How is Forest river quality and support?

[havefun]

How is Forest river quality and support for warranty work? are they responsive? vs Jayco vs Winnebago?

[Inlineskater67]

I only have 2000 miles so farm on my new MH, but, I have contacted FR a couple times about issues and they have been pretty good. I also so far like the quality of the fit and finish. Unfortunately my 1 year new warranty is up. I have had more issues with the Freightliner Chassis.

[NXR]

As usual, it depends. And it depends a LOT on the dealer you use. I'd think most people would say that you need to scrutinize the dealer's reputation and people as well as you do the RV manufacturer. Even though our small family-run dealer was superb they, too, occasionally pulled the "We're waiting on Forest River to ________" nonsense.

At work I never accepted the "I'm waiting on ______" excuse from anyone. So I did the same thing with the dealer that I did with my people: "Give me the name of the person and the last time you talked to them. Not when you last emailed them, when you last picked up the phone and called them or walked over to them."

Almost every time when I told the dealer I would be calling Forest River the next day, they then told me to hold off and that they would call again that day. And almost every time VOILA! the problem went away. A couple of times they told me to call to see if I had better luck. I usually did.

If you buy, you should get a letter from Forest River that tells you, in part, to call Forest River directly if your Georgetown has been at the dealer for more than five business days or other things are not getting resolved.

Speaking personally, my experience is that the factory people really do bend over backwards to have satisfied customers. They, of course, are currently under the same COVID stress as everyone else is now (manpower shortages, parts shortages, etc.) but they do their best to get you going.

As far as build quality goes, I'll say that I think Forest River is no better or worse than any other of the manufacturers, as depressing as that may sound.

That being said, mine is coming up on two years since it was built so I have no idea what has changed in the quality area.

Did any of this help?

Ray

[Tommyh]

Only problem I had with my 2019 Shasta Phoenix 5th wheel was the radio and the dealer took care of it right away. Trailer is 1 1/2 years old now and I have had no issues (other then self imposed).

[havefun]

Originally Posted by Inlineskater67

I only have 2000 miles so farm on my new MH, but, I have contacted FR a couple times about issues and they have been pretty good. I also so far like the quality of the fit and finish. Unfortunately my 1 year new warranty is up. I have had more issues with the Freightliner Chassis.

Jayco has 2 year warranty. shorter warranty means less quality?

[havefun]

Originally Posted by NXR

As usual, it depends. And it depends a LOT on the dealer you use. I'd think most people would say that you need to scrutinize the dealer's reputation and people as well as you do the RV manufacturer. Even though our small family-run dealer was superb they, too, occasionally pulled the "We're waiting on Forest River to ________" nonsense.

At work I never accepted the "I'm waiting on ______" excuse from anyone. So I did the same thing with the dealer that I did with my people: "Give me the name of the person and the last time you talked to them. Not when you last emailed them, when you last picked up the phone and called them or walked over to them."

Almost every time when I told the dealer I would be calling Forest River the next day, they then told me to hold off and that they would call again that day. And almost every time VOILA! the problem went away. A couple of times they told me to call to see if I had better luck. I usually did.

If you buy, you should get a letter from Forest River that tells you, in part, to call Forest River directly if your Georgetown has been at the dealer for more than five business days or other things are not getting resolved.

Speaking personally, my experience is that the factory people really do bend over backwards to have satisfied customers. They, of course, are currently under the same COVID stress as everyone else is now (manpower shortages, parts shortages, etc.) but they do their best to get you going.

As far as build quality goes, I'll say that I think Forest River is no better or worse than any other of the manufacturers, as depressing as that may sound.

That being said, mine is coming up on two years since it was built so I have no idea what has changed in the quality area.

Did any of this help?

Ray

Thanks.

FR: no one answers phone calls, may due to COVID. Winnebago and Jayco: there are people who answer phone calls nicely.

If you buy FR RV from one dealer in one location, can it be serviced in other location in another state under warranty?

[Klitzy]

Idk but I wrote an email to forest river to get some info on a Cherokee 255rr. Forest river doesn’t seem to really go into detail on construction aspects of their trailers like other mfg’s, atleast not for the Cherokee. That next day I got a call from Norm in Washington and he answered every question I had and told me to call him anytime if I had anymore questions. I thought that was great service [emoji2375]

[NXR]

Originally Posted by havefun

Jayco has 2 year warranty. shorter warranty means less quality?

Or longer warranty means marketing tactic.

