FOREST RIVER Complaints

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2007 FOREST RIVER WILDCAT 32QBBS. AS THE CONTACT WAS CHECKING THE TIRE PRESSURE ON HIS VEHICLE THE VALVE STEM ON THE FRONT PASSENGER SIDE TIRE HAD BROKEN OFF OF THE RIM. THE TIRES WHERE TAKEN TO A LOCAL TIRE DEALERSHIP WHERE THE VALVE STEMS WERE REPLACED. AS OF JULY 31, 2008, THE DEALER HAD NOT INSPECTED THE VEHICLE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 900 . UPDATED 09/15/08 *BF UPDATED 09/17/08. *JB

TONGUE ON THESE TRAILERS ARE MADE OF A MATERIAL TOO THIN TO SUPPORT THEIR WEIGHT. MY TONGUE FOLDED UP WHILE ENROUTE FROM A CAMPING TRIP. IT WAS LESS THAN 3 INCHES FROM THE GROUND BY THE TIME I GOT HOME. I HAD NO KNOWLEDGE THIS OCCURRED. ANY BUMP IN THE ROAD COULD HAVE GRABBED THE TRAILER AND RIPPED US APART. THE MANUFACTURE HAS TOLD ME THEY HAVE HAD TO INCREASE THE THICKNESS OF THE METAL SUBSEQUENT TO THEIR OWN DISCOVERY OF THIS ISSUE - BUT NO RECALL. ALSO, THEY SENT ME A NEW TONGUE OF THE SAME GAUGE METAL AS THE ONE I HAVE THAT FAILED TO SUPPORT THE WEIGHT OF THE TRAILER. THEY REFUSED TO PROVIDE A STRONGER TONGUE. I HAD TO HIRE A WELDER TO BUILD ONE FROM SCRATCH AT MY COST. WHAT YOU NEED TO DO IS INVESTIGATE THE FACT THAT THEY HAVE PRODUCED THESE TRAILERS THAT ARE AT RISK OF COLLAPSING ON THE ROADWAYS WHILE STILL BEING PULLED BY PASSENGER VEHICLES. WE COULD HAVE BEEN KILLED AND SO CAN OTHERS WHO HAVE THESE LIGHT WEIGHT TONGUES ON #12,000 LB TRAILERS. I STILL HAVE THE TONGUE FOR YOUR INSPECTION. I ALSO HAVE PLENTY OF PICTURES EVEN THOSE WHILE STILL ATTACHED TO MY VEHICLE AFTER THE CAMPING TRIP. I WOULD HAVE FAILED TO CLEAR A SPEED BUMP. *TR

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2005 FOREST RIVER CARDINAL PULL BEHIND TRAILER. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE COOLING UNIT ON THE REFRIGERATOR LEAKED AFTER A CRACK FORMED IN THE COOLING TUBE. THE CONTACT DISCONTINUED USING THE REFRIGERATOR. SOMEONE INFORMED THE CONTACT OF THE RECALL VIA THE INTERNET. HE CALLED DOMETIC AND HAS BEEN GETTING THE RUN AROUND EVER SINCE. NO REPAIRS HAVE BEEN MADE. THE RECALL NUMBER WAS UNKNOWN. THE VEHICLE IS A PULL BEHIND; THEREFORE, NO MILEAGE OR VIN INFORMATION WAS AVAILABLE.

