Trailer is abysmal

[ScottJ-FRF]

I had a similar issue after we bought our TT. Dealership stated the 90 day warranty was up and were going to charge us for minor fixes that should have been covered. I emailed Forest River and they replied the next day, along with c.c.ing the dealer. All "warranty " issues went away and I got a free winterizing from the dealer. Keep at FR and I'm sure something will get done.

 

[Mandog]

We purchased an XLR Nitro 5th wheel TH this summer, and the trailer feels like a 20 year old camper. I have a list a mile long of some pretty significant issues including all the slide out seals and rubber are ripped, or cracking, aluminum skirt is warping in between the screws attaching it, the sink is corroding, the slide outs were wired backwards (fixed), the black/gray tank drains were hooked up backwards (fixed with a label maker), I suspect an issue with the gray 2 tank and gray 1 tank but have not narrowed it down. These are the few major issues and do not include a lot of other minor issues that are adding up.

I bought the camper from a dealership 4 hours away so going back every other weekend is not ideal and the local dealer 1.5 hrs away is incompetent to put it nicely (they took 2 months with the camper and have fixed nothing). I’ve called and emailed several people at Forest River and not received any help, and I’m wondering what options I have at this stage? Does anybody have experience with this? Where can I look for lemon law information? The camper has been in the shop more months than I’ve owned it and I’m obviously concerned that the minute the warranty expires the wheels are going to fall off! Any advice?

Billy in Amarillo TX

I’m so sorry your having this trouble. Unfortunately your not alone in this industry. I bought a 2020 Vibe 32bh and after the first trip the rear AC quit cooling. I am lucky to have a certified repair shop 20 miles from my house. I called and scheduled the visit after I checked it myself and narrowed it down to the thermostat or switch. I do all my repair work I can. I built my own house and am a welder fabricator and love mechanic work. Anyway they called forest river and I took my unit back home. A week later I heard nothing so I called. The run around began. Their lot was full so I was nothing to them I’m sure. I called them several times and kept getting told waiting on forest river. Well I got the number and I called forest river and selected the Warrenty Dept option. The gentleman told me they have nothing on my unit no claim. So I called the service place and they said oh why did you call forest river? It got real from there. So after 2-more trips and a month later it was fixed. A new control board was replaced.
My suggestion and others have said be the squeaky wheel. Keep good good records of the time and date you call. Forest river Warrenty guy was actually very good with me. My TV also went bad the coax connection was broken and that was mailed and I rehung that as well.
The simple fixes I call forest river and get the parts and fix myself. I wright all approved work down. I keep a service list and maintenance log on my trailer as that’s the first thing they will try is “well have you serviced the AC, recaulked the roof and so on.
Good luck.

 

[bikendan]

I called them several times and kept getting told waiting on forest river. Well I got the number and I called forest river and selected the Warrenty Dept option. The gentleman told me they have nothing on my unit no claim. So I called the service place and they said oh why did you call forest river? It got real from there. So after 2-more trips and a month later it was fixed. A new control board was replaced.
My suggestion and others have said be the squeaky wheel. Keep good good records of the time and date you call. Forest river Warrenty guy was actually very good with me.

Your story is quite common of Dealers blaming the manufacturers because it deflects the customer anger away from them since most customers won't contact the manufacturers.
I would say that dealers are the biggest cause of repair delays, than the manufacturers. Of course, this past year is an exception because of supply chain interruptions.

 

[ForHevensake]

Be lucky you live in Texas. I live in Alabama and the RV techs here didn’t go to tech school and that’s a huge problem but our biggest mistake was buying a Forest River in my opinion. I haven’t used half the stuff on my camper because it’s worn out, broke, or the layout is bad. Never used my heater because it smells really bad. Used my oven once using a long lighter and 10 minutes of smelly propane that set off the alarm. Then it burned my food. Not worth the hassle. I have an outside grill but I broke the on/off valve trying to turn it on. And a gust of wind made the compartment door fall on my back the first time and I thought it broke it. The second time I tried using the outside grill, I used pliers to turn on propane for the grill. And I stayed away from the hatch door. Then it fell again and broke my sliding out sink area and spilled my meat and marinate all over the inside of the compartment. Nasty mess to clean up. The walls had caulk spot stains all over them. The black and gray tank sensors never ever worked. I got food poisoning from my refrigerator not cooling. I’ve never been able to keep ice cream in freezer. My two closets on each side of my bed has so much dust coming out from the screwing and assembling I spent all day vacuuming it out and washing and drying it enough to use. Then I put my stuff by my bed and I can’t open my closet. Duh. So I put my off season clothes in it for storage. The heater vents come out at the bottom on the wall that blows dust from under my bed and they are just misplaced. My bathroom has been leaking since I got my camper. A year later I found a secret compartment under the vanity sink and the hot water hose was leaking behind the wall under my bathtub. Now my bathroom is falling off the end of the camper. I’ve got to put some bricks or a few jacks to try to pick the floor back up. It has a 6 inch slope starting at the bathroom door. My camper got broken into on the Camping World lot when I was there trying to get it repaired and it got vandalized and they didn’t want to get to fixing it for two months under warranty. They said warranty didn’t pay them enough so they would work it in after they get the cash repairs. I could go on and on and on but I think people reading this gets the picture. You better be a handyman who knows how to repair your RV or you will be at the mercy of idiots trying to rip you off. From my experience. If somebody wants to get rich, open an RV tech school in every state.

 

[capeharj]

Good Sam has a group that will act in your behalf. They are usually very successful.

 

[BehindBars]

Good Sam has a group that will act in your behalf. They are usually very successful.

Is there published data that shows Good Sam’s success rate? Most of what I saw in the magazines in the past were the stories that had happy endings. I always wondered how many cases got no positive results.