Cherokee By Forest River Folding Trailer reviews

Before we decided to build our retirement home next year, we decided to purchase a second RV for living purposes on the family farm. We have enjoyed our first RV purchase in 2021, a new Heartland Bighorn Traveler 5th wheel with minimal issues. So we went into this second purchase with great expectations. But reality, like a large hat-pin, punctured that hope with acuity that has been both a physical and mental anguish. We now wish we had waited on this second purchase. The Vibe 3400XL floor plan is a good one, rear kitchen and easy pulling 2 plusses. But the little things that happened every day drove us to the edge of buyer's remorse. On the first day we found out that extending the awning all the way prevented the entry door from opening all the way with pushing it into and past the awning. The awning also went over the slide-out and rested on it, worrying us that the contact on the sharp corner would wear a hole in that part of the awning. The only way to avoid the door issue was to pull the bracket down on the slide side for water drainage, but it still rested on the slide. The service specialist at the dealer we bought it from later told us we had the awning out too far. Huh? Isn't that what an awning is for, to extend and cover/protect as much area as possible? Next, when inside going to sit in the theater chairs, we felt as though the slides were tilted down slightly; a level proved us correct. The service specialist claimed this not true when his mechanic checked it. Having new stuff stacked everywhere and hungry, we sat on the bar chairs at the nicely elevated island to eat, and nearly fell over. Both bar chairs where horribly unbalanced and wobbling so badly that we thought we were sitting in rocking chairs. Then, we opened the newly installed washer to do a load of clothes and discovered 4 items of wet clothing already in there! So, in the dryer they went. The dryer started, then stopped after a few minutes, then started up again, then stopped...you get the idea. This happened on every cycle we tried, with nothing else on in the RV, while plugged in to 50-amp shore power. Nor breakers popped either. Service mechanic response? Can't duplicate. The washer has a coin slot on the bottom to open and remove any debris, but only after pulling the rubber tube out to drain any excess water. Did that, tube dry, opened the coin slot plug and woosh! A tidal wave of water came out! Both times we washed a load. And the dryer continued to start and stop... Next, my wife is cleaning the floor in front of the beverage cooler. And what did she see? Two deep grooves cut into the flooring. Service specialist said later that two screws, too long on the cooler had cut into the floor as it was pushed into the hole under the counter. Next - I'm back at work and my wife is staying in this new RV by herself, and after she retires to the bed, it starts raining out, a nice steady rain. After a couple of hours, much to her horror, she sees a trickle of water coming into the track on the floor, then pooling onto the floor by the washer/dryer closet. The service specialist "could not duplicate" again, so I suggested they check the water lines. They found that the hot water shut off for the washer was broken, and letting water leak into the track and floor. Well, the last slap in the face was when my son hooked up to the RV to take it back to the dealership for all this service, and he found one of the tires was flat. He aired it up, took it 65 miles to the dealership without further issue, and they, repeat after me, "could not duplicate." These mechanical defects happened all in the first 13 days of use. We asked for a buyback; the dealership refused. We asked for the entire floor to be replaced since the factory worker tore it up; Forest River refused. I would not buy another travel trailer from Forest River. The floor plan was good with tons of counter space, a coffee bar, and windows everywhere. But based on our experience in less than two weeks, no. Will this happen with other Forest River brands? Don't know and we aren't going to find out since we will not purchase from them again. Show less

Disaster from day 2! This manufacturer builds crap! Everything breaks and everything leaks. 2 of 3 slides are soaked and broken to the point that one has a 2" gap at the seal. It rains buckets inside. We have mold. And we live in it. Bankruptcy is the only way out! RUN!!!! Do not buy Forest River! Show less

Let's first say. Do not buy this rodent welcome home p.o.s. there are holes everywhere. Not just holes but 5 inch up to 10 inch holes left with nothing to protect from the outside environment. Mice RATS and snakes have total free will to the inside. So if they drilled a hole for anything but was off, they drilled another 1 or 2 times next to it leaving the rest totally open. I've found 20 of these in mine so far. Now as to quality. Doors are wall paper and pealing off. Drawer have all broken cracked, split, or just the rails completely fall out. Plumbing leaks underneath. Propane line with holes in it. P traps installed wrong. Shower panels not glued to the wall. Shower floor cut way to big and falling in and leaking. Counter top pulled out from the wall. Awning broke completely down. Getting a reimbursement from them is like pulling teeth. Bedroom fireplace quit working. Lights over stove and pantry quit working. Oh. Did I say we've only had this for 6 months??? Let's not stop there. Bedroom dresser drawer, sides, and frame have all broke. Screen door does not slide. Gaps on the bottom of the slide outs. Refrigerator growls loudly ha,ha, no not at 2am it's not!!! So please BID THIS WARNING. DO NOT BUY FROM FOREST RIVER. Show less

Just bought this unit the furnace that came in it didn’t work right was bad from factory . Was sent a new one and it works better but not correct have to keep re setting the thermostat it is absolutely ridiculous the heater is in back of camper bedroom in front and only has one vent it struggles to keep warm in there apparently this system is new 6 months old I don’t recommend buying this until that system has bugs out and a good working furnace Show less

