I currently have a 2015 Vegas RUV are by Thor. It has been in shop religiously since. I purchased it almost 2 years ago. I am currently considering trading it for a2016 Forrester by Forest River. I am skittish about the committment since I have has so much trouble with my Vegas. I have been reading comments about the Forrester but also Forest River and few have been good. Has anyone has any experiences withe Forest River RVs? Please share. Do you recommend purchasing their products? I need desperately to know that not all new RVs are lemons. I've in North Carolina nearer. Raleigh so will need to find a place to service the chassis - a Ford product. Contrary to Camping World ALL Ford dealers cannot service these vehicles because they do not have large enough bays. If you are aware of such locations please advise. Additionally, if you have ANY. advice for me before I sign paperwork please provide. Thank you in advance.

You may want to check out the Thor forum. The people there are very helpful, many owners of the Vegas/Axis. http://www.thorforums.com/forums/

Check the Forest River forum for info from owners of the Forester. The owners of the units built on the E450 frame seem happy with their units.

I ran into the same problem finding a dealer here in central SC who would work on my Ford chassis mh. I ended up calling Ford Customer Care and they pointed me to one in Rock Hill. I also called a local RV service center ( not CW ) and they pointed me to another. So my suggestion is to call another RV service dept and ask who they send there Ford products to.

You might also want to post your chassis service question on Ford forum on iRV2.com.

I know that Mooresville Ford can do it and Mooresville a small town. If you are near Raleigh, then there have to be a ton of Ford dealerships there.There ought to be at least one or two dealerships that can work on it. As far as the Vegas goes, contact Thor and request that it be repaired at a different facility if you feel that it's that one location that is the problem.

Opinions requested ASAP | Good Sam Community

HerveVR
Explorer
Apr 27, 2016
We own a Forest River 2012 Lexington 265DS that I consider one of the best layout rig that has been manufactured by FR in that category of RV.

We bought it from a dealer that is doing seasonal (summer)renting and fix small problems that are occuring with new vehicules.

Before buying a RV, I knew where I had to position myself: Doing the fixes myself OR having them done by other ($$$).

Most of the problems can be fix by a good handy person. Motorization, AirCond and Tires are getting done by specialist (dealer or Independant).

As far as the Motorization is concerned, we have the work done by a Ford Big Trucks Dealer.

After 5 years and 65000km throughout Canada and USA, we are very satisfied by the usage of our HerveVR motorhome and expecting the next trip
softballjunky
Explorer
Apr 26, 2016
I am not defending Forest River and we own a Forest River product that has not been without its problems but, keep in mind that the more units a company sells the more complaints they will have. Forest River is a significantly larger company than Jayco and sells probably 3-4 times more units than Jayco. All companies have problems. Just my 2 cents.
rjstractor
Nomad
Apr 25, 2016
Have you tried the Class A forum since the Vegas is a Class A?
Bordercollie
Explorer
Apr 25, 2016
We own a 2004 Fleetwood 26Q and had initial dealer fix problems and replacement of fridge, roof AC etc., after ten years. Haven't heard many complaints about Winnebago products. There are higher end products from Lazy Daze and others that cost considerably more but have better house box materials and workmanship. Ford chassis and installed appliances are mostly the same in all brands.
mgirardo
Explorer
Apr 24, 2016
Steeljag wrote:
mgirardo wrote:
I am not a fan of Forest River. We owned a Rockwood Roo Hybrid Travel Trailer and had major issues with the trailer because of poor quality workmanship. I wouldn't own another Forest River product.

Whenever looking at a manufacturer I am unfamiliar with, I always like to google the manufacturer with the word sucks after it. Generally, you will always find someone griping about a company. Forest River gets a lot of bad press.

-Michael

Did you by chance Google Jayco "sucks" prior to purchase? ........allot there........LOL !

Actually I did. However, if you compare Jayco Sucks and Forest River sucks, it's like night and day. Take a look at pissedconsumer.com as an example. Jayco has 65 complaints while Forest River has 605 complaints. That's quiet a difference.

-Michael
Ladybug624
Explorer
Apr 24, 2016
I did purchase extended warranty. Will do so again. Couple of things going on. I have a Kingsport (2012) which has been stationary sinc October 2013. It is in Virginia, me in NC. Have its upkeep, taxes, payment and insurance also. We put it there prior to my hisband's death in 2013 thinking we would use it. Family has not used it as much as I had hoped.

Dealer is taking both as trade in and I will be paying $200 less on this one than I currently pay for the two. It is a 30 ft and what I have now is 24 feet. Even with two it is quit compact at times. I have 8 grandchildren.

So for many reasons the trade would be good. I am realistic about their having problems. Just want honesty. I am Not able to do much by myself as far as maintenance but have a brother who goes along on most trips, hence extended warranty for peace of mind. Only time will tell if I am making a right decision.
LakeN
Explorer
Apr 24, 2016
Wondering which dealer you purchased from? Are they stalling in handling these issues? Did you purchase an extended warranty?
Steeljag
Explorer
Apr 24, 2016
mgirardo wrote:
I am not a fan of Forest River. We owned a Rockwood Roo Hybrid Travel Trailer and had major issues with the trailer because of poor quality workmanship. I wouldn't own another Forest River product.

Whenever looking at a manufacturer I am unfamiliar with, I always like to google the manufacturer with the word sucks after it. Generally, you will always find someone griping about a company. Forest River gets a lot of bad press.

-Michael

Did you by chance Google Jayco "sucks" prior to purchase? ........allot there........LOL !
Steeljag
Explorer
Apr 24, 2016
Ladybug624 wrote:
For the second or maybe third time the AC / heater is not working. Blower not working. Have had problems with windshield wipers not working, battery has gone dead 5-6 times, the navigation system has had to be replaced, the sofa bed extended to sink and could not get by and would fold up on you as you attempted trawl over...and the list goes on not to mention it has been in shop almost a year of the 21 months I ha pave had it.

I know that you can have problems but this is ridiculous!

That is allot of problems, however, the battery issue(s) may be a user issue ? And the sofa blocking your path should have been noticed prior to purchase?
wbwood
Explorer
Apr 24, 2016
Ladybug624 wrote:
For the second or maybe third time the AC / heater is not working. Blower not working. Have had problems with windshield wipers not working, battery has gone dead 5-6 times, the navigation system has had to be replaced, the sofa bed extended to sink and could not get by and would fold up on you as you attempted trawl over...and the list goes on not to mention it has been in shop almost a year of the 21 months I ha pave had it.

I know that you can have problems but this is ridiculous!

You're a good example of why to have an extended warranty...lol

I understand your frustration....It sounds like you need to take it to a different repair shop. Is Thor still covering these issues? I assume this all started while it was under warranty. Here's the thing, you can go to whatever brand you want, but the truth is, is that you could potentially end up having issues again. My inlaws spent around $500k for a Monaco that ended up having a lot of issues. If I recall, one eventually got replaced. My father in law (has owned many RV's) will tell you that every single one has had issues. They now have a Leisure Travel Serenity and said its been the best (and smallest) so far. But they haven't used it a full week yet...lol