Forest River Wolf Pup 16FQ?

I have had nothing but problems with Forest River/Coachmen. I have had two but will not have another. A list of my problems would cause a stone to cry. Cheaply built with little fit/finish. They (and other manufacturers) aim to put as many units out and let dealers/customers correct their errors. I bought a higher end 32 ft trailer and then things started to break and come apart. First the electrical connections were hosed up. After that and many, many issues we ended up with the black tank simply falling out. We discovered the installers of the tank bent retention rails to make their job easier (and it let the tank exit easier too!). So, I tell anyone asking to stay away from FR and all their products. Maybe if I cause enough lost business they will improve their quality control (yeah, right).

On the other side of the coin, my MIL purchased a Forest Rver MH and has had excellent luck with little warranty work.

I know about the possibilities of shoddy workmanship. I intend to do an extremely thorough PDI and not sign anything until all the issues I find are resolved.

I'm mainly concerned about the Lippert axle issues. Little things I can fix or deal with, but the axle is a big thing.

How can I tell what the weight rating of an axle is?

bumping this up for the evening crowd

How can I tell what the weight rating of an axle is?

It is printed on a sticker or a plate on the axle.

coolmom42 wrote:
I know about the possibilities of shoddy workmanship. I intend to do an extremely thorough PDI and not sign anything until all the issues I find are resolved.

I'm mainly concerned about the Lippert axle issues. Little things I can fix or deal with, but the axle is a big thing.

How can I tell what the weight rating of an axle is?

Your Gross Vehicle Weight Rating is just under 4000# so I would imagine you will have a 3500# or bit less axle. It should be listed on a sticker on the side of the TT towards the front. Yes, most manufacturers won't put axles on to equal the GRWR as they are counting on 10% of the weight on the hitch.

That looks just like my 2015 Viking 17FQ also by forest river, have not had a single problem my wife and my self love it plenty of room for both of us.

~DJ~ wrote:

coolmom42 wrote:
I know about the possibilities of shoddy workmanship. I intend to do an extremely thorough PDI and not sign anything until all the issues I find are resolved.

I'm mainly concerned about the Lippert axle issues. Little things I can fix or deal with, but the axle is a big thing.

How can I tell what the weight rating of an axle is?

Your Gross Vehicle Weight Rating is just under 4000# so I would imagine you will have a 3500# or bit less axle. It should be listed on a sticker on the side of the TT towards the front. Yes, most manufacturers won't put axles on to equal the GRWR as they are counting on 10% of the weight on the hitch.

I think this is exactly right. Given the specs, if you subtract the listed tongue weight from the GVWR, it is exactly 3500 lb.

So.... where does the tongue weight go when you are not hitched up? It's sitting on the axle, of course!

IMHO that is ridiculous, and just a disaster waiting to happen.

This may push me back to looking harder at Jaycos. I don't know who makes their axles, but their frames are good. My closest dealer also has a very good reputation. A little more money up front but likely not in the long run.

chryslermastertech wrote:
That looks just like my 2015 Viking 17FQ also by forest river, have not had a single problem my wife and my self love it plenty of room for both of us.

Great!

So what is the weight rating on your axle?

coolmom42 wrote:

So.... where does the tongue weight go when you are not hitched up? It's sitting on the axle, of course!

No... it's sitting on the tongue jack when you are not hitched up.