2019-2024 FR3 and Georgetown Propane tank bracket failure recall just issued

[NXR]

To the admins: I am duplicating this post in the FR3 section because this is a critical issue and I believe it belongs in both Owner sections. Your call, of course.

Potential Number of Units Affected 6,966

Summary
Forest River, Inc. (Forest River) is recalling certain 2019-2024 Georgetown and FR3 Class A motorhomes. The liquid petroleum gas (LPG) tank mounting brackets may break, which can result in the LPG tank becoming dislodged and damaged.

Recall notice link: https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/rcl/2024/RCLRPT-24V103-7106.PDF

There's not too much information on the actual repair process yet. While MORryde knows what they did to add reinforcement to new coaches, someone has to develop, test, and document the process to retrofit the reinforcements to all of the variations of existing motorhomes. That is not a process that can be rushed.

Note that dealers will NOT be notified until March 24, 2024 so your dealer will NOT have any idea what to do for a repair until then.

If you want to discuss this with your dealer you could email them the PDF I attached to this post. It has several pictures of actual failures people have experienced.

Remember, the number of reported failures is currently in the single-digits, like one-tenth of one percent so far. I'm sure that number will increase but this likely is a "Low probability-High impact" condition.

Note that the NHTSA and Forest River acted off of people who filed complaints with the NHTSA and Forest River. No one with a Georgetown or FR3 manufactured prior to March 2019 filed a complaint.

Does that mean none of the earlier ones are potentially affected? It is unlikely that the very first person to experience a problem really was the first person to have the condition AND reported it to the NHTSA.

Me, I'd be looking at the pics in this PDF and checking mine even if it is outside of the recall range. This is something an owner can do. You MUST clean the brackets and area and examine the brackets from the top and bottom using a bright flashlight. If you find a problem please file an NHTSA complaint. The recall can be expanded if necessary.

-----------------------------------

Thanks to everyone who filed an NHTSA complaint about their failures. Your action is helping to keep other Georgetown families safe.

You'll note that MORryde decided to improve the tank mounting as of December 11, 2023. That means FR definitely took this issue very seriously.

And especially thanks to Forest River for taking care of this issue despite the cost to FR.

 

[Cdefrees]

Ray,

What a great post! To your point, we have been working with MorRyde to come up with fix. What that exactly looks like yet is to be determined. I'm sure letters will be sent out to inform customers on the next step. Thanks again for your post! We are working hard for a fix

 

[NXR]

What a great post! To your point, we have been working with MorRyde to come up with fix. What that exactly looks like yet is to be determined. I'm sure letters will be sent out to inform customers on the next step. Thanks again for your post! We are working hard for a fix.

It's definitely sad but the fact that Forest River immediately jumped on the problem after the NHTSA complaints were filed is a great testament to me for how Forest River handles issues like this (per some dates in the NHTSA recall notice). Once again we realize we bought the correct motorhome.

No one screws up on purpose but everyone screws up. How the problem is handled is what's important to me.

Ray

 

[Jc4ut]

Less than 10 out of 7,000 failures

And this is over approximately 4 years? I highly doubt many are going to take the motor home to a dealership where it will sit for months starting in April.

At least wait till October when most camping is over would be my guess . I’ve already booked five months starting April and it’s not going to sit at the dealership and me sit at home. I like my odds.

Ok fire away Safety police.

Jimbo

 

[NXR]

Less than 10 out of 7,000 failures

That is not correct. Less than 10 people have formally reported having a failure. The failure rate was high enough that it triggered an NHTSA investigation and a re-evaluation and design change in the mounting to add more margin against a failure.

That's because the NHTSA knows that only a very small fraction of affected people will file a complaint and that only happens after they know they have a problem. The recent F53 V8 recall of almost 27,000 vehicles for the loose rear sway bar bolts and brackets was triggered after only 4 motorhome owner complaints.

I, too, "had no failure" until someone else posted a pic of their cracked bracket and then I found my crack, hidden behind a propane line. Two other owners found theirs the same way from the same owner pic.

No one knows how many undetected mounting defects exist just waiting to progress to a full failure. Once FR starts filing their quarterly reports with the NHTSA the true numbers will begin to emerge but unfortunately those reports do not say how many had an actual failure; just how many people had the recall accomplished.

At least wait till October when most camping is over would be my guess . I’ve already booked five months starting April and it’s not going to sit at the dealership and me sit at home. I like my odds.

This owner of a 2021 FR3 wishes they knew of the problem before their propane tank fell off on the highway, bounced around underneath, tore the driveshaft off, and exploded. Fortunately all five occupants got out: https://www.forestriverforums.com/f...ts-but-rear-this-time-271759.html#post2906981

Their 2021 model year motorhome burned up on June 6, 2023.