In all seriousness, I once worked for a company that made home water heaters. The marketing guys proposed increasing the warranty to ten years from the industry standard of five years at the time.

Engineering went berserk, saying that would raise the cost of the product too much. Management worried about the warranty reserve needs. Etc.

Marketing said "Nope! We're not changing the product at all. We're just changing the terms and conditions of the warranty to limit the warranty to the original purchaser and to require proof of purchase with a receipt. Almost no one keeps a receipt and almost no one even remembers how long a warranty is good for."

It worked. Our engineering guys heard from their competitor counterparts who said they could not believe our warranty so they tore our water heaters apart and could not find what we were doing to make them last so long. Sales went up and there was no change in the warranty exposure.

And to prove the Devil Is In The Details, I present excerpts from this Jayco 2020 warranty found at: https://fr.jayco.com/files/downloads...%20OM%20BW.pdf

Short version: Forget about using that Montana LLC, traveling to Mexico, passing the warranty to a subsequent buyer, buying a current model year low mileage unit from a Jayco dealer that was purchased by someone else originally, etc.

JAYCO MOTORIZED LIMITED WARRANTY
THIS LIMITED WARRANTY COVERS:
• The Motorhome when it is used only for its intended purpose of recreational travel and camping;

• Only the first retail purchaser;

• This Limited Warranty is not transferable.


COVERAGE TIME: The duration of this limited warranty is 2 years after the first retail owner takes delivery of the Motorhome from an authorized dealer OR 24,000 miles of use, whichever occurs first.

If the dealer places the Motorhome in service before retail sale, the coverage period is 2 years after the dealer first placed the Motorhome in service OR 24,000 miles of use, whichever occurs first.

The term of this limited warranty is 3 years for substantial defects to any “Structure Components”. Structure Components means materials and/or workmanship directly attributable to Jayco relating to the laminated fiberglass sidewall assembly, laminated rear wall assembly, laminated fiberglass front wall (wrap) assembly, sidewall/end wall/front and rear wall frame assembly (wood and aluminum), roof assembly, and floor assembly.

Structure Components specifically excludes front and rear fiberglass caps and any other cosmetic fiberglass attachments, sidewall metal (unless the root cause is the wall structure); exterior roof material (EPDM rubber, TPO, etc.); floor covering (carpet, linoleum, hardwood tile, etc.); all sidewall, end wall, front and rear wall, roof and floor attachments, and delamination caused by water intrusion from lack of required exterior seal maintenance or other maintenance. Structure Components further excludes all items identified under “What is Not Covered” below.


Ummm, what?:

If the Motorhome is not of the current or prior model year when the first retail owner takes delivery, the limited warranty, including but not limited to the limited warranty for substantial defects to Structure Components, ends 90 days after the first retail owner takes delivery of the Motorhome OR after the odometer reaches 5,000 miles, whichever occurs first.

So don't go buying a 2019 that's been sitting on the dealer's lot the day after the 2021's come out.


I'm not even sure what to make of this one:

If you discover a defect or damage to the Motorhome when you take delivery of your Motorhome, you MUST notify your dealer OR Jayco within 10 days of the date of purchase to have defect or damage repaired at no cost to you. Minor adjustments will be performed, free of charge, by the dealer within 90 days of your purchase; thereafter, such adjustments are your exclusive responsibility as normal maintenance.

Excerpts:
WHAT IS NOT COVERED:

• Motorhomes used for any rental, business and commercial purpose - If the Motorhome owner or user files a tax form claiming a business or commercial tax benefit related to the Motorhome, or if the RV is purchased, registered or titled in the name of any business association it shall be irrefutable that the Motorhome has been used for rental, commercial or business purposes;

• Any Motorhome sold or used outside of the United States, U.S. Territories or Canada;

• The leveling jacks/system;

EVENTS DISCHARGING JAYCO FROM OBLIGATION UNDER WARRANTY:

Any Motorhome purchased or sold outside of, or used outside of the United States, U.S. Territories or Canada;


All of that being said, I do wish Forest River would extend their warranty to two years. Waaaayyyyy too many people lose a substantial portion of their warranty because they must store their unit for the winter.

Ray

[NXR]

Originally Posted by havefun

If you buy FR RV from one dealer in one location, can it be serviced in other location in another state under warranty?

Yes, if you can convince the non-selling Forest River-approved dealer to work on your unit in a timely manner. Good luck with that, usually.