I RECEIVED A RECALL NOTICE FROM FOREST RIVER, WHO IS THE MANUFACTURER OF MY TRAVEL TRAILER THAT DOMETIC HAS FOUND A PROBLEM WITH THE REFRIGERATOR IN MY TRAILER AND THAT THERE IS A POTENTIAL LEAK THAT CAN DEVELOP AND CAUSE A FIRE. AFTER CONTACTING DOMETIC AND FINDING OUT THAT MY UNIT IS ONE OF THE RECALL UNITS THEY INFORMED ME THAT I HAD TO TAKE IT TO THE DEALER TO GET IT FIXED. IT IS A LONG WAY TO THE DEALER OR THE NEAREST DEALER AND I TOLD THEM I WOULD PREFER FOR THEM TO COME OUT AND FIX IT AT MY RESIDENCE. I KNOW THEY HAVE DONE MOBILE REPAIRS AT OTHER LOCATIONS AND IT WOULD REQUIRE ME TO MAKE TWO TRIPS TO A DEALER TO GET IT FIXED AS I WOULD HAVE TO DROP IT AT NIGHT THEN COME BACK AFTER THE REPAIR IS DONE. AT FIRST THEY SAID THEY WOULD COME AND FIX IT AND THEN THEY CHANGED THEIR MIND AND SAID NO, THAT I HAD TO TAKE IT TO THE DEALER. AGAIN I WOULD HAVE TO SPEND A LOT OF MONEY TO TAKE IT TO A DEALER AND ALSO TAKE TIME OFF FROM WORK. I DON'T FEEL I SHOULD HAVE TO SINCE I AM NOT THE ONE WHO BUILT DEFECTIVE EQUIPMENT. *TR

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2006 (NA) FOREST RIVER CARDINAL. THE VEHICLE HAS A DOMETIC REFRIGERATOR, MODEL RM2862. THE CONTACT STATED THAT HE IS UNABLE TO GET ANY INFORMATION FROM DOMETIC CONCERNING NHTSA CAMPAIGN ID NUMBER 07V085000 (EQUIPMENT: RECREATIONAL VEHICLE). THE PURCHASE DATE, PART NUMBER, AND LOCATION IN THE VEHICLE WERE UNKNOWN. THERE HAD BEEN NO FAILURE TO DATE.

MY 10,000LB 5TH WHEEL CAME EQUIPPED FROM THE FACTORY WITH DURA KING LT236/85R16 TIRES. THE LOAD RANGE IS RATED AS E 3,042LBS SINGLE AXLE AND 2,778 DUAL. MY 5TH WHEEL HAS TWO AXLES WITH TWO TIRES PER AXLE. WITHIN THE LAST MONTH ALL FOUR TIRES HAVE BLOWN OUT. THREE WITHIN THE LAST WEEK AND TWO IN A SINGLE DAY. I WOULD ESTIMATE THAT THE LAST THREE TIRES BLEW OUT WITHIN 300 MILES OF EACH OTHER. EACH OF THE LAST THREE TIMES I HAD A PROFESSIONAL REPLACE THE TIRES AND CHECK THE AIR PRESSURE IN EACH TIRE TO BE SURE IT MET THE STANDARDS. I ALSO CHECKED THE TIRES TO INSURE THEY HELD THE CORRECT PRESSURE. EACH TIRE REPAIRMAN INDICATED CONCERN THAT THE TIRES WERE FOR LIGHT TRUCKS AND NOT TRAILER TIRES. TWO OF THE FOUR BLOWOUTS CAUSED SIGNIFICANT DAMAGE TO MY VEHICLE. UPON REPORTING THE PROBLEMS TO FOREST RIVER THERE WAS LITTLE CONCERN. THE 5TH WHEEL IS A 2006 MODEL AND THE TIRE REPAIRMEN INDICATED THE TIRES WERE MADE IN 2004. SHOULD MY FIFTH WHEEL BE EQUIPPED WITH LIGHT TRUCK TIRES INSTEAD OF TRAILER TIRES? WHY ARE THERE 2004 MODEL TIRES ON MY 2006 TRAILER? SHOULD THERE BE 2004 TIRES ON A 2006 TRAILER THAT WAS SOLD AS NEW? *TR

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2007 (NA) FOREST RIVER SURVEYOR SVT303. THE VEHICLE HAS A DOMETIC REFRIGERATOR, MODEL RM2652. THE CONTACT RECEIVED A SAFETY RECALL NOTICE FOR HIS DOMETIC AND HAS ATTEMPTED TO REACH DOMETIC EVER SINCE. HE KEEPS GETTING AN AUTOMATED SYSTEM THAT DISCONNECTS HIM REPEATEDLY. THE SERIAL NUMBER IS 541-08981. THE FAILURE MILEAGE AND RECALL NUMBER WERE UNKNOWN.

