Forest River SABRE 36BHQ reviews

We purchased the RV in October 2022 and have used it five times at about a week each time. We have had to take it back to the dealer within (3) three days of buying it (November 2021) due to a water leak on one of the slides, They fixed it with some tape. (stated that was what the factor told them to do). The second time back (Mach 2022) to the RV dealer was for a broken faucet , which they replaced. Now the 3rd time back to the dealer( June 2022) is for: 1. Cracked slide out controller 2. Cracked TV 3. Electrical outlet and USB port not working 4. Lights dim when AC units turn on 5. Broken drawer pull out AS of today 16 June 2022 the Warranty company stated they would NOT fix the control panel or TV due to it must have been done by customer damage and is not covered by warranty. I explained to them (the warranty company} that the glass control panel has a design flaw. The glass panel has no support behind the glass panel which allows the glass panel able to be pushed in to far and it cracks the glass panel and the TV was due to the vibration of towing the unit. The overall RV unit is cheaply built and I'm very frustrated owning it. At a cost of $61,000 I should expect it to last at least a four years, but I guess my expectations are to high. Also, my dearlership wants me to purchase an extended warranty at a cost of $ 4,300 for 4 years to offset repair cost. My question is: Why buy a warranty if they are not going to fix major issues under warranty. Show less

So far not impressed at all! For a 2022 saber 36bhq For a 98000 dollar unit it looks like it cost 10000 to build. Bathroom tub is flimsy and leaks at the glass door seams. In one day two blinds fell apart. Polar package sucks. Was 22 degrees out and my kitchen froze. Trimming on the roof after the move from dealership to home 30miles was falling down I had to wood glue it back up. The more I look at everything the more I see how much forest-river cut corners and didn’t care about their workmanship. Sad that my 2014 was way better quality. Pretty sad. I’ll say it’s my worst purchase. Show less

If you are considering buying one of these units I would suggest that if you are bound and determined buy it used after all the issues have been resolved.One of my ac units quit {not even sure it ever worked] Automatic jacks quit Can't hook up to city water as it fills up water holding tank and overflows. Now the refrigerator has died and the manufacturer is an absolute joke.Don't depend on Forest River for support as they are Mia .Funny part of the refrigerator is you can't remove it without taking out the back window as it's too wide for the door. Good Luck Show less

We purchased our 5th wheel in March of this year (2020) and have been living in it since then. The quality is so poor it is unbelievable (I will go through that in a moment). The finish work is in a word terrible. Let's go through the problems we have had the fridge would not work we had to have someone come out and fix it, the hand rail fell off, every piece of glass in the cabinets has fallen out,the lower bunk in the bunk room broke, the closet doors don't close properly, the front door has an issue opening to mention just a few. Forest River products seem to be quality free and I would never recommend them to anyone. Show less

For anyone looking to buy a Sabre 36BHQ for full time RVing, let me seriously advise you to NOT! I have been living in my 2020 for the last 6 months and I’m overwhelmed with how many issues it has had. 1. Reserve propane tank line leak. 2. Stripped and leaking hot water tank anode rod. 3. All markings on stove knobs have worn off. 4. All window screens have developed gaps and screen does not stay in the channel and pulls away from frame easily. 5. All escape windows do not seal completely 6. TV and storage cabinet support over the fireplace has broken causing all shelves to drop and break loose from wall. 7. All trim has sections that have separated from the wall. 8. There are two sections of wall that have separated from joists. 9. The floor in the living space now gives when you walk on it. 10. kitchen island shakes and sways and no longer seems secure. 11. One wood mounting plate for Kitchen sink has broken free 12. TT Leveler calibration has deviated extremely from true level to the point where manual leveling is the only option. 13. Lighting switch in the loft has shorted out intermittently 14. Bathroom shower knobs need constant tightening. 15. LED docking light strips have many burnt out LED’s 16. Battery vent grills have broken fins. 17. Living space AC randomly stops running and won’t start back up until you tuned the thermostat off and then back on. My wife and I know we need to send this thing in for warranty repair but we are having trouble finding a place that can schedule us less than a month out which seems impossible being that we live in the thing. Say what you will about wreckless towing and rough road conditions but I drive 5 miles an hour under the speed limit and my truck has anti sway and air bag suspension. The Sabre is a true piece of trash that I sorrowfully regret purchasing in every way imaginable! Show less

