Forrest River lawsuit?

[Wonder05]

OK, so my father has recently brought to my attention that forest river is now in a lawsuit?

So he says we should avoid them due to that. I search but I only found one person suing and that was via a law firm site.

He's looking he says to look at Jayco. However, I'm seeing all sorts of negative on Jayco.

He told me avoid reading on boards that are for one brand over the other because there is a bias. Now, personally I would think people wouldn't just love the rv for its product name but that's just me.

Also told me we should avoid coachman. Because the slider buttons and everything or we can child height. I don't know about that though because the all the stoves is within child height so I'm not sure if that's a big deal.

 

[tripleb]

Wonder05, lawsuits are an everyday occurrence in todays "sue happy" world ... it's not just in the RV realm. I wouldn't worry about law suits when trying to decide what RV to purchase. The RV industry, in general, are putting out more RV's than they can keep up with as far as quality control are concerned.

We happen to have a Jayco and really like it. Yes, there were some issues right out of the box but they were minor and I fixed them myself. Other manufacturers are similar as far as quality control goes.

About the stove issue, I'm not aware of ANY RV stoves/ovens that are not in reach of a toddler ... your stove/oven in your home are equally as easy to reach.

Most RV dealers have several brands by different manufacturers ... I suggest taking a walk through of the various units that you are considering and just go from there.

 

[Wonder05]

Wonder05, lawsuits are an everyday occurrence in todays "sue happy" world ... it's not just in the RV realm. I wouldn't worry about law suits when trying to decide what RV to purchase. The RV industry, in general, are putting out more RV's than they can keep up with as far as quality control are concerned.

We happen to have a Jayco and really like it. Yes, there were some issues right out of the box but they were minor and I fixed them myself. Other manufacturers are similar as far as quality control goes.

About the stove issue, I'm not aware of ANY RV stoves/ovens that are not in reach of a toddler ... your stove/oven in your home are equally as easy to reach.

Most RV dealers have several brands by different manufacturers ... I suggest taking a walk through of the various units that you are considering and just go from there.

Thanks!

Yeah, that's what I was thinking. I mean someone spills hot coffee on themselves and sues for Pete sake.


Oh , the stove I was just comparing that to what my dad said about the slider and other control button height.

Is your Jayco a lightweight? I've heard where lightweights in particular are made lighter by using less product not necessarily lighter weight product. As in less sealant, nails or staples instead of nails.

 

[bigdisneydaddy]

If you look for it, you can find negative results on every single RV builder. In a lot of cases they all use the same parts and construction methods. Having owned 4 trailers over the years I have good and bad to say about every single one. I do think that the RV industry is its own worst enemy.
Having dealt with dealer service on my last trailer I will say that I will never buy anything from that dealer again and having the ability to service the trailer at the builders facility (in Northern Indiana) is a must for me. The 2 experiences are night and day. The people that build them know how to fix them properly, the dealer, not so much.
A strong walk through inspection before the sale is also very important, I will not sign any document on the sale until I have inspected the trailer and any problems are addressed to my satisfaction. Once they have your money the dealers typically have no incentive to help you.

Almost forgot. Jayco was bought out by Thor industries this spring. Soon there will only be a couple of big fish in the pond.

 

[tigger92662]

A strong walk through inspection before the sale is also very important,
I always tell people to take someone with them that doesn't know anything about that model of RV or brand. They will inevitably ask a question or see something you don't.
Never hurts to have an extra set of eyes with a different perspective.

 

[2goofycampers]

Any RV can have a problem(s), the key is the dealer or company standing behind and fixing their product. We have had 3 Jayco TT. We had a problem with the first one that the dealer couldn't find or fix. It was sent to the factory, same result. It was still under the 2 year warranty. So they replaced our 2000 TT with a 2003 one. Now that is customer service. I hope Thor keeps up this service.

 

[tripleb]

...

Is your Jayco a lightweight? I've heard where lightweights in particular are made lighter by using less product not necessarily lighter weight product. As in less sealant, nails or staples instead of nails.

I suppose you could call her a "lightweight". It's a 31' fifth wheel ... 2017 Jayco 27.5 Eagle HT designed to be pulled with a half-ton truck. But ... there aren't many half-ton trucks that are designed to carry the load since the pin weight is about 1600 lbs unloaded and the fifth wheel is about 7500 lbs unloaded. I pull it with a 3/4 ton truck.

Here's a pic:

 

[Wonder05]

Thanks everyone!

That's kind of what I thought.

He also said he read they will put you at the bottom of the list to service your vehicle if you don't buy from that dealer? Now, I think this may just be a scare tactic to get you to buy from them? I don't believe they would turn down the money they might get from that.

 

[bama_ed]

All manufacturers of lightweights cut corners on materials, frames, etc. to get the weight lower to try to keep them within the realm of daily drive vehicles.

Jaycos have a 2-year new warranty whereas I believe many others only have a 1 year.

Also, I toured the iconic Airstream manufacturing facility a year or two ago and it has been owned by Thor for around three decades. Forest River is a Berkshire Hathaway company. So most of them are parts of conglomerates.

You can find positives and negatives about any company. But a warranty twice as long as others like Jayco has is worth something extra to me. And generally I like having a dealer nearby for servicing as the first line of defense (although my current popup I don't have a dealer near).

Bama Ed

PS - yes service dealers will place brands they don't sell at a lower priority for service. It's a common practice but the good dealers don't do it.

 

[Wonder05]

All manufacturers of lightweights cut corners on materials, frames, etc. to get the weight lower to try to keep them within the realm of daily drive vehicles.

