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Old 10-20-2013, 10:34 AM   #161
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We still love our Trilogy and had intended to head to the factory for warranty work and then to Mor/Ryde for the IS install with new tires but the blizzard in SD caused a diversion. Need to be in AZ in November so now going to contact the factory to see if they will authorize another extensive list of repairs from a local shop, not our dealer as they were god-awful. Our gas furnace quit and DH doesn't want to do more than superficial checks so as to not void warranty. We had a serious leak while in heavy rain in the PNW. One of our ceiling fans is noisy. The rear awning lights are out. The remotes for the door lock and the other for the slides do not work. The keyless entry on the door has never worked. Mostly annoying except for leak and furnace.

Sherry
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Old 10-20-2013, 10:39 AM   #162
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Sherry
Did you see the thread about our axles? I will be updating and telling what we learned from the rv mechanic. We suggest you check yours before traveling
Sorry to hear of your problems. We love ours too
The link to the thread I mentioned
http://www.forestriverforums.com/for...tml#post482892
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Old 10-20-2013, 11:49 AM   #163
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TomNGayle,

Just saw that. We had ours greased before we left in May but will be checking again. How do you tell which axels are in your rig?

Sherry
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Old 10-20-2013, 12:38 PM   #164
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Sherry. When we get parked and settled we will be back to give details. The grease isn't the only issue. The new one they sent us was assembled incorrectly also. Info to come shortly
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Old 10-22-2013, 10:45 AM   #165
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Let's catch up
We were towed on Wednesday last week. On Thursday we were told the new axle had to be manufactured. It looked like by the time they were shipped and the repairs done it could be up to 2 weeks. By that time hubby would have missed at least 4 appts. I called Lippert to explain his medical situation to the warranty guy so he put a rush on it to have it shipped by Monday.
I was following the link above to find the post on
Lippert facebook page when I saw an announcement for a new Lippert Customer Service fb page. Only one previous post there. I posted that we were on our way back to FL for very important medical care when this happened and I would love to speak with someone in charge. Immediately a response posted and I was getting private messages. One message was from.
April Klein
Vice President
Customer Support Services
Lippert Components, Inc.
She messaged from her personal fb page.
In the meantime we decided to drive the 140 miles back home to wait. So we got what we needed and was 1 exit up the highway when we got an email from Ms Klein asking if the repair facility could do the repairs the next day if they drove the parts to Columbus. I gave her the name of the contact person so she could coordinate. The next afternoon we were in our unit and on the road.
Now for the details of the problem.
The technician said the axle nut which holds the bearing was backed almost off the axle. The cotter pin that secures the nut was either dropped out or never put in. This caused the wheel to wobble and disintegrate the bearing. There seemed to be plenty of grease in the axle but in the techs opinion it was thin graphite type grease and not what he would recommend using at all.
For our piece of mind we asked the tech to pull the other wheels, clean the bearings and repack the bearings with a good grade of synthetic grease. When he did so he found all the nuts on the axles were loose. It appeared the bearings were not preloaded. Preloading is the process of tightening up the nut to set the bearings in the grease, then loosening and re tightening the nut so the wheel turns freely but isn't Overly tight to heat the bearings. Then the cotter pin is installed to hold it in place. On each one the tech says he was able to remove the nuts with his fingers they were so loose. When the new parts arrived he found the same situation with the new axle nut not being tightened.
As we have been on the road, even over the weekend, we have been receiving emails and other correspondence from various employees of Lippert.
Yesterday a lady contacted us by phone. When she heard the details she said she would contact a senior service representative. Shortly after Mike called and was happy to speak with us. Mike says they knew they were having problems but had never spoken with the unit owner for details. He planned to make immediate contact to get this error corrected. As we type this we are expecting a call from Miss Klein.
All parts including the driver to deliver to Columbus was covered by Lippert. Our hotel and the cost of redoing the other axles will be covered by Dynamax. John plans to pass that cost on to Lippert.
We have driven about 400 miles with no further problems. The center wheel caps have been cool to the touch.
We have to say Lippert stepped up. We only had to reschedule one appt in Florida. So we suggest any issues in this area of your unit could be address on their customer service fb page
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Lippe...ref=ts&fref=ts
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Old 10-23-2013, 08:58 AM   #166
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.....and this morning our hydraulic system is locked up. Lippert doesn't cover it. John is calling a service tech. This is getting to be old fast.
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Old 11-06-2013, 09:26 AM   #167
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.....and this morning our hydraulic system is locked up. Lippert doesn't cover it. John is calling a service tech. This is getting to be old fast.
So sorry you're having more issues, thanks so much for this and your other posts about axels. We just completed warranty work by an outstanding RV Repair shop (Camelot RV) in Cottonwood, AZ. We are just unable to get to the factory this fall.

