Forest River / RV Quality - Page 2

Dogpound · 03-01-2016, 02:28 PM

If you are going to build it build it right and quit complaining about competition and high cost. There is no excuse for poor workmanship or quality. If a company builds a coach at a fair price with quality the buyer will know, but the coaches build today are cheap and poorly constructed

Evereddie · 03-01-2016, 02:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bgarbo

I agree. But when I hear of plastic bushings being used in the suspension that are only good for 1000 miles that makes me sick. A few dollars more and the average guy isnt sitting on the side of the road with his family wondering what went wrong. I'm all about saving money, but brakes, suspension, etc... are safety issues that shouldn't be skimped on.

Then there's the incredibly poor tires they put on them.

RailwayRog · 03-01-2016, 02:52 PM

Ok since we are on this subject, who in the industry is know for quality motor home construction excluding the big diesel pushers? (in case I want to buy another one and it won't be a FR product)
Coach House seems to have a nice product in the B and B+ sizes.

Dogpound · 03-01-2016, 02:55 PM

Well I have to say they do chose good chassis and most of the time good tires. To me its the saw dust in the water tank, that's just, I Don't Care!!!!!!!!!!!! They cut holes in the floor for the heater vents and they are not straight or holes cut for the electric junction boxes are crooked...............

lgray · 03-01-2016, 03:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RailwayRog

Ok since we are on this subject, who in the industry is know for quality motor home construction excluding the big diesel pushers? (in case I want to buy another one and it won't be a FR product)
Coach House seems to have a nice product in the B and B+ sizes.

Have a 2014 Winnebago Aspect 30J, night and day on quality and build. Never been to dealer for problems. Their factory support, can't be beat, everything you need is on-line or by phone.

Still have a FR fiver, love it on the surface, just not built well.

RETCHIEF · 03-01-2016, 03:14 PM

A friend of mine said "We get what we accept". If you put up with defects in a camper, accept an overdone steak, or pay for any service not done well, things will always stay the same. A minor scrape, a loose hinge, and the like aren't a big deal. When cabinets are crooked or broken and doors don't close correctly, that's another story. I find the dealers give extreme wait times for repairs to have some customers give up and go home.

hammer55 · 03-01-2016, 03:40 PM

X 100 %

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dogpound

There is no excuse for poor quality

MOODMAN · 03-01-2016, 04:20 PM

And I could excuse some things. But what I can't excuse is the service after the build. It shouldn't have to be that hard to get problems resolved. But on here I constantly hear stories of people who bought an RV, only to have the dealer give static about getting it fixed.
IT ought to be as easy as...
"I bought this coach. You warranteed it. Now fix it."

That should bring a response like...
"Yes sir/ma'am, we will get it right away, and while you are waiting, we will loan you another comparable unit in case you want to go camping while you wait."

Such an attitude would go a long way to alleviate the issues we are having. In addition, it would mark such a dealer as an honest person to deal with, and bring in even more business for him. Heck, it might make a new sale on the "loaner" coach!

People aren't stupid, they just vote with their feet. You never know who left, and that's why you constantly have to look for new customers. You drive away the old ones!

**Iwritecode** · 03-01-2016, 04:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MOODMAN

And I could excuse some things. But what I can't excuse is the service after the build. It shouldn't have to be that hard to get problems resolved. But on here I constantly hear stories of people who bought an RV, only to have the dealer give static about getting it fixed.
IT ought to be as easy as...
"I bought this coach. You warranteed it. Now fix it."

That should bring a response like...
"Yes sir/ma'am, we will get it right away, and while you are waiting, we will loan you another comparable unit in case you want to go camping while you wait."

Such an attitude would go a long way to alleviate the issues we are having. In addition, it would mark such a dealer as an honest person to deal with, and bring in even more business for him. Heck, it might make a new sale on the "loaner" coach!

People aren't stupid, they just vote with their feet. You never know who left, and that's why you constantly have to look for new customers. You drive away the old ones!

