More issues with my Rockwood

[TWolf]

I had mentioned the issue with my Rockwood in the "My TT, love hate relationship" post.

So here is the story. I had noticed that when I pulled out from my house I saw water leaking out of the back side just above the rear bumper. When we got to our camp site, I checked for any leaks but did not see any. I then checked my gauges and saw that I was only at 2/3's full of fresh water and I had filled the tank before leaving. So I knew I had a problem. We camped for the 4 days and had to add water. As we were leaving, I checked my mirrors and saw water pouring out from under the trailer. I pulled over and water was coming from every seam under the trailer. I figured that my fresh water tank had a leak.

I had remembered that when I was filling with water, I had heard a lot popping sound. Didn't think much of it because of where we live. After getting home, I called the dealer and made arrangements to take it to them. They are located over 200 miles away. I took off my carrier that I had on the back bumper. I carry a Honda 2000 generator and a few pieces of firewood. So not very much for weight. As I was taking the carrier off I noticed that the arms on the rear stabilizer was bent out. I had figured that the stabilizer may have been the popping sound that I had heard before leaving. I knew that what I had on the carrier was not enough weight to cause this to happen. As I was cleaning out my trailer, I also found that the rear door would not open without a lot of force. Once open, I could not get it closed without beating on it.

Here is what the dealer told me that the extended warranty adjuster figured happen. He said that I had over loaded the trailer/carrier which caused the stabilizer to bend. He also said that I had been hanging on my rear door to cause the door frame to bend and the door not to work anymore. Neither of these is covered by by extended coverage. I am 52 years old and would have no reason to hang on the door. They are going to replace the water tank, but I have to pay over $100.00 to have it shipped in. The other items, I turned into my insurance company to get it fixed.

I had asked if the water leaking into the underbelly of the trailer could have caused the stabilizer to bend and one of the service folks said yes, and the other said that not enough water could have gotten in there before leaking out from the seams. He told me that I am not supposed to have the stabilizers down when filling my fresh water tank. He also said that I was probally jumping around in the back of the trailer which would have put stress on the stabilizer.

I had asked the service manager at the dealership that if when the jack had popped, if the the door frame could have flexed enough to cause it not to open/close. Given that the stabilizer is right next to the door making that area a weak point. He said no way and that it appears that I had hit a tree causing the hinges to bend. I don't ever recall hitting anything. He saw some scratches on the side of the trailer. I also asked that if the water tank could have popped at the same time. Again, no. Funny thing is that this all happened at the same time from what I can tell.

This trailer has been into the dealer for warranty work for a total of about 11 months either waiting for parts or approval to fix. We just made our 24th payment on in July. The first time, they did not get one of the part's in before I picked it up to go camping after waiting from October to March. They ended up sending me the part and I had to install it. The next time, again it sat from October to March the following year to fix the rubber on the slide. They only fixed the rubber on the slide and not the trailer. Again, not a complete fix. The only nice thing about the time frame is that they stored it for me over the winter months.

So I have lost faith in Forset River products and the dealership them self. Once fixed, this trailer will be gone for good.

[Ron3rd]

Depending on your state's laws, this may be covered under your Lemon Law. Some google research will steer you in the right direction. These laws vary from state to state.

[TWolf]

I noticed the door right away because it was open at the time and I had to close it to go camping. I had did use extreme force to close it which more likely did not help my cause. We had this camping trip planned for some time and I was not going to let it stop us. The water leaking I saw after we were on the road and turned a corner in town. This to was not going to stop our trip. We only drove about 40 miles round trip.

The carrier on the bumper I have put three hitches spaced out across the bumper so that I had full support for the carrier. I could only use the middle one and the one on the back left side. The right side, where the stabilizer collapsed I cannot load anything because that is where the manufacturer put the spare tire. My Honda generator weighs in at 46 lbs dry weight, the fire wood is less than that and the carrier is around 38 lbs. It is a cheap one from Murducks. That is why I had to add the extra support.

I am very limited to what I can physically do. So I can't always try and fix things myself. Which really sucks because I know how to do things but after doing them, I have to take way to many pain pills to even move. Whatever you all do, please be careful and don't get hurt. It takes a lot away from a person.

