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Old 05-15-2018, 05:13 PM   #41
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I went through 3 campers in less then a year. Learned a lot. Started with a tent taking my 4 girls to Indian Princess camp outs. Realized I needed some AC, so got a pop up that totally blew up when the tire popped. Limped it back to the dealer ship and did an impulse buy on a Shadow river 32 ft travel trailer that I found out that night sleeping in it that I didn't fit on the bed (6'6 300lbs) . So finally decided to go big or go home and traded that in for my 37BH Cedar Creek Silverback. To be honest it has been a good trailer, but the darn pull cable valves never work and crap is just waiting for me when I open the cap. The girls are just watching out the window getting ready to have a laughing party as they see their dad undo the cap and run while trying not to get covered in their nights previous hamburger meal.

So I have mixed feelings about campers, not sure if I will have another one, maybe. Wish you the best of luck, hope it works out. And word to the wise, grease all your cable pulls for your valves, spray silicone or something to keep them from sticking.
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Old 05-15-2018, 06:19 PM   #42
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I went through 3 campers in less then a year. Learned a lot. Started with a tent taking my 4 girls to Indian Princess camp outs. Realized I needed some AC, so got a pop up that totally blew up when the tire popped. Limped it back to the dealer ship and did an impulse buy on a Shadow river 32 ft travel trailer that I found out that night sleeping in it that I didn't fit on the bed (6'6 300lbs) . So finally decided to go big or go home and traded that in for my 37BH Cedar Creek Silverback. To be honest it has been a good trailer, but the darn pull cable valves never work and crap is just waiting for me when I open the cap. The girls are just watching out the window getting ready to have a laughing party as they see their dad undo the cap and run while trying not to get covered in their nights previous hamburger meal.

So I have mixed feelings about campers, not sure if I will have another one, maybe. Wish you the best of luck, hope it works out. And word to the wise, grease all your cable pulls for your valves, spray silicone or something to keep them from sticking.
LOL.. get one of these... you can then connect your sewer hoses before opening any valves. This just twists on the end of your dump pipe and adds another valve to close off the output. That way, any leakage is contained until you are ready to pull the lever...

https://smile.amazon.com/Valterra-T5...ra+rv+products
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Old 05-15-2018, 06:23 PM   #43
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LOL.. get one of these... you can then connect your sewer hoses before opening any valves. This just twists on the end of your dump pipe and adds another valve to close off the output. That way, any leakage is contained until you are ready to pull the lever...

https://smile.amazon.com/Valterra-T5...ra+rv+products
Sweet mother of our Lord, how come I didn't know these existed?! I can't begin to tell you how much crap I have caught in my shoes and socks. All I can say is this has been added to cart and will be here in 3 days. If your in West Texas and either need a coronary stent or a beer, let me know, it's on me. Thanks Dalford.
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Old 07-09-2018, 07:09 PM   #44
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Wow, that never crossed my mind... No mention of accidents in contract.

An update: The dealer says he wants to help us... but it comes off as he wants the repair money Forest River will give him. As for explaining why things happened the way they did, no apologies, only redirects and runarounds. For example, the circuit board for the AC is now "faulty" per the owner - the tech said it was missing, the sales lady said it does not come with it and they had to order it. One problem and three explanations as to why it happened. He said it came in on Wednesday - we've been texting back and forth, you would think he'd let me know that sooner than 2000 hours on a Friday night.

The dealer tried to say we never called for the detailer to schedule. They ignored both of our calls and VMs last week to the point I showed up to the lot and spoke with our sales lady in person (this is why I am texting him and not calling now) - she told me the detailer was supposed to come that day and he was going to call when he would arrive. The weekend came and went without anyone coming to clean the mess (or call).

Still no refund check for the labor and parts charge for my hitch (I ended up with a puck system and didn't need his rails or the labor involved).

The dealer thinks having huge gaps in the slides when deployed and when closed is normal... else, he just felt like not addressing those concerns. Over $70k MSRP and I am supposed to "stuff cut up pool toys" when deployed or "jam some towels there" when retracted to prevent infiltration of light/air/water/critters. This brings up the issue of professional conduct.

