Community Forums

thelostone · 06-18-2013, 09:35 AM

I am interested in purchasing a destination trailer. Something i will live in full time solo. I was referred to this line by a friend. I am interested to know how you as an owner feel about the quality of the trailer. How do you feel about the construction of your unit? Is your unit 4 season unit? Have you had any experience with dealing with Forest River about any warranty or construction issues. Does forest river have a good reputation? Looking for a good unit at a decent price. Any and all information or advice appreciated.

myredracer · 06-18-2013, 09:52 AM

Give the FR forum a try if you haven't. Tons of info. there and lots of knowledgeable people with FR experience. There's also the RV.Net with good info. also. Not to say there isn't any here but it helps to check all over the place.

All trailers seem to be subject to quality problems of some sort so it's kinda like trying to find one brand/model with fewer problems. If you are looking at a new one, the quality of dealer support is quite important. Some dealers are really bad while some are top notch. Nothing worse than a dealer that doesn't give a care or takes forever to fix something. (BTDT)

It goes without saying, you get what you pay for. (not sure about this saying because I just said it....?) So, having said this, it is not easy trying to determine what is better quality out there. Many reviews out there in print or on the internet can be a lot of fluff with nice photos. Best thing to do is ask wherever you can and read whatever you can on the internet.

Another good source of info. I have found is independent RV repair shops. They get to see it all and what can and does go wrong. In fact, it would not hurt to pay one to look at your unit after you've purchased it. They may find things that you wouldn't know what to look for. I took our recently purchased trailer into a local independent shop one day after we purchased it and by chance they found something seriously wrong with the frame that we may not have found until it was too late. Dealer is taking care of it fortunately.

TeJay · 06-18-2013, 10:17 AM

Ditto what myredracer said. It's a real tuff call. I did talk to a GM at a CW and he said that over the years he had seen all the factories in IN and felt that Jayco was above many of the others when it came to construction. They are usually higher cost for similar unit. He didn't point that out to us until after I had bought two FR products. As far as those were concerned it's fairly simple. I thought the FR product was constructed well. We had two of them because the first one with less than 2,000 miles was totaled by a dump truck.
There are many issues with almost all TT's. They do not have very thick frames and that makes them bounce a lot. That would be something to check and that is the thickness of the steel used to make the frame. If the frame is thin they will crack, shake and in general not last as long. A cheap digital caliper with a battery so you can read it would be s simple thing to get and check the frame thickness.
Almost no units, let me repeat that, ALMOST NO UNIT WILL BE VERY WELL INSULATED FOR WINTER USE. SOME WILL SAY THAT THEY ARE 4 SEASON UNITS BUT THAT'S JUST NOT TRUE. One of the customer sevice guys from Heartland told me that when I called about that same subject. Some say they have an ARCTIC PACKAGE and some of these would be better than others but they will still need some work depending on how cold your chosen climate will be. They will also be some of your higher end units. In geneeral I believe you will find that most full timers pull a 5th wheel and they can be costly. Those are some of the units that offer an arctic package. You can have holding tank heaters installed. You can also get all your water lines wrapped with electric heater tapes as well as some of the smaller drains lines. Most units will advertise that they have a heated underbelly. What that means is that they take a furnace 2"-3"outlet and run it down and into the underbelly. That does not mean that the heat will travel to all the needed areas where your water is or if it will even travel much of anywhere. I looked under our TT once and most of the water lines were next to the outside of the frame with no insulation on the frame. So between the water line and the cold was a thin piece of metal and no insulation.
If you are buying used then if you got the right unit you could have the underbelly coroplast (that's cardboard with a plastic covering over it.) dropped down, have all the water lines wrapped with electric tape and, get the frame sprayed with foam insulation then have insulation wrapped around everything that might freeze. Then make sure there is ample heat blown into the underbelly from some auxiliary fans and perhaps heaters. I can't believe it would cost you that much to have that done. Your biggest cost might be in the labor and not parts.
Good luck
TeJay

chief02 · 06-18-2013, 10:33 AM

There is huge a difference between a "Four Season" unit and a "Full Time" unit. Four season means you can "use" is in all four seasons. Full time unit means just that, living in it full time. Be careful what the salesman tells you. Ask the maufacturere if they "warrenty" their unit for full time living and get it in writiing.. I would start with Excel. Yup i'm biased.

450Donn · 06-18-2013, 10:41 AM

What Forest River product are you looking at? Since each division is in essence their own entity the way they handle warranty claims differs. Now, if your asking about Cedar Creek division, all I can say is that I am more than pleased with how I have gotten answers in the last 7 years.

TeJay · 06-19-2013, 09:55 AM

BE VERY CAREFUL There is supposed to be truth in advertizing but watch yourself. Let me repeat. We bought a Heartland product that was advertized as Four-Seasons. I called the factory and he said, "Well that's a bit of a misleading term. We do cover the bottom and put insulation in it and we run a furnace duct in the belly as well, but I'd be careful camping in temperatures below 32 degrees."

Now I know what you are saying. If is says 4-Seasons then that's what it should mean, but that may or may not be the truth.

I'd expect any unit designed for full timing to be built better. I've not done research into that aspect of TT's so I don't know. If they are designed for full timers then I'd expect them to be a lot more costly and that may not be in your budget.

TeJay

ARLO · 06-28-2013, 07:23 AM

I can only speak for the Flagstaff Signature Ultralight Products. We have toured the plant twice and are very impressed with their process.

RustyJC · 06-28-2013, 07:32 AM

For a given amount of expenditure, you might be better served looking at a well maintained, gently used full time unit than a new lesser quality RV. This is assuming that you have a tow vehicle that can handle it since a true full time unit will be heavier due to more substantial axles, frames, superstructure, insulation, flooring, walls and roofing, etc. For example, we've had our Mobile Suites (see signature) since purchased new in August 2004 and have no interest/need in even looking at moving to a newer 5th wheel.

Our RV can handle 100+ degree Texas summers as well as sub-freezing winter temperatures very comfortably.

Rusty