returning camper

[timtheflyguy]

Does anyone know how long you have to return a camper,that you are not happy with? I picked our 294 last week or so,and It hasn't made it out of the driveway yet,and I've been working on it ever since. Let's start with the 100 mile ride home,I guess it may be part my fault, but the dealer hooked up the camper after installing the hitch,had me pull it out of the garage.After going over everything,he sent me on my way.I drove out of the parking lot and journied home.I got within 40 miles of home,(without stopping to check things out) and my truck just shut off,and I almost pooped my pants.i looked down at the brake controller,and found no connection,I got out and looked,and found that they left the wire at least one foot too long,and it wore down to nothing dragging the ground! I drove the 40 miles without lights or brakes! Had them send me a new cable and I did the work and replaced it! Hooked everything up in the driveway,and found first the cooling fan in the radio is bad,and is making a grinding noise,that you have to turn the radio up to 18 to drown it out! I'm going to make the rest short,but I had to repair the gray water line,the sink drain ,found the faucet is leaking out of the handle ,the Tv is not working properly,they forgot to put some type of seal somewhere,and want me to put it on! The list goes on and on.This camper has the worst workman ship I have ever seen,I know you are saying I should have looked better at it! Now I have an appointment in 4 weeks , that i have to miss work for ,because I want to show them everything. At this point I'm thinking about telling them to get me a new one!I don't know the law on returning something like that,or I would! I am not discouraging anyone from buying a forest river product,I just think I got a bad one,and Want it repaired or replaced!!!

[rockwood06]

Normaly once a rig is titled it is now considered used, they will not take it back unless you trade it in, now you will get wholesale price. The problem with buying far away is that it may have to go back where you bought it, but not always. The best thing you can do is to call where you bought it and tell them you problems, maybe they can set something up for you at a closer dealer. Some states have a law that you can return a car within 48 hours, but here in Maryland there is no law once you sign the paper work and drive it of the lot IT IS YOURS..The dealer will take as a trade the next day...I wish you the best.

[timtheflyguy]

I knew that buying far away was going to be a pain,so I shouldn't complain about that! I 'm just frustrated,and I'm venting! The dealer told me to give them a chance to make repairs,so i guess I have to do that first! You would not believe the workmanship on this thing, there is alot of wood panels, that are not joined properly on the corners,The entertainment center,is not made properly. I had to go out and buy putty to match,to hide the defects.Again my fault for not looking it over properly,but $22000.00 is alot to pay for something that seems like a second,or a deffective unit!

[rockwood06]

Originally Posted by timtheflyguy

I knew that buying far away was going to be a pain,so I shouldn't complain about that! I 'm just frustrated,and I'm venting! The dealer told me to give them a chance to make repairs,so i guess I have to do that first! You would not believe the workmanship on this thing, there is alot of wood panels, that are not joined properly on the corners,The entertainment center,is not made properly. I had to go out and buy putty to match,to hide the defects.Again my fault for not looking it over properly,but $22000.00 is alot to pay for something that seems like a second,or a deffective unit!

I fell your pain, It is a shame as I have mentioned it be for Poor engineering, workmanship and to top it all of NO quality control. $22,000 plus interest is alot of money just to give away, it could make one give up RVing all together.

Forest River is NOT something I will buy again. I have alot of question when I buy form a different manufacture, I fell sorry for them when I am done.

I have been getting alot of info from.....escapeesrv.com....So far it is a great place to find out what is going on. You may want to check it out.

[loganmartin]

wow! I'm stunned. I haven't purchased yet but was looking at the surveyor line VERY seriously. This is the first horror story I have seen on the internet concerning surveyors. I have read alot about satisfied buyers who though the qaulity was at the very least very good. Have you compared the workmanship of the surveyor to other Ultralight TT's? Which ones have you physically been in to inspect? I'm not trying to be a contrarian..it's just your comments are rather alarming to someone who was about to pull the trigger on a purchase.

Products today, in general, are not produced like they were in 1973. That coachman was probably built like a tank b/c thats how they built everything back then. Could it be that you just didn't realize how Ultralights are constucted? Or do you think it is shotty construction even by Ultralight TT's standards?

