Many Issues with 2019 R-pod 180
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Topic: Many Issues with 2019 R-pod 180
Posted By: wvanauken
Subject: Many Issues with 2019 R-pod 180
Date Posted: 14 Mar 2019 at 7:54am
I just purchased a brand new 2019 R-pod 180 and I have had many issues with it. I have not had it out on a trip yet. These are things that either the dealership discovered when they received the unit or things I discovered while inspecting the unit at my home and while I was prepping the unit for future trips. I want to add that the dealership, Harrison's Marine and RV in Redding, CA covered all these repairs under warranty, but my frustration is there are so many issues which I feel are significant and unusual in that the unit is brand new. Many of the issues have to do with mistakes and oversights by technicians who built it. Also an issue is the lack of quality control by Forest River during there so called “systematic
quality test” and “Pre-Delivery Inspection” which FR touts on their website. Anyway, I will list all the shortcoming and deficiencies here. I've also sent a letter to Forest River. I will follow-up on this forum when I get a response from them.
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Replies:
Posted By: lostagain
Date Posted: 14 Mar 2019 at 8:51am
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Good grief, that's terrible. You are lucky you have a dealer who is supporting you in getting these things fixed. I hope you can get all the issues resolved. If they keep coming up, take a look at the CA lemon law, you may want to start keeping the required notes on repairs and time in the shop. Shame on FR for letting these sort of problems get past their "quality" control team. They may need to rethink some of their production practices and give their employees a little more time to do their work properly. ------------- Never leave footprints behind. Fred & Maria Kearney Sonoma 167RB Our Pod 172 2019 Ford F-150 4x4 2.7 EcoBoost |
Posted By: wvanauken
Date Posted: 14 Mar 2019 at 11:13am
| Thank you for your response and suggestions. I will be following up on this when I get a response from Forest River. Bill |
Posted By: texman
Date Posted: 14 Mar 2019 at 11:47am
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i have your item 2 as well it has held up. ------------- TexMan 2015 182g 2018 Sequoia http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=9122&title=texman-182g-mods - TexManMods |
Posted By: wvanauken
Date Posted: 15 Mar 2019 at 8:56am
| I suggested to the dealership that a spacer be fabricated and installed between the flange on cross member water tank support and the frame. They did this and it is OK now. This will provide a good mechanical clamping force to complete the bond between frame and the cross-member. If that bond isn't there, then you are relying on those two little self-drilling screws to hold all the weight of the water tank. I would recommend that you have this fix done. |
Posted By: GlueGuy
Date Posted: 15 Mar 2019 at 9:43am
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The little gap at one end or the other of that tank support seems to be a common issue. Ours doesn't have the issue, so there must be too much variation in the length of the support, or the the frame, or both. ------------- bp 2017 R-Pod 179 Hood River 2015 Ford F150 SuperCrew 4WD 3.5L Ecoboost |
Posted By: StephenH
Date Posted: 15 Mar 2019 at 5:49pm
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I drilled out one hole in each support and added a stainless steel bolt with washers and lock nut (could have used lock washers and regular nut also) because my supports also had the gap issue. Since doing this, I haven't had to worry about it.
