Forest River warranty customer support

Another thread mentioned the following Forest River policy re warranty work that I think deserves separate emphasis:

Tibof,

Are you working on your R-Pod or have you given up? I have been watching your posts on spoiler seal with interest, I have owned a variety of FR products and all required work with time. My Pod has been fairly dependable, I never had a warranty, I've maintained it myself. Kind of like my house didn't come with warranty either. and my TV no warranty, I maintain it myself. To me it is about ownership and adapting to be able to do repairs at all levels. I would buy another FR product. Knowing full well I have to be able to fix things. Warranty is not the end all to ownership it is a aid to ownership IMHO. I sincerely appreciate your opinion but I respectfully disagree with your conclusion.

We have to keep in mind that r-Pods aren't exactly the Mercedes of travel trailers.  And some are not going to be built as well as they ought to be, especially those who have the major assembly work done following a long weekend.  And since the warranty work is performed by dealers, not everyone is going to be happy with the result.  But, considering that we've purchased trailers at the lower end of the pricing scale, we cannot reasonably expect service levels to rival those at the highest end of the market.  

According to two dealers that I know they both prefer dealing with Forest River over the competition.  They hate Keystone.  One independent service center makes you sign a contract for work that states you are responsible for any warranty work if the costs exceed what the manufacturer pays them.  He will not do work any more for Keystone and Forest River pays him 100%.  Unfortunately we bought a Keystone because it had the best floorplan for us.  There was a Forest River version called the Heritage Glen that on paper had the same floorplan but we couldn't go with it as it was missing key items (mostly closet space and closed shelves over the bed).  So we negotiated the best price we could from a local dealer and still paid $1000 more than a competitor but he was two hour drive vs 20 minutes.  Hopefully we will not have significant problems and we can get the small stuff fixed close by.
So my advice is:  Do not fear buying an RPOD, they are as good as the competition who charges more.  Forest River backs their product (except if they find out you bought it 1000 miles away and had it shipped to you).  Buy local if you are not handy even if it costs a little more.  All RVs (especially single axle) will break something as you bounce along the highway.  Read, read, read this forum to learn about what can break so you know what to look for.  Many things can be caught in advance.  Lastly enjoy RVing.  Sales were up an amazing 7% last year, over 500,000 units.  It ain't what it used to be (what the old timers keep telling me) but it is still great way to travel and see this great country of ours.  We pick up our new RV in a few weeks and will be hitting the road.

Originally posted by ribet Just took my first trip with my 2019.5 180 and propane leaked out the supply hose from tank to regulator. Bad hose crimp job. Purchased new hose at camping world. Then it leaked from hose fitting at regulator output. Tightened. Still smelled. So I dropped hose from clamp under under battery and hose smashed from poor assembly. Called dealer to inform so he could have new hose in stock when I bring it in for repair. You all know how that was received. I’ll have a hose made and replace it myself. Tried to call factory to ge a part number if I go the dealer rout. The never called me back. I’ll fix it and hold my toung when people say HOW DO YOU LIKE YOUR RPOD.