Forest River Quality?
I am looking for input on this manufacturer. i am interested in the Wildwood DLX 400RETS. are they well constructed, insulated and built to last? Any know issues with this manufacturer? Any advice ...
Forum Discussion
If they had a quality control program in place, most of the errors and poor quality issues would not happen. Checks and balances in the contruction process are missing. A QC process does not cost more in the end, and in fact saves money overall and can lead to a lower cost product. The ISO 9000 series QC is widely recognized and used.
http://www.iso.org/iso/home/standards/management-standards/iso_9000.htm
Lippert claims to have a quality control program. They don't say what it is. Problem is, a component can be under-designed initially to save money, and it can be built by the thousands all to the same quality so it doesn't necessarily mean that the end product is built to a suitable design standard.
If you search for "quality control" on the FR forum, you will find endless posts on all sorts of terrible and ridiculous construction problems. Part of the problem is that they hire low paid and unskilled, low skilled, or untrained workers and they bang RVs out day in day out with a total lack of quality inspections. Another problem is a lack of detailed design drawings to follow and lack of design standards that must be met (SAE, ANSI, CSA, etc.)
A few samplings from the Forest River forums:
http://www.forestriverforums.com/forums/f30/wildwood-le-39bhss-sloppy-factory-shower-install-job-1903.html
http://www.forestriverforums.com/forums/f96/solaire-issues-41147.html
http://www.forestriverforums.com/forums/f29/many-problems-312-bhx-27079.html
IMO there is NO excuse in today's manufacturing world for the high level of defects and problems with RVs.
As an engineer, and one who has done lots of complex residential projects over the years and done things like restored vintage cars, I HATE******stuff that is foisted on you. There is only one way to build anything, and that is the right way.
We just bought a brand new TT and are having to deal with a seriously under-designed frame with extreme flex that should never have gotten onto the trailer in the first place. We were very fortunate to have found this out the day after we bought it. You could call it the mother of all defects. Luckily, the manufacturer is going to take care of it for us. The defect is great enough to prevent it's use and could have led to a catastrophic failure while driving if not dealt with. So please don't tell me that defects are okay and are to be expected...
http://www.iso.org/iso/home/standards/management-standards/iso_9000.htm
Lippert claims to have a quality control program. They don't say what it is. Problem is, a component can be under-designed initially to save money, and it can be built by the thousands all to the same quality so it doesn't necessarily mean that the end product is built to a suitable design standard.
If you search for "quality control" on the FR forum, you will find endless posts on all sorts of terrible and ridiculous construction problems. Part of the problem is that they hire low paid and unskilled, low skilled, or untrained workers and they bang RVs out day in day out with a total lack of quality inspections. Another problem is a lack of detailed design drawings to follow and lack of design standards that must be met (SAE, ANSI, CSA, etc.)
A few samplings from the Forest River forums:
http://www.forestriverforums.com/forums/f30/wildwood-le-39bhss-sloppy-factory-shower-install-job-1903.html
http://www.forestriverforums.com/forums/f96/solaire-issues-41147.html
http://www.forestriverforums.com/forums/f29/many-problems-312-bhx-27079.html
IMO there is NO excuse in today's manufacturing world for the high level of defects and problems with RVs.
As an engineer, and one who has done lots of complex residential projects over the years and done things like restored vintage cars, I HATE******stuff that is foisted on you. There is only one way to build anything, and that is the right way.
We just bought a brand new TT and are having to deal with a seriously under-designed frame with extreme flex that should never have gotten onto the trailer in the first place. We were very fortunate to have found this out the day after we bought it. You could call it the mother of all defects. Luckily, the manufacturer is going to take care of it for us. The defect is great enough to prevent it's use and could have led to a catastrophic failure while driving if not dealt with. So please don't tell me that defects are okay and are to be expected...