------------- StephenH Happy is the man that findeth wisdom,... http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=7712 - ouR escaPOD mods Former RPod 179 Current Cherokee Grey Wolf 24 JS |
Posted By: crw8sr
Date Posted: 15 Mar 2019 at 8:33pm
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We haven't had any issues with our 190. (Knock on wood!) ------------- Chuck & Lyn Izzy, Morkie. RIP Zoe Joy & Gracie, Yorkie 2018 R Pod 190 2019 Traverse In moments of adversity;when life's a total wreck, I think of those worse off than me and really feel like heck. |
Posted By: Richand Cindy
Date Posted: 15 Mar 2019 at 8:40pm
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There really is no such thing as a quality control check for any RV built. When done it leaves the floor. This is unlike cars in which there is a final inspection team and random units are pulled and really tested. A dealer once told me they are the final inspectors and that they are paid to go over all RVs and fix everything BEFORE it leaves the showroom. The same dealer told me of all FR products they sell the RPODS have the most issues to fix. This is the reason who you buy from is critical for purchasing any RV. But the issues are usually straight forward and fixed. Should it be this way? Of course not. But that is the RV business and goes beyond an RPOD issue. Nobody wants to buy the last RPOD made the day before xmas holiday when there is a short staff to begin with but thats life. As was posted earlier it may be better to buy a slightly used RPOD as the whatever will break already did and was fixed. When we sold ours after only a year it was better than new! ------------- OLD 2017.5 RPOD 180 + 2015 Jeep Cherokee Trailhawk NEW: 2018 Passport Elite 23RB + 2017 Ram 1500 Diesel |
Posted By: GlueGuy
Date Posted: 16 Mar 2019 at 3:58pm
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Never buy an RV that was made on Monday or Friday... or after lunch on Wednesday... or before lunch on Tuesday or Thursday... or any day that ends with a "day".  ------------- bp 2017 R-Pod 179 Hood River 2015 Ford F150 SuperCrew 4WD 3.5L Ecoboost |
Posted By: mcarter
Date Posted: 16 Mar 2019 at 4:46pm
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+1 to SH, I also drilled and bolted my tank supports to frame. The sheet metal screws used at OEM were not adequate, I had loose screws, gaps and missing hardware. No issues once I modified the install. ------------- Mike Carter 2015 178 " I had the right to remain silent, I just didn't have the ability." |
Posted By: lostagain
Date Posted: 16 Mar 2019 at 6:19pm
Turning out trailers with inadequate quality control makes little sense to me. If you give your employees adequate time to do it right the first time, you have happier customers and lower costs in the long run. It is much less costly to use care to build something right than to pay a dealer to go back and tear something apart to do it over again. The dealers have to be paid for their warranty work and the more errors are made, the more it eats away at the bottom line for the manufacturer. Would it really be that much more expensive to give the employees 2 or 3 hours of additional assembly time to allow them the ability to avoid mistakes and save 3 or 4 times as much time for repairs at the dealer. I suspect, even thought the dealers don't charge their full shop rate to FR, they are receiving more than the average hourly worker in the factory. Go figure.  ------------- Never leave footprints behind. Fred & Maria Kearney Sonoma 167RB Our Pod 172 2019 Ford F-150 4x4 2.7 EcoBoost |
Posted By: offgrid
Date Posted: 17 Mar 2019 at 7:37am
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I thought this article was interesting and might give some insights into the work culture in the northern Indiana RV industry. http://amishamerica.com/3-negatives-for-amish-working-in-the-indiana-rv-industry/ - http://amishamerica.com/3-negatives-for-amish-working-in-the-indiana-rv-industry/ ------------- 1994 Chinook Concourse 1995 RV6A Experimental Aircraft 2015 Rpod 179 - sold |
Posted By: Richand Cindy
Date Posted: 17 Mar 2019 at 8:43pm
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Good article. From our trip last summer to RV country we learned the following. The Amish mostly do the woodwork (cabinets, bed etc). The reason why the day starts so early is that there is no air conditioning in the factories. They are paid on a unit basis. They must build a minumum number of RV's (at the plant we visited it was 12). Then for every unit over that they are paid a bonus (the highest number at our plant was 17!!!). That is the major reason why there are so many mistakes, they are rushing. The more they build, the more they make. Would you want your surgeon paid on the number of heart bypasses they do a day! In addition, they do not have extra helpers. So if a person calls in sick there is one less person working the line that day and the remaining workers have to make up the slack. So for all these reasons it is amazing that RV's do not have more issues. But again this is industry wide and not an RPOD issue. ------------- OLD 2017.5 RPOD 180 + 2015 Jeep Cherokee Trailhawk NEW: 2018 Passport Elite 23RB + 2017 Ram 1500 Diesel |
Posted By: StephenH
Date Posted: 17 Mar 2019 at 9:25pm
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If the bonus were dependent on the units passing inspection (a real one, not a cursory once-over), then quality would possibly be better since there would not be the incentive to do shoddy work just to slap it together and get it out the door in order to get the bonus.
