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techntrek 
Admin Group - pHp 
Joined: 29 Jul 2009 Location: MD Online Status: Offline Posts: 9059 |
 Topic: Initial QualityPosted: 29 Jul 2014 at 5:26pm |
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And the 120 volt Romex wiring will be contained within its own insulative sleeve (yellow, white or orange depending). So it should be easy to identify.
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NormanHill
Groupie 
Joined: 30 Mar 2014 Online Status: Offline Posts: 49 |
Posted: 18 Aug 2014 at 11:43pm |
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Fred, I can add to the list:
Caulking on the roof is excessive and sloppy. Antenna base is completely covered with caulking - does this seem right? Welds on the bracket for the propane tank and battery are very sloppy - according to my dealer they are "within-spec" Fridge doesn't work on AC - in the shop now; Interior fit and finish is poor, trim installed to tight so it warped, gaps in the trim corners filled with wood putty. But re-reading this it looks like I had pretty good quality compared to you. I wonder if others have grown to expect a level of quality that would be intolerable in other industries, and for other products. I've bought a few fishing boats and a number of cars over the years and none had the fit and finish issues of the Forest River camper. Any way we can get them to read the forums? I think we are in for a lot of maintenance.
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3ofUs
Groupie
Joined: 12 Jul 2014 Location: TN Online Status: Offline Posts: 99 |
Posted: 19 Aug 2014 at 7:08am |
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Guess we are lucky with our 2011 182G we bought last August. All the problems had been resolved but one. Obviously, previous owner had not used the black tank flush because our first experience was water seeping out on kitchen floor from shower wall. We had extended warranty and dealer resolved the problem. It was the check valve under bathroom sink.
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HuronSailor
podders Helping podders - pHp 
Joined: 10 Jun 2009 Location: Owosso MI Online Status: Offline Posts: 704 |
Posted: 19 Aug 2014 at 8:58am |
That's normal when using self leveling sealant. The more the better. 70 MPH winds can force a lot of water where you don't want it to go real fast. That can do a lot of damage that will remain unseen until it's too late.
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.: Mark & Beth :: Silverado 5.3L :: 2018 rPod 180 :.
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techntrek
Admin Group - pHp
Joined: 29 Jul 2009 Location: MD Online Status: Offline Posts: 9059 |
Posted: 19 Aug 2014 at 12:28pm |
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Agree, tons of caulk on the roof is normal. As for the rest of the fit/finish, we had almost no issues with ours.
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Pod People
Senior Member
Joined: 22 Sep 2011 Location: Chapel Hill,NC Online Status: Offline Posts: 1067 |
Posted: 19 Aug 2014 at 6:28pm |
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I have to think that Forest River's quality control has gone downhill since our pod was made. We have a 2009 173 pod and are delighted with it. We have no complaints(so far) about the quality of the components or the pod in general. There are just the two of us and we use it primarily for long, extended trips and not so much for weekend camping. Our last trip was 10 weeks and over 11,000 miles.
We love our pod and have done lots of mods to make it better for us. Vann |
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Vann & Laura 2015 RPod 179 
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Blue's Pod
Groupie
Joined: 25 Aug 2014 Online Status: Offline Posts: 61 |
Posted: 30 Aug 2014 at 7:56pm |
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I want to begin by saying we didn't do a walk-through because we purchased out of state and our 2015 R-Pod 171 was delivered by a transport company (who did a great job, by the way). When we took possession from the driver we did a quick external walk-around and everything looked good, so we took the Pod home. Once here we began checking things out and came up with a list. There are a few things that are simply annoying, and a few others that could have led to bigger problems if not found. You can be the judge of what's a big deal to you; I'll just list them here, in no particular order.
