He was foaming at the mouth as he shouted, called me names, asked me what was wrong with me and tried to intimidate me. Forest River had contacted him about my blog so I guess he caught some heat when it should have been the service department. "Do you think Forest River is going to pay you for any warranty work that was done, now? Do you think I will ever help you, again?" he screamed.
I have always been reasonable in my communication with the dealer and the Hensley Hitch people. I couldn't get the owner, Jeff Couch, to call me back, but the salesman had always been civil. I'm very surprised that he didn't consult with the service department before calling me and acting like a complete moron.
The roof was the straw that broke my back. I guess my blog was the straw that broke his. More proof of what kind of organization Jeff Couch RV Nation is. I'm glad they are in my rear view window.
Jul 27, 2016
End of Nightmare--Three Way Campers Comes Through-Best in the Business
This morning I got a call that my trailer was ready. I was shocked. I really didn't expect to get a call for a month. If you have read recent posts, you know this is all about my 2016 Forest River Surveyor travel trailer bought From Jeff Couch RV Nation in Ohio.
All issues including the bad (brand new from factory) roof fixed thanks to Three Way Campers (link) in Marietta, GA. They were wonderful. They fixed my slide and my roof, and installed a new hitch. Keep in mind that this is a brand new trailer that has been out once. Here are some pictures of the roof when I brought it in.
I can't say enough about every person I came in contact with or worked on my trailer at Three Way Campers. I'd like to try to name all names, but there's always the pitfall of leaving someone off. Trust me, though, there isn't one of them that didn't treat me with friendly and courteous service. The trailer pulled just fine all the way home in horrific traffic on I75 and open road on I285 and curves. Didn't even know the camper was back there. I cannot begin to tell you the stress that's off my back. Three Way Campers also has a great store--everything from soup to nuts. I will be having all my service performed here, and if I were younger I'd buy another trailer. I watched them deal with customers who had humongous 5th Wheels, Class As and Cs, and little trailers like my own. All customers, including me, walked out with smiles on their faces. I just can't thank everyone enough.
I took one big lesson away from this nightmare and I hope anyone who reads this knows how important it is to KNOW your dealer before buying, and will pass it along to anyone who is thinking of buying a Forest River or any trailer, really. Don't go for the lowest price. Go to a dealer you know. Fortunately, now I have the pleasure of knowing that I can take my trailer to a place, nearby, that I trust. They went above and beyond to treat and charge me more than fairly. I'll be going back in, soon, to have a slide topper installed.
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| The Place to Go |
All issues including the bad (brand new from factory) roof fixed thanks to Three Way Campers (link) in Marietta, GA. They were wonderful. They fixed my slide and my roof, and installed a new hitch. Keep in mind that this is a brand new trailer that has been out once. Here are some pictures of the roof when I brought it in.
I can't say enough about every person I came in contact with or worked on my trailer at Three Way Campers. I'd like to try to name all names, but there's always the pitfall of leaving someone off. Trust me, though, there isn't one of them that didn't treat me with friendly and courteous service. The trailer pulled just fine all the way home in horrific traffic on I75 and open road on I285 and curves. Didn't even know the camper was back there. I cannot begin to tell you the stress that's off my back. Three Way Campers also has a great store--everything from soup to nuts. I will be having all my service performed here, and if I were younger I'd buy another trailer. I watched them deal with customers who had humongous 5th Wheels, Class As and Cs, and little trailers like my own. All customers, including me, walked out with smiles on their faces. I just can't thank everyone enough.
I took one big lesson away from this nightmare and I hope anyone who reads this knows how important it is to KNOW your dealer before buying, and will pass it along to anyone who is thinking of buying a Forest River or any trailer, really. Don't go for the lowest price. Go to a dealer you know. Fortunately, now I have the pleasure of knowing that I can take my trailer to a place, nearby, that I trust. They went above and beyond to treat and charge me more than fairly. I'll be going back in, soon, to have a slide topper installed.
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| Colorado, Here I Come! |
Jul 25, 2016
Really Forest River?