The only problem with that is the dealers make their money on the sales, not the service.

mtnlvr · 03-01-2016, 04:29 PM

There was a stripped screw on the cover over the cab battery, so I was unable to get to my battery on a brand new Solera.

Phil57 · 03-01-2016, 04:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by uncleroyhobbs

To DaveJordan...Forest River / RV Quality:

I think this list of excuses is complete BS! It almost sounds like you work for the RV maker or are on their payroll. There is no excuse for these poor quality builds.

Hobbs

What RV do you own that you are so unhappy about?

Phil57 · 03-01-2016, 04:50 PM

Well said Dave Jorden. I agree 101%. Nothing is perfect and I don't expect it. Cars off the line are not. Ever build a new house. The punch list goes on and on. All in all I'm extremely happy with my Berkshire. I have had it for 4 years now and have full timed in it for 2 years. What ever was not perfect that wonderful crew at FR Diesel Div made perfect. They are a very hard working group that is very proud of what the build. FR owner for life.

Mewcasa · 03-01-2016, 04:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaveJordan

A few of the MBS threads have evolved into discussions of build quality. Quality is a big issue in the RV business and I'm sure everyone would like it to be better - but I think it's important to understand the position the manufacturers are in and the competing interests which they have to balance.

The RV business isn't the car business. Forest River isn't building a million MBS units - they're building maybe 5,000 or 10,000. These are being offered across 3 or 4 brands with 3 or 4 floor plans and a sizable number of options. So...what does this mean? It means that Forest River doesn't have 200 engineers designing the product. It means they don't have 2,000 robots building the product.
As if that isn't enough of an issue, the products don't really have a fixed "model year". Oh, there's something that says it's a 2014 or 2011 or whatever, but the fact is that the models are constantly evolving with minor changes taking place on an irregular basis. Sometimes change is good - fixing the problem with the Curt lighting controller - sometimes it probably causes a new issue to be resolved later.
The RV business is very labor intensive. While the chassis and related equipment can add up, each unit spends a fair amount of time on the assembly floor with builders swarming over it, each doing their part. I haven't seen the Forest River assembly line, but I have seen other RV manufacturing facilities and it's a lot of men and women with power tools cutting and installing and bringing it all together.
The RV business is pretty competitive. You can go down the road and buy an MBS-based motorhome from a dozen...or two dozen...different builders, each of whom may be putting out 3 or 4 brands with 3 or 4 floorplans. The buyer has lots of choices. Needless to say, with all these choices the bottom line becomes a major factor.
Cost was a key factor when I purchased my Solera. I scoped out other brands and found them to be more expensive by $20,000 or more. For the most part, I didn't get the feeling that the extra money went into more careful construction of the unit...it went into fancier equipment or fancier paint jobs. There are builders out there who spend the extra money on carefully handbuilt motorhomes ... you can buy their big diesel pushers for a million or three ... maybe they even do the same thing on the Sprinter chassis.
This is not to say that I don't care about quality - I do. But I think it's important to maintain perspective on the various issues facing an RV builder - low volumes, limited margins, high labor costs, intense competition and varying demands and priorities of the buying public. Would I like to have the excess saw dust and drilled out plugs cleaned up? Sure. Do I want to pay a few thousand more for something I only see when I look behind the panels? Well, not so much.

Dave

You wouldn't be saying all this if you have my Vibe!

My latest discrepancy from this weekend's campout... Wire loose/intermittent contact on back of the 50 amp plug! Good thing I know something about troubleshooting! Could have gone up in smoke!!! Joke of the day... Take it to the dealer for repair!

caesar101 · 03-01-2016, 04:58 PM

The question is how much are you willing to pay? Everyone sees different things they would like improved. If FR did everything everyone wanted, none of us would be here because we couldn't afford the product. I know you THINK you paid a lot already.

