Never again

[kramocker]

Forest River builds one of the largest pieces of garbage I could ever imagine owning. I’m done. I’m gonna sell my rig as fast as I can. I am unconcerned about the loss I will take. The next time my wife wants to go camping, I’m going to rent a piece of garbage that belongs to someone else. It’s just nonstop. Had my roof sealed less than a year ago, just to be safe. Seems that the massive rains we’ve had in Southern California lately somehow made it through. The garbage adhesive that they originally used to secure the headliner, which was already coming down, is now soaking wet, and coming down further. I’ll dry it up, glue it back in place, and off she goes. I can’t believe that there’s no stringent regulations in place, for motorhome building. I’m convinced that regardless of the price point, these things are built like garbage. I’m almost certain that a lot of the labor is done by kids looking for a summer job, who have no idea what they’re doing. Mostly what I read about on this forum is nightmarish things that happens to peoples rigs, be they brand new or used. I’m done.

[Ohinaz1970]

Ya gets what'cha pay for.

[W5CRE]

Well, best of luck!

[kramocker]

Originally Posted by Ohinaz1970

Ya gets what'cha pay for.

While I always appreciate sarcasm; I guess you’re right. Apparently $130k just isn’t enough to expect a quality buiid.

[MR.M]

Originally Posted by Ohinaz1970

Ya gets what'cha pay for.

And what did he pay for ? A forest river coach of some type that should not experience major leaks . so whats paying to much or not enough $100,000 $200,000 $300,000 or more at which point can one be safe to say they paid the right price for a quality unit ? I paid 25,000 for my 29hsf hyperlite TH and after 7 yrs not experiencing any leaks or what i would consider beyond normal maintenance except for 2 broken leaf springs which were fixed for a couple hundred and a few hrs labor .So i guess anything over 25,000 should be good

[bikendan]

Originally Posted by kramocker

Forest River builds one of the largest pieces of garbage I could ever imagine owning. I’m done. I’m gonna sell my rig as fast as I can. I am unconcerned about the loss I will take. The next time my wife wants to go camping, I’m going to rent a piece of garbage that belongs to someone else. It’s just nonstop. Had my roof sealed less than a year ago, just to be safe. Seems that the massive rains we’ve had in Southern California lately somehow made it through. The garbage adhesive that they originally used to secure the headliner, which was already coming down, is now soaking wet, and coming down further. I’ll dry it up, glue it back in place, and off she goes. I can’t believe that there’s no stringent regulations in place, for motorhome building. I’m convinced that regardless of the price point, these things are built like garbage. I’m almost certain that a lot of the labor is done by kids looking for a summer job, who have no idea what they’re doing. Mostly what I read about on this forum is nightmarish things that happens to peoples rigs, be they brand new or used. I’m done.

Did you buy this MH new?

[Mr. Dan]

Originally Posted by kramocker

Forest River builds one of the largest pieces of garbage I could ever imagine owning. I’m done. I’m gonna sell my rig as fast as I can. I am unconcerned about the loss I will take. The next time my wife wants to go camping, I’m going to rent a piece of garbage that belongs to someone else. It’s just nonstop. Had my roof sealed less than a year ago, just to be safe. Seems that the massive rains we’ve had in Southern California lately somehow made it through. The garbage adhesive that they originally used to secure the headliner, which was already coming down, is now soaking wet, and coming down further. I’ll dry it up, glue it back in place, and off she goes. I can’t believe that there’s no stringent regulations in place, for motorhome building. I’m convinced that regardless of the price point, these things are built like garbage. I’m almost certain that a lot of the labor is done by kids looking for a summer job, who have no idea what they’re doing. Mostly what I read about on this forum is nightmarish things that happens to peoples rigs, be they brand new or used. I’m done.

Are you talking about a 2010 FR Georgetown 357QS?

[cboss]

Originally Posted by kramocker

Mostly what I read about on this forum is nightmarish things that happens to peoples rigs, be they brand new or used. I’m done.

Sorry to hear all this. And you are correct, folks post all the bad stuff.
We have had our camper for 5 years, a few minor problems, but nothing serious I could not fix.
Wish you the best in the future...keep camping!

[TheWolfPaq82]

If people will pay the bucks for crap, the manufactures will continue to build crap.

