Problem after problem then wind coming in slide

[LarryDel]

Hello We have purchased a new 2019 Class C Forest River Forester. We have lived in it for 3 weeks. We have had problem after problem,f first of all we ordered stainless steel appliances, they put the wrong appliances in our unit. We paid for full body pain and then it seems they put a clear (some sort of plastic) around the front of the motorhome to protect from bugs, stones, etc. Its starting to peel in one spot, we have a Lippert Control Panel in both living room and bedroom and the one in the living room goes out for several hours and then comes back. So if you want to check levels or close slideouts, etc. you are out of luck. We were not able to get our bedroom TV to work, it wasn't the TV but the wiring. Camping World couldn't fix it and so we had no TV for a while, but a kind hearted camper who was an electrician fixed it immediately. We have a "Smart Arm" on the awning and it never ever worked. It has a touch pad as well and it is useless. We had the AC leak inside the other day. Had an RV Tech stop by and he said it was the filter. I also called Forest River and the gentlemen said it was a defective filter. He said remove it and we won't have any other issues. He said they will be sending a new filter when they correct the problem. The wall between the shower wall and bedroom wall is not bolted to (whatever, who knows) When you run your hand against the wall it feels flimsy. Almost like there should have been a stud and it glued or nailed to it. Sorry probably a bad description. We have a broken lock on drawer and broken AC vent on ceiling. Also we have a residential refigerator. It is supposed to be frost free, sometimes the temp goes from 33 to 40, is that supposed to be how it works? We were told it does that to defrost. We had a very windy night and I was awaken by the sound of wind. It seemed to be coming in from the back corner of the bedroom slide. We have had two other RV's and have never heard the wind coming through. Is this a concern? My feeling is if you hear the wind then there could be a possible leak when it rains? This unit has absolutely been a nightmare. It's a shame ----- when you purchase an item at a store and it is defective you can return it, but not with an RV. They build them without any quality control, they are not checked by the dealer and then we the consumer must suffer. My husband is 76 and I am 64. We sold our home after years of planning and decided to full time for a while. We are currently volunteering at a local state park for three months. So far we have had nothing but misery. All we seem to do is argue now. Lesson learned, buy local and never deal with Camping World.....Thanks for listening.....Lou Ann

[bobndot]

I picked a new Sunseeker for the non slide floorplan. Has many minor repairable issues that the dealer and FR resolved so far.

[lfcjasp]

LarryDel/Lou Ann, I'm really sorry to hear about all the problems with your new Forest River; I always thought they were pretty decent, but there have been a lot of posts of issues over these rigs here lately.

DownTheAvenue did an excellent job of listing your issues and supplying solutions. Yes, you will need to learn to handle the "smaller" issues yourself, just like your S&B house. Fixing the big stuff like the leaky space around the slide will be a bigger headache, requiring professional help and money.

Have to say the problems appearing on these forums concerning new rigs is appalling. Our not-so-highly thought-of Thor class C has been pretty trouble-free; some major repairs handled beautifully and smaller issues we've been able to handle ourselves.

Good luck on getting all this mess taken care of and that you're able to enjoy your rig and new life!

[whizbang]

+1 DowntheAvenue's detailed response in red is spot on. Most of the issues are minor or normal. The coating and slide-out need attention.

[Cider]

ron.dittmer wrote:
I remember during the recession 10 years ago, a few new Forest River owners were complaining they had day light from the outside seen inside their upper cabinets where the wall meets the ceiling. Apparently the construction interconnect between the wall and roof had gaps. The dealers solved the problems with friggin caulk.

After reading too many unhappy FR threads, I encouraged people (in private) to shy away from any Forest River product. I heard the company was bought out since those days, hoping the reformed company cleaned up their quality issues. Apparently not so much.

Spend the extra cash and buy a Phoenix Cruiser ;). PC owners are a happy bunch. Read our experiences on the PC forum HERE. No rig is 100% perfect and Phoenix Cruisers are no exception. But put into perspective, PCs are ranked very high in quality in design, material, and workmanship.

