Where does Forest River fall on the quality scale of RV's? (Trailers)


Thanks.

Mediocre.

From what I read and view on RV related forums almost all the low and medium level RV's both Motor homes and especially travel trailers suck as far as quality control and the use of cheap materials.

I would seek out a used High end coach, do NOT buy a new unit.

Our first RV was a new 2016 35' Forest River travel trailer. Wife liked it, it had a bunkhouse for our three kids who where 6, 8, and 10 at the time. It seemed nice for the price, but what did we know?

I noticed the material on the roof wasn't glued down properly behind the front cap within our first three months of ownership. They refused to fix it. The roof material peeled off nine months later on the way to Texas where we were going to trade it in on our 5th wheel. Fixing it cost me $10,000. The damn trailer cost $35,000 to begin with. We owned it a year. We've had the 5th wheel for 5 with no issues since we replaced the Chinesium tires.

Even without the roof issue, we weren't impressed with it which is why we traded it. Corners had to be cut to keep the weight and price down. The floors and ceiling were wood and Styrofoam sandwich and the floor started developing soft spots where the wood flexed down from walking on it and crushed the Styrofoam.

quote:

Originally posted by armored:
Mediocre.

From what I read and view on RV related forums almost all the low and medium level RV's both Motor homes and especially travel trailers suck as far as quality control and the use of cheap materials.

I would seek out a used High end coach, do NOT buy a new unit.

This. The market has tanked for RV’s in a way not seen in a very long time. You can get some great deals on some great lightly used models right now. Buying a new RV is probably the easiest way to burn a pile of money right now.

Thanks, that sounds like a real bummer deal Trapper.

Not looking to burn a bunch or $ on a new Trailer.

A piece of property I may have interest in might include one. So I am trying to get an idea if it has much value.

Depends on the line and the year. Our pre-covid pre-owned 2017 MiniLite has been trouble free.

Trailer value when parked is likely lower. Sitting for weeks / months / years may not create mechanical issues like road vibration does. But, it has perhaps worse concerns. UV paint damage. Tire degradation. Tire deflation over time resulting in sidewall flex for the trailer weight. Bugs. Critters. Failure to winterize? So many possibilities for degradation.

Check rvtrader dot com for your specific trailer value.

We bought a 2019 Forest River Wildwood DLX. It's a 40 foot destination trailer. It's been towed once and that's up to our lake property. I hired a guy there to tow it up for me put it in place and properly block it up because we have no intentions of moving it. Unless we upgrade.

It's slowly falling apart. I'm having problems with the awning. The furnace makes noise on start up and shut down. One of the windows will not go up. The bathroom mirror randomly fell off the wall one day. The roof vent over the bathroom just disintegrated and fell apart from a years worth of sun exposure. The counter top cracked by the kitchen sink. I'm sure there's more. But this is just a few years use and it's not getting dragged up and down the road.

Rv's are built using inferior materials sloppily put together. The Rv market exploded eight years or so ago and is still a brisk business and they were cranking these things out as fast as possible to get them on the dealers lot. Quality control went out the window. Because we purchased new the dealer pressed us hard to buy the aftermarket warranty for $7G's! I declined I can and have fixed a lot of stuff for that amount of money. Plus I have a buddy who runs a independent rv repair shop. He likes to fish our lake so if there's something beyond my capabilities he will make a service call.

There's not much difference between the brands. Most are built in Elkhart Indiana between a couple manufacturing facilities. Spending $10g's more for one brand over another isn't going to buy you any more quality it's the same inferior materials built in the same place.

My advice would be to buy something a few years old that has the bugs worked out of it and hope for the best. Another thing on warranties. Dealers have a hard time getting the factory to pay them on warranty claims. That's why dealers are pushing these after market expensive warranties. They want their money up front and hope you don't have that many problems for them to repair.

We’ve owned several travel trailers. My opinion, they’re all junk and the worst investment out there. “ Let’s pay $20,000- $30,000 for a camper and then pay $75- $100 per night to enjoy camping on a 20x40 lot!
We had one with fiberglass siding. Which delaminated while driving down the interstate. Come to find out, the guttters that ran up and over each side were never sealed so rain worked it’s way in each screw hole and rotted the heavy duty 1/4” plywood that was glued to the aluminum studs which were 4’ on center!
Oops, that was a rant! If I was ever to consider another RV, it would be an Airsrteam.

