Brand new hybrid full of problems

[crs147x]

We traded out pop up for a 2015 solaire 147x. The trailer is riddled with flaws. lights not working, speakers not working, bad sealant, multiple broken screws in the under side. took it back to the dealer a week ago and picked it up tonight to find water running down the wall around one of the windows. In total we found 25 problems upon delivery and now more issues. Im not to pleased with the quality of forest river products at the moment

[vinmaker]

Hello crs,

The general quality of production has declined RV industry wide. I still prefer pop ups as they tend to be less complicated and employ more manual operation.

All you can do is fix the problems and head out camping to enjoy yourself.

Cheers.

Vin.

[bikendan]

As was said, the entire RV industry suffers from poor and inconsistent quality control.
Even big expensive motorhome will have tons of issues.
Hopefully Palomino Pal will help you out.

[MuddauberE]

Unfortunately, this is the world we live in. They don't make them like they use to. Not just RV's but anything you buy. It really sucks and is very disappointing. The good thing is, I lived close to the dealer and in my first year, it was back and forth ALOT! Probably about 7-10 times for different issues and some issues were to fix issues that either didn't the first time, or it broke again. They knew who I was when I came in the door.

When I first got my Roo, it was riddled with issues. Many I fixed myself as they were small and tedious, but others I went back to the dealer for. None included leaking though. I would defiantly have the dealer fix those to get the damage on paper.

I absolutely hated the issues I had to deal with. I felt that it was poor manufacturing and poor customer service that these things were not taken care of during the walk through or even prior. But, to be honest, I would buy another. After reading on here the issues everyone has with a large number of different dealers, there's no way out but to not buy ..... That's not going to happen. I love camping. The only think it does do is make me smarter.

I bought my first pup from the same dealer I got my hybrid from. I had the same issue with having to take it back to the dealer to get it right. 7 years later, I was hoping for a little better experience, but to my surprise, It was not. Same issues, same dealer, different RV.

I plan on keeping this one a long time, but with time and trials, comes experience. I think I will be ready for a much more strict walk-through and setting expectations when buying my next RV.

It happened when moving forward to my new hybrid. I learned from the pup that having a better warranty was worth it. so, when I bought my hybrid, I got the 7 year extended warranty. It really was not that expensive considering the cost of the RV, just adding a few bucks, and I'm not afraid to use it.

I think it was oldcoot that told me, it was cheaper to rush these things through the line when building them and fixing issues later than it was to double check the work prior to delivery. Well, I will either get a good trailer, or they will loose their profit through warranty repairs. (I'm a little bitter about the lack of quality parts )

I would obviously take it back again. I'm not sure if it would help to contact forest river on this to see if they might help out in this situation. Might be a long shot.

[mud yapster]

Sorry to hear your frustrations, I felt the same not to long ago myself with our new 5er. Sad part of our issues was that the dealer didn't fix a thing they said they did so I fixed it myself and won't return anything to them ever again.
Now that I have fixed all our issues we have been enjoying it a lot. I also had a small water leak but was able to fix it with roof sealant, the factory missed a spot on a seal at the back of ours.
The quality of workmanship industry wide has gone out the window and the dealers I have come across almost act like they don't care once you have signed on the dotted line. It makes no difference how little or how much your unit cost they all seem to act the same. If your handy it will be time well saved on your part to correct what you can. Even after you take it back to the dealer they act as if there is no hurry to take care of the issues just because you just bought from them. Check there work before you take it back home even if it means making them get a water hose out and leak checking it in front of you. Good luck with it.

[Flybob]

When we purchased our TT, we based the decision on the price and did not purchase local. The local dealer was arrogant and high priced and a little research indicated they provided very poor after sale service. My thought was if I saved $4000 on the unit, I could pay for a lot of out of pocket repairs if needed at a independent service facility where I had some control over the repair schedule. There are some good dealers out there and they are seeing return biz and referrals. If you are not lucky enough to have a good dealer, you need to figure that into your buying decision.

[karrun]

I guess we were lucky. Picked up our Roo last Monday and so far only found problems with two of the drawers not closing flush. Dealer seemed to ahve done a thorough inspection before we arrived. We repeated it, and didn't find much. We are going camping this weekend so may find more issues, but so far I've been very pleased with the build quality.

[bruane]

Absolutely correct and the savings in Canada before the $ went south of buying on price were enormous. In general dealer response is poor and not worth the money. I have these quality tales recounted to me on a daily basis when I am RV'ing in the winter.

[jking46]

When we bought our Shamrock we paid about a grand more to buy local. So far quality of the unit has been great. Just very minor warranty issues. Was this because of exceptional build quality or a good dealer who corrected build deficiencies prior to delivery? End result is a satisfied customer.

