2015 forest river salem hemisphere 282rk

[Heypony]

Looking at buying a 2015 FOREST RIVER SALEM HEMISPHERE 282RK
Found only 17 reviews online. Most were for 2016 and newer. Reviews weren't great. Looking for feed back on anyone that has or has has one.
Thanks

[Kimber45]

I have a 16 372rd that I bought new. a few small issues in the beginning but overall very happy. I think that line is a good balance between weight and quality. there are some lines that are less expensive and some that are more expensive and better built.

[jas451]

We have a 2014 232IS 26' --- been pretty happy, the quality build has been decent.
Some of the materials maybe not quite as good as was our previous Hi-Lo. But love the layout w/2 slides which really help open it up for a 'shorty'. Have done a lot of mods though to help. In fact just today I switched out the two lights over the bed to 'marine style' reading lamps. Put in a fold-up table, cut in a door to access under the bed storage, added extensions to the bed platform so we could use a real 80" mattress. Of course the one that came with it was a junk 75" short queen....and numerous other improvements. If you're going to own any RV you almost have to learn and do some stuff yourself...IMHO.

[Cabinfever97]

We have a 2019 272RL. Third year and no issues.

[retire057]

We have a 2016 282rk that we bought new. It took me about 2 years to fix everything that was wrong and get it under control. We love it now. I think buying a used one that already has the problems fixed is the way to go.
If you do buy one, I would suggest replacing the tires right away if they are made in China.

[martinh5360]

I own the very model you are looking at. We bought it used (1 year old) and have had various problems with components (AC, power converter, “China bombs”) but the trailer itself has been exactly what we wanted. I do not have a vast amount of experience but regularly read these forums And observe that every brand and model have problems. I would buy this unit again. Hope that helps.

[retire057]

Coming up on 5 years now, one thing we are experiencing is the peeling of the couch, chairs and dinette seats. But I think this is a problem with many Forest river trailers. The furniture is certainly not constructed to last a long time. I know that some people who keep their units a long time end up replacing the furniture. If we do, it will be with cloth Or heavy duty vinyl replacements

[oxcamper]

Got a 2015 282RK

We bought it new at the Cleveland RV show (bought it in 2014 as a 2015 model). It was delivered with no problems at all. Everything worked as it should, Dealer was more than helpful, PDI was great and informative.

We are very happy with it, no major issues at all, everything still works. I used it as my home/apartment from 2014 - 2019 as I worked 250 miles from home until I retired. Still in great shape other than normal wear and tear. One of the recliners is peeling at the area where you rest your head -- but that's the only real complaint.
We think this is one of the most useful floorplans especially if you;'re going to spend a lot of time in it. The 3 of us, Wife, Scout, and me never got too cramped. The older ones have a little more useful storage space, and when we bought it, we ordered it without the outside kitchen and that gave us tons of storage. The only drawback is the size of the bedroom floorspace. As I used it during work, getting dressed every morning in the bedroom was a bit of a hassle, but workable.

If it's in good shape, you can't go wrong with this unit.
We are thinking of selling ours just because we don't really need it any longer.

[Jhnkoszyk]

We have a 2015 282rk our current issue ongoing is when we fill freshwater tank at home and hit the road, 400 miles later our tank reads empty. We know someone else who has same issue. No leaks inside, are we really loosing water going down road.

[retire057]

Originally Posted by Jhnkoszyk

We have a 2015 282rk our current issue ongoing is when we fill freshwater tank at home and hit the road, 400 miles later our tank reads empty. We know someone else who has same issue. No leaks inside, are we really loosing water going down road.

After you fill the fresh water tank and before you leave, is there any water at all dripping from the valve under your trailer?

[martinh5360]

Originally Posted by retire057

Coming up on 5 years now, one thing we are experiencing is the peeling of the couch, chairs and dinette seats. But I think this is a problem with many Forest river trailers. The furniture is certainly not constructed to last a long time. I know that some people who keep their units a long time end up replacing the furniture. If we do, it will be with cloth Or heavy duty vinyl replacements

I have just noticed a couple of small holes in the arms of my recliners with some dust built up around them. Does vinyl get termites?

[Cabinfever97]

Originally Posted by Jhnkoszyk

We have a 2015 282rk our current issue ongoing is when we fill freshwater tank at home and hit the road, 400 miles later our tank reads empty. We know someone else who has same issue. No leaks inside, are we really loosing water going down road.

Ours did the same. We had 2 overflow lines, one on each side. They removed the curb side overflow and the problem went away. If that had not worked I was going to install a longer flexible drain line and make a upside down P trap just above the tank. This would allow overflow and air but I believe would have stopped the syphon.

[rmanduch]

I got rid of the syphoning issue by adding a valve at end of overflow lines. Now when I set up I just open up both valves fresh water tanks stay full