They found the leaks over the hall window that is just over our stairs (silicone sealant was cracked & missing over the two top outer corners. Fixed!

Furnace had quit working so they replaced the circuit board.

Entry steps were adjusted as I was unable to open or close by myself. Door lock was adjusted as sometimes it was very difficult to open.

We asked them to pull the wheels and check the packing (grease). Less than 5,000 miles on our Trilogy One side was perfect but the other side had been packed in a different kind/color grease and had blown a seal. No damage done except seal and grease had sprayed all over brakes, so cleaning that all up was done.

Window shade over stairs was fixed for the second time,MIT just wouldn't retract. Techs also voluntarily and independently checked all seals on slides and repaired silicone on slide edges.

Our Techma toilet still doesn't hold water after adjusting at two different dealers, so we'll keep on that one.

Sherry
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Old 11-06-2013, 10:21 AM   #168
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Sherry,
Glad you has those issue repaired.
Tom is telling me our toilet did the same until they changed the water filter which was clogged. It appears the toilet fills on a timer rather than flow pressure causing it to time out before the toilet was filled.
We will keep the circuit board in mind if we find furnace problems.
May we suggest going to Lipperts Customer Service page to do a post or send a message. They will contact you right away. 2 purposes. 1. They hadn't spoken to owners having problems, the only knew there is a problem. 2. They should cover any expense to repack those wheels. We sent our bills to John at Dynamax and he was forwarding the cost to Lippert. https://www.facebook.com/pages/Lippe...ref=ts&fref=ts
Both companies were attentive to the issues.
We are so happy you checked you axles/wheels.
Happy Trails
Tom and Gayle
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Old 11-17-2013, 09:12 PM   #169
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We have been in our Trilogy for two months and love it. So far there have only been minor issues for our dealer to take care of. We have made three modifications: 1. We took out the "swing shelves" in the cupboard and put in four drawer units from Wal Mart. (we are having a cupboard unit built with much deeper drawers, but the four units work great); 2. We removed the shelves from the hall closet and installed a clothes bar for my clothes; 3. We cut up one of the shelves to make a 7" shelf and installed on the back closet area that does not open for DW to put her lamp and books on. Since the wood matches, it looks like it came there.

Only problem has been adjusting the water level in the Techma - no matter how long we hold the buttons in, it will not change. Any suggestions?
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Old 11-17-2013, 10:48 PM   #170
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We had the same problem with the tecna toilet until I changed the on board water filter in the cargo bay. When the water pressure is low from a partially clogged filter the water level will not set correctly. I hope this works for you.
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Old 11-17-2013, 11:00 PM   #171
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Bless you free birds! We've been trying to think of a replacement for those useless swing shelves and you've provided a solution. Please, please post pictures when you get your new cupboard unit built. Thank you

Sue (sroarke)
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Old 11-18-2013, 08:53 AM   #172
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FreeBirds, although we changed the whole house water filter, and our Tecma toilet as been "adjusted" by two service techs, it does not hold water and with normal use we can only go 4 days without dumping. One tech said the sensor was probably bad. We are seriously thinking of replacing the entire toilet system.

As an aside, I had stated on an earlier post that we had our wheels "greased" shortly after we purchased it. I was confused, that was our last rig. DO get your wheel seals checked if you have the Lippert axels.

