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Old 08-23-2015, 12:35 AM   #1
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How common is it to have multiple problems on new vehicles?

Hi,
I just bought a Coachmen Clipper 806, 2015 and had several issues.
Our dealership's salesman and service rep. told me that it is common for people to fix a lot of little things under warranty. We fixed these this week.
1.We popped our city water in spite of regulator. Installed improperly at manufacturer.
2. New nitrogen tire popped with two huge wear holes. Tire issue.
3. Range top. Falls off each time we fold it down. Manufact.
4. Leaked in rain where some stripping under the bunk failed. Manufact.
5. Siding for the tent came undone on both sides of trailer. Manufact.

Is the popup a lemon or these issues are common?

Also, do people return trailers under similar circumstances?

With cars in Canada, one can go to arbitration if a new car is a lemon and get car replaced.

Regards,
Jeremy
BC
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Old 08-23-2015, 01:28 AM   #2
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Pretty common and yours appear to be somewhat minor, compared to some. Not sure what you mean by siding, though.
And since popups are at the low end of RVs, I would suspect that QC could be worse.
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Old 08-23-2015, 06:55 AM   #3
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Not sure about Canada, but this would not fall under any lemon law in any of the states. Usually, it has to be in service for (usually) over 30 days, or have the same problem multiple times in the year.
I would suggest contacting Canadian regulators.

Also, what is a "nitrogen tire." Is that a brand? Never heard of them. But whatever brand, it sounds like just a defect from the tire manufacture. Appears that ST tires are not the best tires made; by anyone.

As for problems; sounds about right.

I had quite a few minor problems with mine when first purchased, and get more as it gets older. Some are due to shoddy engineering, some for shoddy assembly and some, like the shattered gear on the winch the first time I used it were not the problem of FR directly but the supplier of the component.
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Old 08-23-2015, 08:56 AM   #4
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Thanks. I think I mean the weather stripping not siding.
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Old 08-23-2015, 11:13 AM   #5
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Sadly...all too common. We have lost count of all the issues we have had with our unit. I think we have one trip where nothing went wrong, fell off, broke or died.
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Old 08-23-2015, 11:14 AM   #6
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Common. Need to take it out for a test camp and make a punch list.
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Old 08-23-2015, 11:32 AM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jeremyg View Post
Hi,
I just bought a Coachmen Clipper 806, 2015 and had several issues.
Our dealership's salesman and service rep. told me that it is common for people to fix a lot of little things under warranty. We fixed these this week.
1.We popped our city water in spite of regulator. Installed improperly at manufacturer.
2. New nitrogen tire popped with two huge wear holes. Tire issue.
3. Range top. Falls off each time we fold it down. Manufact.
4. Leaked in rain where some stripping under the bunk failed. Manufact.
5. Siding for the tent came undone on both sides of trailer. Manufact.

Is the popup a lemon or these issues are common?

Also, do people return trailers under similar circumstances?

With cars in Canada, one can go to arbitration if a new car is a lemon and get car replaced.

Regards,
Jeremy
BC
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Old 08-23-2015, 12:09 PM   #8
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Consumers want lite weight inexpensive rigs. These units are made of thin plywood and pressed wood trimming, covered with wallpaper to look like real wood. What is not wood is plastic. All of which cannot be treated like home products. Caution is required from towing your rig to using it. Your troubles sound like assembler defects. Easily missed at walk-a-around inspection. We were lucky in that our dealer insists in allowing buyers to use the RV at their facility for a few days to insure all was working properly.
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Old 08-23-2015, 04:32 PM   #9
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RE: What is a "nitrogen tire." Is that a brand? Never heard of them. But whatever brand, it sounds like just a defect from the tire manufacture. Appears that ST tires are not the best tires made; by anyone


Answer:
Tires filled with pure nitrogen instead of air. Nitrogen molecules are larger than oxygen molecules and will not leak thru the rubber.
Oxygen molecules are so small that it is completely normal for air filled tires to lose 1-3 PSI each month from "permeation." Permeation is the normal process by which the oxygen molecules in compressed air seep through a tire's carcass.
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Old 08-23-2015, 06:05 PM   #10
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Ok, just never heard the called Nitrogen Tires, usually tires with nitrogen since they are not technically nitrogen tires. Well aware of filling tires with nitrogen as well as a half dozen threads on this site in regard to using nitrogen to fill tires. And I have never lost that much in any of my tires over a month period, so long as the ambient temps have remained the same.

