Question about Forest River

bsjs0708

DIS Veteran
Joined
Jan 17, 2008
Hey guys, so we're thinking about trading in our kz tt for Forest River 5er.. .Any reviews or comments or trouble with your FR? TIA.. Julie
 
Our Sandpiper has been good to us. Just a breaker issue for the slides, fixed under warranty. And some other small things, all of which could happen with any brand.

And we haul it with our tiny tow vehicle.
 
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Our Sandpiper has been good to us. Just a breaker issue for the slides, fixed under warranty. And some other small things, all of which could happen with any brand.

And we haul it with our tiny tow vehicle.
 
Thanks for the input. With this kind of $$$ we just want to get as much advice as possible..
 


Forest River is the largest recreational vehicle manufacturer in the US. Asking about FR in general is like asking if General Motors or Samsung is any good. You will find all kinds of opinions on both sides. FR has purchased many RV manufacturers over the last 20+ years. Some, like Coachmen, they have left mostly alone and they make most of their decisions independently. Thor has done the same. There are many FR and Thor products I would recommend and others I would probably say to steer clear. 2008 and the years following cleared out a lot of the weaker and poorer quality manufacturers. If a company has survived the last 15 years, they are probably a strong individual company, even if the parent is FR. This shouldn't negate a new company. They just don't have a track record of strength (quality?) In the market yet.

A better question is to ask about a specific brand.

j
 
Very happy with our Rockwood TT. Around 4500 miles since October 2018 and 50+ nights camping and we are happy.

This last trip we had a few issues, but they were all with components NOT made by FR. The FR part has been flawless.

I had a 2005 Rockwood highwall popup and was very happy with the fit and finish of it as well. Pulled that thing all over NC with a hitch.
 
Recently traded our Rockwood 2104S for a 2608....could not love it more. In our opinion it is hard to beat the Rockwood quality. When we were upgrading we went and looked at others, just as we did when we bought the first....still love Rockwood.
 


From the factory tours I have been on and the different brands we have owned I would say they are all made essentially the same way with slight variations in materials and amenities. Its essentially a crap shoot on getting a "good" one. What I think separates the brands is their after sale service. We live within a 3 hr drive of Elkhart so we have used factory centers for repairs while in and out of warranty. Most of the stuff I repair myself since I wont use our dealers service due to their horrible track record and history of lies (General RV)
All of the brands are assembled in essentially the same way by the same people. They are paid on "piece work" and very little time is allowed for each evolution. The line never stops. Dont buy into the myth of "Amish" quality. They use the same tools and build them exactly the way the English do. The manufacturers would have you believe that there are kindly and elder Gentleman toiling away under old world conditions to build their coaches. (please read this with a full measure of sarcasm)
 
From the factory tours I have been on and the different brands we have owned I would say they are all made essentially the same way with slight variations in materials and amenities. Its essentially a crap shoot on getting a "good" one. What I think separates the brands is their after sale service. We live within a 3 hr drive of Elkhart so we have used factory centers for repairs while in and out of warranty. Most of the stuff I repair myself since I wont use our dealers service due to their horrible track record and history of lies (General RV)
All of the brands are assembled in essentially the same way by the same people. They are paid on "piece work" and very little time is allowed for each evolution. The line never stops. Dont buy into the myth of "Amish" quality. They use the same tools and build them exactly the way the English do. The manufacturers would have you believe that there are kindly and elder Gentleman toiling away under old world conditions to build their coaches. (please read this with a full measure of sarcasm)

I second that, we have had 3 FR's and 2 Keystone, they only thing different are the colors and names, all internal pieces are Identical, even the cheap chinese fasteners
 
We have a 2019.5 Surveyor 287bhss travel trailer made by Forest River and have had it for over a year now and used it quite a lot. We love it and have had only one problem which was with the microwave not working correctly. It was replaced under warranty and we've had no other problems at all. All models from 2019.5 and beyond have both azdel walls and PVC roofs, not rubber, and this was one reason we chose the Surveyor. One caveat: we are members of a Surveyor facebook group and I have heard from other Surveyor owners that the Surveyors made on the east coast seem to be better built than the ones made on the west coast. Ours is east coast built.

Happy camping! We've had ours for over a year now and have used it a lot. I have had a lot of fun decorating it and really enjoy our second home!
 

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