Actually, any RV purchased today can and will have issues, including the $500K+ class A's. Yes, there are manufacturers I would shy away from, based on historic quality, service and warrant issues, but I cannot put Forest River in that case based on my experience with our Sunseeker 2400R MBS Class C. There were a few minor issues in the coach that were taken care of promptly by the dealer and there was no hassle to get them fixed. I suggest that you contact another Forest River dealer and see about having them repair your coach rather than dealing with CW. Personally, my experience with CW service is below horrible and I will not use them unless there is no-one else within 500 miles of me when I need something. CW service, after the fact is very bad, work done is slipshod, and you are pretty much guaranteed several return visits and arguments to get things fixed. Again, go find a Forest River dealer with a good service department and you will be taken care of under warranty. Your only problem doing this may be the amount of time you have to wait to get a time slot for repairs. Good luck on getting items fixed up.

[cbigham]

Eh,
Sorry to hear of your troubles, man. I looked at those Foust River sun seekers..was shown two I liked. Nice floor plan, both, both had misaligned slides.I could see daylight! Salesman told meno worries, we will fix it after you buy. You guys drove this from Indiana to here like this? CA. LIKELY WATER DAMAGE. No.after discussing the issue with a rv repair shop I use and trust, I've heard this company has a lot of trouble with slides. Was shown one in the shop, another one coming. I was told what I already know, the slide weakens the frame, you're gonna have issues sooner or later. Expensive issues. I experienced this before with a diesel Funmover slide. I bought a thor plain Jane 23u. Techs tell me thor box structure strong, inside paper machete. Been my observation. Had that rv down some tuff dirt roads for many miles, held up. It had issues too when new. Had to get factory involved to solve the issues.

That doesn't solve your issue, but you MUST get the factory involved and document contact. Email, letters. I suggest email. The right rep can help you a lot. Fwiw I hear some new forest river slides holes are cut wrong causing size, fit issues, which can be repaired competently. There's people in CA who do this.

Cb

[DownTheAvenue]

LarryDel wrote:
Hello We have purchased a new 2019 Class C Forest River Forester. We have lived in it for 3 weeks. We have had problem after problem,f first of all we ordered stainless steel appliances, they put the wrong appliances in our unit. Your fault ofr accepting a unit you did not order. You cannot blame someone else for your decision to accept. We paid for full body pain and then it seems they put a clear (some sort of plastic) around the front of the motorhome to protect from bugs, stones, etc. Its starting to peel in one spot,That covering is a plus but it should not be peeling. A replacement installation for that area will solve the problem. A minor issue. we have a Lippert Control Panel in both living room and bedroom and the one in the living room goes out for several hours and then comes back.Interesting. Could be a faulty panel, but thoroughly read the operation manual as technology is very exacting in operations and this could be a user error. So if you want to check levels or close slideouts, etc. you are out of luck. We were not able to get our bedroom TV to work, it wasn't the TV but the wiring. Camping World couldn't fix it and so we had no TV for a while, but a kind hearted camper who was an electrician fixed it immediately. We have a "Smart Arm" on the awning and it never ever worked. It has a touch pad as well and it is useless. Again, technology requires a complete understanding of how to operate, and is a big learning curver for many people. We had the AC leak inside the other day. Had an RV Tech stop by and he said it was the filter. I also called Forest River and the gentlemen said it was a defective filter. He said remove it and we won't have any other issues. He said they will be sending a new filter when they correct the problem. The wall between the shower wall and bedroom wall is not bolted to (whatever, who knows) When you run your hand against the wall it feels flimsy. Almost like there should have been a stud and it glued or nailed to it. To save weight, many RVs are not built with substantial interior walls. Probably annoying but not a defect.Sorry probably a bad description. We have a broken lock on drawer and broken AC vent on ceiling. Very minor issues that can be easily fixed with a new part and a screw driver. Just purchase the parts locally and repair yourself.Also we have a residential refigerator. It is supposed to be frost free, sometimes the temp goes from 33 to 40, is that supposed to be how it works? We were told it does that to defrost. Completely normal. Again reading and understanding the operation manual often solves many problems and answers many concerns.We had a very windy night and I was awaken by the sound of wind. It seemed to be coming in from the back corner of the bedroom slide. This is a major problem and will probably be solved by adjusting the slide.We have had two other RV's and have never heard the wind coming through. Is this a concern? My feeling is if you hear the wind then there could be a possible leak when it rains? This unit has absolutely been a nightmare. It's a shame ----- when you purchase an item at a store and it is defective you can return it, but not with an RV. They build them without any quality control, they are not checked by the dealer and then we the consumer must suffer. My husband is 76 and I am 64. We sold our home after years of planning and decided to full time for a while. We are currently volunteering at a local state park for three months. So far we have had nothing but misery. All we seem to do is argue now. Lesson learned, buy local and never deal with Camping World.....Thanks for listening.....Lou Ann