Ok fire away Safety police.

You can do or not do whatever you want but please do not denigrate people who are more concerned than you.

I retired as a firefighter/paramedic and I got to treat too many people who experienced serious burns. A fairly large percentage of the motor vehicle accidents I went on were not true "accidents" but behavior-induced. At least their negligence kept me employed but it did not work out as well for them.

Ray

 

[NXR]

The NHTSA has released two additional docs on the propane mounting bracket failures.

Notice to dealers: https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/rcl/2024/RCMN-24V103-9383.pdf

There seems to be a typo in that letter because it says the earliest model year is 2019 yet the recall covers Georgetown and FR3 models built from November 16, 2017 through December 14, 2023.

I'd be willing to bet that FR was not building 2019 model year motorhomes in late 2017 but maybe.

The Remedy Instructions and TSB (technical service bulletin): https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/rcl/2024/RCRIT-24V103-4903.pdf

But all it is is an inspection and how to submit photos. There are no repair instructions at all because FR will supply those on an individual basis.

They also spelled "perimeter" as "parameter" on page 2 but it did pass the spell check.

An open question is whether there should be weld on 100% of the two vertical and horizontal edges of each bracket. The document seems to indicate so but no one has posted a pic that was that way. Even the Forest River Motorized Division pic of a gusset-reinforced L bracket showed "stitch" welds in spots and not continuous welds.

Notably missing is any requirement to look for cracks on the propane tank mounts that are welded to the tank itself when the tank was manufactured. At least two people have had cracks in those.

But it's a start.

Ray

PS: The VIN Search for recalls does not yet show a recall for our VIN. That probably won't go active until the letters are actually mailed out.

 

[NXR]

Pics of the propane tank mounting "L" brackets for recall 24V-103 can now be uploaded to Forest River

There is a QR code in the Owner Notification Letter found here: https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/rcl/2024/RCONL-24V103-4277.pdf

And that QR code takes you to this web site to upload the photos: https://forestriverinc.com/campaign/24V103

There is a box to check if you think you may have problems.

Let the uploading begin!

Some people who uploaded pics in the last few days have already gotten a response from Forest River. When the recall letters get mailed out very soon their response time may slow and dealer delays may increase.

Beat the rush.

 

[NXR]

Folks, one item that seems to be missing from the inspection process is to check the tightness of the four attaching bolts and nuts.

The pic is of one person's 2023 Georgetown GT7.

A person with a 2021 FR3 forum looked at their brackets and found their front inside bolt was completely missing and the rear inside bolt was loose. A person with a 2023 Dynamax Europa Super C found one end of their tank hanging down because bolts bolts had fallen out even though they are not part of this recall. We found our two outside bolts needed tightening but were not yet "loose" while the two inside bolts were tight.

If you are doing your own inspection please take a look at the attaching bolts and nuts and try to tighten each one. Also consider adding a third bolt in the normally-unused center hole. Our bolts are 2 1/2" long with a 7/16" thread and Grade 5. I used a nylon locking nut with a flat washer on the top and bottom in each center hole. Those are easily available at any hardware store.

Some people seem to have had a wire run through that center hole, though.

If FR says your pics are fine but you did not check the bolt tightness you could still have a problem. Their directions do not specifically say to look at the brackets from underneath or attempt to tighten each bolt and that's probably just an oversight. A missing bolt is fairly obvious but a loose bolt may not be noticed visually.

FWIW,

Ray

 

[BehindBars]

Pics of the propane tank mounting "L" brackets for recall 24V-103 can now be uploaded to Forest River

There is a QR code in the Owner Notification Letter found here: https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/rcl/2024/RCONL-24V103-4277.pdf

And that QR code takes you to this web site to upload the photos: https://forestriverinc.com/campaign/24V103

There is a box to check if you think you may have problems.

Let the uploading begin! ��

Some people who uploaded pics in the last few days have already gotten a response from Forest River. When the recall letters get mailed out very soon their response time may slow and dealer delays may increase.

Beat the rush.

It’s sad how this is being handled. Forest River sold a product with a defect. They send out a letter assigning the inspection task to the owner.

Forest River essentially says, “WE screwed up, so now here is what YOU need to do. Once you perform the task we assigned you, then we will contact you”

 

[NXR]

It’s sad how this is being handled. Forest River sold a product with a defect. They send out a letter assigning the inspection task to the owner.

Forest River essentially says, “WE screwed up, so now here is what YOU need to do. Once you perform the task we assigned you, then we will contact you”

That is more than a little harsh to me. No, FR did not assign the inspection task to the owner. You may have misread the Owner Notification Letter.

The letter says an owner can do it themselves by taking pics and uploading photos or take it to a dealer. Either way FR does the actual inspection. From the first page of the letter:

If you are not comfortable with performing the inspection, you may take your vehicle to your dealer, and they will perform the inspection.