When the temp drops considerably, the psi will naturally drop; one psi per each 10 degrees.

Also not sure why "nitrogen filled tires" would cause the problem noted. Sounds like just a common defective POS trailer tire. One reason why I don't run them on my trailer.

Also, believe your floor is probably made with 3/4" OSB not a piece of thin plywood. But the other info is correct. The wood grained stuff is primarily glued on and is a bit thicker than shelving paper. And it is tacked onto some very light, and thin compressed wood of some sort. So be careful when drilling if you ever need too. It will splinter.

Good luck, and welcome to the world of popup trailers. Make sure you have plenty of tools, extra parts, and hopefully some patience; something I lost a long time ago.
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Old 08-23-2015, 06:46 PM   #11
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Lemon Laws

Generally, most lemon laws in the U.S. apply only to motorized vehicles. There are other consumer protection laws that can be used, but they can require a lot of documentation and generous timeframes for the manufacturer or dealer to offer resolution before any legal action is allowed.
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Old 08-23-2015, 06:49 PM   #12
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Quote:
We fixed these this week.
1.We popped our city water in spite of regulator. Installed improperly at manufacturer.
2. New nitrogen tire popped with two huge wear holes. Tire issue.
3. Range top. Falls off each time we fold it down. Manufact.
4. Leaked in rain where some stripping under the bunk failed. Manufact.
5. Siding for the tent came undone on both sides of trailer. Manufact.
If you search these threads or just start on one and start reading you will find that these types of problems are common even in MH that cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. That is not defending FR or the dealer for letting that stuff pass out the door... it is just reality in this day and age.

Take control over your new trailer and fix and inspect and embellish it to make it YOUR camper and not the dealers. Hopefully you are handy. Taking things like this back to the dealer will only cost you time (not camping) and gas money. If you can fix it yourself then do it.

Tires are a problem... they are referred to here on this forum as China Bombs. Unfortunately 90% of camper tires are made in China. Picking up replacement tires that have a higher load range (more plies) and a better brand name is usually done in short order by many owners who would rather not be bothered with OEM tire failures on the road. Again... about 5% of the threads on this forum are tire related. Get your tires BALANCED... hardly any tire dealer does it standard... but it makes everything smoother and does not shake your trailer while hauling it down the road.

Range hood hinge problems have been covered on this forum recently. DO a search for the solution.

After I got home I crawled under and over my Shamrock 183 for many hours... improving and correcting many small items (nothing major except bathroom door lock was misaligned allowing door to not stay shut). After all was said and done, I felt like the trailer was now really mine and I knew most everything about it that needed to be known. I also then spent a week driveway camping in it so that I knew all systems were ready to go ON THE ROAD.

This last week I put on Eternabond tape over all the roof seams (HTT 2 years old from production date) so I would not have any roof problems in the years to come. Did I need to do that now? Probably NOT... but I'm glad it is done and water infiltration through faulty or deteriorated roof seams is one thing I can cross off my list at least for the next couple of years.

Read these many threads on this forum and learn from the collective wisdom of many having put many years and miles and have enjoyed their rigs after everything was corrected.

Good luck and good camping ahead!
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Old 08-23-2015, 08:04 PM   #13
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Welcome to the wonderful world of RVing. Unfortunately it seems that all units are shipped out expecting the new owner to find the mistakes. Hopefully these errors are minor and easily fixed - so keep your toolkit handy. Once you get the bugs out, relax and enjoy your rig.
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Old 08-23-2015, 08:29 PM   #14
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Thanks, all.

