I have recently purchased a 2009 Rockwood High Wall 276 tent camper from your company via * RV center. As they did not have one in stock on July 15, we sat down and ordered my unit directly, with all the options except 2, that being the screened in porch and the extra fridge option. It was told to me that I would be receiving my camper in August. August 15 I was told that my camper had come off the assembly line and that it would be arriving soon. Upon receiving my camper I did not have time to thoroughly inspect the unit before using it on a trip. I spent 4 days in this unit (most of the time I did have in it, was spent cleaning up after the assembly, rivet shafts, bits of aluminum shavings, dust, and wood cuttings. I told * rv center not to clean it, that I wanted to take care of it myself.) When I brought the camper back home I had more time to go over more important items that I felt should be addressed in this letter.
I must say at this time I am very disappointed in the quality of work that was completed on this unit. I have seen allot of Forest River products and have admired what they have done and knew that when it came time to buy another camper, I knew to buy Forest River.
It is at this time I would like to share the problems I have found with this unit:
The latches on the roof to lock it down are all 1/4 inch off from the corresponding locking device below it.
The 2 drawers are very hard to open, I pull up then out and they will not open with out having to use force.
In the bathroom I have found poor sealing of the edges, if any sealant was used at all. A plastic cover behind the toilet does not have sealant on the bottom and water is going into it. The walls were not finished, they have round beads of silicone going up the wall but was not finished. The toilet itself rocks around on the base. Also it was told to me that I should have a light in the bathroom which there is none.
The stove had dried silicone on the hinges which I had to remove along with silicone on the counter top and floor. Also there is a large deposit of glue on the bathroom door, about the size of a half dollar and at least a 1/16 inch thick.
There are cuts in the counter top and along the edging of the counter top.
Hinges and latches on the cabinet doors are loose and upon trying to tighten found the screws to be stripped and 2 screws even missing. Also the fridge screws are put in to the wood on a very hard angle as to allow the screw threads to be seen through the material on the surface of the base cabinet along with the trim piece on the bottom being bent outward approximately 3 inches, outward into the walking area.
The outside door that is put in after the tent is up does not fit. I have tried to see if the door was bent or twisted but it is the door frame on the camper that appears to be cut wrong. The door has 1/3 inch gap towards the bottom and does not fit tight in the channel using the provided locks (the white parts that are used to hold the door in the frame do not touch the frame of the camper to hold it in place along with large gaps of air space)
The outside grill that hangs off the camper is a great product, however the gas line is not long enough to attach to it if you have the hanger in the lower position, I have to move the hanger over and on top of the fridge vents by 2 inches in order for the gas line to reach the grill.
Under the cabinets there are screws that had been pre-started but had not been installed into the walls to join the cabinet bases to the walls, I have so far found 8 of these pre-started screws under cabinets and other places.
Bunk pins are on one side, very hard to get into the hole, I have to push very hard on the bunk to get the pin past the slide that holds the bed, the other side is on an angle and is not straight up and down. The other 2 pins that hold the bunks from closing are 1 inch away from the bunk slide.
In the cabinet under the sink there is a panel with started screws but I do not know were this panel belongs, it was laying on the floor.
The water while using the pump and water tank is very poor. The pressure starts nice but after 2 or 3 seconds it drops to a trickle in both the shower and sink areas.
There is a grease type of substance on the vinyl inside the slide out area and also small tears on the backing of the vinyl.
There is a dominate squeak in the center of the floor between the microwave and the dinette slide out.
The antenna (which notably was moved from the back of the camper and was installed by the door was broken when it came to the dealership) was a small black plastic or rubber areal was sent back and replace by a much larger metal antenna that now hits the outside porch light, and the screws holding the base, one of them was not even tight, it is just loose and not holding anything.
The most recent problem I have found is the switch to control the top up and top down stuck in the up position and tore the red cable out of the aluminum, I was fortunate enough to stop it before it did any other damage.
The shower faucet for the hot and cold handles both turn open to the right, as the other faucets (sink and outside shower faucet) turn hot counter clockwise, cold clockwise.
The putty used to water proof the sink, the outside pole guides for the awning and other areas including the diamond plating is very messy and gets on everything (what ever happened to silicone around the sink?)
Not sure if the assembly line does this but I have 2 plates that were put in a drawer, from pictures of other 276hw's I noticed they are used to attach the awning legs to the camper and were screwed into the camper next to the latches to hold the top down when traveling.
I also am not sure if there was suppose to be a jack or a lug wrench but would have been nice to have these items. Also I ordered the stabilizer jacks with sand pads (in the book and other pictures of the same model the pads were round, mine are square, not sure if that is right or not as I am aware that products can change or be replaced by better products.
I have not had any trouble with any of the equipment (i.E.A/c, hot water heater, furnace or any other products that was fitted into the unit).
It is with great regret to write this letter, as I have stated earlier, I held Forest Rivers name in high standings and knew the products that came from you were of top quality, However, I am sure by the list of things I have concerns about, you understand how frustrated and sadly disappointed I am, and that the quality and reputation of Forest River has not been shown in this particular camper.
I have not talked with * RV center on this matter because I feel there is not much they can do to help me fix most of these problems. I believe it to be a quality in workmanship and something that cannot be fixed with out remaking the majority of the unit. (How could you fix a wall that was cut to large for the size of door that it is suppose to house? How can a cabinet base be replaced that was built into the unit?) These issues I bring to your attention in hopes that Forest River will remedy the problems and hope that there employees on the assembly lines will understand that there work in the future is an extension of themselves. I hope they understand that being fast and getting the job done does not mean take short cuts and skimp on the quality that has made Forest River a name to be proud of and that taking pride in there work should still be of first concern.
I am self employed, with this in mind I know the quality of my work versus other companies in my profession has to be the best I can deliver. I know my clients can get the job done with sometimes a lower price or with less hassle in the final production. The fact is, they trust me and the trust that when I put my name on something they know they have received nothing less then 110% of my ability. So with this in mind, I wish I could meet the people that made my camper so they could put a face to the camper they provided me and allow them to go through this unit and ask themselves if they would except the work they have done and if they would want to spend $15,900 on this particular camper.
I wrote this letter to Forest River along with over 60 pictures showing them even more problems with this unit. I have not received word as of yet.
I hope they do get back with me. I hope they just dont think I will go away. Im in advertising and really think that writing this to all the web blogs i can find would put forest river in a most uncomfortable situation when there sales fall do to over exposure to bad publicity. (all with out having to leave the house) Buy American but be careful what americans give you in exchange for your money, careful of american pride in there work. Some americans just want a pay check. I would not think Forest River would be paying there employees minimum wage so I would expect that they pay them good to deliver bad quality. Dont they know ITS THERE JOB THEY WILL LOSE IF NO ONE BUYS THERE PRODUCTS.
The implied warranty of merchantability requires that the product and its container meet certain minimum standards of quality, chiefly that the product be fit for the ordinary purposes for which such goods are sold (U.C.C. § 2-314). This requirement includes a standard of reasonable safety.
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