WE HAD A FAILURE OF OUR DOMETIC RV REFRIGERATOR IN OUR 1999 SALEM 29 FT. CAMPER THIS WEEKEND. WE CAME BACK FROM A HIKE AND NOTICED A STRONG SMELL OF AMMONIA INSIDE. I SHUT OFF POWER TO THE UNIT AND CAME HOME. AFTER TALKING TO SOME FRIENDS ,THEY STATED THAT THERE WAS A NHTSA RECALL ON CERTAIN DOMETIC UNITS. I LOOKED UP THE RECALL AND CALLED THE DOMETIC HELP LINE ONLY TO BE TOLD THAT THEY WILL PAY FOR A SHIELD TO BE PUT ON TO PREVENT FAILURES AND FIRES , BUT NOT REPAIR A UNIT THAT HAD FAILED EVEN THOUGH THEY ARE AWARE OF THE PROBLEM IN THE DESIGN OF THE UNIT. WE ARE THE ORIGINAL OWNERS OF THIS CAMPER AND FILLED OUT ALL WARRANTY CARDS WHEN WE PURCHASED THE CAMPER, INCLUDING THE DOMETIC CARD. WE HAVE NEVER RECEIVED NOTIFICATION THAT A PROBLEM EXISTED THAT COULD CAUSE LIFE SAFETY ISSUES WITH THE CONTINUED USE OF THEIR PRODUCT. IF WE HAD BEEN ASLEEP IN THE CAMPER WHEN THE COOLING SYSTEM FAILED WE COULD HAVE BEEN ASPHYXIATED BY THE RELEASE OF THE AMMONIA GAS INTO THE TRAILER. NOW THEY TELL ME THEY WON'T REPAIR A KNOWN DESIGN PROBLEM WITH THEIR PRODUCT THAT THEY FAILED TO NOTIFY US ABOUT. THANK YOU *TR

THIS IS A FACTORY RECALL ON REFRIGERATOR BY DOMETIC NOT FOREST RIVER I CALL THE RECALL LINE AND THE RECORDING TELLS YOU THE ARE BUSY AND CALL BACK AND PUSH # 9 , I DO AND ALL IT DOES IS HANG YOU UP. MY REFRI. IS ON THE RECALL LIST AND ACCORDING TO THEIR MAILER IT IS DANGEROUS AND NOT TO USE IT. I WANT TO TALK TO THEM TO GET IT REPAIRED BUT HOW WHEN THEY HAVE THE PHONE RIGGED TO HANG YOU UP . PLEASE HELP. THANK YOU. *TR

I HAVE A NEW (2007) FOREST RIVER SIERRA SPORT 38 FOOT FIFTH WHEEL TRAILER. TRAILER CAME WITH TIRES MANUFACTURED BY GREENBALL, MODEL AVANTIRE, SIZE L235/85R16, LOAD RANGE G. WITH LESS THEN 600 MILES ON THE TIRES AND HAVING OWNED THE TRAILER NEW FOR LESS THEN 6 MONTHS, HAD A TOTAL BLOW OUT WHILE DRIVING ON THE FREEWAY. BLOW OUT CAUSED DAMAGE TO THE UNDER SIDE OF THE TRAILER. GREENBALL HAD ME TAKE THE TIRE TO DISCOUNT TIRE FOR WARRANTY, TIRE WAS COVERED. HOWEVER, PER DISCOUNT TIRE, TRAILER TIRES A RATED AT MAX SPEED OF 55 MPH. NO WHERE ON THE TRAILER, THE TIRES OR THE PAPERWORK PROVIDED WITH THE TRAILER IS THERE ANY LISTING OF MAX SPEED. WITH THE SPEED LIMITS ON FREEWAYS AT 75 MPH, IT IS ILLOGICAL TO THINK DRIVING AT 20 MPH UNDER THE POSTED SPEED LIMIT WILL NOT CAUSE PROBLEMS. PURCHASERS OF TRAILERS SHOULD BE WARNED OR MANUFACTURES SHOULD PUT FREEWAY QUALITY TIRES ON THEIR TRAILERS. UPDATED 04/29/09.*JB