Forest River Thunderbolt reviews

i love the rv but the support for bad work is nonexistent. the roof is under a 12 year warranty and after 5.5 years or lets say 6 years old the metal flashing under the roof has come undone, staples coming up thru the roofing. the metal flashing under the roofing is cutting the roof down both sides from the inside out. ive contacted forest river and NOT gotten a response and worked with my local dealer to get this fixed under the 12 year roof warranty based on the bad craftmanship and got DENIED there too. the roof is in perfect shape except for the flashing under the edges coming apart and cutting it from underneath as well as the staples starting to come up thru the membrane. had i have dragged it under a tree and caused damage i have no problem getting it repaired BUT when the damage is from lack of quality control i feel forest river should own up and fix this on their end and not ignore me or deny the claim at the local dealer when they have pictures and video. i understand that these things happen but the support ive gotten is nothing more than a slap in the face from forest river. Show less

Your Forest River Sales man with his smile and his handshake will FILL YOU FULL OF EVERYTHING YOU WANT TO HEAR does not have to be factual you may purchase then you will be screwed Check Indianas laws that are made to protect them not the customer !!Please look over everything twice make sure you are getting your facts corectly,,,, Show less

Too any interested with ongiong XLR ISSUES. Investage ask for compedent help.The answers are available. Too any interested with ongiong XLR ISSUES. Investage ask for compedent help.The answers are available. Show less

I've owned this POS for a little over a year now. Over 20 issues with it, all in the first year. I've files complaints with the BBB, and Attorney General Offices in Indiana and Kansas. This thing is a STRAIGHT LEMON! I'm a disabled veteran that served in Iraq and Afghanistan and I get ghosted, (no contact) by Brent Stevens, General Manager of Forest River, who told me they were going to make things right over the phone. Does anyone know of an attorney who would take a case, may e even a Class Action suit against Forest River and their substandard product with health and safety issues? If so, my email is listed. I'm sure there are others who have gotten no where with this company standing behind their product. Who can afford staying in A hotel for more than 30 days to get issues worked on, and then find out Forest River sends the wrong replacement parts!!! Contact me! Show less

1. Was in Kansas for fathers funeral and needed a part for the camper I had purchased in Florida. My sons were with me. 2. I went to MidWest RV for the part and purchased a 2018 Forest River XLR Thunderbolt 382AMP 5th Wheel Toy Hauler, which I planned to live in full time and travel with my sons. This camper came with a 1 year manufacturers warranty, and I purchased an extended warranty. 3. After the funeral, I transport the 5th wheel back to Florida where I live. 4. About 2 weeks after being back in Florida, I noticed water was dripping from under the camper. I called Forest River and was advised by a representative that Dixie RV, 328 Green Acres Dr, Defuniak Springs, FL, 32435, (850) 397-3618, dixierv.com, would be the closest authorized repair shop. 5. I made contact with Dixie RV and made an appointment which was October 2019. 6. RV was dropped off to Dixie RV for repairs. After the repairs, the water leak was fixed, but had done damage to the sub-flooring in the "basement" compartment, the kitchen floor/linoleum, and the main slide floor. Dixie RV stated the tank-less water heater had not been tightened fully at the manufacturer. 7. I moved the camper to another location, which is my current address, and noticed water was leaking again from underneath. Also with in about a months time the following items were not operable, see attached list of items from Dixie RV. 8. The camper was dropped off at Dixie RV where it remained for 32 days. Forest River was contacted about the length of stay I had to endure in a hotel due to the fact the camper was in the repair shop for warranty repairs. Forest River stated they do not cover costs of hotel stays even though it was a warranty work being done, they simply do not and will not pay for those costs. See attached receipts for hotel stay. 9. After the repairs were completed, I met with an RV repair technician who indicated the water leak was from the tank less water heater again which ruined the floor the 1st time. The "blackwater", solid waste tank had been drilled into at the manufacturer and was the cause of leaking fumes into the camper, and leaking out onto the ground. The "gray tank" shower/sink water tank had holes in it as and was leaking. The technician also showed me structural issue under the main slide which was causing the main slide to not close like the manufacturer intended. Pictures of this structural issue are attached. 10. I contacted Angie Smiley at Forest River Warranty department in which she stated the only item she saw in her system was for the linoleum that had to be replaced. Not enough linoleum was sent to replace all the linoleum in the camper, so now there is mixed patterns. Mrs. Smiley indicated she wasnt aware of anything else that needed to be repaired. 11. I contacted Dixie RV and was advised they had submitted all repairs to Forest River, or how else would they have gotten replacements parts for what was able to be repaired. 12. I was contacted by Brent Stevens who stated he was the General Manager for Forest River. I advised Mr. Steven of the repaired issues, the issues that still needed to be addressed, and the new structural issues. I stated I was going to file complaints with the Attorney General Offices of Kansas, where the camper was purchased, and in Indiana where the camper was manufactured. Mr. Stevens said, "Oh you dont need to do that. We'll make everything right for you." I told Mr. Stevens I hope they do. Mr. Stevens sent an email to Mrs. Smiley about the issues I was having. Mrs. Smiley being the same representative I spoke to before who told me there was nothing in her warranty system for my camper. To this date, November 4, 2020, I have not received any emails, phone calls, or text messages from any representative from Forest River. I'm a permanent and total disabled veteran after serving eight (8) years in the Army, and being deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan. I wanted to have a camper that I could live in, and travel with my sons around the United States. This dream has been destroyed now and my sons let down because of poor and dangerous workmanship from Forest River. I have bouts of PTSD, debilitating migraines from service connected injuries, and I cant even stay inside my home because of the smell from the solid waste tank leaking. With as many issues this particular 5th wheel has had, there is no other explanation except it was poorly manufactured and should be deemed as uninhabitable, and Forest River be forced to take back this camper and take care of the loan for said camper. I should be refunded my money for the stay I had to endure while my home was being repaired. Show less