So if the owner wants, they can drive to the dealer once they get a service appointment. Then they can wait around for a tech to look at the brackets, take the pictures, and then upload them. Then the owner can drive back home, all while paying for the gas themselves and wait.

Or they can clean the brackets, take four pictures, and upload them and eliminate the dealer delays. People who have done that are reporting they get an email or a phone call within one business day, so far.

As for selling a product with a defect, everyone does that. I'm sure this one will go over the single-digit numbers already reported because you can't find a defect unless you look for it or have a failure.

No recall is good but trying to expedite the review process is a great way, to me, for FR to get a lot of data in a fairly short period of time to see if further actions are needed.

What kind of further actions? They could find that the problem is affecting only certain models or model years so they can reinforce the need with just those owners to get photos uploaded. At worst, they could find a significant percentage of brackets have some kind of defect and issue a voluntary "Stop Driving" order.

Without hard data everyone, including me and you, are just guessing and speculating.

FWIW,

Ray

 

[BehindBars]

That is more than a little harsh to me. No, FR did not assign the inspection task to the owner. You may have misread the Owner Notification Letter.

The letter says an owner can do it themselves by taking pics and uploading photos or take it to a dealer. Either way FR does the actual inspection. From the first page of the letter:

If you are not comfortable with performing the inspection, you may take your vehicle to your dealer, and they will perform the inspection.

So if the owner wants, they can drive to the dealer once they get a service appointment. Then they can wait around for a tech to look at the brackets, take the pictures, and then upload them. Then the owner can drive back home, all while paying for the gas themselves and wait.

Or they can clean the brackets, take four pictures, and upload them and eliminate the dealer delays. People who have done that are reporting they get an email or a phone call within one business day, so far.

As for selling a product with a defect, everyone does that. I'm sure this one will go over the single-digit numbers already reported because you can't find a defect unless you look for it or have a failure.

No recall is good but trying to expedite the review process is a great way, to me, for FR to get a lot of data in a fairly short period of time to see if further actions are needed.

What kind of further actions? They could find that the problem is affecting only certain models or model years so they can reinforce the need with just those owners to get photos uploaded. At worst, they could find a significant percentage of brackets have some kind of defect and issue a voluntary "Stop Driving" order.

Without hard data everyone, including me and you, are just guessing and speculating.

FWIW,

Ray

That’s my point. It’s bad either way. An owner can either use their personal time and do the inspection themselves and send in the information, or, as you say, “ So if the owner wants, they can drive to the dealer once they get a service appointment. Then they can wait around for a tech to look at the brackets, take the pictures, and then upload them. Then the owner can drive back home, all while paying for the gas themselves and wait”.

Both ways, the owner is being inconvenienced, and FR employees don’t appear to need to do much of anything but sit and wait for reports to come in. And even after all that, the RV still is not repaired. How about they get some instructions and/or kits put together. Express ship the kits or email instructions to the dealer of choice. You go there once, and it’s done. If the dealer didn’t need the hardware kit, then they can FedEx it back at FR’s expense. If this is a hot safety issue, then FR better be putting in some overtime.

I spent my career in the service business. I made many, many customer equipment modifications free of charge to correct potential safety defects. At no time did we ever ask a customer to inspect the equipment and report in while we sat in the office.

I have never gotten a car, boat, or motorcycle safety recall notice where I was asked to do an inspection of the machinery myself and report back to the manufacturer. This particular recall does not affect me, but I do own a Forest River product. Thus, this recall process is interesting.

 

[NXR]

I spent my career in the service business. I made many, many customer equipment modifications free of charge to correct potential safety defects.

As with all federal recalls, including this one, it will be free of charge to the owner. Even car dealers do not reimburse an owner for their gas or time traveling to the dealer and waiting.

At no time did we ever ask a customer to inspect the equipment and report in while we sat in the office.

I have never gotten a car, boat, or motorcycle safety recall notice where I was asked to do an inspection of the machinery myself and report back to the manufacturer.

You seem to want to ignore the fact that this is just an option being offered as well as ignore the fact that no one is being asked to "inspect" anything. If you owned a Georgetown you would not need to take the photos yourself.

I believe the NHTSA has to approve all notification and repair documents so if they are OK with this, so am I.

As for "while we sat in the office" there currently are almost 7,000 motorhomes across the USA and Canada in the recall and this repair involves a skill that many dealers will need to contract out, engaging a certified welder to perform the work properly the first time.

I imagine the work will look something like this but I really do not know:

- All battery negative cables will need to be disconnected and secured out of the way.

- The propane tank in various states of fill from empty to 19.5 actual gallons of propane will need safely disconnected and lowered out of the way, possibly with a jig the dealer will need to build once.

