New trailer in the shop for 145 days

[tahoe1840]

This is not surprising at all. My daughter is going on 13 months in the shop on warranty repairs. It's the nature of Forest River and their quality of service and the RVs they build. Poor at best. Idea, see if your dealer can supply you with I parts needed, Google the repair, and do it yourself.

[Larry-NC]

Originally Posted by Brewhedd

Bought a new Grand Design TT in 2019 and I had the same question. Why should I spend thousands and then have to fix their shoddy workmanship? The Dealer fixed 99% of my 30 issues but it took over a year. Sold it in 2020.

You're the guy that precedes me. Both of ours were bought used. Let someone else get everything working right first. Never had to deal with these issues.

(But I'm an expert in what wears out over time. )

[Retired1stTimer]

Originally Posted by HistoricMustang

I feel for what you are going through.....been there with FR and Camping World. They point the finger at each other.

Here is what I learned after getting so mad and picking up my camper and doing the work myself.

Take your camper in with a list of warranty/extended warranty needed repairs.

When needed repairs are agreed on (should be that same day) take your camper back home......have them call you when a firm repair date has arrived.

- HistoricMustang

The same thing pretty much happened to us right after we bought our new '21 Salem Cruise Lite 263BHXL in October '20. We made a laundry list of issues that wasn't caught during our PDI. We called up the dealer, couldn't get us in until January '21. We used the camper 1 time in between dates and only to find more issues that that we added to the list. It ended up being a comedy show for all the excuses they kept giving us as to how long it was going to take for the repairs! We finally ended up bringing it home only after 3 of the repairs and told them we'd bring it back when they could give a solid date to finish and when parts came in and we were giving them until the end of May to finish as we had several camping trips coming starting in June. This particular dealer is 2 1/2 hours away from where we live. We finally got it back in time for our first trip in June, our trip in July, and we just had to cancel our trip to TopSail Preserve State Park near Destin because of TS Fred. Now we just found out that our A/C is kapoot and have to take it back to diagnose the issue, Blowing nothing but hot air! Thermostat is wired correctly and the breaker was not tripped. I'm thinking a freon leak up top. Nothing I can fix. Hopefully they'll just replace the whole unit with a new one. It's the Coleman Mach. We'll see next week wen we take it in as we had to wait 3 weeks to get it into the shop.

[RobbieH]

Bought a brand new Super C motor home (not Forest River) in 2013. It spent 172 days in the shop in the first 11 months we owned it. Traded it for a 2005 Monaco Safari Gazelle, this RV NEVER went in the shop, and the few things that went wrong with it (all my fault) I either fixed myself or had a mobile RV shop come to me. Zero downtime. Lesson learned, always buy used, let the first owner deal with the inevitable issues new RVs have, save money compared to new, and fix yourself or find a great mobile guy like I did.

[CaptnJohn]

Originally Posted by Retired1stTimer

The same thing pretty much happened to us right after we bought our new '21 Salem Cruise Lite 263BHXL in October '20. We made a laundry list of issues that wasn't caught during our PDI. We called up the dealer, couldn't get us in until January '21. We used the camper 1 time in between dates and only to find more issues that that we added to the list. It ended up being a comedy show for all the excuses they kept giving us as to how long it was going to take for the repairs! We finally ended up bringing it home only after 3 of the repairs and told them we'd bring it back when they could give a solid date to finish and when parts came in and we were giving them until the end of May to finish as we had several camping trips coming starting in June. This particular dealer is 2 1/2 hours away from where we live. We finally got it back in time for our first trip in June, our trip in July, and we just had to cancel our trip to TopSail Preserve State Park near Destin because of TS Fred. Now we just found out that our A/C is kapoot and have to take it back to diagnose the issue, Blowing nothing but hot air! Thermostat is wired correctly and the breaker was not tripped. I'm thinking a freon leak up top. Nothing I can fix. Hopefully they'll just replace the whole unit with a new one. It's the Coleman Mach. We'll see next week wen we take it in as we had to wait 3 weeks to get it into the shop.