The underbelly is fully enclosed so I can't see anything there. When I fill with FW, I put the hose in the fill spot and then go about loading the rest of the trailer. Sometimes I will go to see if it is over flowing or check my gauge. Unless it is over flowing or the gauge doesn't say full, I keep it going. A lesson well learn. So I am not sure how much water got put into it that day. I am going with the belief that it was way to much.

I have contacted Forest River in the past about other issues and the guy that is assign for this area was not very helpful. So I tried someone higher than him and they sent me back to him which did not help at all. As someone stated, this trailer must have been built on a Monday when the workers came back with hangovers or Friday when they just wanted to go home. I have looked at other Rockwoods and really like them. I think this one is just a lemon and it makes me very upset.

I am being nice while dealing with the dealership so that I can get everything done without anymore hassles. However, I will not buy from them again. This makes our 4th TT that we have owned in addition to 2 pop-ups. Our Nash only had one issue in 8 years that needed to be warrantied.

Thanks for all of your input and letting me vent.

[Doug33]

westend wrote:
The more horror stories I hear on here about new trailers, the better I feel about restoring my old Starcraft. It was a huge investment in time but I am bypassing a lot of these mfg issues.

I'll probably curse myself by saying this, but I have purchased 5 new RVs in the last 22 years (3 PUs, 2 TTs) and never had any problems that weren't rectified by the dealer under warranty in a timely fashion. And those problems were few and far in between. Yes, I've had to fix some things along the way, but they weren't because of manufacturer defects. Remember that RV companies are trying to build as light-weight and as least costly as possible, so materials are not always top quality. There are a lot of systems and components in a TT, with dozens of supplier's products installed. Sometimes there are bound to be issues.

Will there be lemons? Definitely, and I feel bad for those owners. And it is exacerbated by dealers that don't step up to the plate. But I think the percentage of RVs that are lemons is pretty low overall.

BTW - my Bullet just turned one year old and is now out of warranty. Hopefully I don't jinx myself, but I have not had a single problem with the TT to date. It tows like a charm, and fulfills all my needs. I couldn't be happier.

[westend]

Yeah, eau de toilet will do that to a guy.
The more horror stories I hear on here about new trailers, the better I feel about restoring my old Starcraft. It was a huge investment in time but I am bypassing a lot of these mfg issues.

[Aluminum_Siding]

I hate the dealer! When I got my TT home I noticed a bent axle a month later. It was bent when we got it. They said warranty wont cover and wanted $2400 to fix. Yep $2400. Wanted to change drum to drum on a NEW trailer. Said drum to drum would save labor costs. It's 4 backing plate bolts, break wires and a king pen bolt. That's 6 extra hours of labor (labor equal to the drum parts) They quoted for all new hangers even for the axle that wasn't bent. Oh and new springs and bushings (again it was a new trailer) The bushing are not damaged and a bent axle will not bend or harm springs. This is Mike Thompson RV. I have no issues dragging their name through the mud. I replaced the axle myself in my drive way for $175 and have had 0 issues for over a year and 12 trips. It's absurd how stupid they think we are or they just blatantly want to save/make money by ripping off the customer. The problem is they are all this way and all brands are built like rickety junk. You cant go buy a Keystone cause it'll have stripped screws and leaky pipes as bad as a Forest River or a Thor product. I've done so much work on my TT (2 years old) and almost every nut or bolt I come across has been stripped, cross threaded or not tightened enough from the factory. I could do a write up as long as yours as well. The difference is I have fixed every mistake from the factory myself. Tonight I got poop water in my eye from black water in the back flush hose. They didn't tighten the connection enough and it was leaking. When I got under there fix it it came off and dripped right in my eyeball. The best part is a simple wood screw is drilled into the wall (Masonite Wall) no anchor no backer just over-drilled and stripped in the wall. all my blinds are falling off the walls weekly. Who approves this workmanship? The first trip our couch collapsed. When I went to fix it it the whole frame was held into the walls with 4 wood screws!. The 300 lb bottom bunk collapsed due to only 1 support in each corner! Grrrr...Ok I feel better now that I ranted a little.