It looks like shock is what a lot of first time buyers experience. When I was younger, my friend was so loyal to Coachmen. I have good feelings about the company from him. I guess there are issues with most brands...
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Old 08-23-2015, 09:26 PM   #15
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We traded in a 2011 Sierra 38 foot 5th wheel for a Cedar Creek 38FL Hathaway Edition. We are full time RVers and in the first 3 days (Friday thru Sunday) I had a 2 page word document typer up of things that were wrong! The closet door was broken when we purchased it a week before delivery and the salesman said it would be replaced. 2 months later I had rebuilt the door myself and the dealer had one shipped to me that was damaged by UPS. The inverter for the full size refrigerator would not stay on because their was no connection from the main 12VDC to those batteries. I had it on an extention cord to the dining area. The TV in the bedroom and no signal. The cable from the wall to the set had a bent center wire. We upgraded to the 38FL because we liked the 2 queensize foldout beeds in the slidouts. The first night our children were there as a house warming and we found the beds were 8 inches longer than the living room was wide with the slidouts out! Both the gally and bath grey water dump valve cables were stuck in the open position. Friends had the clothing hanger in the closet rip out so I checked ours before hanging any clothes and found onlya screw in every 4th hole so I add more screws. 2 days later the entire shelf in the top of the closet fell!
By Monday morning when Icalled the dealer to start reporting these problems, they said just bring it back and leave it a few days and they would fix these problems. I told them I was a full time RVer and had no other place to live and they said "Oh that voids your warranty and we are required to notify Forest River" I said then ai want my old unit back and they said if I bring the CC 38FL back they have the right to keep BOTH! We are Gate Attendants in an rv park and are telling our customers about this dealer.

Sorry! I just noticed I replied in the wrong forum.
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Old 08-23-2015, 09:30 PM   #16
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Yea, love that expression China bombs, and understand ST tires are crap; regardless of where they are made it appears. However, would it not be fair to say that stuff FR builds are American bombs?
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Old 08-23-2015, 09:45 PM   #17
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As said above these problems are very common in the rv world. The difference is how a manufacturer stands behind their product. I can honestly say, forest river has stood behind their product. Our unit is one that has had more issues than most. First return trip to the factory had a list of 40 issues, including.g major and minor issues. this was in addition to the third vs already fixed by my dealer. My fiver made the return trip to the factory 3 months after getting it back from the factory with another long punch list of issues. It has been in and out of the dealership on what I call a time share with my dealership getting things fixed. We made the pilgrimage to Goshen for the factory rally this month and man what a great bunch of guys! We are now hoping everything is finally fixed but with driving a trailer down the road, I am sure something else will need attention sooner than later. Lemon laws in NC did not cover anything without a motor so I made lemonade out of lemons. FR added some sugar to the lemonade for us along the way but you have to talk really nice but firm and be way beyond patient to get to that point. As of right now we still love our fiver. As for your trailer, I highly recommend getting the second year warranty. See thedownload in our library. Best of luck to you.
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Old 08-23-2015, 11:58 PM   #18
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Yes...your problems are all too common. Having said that, it's time for all of us to start getting mad as hell about the lack of quality within the industry and start yelling at the manufacturers to do something about it, pronto. And when that doesn't work, let's stop buying these things and take up golf.
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Old 08-24-2015, 01:32 AM   #19
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Brycliff, that must have been upsetting to say the least....
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Old 08-24-2015, 06:38 AM   #20
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multiple problems new vechicle 2015 pop up

Hope this goes through to readers, my new 2015Rockwood popup, multiple areas of rust on trailer, long crack in plywood under bed, ill fitting door and windows that will not adjust up and down, also I have no idea how to post my own new question on this forum, I enjoy the responses. an earlier question about rust on new 2015 pop up trailer was lost, so please restate replies, much appreciated, I want this RV thing to be fun, not frustrating
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