Sherry
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Old 11-18-2013, 10:31 AM   #173
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After I replaced our filter it only lasted about three weeks until we started having a problem again. With those filter cartridges being very pricey. $39.00 each, I ended up taking the on board cartridge out and installing a whole house filter on the outside of the coach that uses a cheaper cartridge that lasts longer. Our tecma a toilet has been working great. Although we do also have to dump about every four days but I just assumed that was the norm for a 60 gallon tank. We previously had a motor home with a 90 gallon tank and with that we had to dump every 6 to 7 days.
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Old 11-19-2013, 09:30 AM   #174
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Seems like FR has no quality control at the factory. We are looking to sell our home and go full time. We have been looking at the big Trilogy but maybe we need to look at a different manufacture all together because of the quality control problems. Does anyone know if these problems are industry wide or just FR ?
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Old 11-19-2013, 09:54 AM   #175
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Seems like FR has no quality control at the factory. We are looking to sell our home and go full time. We have been looking at the big Trilogy but maybe we need to look at a different manufacture all together because of the quality control problems. Does anyone know if these problems are industry wide or just FR ?
You can check all the different RV forums you will read problems with each brand. Maybe a little different depending on the manufacturer but you will always run into something. FR sells 1000's of units a year. It is one of the most owned RV or TT out their and it is really a pretty good bang for the buck........
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Old 11-19-2013, 09:05 PM   #176
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You can check all the different RV forums you will read problems with each brand. Maybe a little different depending on the manufacturer but you will always run into something. FR sells 1000's of units a year. It is one of the most owned RV or TT out their and it is really a pretty good bang for the buck........
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Seems like FR has no quality control at the factory. We are looking to sell our home and go full time. We have been looking at the big Trilogy but maybe we need to look at a different manufacture all together because of the quality control problems. Does anyone know if these problems are industry wide or just FR ?
Forest River corporate is not who you should be concerned about. When you make a purchase, for all intensive purposes, you are dealing with the individual subsidiary. Over the past two years, we have owned a Flagstaff which we traded after six months for a Columbus, and then the Columbus for a Trilogy last month. Each time we traded up primarily for space, options and quality. Flagstaff entry level but had no problems and no reason to deal with the factory or warranty department. Columbus - liked the floor plan, however, new model that they couldn’t make enough of and the quality/workmanship for many of the early units was poor. The biggest issue with Columbus/Palomino was trying to get parts from the factory. Documented lies and misrepresentations from the factory, it took three months to get the parts and only one day to complete the actual repairs at the shop. The Columbus factory cost us ½ the summer’s camping, nightmare experience, trust was lost and we decided to trade while we could get something out of our trade. While we would never consider a Palomino/Columbus, it did not deter us from FR…Trilogy. We have only camped three nights, but have been through our 3650RL completely, top to bottom. I can tell you that from a quality perspective, almost every aspect of this coach is different/superior. Construction and engineering differences are significantly better. Issues have been minor and yes you will have issues with any RV, any manufacturer. We looked hard at the Redwood and Mobile Suites and made the right choice with the Trilogy.
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Old 11-20-2013, 12:12 AM   #177
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Thanks for all the replies and helpful hints. We dump every four days and do not really mind that. When we dump we can see that the grinder is really working and are glad for it. It is the water level in the toilet we would like to change. We had an extra filter for drinking built into the kitchen sink area so we use very cheap filters on the whole house unit. I'll try changing the filter.

We still think our Trilogy is fantastic and like it much more than the 2014 Trilogy "Touring edition". There is only one ceiling fan, the window shades are not true MCD shades and several other items missing. In that unit, they do have pull out cupboard drawers that are similar to what my brother is building for us. (His Christmas present to us!!)

JD
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Old 11-20-2013, 12:19 AM   #178
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Bless you free birds! We've been trying to think of a replacement for those useless swing shelves and you've provided a solution. Please, please post pictures when you get your new cupboard unit built. Thank you

Sue (sroarke)
Will do. However, you can look at the new Trilogy Touring edition and it has pull out drawers very similar to what we will be getting. I have to wait until Christmas to get mine.

JD
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Old 11-20-2013, 06:01 AM   #179
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Update....I emailed FR yesterday and got a reply back very quickly from Michael Babcock whose title is Trilogy sales manager. Awhile later he called me and we went over my concerns on the items people are talking about on the forum. He was very helpful answering my questions and addressing my concerns and made me feel alot better about the one we are looking at. He even checked and told me where one was going to be shipped that was like the one we are interested in that is only a few hours away. Anyway he did settle a lot of questions i had and we are going to ahead and get a Trilogy as soon as our house sells. Thanks for the comments i received on here. Looking forward to hitting the road full time soon and maybe meeting some of y'all .
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Old 11-20-2013, 06:47 AM   #180
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Thanks for all the replies and helpful hints. We dump every four days and do not really mind that. When we dump we can see that the grinder is really working and are glad for it. It is the water level in the toilet we would like to change. We had an extra filter for drinking built into the kitchen sink area so we use very cheap filters on the whole house unit. I'll try changing the filter.

We still think our Trilogy is fantastic and like it much more than the 2014 Trilogy "Touring edition". There is only one ceiling fan, the window shades are not true MCD shades and several other items missing. In that unit, they do have pull out cupboard drawers that are similar to what my brother is building for us. (His Christmas present to us!!)

JD
Agree completely regarding the “Touring Edition”. It would appear that Trilogy is attempting to hit a lower price point target by leaving off some to the standard extras of their regular coaches, I.E. quality tires (China Bombs on the one I saw), full body paint, interior trim, tile backsplash’ s etc., all the things that dew us to the 3650RL. Unfortunately for the consumer, at least for now, the dealer prices are not that much lower than the real deal units.
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