Quality issues on cedar creek fifth wheels

[sweetlou]

Hi I am ready to order a 38rd cedar creek fifth wheel from the factory, but after reading so many complaints about poor quality and problems with the factory for support I am not sure what to do. My dealer is about 170 miles away. Has anybody had any quality issues or any positive things to say .... Thank you

[dmdrj5]

You would probably have some quality issues no matter which manufacturer you go with. I toured the CC factory and any time you are producing units that fast small stuff is going to slip by you. They spend half a day building stuff to install the next day and half a day installing them. I think they said they produce a unit every two and a half days.

On my 38FL I had minor issues like ceiling lights that weren't wired correctly and the shower drain leaking. Both of these weren't enough of a problem where I would waste my time trailering back to the dealership. One thing that did piss me off was small openings under the couches in my slideouts where you could see outside. Had to use steel wool to close these.

Good luck with whatever unit you choose,
Don

[Duckogram]

Lack of Quality Control is an industry wide standard. The RVIA is, IMO, a waste. As a friend of mine said; If RV manufacturers built boats, they would all sink. With that being said, the industry business model is to slap em together and push em out the door. They depend on and ride roughshod over dealers to fix the slop. They also count on the consumer to just fix it themselves which increases their profit and is the causal factor in justifying the business model. I found Cedar Creek to be better than average but that is not saying much. I also made them fix everything and bought the second year factory ltd warranty. It paid for itself many times over. If you want a shot at better quality you will need to pony up more $$$'s and then there is no guarantee of success.

3+ hours to the dealer is a long way. Proper schedueling and planning will be key to success. You get into problems when parts are needed. It takes a long time to get them from the factory. A month is not uncommon. Then comes the question of what to do if your dealer is not up the task. Choices are fix it yourself (factory wins), find another dealer or certified mobile repair if you can, take it to Indiana or exercise your protections under your states lemon law if available.

Overall I was satisfied with my '12 36CKTS and it served its purpose. I found Cedar Creek service and support to be good.
My dealership was good until they sold out to Camping World, then not so good so I headed to Indiana to get it done quickly and correctly.

Note: An appointment at the dealer is to drop it off and get the repair order written. That does not mean that it will make it into the repair bay any time soon.

[spock123]

We had a Cedar Creek 30RL that was a great camper, we did have a problem with the bedroom slide and a few minor ones, like the deadbolt lock. But over all a great camper. We just got the Cedar Creek 32RL and we have a few minor problems but nothing major. We brought our camper 300 miles away but it may not ever see that dealer again. Our local Camping World which is only fifty miles away will handle our problems. C/W just brought out the place where we brought the camper at, Tom Johnson.


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[camper1999]

You will hear a lot of issuses on this forum because that is what it for help. But there are many happy Cedar Creek owners. We are on our second Cedar Creek and look forward to the next one.

[danno2u]

We're on our second FR RV. First was an XLR toy hauler and this one is a Silverback. We loved both RVs!


However, we did have a few minor things on each. Most of it was simple cosmetic things like drawers that needed reinforcing or screws that came out. I fixed all the simple stuff. It pays to be a "handy guy" if you own an RV. We had some repairs at a dealer on each RV.


On the XLR, a wire was routed incorrectly shorting out the DC system. It took a dealer a full day to troubleshoot and repair. The XLR was repaired 3 times at a dealer in total. Once for the wire, once for a slide motor that burned out (Schwintek slide) and once for a landing gear that wouldn't come down (was just a broken screw on the crossbar). Each repair took only a few hours. We had the XLR for 18 months.


On the Cedar Creek Silverback, we've had it for a year now. Lippert reinforced our landing gear and a dealer replaced our steps and fixed a poorly plumbed line to a grey tank, all under warranty. We've had a couple of LEDs fail and I've replaced them with aftermarket LEDs.


All in all, we haven't had too much trouble. Like others say, all RVs will have some issues but the overall experience is positive. Buy the second year FR warranty and enjoy your RV travels!

[youroo]

Duckogram,in regards to your post #3 (Forest River is a BOAT Building Co.)! Youroo!!

[Salt Shaker]

Break out another thousand. RV's aren't inexpensive but boats beat them for cost upkeep and usage.

I found our Silverback to be a much better quality unit than others I looked at. I really believe it is an individual unit vs unit deal. There are 20k rigs put together better than 60k rigs.

Take your time looking through them, open cabinets, look for spit wood/particle board, climb on the roof, look at the wiring, look at gaps and openings, pay particular attention to screws and screw heads (stripped head and crooked screws), look for gaps in the front cap and caulking, look at slides and underneath in particular.

The few issues I've had so far the factory has taken care of with out an issue.

Salt

[Hutch333id]

We purchased a new 38FL last year and have been very happy with it. However, we did have a couple of minor issues that appear to be common from what I have read on this site.

First, the shower door frame wasn't sealed correctly and water was able to leak out between the fiberglass floor pan and the bottom aluminum door track. I fixed this myself with a tube of clear sealant.

Then we found a small (quarter size) spider crack in the front right floor pan of the shower. It wasn't letting through water but it was visible. The dealer and CC arranged for a local mobile specialist in fiberglass moulding to make a repair. Now you cannot see it ever existed. Apparently, according to my dealer, this is a common problem caused at the time of installation and could be something to do with them flexing the shower floor to make it fit into the space. Once it is in there it isn't coming out.