Too many issues with a lack of professionalism and trust with these folks... the most aggrevating, albeit insignificant, thing though was the smell of cigarettes in the RV and the fact I had to sweep out the "Tech's" cigarette ashes from my truck bed. I get it, people smoke and chew tobacco - but they know I am a doctor... that's like cussing in front of a priest lol.

Thankfully the people in this forum pointed me in the right direction - I spoke with FR and they are dumbfounded with what has happened thusfar. I spoke with Orvan and I am waiting on his wife to schedule us, hopefully we can get in sooner than later.

Thank you again to everyone that chimed in here! I will keep updating this thread as things develop.
It’s been a while and I was wondering if you ever got into Orvan and if you got your issues resolved?
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Old 07-29-2018, 07:31 PM   #45
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Yikes, sorry to hear of your issues. We finally have all ours taken care of. We even had it back at the manufacturer - not to sure about them. We had an issue with the leveling system on day 1 - they had the wires switched... finally fixed
stay on top of them - .
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Old 09-09-2018, 10:34 AM   #46
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It’s been a while and I was wondering if you ever got into Orvan and if you got your issues resolved?
So the issues have kept piling up as we live in it more... the worst of which is now the smell of sewage gas escaping from the black tank whenever we flush (no exhaust fan is on) or from the gray tank if the bathroom exhaust fan is on while we shower.

The hydraulic system looses stiction each day (even with updated mix for hydraulic pump) - take a step and hear pops and cracks till it settles again... Nothing like leveling the fifth wheel every other day!

I've been in other Forest River cedar creeks and they have next to no sway when walking in them... A butterfly farts next to mine and makes my wife sea sick.

In total we have a list of 50 major issues... The worst of which is I discovered the second AC the dealer's "tech" installed was held to the roof with four sheet metal screws (I have the carriage bolts intended to secure it in my hands)... not to mention it was not ducted, even though we paid for that; and, because he left out the control box (we can't use it without e1 error) there are 120v live wires just sitting in the air return covered with one wrap of electrical tape.

These guys are a complete joke and are "pretty dangerous" in the words of Forest River.

As for my update, orvan is getting me in for a two day appointment in October. Forest River was kind enough to pay to ship it to him and bring it back. I am afraid we have a lemon on our hands and it was never meant to leave the factory like this.

If I had to do it all over again, I probably wouldn't.
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Old 09-09-2018, 11:09 AM   #47
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I feel bad for ya Doc, I’d demand that it be returned to the factory at their cost and all issues addressed. Then I’d file complaint with BBB, and your states Attorney General. Good luck.
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Old 10-28-2018, 08:45 AM   #48
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Well, Forest River tries hard but just falls short on so many accounts. The unit was actually lost after being picked up by the freight company! Got a call from Amish Family RV about two hours after the supposed start of our appointment and they were wondering what happened with the RV... called to Forest River and asked where it was, the response from Justin: "I don't know." So a $77k msrp fifth wheel and "I don't know" is the level of concern/tracking/planning FR has for their customers. If it were not for the awesome shipper that gave me his cell # and his boss' number, I would have never found the fifth wheel and may have even missed out on my appointment with Orvan. It turns out that Justin never told the shipper where to actually take the unit, so they just parked it in their secure lot until they heard from FR what to do with it (they picked it up on a Thursday and my apt with Orvan was a Tuesday).

since I live in this full time while working at my podunk little hospital, we approached them about compensating a hotel stay... here is the official opinion from FR concerning the durability and usability of their nearly 100,000 dollar msrp products (I can post screen shots of the communications if people would like)... be warned: not a single fifth wheel or TT they make is designed to be full-time! they mean recreational when they say it and even insinuated that the warranty would be voided if we live in it full time. Also, they emphatically stated it should not be camped in when temperatures fall below 30 degrees Fahrenheit. So screw marketing materials mentioning full-time luxury living, forget that Arctic package, and nevermind they "test" these to 0 degrees Fahrenheit - when they say all-seasons, they mean drive this thing to Florida during the winter. This all comes from Justin plus whatever higher-up he spoke with on our behalf.