I won't go into all of the harrowing experiences that I've had since my last update. I finally was able to get my Forest River 2016 Surveyor to an honest dealer about 20 miles from my home. He's fixing the slide which is under warranty. However, he took pictures of the roof and the whole roof needs to be redone. He said he'd never seen a sloppier job on a roof. I'm not sure if this is covered under warranty or not. In either case, it needs to be done and I'm having a topper installed over the slide. This is on a trailer not a year old and one camping trip and a terrifying trip home. If nothing else, I have learned that I should have purchased the trailer locally; not based on the best price. I wasn't aware that dealers don't really like to do warranty work on a product that wasn't purchased from them. This is the last trailer I'll be buying because of my age, but this is a warning to all, for what it's worth, about the Forest River Product. Don't buy it!
The hitch was never installed correctly by the Forest River Dealer in Ohio (Jeff Couch RV Nation). Not only did they install the hitch incorrectly, the service guy was so lazy that he told me that I didn't need chains or a break with a Hensley Hitch. He said he didn't have the extra links to add. I suggested (with the help of a very nice gentleman customer) that he get in his vehicle and get them from wherever he needed to get them from. Had I not owned a trailer before, I might have believed him and people might have been killed on I75 or I285 on my way back home to Atlanta. Fortunately, I stood my ground. The walk through was a joke, too. If it weren't for questions I asked and had to drag out of the guy, he would have just handed me my keys and waved good bye.
I've had three Mobile RV Services try to correct the installation because I was unable to hitch up. Last Thursday I managed to get hitched up after four hours in 90+ degrees heat. The wild ride to the dealer was the icing on the cake. When the lady checking me in, she told me they stopped doing warranty work on Forest River (Forest River gave me their name via an email response) three years ago, I was ready to sell the trailer right there and then. Fortunately, I had spoken to the owner or service manager on the phone and he said he would help me and happened to walk by as I arrived and told her that he had okayed this one.
As I stood at the door with the service manager and several other gentleman, "I can see from here that that hitch is not installed correctly." I almost fell over. As it turned out...two more pins had never been installed which was the reason for the wild ride. That makes it the four main bolts to keep the trailer hitched and three pins. The dealer claimed they had no left over parts and it took the 9 hours to install. The quality of my Jayco trailer on a scale from 1-10 (10 being the highest) was a 9-1/2 (tail lights were a problem). The Jayco dealer a 10. The quality of the Forest River product and dealer = 1.
I had to give up the Hensley Hitch. This local dealer said he could install it correctly, but the injury to my arm and wrist will not allow me to pull and push the OCL adjustments. My wrist swelled up when I was hitching. It's being replaced with an Equalizer. Hensley was cooperative giving me directions by phone, but did not have a representative to send to help me. The hitch was very expensive but I put safety first. I knew they had a buy back program. I'm embarrassed to say that the buy back amount was only $600 on a hitch that cost me over $3K so that's pretty much of a joke. They will sell it to someone else for 3K by their own admittance. The dealer has assured me that with my one ton truck and small trailer that I will be just as safe with the equalizer and it will be easier for me to hitch up. He verified that I had hitched the Hensley correctly, but said with it moving around so much and that it did nothing as it was installed--just dead weight on the trailer. The part in the process they say is the hardest is backing the truck into the hitch. After all my practicing, I found that to be the easiest part.
So, I'm feeling pretty stupid, right now. I couldn't take what might wind up being the last trip to the west coast in my life, have a broken wrist and arm (soft cast, now), lost at least 3K on the hitch (includes the mobile service charges), The slide cover is my choice and I would have gotten it even if everything was fine.
I'm hoping to go to Colorado for September and October which will ease my pain somewhat, and of course do some winter and spring camping on the east coast with good friends and cross my fingers that I can take off again for the Pacific Northwest next spring. I'm waiting to leave reviews at Couch RV until after everything is said and done. My kids told me to just cut my losses (their inheritance) :) and be glad that I finally found an honest dealer, and that other than my own injuries no one else was hurt. I could take legal action, but as my kids agreed with me saying the trailer is for my enjoyment and relaxation, not for more stress.
If this post is helpful to only one person who visits my blog, I'm glad I wrote it. To them, I ask, please spread the word. Hope everyone out in blogland is well and happy.
