2025 Dynamax Isata 3 Finally Home, 14 Week Quality and Service Nightmare

Randall Jay

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We purchased our 2025 Dynamax Isata 3 RW on September 5th.

I am on this site trying to keep my sanity while we struggle with getting all the problems fixed:
•Leaking propane tank... lost 7% a day. Dangerous. Waiting for replacement.
•Refrigerator... does not cool. Waiting for replacement.
•2x ReLion RB100-LT batteries... one DOA, one 50% capacity. Waiting for replacement.
•Solar charge controller... was never connected to panels. Fixed by me.
•Water leak... missing connector crimp. Temp fix by me.
•Missing trim, missing screws, screw driver marks everywhere, garbage and crap hidden behind every wall and access panel... priceless.

Nobody at Forest River seems to be alarmed or surprised, sadly. The words "escalated", "being discussed" and "expedited" have been misused and are now dead to me.

So yeah, we are anxious to get to use it. But there is no end in sight. Hoping to someday change the avatar and our nickname to something different than "The Garbage Truck".

We regret trading in our Winnebago View that was awesome for 14 years. Quality build and awesome service.

Sorry to be a downer, just telling it like it is.

On the bright side:
The Mercedes Sprinter chassis is incredible. Handles like a dream, gets great mileage (16mpg). Will take a while to get used to 9 speeds as it shifts surprisingly often to keep the RPMs in the sweet spot.
 
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Moved thread from the Welcome Mat section to the Motorhome section's Dynamax sub-forum since the OP's post is strictly about issues with their Dynamax and not an introduction post.
Also for better help from other Dynamax owners and possible factory support.

OP, have you contacted Dynamax directly? You do know that it's a separate division.
 
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What you describe is really awful. All I can say is hang in there. My wife and I bought a used 2021 ISATA3 at the beginning of the year and the few negative things I can say about the motorhome are way overridden by the wonderful places around Northern California that we've now visited. I've done all repairs and modifications myself with the help of all the great people on this Forum. Tom & Becky

p.s. We're in the Bay Area and have a 24RW as well.
 
I purchased a 2024 Isata 3 24FWSFX Freedom Edition back in May. While there were some minor issues, nothing to the level of what you described.... and not to the level of some other recent owners as well.

I previously owned a Thor Super C and a Thor Class C before this coach and what you described was closer to what I and other owners experienced with Thor products.

Nothing's perfect in this world and I tend to subscribe to the 80 / 20 rule where in this case your coach fell to the 20% where there are more issues than there should be and it is not a true reflection on Dynamax Quality. The GM of Dynamax (Brian Clemens) is also emphatic that every coach and its systems are fully tested before it leaves and any issues identified get documented and corrected before it leaves the factory. That being said..... stuff happens and can fail or break on the drive to the dealer.

I recently had an Inverter / Charger fail and the TST TMPS Display fail but that is no the fault of Dynamax. They didn't make those components. Same can be said with your fridge, the LiFePO4 batteries or the propane tank.

Now leaks, trim issues and not cleaning the coach of construction debris is less forgivable. Although I was finding construction debris, screws, trash and even a tool in my Thor products a year after purchasing them as I would perform my own repairs and upgrades throughout both rigs.

As was previously mentioned, you should contact Dynamax directly. One thing I like about Dynamax they publish the contact info for key people and departments on their website. The GM also visits this site almost every day and provides information and assistance to resolve issues. I find their customer service and communication to be excellent. I would start by contacting the Regional Sales Manager for your area..... which is Michael Wagner for the Western US.

I would also contact Dynamax Service to see if the dealer has ordered all of the replacement parts and what the status is on getting those parts shipped to the dealer. I know from past experience that all dealers are not created equal. Sometimes dealers don't submit warranty claims and order parts as quickly as they should.
 

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We purchased our 2025 Dynamax Isata 3 RW on September 5th.

I am on this site trying to keep my sanity while we struggle with getting all the problems fixed:
•Leaking propane tank... lost 7% a day. Dangerous. Waiting for replacement.
•Refrigerator... does not cool. Waiting for replacement.
•2x ReLion RB100-LT batteries... one DOA, one 50% capacity. Waiting for replacement.
•Solar charge controller... was never connected to panels. Fixed by me.
•Water leak... missing connector crimp. Temp fix by me.
•Missing trim, missing screws, screw driver marks everywhere, garbage and crap hidden behind every wall and access panel... priceless.

Nobody at Forest River seems to be alarmed or surprised, sadly. The words "escalated", "being discussed" and "expedited" have been misused and are now dead to me.

