Thor or Forest River - Warranty and reputation

[blaczero]

I am looking at 2 RV's and wondering which company has better warranty reputation / customer service / repair reputation, etc.

(Forest River) 2021 Coachmen Catalina Legacy Edition 343BHTSLE

and

(Thor) 2021 Crossroads Zinger 340BH

Both the floor plan we want (BH and w/d hookups with East/West bed) and both the same'ish price. So who has better customer service / warranty / repair service?

Any other thoughts? I am pretty new to this, it'll be my first RV.

[Skibane]

Thermoguy wrote:
Unless your looking at new and the 1 year warranty that comes with an RV, then how does the question apply?

Good point.

The only compelling reason to take an RV back to one of their dealers is to have warranty work done on it - And that only applies until the warranty expires.

Just about every appliance and fixture in the average RV is generic, and also commonly installed in other brands of RVs. Any competent independent service shop is familiar with it, and capable of troubleshooting, repairing or replacing it.

Unlike the warranty, an RV manufacturer's reputation is important. RVs built by manufacturers with established reputations for quality tend to need fewer repairs.

It's no different than buying cars: If you're concerned about reliability, you look for certain brands, and avoid certain others.

[klutchdust]

"The RV Industry's warranties are the largest shell game ever created and its amazing they have gotten away with it as long as they have."

most if not all warranties are for the benefit of the seller. Consumer reports says 70% of extended warranties are never used.
i purchased over 30 tires the past few years for my fleet, denied the tire warranty every time .I have 540 dollars in my tire warranty "self insure" account. I had to replace one tire myself ,now I am down to 380.
Imagine putting 2000 a year into a savings account for that engine/transmission warranty you were convinced you could not do without. :S

[pbeverly]

When I picked up my new Forest River in 2018 I was told "you are going to have issues. Go on a couple trips, write them down, then bring it back to get fixed." After a couple trips I had 7 issues I had documented. All were fixed under warranty and none of the 7 issues have re-occurred. This was the basic warranty. I rarely do any extended warranties as I think they are a waste.

[PButler96]

wiskeyVI wrote:
My dad bought a 2020 Thor Class C, and has filed under oregon state lemon law as it can't seem to keep the starter battery to last more than a few days at a time.
CW had it many times, and found a sort in the hydraulics, that they thought was the culprit....but nope.
It's now at a Ford dealer to get looked at...

The RV Industry's warranties are the largest shell game ever created and its amazing they have gotten away with it as long as they have. RV buyers are fools,myself included. It's a good example of what extensive and successful lobbying can do. When you buy one of these things, tear the warranty page from the paperwork and use it to wipe your arse when you take your next constitutional, then it will at least be worth something.

I think your dad is screwed. To my knowledge the only state that has a lemon law covering RVs is Texas and even there it comes with lots of hurdles. Now if they can prove the issue is with the Ford Chassis he might be successful under a lemon law but then what about the house on top? Even if he receives a favorable settlement on the Ford Chassis they're not going to make Ford pay on the Thor house.

[klutchdust]

I have a 2015 Forest river "work and play" edition that I purchased pre owned. It came from South Carolina ad i picked it up in Ca. What I like about this model is they start off with a basic cargo trailer then install living quarters inside. A bit on the heavy side but my side by side fits nicely with a queen bed upfront. A man size corner shower and 100 gallons of water. The build quality is good. Typical appliances that everyone uses. I did have a delimitation issue that I resolved quickly. Since it is a toy hauler with a ramp door, the ceiling height is nice.
Honestly though, having had two trailers now and one class C, I cannot see how anyone could own an Rv and not be able to repair the basics. Not one trip goes by that I do not have a "fix before next trip" list with something on it. My 32ft. gooseneck Wells Cargo I installed 12 feet of living quarters in it myself. There are some things you do only once. That trailer gave me little to none issues with plumbing or electrical issues as i knew exactly how and what was used.
So to answer your question, I don't know.

[Thermoguy]

Unless your looking at new and the 1 year warranty that comes with an RV, then how does the question apply? The only work I've had done was by me or a local repair shop. Mostly me... Reading these forums it seems like any repair that is required by the manufacturer will go through all kinds of back and forth as they drag their feet. I think it all comes down to dealer. Some will be great and others not so much. Find a good local repair shop and start there.

[Samsonsworld]

All 4 of my rv's were made by Forest River. The first 3 weren't too bad but my latest 2018 Sandpiper gives me nightmares.

[JIMNLIN]

Thor or Forest River - Warranty and reputation

From reading all the replies you've asked a age old question like ...chevy trucks or Ford truck-- warranty and reputation.

