Forrest RIVER QUALITY

[bob34787]

in my case my dealer sent an email to Dan evans and mike burns stating the RV had too many design defects to be corrected properly, I have the email if anyone would like to read it, as a matter of fact since this may go the lemon route I have approx. 50 emails from FR , myself and my dealer. With the ridgeview at least , just because gm had 18 chassis for sale during their bankruptcy years is no reason to buy them and build something you have no experience building. That is the story of zridgeview. When they sent it back from the factory in Oct. 2011 Mike Burns emailed me and said FR wanted to be kept informed on new problems and corrected problems during my ownership, 3 weeks later I email Mike to find out he is no longer at FR and his replacement April really does not care.

[nemo45]

Originally Posted by bob34787

Donn,
I disagree with you on who should have caught these problems, I do agree a dealer should go over a MH or TT fairly well but they should not have to look for every little thing that should have never left the factory. The list of things wrong with nine was so long they sent horizon transport to my house to take it back to the factory for repairs, which I might add were done nicely but should not have been shipped that way to start with, if they can fix it later than they can build it right to start with. As far as dealers fixing things, they do not have to ! it is up to each dealer if they wish to work on your coach the rate of reimbursement is much lower than the shop rate they can charge for non warranty work so they can and do refuse warranty work on many little items and sometimes on larger claims, in most cases with mine the dealer will order the parts under warranty and give them to me for installation as it just is not worth it to them to put a tech. on small items. And no there is no comparison between a FR product and Newmar of the same price point.

I don't think there is any Newmar product at the same price point as a Georgetown.

[tncruiser]

"3 weeks later I email Mike to find out he is no longer at FR and his replacement April really does not care."

my treatment by Ms Conner on out of warranty issue was quick and corrective from where i sit she cares and follows thru

brianj

[Maddog378]

I only spoke to Mr. Burns once, and got the answers I needed. Now, I am working with April, and it's been wonderful. I'll be dropping my 378 off on a trip to N. Indiana in June, and she has me scheduled, helped line up a Ford dealer they use to do the Ford cable recall, and I can use my motorhome at night at their site. I asked for her help, and couldn't be more pleased with the response.

[Iggy]

Had it one week and it blew the hydralic line to the bedroom slide while driving.

[brookside]

Originally Posted by trudinator

Everything worked perfect in our TT before we left the dealer. Water was hooked up and running, TV and stereo worked. Appliances were run and they all worked. Outside kitchen was in running order. Outside shower was in working order. Dump valves were in working order. Refrigerator was working on both gas and electric before we left the lot. Furnace was run. A/C was run. Slide out was run out and in. Awning was run out and in. We were taught how to do everything and I personally opened every drawer, every cabinet, etc. to make sure things were put together and working.

There are thousands of people who own FR products; if they have THAT many problems and are producing "junk," they would no longer be in business. They're not the top of the line and we knew that going in. But they're good units for our price range. Unfortunately on these forums, you only hear about things going wrong. No one comes on this site to report that their TT/FW/MH is working great and they're just saying "hi"! So you only see the bad, and not the good. There are plenty of satisfied FR customers to go along with the minorty of disgruntled customers.

As far as you repairs go, I would be taking my unit back to my original dealer to fix everything that is wrong. That is why we purchased from a dealer close to home instead of one of the internet dealers. Although 6 hours away from you, sometimes you have to bite the bullet. There is no way I'd be making all of the repairs myself if I had a laundry list a mile long.

As for the issues with sawdust and wire in the cabinets; every unit has that. These things are built on assembly lines that I'm pretty sure have "rates" they have to meet. What I can't see behind cabinets, etc. I don't worry about. If/when we have to make a repair or adjustment, I'll clean it out then. In the meantime, it's not bothering anyone and no one sees it.

They're mediocre so we should all just accept that they are mediocre and be okay with that?


Sorry .... NO. Not good enough

[bob34787]

Originally Posted by tncruiser

"3 weeks later I email Mike to find out he is no longer at FR and his replacement April really does not care."

my treatment by Ms Conner on out of warranty issue was quick and corrective from where i sit she cares and follows thru

brianj

I guess its just Ridgeview owners that FR is done with, after all they only made 18 and almost all are out of warranty. I called and emailed Ms. Conners about the current crop of problems 6 weeks ago, still waiting for a reply.

[crocus]

We had only a few very minor issues with our new Flagstaff fifth, and all were dealt with by the very courteous warranty people at the factory.
The fit and finish of our camper was very good for the price we paid.
I wouldn't hesitate to buy another FR product.

[TURBS]

I think forest river is the bomb diddy !

Got a call yesterday to bring in my unit for a few warranty issues. I am tickled pink they want to service my unit so fast so that I can enjoy it !
I am also glad I bought from a Home town dealer 30 miles away .
Sometimes IT does pay to buy local .
When forest river was called at 9:00 am on monday morning my dealer had the ok to do the repairs at 9:01 am
Forest river keep up the excellent work !

[jerryliving]

We found some issues with our new FR TT when we took it out for the trial run, but made a list and took it back to the dealer and everything was corrected promptly. We also thought that some of the items should have been caught at the manufacturer before it was shipped out, however, our dealer made all of the repairs.

[VTX Al]

Whats a bomb diddy ?

...VTX-Al

[TURBS]

lol auto correct sorry "diggity"
http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j...KpfPkVga4Mms7A

[brookside]

I think it's also poor logic to state that forest river is so big, therefore they must be making great products.

The real fact is that the whole company is a sham in the sense that most people who buy a camper probably never realize until the actual point of purchase that the unit they are buying is made by forest river. FR makes so many units marketed under so many sub brands it's next to impossible to avoid purchasing from them. This has to be done intentionally, and I would be willing to wager the system is rigged for this very reason - to confuse people into buying their products.

[TURBS]

do you think it would matter IF a potential buyer new upfront it was a forest river product or not ?

forest river bought up ailing companies is that forest rivers fault ?

[brookside]

Originally Posted by f1100turbo

do you think it would matter IF a potential buyer new upfront it was a forest river product or not ?

forest river bought up ailing companies is that forest rivers fault ?

Of course it's their fault that they bought companies and created dozens of brands to mask who they are, and yes - if a customer was trying to avoid FR because of their poor workmanship, it would most certainly matter.

It will matter to me when I make my next purchase.

[TURBS]

I'm sorry you've had a difficult time with your unit.
I believe the great units outway the inferior ones.
I hope your next purchase no matter what the brand is a better experience!

[crocus]

brookside, I don't know what you think you are going to buy that is a better unit in the same price range.
I looked at a lot of different brands, that were not made by FR, and the only way to get a better unit was to pay far more. None of the units in my price range were any better quality, and most were far worse.

[brookside]

Originally Posted by f1100turbo

I'm sorry you've had a difficult time with your unit.
I believe the great units outway the inferior ones.
I hope your next purchase no matter what the brand is a better experience!

[brookside]

Originally Posted by crocus

brookside, I don't know what you think you are going to buy that is a better unit in the same price range.
I looked at a lot of different brands, that were not made by FR, and the only way to get a better unit was to pay far more. None of the units in my price range were any better quality, and most were far worse.

really... you looked at their construction in detail? crawled under them? removed the cabinets? examined the welds?

[cyclepuck]

I know forest river makes different brands but do they come down the same line from the same factory? Asking because when I researched for tt in our price range with what we wanted we ended up with the puma because they had better reviews than most but I see quite a few complaints about forest river.