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TheLostOne's avatar
TheLostOne
Explorer
Jun 10, 2013

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 you care to share or any suggestions on a trailer of better quality while staying under 40,000.

19 Replies

  • I'm with the last poster. Our previous TT was a FR product. Dealer service was really bad and extremely slow. Took over a year to fix faulty brakes that didn't work right from day 1. Took 4 visits to the dealer to get a poorly fitting bathroom door fixed. Not impressed with the build quality. I did a lot of interior mods so got above ceiling, into walls and in concealed spaces inside cabinets. Not good in some places such as a bundle of wires in ceiling laying on about 6 sharp pointed screws from shower curtain track. Insulation in ceiling not good and many voids and generally not installed properly. I could go on and on...

    You would be wise to research the dealer. Our FR dealer took many weeks to do warranty work that could have been done in days. You take your RV to them, and then they contact FR for authorization which can take many days. Then they order the parts which can take days to weeks. Then they take days to weeks to fit your job into their schedule. We had our TT in several times and it was there for 4 -6 weeks waiting to get finished. Really not good if in the peak camping season. Our current dealer with a non-FR product, is the opposite. You schedule the work and you are done fairly quickly.

    I've read about many owners on the FR forum that have had various problems. It just seems to me IMHO, that there is an excessive amount of defects and problems with FR products in general. Also, often, the factory support is not good or non-existent. FR often seems to avoid dealing with quality problems and defects even while under warranty in some cases. Formal quality control seems to be poor IMHO. Many FR owners will give glowing reports on their FR RVs but you would do well to research on the FR forum.

    I recall one FR MH owner that had the front area of the coach's chassis separate from the frame by about 6" while he was driving. He could see the road in front of his feet. He discovered the screws holding the body to the frame were way too small and there weren't enough of them. You have to wonder how this sort of thing can happen.

    Not trying to bash FR, but I am saying this from our own experience and from what I've read on the FR forum. I've also read about problems with FR in Trailer Life. Finding truthful, detailed technical and in-depth critiques of RVs is not easy. Too many reviews rave about things unrelated to quality like the layout, interior color scheme, etc. Quality in the RV industry is generally not great from what I read and some brands/models are a little better and some are a little worse and all you can do is do your due diligence and research as much as you can.

    For the above reasons, it's a no for us....
  • I have a different opinion of Forest River and their customer support. I would not purchase from them. I spoke personally to their head warranty guy and he gave me a complete BS fabrication of why an obvious manufacturer defect would not be covered for repair. Look elsewhere, you have been warned.
  • I previously owned (bought new) a Rockwood TT by Forest River. I was very happy with the quality of our Rockwood. Customer service from the company was very good also. I have no experience with any of the other Forest River brands.
  • I have a Salem Cruise Lite made by Forrest River. This is my 3rd season.

    My only problem is the LP gas detector likes to false detect all the time. Other than that its been awesome.
  • We have a Rockwood from Forrest River and have loved it. I don't think it will last us 40 years, but what will these days?
  • Currently on our second Flagstaff. Had first one for six years, no problems.
  • Can't give specific advice concerning the Wildwood line but I CAN testify about the Rockwood line (also from Forest River). During my two year warranty period I had only a single concern to deal with (water control valve on the Thetford Toilet). I had to replace it twice under warranty and IF I had paid for the repairs it would havel lcost me about $40.00 each time. Both replacements occurred during the second year of my warranty and after I had towed the trailer over 40,000 miles including a trip to Alaska. I'd say they're a very well built trailer and insulation factors are better than many well known 4 season models. Not sure how this relates to the Wildwood line up so take it for what it's worth.
    Good luck / Skip
  • Quality can vary from plant to plant and division to division. It all depends. For instance the quality of my Cedar Creek has been excellent. And customer service has been great. But I have heard other divisions it has been less than outstandling.
  • This is a "destination trailer," intended to be set on a permanent lot not hauled here, there, and yonder for a weekend at a time. I have friends that have this exact camper and they love it. They traded in another Wildwood on it this winter, so they are happy with the brand. The manufacturer and dealer failed to connect the ice maker and they had a little water spray all over the place, but as far as I know that's the only issue they have had.