So yeah, we are anxious to get to use it. But there is no end in sight. Hoping to someday change the avatar and our nickname to something different than "The Garbage Truck".

We regret trading in our Winnebago View that was awesome for 14 years. Quality build and awesome service.

Sorry to be a downer, just telling it like it is.

On the bright side:
The Mercedes Sprinter chassis is incredible. Handles like a dream, gets great mileage (16mpg). Will take a while to get used to 9 speeds as it shifts surprisingly often to keep the RPMs in the sweet spot.

What is the last (6) of the VIN? Who is the servicing dealer?

In my 20 years, I think I have seen one actual tank leak. In most cases it was the regulator or connection. Are you smelling LP? Can you hear it coming out or are you basing this on "level"?

ReLion batteries have been pretty bullet proof. The only issue I have seen is when on a dealers lot, they are allowed to drain completely. They go into recovery mode and they don't always come out. I know there was one recently I heard about and ReLion is on a hold (from ReLion). I personally authorized Expions to be shipped in their place. Not sure if this is the same issue. WE do not have a license ot ship lithoum, but Expion does. When I heard of this issue, I got with the them "same day" and they were shipping (2) batteries from their Oregon warehouse.

I'm not sure who you have spoken wiht at Forest River...we are a very big company, but I am the GM of Dynamax, as well as Forest River Motorized and I am on here literally every day....365 days a year.

90% of the battle is getting to the right person, and sometimes the OEM gets blamed for things that are not true and just used as excuses. I can easily see what is what.
 
^^^ THIS!!!!!


When I decided to downsize and switch manufacturers Brian Clemens and his hands-on approach and dedication to customer service is why I selected Dynamax.

I looked at Tiffin, Renegade, Leisure and Airstream. They were all higher-end manufacturers and yet they all had their challenges as well. Brian and his activity on this forum was the key differentiator.

I was in sales and customer service for 30 years. We made good solutions but so did our competitors. What made me different was I told customers we won’t always be perfect and will make mistakes sometimes…. but also customers are not always right in their assesments as well. But if a customer steps on a legitimate landmine, I’d be there to make sure we resolved the issue properly:

Brian takes a similar approach and that was what I needed to move forward with Dynamax.
 
When we bought our 2022 rw I was so upset with the quality of work. I had several pages of problems that needed fixed. I cried on Bryan's shoulder for a while then got busy either fixing the problems myself or getting the dealer to do it. This last spring we went on an 8000 mile trip around and through the country and I can honestly say other than tightening a few screws we had not a single problem. Hope it works out for you.
 
What is the last (6) of the VIN? Who is the servicing dealer?

...<snip/>

Vin last 6: 677345 (sent out so many times its no longer a secret)
Dealer is Manteca RV and Trailer (Jose)

Propane smell everywhere (possibly also ammonia from fridge and lots of outgassing from everything being brand new). We turned the tank valve off but were still seeing 5-7% drop on the display inside.

I am probably the squeaky wheel regarding ReLion batteries. I was part of the email chain when ReLion actually mentioned "quality hold". I was quickly taken off that as more was revealed than a customer should see.
That battery conversation started Sept 6, day 2 of ownership after waking up at 4am to BMV and refrigerator low voltage alarms.

Last Friday(Oct 25) I drove to Manteca at 6am to exchange the ReLions for the Expion360s. It was quite a ways from where i needed to go but I was desperate for any progress i could make getting these batteries installed myself.
The Expion360s look mighty nice. Hope to look at them today. Bluetooth should be very handy. I am hopeful these will be good.

I was begging for Victron batteries to match the stock Victron BMV712 and Victron MPPT 150/70 that i had installed. That would have been a sweet trio.

Who have i spoken with? Actually "spoken", nobody. Nobody EVER answers a phone or returns a call. Bradley has been my primary responder but oddly he admitted it was not his role as he is in sales. So its completely dysfunctional and nothing seems to makes sense for a customer "service" center.

Bradley, Bryan, Ashley, Danielle, Carla, Dynamax-Service all CC'd on most of the email threads.

Thank you for responding. I am wondering if i had found this forum 50 days ago if it would have changed anything... (mostly joking)

Everybody there has my phone number, email address and likely some well deserved nicknames for me. Feel free to contact me directly, i'd love to make both of our situations better.
 
Propane smell everywhere (possibly also ammonia from fridge and lots of outgassing from everything being brand new). We turned the tank valve off but were still seeing 5-7% drop on the display inside.

Based on the 2024 and 2025 Brochures, Dynamax is now using 12V compressor fridges in all Isata 3's like the one I have in my '24 Isata 3 Freedom Edition. That fridge would not use ammonia as a refrigerant so you must be smelling something else.... possibly the propane.