Don’t mess with the dealer on appliances like AC. Call the manufacturer. They will usually suggest a place to take it where you will have little or no wait. If you are ok with a service call charge they may have a mobile guy come to you in a day or 2.

[frankraney]

Originally Posted by larry976

Don't disagree one bit.

But given this was less than a year and water leaked from the shower causing water damage and I had a delamination issue with the outer wall. I didn't have much of a choice.

Now I want to be me whole is a reasonable time.

Down the road, no doubt... Do it myself.

Check into a lemon law. Sounds like you got one demand a full replacement new trailer. Not sure if every state has that but a lot of them do.

[wnew813]

Our Salem Forrest River also had the shower leak under warranty, they did not repair the wall damage. But they fixed it. The amount of problems are way to numerous to list here. We have a training rv school here that I will bring my camper to. Cheaper labor, check to see if you have one near you. The dealers hire some of the dumbest people. Good luck, eventually everything will get fixed. Then the very expensive maintenance.

[IDguy]

I don’t get leaving an RV on the dealers lot for months. The ONLY thing that would cause me do that is if it was undrivable. I tell them to call me and check back weekly. This doesn’t seem that. You can do without showers or use CG ones if available.

Use the RV!

[Jim S JR]

Hi Larry, I sent you a message. I live in the LA area also.

[IDguy]

Originally Posted by tahoe1840

This is not surprising at all. My daughter is going on 13 months in the shop on warranty repairs. It's the nature of Forest River and their quality of service and the RVs they build. Poor at best. Idea, see if your dealer can supply you with I parts needed, Google the repair, and do it yourself.

Gee, I hope they are feeding her.

[oxcamper]

"My first thought is to start making your own repairs if you can. RV warranties are mostly useless and extended warranties just as bad. "

While not totally disagreeing with Sunseeker who posted this, and not invalidating all those who have had really really bad warranty service,

continuing to "fix it yourself" will never never never put any pressure on the manufacturers, Forest River or any of the others who, by the way, have the same terrible customer service, to change.

While this is not going to be an easy and quick remedy, we, the RV community has to require/demand some standards of quality and customer satisfaction and service.

I would heartily recommend a calm, factual, and polite letter/email to the state's Attorney General (where the manufacturer is located) outlining your complaint and dissatisfaction with the manufacturer's response (or lack thereof).

And, unless we as a community, quit purchasing new units unless a guarantee in writing, binding by the dealer as well as the manufacturer, this will be an ongoing frustration feeding the fire of disappointment in our recreational lives.

OK, I'll get off my soapbox now, but unless we stand up, we will be put down.

[Fuzzy]

Originally Posted by larry976

Our family has a RV (travel trailer) warranty repair issue that I am making very little progress on and Forest River and the dealership are in no hurry to repair.

The past year the trailer has been unusable for 145 days and physically in the shop for about 115 of those days.

There are multiple issues including 5 attempts to fix a leaking shower.

Most recently the trailer has been in the shop since May 6 with the exception of a two week period. We are supposedly waiting for parts, but neither Forest River or the dealership will provide an estimated timeline.


I've tried working through Forest River Warranty support, but they say I just need to wait and they can't provide me any more details.

They are also unwilling commit to extend the warranty for the number of days in the shop and unwilling to escalate my issue.

My goal is to get my trailer back ASAP and to be protected with a extended warranty.

Not sure what else to do. Thoughts?

My personal experience with Forest River started out well and ended poorly. I wish I could recommend an attorney for you to talk to , but I think the RV industry in general has poor quality control. For some reason, there is not an industry watchdog that will hold the manufacturers feet to the fire. The RVIA is of no help, as it is an organization that appears to exist through funds paid to them by member manufacturers. COVID or not, quality lacks. I feel your pain. Other posts that tell you to just use the camper of fix it yourself miss the point. It does no good to tell someone in your position that you should expect to be treated this poorly because “you know, it’s the RV industry “. You paid good money for your rig, the manufacturer and dealer should care.