We purchased a 2023 Vibe rear kitchen in October 2022. Love the floor plan, beautiful to look at . We have used the camper 9 times and in August of 2024 we went to use the over the bed cabinets and saw that the "wood look" paper was peeling from the sides of the cabinet. Looking further we found the same paper peeling in various places including the entire top of the pull out section. We called the dealer who said it was no longer under warranty. My husband called Forest River directly and they said oh yeah, we had a bad batch of glue. Two days later we found the entire bedroom closet door and jam had fallen off the wall. There is a crack in the top corner of the shower wall. The bathroom faucet handles are cracking and falling off. The camper jack fell down when we were coming home from a trip - scraping the highway all the way home. We had to buy and install a new one. The kitchen seats broke with the first use as the screws were not completely in the correct place. We have since had to reinforce both booth bottoms. Just one issue after another. I have never been so disappointed in such poor use of materials and workmanship for something that we still owe $30,000 on. We paid $50,000. What a complete waste of hard earned money. Do NOT buy a Forest River product!! Show less

We love this trailer. The interior height was a huge draw for us since we're a tall family, tallest being 6'4" with no issues walking around inside. We were most interested in boondocking and the set up was perfect for this. The dual access and higher clearance was a huge draw for overall stability for off road sites and longer road trips. The solar panel and huge clean, grey and black tanks allowed us to stay out longer without having to dumpf. The residential queen bed allowed us to put a real queen mattress on the bed to maximize our comfort. The bunks have been great for our kids. This trailer has so much storage space inside, we never maxed it out. Ample space for food, clothes, toys and linens. The kitchen is small but anything bigger would have taken away from living space and added more weight to the trailer. We love this trailer. It does not disappoint. And having issues with warranty and Forest River or dealerships is common among all trailers. When we purchased, we did a full inspection with an independent inspector. They found a major defect in the slide out window. The dealership fixed it before we took ownership. But we know trailers are not built like cars as someone else mentioned. The quality isn't excellent in order to keep the weight of the trailer low. But the interior aesthetic was pleasing to us and any flaws are minor. Any work we've had done in the 3 years we've owned the trailer has been done by us or an independent contractor as we don't want to wait for warranty and dealership wait times. That said, we haven't had any warranty failures on our trailer. This is a great trailer that allows us access to the outdoors while also providing us the comforts of home. Great for full hook ups or dispersed camping. You can have it all in this trailer. Show less

All these campers look the same....BORING....until I found this gem. This is a true couple coach. Perfect for 2 people and a dog. Don't bother thinking anyone will ever sleep on that pull out couch. I love the floor plan. The kitchen is large and useable, especially on inside days. Is it perfect, no, show me a camper that is at this price point. It feels like my second home when I'm in it. What I would change? Bedroom needs a slide, it's cramped to walk around the bed. Livingroom needs a fireplace, I fixed that myself. Campers need to get rid of the ovens, who the heck is using the oven??? The outdoor kitchen is a bit of a waste, I'm going to remove the grill and put a cutting board there, we always bring our blackstone anyways. The carpet needs to go. Needs a bigger fridge. more windows. Mine is missing the soundbar remote, GOOD LUCK finding one, apparently these soundbar remotes are lost somewhere with the arc in the birmuda triangle. Even the manufacture can't find one. We have stayed in our surveyor for weeks at a time and were perfectly comfortable. No mechanical issues other than ones I caused. Show less

Have had the same problem with the underbelly panels blowing off when towing. It is in at the dealer now for the fourth time. Dealer agrees the way panels are attached is a very poor design. They are trying to figure out a way to attached the panels actually to the frame. Has anyone had luck fixing this issue? Show less

My wife and I recently purchased this trailer last spring, we are the 3rd owner in just under 4yrs. We are quickly realizing why. . Let’s start with the good, first appearance of the trailer is very modern inside. With a decent layout. That’s all I have for the good. Now for the bad, we quickly noticed moving our stuff from our 1955 27’ 5th wheel trailer into this new one had no where near the storage space as the 5th wheel did. We soon realized that the master bedroom in the new trailer was smaller than the 5th wheel trailer, the queen size bed barely fits. We have to climb up over the bed to get to the side of the bed where the closet are. Which are also very small compared to the 5th wheel. . Once we were all moved in, time for a good cleaning of the trailer, we started realizing very quickly how poorly the quality and craftsmanship of this trailer really was. From everything to walls, flooring, cabinets, dinette, I mean everything about this trailer is poorly made and made with very poor quality material. It doesn’t hold the cold, Ac unit is constantly running and very noisy. Same for the furnace. The slide out bring it in and out can be a challenge, I have to be outside watching it go in and out very very slowly stepping it, while making sure the seals don’t get pulled the wrong way and damaged. The fresh water tank is under the trailer held up by two thin metal straps. The plumbing of the trailer in also under the trailer held up by tie wraps. How can these dealers charge so much for these trailers they are cheap poor quality craftsmen ship. It’s disgusting how this can be allowed . I regret ever selling my 1995 Terry 5th wheel, but due to the age most parks in Ontario will not allow older trailers as new seasonal campers. The park that we are in and really love it and the location is perfect for us, but being a new seasonal camper we had to purchase a newer trailer. Honestly if I could have kept the 5th wheel over this New travel trailer. Be able to stay in our park of choice it definitely would be the 5th wheel. Show less

After only 6 total trips with my R-POD 179 the trailer hitch folded up and I think the insurance company will be totalling the unit. I bought the trailer and anti sway hitch from the dealer on their recommendation. I was on my way on the 6th trip when I heard an unusual noises and pulled off the interstate and found a shoulder to park the unit on and saw the damage. I spent over 1.5 hours trying to find a tow company to get the unit to a nearby dealer. I loved the overall design of the unit and tow ability. I am a little disappointed with the overall quality of the unit. Show less