Forum Discussion

NanciL's avatar
NanciL
Explorer II
Nov 15, 2016

Terrible workmanship in our new trailer

We are at the end of our first month of our brand new 2016 Forest River Wildwood and I am here to tell you that the interior workmanship is the worst I have ever experienced.
We bought the trailer based on it being the exact floor plan that we were looking for.
We caught some of the things on the "walk through", but it is the hidden things that popup every other day that have been caused by shoddy workmanship that are one big pain.
The shelves are 1/8th inch paneling so little by little I have been removing them and replacing them.
Today when I was doing the ones in our bedroom wardrobe and adding more, when I went to measure up from the one at the bottom, I noticed that the back rear was sagging quite badly. I pushed down on it and realized there was absolutely no supports on the left side or the back side, so I went into the rear storage compartment and there was a screwed on panel stopping me from getting under it. I took the panel off, and it was the compartment that the electric cable gets stored in and yes there was absolutely no supports where there should have been for the upper shelf.
I finished working on that and when I went to do the shelves on the opposite side the bottom one was the exact same way, except it was a completely sealed compartment, with the electrical breaker panel in it. I had two choices; take the entire panel out from inside the trailer along with all the other electrics or break through the panel from the rear compartment. I did the latter, and it was the exact same way (missing two supports).

I am not writing this for people to tell me to take it back to the dealers, under the warrantee but to warn anyone who is not handy
-Don't buy Forest River Trailers!

If I made a list of all that we repaired, you would be amazed

Jack L
  • BIGGEST PROBLEM with RV's is POOR QUALITY CONTROL and they don't seem to care. I purchased a brand new motorhome years ago and had 5 pages of problems, I repaired 99% of them and spent over 40 hours in labor. It's a shame because its the one thing that can be controlled and save a lot of disappointment and frustration. And it is not limited to any specific brand, you just has to be a well informed buyer and do all the research the best you can. That's where this forum helps. Also mine was the last one built before the Thanksgiving break, production really slacked off. I finally got fed up with it and sold it and am happy with my new little trailer.
  • mikakuja wrote:
    Having been through the internals of many RV's I can assure you that these problems you are finding are not specific to a single manufacturer.


    Ditto,

    Though I will admit that some manufacturers fair "slightly" better than others, but they all change over time. I am sure they don't pay their assembly line staff a decent wage, and probably have a fast turnover of staff.
  • mikakuja wrote:
    Having been through the internals of many RV's I can assure you that these problems you are finding are not specific to a single manufacturer.
    Good luck with yours and hopefully these are the worst issues you will find.

    Happy Camping.

    Exactly what the OP should have suggested is do a very thorough PDI.
    What you fail to find will become your problem later.
    One should slowly examine the RV and test every ,latch, switch, outlet, catch valve,hinge slide, roof, undercarriage, faucets etc. Test it all.
    Finding it later makes it your problem not theirs.
    I agree it should not be that way. But the reality is some final assembly is required. This true with all brands, all types of RV's and all price points.
    The sooner the buyer understands the pitfalls and shortcomings of the RV industry the better off they will be.
  • Having been through the internals of many RV's I can assure you that these problems you are finding are not specific to a single manufacturer.
    Good luck with yours and hopefully these are the worst issues you will find.

    Happy Camping.
  • just like the medicine cabinet mounted in wall paneling.. and no studs with in 12 inches on each side... good thing bathroom sink/cabinet is screwed to the floor.
  • There are members here that have posted pictures of the poor assembly practices of the RV factories. Some of it is unbelievably bad. If I had a new trailer and the water tank fell off on the first trip or a plumbing/electrical malfunction in the first miles, I'd need a prescription for tranquilizers and maybe some R&R in a facility, lol.

    FWIW, and as it is, I spent six months restoring my old Starcraft. I don't know any that would/could endure the work schedule. The bad news is that if I have a mechanical failure, the finger is pointing backwards. The good news is that I know exactly what is happening and am able to fix it. Knock on 1/4" Luan paneling, I'm doing OK so far. But this is a moving shell on two axles, gotta' expect the possible.
  • Appreciate the notice. We noted very similar issues with our Rockwood 2906ws, and have been fixing since we bought it in January.

    It's as though RV manufacturer designers are not, themselves, RVers. They certainly don't ever seem to test their products by going on a very long trip, such as from Indiana to Alaska and back, for they would certainly find out how impractical and just plain shoddy their stuff is.

    OK, rant over. Back to packing the trailer...
  • It's like I have always said Jack: some assembly required. Hey, it's all part of the fun of "getting to know your trailer". :)

    I too spent probably close to eight hours of casual labor getting my 2012 funfinder up to snuff when I got it new, but it's been a great trailer since then. WTH, my brand new trailer at that time had rust on the steps. Well, not good, but taking them off, a little quality time with a wire brush and a spray can on rustoleum, and five years later, they still look good. Same with the "other repairs" I did to it.

    Have fun and enjoy your new camper.