NatlChamp · 03-01-2016, 05:07 PM

First off, I really enjoy this website. I've learned a great deal reading the posts and appreciate everyone who shares. I'm a newbie to TTs. I build an off-road trailer and towed it places you wouldn't believe but got old and decided it would be nice to take a shower inside and let my wife use the little girls room. A lot of what I here is, in clinical terms, cognitive dissonance. You spend a load of money on something and you just don't want to believe its not really worth it. I have experienced a lot of stuff on my unit that is simply poor workmanship. One corner of my roof peeled up because the person who put the screws in didn't hit anything. Just an example. Anyway, the only way to influence this is with your wallet. But most people don't buy a new RV every couple years so it's hard to negatively impact the manufacturer. I love my little toy hauler, but it's apparent Forest River doesn't really have to concern themselves with quality construction techniques. I fixed everything myself so I'm guilty of not even trying to get the dealer to fix it and let Forest River know of the issues. Just wasn't worth it to me, too far and not much faith in the dealer. God Bless us Everyone...

oldsmasma · 03-01-2016, 06:49 PM

I read these forums regularly sometimes learning, sometimes laughing, sometimes in disbelief, sometimes in horror but mostly feeling grateful. We traded a F250 4 door 4x4 and 28' sob fifth wheel plus a cash payment on a slightly used Lexington 283GTS almost 3 years ago. It was a spur of the moment purchase made while we were on vacation. We are thrilled with it. It meets our needs to a T. We have had no contact with the dealer since the day we drove off their lot. We expected to tinker and we do. We expected to make some mods and we have. Frankly we have had far more quality control issues with the big 3 automakers than with this motorhome. It's still snowing here so camping is a long way off so I'll just go knock on some wood and comb my rabbit's foot!

backdoctor · 03-01-2016, 06:58 PM

I agree with Dave in many respects. And I've had lots of adjustments to my Solera. But I want to put a shout out to my dealer. RV Canada has been outstanding at servicing my rig and looking after me in general. I have nothing but good things to say about them, and the MB dealer, Star motors here in Ottawa. Both have looked after issues that were under warranty and others that weren't in a fair and cost effective way. No worries here. But the line at FR building MBS needs work. We toured the factory and many of the fellows we spoke to were less than 2 years in service. The other big issue was smoking weed in the parking lot on shift break...no kidding. We parked our solera in the employee lot during the day so we could do the tour. At break around 10 a group of 4 guys Sat in the car next to us smoking up. What is that all about.

rmac04401 · 03-01-2016, 07:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by backdoctor

I agree with Dave in many respects. And I've had lots of adjustments to my Solera. But I want to put a shout out to my dealer. RV Canada has been outstanding at servicing my rig and looking after me in general. I have nothing but good things to say about them, and the MB dealer, Star motors here in Ottawa. Both have looked after issues that were under warranty and others that weren't in a fair and cost effective way. No worries here. But the line at FR building MBS needs work. We toured the factory and many of the fellows we spoke to were less than 2 years in service. The other big issue was smoking weed in the parking lot on shift break...no kidding. We parked our solera in the employee lot during the day so we could do the tour. At break around 10 a group of 4 guys Sat in the car next to us smoking up. What is that all about.

Didn't think them Amish smoked lol

LoveLife7478 · 03-01-2016, 08:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Iwritecode

The only problem with that is the dealers make their money on the sales, not the service.

I never experienced a dealer trying to gouge me on the sale. With the Internet at hand you have all the tools you need to make an informed purchase. Business is earned in my book and if RV dealers are making more money on the sale than service they truly are stuck in 1975.

blujay40 · 03-01-2016, 08:42 PM

I think ours was built with spare parts left over from the weeks builds, on a Friday afternoon following a "spirited" Christmas party and if it was even "Inspected" at the dealership, it was after the office St. Patty's Day party after sunset!

Suffice it to say that if the factory is trying to complete any kind QC before shipping a unit and/or the dealership is actually doing their own PDI before selling a unit, things like what we are encountering should not happen, at least within weeks or even a few months of taking ownership! I don't care WHAT the "price point" is.

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