FOREST RIVER Complaints

Front window randomly shattered while parked for a week with know known impact to trailer or window. The windshield shattered, and did not have an ANSI stamp anywhere on it.

Leaf spring bolt disconnected and missing. After owning approx. 6 months and only normal use, I noticed that the farthest rear, right side leaf spring mount is disconnected from the frame, bolt is missing completely . (Picture attached)

We had a small fire in a heater duct hose for the duct in the upper bathroom. It was caused by the duct hose being in contact with the positive battery cable connection on the 2,000 Watt 120 volt Inverter located in the passthrough under the bathroom floor. The duct is made of foil and has a plastic liner. The plastic line is what was on fire, and the whole duct hose was hot, (the furnace was not being used at the time). Luckily we caught this before it got to be a larger fire, and also while we were sleeping. I reported this to Forest River, I haven't heard from them yet.

The contact owns a 2022 Forest River Cherokee. The contact stated that while extending the awning, the canvas separated from the RV. The contact stated that the failure caused the awning to fully extend abruptly and almost strike him. The contact stated that the awning could no longer be closed. The RV was taken to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed and the contact was informed that the VIN was included in NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V556000 (Equipment); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact stated that the dealer sent a diagnostic report to the manufacturer but had not received a response from the manufacturer. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 100. Parts distribution disconnect.

There are 2 major defects that we would like to make the NHTSA aware of and feel that the manufacturer should issue a recall and have these issues properly fixed. Our 2020 Forest River camper/ice house has a structural defect and the entire camper is breaking away from the frame. We had this confirmed by a service company that specializes in RV frames/wheel alignment. Our camper has had structural issues within 2 years of owning it. We are the original owners (bought Aug 2020) and the camper's wheel well is bowing, the exterior walls on the camper are bowing/wavy, interior walls are bowing/wavy. We have made attempts to work with Forest River to fix this major structural issue, but they have denied our claim. We have an extended warranty, but was given the impression that they also will deny our claim. In talking with other owners of Forest River camping/ice house, this is a wide spread issue (both the structural wall and tongue failure). We are also aware of a recall of what appears to be a similar if not exact issue that Forest River had to fix in 2014/15 (NHTSA Recall No. 14V-689 / Manufacturer Recall No. 6-102914). In addition to the wall/structural issues, the trailer's tongue weld failed and snapped while we were in transit. This occurred in Nov 2023. I have documents and pictures to upload and provide, but I was unable to get the upload tool to work when submitting this request.

The contact owns a 2022 Forest River Columbus. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V289000 (Structure, Tires) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The dealer was made aware of the issue and confirmed that parts were not yet available. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue and confirmed that parts were not yet available. The contact had not experienced a failure. Parts distribution disconnect.

While Driving down the road the wheel cover came off. This could have caused an accident. These wheel covers are the size of the entire wheel and are metal.

While traveling down the road the wheel cover flew off of the vehicle. If this happens in traffic it could cause and accident. These wheel covers are the size of the entire wheel and are metal.

The contact owns a 2024 Forest River Stealth Trailer. The contact stated that the frame was not welded properly. The safety chains were installed incorrectly. The trailer was taken to an independent mechanic, who declined to service the trailer. The local dealer was contacted. The trailer was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was contacted. The failure mileage was unknown.

While a mobile welder was repairing the cracked rear bracket holding the ASME propane tank (NHTSA complaint #11555667) he repaired another full-depth crack, this one on the actual ASME propane tank mounting flange itself. This flange is welded to the tank by the tank manufacturer. This cracked tank flange is bolted directly to the cracked rear angled mounting bracket reported on Nov. 17, 2023. The tank mounting flange crack was close to an inch long and cracked at a gusset on the rear, outer mount of the tank ("outer" means nearest the propane compartment door). Please see the top and bottom pics. This second crack had rust in it on the top but was only partially rusted on the bottom, as if the crack may still be progressing. See the black spot on the compartment close-up pic. (I did not have any white paint to cover the welded area.) From previous pics I have this second crack is at least six months old and probably older. I just never really noticed it. One way this gusset-reinforced flange could crack is if the metal was repeatedly flexed at the end of the gusset, which is where it cracked. Interestingly, BOTH of these cracks occurred at the rear outer, just 2.5 inches from each other. The motorhome propane tank mounting structure has a unique support design in that only three of the four "corners" are supported by other structure. Normally a horizontal frame member supporting a lot of weight (up to 200 lbs total in this case) has a support at each end to eliminate flexing. The rear horizontal frame in fact is supported on each end by a vertical piece of square steel tubing that is welded to other structure. See the pic. The FRONT of the ASME tank mount has a similar horizontal run of square steel tubing. On the inner section of the welded bracket there is a 45-degree angle iron support welded to steel frame. See the pic. BUT the outer end of the front horizontal steel frame is NOT supported in any way; it's just sticking out. See the pic.