------------- StephenH Happy is the man that findeth wisdom,... http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=7712 - ouR escaPOD mods Former RPod 179 Current Cherokee Grey Wolf 24 JS |
Posted By: lostagain
Date Posted: 17 Mar 2019 at 9:39pm
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In my experience, paying piecework usually leads to shoddy craftsmanship, injuries, and long term development of disabilities that cut one's work life short. I suspect that if someone made a study of the correlation between piece work and quality, there would be an inverse relationship. But it is a way to drive the bottom line for manufacturers, as long as they don't mind paying very high workers' compensation rates and dealing with high turnover. ------------- Never leave footprints behind. Fred & Maria Kearney Sonoma 167RB Our Pod 172 2019 Ford F-150 4x4 2.7 EcoBoost |
Posted By: Richand Cindy
Date Posted: 18 Mar 2019 at 8:37pm
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I actually was very surprised that a factory tour would discuss how the workers were paid. They even had a large blackboard with the number of RVs made that day and the record holders. I agree that paying piecework (although it is only piecework above and beyond the normal number that their salary includes) would lead to shoddy craftsmanship. Next time in the area I will tour one of the more upscale RVs (e.g. Airstream) to see how they are made. But to be honest to be able to buy something at a more than fair price and American made, I can live with having problems that need fixing as long as they are not major.
------------- OLD 2017.5 RPOD 180 + 2015 Jeep Cherokee Trailhawk NEW: 2018 Passport Elite 23RB + 2017 Ram 1500 Diesel |
Posted By: ribet
Date Posted: 18 Mar 2019 at 11:12pm
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The trailer you got was the one I was trying to buy from Harrison Marine. I put a deposit on it but you had first choice over me. I could not wait for the next shipment so I got a r180 in Sacramento. I bought my 171 from Harrison and I was happy with them. Sold it after 2+ years for the same price I paid for it. I think you saved me a lot of grief.
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Posted By: texman
Date Posted: 19 Mar 2019 at 8:50am
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i added an 1/8" piece of flat aluminum to each end of the support and added a third bolt to each end. so i added 1/4" total and it torqued down nicely. Did i see some of you have drilled all the way through the frame and bolted these supports ? i would have never noticed this had i not removed the water tank twice now.
------------- TexMan 2015 182g 2018 Sequoia http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=9122&title=texman-182g-mods - TexManMods |
Posted By: wvanauken
Date Posted: 19 Mar 2019 at 10:25am
| I understand and this has been my sad introduction to the world of RVs. With regards to quality control, Forest River brags about their QC right on their website and points out their QC procedures. Yes, it shouldn't be this way as you said, but I hope that more people like myself don't settle for this and contact FR with their issues. Maybe if more people did, there wouldn't be as many issues. I don't know...just speculating a bit. In my case I wrote detailed letters with pictures to all the FR locations in Oregon and one to the main headquarters in Indiana. We'll see what kind of response I get. At the very least, I felt a little better just by taking the action and expressing my frustration in writing. Thanks for you input. |
Posted By: wvanauken
Date Posted: 19 Mar 2019 at 10:27am
| Exactly! |
Posted By: wvanauken
Date Posted: 19 Mar 2019 at 10:30am
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Glad to be of some help.
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Posted By: wvanauken
Date Posted: 19 Mar 2019 at 10:31am
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Posted By: wvanauken
Date Posted: 25 Mar 2019 at 7:50pm
| Good news. I contacted Forest River about all the issues I've had with my new R-pod. As a good faith gesture, they offered to make two payments on my trailer loan. This goes a long way in taking some of the sting away. |
Posted By: Eluv201
Date Posted: 10 Apr 2019 at 6:59pm
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I have a silly question are we still talking about our pods or is this RV in general? Was this in An Forrest River plant? If so which plant? I’m having serious issues with my our pod and it is a 2018 190 brand spanking new not even one month we had it and we have leaks everywhere. Not to mention other little things that we found. Thank you! ------------- I was blind but now I see |
Posted By: lostagain
Date Posted: 10 Apr 2019 at 7:15pm
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Check with the dealer where you bought it an push them to fix things. Call FR's r-Pod plant where your trailer was made, in Sheridan, OR, or Goshen, IN. The contact data is on their web site. If they are unwilling or unable to fix the issues, check your state's lemon laws to see if they apply to travel trailers. ------------- Never leave footprints behind. Fred & Maria Kearney Sonoma 167RB Our Pod 172 2019 Ford F-150 4x4 2.7 EcoBoost |
Posted By: Richand Cindy
Date Posted: 10 Apr 2019 at 8:47pm