BUT Forest River seems to have a procedure where, if you get approval first, they will allow warranty repairs on a reimbursement basis by mobile techs and similar. I don't know how much they will reimburse but I suspect if there truly is no other reasonable option they could reimburse you fully.

They may even allow after-the-fact reimbursement if you get with them rapidly due to an after-hours issue and you're stuck, etc.

As I wrote, my experience is that the Georgetown factory people really try to be reasonable. I can't speak to any other Forest River brands.

Ray

[bikendan]

Originally Posted by havefun

If you buy FR RV from one dealer in one location, can it be serviced in other location in another state under warranty?

YES

[NXR]

And from the Thor Industries 2020 Annual Report found at: https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/d...o-20200731.htm

In North America, we generally provide retail purchasers of our recreational vehicles with a one-year or two-year limited warranty against defects in materials and workmanship with longer warranties on certain structural components. In Europe, we generally offer a two-year limited warranty on certain structural components and up to a 12-year warranty against water leakage.


From the Towables section:

The warranty cost percentage is lower primarily due to favorable experience trends and quality improvement initiatives compared to fiscal 2019.

So someone at Thor gets it. Unfortunately only the towables section has that notation.

Thor Industries owns Jayco in case you did not know that.

Ray

[NXR]

Agreed. If we were a casual weekend warrior a longer warranty would be a huge differentiator simply because we would not use the RV very often. Same with living in the wintery north and having to park it for five or six months.

We use ours all year and as of mid-June this year I would be out of the mythical 2-year Forest River warranty so I'll have a better idea of how much I could have used it.

That being said, many components have a longer warranty through their manufacturer. When I emailed Norcold to ask about their extended warranty on the fridge, they replied that because we had it installed in a Forest River product we actually had a two-year warranty.

Ray

[Btm]

Originally Posted by NXR

As usual, it depends. And it depends a LOT on the dealer you use. I'd think most people would say that you need to scrutinize the dealer's reputation and people as well as you do the RV manufacturer. Even though our small family-run dealer was superb they, too, occasionally pulled the "We're waiting on Forest River to ________" nonsense.


As far as build quality goes, I'll say that I think Forest River is no better or worse than any other of the manufacturers, as depressing as that may sound.

Ray

I think NXR is correct. I have never taken my 2019GT5 31L5 back to the dealer.

Traded in my FR3 and bought my GT5 over the phone from Berryland Campers in Ponchatoula LA.

I firmly believe that the dealer prep for the PDI is why I did not have any major issues. This dealer uses shop mechanics for their customer walk throughs. Tom, who did my walk through, owned a MH and was the same one who put in my power vent fan. If there was any issue from the factory, they had been fixed.

I had a very long check list of things I wanted to check. Tom asked if he could go through things his way with me asking question and checking things off as we went along. When Tom finished I had vey few questions. He had the MH set up as if it was at a campsite. He didn't tell me something worked, he showed me.

My MH was leaning to the right. I sent an E-mail with an invoice for the repair along with an out of network payment request to Forest River. Got a check 3 week later.

I am well pleased with my GR5 and would buy another one.

Btm

[Mr. October]

I have found both to be pretty good. I was trepidatious about purchasing a new motorhome when we bought a couple years ago mostly because our old 2007 (non FR) was so good. But our GT5 exceeded my expectations when it comes to build quality. I have a thread on here about the Kwikee steps. Those are a disappointment but Kwikee is the only game in town for electric motorhome steps. Still, they kind of redeemed themselves a bit. I have another thread on here about working on some surface rust under our coach. Compared to the steps, that is very minor and mostly cosmetic. I attribute that mostly to our winter delivery and my failure to get below and rinse things off good after driving it home post snowstorm. Regardless, had I done nothing the rust I'm repairing on the Georgetown parts wouldn't have been an issue for many years.

Otherwise, we returned to our dealer once at the end of our first season to have a list of about a 1/2 dozen minor issues repaired. None were major system failures and all were fixed to or beyond my satisfaction. The whole time I talked with Geogetown/Forest River. They were pretty great to work with.

As far as getting service at a different dealer than you bought from, check with the service folks where you plan to get the work done if yo aren't buying there. Right now because of overwhelming demand in the RV industry, most dealers are only servicing units they've sold. There is no contractual obligation for them to do warranty work on units purchased elsewhere. That said, Forest River is pretty good about warranty work. They'll generally cover work done by almost any certified tech. (Think mobil repair here.) You might have to pay up front in these scenarios but they will work with you.