2021 COACHMEN NOVA Complaints

The contact owns a 2022 Coachmen Nova RV constructed on a 2021 Ram Promaster 3500 chassis. The contact stated that the passenger’s side awning failed to lock securely. After driving for approximately seven hours in a rainstorm, the awning opened and flipped over the RV. There were no reported injuries. The awning arm then detached. The driver was able to pull over and left the RV on the shoulder. There were no reported injuries. The local dealer was not contacted. The RV was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was approximately 6,000.

The vehicle is a 2021 Nova C camper van by Forest River. The defective part of the vehicle is the awning. I’ve heard many reports of spontaneous deployment of these awnings and pulled the end cap to check out its condition. To my surprise the motor is loose and the bolts have ground an oval hole in the bracket due to the eccentric movement. The bolts are jammed and the heads slightly stripped, eliminating the possibility of tightening the assembly. I contacted Carefree awning to see if it had been recalled and initially they said yes, that model has been recalled for the Winnebago camper. When I explained my camper was a Nova, they said it was not recalled, but admitted it was the same issue. This is a very serious issue, if the bolts break, the awning will fully deploy, as it is spring loaded. If this should happen on a highway, there could be catastrophic results.