Speaking of Justin, just try to get any communication out of him on a regular basis (let alone get ahold of anyone by phone). Orvan had our fifth for three days, it was gone from our possession for one week - if not for Orvan and the shipper, we would have exactly ZERO updates on the status/location of our fifth wheel.

As far as Orvan is concerned, I believe he is a tad over-hyped on these forums (or others have a much lower standard than I do). Don't get me wrong, he is polite and works very hard for his customers but as you will read, this RV should not have left his shop the way it did.

The unit came back to us filthy - I am talking full, greasy handprints on the ceilings of the slide outs, on the walls in our bedroom, all over the windows, and all over the television in the living area. After wiping down the TV, there were several large scratches in the screen - some big enough they actually get in the way of viewing pleasure.

Apparently that whole console was torn apart by Orvan because there was zero backing behind the TV and it was held up by "two loose screws." While the area definitely feels sturdy now, taking apart that left us with another headache (other than the TV scratches) - the fireplace buzzes so loud it can be heard on the phone when standing by the door.

The issue of large gaps in the slideouts was not addressed - this is normal behavior per Orvan when deployed but not when retracted (so to those of you here without these gaps, feel blessed... I still have large gaps when they are retracted and deployed). It is strange, the Hathaway edition from 2018 parked right next to me does not have the issues I have with the slides.

Orvan did tell us the slideouts we're installed/adjusted improperly, so he "fixed" something... he put down shims under one corner - making it so now my carpet does not cover that very large hole leading to the outside AND bent the bottom sil of the slideout so now there is a new 6mm high by 35mm wide gap leading straight to the outside. It was a few days of killing flies and stink bugs before I wished they just left the slide the way it was. Even covered with another carpet, the rush of cold air entering the home is unacceptable.

Prior to giving this away we emptied and flushed all tanks multiple times. Boy what a surprise I had when trying to get off my sewer cap - about 4L of brown, feculent water. These things were bone dry before leaving, so water was certainly flushed down the commode (not accusing them of urinating in it or taking a dump). The black valve was in the open position upon receiving it.

The shower door was not secured prior to transport or it came unsecured during transport. The handles are loose and can no longer be tightened down and the little door latch was completely out of the hole, the parts strewn about the floor.

Other issues we're addressed like the front door and the gaskets around windows. He even went above and beyond to sure up the front compartment area. Which reminds me, I didn't check to see if they replaced any of the hydraulic lines (I marked them). Stay tuned for that.

The AC unit apparently was the wrong one - it made us 14' 9" tall and we are supposedly 14'2" tall - a dangerous, ignorant move by my dealer putting the wrong AC unit there. They also drilled holes in my roof that shouldn't be there - Orvan wants the unit back next year to put on a whole new roof (I'm not too keen about that). It was nice to have Orvan affirm the horrible, dangerous install the dealer did - it was held on by sheet metal screws FYI and it was leaking, unbeknownst to me.

I honestly believe that if I were to have dropped this off with orvan myself and did a walk through, he would certainly address all my issues. He was very apologetic on the phone when we told him of the things we found and said he will work with (coach over the phone) whatever repair person we have to fix the slides proper.

So now we are waiting on a local FR-authorized dealer to contact us about sending someone for mobile repair. FR will also send us a new television.

This is way too much hassle for the actual price paid (let alone the msrp). We'd all be on bicycles and walking if our trucks had issues like this!
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Old 10-28-2018, 12:25 PM   #49
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There has to be someone to talk to at FR to get this resolved. Sounds to me like this unit needs to go back to FR for an autopsy and the people who made this mess should be looking for something else to do somewhere else. AND you should get a whole new unit that has been thoroughly vetted and inspected prior to delivery. I used to do what you are doing when working away from home which was most of the time - did it in a FR Wildcat, a Montana and a FR Prime Time. Had some issues but nothing like what you are having, plus I had wonderful dealers to work with who really helped out.
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