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My posts about visitng an RV factory was NOT RPOD and not even another Forest River product. However I feel they are pertinent posts because I was told that all RVs are built the same way. Several people who were on the tour with us had been to about 3-4 other factory tours and told us they all did it the same way. They were not able determine who is the better manufacturer simply by going on a tour and seeing them being built. Lastly since all the factories are within a couple of miles from each other in Elkhardt IN, there is frequent movement of employees. So it is possible that someone who built my RPOD in 2017 built my Passport in 2018! I am sorry to hear about your problems with leaks in a brand new trailer. A good dealer is CRITICAL to purchasing any RV. It is not a car which you can take to any dealer and get warranty service. A dealer should have checked for leaks. Plumbing leaks are common due to faulty connections. Leaks from rain are less common and should be checked and fixed by the dealer. Technically leaks are not covered under warranty since there are many places where joints can get exposed and leak. However for a new RV people have posted here that FR did cover repairs on new units that obviously had build defects ------------- OLD 2017.5 RPOD 180 + 2015 Jeep Cherokee Trailhawk NEW: 2018 Passport Elite 23RB + 2017 Ram 1500 Diesel |
Posted By: Eluv201
Date Posted: 11 Apr 2019 at 6:52am
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Dealers are working on the issues. They’ve been really apologetic. I’m at the right dealer. I just can’t understand why so many issues and I haven’t had it for a month. It’s new out of the factory. I’ll keep everyone posted. Thanks ------------- I was blind but now I see |
Posted By: Eluv201
Date Posted: 11 Apr 2019 at 6:55am
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Thanks for clearing that up. I hope Forrest River is not like that. I heard they’re the best in the business, they stand the test, and how other makers copy them. All I know is that we’ve had nothing but issues ------------- I was blind but now I see |
Posted By: furpod
Date Posted: 11 Apr 2019 at 7:20am
I am not sure who told you FR was "The best in the business" but it
takes mere moments to know that isn't true. However, They are by far not
the worst. And as the R-Pod goes, it is the best available, for it's features and size, at it's price point. But, those are all separate purchase/design/feature points. When you start deciding on which features are most important to YOU, any particular RV may or may not be "right for you". TT's and RV's all have issues. It's a house, that goes 70mph. All RV's regardless of brand will have some issues, both when new, as delivered, and over time. 99% of the time, if a new owner is unhappy, it's the dealers fault. "it's better to have a great DEALER, rather than a great CAMPER... ONE can be fixed" I have worked on, repaired, and modded, a lot of TT's over the years. All of them had issues. If you want to stay pretty close to the size of an R-pod, but want to see the best constructed, full featured TT, look at an Oliver Legacy Elite or Elite II. BUT.. that's looking at only one part of the decision process. For most people, the price point and often the wait for it to be built, is a show stopper. For us.. well.. we don't dig the sterile interior at all. But they are very very solidly built, by a small factory that hires good people and pays them well. ------------- |
Posted By: Richand Cindy
Date Posted: 11 Apr 2019 at 8:57am
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I have my repair work done at a private shop that also stores my RV. They do authorized warranty work for Forest River. They did most of my warranty work on my RPOD and I did not pay a penny. For my new Keystone Passport they told me before I bought it they will NOT touch it. It seems Keystone pays a very low labor rate and they would lose money on it. I still bought the Keystone because the actual dealer where I bought it from is closer to me than the repair shop. So while FR may not be the best in the business, they seem pretty good in backing their product and paying independent shops. ------------- OLD 2017.5 RPOD 180 + 2015 Jeep Cherokee Trailhawk NEW: 2018 Passport Elite 23RB + 2017 Ram 1500 Diesel |
Posted By: Billy Bob
Date Posted: 11 Apr 2019 at 9:12am
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I had numerous items wrong on my 190, but FR paid for everything under warranty....I think after the kinks get worked out, very few problems in the future. Since I didn't understand the DEALER, not buying local, Camping World has done all the warranty work for me. ------------- 2019 RPOD 190 2017 Chev Colorado 4 X 4 Yellow Lab and English Springer Spaniel |
Posted By: Motor7
Date Posted: 15 Apr 2019 at 6:45pm
truth............................................ ------------- 2016 R-Pod 176T |
Posted By: PilotPodder
Date Posted: 15 May 2019 at 7:59pm
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My latest video is my 20 issues in two years on my 179. All were fixed but the last one that is still outstanding. Seems fitting for this thread! ------------- Portage, MI — 2017 RPod 179 - sold / 2017 Toyota Tundra — https://johnmarucci.com/r-pod-video-list/ - My RPod YouTube Videos |