By the way, I'm on your side if you honestly got ripped off. I also think somebody dropped the ball for sure on the wiring issue. lm

[timtheflyguy]

I'm not trying to bash surveyor.I have been around cunstruction for many many years.I Have been an HVAC technician for many years,and If someone did a job like that, i would fire them.
Also ,I agree with the fact that I may be looking at this as if it should be built like a tank! However when i could put my hand under a cabinet door,and reach inside,that's bad workman ship!
Please dont be discouraged by my comments,you should look,as well as I should have looked at other manufactures,maybe they are the same.
I still like my surveyor,for the lightweight and style,I thing the exterior walls and insulation are great! I just think they could have been more careful and less sloppy
I did not intend to give you worry about surveyor,the fact that i heard nothing but good things about them,is why I purchased.Once my issues are taken care of,I'm sure I will love..........well like my 294 much better.
We have a car that we had for 10 years,and have not had one problem with it,but other people tell us they have,and would not buy another one.It seems to be luck of the draw!




P.S. Someone onthis site suggested I go over the checklist with the dealer,and look at everything.....Don't make the same mistake,take this advice!

[loganmartin]

Originally Posted by timtheflyguy

I'm not trying to bash surveyor.I have been around cunstruction for many many years.I Have been an HVAC technician for many years,and If someone did a job like that, i would fire them.
Also ,I agree with the fact that I may be looking at this as if it should be built like a tank! However when i could put my hand under a cabinet door,and reach inside,that's bad workman ship!
Please dont be discouraged by my comments,you should look,as well as I should have looked at other manufactures,maybe they are the same.
I still like my surveyor,for the lightweight and style,I thing the exterior walls and insulation are great! I just think they could have been more careful and less sloppy
I did not intend to give you worry about surveyor,the fact that i heard nothing but good things about them,is why I purchased.Once my issues are taken care of,I'm sure I will love..........well like my 294 much better.
We have a car that we had for 10 years,and have not had one problem with it,but other people tell us they have,and would not buy another one.It seems to be luck of the draw!




P.S. Someone onthis site suggested I go over the checklist with the dealer,and look at everything.....Don't make the same mistake,take this advice!

I will definately take that advice. I feel bad for you...trust me. This kind of thing ALWAYS happens to me. I'll be interested to see what kind of follow up you get from FR. Good luck and report back after the dust settles. lm

[timtheflyguy]

You may thing I'm beeing picky,but this is the entertainment center,you can see the difference from the left,which has 3 posts,and the right , which has 4 posts. I have checked other campers with this entertainment center,and they are even on both sides.A small detail,but just pure sloppiness.Maybe it was made on friday at 4 ! you can see smudges on the ends,this is putty,they used to fill gaps...nice huh?






This is the head board,i don't know if it is stained,or worn on the right side , they are going to replace this for me!

[loganmartin]

Originally Posted by timtheflyguy

You may thing I'm beeing picky,but this is the entertainment center,you can see the difference from the left,which has 3 posts,and the right , which has 4 posts. I have checked other campers with this entertainment center,and they are even on both sides.A small detail,but just pure sloppiness.Maybe it was made on friday at 4 ! you can see smudges on the ends,this is putty,they used to fill gaps...nice huh?
Attachment 1803

Attachment 1804

Attachment 1805

Friday at 4 or BEER:30.

[timtheflyguy]

looks like somone had too much beer:30,and relieved themselves on the head board LOL! (you got to laugh to keep from crying!)

[cfsoistman]

Looking at your pictures I understand your complaints. Most likely that second piece was all that was left of that piece of trim so they used it. Quality control is a lost art in today's RV manufacturing. It doesn't matter who builds it and what level of RV you purchase. The consumer finds the problems and it gets dumped on the dealership to get it fixed and try to save face in front of their customer. The problem is you buy a RV and wait for it to be built. You wait for months for it to arrive. The day you finally go to pick it up the excitement gives you blinders to the little things. Until you get home, in your case 40 miles away and when you really have the time you find things that should be better built or cosmetically better. In our case we ordered a countertop extension. We didn't realize until the next day it wasn't there at all. We were so caught up in the demonstration, that really wasn't the most informative thing I ever witnessed, we didn't notice quite a few things. The small things I took care of myself. I took a small precision screwdriver and dug out all of the pinkish wood putty they used on the cherry wood. It stood out a sore thumb the next day, day of pick up, didn't even notice it. I bought a Minwax #5 Cherry filler pencil from HD and it matched perfectly. Give your dealer a chance but go in with a written list and pictures. Keep a copy so when they say it's done you have a checklist. I wish you the best.

[timtheflyguy]

You said it perfectly , All the excitement and all you want to do is get camping. I should give the dealer some slack , they are working with me on this,and the woman in the service dept.asked if I would give them a chance to fix everything, so i'm sure they will help me out.I do feel though , that they should have looked a little better, but they are a big dealler,and I understand they cant spend alot of time on these things.And as far as leaky plumbing,I know sometimes things don't leak for days,and then one day you look, and there is a puddle on the floor.Another thing is these things are moving from place to place,so you have to expect things to loosen up , and check these things often.
All in all,this is a beautiful camper,and I'm still excited to get camping!