Worked for THUNDERBOLTS WRRANTY DEPARTMENT fOR YEAR'S THE FLOOR DEPARTMENT HAD BEEN USING A PLAZMA CUTTER TO CUT THE FRAMES TO PLACE PLUMBING AND ELECTRIC WERE NEEDED, well IF SOMETHING WAS IN THE WAY IT WAS CUT OUT..THIS LEFT Frames WEEK THEY STARTED CRACKING ..WELL THIS WAS STOPED IN 2016 BUTT THERE ARE LIKE THOUSANDS OF COMPRMIZED FRAMES OUT THERE. Thunderbolt Nitro and Hyper Lite Show less

I worked XLR warranty parts return four year's up until last March. What I saw was every unit going out the door with problems. Most of the larger amp units by the front slide out the wall cracks. This is because they are not built strong enough .. Then lets state sealing issues leaks when your underbelly fill's with water ok they would pull the cover dry out replaced. WELL THERE is THAT AREA OF THE FLOOR THAT HAS INSIDE THE 1"DECKING ROLLED OUT INSULATION THEN THE FURNACE VENTS THEN THE PLASTIC COVER. This I had never paid to change no one looks at but when it gets wet it does knot dry The only way is to replace the complete floor mean's pulling the unit completely apart to repair I saw awnings falling off. Window that fell out in traffic.Axles falling off,I could go on and on !!! Show less

We've owned several RVs including tongue pull, motor home and 5th wheel models. This 2017 422amp had so many problems from when we first started using it brand new. Forest River DOES NOT stand behind them. We purchased the extended year warranty which we found out was a waste of money. We had factory defects that never were taken care of. This is the 2nd Forest River 5th wheel that we've owned. We had numerous problems with the first one that were not taken care of also. When we purchased this one, the Forest River Rep was there and actually showed us the camper along with the owner of the RV dealership. When we found out it was a Forest River product, we both said no, show us something else. The rep asked why and we told him about all the problems with the 1st one. He and the RV Dealer owner assured us things have changed with Forest River and guaranteed any problems would be handled to our satisfaction. Not only were they not handled to our satisfaction, THEY WERE NOT HANDLED AT ALL! Terrible warranty support! Show less

Not impressed with the quality of forest river manufacturing. It seems the quality checking is non existence. The black water valve was reversed so the first time emptying was a bit of a mess. Tipped the guy at the site the cost of the empty because he wore the mess. The workmanship is beyond shoddy..trim coming loose etc. We had trouble with 2 of the three doors closing properly. We were first time rv owners and there were far too many things we were not informed about (this issue is obviously on the dealership). That having been said 3 seasons later the dealership has addressed each issue but we have had to take the rv back to the dealership after each winter season down south. We have had tire issues in Arizona, inverter issues in California (this one was not good the inverter is the heart and soul of and RV and in 110 degree weather to go dead in the water is not good). We called our dealer from California someone said to go ahead and get it fixed. We did so but because we did not get a name of the person they reimbursed us the 800$ paid in American in 800$ Canadian that is at least a 30 percent loss to us. (That is on our dealership) for the amount of money this unit cost I have huge issue with quality of the workmanship over all. As with any dealership once the vehicle/unlit is sold they are done with you. That doesn’t seem to change be it a vehicle or an RV. I would hesitate to purchase a forest river product again. I would for sure research more before we purchase again. So far we have been able to fix the issues reasonably easy however I feel we shouldn’t have to be fixing much of anything for a unit that cost us over 100,000.00 Canadian. Show less

This is our 2nd new camper we have bought and are very disappointed with all the repairs considering we had very few problems with our first. If it wasn't for ruining my credit i would park it in the dealers yard .We bought the extended warranty and it does not cover anything except mechanical or electrical. Luckily we did because they have replaced the fieplace,TV, microwave not to mention the minor things.The couch that kept coming apart at the seams was covered by factory warranty both times they fixed it.Now the rubber roof liner is coming unglued all around the edges and the floor is weak in front of the door plus the furnace quit working This is all considered cosmetic and not covered under warranty except the furnace they are saying is dirt dobbers and not covered. Why would they not put screens over the inlets but anyway that is another story. We are sick and really do not know what to do Show less