FOREST RIVER Complaints

Noticed interior night stand and paneling buckled. Upon inspection, found multiple welds on frame and hitch area that had separated due to poorly performed welds. Contacted both Forest River and Lippert. Neither were interested in this safety concern. The failures of these welds will result in this RV detaching from tow vehicle if not identified soon enough. Mine was very close to this!

There was a fire that was created with the factory installed wiring that initiated at the shore power connection where one of the 50 amp wires was loose, heated up, melted the surrounding area and started a fire.

Shortly after buying the camper used in April of 2024 on the way home I had a tire blow out going about 60-65 miles. Date code of tire is 1520. The tire tread looked good and confirmed correct amount of tire psi before leaving the dealership with salesman. While camper was parked, resting on 2x6 boards, not sitting directly on the ground. Where the tire was touching the board the tread completely split open. Date code also 1520.

On [XXX], while traveling NB on [XXX], my 2022 Forest River Shockwave (purchased new in July 2022), suffered a catastrophic suspension failure on the driver's side while hauling my son's dirt bike and a golf cart. I was able to safely get my vehicle and the toy hauler off to the shoulder. A wheel had nearly come off the trailer. After being previously torqued to spec, it still somehow loosened itself and suffered a failure, shearing off lugs. The back spring was collapsed and after getting towed to RV Country in Kelso, loose shackle bolts were found on all ends of the springs. The original company I purchased it from is no longer in business and the new company that took over the are doesn't not have my information. I have been trying to work with Forest River and Lippert (suspension manufacturer) for help, but I feel like they are trying to pass the buck. I have a $2300 bill over this matter with RV Country. The Regional Director of RV Country, Andy Jackson, indicated it is possible the loose shackle bolts shook enough to loosen the wheel and cause the leaf spring failure. Parts were shipped out to Lippert for inspection, and they claim to have tested the brake drum for defects (not the loose shackle bolts) and denied the claim, I after I was assured by Forest River, it would be taken care of. This may be a problem bigger than just my trailer. If that wheel would have come off and injured or worse killed someone over a manufacturing issue, I would have been devastated. My [XXX] son was with me and this traumatized the both of us knowing what happened. There is nothing in the owner's manual that indicates the owner should inspect/tighten shackle bolts on the leaf springs before each trip. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

The contact owns a 2022 Forest River Vengeance RV. The contact stated while the vehicle was parked, the electric awning detached from the RV. There were no warning lights illuminated. The contact stated that both ends of the welded seams had detached from the electric awning. The dealer was contacted, and the vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and advised the contact to reach out to NHSTA Hotline for further assistance. The failure mileage was not available. The VIN was not available.

The contact owns a 2001 Forest River Cardinal Towable. The contact stated while the RV was parked the contact stated that he heard an abnormal "popping" sound and observed flames had burst on the outside of the refrigerator. The contact stated that the flames had ignited the side of the RV wall behind the refrigerator and on the RV ceiling over the refrigerator. The contact stated that the fire department was called and the fire was extinguished. The contact was not sure if the fire department used water to extinguish the flames. The contact had not taken the vehicle to a local dealer or body shop. The vehicle was not diagnosed and was not repaired. The contact was advised by the fire department that there was a recall that was related to the fire, NHTSA Campaign Number: 07V085000 (Equipment). The manufacturer was not informed of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown.

I purchased a MicroLite 2515s in January. However, one of my internal TPMS died on the front passenger tire. I received a replacement sensor from TST and had it installed today. When the tire tech dismounted the tire from the rim, he found sections of the metal band that holds the sensor, loose inside the tire. Multiple pieces of metal, sharp edges, sharp corners falling around the inside of the tire. Whoever installed the sensors at Forest River cut the band and left the scraps inside the tire. This is a huge safety issue for my family and other drivers on the road when those metal pieces shred the inside of the tire. Clearly, the installer either did this on purpose, or was just negligent in their job. Maybe a one off mistake, but no. I checked the other tires and two more have metal scraps inside the tire. I can hear the pieces falling around inside the tire when I spin the wheels. So, out of four tires, three contain metal fragments. This is a huge safety issue and Forest River is responsible for this screw up. I have photos and video of the pieces inside the tires. This problem has been documented since 2020 with complaints and photos. Here's a link to a RV forum from 2020 [XXX] Clearly, Forest River is negligent for this continued practice and it remains unexplained how and why this keeps happening to their product. Thank you INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

There is a bracket that welds to the frame and supports the crank for the ice house and the entire weight of the RV. there are some very questionable welds on the brackets that looks like they were blown through the metal so now that bracket is bent and unlevel and digging into the side of the fish house causing the diamond plate in the wheel house to come off and expose the insulation.

Some RV manufacturers have started using this new "Dual Swing Door" refrigerator in select model RV's (in 2024, possibly in 2023). The refrigerator is made by Way International and is sold under the Magic Chef, Everchill, and Furrion names (and maybe more). This fridge has a single refrigerator door with a single freezer compartment door above it. These doors can open from either side without changing, swapping, or removing anything. Just pull on the right door handle to open the door to the left, or pull on the left door handle to open the door to the right. The problem is that it is a little hard to close/latch the doors fully - compared to a normal fridge door. If the door is not fully closed (and it's hard to tell by just looking at it), the next time the fridge door is opened from the opposite side, the door will fall off and hit the floor. My wife accidentally and unknowingly didn't fully close/latch the top freezer door one time and I wound up opening the freezer door from the opposite side the next day and the door fell off, striking my right shin and gouging my leg, peeling the skin off my shin in one area and leaving a bleeding wound over 2" long on my shin. Since the door hit my leg before eventually hitting the floor, the door and floor were not damaged as my leg took the brunt of the impact. My leg is healing. If an adult, fully aware of the issues with closing this type of door, failed to close the door properly, then small children could easily not fully close/latch these doors and could be hurt if they later tried opening the fridge or freezer door from the opposite side or were standing in the vicinity of the refrigerator when someone were to open it, if either door fell off. My granddaughter was in such a position 2 days before the freezer door came off, waiting for me to get her an ice cream bar from the freezer. Good thing the freezer door didn't come off then, it would have hit her in the head. Very dangerous design!

The contact owns a 2017 Forest River Rockwood RV equipped with Castle Rock Tires, Tire Line: Radial ST226, Tire Size: 225/75/R15, DOT Number: (N/A). The contact stated while driving 55-60 MPH, the front and rear driver's side tires experienced blowouts. The contact was able to pull to the side of the road. The tires were replaced with a spare tire and a replacement tire. The tires were original tires. Additionally, the contact stated while driving to the residence, the rear passenger's side tire experienced a blowout. The contact was able to pull to the side of the road and noticed that the front passenger's side tire was also damaged. The contact's husband was in the process of purchasing two replacement tires from the tire shop. The front and rear passenger's side tires were not replaced. The tires were original tires. The manufacturer was not contacted. The RV failure mileage was approximately 2,500. The tires failure mileage was approximately 2,500.