I love love love this RV!! Or I should say, Loved, loved, loved it until we owned it. For 3 years I dreamed about buying it- I'm naturally very frugal person and it took a while for me to agree to spend 45k+ on the 5th wheel. Finally we bit the bullet and traded in our 2005 Holiday Rambler which had no problems. We needed more room and were on top of each other in the Rambler. We were so excited that we wanted to use it right away! There is a regional campground about two miles away from our house so we got it all set up one night. We went back to pick up our kids and prepared for a fun night! When we got everyone to the camp site, my son yells "why is it leaking?" Water. Everywhere. Pouring out from underneath the 5th wheel. Apparently some plumbing wasn't done properly and caused multiple fittings to "blow". We took the kids back home and called the dealer in the AM. We took it back that afternoon. After two weeks with them we got it back and were told that 17 fittings on the plumbing were the wrong type. Thankfully it would work well now.... Second trip out. We made it until 3AM without issue. That is when my husband woke me up to a flood in the kitchen. None of the faucets would turn on- we had apparently "blown the main water line". This time we didn't even call the dealer, we just showed up. They weren't surprised to hear we had more issues, but they were very apologetic. I know it isn't their fault-but it is a little frustrating to spendthat much money on something and then not even sleep in it more than 1/2 a night! It has spent more time with the repair department than us! The repair guy said he will go over it again-but it will take several weeks. I regret this purchase completely. Show less

I REALLY like this unit. We just purchased a couple of months ago, but have to say, we are overall really pleased. Love the floor plan, finishes, functionality. I literally could happily live in this 5th wheel. Show less

A lot of NO craftsmanship has been used to build this unit. Very poor quality build. Everything falling apart due to no reenforcement where needed to support couches, refrigerator, doors etc(items are screwed into thin walled paneling with not back support). I would not recommend to purchase this RV. If you want this floor plan, shop around and pay more for quality. I have owned this RV for 2 1/2 months. It has been in the shop for 1 1/2 months due to very slow warranty support. Getting ready to bring it back again for a list of more items. Show less

We purchased this camper about a month ago for my husband who travels for work. He is 700 miles from home, so we purchased brand new, to make sure he had a nice home away from home, with minimal issues. Since day one we have had nothing but issues. When he went to pick the camper up the bar that holds the bedroom closet door had come out of the wall. The way they slide freely, doesn't stand up to the movement of the camper. The doors look great, but this is definitely a design flaw. Other than that, which was fixed before taking it off the lot, we didn't see any immediate problems, until reaching the campsite the next day where we found these issues: -The plumbing underneath wasn't properly hooked up. Had my husband not noticed this when he went to hook up the hoses, it would not have been pretty. -The auto leveling system is terrible. We tried several times, it said the camper was level, however, it was clearly not. Even in manual mode (which requires the use of two jacks at a time) we could not make the camper level. After calling the dealership, they informed us they have so many issues with the auto-level, they actually have an on site person who only works on these systems. -The thermostat on the wall in the kitchen was not mounted properly, so the slide out for the kitchen table rubbed against the front of it. This caused the touch screen feature not to work, and we had to remove the cover in order to get the furnace turned on. -The mattress they put on the built in bed frame was about four inches to big, both length and width wise. Thankfully we had another on hand to replace it with. -The mid bunk slide out didn't slide all the way out, which meant it didn't seal correctly. We assumed this simply needed adjusted, but when we got it back in the shop, they said the whole wall was coming apart, causing it not to seal. We are awaiting word from the manufacturer on how this is going to be fixed... -When we took the first shower, it flooded the bathroom floor. They didn't seal the door up correctly so it was leaking. We purchase a tube of silicone and tried to seal it from the outside, but it didn't work. We couldn't get to the spot that needed sealed without taking it apart. -Nothing in the camper is straight. Things like the curtains and backsplash above the stove are noticeably crooked. (I did not get out a level and pick things apart) -Refrigerator works, but there is a beep to it we cannot figure out. Everything 30 seconds it beeps. Fortunately we eventually tuned it out, but it's obnoxious enough that people were on the phone with notice it. -The LED strips along the ceiling give a nice ambiance, however, it looks like they weren't stuck down good. When you stand in the bedroom and look down, you can see where parts of the LED strip are sticking up a couple inches. -The cupholder light in the couch stopped working the second day. Obviously not a deal breaker, but makes me worry the heat and such are next. -The screws used to install strips on the edge of the stairs going from the bedroom to kitchen area were way too big and stuck up too high. The first time I went through barefoot, I cut my toe open pretty good. This was an easy fix, as we made a trip to the hardware store and swapped them out, but it was still an inconvenience (and quite painful). I recognize many of these things are minor. I would not have given a bad review if it had simply been bad screws and a couple crooked fixtures. But the lack of attention to detail that went into putting this camper together is appalling. I realize it isn't a top of the line camper, but when you spend the money for something brand new, you expect things to work. It has been in the shop for the past week, and anticipate it will be there for a while, as they are waiting on the manufacturer to get back with them on approval and advice for warranty repairs. Bottom line, I would never recommend anyone waste their money on a Sabre. Show less