Jaycos have a 2-year new warranty whereas I believe many others only have a 1 year.

Also, I toured the iconic Airstream manufacturing facility a year or two ago and it has been owned by Thor for around three decades. Forest River is a Berkshire Hathaway company. So most of them are parts of conglomerates.

You can find positives and negatives about any company. But a warranty twice as long as others like Jayco has is worth something extra to me. And generally I like having a dealer nearby for servicing as the first line of defense (although my current popup I don't have a dealer near).

Bama Ed

PS - yes service dealers will place brands they don't sell at a lower priority for service. It's a common practice but the good dealers don't do it.

Trying to follow. I'm lost at the Most of them are not

All manufacturers of lightweights cut corners on materials, frames, etc. to get the weight lower to try to keep them within the realm of daily drive vehicles.

Jaycos have a 2-year new warranty whereas I believe many others only have a 1 year.

Also, I toured the iconic Airstream manufacturing facility a year or two ago and it has been owned by Thor for around three decades. Forest River is a Berkshire Hathaway company. So most of them are parts of conglomerates.

You can find positives and negatives about any company. But a warranty twice as long as others like Jayco has is worth something extra to me. And generally I like having a dealer nearby for servicing as the first line of defense (although my current popup I don't have a dealer near).

Bama Ed

PS - yes service dealers will place brands they don't sell at a lower priority for service. It's a common practice but the good dealers don't do it.

Thanks! So it might be better to avoid the "light-weights"?

Looking at tow vehicle after choosing trailer is the way we are doing it.

 

[tiggerdad]

Google any of them and you'll eventually find a lawsuit somewhere. This sue-happy society is the reason why you can't back up with your blades still turned on on your lawn mower, why coffee cups say "caution: hot", and the reason why, if you travel in South Alabama all the billboards have Alexander Shunnarah Law Firm on them.

A lot of the different camper brands are built similarly, and with the SAME appliances and plumbing.

I completely disagree with the idea to avoid forums dedicated to a particular brand due to bias. If anything, they are more critical of their own product. For instance, I own a Jayco and frequent the Jayco forum and those guys are really helpful when discussing issues that they have had with their campers and dealers.

Coachman is not the only one with the slide buttons down low, each manufacturer has a few models with this option and it is a REALLY GOOD option in some cases. When you are setting up your camper and want to let the slides out or turn on the light you have to climb up the stairs to do so. Some models have these buttons down low so you can activate them without having to go up and down the steps. I thought is was a neat idea anyway...

 

[tripleb]

Trying to follow. I'm lost at the Most of them are not.

If you're talking about the warranty, most RV's come with a one year warranty ... Jayco has a 2 year warranty. And, don't worry about the light-weights, chances are you will trade/sell your RV way before structural issues raise their ugly head

 

[2goofycampers]

Grand Design makes a quality TT. Besides Jayco this is probably the only other brand I really like.

 

[rajak73]

OK, so my father has recently brought to my attention that forest river is now in a lawsuit?

So he says we should avoid them due to that. I search but I only found one person suing and that was via a law firm site.

He's looking he says to look at Jayco. However, I'm seeing all sorts of negative on Jayco.

He told me avoid reading on boards that are for one brand over the other because there is a bias. Now, personally I would think people wouldn't just love the rv for its product name but that's just me.

Also told me we should avoid coachman. Because the slider buttons and everything or we can child height. I don't know about that though because the all the stoves is within child height so I'm not sure if that's a big deal.

My suggestion....Go to some RV lots and look through A LOT of different campers. Go to RV shows, great place to get ideas on what you like and don't like. You are going to find bad reviews on any campers, We bought a 35' Cougar, 2014, they had a electronic control panel in it for slides, awning, landing gear, etc. Had problems with it from the get go, had to shut battery off to reset the panel. Dealer told us before we bought it they had problems and were working on a fix. Well they had to go back to the old style buttons and works great. What's important is how good is your dealer and salesperson?

 

[ruthies12]

I'm pretty sure it was Jayco that got bought by Thor last year and we have had VERY BAD experiences with Thor.

I will never buy another Thor again personally. Our current RV has a full wall slide in it that has not worked right since day one. For the first year that it was under warranty they kept fixing it, we even went into the actual warehouse where they build them and had it "fixed" directly by the manufacturer and it broke again a month and a half later. I called Thor and was told they only guarantee their work for one month after a factory fix (that we drove over 4 hours to get to btw) and we were now out of warranty so tough poop.

I'll tell you what I am avoiding at all costs in any RV I buy in the future- Schwintek slide systems. They are in several different manufacturers including Winnebago and if you do an online search you'll find complaint after complaint. I have several other family members who had the Schwintek slide systems in their campers and had problems as well.

We are now at the point that we have taken the motors our of our slide and we push it out manually with my husband and I working together to do it. Then we pull it back in by hand with two winches that we attached. $120,000 camper. Very sad. All campers have issues of some sort, when you think about them going down the road its like a mini earthquake every time you move them so stuff will shift and break and need fixing. But a slideout is a pretty major part imo and needs to work.

 

[tltay2005]

I would not dismiss Forest River all together, maybe just certain models. They made many different ones from one end of the quality scale to the other. I would also suggest going to an RV show. Go into multiple brands and pay attention to details. Open and shut cabinets, look at and under the cushions and bed, stand in the shower and sit on the potty. You will be able to tell the difference in the quality. We personally have a Flagstaff Micro Lite which is made by Forest River and love it. It just withstood hurricane Irma and came out like a champ.