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Warranty……not.

Since we live so far away from our dealer and because I’m reasonably qualified to do this work, and because of all the horror stories about months in dealer lots waiting for Warranty work, we decided to fix most (all) of these things ourselves.  Besides, I found many of these screwed up things as I was working through the trailer on other issues.  It would have required many trips to take care of all these.  I’d still, to this day, be waiting to get my trailer back from a dealer.  I called the Forest River Warranty number, explained the situation and it seemed to me that I was told I could be reimbursed for work I performed if I kept records.   I did all the work listed above and submitted my bill and was promptly told – “I can only reimburse you for actual, replacement purchases”.   No payments for labor.  Fine I say, send me the check.  A week or two later: “I can only reimburse you our cost on the chairs.”  Fine I say, send me the check.  “I need receipts for the chairs.”  Fine, here they are, send me the check.  It tooks months since my first attempt to be reimbursed and I was only paid half the value of the replacement chairs.  I was not reimbursed for ANY other work or replacement parts even though many of them were the direct result of manufacturing DEFECTS!  In case you don’t remember, this is Forest River, Flagstaff. .

So this probably isn’t a surprise to most of you.  I was surprised at the phone call that implied I could be paid, but I would still have done the work myself because of the hassle of actually getting a dealer to do the work.  Besides – I wasn’t impressed by what I saw at the dealer and there are many stories out there that say dealers do warranty work only when all the other work is done, because manufacturers do not pay the going rate of warrenty repairs.

So, my advice may mean nothing since I’ve never used my Warranty in the normal sense, but I would suggest you go over your trailer very carefully before taking it in.  Make a clear list and share it with your dealer before you go in and get some expectation from them of what warranty will cover and what it won’t.  They will be “happy” to go ahead and perform several hours of non-warrenty work while the trailer is there and expect you to pay when you pick it up.

So, my warranty is likely never going to be used unless something really big goes horribly wrong.

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upgrades and modifications

Well let me start with a reminder of the upgrades that came as a result of “fixing things done wrong”.

  1. We installed Bargman LED tail-lights to replace the improperly installed taillight junk that came with the trailer.  After our first trip, we discovered one of the two segments on the right tail-light had gone bad. After carefully making sure the segment was bad, I notified Bargman – and seriously – no questions asked the sent me a new unit.  They have a customer for life.
  2. The terrible chairs – we purchased two swivel rockers from Menards – patio furniture. These were higher-end for Menards with some padding built in. They had light-weight, strong aluminum frames. They are much smaller but still very comfortable. They can sit in the back of the trailer and we can use the back door. We can also simply pick one up and lay it on the couch if we need a bit of space when on the road. And they fit out the door easily if we want to use them outside while camping.  That’s about 80 pounds less weight in the trailer.
  3. The “you can’t sleep in it” sleeper couch was taken out and donated. We replaced it with an identical sized (and weight) couch that has an actual mattress. It wasn’t cheap, but it is sleepable.  We even added a foam topper, which folds up with the couch.
  4. We installed a Progressive Industries power management unit. We cut into the back left “shelf”, where the power comes in and installed it there. When we first installed it – it went “nuts”, cycling on and off. I rechecked everything (and all my connections were correct) and also took the trailer power plug apart and tightened the wire connections – and like magic it worked fine. I believe the powerplug wire screws were not tight enough.
  5. After scouring the planet for a portable vacume that we could find a place to fit, we decided to install a central vac. It went in the front storage area, under the bed. The hose is long enough to reach the entire trailer and is it nice.
  6. I installed a 12V outlet with USB ports in the area under the TV so we could have computer/charging ports in the living space.
  7. Our tank monitors started acting up even before our first trip. I ordered and installed a SeeLevel system.
  8. I purchased a second battery exactly the same as the one that comes with the trailer. I modified a second battery box and installed the battery in parallel on the front trailer rack, along with some cable locks.  Long term, I wan to move to Lithums, but for now may settle with a pair of 6V AGM units.
  9. We had a Garmin 760LMT Rv GPS – so we ordered the backup camera that cam with it. It is supposed to work 40+ feet – but I couldn’t get it to work 10 feet if ANYTHING was in between the transmitter and the Garmin.  I purchased the extension cable, ran it all the way to the front of the trailer – created a mast and mounted the antenna where it could see right into the truck cab. It sort of works.  More in a separate blog.  I’m planning on installing a different unit.
  10. We purchased a TPMS system – kind of a pain to set up and sort of works. I can’t get the spare to ever be read by the monitor.  I’ll move that sytem to my old truck and or sell it to someone.  I’ve purchased a new system which comes with a repeater that  is supposed to work better.
  11. We are replacing the thermostat with a digital model.  Note, the average battery operated wall thermostat may not work in your trailer.  Ours has two A/C fan speeds, manual/auto fan, plus heat/cool – so I suggest if you want to upgrade your unit, get a similar brand and model as what is in there and check the extra switches/options.
  12. We purchased a wireless thermometer system that would handle up to 8 sending units.  We placed one each in the freezer, fridge, outside-under the front of the trailer, and three with sensors on each of the tanks.  I may also install one on a hot water line so we know when the heater is up to temp.
  13. We are planning this spring for a 200 Watt solar system to extend our batteries without using the generator.
  14. We bought a pair of Generac 2000 watt generators.  We can use one or both depending on whether we are using the AC or not.  Long term, I’d love to have more solar, Lithium batteries and a hybrid inverter so we could get by with just one generator.
  15. We bought a small frige fan – and it does help, but you must remember, to keep the food away from the back corner where the temperature sensor is mounted, or the fridge will freeze up solid.
  16. This isn’t really a trailer mod – but we bought an integrated battery/air pump.  This gives me a portable means of going around and checking/setting tire pressure and can be used to power usb ports, or with a small inverter, laptops an emergency start for the truck or even a way to run the jack/slides if the trailer battery is dead.
  17. We purchased a new porcelin toilet.  The old plastic one squeaked horribly and came off the mounts.  When I reinstalled it – I had to let it sit about 10 degrees twisted, which is why it came loose – the base is not straight.  The new toilet comes with a sprayer which we hope will save water.
  18. We purchased a couple of propane tank monitor and discovered on of the tanks had leaked down, probably because there was debris in the hose connect.
  19. We purchased a ProPride P3 hitch to making towing much less scary.
  20. I used a recessed space above the fridge to add in a shelf for storing spices.
  21. I added a round tube under the back of the trailer to hold our dump hoses.  The square fender now holds the extensible dump hose support.