3011 Forester coming soon

[Hailey]

Hi,
Thanks for all the answers I've received to a couple previous questions. My new 3011 is know at the dealer being prepped and I plan to pick it up next week.
my question today is for things to look out for from this manufacture. Any glitches or problems that I should know before i drive away? As i read the older posts on this list i see very few.
After i pick the rig up, it will be in storage for 20+ days and then we are off to Florida for 3 months (Plan to see the FROGs in Tampa at Lazydayz) and a couple other FMCA rallies.
I generally do most of my own repair work and maintenance but would like to hear what others have discovered? any tricks i should know? As i did a pre walk thru a couple days ago i was happy to see many items included that were not on my Jayco , i hope that is a good sign for the future with this rig.
Thanks

[kenandterry]

Hailey...

Congrats on your new rig. However....

Don’t know where you live in relation to Florida, but I would try to bring it home and use every function I can before your 3 month trek. Your warranty starts the day you sign ownership....and the clock is ticking while you have it those first 20 days.

In storage, is it going to be hooked up to electricity? Battery(s) could be in trouble if you don’t have everything turned off COMPLETELY if you’re not hooked up. Will it be winterized when you take delivery? Do you know how to de-winterize? There’s a lot to review before a major adventure to Florida.

[James Jake]

Great tips from kenandterry, 100% accurate

[pismolocal]

I bought a 2017, 3011. Have taken it on quite a few trips since I bought it 7 months ago. First thing I noticed when driving is the tail end will scrape just about every driveway you leave...such as many gas stations. At first it startled me, I thought I ripped off my rear stabilizing jacks but started having the wife watch and found out it is the metal attachments that are on the rear bumper. Found if I go at an angle instead of straight it reduces the risk of scraping.

Also check the connection to the water fill. You need to lift the rear bed up and look at the hose. You may need to move yours around a bit to get your tank to fill. If not your water may blow back at you when filling. You can also get a hose and cut it to fit further in the tubing to reduce the blow back.

On mine the passenger side floor gets pretty hot. The wife started to complain about it. I had her drive while I sat there and found out it does get pretty hot on the floor, we got a bathroom rug, the kind you put around the toilet and it helped.

Turn on your coach heater and let it run for a few hours with all your windows open...the first couple of times you use it you may get a strong burning smell that is horrible. It will set off your detectors. Not something you want to experience if your winding down for the night and it's cold. New heaters have some oils that are on them that need to burn off. It takes a few hours to do this completely.

I agree with Ken and Terry, before your trip use it a bit local or in your driveway. Test everything out. Run the generator and power up the A.C. get familiar with everything and find out what works and what doesn't before your big trip.

[JimOneil43]

Before you take delivery..go over it with a fine toothed comb. Especially look for scratches and surface defects. We bought a new 3051S Forester from the factory last year and discovered multiple scratches in the solid surface kitchen countertop. Also the face of the microwave was scratched so much it looked like someone took a steel wool kitchen scrubber to it. Also there was a 6 inch long scrape in the sofa ultraleather back cushion. Once you leave the dealership it is very difficult to document this kind of damage as they don't show up well in photos. We live in Oregon and were pretty far from our dealer. We were lucky though, as our Dealer, RV Wholesalers in Ohio went to bat for us and the factory had the countertop polished out, the back sofa cushion replaced and they even sent out a complete new microwave. Just be very much on the look-out for these kind of things.
We love our Forester and hope you will love yours too.

[Rokslinger]

Originally Posted by kenandterry

Hailey...

Congrats on your new rig. However....

Don’t know where you live in relation to Florida, but I would try to bring it home and use every function I can before your 3 month trek. Your warranty starts the day you sign ownership....and the clock is ticking while you have it those first 20 days.

In storage, is it going to be hooked up to electricity? Battery(s) could be in trouble if you don’t have everything turned off COMPLETELY if you’re not hooked up. Will it be winterized when you take delivery? Do you know how to de-winterize? There’s a lot to review before a major adventure to Florida.

Ditto. Take it camping for a couple of nice days locally if you can before you take it anywhere else. If you have any issues or disappointments find out about thembefore you take a long trip. Our 3011 was delivered in great shape with just a few minor issues, but there is no guarantee that anyone else may not have them. Hope you love yours as much as we love ours.

[cariboo camper]

I would suggest having the person who does your pre delivery with you actually goes through the function as opposed to this is how it works. for example don't accept the fact that this is where the slide button is, perform the function. I took delivery of my 2017 FR3 and found the stabilizer jacks were hooked up wrong, push the button for front jacks and one front and one rear went down. An easy fix but a trip to the dealer nonetheless. Go over everything! After the dealer has done their thing with you I would suggest spending another hour or two on your own, on top, underneath, all over before leaving the lot. Enjoy your new rig, despite some of the stuff we here about problems straight from the factory I haven't had many problems at all.

[rvrobocop]

Picked up my Sunseeker last week of March 2012 after it had been at a RV show two weekends in the Northeast. PDI went well until I got home and fully pressureized it for a couple of days. The little $5 plastic filter diaphragm that goes into the water pump had cracked and was leaking either due to not being winterized properly prior to transit or simply a defect. It was more about the PITA getting to it with all the screws on the cover panel and no wiggle room at the connection. Silliness but still a problem. You never know.

[markb422]

The last TT I bought, the dealer invited us to camp out in the RV at the dealer for a night. The dealers had an area on the property with 5 or 6 full hook up sites just for shake downs. Not a bad deal if your dealer has such a place and you have the time.

[army1]

I have a 2017 Forester 3011 and other than a slide problem that they corrected ( 3 mos. )
a damaged awning and a few cabinet problems and now a TV ( bedroom ) its been a lot of enjoyment. Make sure you take a notebook with you at the walk through and understand the systems and above all ask questions if there's something you don't understand. Enjoy your unit but keep in mind its a house on wheels and just like your brick and mortar home theres always problems.