[bruane]

Originally Posted by jking46

When we bought our Shamrock we paid about a grand more to buy local. So far quality of the unit has been great. Just very minor warranty issues. Was this because of exceptional build quality or a good dealer who corrected build deficiencies prior to delivery? End result is a satisfied customer.

If it was only $1K and not nearly $10K then I would agree. I dont know where Canadian dealers get off with these price differences and then throw abysmal service into the mix in the Ottawa area and you have no incetive to buy locally. The only place that I've heard in my travels that prices are reasonable in Canada are in Saskatchewan that appears to have a competitive RV marketplace.

[Nastyfoot]

In general it takes time to work out the "bugs". I had a used Jayco Eagle a few years back and it flawless. Have a NEW Sabre ( Bought in '13) and I am stll trying to get it right. The unit has flaws, but I believe the service dept. at my dealer has even more flaws so it is taking a while. It's disappointing because unlike a car you get numerous issues. Just hang tough.

[h4kintosh]

Originally Posted by crs147x

We traded out pop up for a 2015 solaire 147x. The trailer is riddled with flaws. lights not working, speakers not working, bad sealant, multiple broken screws in the under side. took it back to the dealer a week ago and picked it up tonight to find water running down the wall around one of the windows. In total we found 25 problems upon delivery and now more issues. Im not to pleased with the quality of forest river products at the moment

@crs147 sorry to hear about the bad luck on the camper....me personally I would request for another unit...period......we have had our Solaire 147x for about 8mo and we love it not one single warranty issue or problems... I hope your problems are resolved quickly so you can enjoy your new toy

[crs147x]

Well an update on our issues. A good 90% of the stuff was fixed. The other stuff has parts on order. But today while cleaning and sanitizing the water system i looked back under the shower while i was flushing the water and found one of the water supply lines to be leaking in the back corner. original i found some water under there when we got it home and never ran any water through yet. so needless to say i lost it and packed it up and took it straight to the dealer. so the dealer said they found no leak. well they are wrong.

[The_Rhino]

IMO a used 2009-2011 is a better buy than post-recession 2012+ models... The Recession hit the RV industry hard & IMO the folks that still had jobs were the best/most experienced & willing to work harder to keep their jobs...

Last year when we were looking at new 2014 TT's both FR & Thor/Keystone products looked rushed off the line... A Keystone TT we liked had sawdust & wood scraps everywhere combined with poor fit & finish. A new FR PrimeTime Tracer, same as ours, was leaking water badly during a heavy storm. In comparison, our used 2011 was bone-dry & not a single trace of sawdust behind access panels. Either the previous owner took time to clean back there himself, or it arrived from the factory in pristine condition. IMO it looked like it was built right.

We've owned our (used 2011 ) TT for just over a year & after 30+ days of camping did not have a single problem. Before the PDI the dealer adjusted the slides, awning and did a free pressure test/ re-caulking. During the PDI they replaced the CO2 detector, battery & filled the propane tanks. We're very happy we chose this 2011 vs. the 2014 that was leaking. I'll bet the folks who bought that one made a lot of trips back to the dealer their 1st year...

[crs147x]

the worst part of all this is I purchased this 147x 3 weeks ago and have only had it home for a total of 7 days and have not even used it or packed it, and only towed it home and back to the dealer totaling approx 10km. If i dont get results im demanding my 2009 jayco 1206 pop up back and they can keep this lemon

[crs147x]

So after taking the solaire back for service a second time for water still leaking under the shower. the dealer decided they did not want to keep us as a customer and revered the financing and gave me back my pop up. prior to accepting my pop up back i inspected it to find they had closed it down wrong and had torn and ripped the canvas on the slide out. after another phone call they paid for all the damages and labour for another dealer to do the repairs. so now im back on the hunt for a new trailer and have a very bad taste to all rv dealers service dept.

[jking46]

Glad you got your problems resolved. I know it wasn't the way you wanted it to end but if this happened 9 mos from now I doubt you would have gotten your money back . Where are you located? I know of several reputable dealers around central Indiana. I bought mine from Coleraine and would highly recommend them. Good luck in your search.

[bruane]

Amazing although they all plead poverty these dealers must have wonderful margins. A pity a customer service outlook doesn't go with it. I wonder where Forest River is with all of this Dealer picking and choosing how they handle customers and their warranty issues? They don't seem to have the Franchise dealer discipline that the auto guys have and universality of dealer service standards. They will suffer in the end for this lack of dealer discipline.

[bikendan]

The only things that the Auto industry and the RV industry have in common, is that they both sell things on wheels at dealerships.
Outside of that, they couldn't be more different.

[crs147x]

well i am located in new brunswick canada.