[rwriley1053]

Your Dealer sucks, but you are not alone. A lot of them do.

[ER17453361]

#1 rule, always check out your dealer and stay away from big dealers. Check out their reviews. Small town dealers are by far the best and they will sell/deliver all over the country and stand behind their product. My dealer is in the northern Iowa and they are the best. I had a 2011 and a 2018 40 foot Cedar Creek. A few small problems were taken care of before I took delivery and not once did I have to take it in for service. Know your dealer!!!

https://www.gansenautoandrv.com/

[Rambler]

Another option is to take it to an independent repair facility that is authorized to perform warranty work for forest River. I had a bad water pump and the dealership had it for three weeks. I picked up after finding the independent repair center. They said if I was willing to wait 4 days they would fix it that day. Went up waited for a hour and the job was done. And yes under warranty

[Far Far Away]

Good Luck with getting it fixed!!! My 2017 Georgetown 378 XL was on the dealers tarmac for 9 months!! I ended up filing suit and won my monthly payments, insurance that was being paid along with the storage facility monthly covered spot! Also got compensation for it sitting out uncovered and the damages that was done in Texas’s triple digit heat when I was paying for a covered 50 amp spot along with reimbursement for the trips with our friends that were planned.

I would suggest that you file a Lemon Law suit against them! You’ll win hands down!!!

[Bob Gowryluk]

Originally Posted by larry976

Our family has a RV (travel trailer) warranty repair issue that I am making very little progress on and Forest River and the dealership are in no hurry to repair.

The past year the trailer has been unusable for 145 days and physically in the shop for about 115 of those days.

There are multiple issues including 5 attempts to fix a leaking shower.

Most recently the trailer has been in the shop since May 6 with the exception of a two week period. We are supposedly waiting for parts, but neither Forest River or the dealership will provide an estimated timeline.


I've tried working through Forest River Warranty support, but they say I just need to wait and they can't provide me any more details.

They are also unwilling commit to extend the warranty for the number of days in the shop and unwilling to escalate my issue.

My goal is to get my trailer back ASAP and to be protected with a extended warranty.

Not sure what else to do. Thoughts?

Do you have a corporate andcinsumer affairs government body to appeal to
.

[mariawrn]

Originally Posted by larry976

Our family has a RV (travel trailer) warranty repair issue that I am making very little progress on and Forest River and the dealership are in no hurry to repair.

The past year the trailer has been unusable for 145 days and physically in the shop for about 115 of those days.

There are multiple issues including 5 attempts to fix a leaking shower.

Most recently the trailer has been in the shop since May 6 with the exception of a two week period. We are supposedly waiting for parts, but neither Forest River or the dealership will provide an estimated timeline.


I've tried working through Forest River Warranty support, but they say I just need to wait and they can't provide me any more details.

They are also unwilling commit to extend the warranty for the number of days in the shop and unwilling to escalate my issue.

My goal is to get my trailer back ASAP and to be protected with a extended warranty.

Not sure what else to do. Thoughts?

Good luck with forest river!! We purchased a new 2020 5th wheel last year and had numerous issues with it. After one year we finally resolved our stove issue by calling Best Buy who immediately sent us a new range. Forest River does not want to be bothered and we went round and round with them and their warranty department and then the local RV dealership for repairs. All I can say is good luck. We were newbies and did not know of the many issues we would have. I feel your pain and to all those who criticized you for leaving your camper in the shop, we don’t always know what the best thing is to do so lending support is a better way to help out here. I really do wish you good luck.

[ToddandLorrie]

We also had a problem; the dealer took care of it really quickly. The only issue I would look into is that your insurance company may give you credit for being in the shop and not using the trailer. Hope you can get this behind you soon.

[LadyElsa]

We had a similar experience with our new trailer last year. It was at the dealership for 4 months for warranty work. We had a castophoric failure that made the trailer completely unusable. It took calling Forest River Corporate office directly and finding a dealer rep to help pressure the dealership to complete the warranty work. We came close to invoking our state‘a lemon law to help bring closure to the situation.