Buying a new Forest river toy hauler

do a search for forest river issues.
bumpy

X2 theres been a lot of not so good post a FR.

I have a Forest River product, A Rockwood Hybrid. IMO your chances of getting handed a poorly built unit run about 50/50, and from what I have found unless you have a great dealer who will go to bat for you, you can forget about any help after the fact from Forest River and their divisions. You will however get lots of lip service if you're ever able to get in touch with anyone.

I am a glutton for punishment as we had a Palomino popup a few years back, that literally fell apart sitting still during the first year of ownership. When we unloaded that POS I said never again, but turned around and purchased this 17 Rockwood, which was an experience in itself. I will say never again, again, and tell others to steer away from Forest River. I don't know whats out there in Toy Haulers that may be any better. Maybe look at Grand Design Momentums? They may not be built any better, but at least Grand Design seems to shine on service and support. You will not get that with Forest River.

If you happen to be looking for opinions at the brand specific Forest River Forums take them with a grain of salt. Negative posts and posts about issues have been known to magically disappear for whatever reason on that rag.

I'll go against the flow and say that I love my FR Shockwave. I bought it brand new, last one on the lot, for a steal of a price. I never had to return for warranty items.

Issues to date after 7+yrs ownership...
2-3mo after I bought it I lost a tire going down the road because of a rotted valve stem. I replaced all of them and the tire on my dime.
One of the drawer slide mounts in the kitchen busted because a little plastic piece broke that supported the rail. Bought new plastic piece.
Aligned a couple cabinet doors over time.
Replaced the 30A receptacle on the trailer (and on the shore cord) because of a weak connection.
Fresh water cross support bolt (self-tapping) busted that I found during inspection. Replaced with bolt/nut.
Replaced the rubber seal/weatherstripping on the ramp.

With my previous job I used my trailer numerous times for a place to stay, one time being 26mo straight. That's pretty much daily use of all of the appliances and hardware (doors, drawers, faucets, ect). Experienced from over 110* down to -20*. Hauled as much as an 800lb street bike, or hauled multiple dirt bikes for long weekends with friends at Moab. Everything still works as it should.

Just inspect everything closely. Look underneath and behind everything you can get to for shoddy work. My inlaws got a 'brand new' Winnebago One 30RE that hadn't sold, and they've had more problems in the last 6mo than I've ever had.

boogie_4wheel wrote:
I'll go against the flow and say that I love my FR Shockwave. I bought it brand new, last one on the lot, for a steal of a price. I never had to return for warranty items.

That's good but a unit built in 2009 or 2010 is not a unit built in 15/16/17 when they are enjoying record sales and can not push them out the door fast enough. Back then Lippert did not have as large a hand in the kitty, only the best workers were retained from the recession and slowdown, and sales were 50% of 06/07/08 and 14/15/16.

No one ever takes that into consideration.

Ralph Cramden wrote:

boogie_4wheel wrote:
I'll go against the flow and say that I love my FR Shockwave. I bought it brand new, last one on the lot, for a steal of a price. I never had to return for warranty items.

That's good but a unit built in 2009 or 2010 is not a unit built in 15/16/17 when they are enjoying record sales and can not push them out the door fast enough. Back then Lippert did not have as large a hand in the kitty, only the best workers were retained from the recession and slowdown, and sales were 50% of 06/07/08 and 14/15/16.

No one ever takes that into consideration.

Agree 100%. Current production practices are totally different than units built pre 2015. I do not have an FR product and own a 2013 Eclipse Attitude. Mine has been real good with no major issues.

I'm happy with my 2017 FR. YMMV

I updated from the 2013 Shockwave 21 bumper pull to the fifth wheel in my signature (same as Shockwave just called a stealth). I do agree that the newer forest River products definitely don't have the same quality as the older ones. Don't let that deter you, in that, in my research, all the brands in that price range have the exact same issues. Pick the floor plan you like and colors and such and ensure you do a good PDI before you take delivery. In most states, FR allows you to pay $250 for a second year is warranty.

I would consider a fifth wheel tho. Moving from the 21 Shockwave to my fifth wheel, mileage is about the same and the total length is about the same. But you get 9 feet now interior room. You have a 3/4 ton so if check on weights, just throwing out that you should consider it.

I want to thank you for your comments, I have one more dealer to look at, a Jayco dealer. The Jayco dealer offers a 3 year warranty on their units. Thanks again.

You might also check the Impact toy haulers as Keystone seems to be running pretty good at the moment. They also offer a 2 or 3 yr warranty on models manuf after 11/17.