FOREST RIVER Complaints

The contact owns a 2017 Forest River Salem Cruise Lite RV. The contact stated due to water buildup in the roof, the ceiling was leaking during rainy weather. The contact stated that the leak had caused mold to build up on the front side of the camper. The contact stated that the roof slider had previously been repaired with tape due to water leaking and mildew. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was not available.

The leveling system failed under load including bent frame brackets. The system is under engineered for the load weight of the vehicle. I have pictures of previous year leveler design and it is clear that the redesign is not sufficient to safely level the vehicle

While driving down the highway, the electric Solera awning opened on its own. This caused the arms to partially rip off the side walls of the 5th wheel, the fabric to rip, and the awning tube to come off, falling in traffic on the four lane highway. There was nothing near the wall mounted switch inside, and the battery was turned off, so there was no power to the awning.

The contact owns a 2023 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while driving at 35–65 MPH and towing a 2023 Forest River Salem Cruise Lite, the roof on the RV caved in. There was mold detected on the inner walls. The RV was swaying from left to right. The contact stated that the foundation had separated. The active air dam warning light was illuminated. The RV was towed to the local dealer to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that there was structural damage and that the ceiling panels needed to be replaced. The RV was repaired, and the dealer recommended sending the RV to the manufacturer. The manufacturer was contacted, but no assistance was provided. The failure mileage was unknown.

I experienced four blow outs on Castle Rock ST225/75R15 tires on five different outings with my travel trailer. Prior to every trip I check/adjust tire pressures according to the tire placard on the vehicle and torque all lug nuts to OE specs. On two occasions, the blow out occurred on Sundays and it was necessary to purchase tires in order to make the return trip home. My travel trailer has significant consequential damage due to the multiple blow outs. Lionshead tire will not reimburse me for tire replacements or consequential damages to travel trailer or wheel.

Model 2507S Trailer, Suburban 6gal Gas/Elec Water Heater. Has been out 4 times since new last summer. Last trip lasted 5 weeks. When setting up at camp, open up trlr and operate Water heater on Gas, with any kind of winds from Drivers side rear quadrant, The CO - Propane detector goes off, and readings of up to 350ppm of CO (no gas odorant noted). Gas heater is shut off as unit is emptied of personnel, and ventilated (upper bath vent fan, and external fan in door), for 20 minutes. This is NOT a gas leak as soapy water on joints do NOT bubble on all exposed joints and no odorant smell in or around unit. The Water heater sits about a foot aft of the one slide out. Seals are in good shape on the slide out. Inspection of the Water heater body and trim cover, shows a few gaps that could very well allow exhaust gases into the interior. Note that DIRECTION of Wind is important here. Any winds from the Front or passenger side DOES NOT cause the CO Detector to sound. Winds from 90 deg on Driver side to 180 (back) causes CO Detector to sound. Levels seen on Detector are 5 to 7 times the OSHA 8hr weighted maximum exposure of 50ppm. Feel this is a design defect as the slide out may be causing a blocking of exhaust (lack of draft) out of the front cover, and the exhaust is getting blown internally. Trip lasted from 3-22-24 to 04-25-24. Electric side of Wtr Htr was used exlcusively after noting problem. No injuries occured.

I noticed bulging of the spare tire cover mounted to the back of the travel trailer. When I removed the cover I saw that a chunk of the thread was missing and large gaps were in the thread next to it. It was a brand new tire that was never on the ground. The tire was inflated to the proper air pressure. The tire is a Castle Rock trailer tire size ST205/75 R14. ST 226.

Two of the cargo tie-down D-rings bent when traveling with my UTV (2015 Kawasaki TeryX4 LE) in this toy hauler trailer. Upon investigation it appears the D-rings are not rated sufficiently to safely secure the rated trailer cargo capacity. The trailer is rated for a cargo capacity of 2,750 lbs (GVWR and dry weight stickers attached). My UTV weighs 1,880 lbs as equipped. The D-rings have a working load limit (WWL) of 265 lbs. each. The UTV was secured with four rachet straps on four separate trailer D-rings. Each rachet strap has a WWL of 800 lbs. My understanding is that DOT regulations require that cargo tie-downs have a WWL of at least 50% of the cargo weight capacity. For this trailer each tie-down D-ring should have a WWL of 1,375 lbs. The trailer manufacturer (Forest River) claims the D-rings are correctly rated for this trailer but has not been willing to provide an explanation for how they should be used to safely secure the cargo. Forest River originally believed the D-rings had a WLL of 1,000 lbs. based on incorrect information published by the D-ring supplier (Buyers Product Company). When I contacted the Quality Engineer at Buyers he stated the published information was incorrect and after retesting the correct WWL is 265 lbs (Test report attached). On [XXX], Forest River transported my trailer to their manufacturing facility in Ligonier, IN, to inspect the D-rings. Their vendor for the D-rings (LaVanture Products Company) sent the D-rings out for testing on [XXX]. (Note: Buyers is the D-ring supplier but Forest River purchased them through LaVanture.) After that date Forest River suddenly stopped providing me updates until April 22, when they briefly stated in an email that the D-rings are correctly rated for my trailer. When I asked for the test results and more details they stopped responding. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

3500# axles added to a trailer with a gross weight of 3920#. Tires are severely worn on the inside from an undersized axel. Possible tire blow out if not corrected.

The contact owns a 2020 Georgetown Forest River RV built on a 2019 Ford F53 chassis. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V103000 (Equipment) however, the part to do the repair was unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. VIN tool showed no open recall.