburses me. So far, no problems with that arrangement.

chaser1217 · 01-14-2009, 08:02 PM

i've had problems with my 390bh,however they have been worked out,for now

knipp4la · 01-14-2009, 09:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chaser1217

i've had problems with my 390bh,however they have been worked out,and we love ours ...now.this is my first rv and maybe i over acted on the problems. matt at forest river (factory) has been helpful.come to think of it most the problems was due to waiting on parts. i have had mine 1 year now have over 15k miles on it, i tow my yukon behind it and have a heavy foot and get close to 9mpg when i slow down and not pulling the yukon i get over 10. the floor plan works great for my family. best advice get better mattresses for the whole coach.the interior wood isnt as good as some but for the diesel pusher price range this is in its average.hope this helps

What kind of problems did you have? Is there storage under the bunks? We are going to see one Monday (hopefully).

Thanks for your reply.

tmmar · 01-15-2009, 01:26 PM

I too have dealt with Matt at Forest River and found him to be very helpful. I had a problem with the slide mechanism on the kitchen slide. The third or fourth time I put the slide out a gear stripped in the mechanism. This was fixed locally with parts sent from Equalizer systems. Had another problem with the rear AC drain leaking on the bed. I pushed the drain tube to the drivers side of the vehicle and it seems to be ok now. May have just slipped out of the connection. Also had a short somewhere in the refridge/furnace/fantastic vent circuit. Had 2 places look into it and they could not find any problem so I am hoping that it was just a bad connection that was taken care of when the service techs were trying to track the problem. Also had an air dump valve that went bad that Freightliner repaired.
There is no storage under the bunk beds. For a diesel pusher in this price range, I think it is a pretty good deal.

chaser1217 · 01-20-2009, 10:27 PM

had the same problem with the air dump.. would not air up susp. it was fixed in the leveling system on mine

billj770 · 01-22-2009, 10:47 PM

We have had an 09 390BH for 6 months and think it is great. The bunk beds sold me, the grandkids love it. We use it for football games and other short trips. For the $$ it would be hard to beat. The truck AC and Heat unit have dropped in and out a few times (just stops working no heat in the winter no ac in the summer...fan slows down) so we will have that looked at soon, but nothing else. Good luck.

caravan6 · 01-25-2009, 07:03 PM

There's a 390BH that my local dealer has been sitting on forever. I have looked at it several times. I know the market is slower for dealers, but its been sitting for nearly a year. I like the coach alot and feel I could buy it for a good price, but I too need a little reassurance from other owners. I have 4 kids and the bunk models have proven to be the best plans for us.

tmmar · 01-26-2009, 10:36 AM

I think you will be happy with the coach should you purchase it. I have had a few problems, but if you look at some other rv websites, you'll see that all coaches have problems no matter who the manufacturer is.

knipp4la · 01-26-2009, 09:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by caravan6

There's a 390BH that my local dealer has been sitting on forever. I have looked at it several times. I know the market is slower for dealers, but its been sitting for nearly a year. I like the coach alot and feel I could buy it for a good price, but I too need a little reassurance from other owners. I have 4 kids and the bunk models have proven to be the best plans for us.

Out of curiosity, is this the coach at Holman's in Batavia? I know its order date was May, 2008. We looked at it last week.....if we go with this model, we will probably order one..I liked what I saw, except for the almost shag carpet. I want one with no carpet, or as little , as possible. DH wants the 350 rather than 340 also.

caravan6 · 02-03-2009, 04:08 PM

knipp4la,

I am in Az. I hear you on the 350 though. I dont plan of towing anything at this point, but it would be good to have the higher rating.

chaser1217 · 02-03-2009, 07:50 PM

390bh is the best for the money in this price range,bunks are good ,basement storage fantastic. any coach has problems, mine is my first rv period,so maybe a learning curve on my part.another thing is who wil be there next year if you buy another coach, manufactures going broke daily,fleetwood de listed off of stock exchange, monaco is having severe problems, country coach i think is gone, stick with forest river. if warren buffet goes broke were all in serious trouble.

jamestrs · 05-30-2009, 11:13 AM

we did buy a 360 qs and exported it to europe(Belgium). Very difficult to homologate but so far so good. We love it !

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