[wildmanabe]

The wolf, ya got that right. i just bought a new 2021 5'er. So many workmanship problems. talked to few salesman while at dealership. said it's not just FR it's all of them.... High end'ers also

[wildmanabe]

forgot to add this. i wonder if big companies hear or pay attention to what amt they paying dealerships to fix there screw ups. say they make 20g's profit, but end up spending 4-5 g's on warranty repairs. Do they realize there profit went down a 20% or more...

[dave961]

While I agree the quality isn't great, it would cost a lot more for these rigs to guarantee quality. It's a crap shoot. I have friends who have had no issues and others who got lemons.

I've had my current XLR 27HFS since 2014 and have had to fix several small factory mistakes. Having had roof issues on our first (used) toy hauler, I have been very diligent with this one on keeping water out. I regularly inspect/patch anything that remotely looks like it would let water in - from the top and bottom. Other than that, most of the components put in cheap, light campers are cheap and light. If you spend 6 figures on a camper, it should not have any issues - IMO. Mine was $22K new and I've probably put that much more into it.

If you can do most of the repairs/upkeep yourself it is a lot better. The dealers are about as reliable as the factory. I've personally upgraded or added to most of the electrical systems and been lucky with the appliances so far. I've had welders reinforce the water tank and leaf spring brackets, upgraded to heavier axles, wheels, and tires.

So, off the lot I would say most inexpensive campers are not built for thousands of miles a year - just a few weekends on flat pavement.

[kenandterry]

Originally Posted by Mr. Dan

Are you talking about a 2010 FR Georgetown 357QS?

Hmmmm. The OP is on a rant …..clear and simple. However, I question anyone that paid $130,000 for a 2010 motorhome, because that’s all the details we’ve been given to justify the rant.

[5picker]

So you had your roof sealed (just to be safe- your words) and now it is leaking and the headliner is soaking wet?

Shouldn't you be aiming your frustration/anger at whomever sealed the roof?

[kramocker]

Originally Posted by bikendan

Did you buy this MH new?

We did not. We bought it with 13K miles on it, in 2014, if memory serves.

Be well,

[kramocker]

Originally Posted by Mr. Dan

Are you talking about a 2010 FR Georgetown 357QS?

Fool that I am...YES it's a 2010. My bad. A thousand apologies.

Be well!

[ARhappycamper]

Wow. You bought someone else' headache. They apparently did not take care of the roof. It has also apparently been used in a high humidity environment which is causing inside issues as well.

[kramocker]

Bye-bye

[chaps2018]

Sorry to hear of the OP's issues and frustration. A few observations from this thread--

1)Yes, sometimes there are unhelpful responses but I place a very high value on this forum and the very knowledgable folks who contribute (sometimes the same issues over and over) in an effort to help the community. Thank you all.

2)Yes, the industry has standards created and enforced by RVIA. Just like any standards org there are challenges with enforcement.

3)The mfgrs build what customers want. You can spend $50k and and get a product with all the bling or you can spend $50k on a product and get solid build quality but not the same feature set. You choose. (I consider Chevy and Honda to be a similar comparison.)

4)It escapes me how we, as a customer population, continue to give the MFGRs more and more $$ for a product that is so dissatisfying. I often use the example--if you spent the same amount of money on a Lexus that you spent on your current RV, I suspect your ownership experience would be much different. (ie, service, parts availability, long term reliability, etc)

We are on our third personal trailer. We have owned a trailer rental business. However, with the skyrocketing RV prices in the last couple years and the decreasing ownership return, I may be priced out of the market for any future new rigs.

[Reverse_snowbird]

Originally Posted by chaps2018

Sorry to hear of the OP's issues and frustration. A few observations from this thread--
We are on our third personal trailer. We have owned a trailer rental business. However, with the skyrocketing RV prices in the last couple years and the decreasing ownership return, I may be priced out of the market for any future new rigs.

You made some good points.... However, we're talking about a 2010 Georgetown that's now 12 years old and a second owner. He took preventative action by having the roof sealed one year ago. That obviously didn't work and he now has a mess on his hands.
All of us sympathize with the original poster, but it's not fair to blame Forest River for a roof leak on a 12 year old rig and torrential rains that will test any roof.
I hope he finds a rig that meets his needs and he continues rving.
Soaring prices may price all of us out of the market for a new rig, but I never expected anything but decreasing dollar value from our rig. For us, it's about the adventure.