The hitch was never installed correctly by the Forest River Dealer in Ohio (Jeff Couch RV Nation). Not only did they install the hitch incorrectly, the service guy was so lazy that he told me that I didn't need chains or a break with a Hensley Hitch. He said he didn't have the extra links to add. I suggested (with the help of a very nice gentleman customer) that he get in his vehicle and get them from wherever he needed to get them from. Had I not owned a trailer before, I might have believed him and people might have been killed on I75 or I285 on my way back home to Atlanta. Fortunately, I stood my ground. The walk through was a joke, too. If it weren't for questions I asked and had to drag out of the guy, he would have just handed me my keys and waved good bye.
I've had three Mobile RV Services try to correct the installation because I was unable to hitch up. Last Thursday I managed to get hitched up after four hours in 90+ degrees heat. The wild ride to the dealer was the icing on the cake. When the lady checking me in, she told me they stopped doing warranty work on Forest River (Forest River gave me their name via an email response) three years ago, I was ready to sell the trailer right there and then. Fortunately, I had spoken to the owner or service manager on the phone and he said he would help me and happened to walk by as I arrived and told her that he had okayed this one.
As I stood at the door with the service manager and several other gentleman, "I can see from here that that hitch is not installed correctly." I almost fell over. As it turned out...two more pins had never been installed which was the reason for the wild ride. That makes it the four main bolts to keep the trailer hitched and three pins. The dealer claimed they had no left over parts and it took the 9 hours to install. The quality of my Jayco trailer on a scale from 1-10 (10 being the highest) was a 9-1/2 (tail lights were a problem). The Jayco dealer a 10. The quality of the Forest River product and dealer = 1.
I had to give up the Hensley Hitch. This local dealer said he could install it correctly, but the injury to my arm and wrist will not allow me to pull and push the OCL adjustments. My wrist swelled up when I was hitching. It's being replaced with an Equalizer. Hensley was cooperative giving me directions by phone, but did not have a representative to send to help me. The hitch was very expensive but I put safety first. I knew they had a buy back program. I'm embarrassed to say that the buy back amount was only $600 on a hitch that cost me over $3K so that's pretty much of a joke. They will sell it to someone else for 3K by their own admittance. The dealer has assured me that with my one ton truck and small trailer that I will be just as safe with the equalizer and it will be easier for me to hitch up. He verified that I had hitched the Hensley correctly, but said with it moving around so much and that it did nothing as it was installed--just dead weight on the trailer. The part in the process they say is the hardest is backing the truck into the hitch. After all my practicing, I found that to be the easiest part.
So, I'm feeling pretty stupid, right now. I couldn't take what might wind up being the last trip to the west coast in my life, have a broken wrist and arm (soft cast, now), lost at least 3K on the hitch (includes the mobile service charges), The slide cover is my choice and I would have gotten it even if everything was fine.
I'm hoping to go to Colorado for September and October which will ease my pain somewhat, and of course do some winter and spring camping on the east coast with good friends and cross my fingers that I can take off again for the Pacific Northwest next spring. I'm waiting to leave reviews at Couch RV until after everything is said and done. My kids told me to just cut my losses (their inheritance) :) and be glad that I finally found an honest dealer, and that other than my own injuries no one else was hurt. I could take legal action, but as my kids agreed with me saying the trailer is for my enjoyment and relaxation, not for more stress.
If this post is helpful to only one person who visits my blog, I'm glad I wrote it. To them, I ask, please spread the word. Hope everyone out in blogland is well and happy.
The Good Old Days
Jul 6, 2016
Update
I'm posting from my iPhone for the first time so who knows how it will turn out. This is an update. Finally got the hitch fixed. Arm still in limbo-hope to get cast off tomorrow and start physical therapy. I went to open the slide on my forest river surveyor 2016 and the slide wouldn't open. I finally got someone to take a look at it, and he tried his best to get it to work but it would only go out about 3 inches. He told me I'd be best taking it to a warrantee dealer.
Because of my arm, and though the hitch is fixed, I still can't hitch up because of my arm so I'll have to have AAA tow it to a dealer. So here it sits in the driveway, brand-new and only one trip under its belt and a dangerous drive home.
I know they're are much sadder things going on in this country and in this world and I have a very good friend who just lost her dog – – I can't even find words to write about things like that anymore, but for those of you contemplating buying a trailer, buy from a reputable dealer, and make sure you can wind the slide in yourself if it fails. I had no slides in my last trailer but in our motorhomes, we had hydraulic slides and never had a problem. Just to catch up and hi to everyone or anyone if they're left reading.
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