I'm aware that Forest River is kicking these Pods out the door as fast as they can based on demand, but many of our issues and other issues I keep seeing in this forum could largely be mitigated with a better Quality Control department, or even checklists to follow during construction. Attention to detail seems to be a recurring theme in a lot of posts, and Forest River could go a long way toward greater customer loyalty if they just took a few moments longer with each Pod. That's FWIW.  On with the list.1. In the space under the Dometic Refrigerator the shield was never installed. We opened the door under the fridge and found lots of sawdust, visible wires and propane lines and the shield laying there. After e-mailing the dealer, I was informed I wouldn't violate any warranty by installing the shield, so we vacuumed the space and I'll screw the shield to the floor using the screws already in the shield. By the way, the shield was papered with the same covering as the walls have, not the cabinet-colored covering. 2. My lovely Wife cross-checked all the serial numbers and model numbers to the appliances and equipment, and many were completely wrong. It's almost as if we had numbers from another Pod, and that could be important down the road after you've registered your Warranty Cards with incorrect data. Might be a reason to have warranty service denied. 3. Like many other users, the screws holding the beams holding the black/gray/water tanks were loose, poorly installed and two of the three beams were pulled away from the frame by about 3/16". Based on the comments I've read on this issue, when this is cited as a factor in an accident, Forest River will likely do something about it, but until then it's pretty much our problem. 4. While under the Pod looking at stuff, I noticed a bag that had been caught between the frame and the floor, apparently during the build, and it was never removed. I pulled some out and cut loose the rest. 5. There's a small hole behind the TV about the size of a large screw, as if someone tried to mount something there and didn't hit a stud. So, they moved over about an inch and tried again, but never closed or fixed that hole. 6. Screws were missing here and there in the interior. Probably came loose and dropped during transport. We'll find them and put them back. 7. One of the covers to one of the LED light fixtures had two attachment tabs broken, so it was holding in the fixture by the two remaining tabs. The Service Manager wrote he would ship another cover out ASAP. 8. While I was looking at the AC unit to cross-check the Serial Number I noticed there's quite a bit of excess (and spilled) self-leveling caulk on the roof. As I was pulling some of that off I noticed three screws stuck in caulk next to the Fantastic Fan. After a little looking around I found several screws meant to hold the fan to the roof were never installed, and the holes were not covered with caulk. Had it rained on the trip south from the dealer, I think we'd have had some leaks. I installed screws and (the day being hot) moved some of the caulk up there over to cover the screws. Another e-mail was sent to the dealer asking for a tube of caulk in order to fix this properly. No reply yet on that. 9. We installed the RDome today. It went on perfectly and works like a charm. No silicone was needed as I had seen in other posts. Perhaps the plastic attachment piece is smaller than before or the rail attached to the RPod is wider, but in any case it was fine. I did take a Dremel tool out and round the openings to the track so it would stop shaving pieces of plastic during installation. All parts were included in the bag. However, the wiring under the fender for the light blocked the track where you install the mosquito netting. I just moved it upward one inch and that was no longer a problem, but the factory supplies the RDome. Perhaps they should not block the track during construction? 10. Finally, and I like this one the best, we plugged the Pod into house power and checked our outlets. Everything was showing 123v without faults, but every time I tried to turn the Dometic Refrigerator on with 110v power, I'd get flashing fault lights and beeps. Checked the circuit breakers and fuses I could see, and nothing was out of place. Looking at the trouble-shooting portion of the manual, nothing seemed to be out of place. I went on the internet and downloaded the Service Manual for the Dometic refrigerators, and in one illustration it showed a 110v power plug plugged into an outlet. Remembering there was an outlet inside the outside panel for the refrigerator I got a flashlight and a step stool and went hunting. Our 110v power cord was coiled neatly in the back panel of the refrigerator and had never been plugged in. I uncoiled it and plugged it into the supplied outlet, and like magic the refrigerator was working on AC. That's it, for now at least. Overall I'm still very pleased with the 171 and we'll take it on its first road trip in a little over a week. If we find more stuff, I'll update, but this post is already too long. Enjoy. Be safe. |
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techntrek
Admin Group - pHp
Joined: 29 Jul 2009 Location: MD Online Status: Offline Posts: 9059 |
Posted: 30 Aug 2014 at 8:07pm |
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The extra caulk on the roof is normal, everyone that has ever commented on it has noted how much is there. Better too much than not enough.
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Blue's Pod
Groupie
Joined: 25 Aug 2014 Online Status: Offline Posts: 61 |
Posted: 30 Aug 2014 at 8:45pm |
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Yeah, but I wasn't talking about extra caulking around the openings. Sorry if that's how it came across. I was talking about blobs and smears all over the rooftop, unrelated to openings for AC, Fantastic Fan, antenna or vent. Just sloppy workmanship. I don't mind extra caulk where things can leak. Just no reason for the slop...
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ron_whitt
Senior Member
Joined: 08 Sep 2011 Location: Chesterville On Online Status: Offline Posts: 261 |
Posted: 31 Aug 2014 at 9:48am |
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I went under our 177 2012 pod to check on the cross members for the tanks and they are fine no gap at all. We have had no major issues with our pod (that wasn't handled by our rv sales place.) I think blues pod is right, with push on by FR to get more pods out it is now quantity or quality. Before nestle's moved to Mexico and Brazil I worked 36 yr for them and it was definitely that way. I also believe that a good rv sales/service place is 95% of your pod enjoyment.
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Ron & Shirley
2020 Tacoma 2012 177 rpod |
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Initial Quality