Just brought home our new Forest River Forester

[LarryDel]

Hello Fellow Rv'ers....

Well we picked up our new Class C Forester last Monday. Drove 3 hours to Manassas Virginia to get it. Well, I guess everything changes and not always for the good. In 2003 we purchased a new Winnebago Brave motorhome. Had very little issues with it. None at all when we picked it up. And for the 6 years we used it nothing major at all. Ok so then we sold it and took a break from Rv'ing then 3 years later purchased a Coachmen Travel Trailer. 24 ft. Not a problem ever!!!!! Nothing fancy but everything worked. We just used it as a trade in. We looked for 1 1/2 years and found the perfect floorplan for us. Its absolutely beautiful. When we went for the walkthru we were very tired and very excited and many of the items which needed to be checked or shown us how to use were just omitted. Naturally once we left and went to a local campground we took a deep breath and then started looking carefully at our unit. So here is the first list, nothing earth shattering.....TV in bedroom sync at all. Door was almost impossible to open, small stripping on ceiling needed regluing and sink spigot (water came out very slow). OK, before we left we brought it by and then said everything was fixed. NOT-----we went out to our yard where we have an RV pad and my husband said it probably works but I'll try it out anyway.....well, it still doesn't work. In the meantime everything is controlled by two control panels.....SCARY! So we opened the awning and you would think if you held the plus + sign it would open and the - sign it would close....WRONG! It's the reverse... one additional item I forgot to mention. We ordered stainless steel appliances but did not receive them.....The dealership apologized and said once the new doors arrive they will send an RV Doctor to our home to make the necessary correction. I guess we were spoiled in the past. Doesn't seem like there is too much quality control anymore. I often wonder if we had a million dollar motorhome....would they have the same problems. My husband told me to relax and that everything would be taken care of......he is very patient. I am not.....So....anyone experience any of this....Thanks so much for reading this lengthy note.....Lou Ann

[Ralph_Cramden]

magnusfide wrote:
Larry-every Forest River owner I've ever met said they wouldn't buy another one because of the poor quality control and shoddy construction. Not that that will help you now but it's a word to the wise for everyone else out there.

And I've heard the same from Thor/Jayco Owners, Winnebago Owners, you name em. Your point is? Forest River is no crappier at building **** than the next crappy manufacturer.

[magnusfide]

Larry-every Forest River owner I've ever met said they wouldn't buy another one because of the poor quality control and shoddy construction. Not that that will help you now but it's a word to the wise for everyone else out there.

[Harvard]

I drove our E450 for 1200 miles before I realized there must be something better then this....

My experience Circa 2010

[Desert_Captain]

Harvard wrote:

Desert Captain wrote:

Harvard wrote:
If this new unit is built on a Ford E350 or E450 chassis then I can add another item (handling at highway speeds) to your list of things that probably need some attention.

Not doing a thorough test drive is the worst thing a potential buyer can do. If they don't handle well on the test drive they will not get any better down the road. Properly aligned {with the correct amount of + caster} and the correct PSI for the load they carry there is no reason to expect handling problems in either the 350 or 450 E series.

To state that all of the most popular Class C chassis' ever built do not handle well is absurd.

:R

And that is my point, they do not come off the Ford production line with enough +caster AND you can be sure the RV maker does not do anything to add the caster. So, in all likelihood the owner of a new E350/E450 RV is going to need to convince an alignment tech to add more caster to this RV.

My point was that anyone who buys any motorhome and does not thoroughly test drive it, as in at least an hour on a variety of roads/conditions cannot possibly know if there are handling issues. The Ford production line is inherently incapable of knowing what the RV manufacturer is going to put on their chassis... the problem we are addressing does not come from Ford.

Any quality RV builder will complete the construction of the coach on the Ford chassis and then properly align the rig and inflate the tires {at least to the existing weight of the
coach} BEFORE offering it for sale. If they have not done this it will become glaringly apparent about 5 minutes into your test drive.

The E-350/450 chassis' found on most Class C's are not inherently problematic... ignorant buyers and sellers are. The solution you read about most often on RV Forums is to throw ridiculous amounts of money spent on after market garbage to improve the ride and handling of the coach when in most cases all it needs is proper alignment and psi.

If after a proper alignment and tire inflation it does not ride and handle well it is the wrong coach and you should "Run Forrest Run" from it and the dealer trying to stick you with it. I am always dumbfounded by folks that will spend 6 digits on a motorhome that rides and handles poorly right off the showroom floor but won't hesitate to throw thousands more at it to "fix" these issues. :S

As always... Opinions and YMMV.

:C

[Harvard]

Desert Captain wrote:

Harvard wrote:
If this new unit is built on a Ford E350 or E450 chassis then I can add another item (handling at highway speeds) to your list of things that probably need some attention.

Not doing a thorough test drive is the worst thing a potential buyer can do. If they don't handle well on the test drive they will not get any better down the road. Properly aligned {with the correct amount of + caster} and the correct PSI for the load they carry there is no reason to expect handling problems in either the 350 or 450 E series.

To state that all of the most popular Class C chassis' ever built do not handle well is absurd.

:R

And that is my point, they do not come off the Ford production line with enough +caster AND you can be sure the RV maker does not do anything to add the caster. So, in all likelihood the owner of a new E350/E450 RV is going to need to convince an alignment tech to add more caster to this RV.

[lhenry8113]

About 2 months ago we bought a used 2017 F.R. Forester LE w/chevy truck, from an Rv. Dlr. It is small-Model 2251SLE, about 24 ft. has gas V-8. Had about 7000 miles on it. Have been on a 1 month trip from So. Ca. to McAllen, Tx. than N. in Tx. to Rt.40/66 and than W. Tomorrow we are headed to Laughlin, Nv. This trip probably 3500 miles+. Biggest problem we ran into was rain water coming into camper through roof air conditioner during heavy rain while it was running-was tough in Galveston, temp was 105 and pouring rain. Have noticed loose screws but so far so good. Previously, we had an Arctic Fox 5th wheel and there is no comparison to the quality/workmanship in the A.F. versus this R.V. but as long as this Class C does what it's meant to do-can't really complain.

[Desert_Captain]

Harvard wrote:
If this new unit is built on a Ford E350 or E450 chassis then I can add another item (handling at highway speeds) to your list of things that probably need some attention.

Not doing a thorough test drive is the worst thing a potential buyer can do. If they don't handle well on the test drive they will not get any better down the road. Properly aligned {with the correct amount of + caster} and the correct PSI for the load they carry there is no reason to expect handling problems in either the 350 or 450 E series.

To state that all of the most popular Class C chassis' ever built do not handle well is absurd.

:R

[UMAlum]

Lou Ann

We have been camping for many years (a few decades) and over the years have bought new and used. We just bought a new Tiffin Motorhome and have had numerous quality issues that should have easily caught by any quality inspection during the build process, final inspection or dealer inspection.

We saw most of the issues within 10 minutes of being in the motorhome.

Of course as we used it for the first time, the list grew with issues not seen with the eye, like water in the basement storage compartments (it was raining on the way home), water leaking from the water lines as they were not tight (bathroom and kitchen), water leaking from roof (they supposed forgot to caulk the marker lights) and i could go on...

Guess we should not expect the quality that we were used to years ago.

Quality is easy to say, something different to actually do!

As in my case, hopefully over the next few months they will get it right!

[Harvard]

If this new unit is built on a Ford E350 or E450 chassis then I can add another item (handling at highway speeds) to your list of things that probably need some attention.