Unbelievable how cheap they can make them.

[Ivylog]

Friend has 2009 Forest River Sierra 5er. Supposed to have Laminated Vacuum Bonded Aluminum Sidewalls and it does in some areas but not in the back or in the rear side wall. Major water damage and side wall has no supports/framing for over 4' and it's just soft 2x2 wood (no alum in the sidewall) and styrofoam sandwiched between the outer skin and the lauan thin inside plywood. Hardly any calking in the 1" overlaps at corners and roof.

On the left side of the picture you can see the wall that runs from the back of the trailer forward 4' to the white area without any supports.

[GHop]

Sorry for your problems with your fifth wheel. We have always had a Northwood fifth wheel because they are known for building a great unit. Although we had a couple little issues, they corrected quickly without delay. We are glade to have kept with Northwood after reading story after story of other manufactures poor workmanship and the dealer failure to repair these units before or after delivery.

[memtb]

Aridon, It is sad about the DRV's. We had heard that they were among the best. We looked at a "barely" used '07, which was "pre - Thor", and quality really took a "dump"! To say that we were "underwhelmed" is " not" "overstated"!!! :W BUT...It was "pretty"! :B

[Ivylog]

Another Sierra parked next to me today...guess what? Yep, he had to replace his entire back end. Buyers/Owners beware.

[slickest1]

I had a Forest River Sierra 5ver and was not impressed with the lack of quality. The Sierra is not the cheapest trailer in the Forest River lineup.

[Aridon]

I can tell you now, I wouldn't buy a drv again so the idea that you pay more and get no issues is bs.

If you're playing the longevity game on these units you simply have to keep the water out.

[fj12ryder]

travelnutz wrote:
Buy cheap, get cheap junk! Buy junk, get junk! Buy higher level better quality products, have a good chance of getting a better product! A dollar only buys so much and if you desire more, spend more dollars!!!

See how easy it is to avoid junk?

Gee, that sound so easy. We spent a night in a company campground picking up our new toyhauler. The owner of the company mostly sold very high end motorhomes. He had a bunch of people camped there waiting to have their very fancy, very expensive, very new motorhomes repaired. Several had been there a couple weeks and one guy had been there a couple months waiting on parts.

A couple years ago we camped next to a woman with a very expensive Mobile Suite that had so many issues after she bought it she had to take it back to the factory to have the repairs done.

The only thing more expensive RV's guarantee is that you'll have less money in your pocket when you're done.

[Ivylog]

MPI_Mallard wrote:
Did you contact Forest River about this????

He's the second owner and it's 8 years old. Not a snow ball chance.

[travelnutz]

Buy cheap, get cheap junk! Buy junk, get junk! Buy higher level better quality products, have a good chance of getting a better product! A dollar only buys so much and if you desire more, spend more dollars!!!

See how easy it is to avoid junk?

[fj12ryder]

I thought Forrest River was one of the brands touted as better than most.

[MPI_Mallard]

Did you contact Forest River about this????

[laknox]

Better title would have been: "Unbelievable how cheap they DO make them." The mfrs can =always= make them cheaper.

Lyle

[CarolynandBob]

This is one reason we would not even look at anything that advertised "lite". They will need to scrimp on stuff to get it light.

We also took a factory tour and saw how they build them with the aluminum supports and studs.

[bucky]

When it comes to RVs you rarely get what you pay for. If you manage to get one unit that is then we beat the poop out of it on the roads until it isn't. There is nothing like an interstate bridge joint or a surprise RR crossing.
In this case the manufacturer just flat lied it appears.

[Ivylog]

FrankShore wrote:
You get what you pay for I guess!

I agree but when you think you are getting an alum structure that will withstand some leaking and you discover not all of the sidewalls have alum studs as advertised...you did not get what you paid for.