Have you tried spraying soapy water over the tank to see what is leaking? I'm assuming the bleeder valve has been checked but it would be interesting to see where it is leaking because it is rare for a tank to leak.


Brian can confirm I'm correct on the fridge. I have been very happy with my Norcold 12v Compressor Fridge. I just turned it on this morning to get ready for a trip tomorrow and it was cold in a couple hours.... and I'm in southwest Florida where it is in the mid-80's.
 
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Judge64
Yes i can confirm it is a 12V compressor. And yes, "ammonia" (NH3) is the wrong word, likely Dichlorodofloromethane (CCl2F2). So the presence of propane with a possible refrigerator coolant leak with chlorine and florine would likely smell different than a familiar propane smell (we use propane quite a bit). Possibly plastic outgassing too.
In hindsight, it was probably foolish to start the engine and drive.

Regarding finding a leak, if it leaks >5% a day with tank valve off its not something i want to mess with. I have more pipe wrenches than a sane person would have and even a few rolls of gas line PTFE so would have easily/gladly fixed a loose fitting myself.

The gas leak and water leak should have been detected as part of every installation pressure test. Any basic QA test would have detected both.

Thanks for your input!
 
I know that Manteca Trailer makes you pay extra if you want to have an inspector go through your motorhome for you when you buy it (ask me how I know), but I'm curious if these failures were things that were overlooked during delivery or you found right off the bat at the dealer or if they developed over the first few days/weeks of use? Tom.
 
Vin last 6: 677345 (sent out so many times its no longer a secret)
Dealer is Manteca RV and Trailer (Jose)

Propane smell everywhere (possibly also ammonia from fridge and lots of outgassing from everything being brand new). We turned the tank valve off but were still seeing 5-7% drop on the display inside.

I am probably the squeaky wheel regarding ReLion batteries. I was part of the email chain when ReLion actually mentioned "quality hold". I was quickly taken off that as more was revealed than a customer should see.
That battery conversation started Sept 6, day 2 of ownership after waking up at 4am to BMV and refrigerator low voltage alarms.

Last Friday(Oct 25) I drove to Manteca at 6am to exchange the ReLions for the Expion360s. It was quite a ways from where i needed to go but I was desperate for any progress i could make getting these batteries installed myself.
The Expion360s look mighty nice. Hope to look at them today. Bluetooth should be very handy. I am hopeful these will be good.

I was begging for Victron batteries to match the stock Victron BMV712 and Victron MPPT 150/70 that i had installed. That would have been a sweet trio.

Who have i spoken with? Actually "spoken", nobody. Nobody EVER answers a phone or returns a call. Bradley has been my primary responder but oddly he admitted it was not his role as he is in sales. So its completely dysfunctional and nothing seems to makes sense for a customer "service" center.

Bradley, Bryan, Ashley, Danielle, Carla, Dynamax-Service all CC'd on most of the email threads.

Thank you for responding. I am wondering if i had found this forum 50 days ago if it would have changed anything... (mostly joking)

Everybody there has my phone number, email address and likely some well deserved nicknames for me. Feel free to contact me directly, i'd love to make both of our situations better.

Batteries: We can only use products that we have tested ourselves at our corporate testing facilities. Expions are on that list. Victron's are not. Also, many batteries are just branded and built by other people.

Bradley is not in sales...so I think there was some misunderstanding there. In fact he would be your primary rep, unless your registration address is different than purchasing dealer (MHS) or servicing dealer (Manteca). He handles the south, including CA and TX.

I'll figure out where we stand and see what this email chain was all about.
 
FYI..... I worked have worked with Bradley and he is in Customer Service. I have had several email exchanges with him and he has always been very responsive.
 
Judge64
Yes i can confirm it is a 12V compressor. And yes, "ammonia" (NH3) is the wrong word, likely Dichlorodofloromethane (CCl2F2). So the presence of propane with a possible refrigerator coolant leak with chlorine and florine would likely smell different than a familiar propane smell (we use propane quite a bit). Possibly plastic outgassing too.
In hindsight, it was probably foolish to start the engine and drive.

Regarding finding a leak, if it leaks >5% a day with tank valve off its not something i want to mess with. I have more pipe wrenches than a sane person would have and even a few rolls of gas line PTFE so would have easily/gladly fixed a loose fitting myself.

The gas leak and water leak should have been detected as part of every installation pressure test. Any basic QA test would have detected both.

Thanks for your input!