- The existing welded brackets will need cut off and the metal framing properly prepped for the new brackets.

- The new brackets will need to be loosely attached to the tank.

- The tank will need to be raised back into position with the proper alignment front to rear and side to side.

- The brackets will need clamped in place or tack welded. Then stitch welds or seam welds will be needed, whatever Forest River decides to do. Some welders might prefer to detach the tank from the brackets and lower the tank prior to doing any welding.

- The propane system will need to be reconnected and tested.

- All battery negative cables will need to be reattached and things tested.

- Times up to 7,000 motorhomes at about 1/2 of a work day per motorhome.


I don't know about you but I might not trust my RV dealer with that type of work. In any event, while they are still a Forest River dealer they are no longer a Georgetown dealer. So I'm not sure of the proper way to approach this repair to assure that the fix does not turn out to be worse than the problem due to the use of under-qualified people.

A few people already decided to engage a local welder to fix cracks and wow, I think some made the problem worse.

It will be interesting for sure.

Ray

 

[Phila. Kid]

That picture is from my 2023 GT7 36k7, the bolt is tight the, angle brace which supports the inboard front side of the bracket is interfering with the bolt being tightened any further. The good news is the dealer has the recall parts from FR and I am getting the fix on Friday. FR called me last Thursday and said contact the dealer the pics I had them submit on Wednsday were reviewed and approved for the recall. FR is doing great job in getting on top of this issue to the point they overnighted the parts to the dealer.

 

[NXR]

Propane tank mounting recall: Actual repair procedure released

https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/rcl/2024/RCRIT-24V103-9509.pdf

The interesting part is that the new brackets will no longer be welded on. The existing brackets have the horizontal section cut off and the new bracket is placed over the remaining vertical part and bolted in place with 1/2" bolts.

However, there is nothing in the TSB about checking to assure that the factory brackets were properly placed. On ours, the factory brackets were welded in place too far inward and part of the propane tank hits on other support structure.

That means the bolts cannot draw the tank up flat against the bracket horizontal section.The light shining through in the one pic is due to the tank misalignment because the bolts are tight. In addition, tightening the tank mounting bolts when the tank is not flush against the bracket means the tank mounting flange may be put under stress or even bent. Or maybe this is completely irrelevant; I don't know.

If yours is the same way, be certain to ask your dealer about realigning the tank. Have them check with Forest River before actually doing anything different, of course.

Ray

 

[Phila. Kid]

I will be having the repair done in the morning, I am taking the coach in for the recall repair. The dealer pointed the fact there is space between the tank mount and the RV mounting plate caused by the 45 degree brace. I will be taking pics of the repair as I will be waiting for it. I will get back with the update probably on Saturday.

 

[Phila. Kid]

Georgetown propane mount recall.

I had the recall completed today on my 2023 GT7 36K7. It took 4 hrs. 1. The old bracket gets cut off at the bend of the L. 2.The edge get ground smooth 3. The new bracket is used as a template, to drill two holes for 1/2" bolts thru the old brackets and the supporting frame. The new brackets are bolted in and the tank rehung from the new bracket. It was only a total of 8 days from submission to FR to the dealer completing the work. I was fortunate to have the dealer slot me in within a week.


THe issue I had with the front tank mount has actually gotten wore than it was before. The gap between the coach mount and the propane tank mount is now at 3/16" vs the smaller gap it had before. The location of the tank bracket should had bee more outboard of the existing location to miss the gusset bracket used to support the coach front cantilever support. This appears to have curved the propane tank supplied mount see picture.


The bolts are all tight and there is no movement as I tried to move the tank by hand. I have heard there are several others that have this same condition.

 

[2k05GT]

Just got mine in the mail

I did not clean the area yet as stated in the letter, i will when I get better access.

 

[Rixthe1]

My propane tank, is bolted through the 1-1/2 inch square tubing, with no L thin mild steel angle iron bracket. From the photos I have seen, perhaps the tank is too short, and someone decided to add the angle iron.

 

[NXR]

My propane tank, is bolted through the 1-1/2 inch square tubing, with no L thin mild steel angle iron bracket. From the photos I have seen, perhaps the tank is too short, and someone decided to add the angle iron.

Since we both have the same model year and exact same model would you please post some pictures?

From pics that FR has posted on their FB page of brand new chassis those L brackets are still there.

Ray

 

[Rixthe1]

Georgetown pix

Ray,
I hope the photos help you, in jpg 7681, the 1-1/2 inch tubing was used to create the front mount. They added gussets, for strength. I have another idea, F53, frames flex while bouncing down the highway, if the propane tank and it's mount, do not flex, something is going to break. That is why motor mounts have a rubber insulator in them. The jpegs, seem to have rotated, during upload.