Google says Thor has 17 North American brands and 14 companies.
Same search says F/R has 20 different rv brands.
To find the best/worst rv would have to make a survey of each rv brand w/i the same company.

Even changing a rv brand names will get about the same type answers.

Whats really amusing is some claim these particular brands they name are the best. Looking thru all the different rv forum websites their are no bests as they all can have issues.

JMO from owning three different brands of 5th wheel rv trailers and three truck campers as others noted its the dealer where you get good warranty service or not.

[mgirardo]

blaczero wrote:
I'm asking if there is a difference bettween the brands when you *do* have an issue. Which is better for warranty/customer service, etc. Or is this more the dealer and/or extra warranty?

Thanks!

It really depends on the dealer. The dealer is your starting point on Warranty work, unless you can get the Manufacturer to authorize a mobile repair or other shop to do the work.

Every dealer is different. You need to do your research on the dealership. Some will not do warranty work on a unit that wasn't purchased at their dealership. We did not need warranty work with our Forest River Rockwood Roo HTT, but we really liked the dealership and feel they would have taken care of us. We've owned 2 Jayco products from new. The Class C was the only one that needed warranty work. The nearest dealership wouldn't touch our Class C, so we drove a little further (200 miles) and found a great dealership that had no problem doing the warranty work.

-Michael

[Skibane]

Herryy wrote:
Forest River is so famous that you can find Forest River products in almost every campground. In my opinion, Forest River has some outstanding features that distinguish them from other brands. They require strict standards for their products. These automobiles are subjected to additional review to make sure that each model meets all criteria, including pipework, electrical and LP systems, cosmetics, rain bay, function, navigator, as well as other miscellaneous tests.

LOL - No, not even close.

Generally, the best build quality comes from independent "Mom and Pop" companies.

Some examples:

Bigfoot
Casita
Escape
Oliver
Outdoors RV
Arctic Fox

None of these companies is owned by a large RV manufacturing conglomerate.

Not coincidentally, the best service also often comes from these same brands. Most of them have few or no dealers, so service is handled right at the factory.

The technicians are good at troubleshooting and fixing them, due to being intimately familiar with them - It's all they ever work on.

Being located right at the factory, they also have factory replacement parts immediately available - No sitting on a dealer's service lot waiting 3 months for parts to be shipped and installed.

[Herryy]

Forest River is so famous that you can find Forest River products in almost every campground. In my opinion, Forest River has some outstanding features that distinguish them from other brands. They require strict standards for their products. These automobiles are subjected to additional review to make sure that each model meets all criteria, including pipework, electrical and LP systems, cosmetics, rain bay, function, navigator, as well as other miscellaneous tests.

[MitchF150]

I can't answer the 'warranty' question, because I have not had an issue that required a true 'warranty' fix with my Rockwood that I could not just fix myself, and that's been mostly mods to the rig to make it work better for how we 'camp'... 🙂

I have a 2019 Rockwood "Mini-Lite", but it's really heavy! ha, ha..

Anyway, I had a 2003 Fleetwood Prowler Lynx before the Rockwood and we all know that "Fleetwood" was also a "bad" brand to get too...

Well, I never had any issues with warranty on it either.. I did have one warranty thing done, and they fixed it fast with no hassle.. But it failed again the next time out and I fixed it myself while in the camp site and it then lasted for another 15 years just fine! ha, ha.. Traded that Prowler for the Rockwood and got a heck of a deal on it!

After that, I figure if you have great 'warranty' service, you still have a POS rig that needs that kind of service, right??

It's all a flip of the coin in what your rig is going to be, but I know I spent over an hour looking over my Rockwood and asking all kinds of questions that I knew the answer to, but was just keeping the sales guy involved while I walked the roof, crawled under and opened every cabinet, ran every system to at least give me an idea of what I was getting.. It was off the lot, so I got what I looked at..

When you special order a rig, you get what you get.. Sure it now has the colors and other stuff you wanted.. But, in the end, you have no choice when it's delivered.. Or I guess you can wait several more months.

I buy off the rack all the time, and it has seemed to work for me..

Good luck, Mitch

[wiskeyVI]

My dad bought a 2020 Thor Class C, and has filed under oregon state lemon law as it can't seem to keep the starter battery to last more than a few days at a time.
CW had it many times, and found a sort in the hydraulics, that they thought was the culprit....but nope.
It's now at a Ford dealer to get looked at...

[mlh]

I like forest river products personally. As far as the warranty experience, I have never had a claim denied. I had what appear to be a bolt sticking up under the linoleum on a class C I owned. It apparently came loose. It was out of warranty by well over a year or two, but the dealer got FR to cover it under warranty. They removed the linoleum, tightened the bolt, and replaced the linoleum with new.