One of the key features of this Forum is about helping each other.... and getting help from the OEM. I find the owners and Dynamax on this Forum to be very helpful 95% of the time.


I'm the curious type so I tend to want to know what the root cause of an issue happens to be. I'm also very mechanically inclined and will often tackle something myself based on cost and complexity.

I had a coach and we were sitting outside and started smelling propane after we got to a campground. I mixed up some soapy water and found that the regulator on the tank started leaking. I went to a nearby Tractor Supply and purchased a new one and installed it. Then I contacted Thor Motrorcoach and they shipped me one under warranty that I kept as a spare.

But I understand not everyone is wired the same way.


I am also going to piggyback off tewasch questions........

I don't know if this is your first motorhome or your tenth. Based on your profile you are new to Dynamax and Forest River at the very least.

Did you do a PDI before purchasing the coach?

Attached is the PDI Check-List that I created specifically for the Isata 3 Freedom Edition I wanted to buy. It took my wife and I about 6 hours to complete the check-list. We found a few issues and showed them to the dealer. The dealer said they would get them fixed and we returned a month later, went through the check-list again more quickly this time and then purchased the coach.

If this is your first motorhome, lesson one is you can't compare the quality and durability of a motorhome to a car. Its apples vs oranges. On top of that no one or no thing is perfect in this world. A PDI is required before taking ownership and you can't rely on the dealer to check everything to make sure it is working properly.... even if they charge you a $1000 Dealer Prep Fee (which I make them remove before I ever buy from them because they don't provide $1000 in value in most cases).

These things are a giant box turned into a house that shakes, rattle and rolls down the highway. A PDI done by yourself or an experienced RV Inspector is paramount before signing on the dotted line. Many of us Isata 3 owners found issues during our PDI and they were corrected before purchase. In some cases prospective owners just walked away.



Using the propane leak as the next topic.... I would be shocked if it wasn't leak tested in Elkart just because of safety and liability issues. However, your coach had to travel 2200 miles from Indiana to California.... and stuff can happen along the way. I have traveled those roads in a motorhome. In fact the I-70 war zone in Colorado caused the front cap mount in a Super C that I once owned to separate after the manufacturer had already repaired it once before.... but that's another story.

Perhaps a weld was compromised from the tank manufacturer and rough roads caused it to fail? Or a piece of road debris nicked the tank and it started a leak? It wouldn't be the first time something like that happened. If it was me, I would want to know. If it is a leaking weld / seam or valve, I would let the dealer or Dynamax handle it under warranty.


In terms of the fridge..... my wife was responsible for the Kitchen subsection of my PDI Check-List. We brought a digital thermometer with us and she turned on the fridge and freezer right away and checked the temperatures two hours later to make sure it was working properly.

Perhaps you did something similar and the fridge failed on the drive home. That would be unfortunate but sometimes a bad component sneaks in and stuff like that can happen. It happened to my Inverter / Charger recently but I found a dealer and it got replaced in less than 2 weeks... and that was in the middle of Hurricane Milton.


I do feel your pain. RV's aren't cheap and they are often a major investment for folks. You expect that when you spend a lot of money the product itself, quality and workmanship will be commensurate with the money spent. The reality is in the RV world is different in these terms when compared to spending a lot of money to buy a car or even a house for that matter.

This is my third motorhome and I can say my Isata 3 has been the best in terms of quality and workmanship. I did have some issues addressed after the purchase and I opted to take it to Dynamax to have their Service Dept handle the issues...... because I find the OEM typically does a better job than most dealers because know their product inside and out.
 

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I also noticed that you had a Victron solar controller installed. Were there any other items installed by someone after market? It is helpful to know that so we can verify that installation and make sure they installed all of our stuff back as it should be. Charge line for batteries is one of those things we see get left off.
 
In summary, it appears any claims or parts that were needed, we have approved, authorized, shipped, on our end. The fridge, is being handed with Norcold directly, they do have a process for that, but they are normally pretty good. It is in the dealers hands at this time, we have expedited anything we have been asked for. The batteries did take longer than it should as we were not fully aware of the ReLion shipment hold. Once we were, we expedited alternative replacements.

Below is summary of what I saw on the email chain just for full transparency. I summarized for length.