[westend]

You could check the door frame issue and confirm your suspicions by measuring the door opening, diagonally, from corner to corner. A frame that has been pulled out of plumb will have two different measurements. I would also climb underneath the trailer and pull a string from front to back along the frame. A bent frame will show up quickly against a taut string. It might be that the popping sounds you heard were huck bolts or attachment tabs giving loose on the frame. And, maybe not. I don't meant to alarm you but it would be something I'd be investigating.

[fla-gypsy]

Your biggest issue is an incompetent/crooked dealer

[mayo30]

The popping noise very likely was from over filling the tank or a blocked vent pipe/over flow outlet,high pressure not allowing air to escape as quick as fill?What relationship do the bumper bracket and stabilizer leg have,as in attachment location to frame.Did fw tank brace twist frame components when it failed,as it surely did,when tank cracked.So after you noticed you had a problem you camped for 4 days,probably bending more frame and components that were bent or over stressed.Who knows except you what happened and how,good luck fixing it.
Did you notice a problem with the door when you heard the original popping etc.doesn't sound like it all occurred at the same time,traveling with the damaged full water tank likely created more damage and the load on the bumper,didn't help the matter.Fix it and get something more substantial.

[dadmomh]

First, I'm no expert, but this is my thought. First, never, never load anything on a TT bumper. They are weak and flimsy....a gen and firewood weighs more than you'd think. Your mistake there. DH hates the scissors jacks that we have on our Rockwood 2604 and pretty much thinks they are a POS. We are looking for the long arm with the foot that our HTT had in hopes of making a change. However, the additional weight of the gen + firewood could certainly have make a problem with the stabs. I cannot imagine that the additional weight would have caused the problem with the door, but suppose it's possible.

I'm a bit confused about the popping sound while filling the FW tank....more info? Hard to imagine that you could have filled and filled and filled and not noticed the amount of water going into the FW tank, but guess it's possible to have leaked out into the undercarriage area.

We are on our second FR trailer, first an '07 ROO 23SS and now our Ultra Lite 2604 without issues. I'm sorry it appears you got one that was built on a Monday or Friday and should have been painted a lemon yellow, but it happens to every manufacturer.

So....document everything. What you said, what they said. Keep every piece of paperwork. I'm concerned that your dealer is trying to brush you off and that's not gonna work. If you need to, contact FR at the location shown as the build facility on the yellow sticker on the street side....the ones with all the weights. Tell them what you've told us. Even the part about the gen + firewood, which may end up biting you, but be honest. Ask for their help.

Since it's the middle of the season here, closer to the end of the season in MT, give them the opportunity to make it right over the winter. At least you won't have to broom the snow off. It appears to me that you made some mistakes, they made some mistakes, the dealer is trying to brush it off and you're stuck in the middle. First thing you need to do is get that gen + firewood OFF that bumper and keep it off. The other things, such as water, are not your problem as I see it. The weight/stabs/door might be. But let the factory, if necessary have a go at it.

Sorry you have had to deal with this mess. Camping is certainly less enjoyable with one thing after another coming along. Maybe next season will be perfect. But keep the gen + firewood OFF!

[Merrykalia]

I would contact the FR rep and then seek out a new dealer. I used to have the name and number of the FR rep, but can't locate it now. I am sure if you post on the FROG forum, someone will know and give you that information.

ON EDIT: Forest River Owners Group is FROG.

[Ron3rd]

Looks like you got a bad one, it happens with all mfgs, all brands. We've been very satisfied with our new Rockwood Windjammer. No issues after 1 year.

Also, did you try contacting FR directly?

[texasclarks]

ChooChooMan74 wrote:
I personally see an issue with your dealer. Sounds like he wants to blame you.

I also question the dealer.

I will say that I have had nothing but good responses from Forest River on the TT in my signature. I have had a few issues which FR covered (one of which was out of warranty but close enough that they had it picked up, returned the factory, and then returned all before camping season started).

I am only on my second TT, but if/when I upgrade I will definitely give FR an opportunity for my repeat business.

[ChooChooMan74]

I personally see an issue with your dealer. Sounds like he wants to blame you.