Water Damage

[farmer_s_daught]

UPDATE: I had posted last spring about my troubles with my less-than-1-yr.old trailer suffering severe water damage due to the manufacturer failing to put seals and caulking on the trailer at the factory, AND the dealer failing to discover such upon receiving it or before selling it to me. It was missing more than a foot of sealant on the top of the slide-out, as well as numerous caulking on windows and around the AC unit. As soon as I discovered puddles of water on top of the slide, on the floor, and countertop, I took it in to the dealer. They had it for 2 1/2 months (Mar. to June) while they attempted to hear from Forest River. It finally took a call from me to get the ball rolling! FR made the decision that I could pick up the trailer and use it for the summer (I'd already had to cancel the reservation I had for a seasonal spot at a nearby lake) and then return it to the dealership. They would then ship the trlr to the factor and FR would rebuild it. (I'd pushed for a new one, but they wouldn't do it!). I left the trlr off the end of August and just picked it up last Friday. This trailer had had so many defects that I had already been in numerous times before the water damage, and every contact with dealership was an unpleasant one. They always acted like something was my fault--Oh, the shower had not been caulked--that's my fault? They'd lost my file (luckily I kept copies of everything!). I documented and took pictures of all the damage, and FR actually used my document to address each problem. They removed and replaced the entire roof, removed the slide, put new seals and caulking on everything, removed and replaced walls, ceiling panels, closet panels, etc. I know, because I had made little pencil marks is certain places so I'd know if it was a new panel! I have to say, after closely inspecting the trailer, FR did a great job. They even addressed issues I'd had earlier (which I'd added to the document) and that the dealership said they'd fixed (which I didn't believe them!). Unfortunately, this nightmare could have been avoided if FR had done their job IN THE FIRST PLACE. I won't know for sure how things go until next June when I use the trailer again.....

[drsteve]

SidecarFlip wrote:

drsteve wrote:
Quality control on nearly all new RVs is non existent. If the workers screw up, the manufacturer relies on the dealers to fix their mess. If the dealer can't handle it, they will often simply deny that anything is wrong. Forest River is still insisting there's nothing wrong with the creaky, flexing floor in my brand new Coachmen.

Sounds to me like a Lippert Components Issue. LCI (cobbles together) the frames for FR. I call them 'flexible flyer' frames....

They admit it's the wooden floor, but they claim it's "within specs" so they won't fix it.

[SidecarFlip]

drsteve wrote:
Quality control on nearly all new RVs is non existent. If the workers screw up, the manufacturer relies on the dealers to fix their mess. If the dealer can't handle it, they will often simply deny that anything is wrong. Forest River is still insisting there's nothing wrong with the creaky, flexing floor in my brand new Coachmen.

Sounds to me like a Lippert Components Issue. LCI (cobbles together) the frames for FR. I call them 'flexible flyer' frames....

[falconbrother]

I hate to read something like this. Lots of people get loans to buy these things because they can't scratch out a check. They make payments and should have an expectation that it will last a while. Many have kids, sick spouses, crappy jobs and all kinds of mountains to climb. It seems pretty awful to take advantage of people, customers, for a few dollars. It's the world we live in a guess. Live like you'll never die, except that you will. Glad FR fixed it but, they didn't need to put you through months of aggravation. Shame on the dealership as well. Honesty is so rare.

[drsteve]

Quality control on nearly all new RVs is non existent. If the workers screw up, the manufacturer relies on the dealers to fix their mess. If the dealer can't handle it, they will often simply deny that anything is wrong. Forest River is still insisting there's nothing wrong with the creaky, flexing floor in my brand new Coachmen.

[gbopp]

Consider applying Eternabond on the roof seams and wherever possible.
It will last a lot longer than caulking.

[Lwiddis]

Good news! But as Sidecar said it may be ok now but in three to six months...RV maintenance is never ending.

[SidecarFlip]

Just the same, because it's sealed and caulked now don't mean it's forever. Seals and caulk need to be checked at least every 3 months and touched up.

RV's flex and seals and caulk fails. keep that in mind.

[ScottG]

Thanks for the update and I'm glad it seems to have been resolved.
Any manufacturer can make mistake (Northwood made a duesy on mine!). It's how they correct it that defines them.