Then we had a minor leak from the shower drain. Easily dealt with by my dealer. I could have done it myself but they are only fifty miles from me and I was camping just outside the town where they are located.

Another thing to watch out for is that the black and grey tanks seal correctly when you operate the valves. Mine had some plastic curlings (from when the pipes were cut) in the valve preventing it from fully closing. The dealer fixed that it but I feel it should have been inspected better at the factory to have prevented this from happening.

And finally, our counter top in the kitchen was cracked from the back of the stove to the edge at the tiled section of the wall. It was replaced by the dealer but it took FR several months to get an undamaged replacement to us. At least two were sent but arrived damaged before the third arrived for final installation.

No problems on our rig with electrical matters.



Richard & Diane
2014 Cedar Creek 38FL
With a F350 dually
2014 41 nights and 4620km.......and we're done

[palmetto rogue]

We have a 2013 Silverback and had a full page list of plain stupid not caring quality issues- wiring, cabinetry doors binding, rusty underframe, screws left out, junk in black water valve from the factory, mislabeled and miss wired breaker panel, TV antenna wiring not working, light switches not located in area that operate or in utility panel, etc etc. We bought in Ohio for price and live in South Carolina and dealer service here was terrible. The dealer said it received very low reimbursement rates for repairs and the work reflected that. Wound up resolving all the issue myself as none were major. I also visited the factory and saw no issues with units under construction and the people there seemed proud of their work. I do know that this is any different from other manufacturers.

[rockfarmer]

We are on our second Cedar Creek and we have friends in the Cedar Creek RV Owners Club who are now on their 4th Creek. Yes, there are problems with Cedar Creeks just like there are problems with any other RV (or boat, or house, or car, etc) but our experience has been that Cedar Creek will stand behind their product and work to correct any problem. A good example is the FROG rally in Goshen in August - Cedar Creek (and all Forest River products) techs spent several days repairing problems with units attending the rally many of which were far out of warranty or were not the fault of the company.

We have also found that some dealers are quite willing to do warranty work or other repairs while other dealers will drag their feet or perform shoddy workmanship.

[ttanous]

Sweetlou, we just took our new 38rd out this weekend for its shake down which we have had for 45 days and was the first time. We have owned 6 RV's before this and we found nothing wrong. We have been very happy so far but then again this was the first trip and only 45 days old. I am very impressed with the quality so far. I agree as long as you are willing to be a handy man then you should be good to go. Personally I think this is the best coach on the market after performing extensive research and on site visits of mid to high end range coaches.

[sweetlou]

Thanks ttanous this is such a big decision, I have a 2007 sunnybrook titan fifth wheel now and its been great no problems.I think I am doing to much research I am getting a headache there has been so much negative comments about forest river and new trailers in general but you really like the quality of the trailer? I heard the jenson radio is hard to work it is confusing thanks for all your comments keep me posted about the 38rd. Is there a option you did not get that you wished you got? how do you like the leveling system? thanks again

[ttanous]

Sweetlou the only options I wish we would have purchased but will purchase this year. The trail air kingpin and toppers for the slide outs. I am always mixed on toppers some love them and some hate them. I have not had any issues learning the new Jensen system but then again I'm a Technical person part of my job. I found the manual very helpful so have not had any issues yet. We struggled between the FB2 and the 38rd. If want to discuss our purchasing experience you can private message me.


Tom & Marilyn
2013 Chevrolet Duramax 3500 HD LTZ Crew Cab Long Bed Z71 4X4
2015 Cedar Creek 38RD Hathaway Edition

[rick03hd]

We just picked up our 36CKTS this week. Thus far I am pleased with the quality. There will always be little things wrong but most are simple easy to fix items. I researched for almost a year before ordering the Cedar Creek and decided that Cedar Creeks overall build quality is superior to most of the others. Good luck on your search.

[wire1946]

We have a 38 FL on the whole there is nothing wrong with it we ordered it from the factory ,most rv's are put together slam bang. i think we got a good one

[blynds]

im on my 3rd FR and now have a 34RLSA which im really happy with . Just like a new car it takes awhile to get the bugs out and ive had alot of new cars and trucks.

[SilverbackMel]

Buy what you like and fix what needs a fix'n. Keep roll'n and HAVE FUN. Building memories. You can always trade or sell down the road. Enjoy!

[mikey]

We are on our first Creek after a long but not so stellar relationship with a Montana. After about 45K miles on the Creek I think I can say it's broke in now, with only a couple of minor issues. I will say that the factory crew goes the extra mile to make sure you are taken care of and are happy with their efforts. George Oliver's crew certainly go the extra mile for you the customer. My problem is Topeka IN is a loooong way from home & if the production guys were better with quality this crew wouldn't have so much to do.

I still get a little peeved when I, the customer buying the product, find that FR will not permit up fitting for the chassis, but that I have to address those things in the aftermarket.

Even with the ideological differences FR CC is hard to beat.

Travel safe, see you down the road aways or maybe you can join us at a FROG event in the future! Anyhow, enjoy your journeys!

Mikey


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[dkelly]

Spock123, did I understand you to say Camping World bought out Tom Johnson? Which location?