[Bird_Freak]

Take your problems straight to FR. Camping World will do very little to resolve your problems.

[Tyler0215]

It sounds like most of your problems are minor. Very annoying but easily repaired.
Yes your refer is defrosting when the temp raises to 40, thats normal.
The slide out issue is a Major concern and I would be in touch directly with FR and get it repaired ASAP. If you have air coming in you will have water coming in.

[2edgesword]

It's painful to hear about these things happening with a brand NEW unit. That these things weren't found and corrected by the dealer during their inspection makes it doubly painful. I hope the dealer and Forest River make it right for you.

[avan]

And I might add that if you are corresponding with your dealer or mfr in writing (it always should be in writing), you may get more attention if you list your complaints with bullet points or numbers - with a blank line between points. A run on paragraph of all the ills in the world is difficult to read and won't get the attention it deserves.

[ksg5000]

In addition to working with the seller you should be discussing these issues with the MFG with the goal of exchanging your rig. Having an occasional problem with new rig is common - but if you have this many major issues this early I can only imagine what problems will pop up as the rig ages. Be calm but persistent.

[klutchdust]

countrykids wrote:
I believe there is a federal lemon law for RV’s. With your list of issues I would think you would have a case.

Having dealt with the so called lemon laws in California I know this. IF you have a reoccurring issue that cannot be repaired and after a certain amount of attempts are made they cannot repair it THEN the procedure of the maker buying back the unit proceeds.

My friend had 2 transmissions, complete cooling system,numerous tow truck episodes, one 2k miles away from home and countless visits to the dealership and loss of vehicle use before they took his vehicle and gave him a newer one, actually 2 years newer. That was a crew cab GMC with a duramax/allison combination.That was a 2 year process.

Don't think that just because the build quality is lacking that the maker will just take it back and give you another one, it is much more than that.

Were Any of these issues presented during the final walkthrough or did the purchaser just jump in and take off believing everything the sales staff said.

Remember, if a salesman's lips are moving he is probably lying. :W

Having lived through and survived purchasing a lemon from Ford Motor Company I can sympathize with your situation. Document everything, have your correspondence in writing and get names,dates and always strive to get to the top of the heap. Find out who is in upper management and send them copies of everything.

[ron_dittmer]

I remember during the recession 10 years ago, a few new Forest River owners were complaining they had day light from the outside seen inside their upper cabinets where the wall meets the ceiling. Apparently the construction interconnect between the wall and roof had gaps. The dealers solved the problems with friggin caulk.

After reading too many unhappy FR threads, I encouraged people (in private) to shy away from any Forest River product. I heard the company was bought out since those days, hoping the reformed company cleaned up their quality issues. Apparently not so much.

Spend the extra cash and buy a Phoenix Cruiser ;). PC owners are a happy bunch. Read our experiences on the PC forum HERE. No rig is 100% perfect and Phoenix Cruisers are no exception. But put into perspective, PCs are ranked very high in quality in design, material, and workmanship.

[midnightsadie]

I,m not a CW fan, but in this case CW did not build the rv, seems FR is holding up to there quality,THEY HAVE NONE.