We've had a 2001 Cardinal since '03 and are currently sitting in it in Florida. In the 12 years we've owned it we've never experienced a problem with our fridge or furnace. Had to replace the heating element in the water heater last year. Did an axle 3 years ago due to my poor driving. This has been a gem of a rig.
After saying what a nice rig it's been we are at Lazy Days/Tampa right now waiting for our '15 Cedar Creek Silverback RE to be brought to our site so we can transfer our stuff over. It's a nice unit. While looking for another rig our primary focus was finding another Forest River, either Cardinal or Cedar Creek. Those 2 are our favorite FR products. Not so crazy for the other FR models though.