Axles on 365 saq

[Cajun Moon]

Well, no axle replacement for me! Basically told the 6k axles was just fine, or I could tow my 365 to Indiana to have them upgraded.


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[golfmedik]

Cajun, how much does yours weigh according to the yellow sticker on it??

[Cajun Moon]

12,878 on the yellow sticker wIth a GVR of 14,060. CAT scales said 13,740 with normal camping gear, no food, clothes and no water of any type. 11,700 on the rear axles.


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[golfmedik]

Your camper is in line with the rest of the ones that have had theirs changed. IF you add water and enough stuff(clothes, food, other gear) for 5 people for a week of camping, you are over weight!! I suggest now that you have weighed it unloaded, you weigh it loaded while going on a trip somewhere. You will be amazed at the weight difference! Then I would recontact them and show them the difference. They KNOW this is a problem! If they turn you down, then time to do what is prohibited from being discussed here on the forum! Your family is traveling with you I assume? That's enough for me to try it again!
In case you haven't seen this thread, I suggest you read it in its entirety. Should only take you about 30 minutes. http://www.forestriverforums.com/for...ght-29605.html

Monty

[rr retired]

when I got my camper back form dealer with new 5200lb axles the bearings were all over torqued and ran hot, the brakes were not adjusted and the front axle was not even wired. so I spent 10 hours crawling around under the thing getting right, forest river is still putting too small of axles under there products, and it takes a lot of begging and cussing and pleading to get anything form them. this was a 2014 salem rkss 27. just my .02 worth.

[Cajun Moon]

I emailed Wayne at Forest River a very long and detailed list of my concerns. He stated that his boss said that my camper was ok, and the only offers I got was to purchase the equipment and pay for shipping somewhere to have me pay for installation, or pull my unit up there to have them "upgrade" the axles. Forest River would not ship the equipment to my local Forest River dealer for me to pay for installation! Also stated that they (Forest River) has only replaced one set of axles on a unit. My dealer told me that they stand by Forest River and basically said you should have noticed that before you bought the camper if it was such a concern.


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[golfmedik]

Go back up to my previous post, go to the link and print out all 53 pages of that thread and take it to them and put it on there desk and ask the dealer if they want to be part of the problem or part of a solution. My dealer knew they were the first parties to be named if it went further. They got on the ball!

[tromler]

Ok, well Wayne is outright telling a lie.

Mine were replaced on their dime, which included them towing it out to Indiana.

My brothers were replaced too, on forest river dime.

Keep fighting!


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[Cajun Moon]

First real email response from Forest River:

Thank you for you picture of the FED tag. I have discussed your feelings with my supervisor regarding your feelings you would like more carrying capacity and an upgrade to 7,000 lb axles. The 6,000 lb axles are sufficient for your trailer and we did offer 7,000 lb axles as an option at the time of your purchase, However the dealer did not offer this option to you at the time and we are sorry for this. My supervisor has authorized me to offer you the opportunity for you to bring the trailer to our facilities in Goshen Indiana at your expense and we will complete the upgrade at no charge or if you wish we will sell you the needed parts at our manufacturing cost for your installation locally. The cost is $1,300.00 plus freight charges to your designation. Any installation charges would not be covered by Forest River. I hope one of these resolutions is satisfactory to you. As a courtesy to us and our records could you please get the trailer weighed on a certified scale and send me a copy of the weight certificate. Please let me know your decision. I thank you in advance for your help in this matter.


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[golfmedik]

They built it anyway knowing it would be overweight. Somehow, magically the 7k option shows up mid year on build sheets that no one knew about. They screwed up and now want the dealers to help pay for their mistake. The rig does not meet their own standard of being able to carry a 1800 pound carrying capacity. They are wrong. They know it. Stay after them. Go through the dealer as well. It should not matter to you who pays for what as long as they get changed and the problem goes away.