[cfsoistman]

I know in our case the dealership didn't have the unit until 5:00 PM the day before we picked it up. They sent 4 people from their location to FR in Indiana to pick up 3 units on the Friday after Thanksgiving. So I know they didn't have much time to go over the unit since we were there the next morning when they opened. Our unit arrived 2 weeks later than promised. We were told the full body paint job slowed the process since they sold quite a few at the Hershey RV Show and the process takes time. They did a fantastic job with the painting. I know the next time we'll be better prepared and we'll probably sleep on their parking lot and really look over everything before we leave.

[rockwood06]

One thing about having an rv is that one needs to be handy with tools or have money to pay for repairs after the warrenty, we all are in the same boat. That's the way it is.

[JimChow]

When we purchased our FR SV233T I thought we were rushed through the orientation and it seemed that we were shown the rig by someone who didn't know much about it. We got it home and set it up to show it to the in-laws and noticed a tear in one of the bunk ends. I called the dealer back to inform them and then brought the rig back. I was told that since we signed off on the delivery there might be a problem getting the bunk end replaced. The dealer and FR came through and replaced it with no problem.

Yes there were other small issues with the rig but being in the service industry for 34 years I know stuff happens, however it is tough to swallow after laying out so much cash and difficult to believe that some of the stuff gets out the door. Most of the issues I took care of because I feel no one can do it better then me. The other stuff (tank sensor didn't work, door our of alignment) the dealer handled. I would definately look at Forest River again when the time comes to purchase new. I hope they come through for you to your satisfaction. Good luck.

[dezolen]

When I had my Rockwood almost every water connection fitting leaked at one time or another all at different times. Had to tighten every one of them which did the trick. Same for drain lines all at compression fittings. Even found decorative rail as you pictured missing from one shelf out of 3. Seems to be the norm. Lucky I can fix almost anything and saves trips to the dealer and much time missed from camping.
Just last month I caught hose near water filter about to blow on the 5th wheel. That was lucky. Sounds like just a part of camping life.
Hope you get the major shortcomings fixed soon and enjoy the rest of the season.

[timtheflyguy]

The dealer called , and said they had a new radio ,headboard and faucet just came in, so I know these thing will be replaced.I wanted to do the work myself,but when I started giving my list,they said "you should bring it in",So thats good,then I can give them a walk through.We are going to try to go camping this weekend , so we'll give everything the real test!

[realebill]

Originally Posted by rockwood06

I fell your pain, It is a shame as I have mentioned it be for Poor engineering, workmanship and to top it all of NO quality control. $22,000 plus interest is alot of money just to give away, it could make one give up RVing all together.

Forest River is NOT something I will buy again. I have alot of question when I buy form a different manufacture, I fell sorry for them when I am done.

I have been getting alot of info from.....escapeesrv.com....So far it is a great place to find out what is going on. You may want to check it out.

that address doesn't work..tried different forms of it,no luck
as for Forest River i'm in my 2nd year with my Rockwood sig. ultra lite and i have only had 1 problem. that was to replace the converter. i got it from my dealer who had 1 in stock,and i replaced it myself. as for other manufacturers,i'm sure they all have their problems

[WonderingWades]

We just purchased a Forest River Ultralight Stealth and have had nothing but issues with it. The shower leaked at the drain, because it was put on crooked, leaks under the door, T.V mounts make it hard to see the picture clearly, windows leak with hard rain, back toy door leaked, entry door could see daylight around and the screen door does not close properly. Needless to say after paying 26,000, I'm not too happy either and then the dealer doesn't really want to deal with us. They can't understand why I would be upset that my trailer has been in the shop for 8 weeks. Go figure. I am writing letter to dealers owner and to Forest River.

[Jamey]

Sorry to hear of your problems, hope it all works out for you, give the dealer a chance and hopefully they will come through for you.
We purchased a SV 294 in 2008 and just finished (yes finished, in Canada camping season is short!) our 2nd year of camping, and have not had one problem with our trailer, and have had many great trips that the kids and my wife and I have loved! I work for a manufacture (totally different product) and every once in a while something goes haywire and bad one or two makes it out of the factory. Hopefully the dealer and or Forest River will do whats needed to make it right. Keep us up to date and lets us know what happens, if we all start hearing of major problems with the surveyor line and Forest River is not stepping up to make thinks right few trailers will be sold, forcing them to either go out of business or put out better product.
Best of luck