09/23/24: Customer reached out via "general contact us" form informing us of a battery issue and, failure to get it resolved via ReLion.
09/23/24: Initial response from Dynamax, Bradley given as your primary contact for service
09/23/24: Brad reached out to help troubleshoot (seems like we initially assumed a Xantrex system)
09/24/24: You sent documents to confirm what the vehicle was
09/25/24: We sent email to ReLion to try and expedite batteries, CC'd you
09/25/24: We were informed that the batteries were on ship hold, they offered (2) without heat as an option that could ship immediately. I saw no response on this suggestion.
10/07/24: You reached out for an update on the batteries and informed us of an issue on the fridge cooling
10/07/24: We responded and removed Navico/ReLion, since the fridge did not pertain to them, also said best bet was to get to a dealer. We offered to help source one.
10/07/24: You responded with zip code
10/07/24: We gave a list of dealers close by
10/08/24: You inquired about the process of dealer service
10/08/24: Brad was out of office, so the service manager replied, letting you know the dealer can handle everything and work direclty with us
10/08/24: You checked at several dealers and said the first appointment was Jan-Feb
10/09/24: We responded that some places are way out due to the holidays and this is normal. (We should have done more here to find another option)
10/10/24: You email saying you had found similar fridge issues, asked if you should file a claim with Norcold. Also since you bought from Blue Compass in TX, could they get Manteca to service it
10/10/24: We respond, Filing with Norcold would be a smart idea. We agree Blue Compass would be fine for service
10/15/24: You let us know it had an appointment on Thursday and asked about expediting various items
10/15/24: You sent another email via "general contact us" online form, summarizing what we had already been communicating on.
10/16/24: Form respose, noting that Brad is your primary contact
10/16/24: We respond to let you know we were looking to replace them with Expion, since the ReLions could not be shipped (PS. Battleborns do not fit where the ReLions are located) We would expedite what we could
10/16/24: We emailed again to let you know the Expions would be a direct swap
10/16/24: You emailed saying you had never heard of Expion, And asked if we are risking lives to save a few dollars
10/16/24: We responded letting you know the Batteborns do not fit in that spot
10/23/24: Brad emailed that he was checking on the status of your claims. We show all of them authorized on our end. We would check on batteries
10/24/24: You ask what is holding things up. Dealer requested parts Oct 15th. "is anybody smart enough to have the parts sent to the dealer"
10/24/24: Brad emailed to say we ordered the batteries 10/17. We asked for tracking number.
10/24/24: Brad emailed again to say the batteries had already delivered Tuesday the 22nd
10/24/24: You email confused why you got Brad (since he does not handle the claim side) Asking why you are dealing with Brad and not the dealer contact person.
10/24/24: Brad replies explaining that Danielle handles dealer interaction (processing claims, etc) and that Brad handles retail customer interaction

As a side note, just because Brad handles retail and Danielle handles dealers, they both have access to the same information.
 
I also noticed that you had a Victron solar controller installed. Were there any other items installed by someone after market? It is helpful to know that so we can verify that installation and make sure they installed all of our stuff back as it should be. Charge line for batteries is one of those things we see get left off.

This is a bit condescending given that the GoPower solar charge controller wasn't even wired to the solar panels at Dynamax. How does this get past a careless installer and someone doing QA, (hopefully) expecting numbers other than 0.0 from the solar panel?

Thanks for the corrected vin, not sure what happened. My apologies!

Regarding Bradley and my mention that he is in sales, i see the error my thinking; i saw the word "retail" (he said "retail rep") and i assumed that meant "retail sales". Sorry for this, i stand corrected and educated.

His responsiveness is sporadic at best. And given that all these replacement parts are in a nearby warehouse, its dumbfounding how this takes over 7 weeks (and counting!). Lots of escalations, lots of discussions and lots of expediting but actually moving parts from a nearby warehouse (his words) to the dealer is elusive. Its maddening. Its mind-boggling.
 
Nearby warehouse was simply for the batteries and "nearby" is relative. Expion has a warehouse in Oregon. Once we confirmed they would be a direct replacement and that they had them in stock, they were at the dealer in 3 days.

What took all the time, was ReLion. They were not forthcoming in their process to let us know that they could not ship batteries out. Once that was confirmed, we could very quickly move on to other options, which is what we did.
 
This is a bit condescending given that the GoPower solar charge controller wasn't even wired to the solar panels at Dynamax. How does this get past a careless installer and someone doing QA, (hopefully) expecting numbers other than 0.0 from the solar panel?

I'm not sure how or why this would be condescending. We document everything we can and the more information the better. If down the road, it is in for service and a dealer orders a solar controller replacement for a warranty item...we would send our stock solar controller and we would be wasting all of our time. We do use Victron controllers when the solar justifies it. A single panel does not take advantage of an MPPT controller, so we use PWM. On multi-panel applications, we use Victron MPPT....so I assume that when you upgraded the solar, that you added panels. All of this information is helpful for us to know what to look for.
 

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