[Cajun Moon]

Another email after I sent one asking if they would just ship the axles to my dealer:

I have verified with my supervisor that he still wants you to pay for the freight charges. You can order the parts from our parts supervisor, Denise Spagnola at 574-537-1257 at you convenience and specify where you want the parts sent to. Again, the parts cost are $1,300.00 plus freight charges Thank you


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[Cajun Moon]

Another email after I asked what made my trailer different from others:

We did offer you to bring the trailer to our location and we would do the upgrade as we have offered other customers but you choose not to do this. As I stated earlier we are offering you the upgrade at our manufacturing cost (not dealer or retail cost). This is something we have done with other customers also when they chose not to bring the trailer here. They also have paid freight on the parts needed. I hope this explanation better explains our position in trying to help you upgrade. Please let Denise know if you want to go forward. Here is her correct phone number.


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[supercab79]

Sounds to me like it's time to have a letter sent to good old Wayne from a person who's job usually requires a brief case, expensive suit and a Mercedes. Then see if the email attitudes change. There are plenty of individuals who will vouch for having it done as almost a silent recall for no charge. They know its an issue or they would not have asked individuals to remove their posts on this forum in return for having the swap done, so others wouldn't see it and ask to have theirs repaired. Even though to date I have not had many major issues with this unit I can say I would never give forest river the courtesy of getting any more of my dollars. Their customer service is almost negatively motivated their products are well laid out, but poorly engineered and I haven't had the best experiences with the dealer network either. All in all they are the most mediocre operation other than the DMV I have ever dealt with. One other thing to notice is I used the word REPAIR not "upgrade" to describe this issue because its a deficiency that needs to be repaired/replaced not upgraded. Stay strong my friend people get $1,000,000 for spilling McDonald's coffee on their lap, a crash in a known manufacture underrated trailer will surely cost them more than $1300 in parts. Stay focused, record, write down and be vigilant.

Good luck!!!

[tromler]

I can't believe the change of direction in this one. For the last year it seems like they were changing all of them, now people must pay. Crazy.




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[golfmedik]

Lots of certain kinds if professionals make a damn good profit by getting a hold of something like this! Namely product liability ones!

[rbcdp98]

It took me over a year to finally get forest river to do something about my axles. They shipped them to a repair facility of my choice in Maine and I didn't have to pay freight. My only cost was labor to install. From your emails it sounds like company line stuff. I was told many of the same things. In my last email to Wayne I had to threaten to get the Maine state attorney general involved and DOT. Then every thing changed. FYI. Your weights are almost identical to mine. Good luck and keep on them.


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[Rtazz17]

Originally Posted by tromler

I can't believe the change of direction in this one. For the last year it seems like they were changing all of them, now people must pay. Crazy.




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Yup I emailed Wayne and his response the next day was who do you want us to ship the parts to? Didnt even have to use original dealer.That was about ten months ago now.Not a dime out of pocket.


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[AquaMan]

I'm not certain, but I think the problem mostly lies with the models that didn't have the 7k axles as an option. I'm not sure what the option costs, but for those who don't travel and mostly use theirs at a permanent site, the 7k axles may be just an added cost that isn't utilized. To look back and say "I wish I would of", is not really the fault of the factory. I have 6k axles on my rig, I travel extensively, I have a large family, and I'm just under the gvwr. No, I don't travel with water, I don't have a washer/dryer, and I don't have a built in generator. The 7k axles may of added a bit of "peace of mind", but I feel the 6k axles I have now are sufficient for what I do. This is not to say I wouldn't of opted for the 7k axles if they were available when I bought mine. The fact that the factory offers the 2 axles on this particular model, enables them to market to 2 different groups, 3/4 & 1 ton trucks. The factory has stepped up on several instances, here on the forum, and elsewhere I'm sure. They've offered a solution, it just wasn't what was wanted. I do hope the situation is resolved to the satisfaction of both parties, but to get legal council involved would be a complete waste of time and money.

[Cajun Moon]

I went to my dealer and asked to see the build sheet for my camper to see if the 7k axles was available or not. First, the dealer could or would not produce it for me, and second they told me that they would not have ordered the trailer with the 7k axles because of cost.


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[Jasonlevangie]

Hi guys when I had mine replaced in May I did need to take trailer to Elkhart in order for forest river to cover all the costs. At that time Wayne did say that was the only way for them to cover the costs. Just my two cents. But they where very good at factory they fixed a whole list of other issues at no cost. Which included lots of stuff that really was not warranty issues but good customer service . like a broken window and recaulking the whole roof. Good luck with the battle


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