I couldn't agree more with lastmanstanding. I started rving back in 1971. I have owned two travel trailers, a fifth wheel, and two motorhomes. The saying that they don't make them like they use to really holds true. There were so many mergers in the industry, most rvs are made under one giant corporation. My latest one, a 2017 Motorhome was the ultimate piece of shit. Sold it after three years of having to mess with almost every part of it except the Ford chassis and running gear.

I'll leave you with this one thought that just about covers the subject. "What do you expect in workmanship from a bunch hamburger academy graduates who traded in their spatula for an air stapler".

quote:

There's not much difference between the brands. Most are built in Elkhart Indiana between a couple manufacturing facilities. Spending $10g's more for one brand over another isn't going to buy you any more quality it's the same inferior materials built in the same place.

This. I live and work about 1/2 an hour from Elkhart, and the number of RV manufacturer employees who I've dealt with in a professional capacity leads me to believe that the use of methamphetamine, heroin, fentanyl, and other narcotics is the predominant recreational activity choice of their workforce. There's no way in hell I'd sink money into something coming out of one of those plants.

Avoid FR if you can.

Scan RV Trader. Of course dealers will get more out of a unit than you will be able to get most likely.

Had a close friend in the RV service industry, repair only and no sales.
He was independent and was the warranty center in the Cincinnati area for a very large dealer in Indiana.
He told me to never buy a Forrest River product. He told me some horror stories about shoddy construction and poor installation of appliances.
I would say stay away from Forest River.

I’m sure some people have had good luck with them, but nobody I know.

ok guys, I hear you. This situation is like lastmanstandings so pretty much a park model so to speak. It could be moved. But that is not the intention.
My thinking is I could build a pole building over it. Wide enough where I could park a boat and truck next to it. That would eliminate some where and tear on the trailer itself.
But I hear you in that junk is junk. It has slideouts too, which I hear are problematic. But they would be left out pretty much all the time. We might go take a look.

quote:

Originally posted by old rugged cross:
ok guys, I hear you. This situation is like lastmanstandings so pretty much a park model so to speak. It could be moved. But that is not the intention.
My thinking is I could build a pole building over it. Wide enough where I could park a boat and truck next to it. That would eliminate some where and tear on the trailer itself.
But I hear you in that junk is junk. It has slideouts too, which I hear are problematic. But they would be left out pretty much all the time. We might go take a look.

Slide outs can be a major issue. We have two. One huge living room slide out and a smaller bedroom one. So far so good but they go out once in spring and in once in the fall that's it. Someone commented that a rv left in one place can be more problematic than one being towed every weekend. Couldn't disagree more. If they are properly blocked up they are fine. The stress on the walls and frame is much more prevalent when making turns hitting uneven slopes and the pot holes in roads in campgrounds where the twisting of the structure takes place.

Before we went shopping (believe me I abhor dealerships of any kind) we decided on several things that were a must. This eliminates a lot of trailers to look at and keeps your time in these dealerships at a minimum. My only requirement was no slide outs on the entrance side of the camper. I knew I was going to build a deck on that side and I didn't want to work around slide outs. The wife wanted a sliding patio door and I agreed because that was the side to be facing the lake. It helps when you know the layout of the property and the orientation that the camper will be parked in beforehand. If your going to different campgrounds every weekend that's a different story. We will never go with another rv on our property and as of right now we have no plans to build a permanent home there. The next step would likely be a three season cabin of some sort.

Pic of our Forest River when the deck was nearly completed. That's my daughter and son in laws camper in the background.

^^^ looks like a great spot/setup.

In a nutshell, the problem is that the RV manufacturers do not have to build a good product.

There is absolutely no sort of Lemon Law for them, and they fight tooth and nail to defeat any such possible legislation.

Steve Lehto is known as the Lemon Law Lawyer and has had numerous videos about RV manufacturers and defects and no recourse.
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If you can swing the pricing, check out DRV Mobile Suites 5th wheels, especially the Elite Suite options. We owned a '06 Elite Suite 36' model TK3. In the 2006 line, Elite Suite was a seperate model, not an option on the Mobile Suite. I'll add a picture later. Towed with an International 4700 Crew cab with an RV tow body.

DRV used to be "Doubletree RV" but got in a hassle with the hotel chain.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Johnny 3eagles,

Had an FR Wildcat 5th wheel, pos. Slide leaking, door misfit, electrical issues and QC in general. They were willing to take it back and replace the whole side where the main slide was because the opening was cut to large. Put extra seals and slide awnings and sold it. My next one was a Solitude, had issues with that also. Once you get all the things fixed then you might enjoy it