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AFnewRVers
New Member
Canada
12 Posts |
 Posted - Oct 10 2009 : 2:52:52 PM
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Hi
Being past RV renters, we are kind of nervous at owning a RV and the cost to maintaining one. Thanks Capn Courage for letting us know you are happy with your Rockwood. We are going in to put an offer in for a new 2008 Rockwood Windjammer 2808 this week, though we understand the Flagstaff 28 WFK Vlite is very similar.
We were wondering if anyone in this forum has bought the Forest River's second year warranty. Is it worth getting? How much does it cost?
We have a 2001 150 Ford Supercrew ( 5.4v engine). What hitch system should we get for towing a 29 ft TT?
Thanks
A&F from Canada
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fortkentdad
Junior Member
Canada
66 Posts |
Posted - Oct 10 2009 : 6:15:50 PM
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I bought the second year warranty. But I had to ask the dealer, he said he'd never sold one before. Cost was under $200 CDN (cheaper for those in the USA). The catch is that you need the form from the dealer (ask for it) and you have a limited time from date of purchase to send it in (seems to me it was 30 days).
We are now into our second year (13th month) and so far we've had no warranty repairs so I cannot comment on the value of the 2nd year, but given the cost of the trailer, the rate seemed reasonable.
I did read through that big bundle of documents you get. Learned that almost every little thing has its own manufacturer warranty and they are all different. And most have "escape clauses" so that the manufacturer could get out of a claim. e.g. The frame warranty is void if you install a weight distribution hitch, or bicycle rack onto the frame. The roof warranty does not cover leaks caused by protusions (eg around anything that is attached to the roof) and it is void ... ready for this, ... if you do not keep a written log of your quarterly inspections of the roof. I guess I'm out of luck with that warranty. As for the 10 year roof warranty (which I voided because I did not do my due diligence of quarterly written inspections) this 10 year is 100% the first year, 90% the second and so on. By the seventh year for example you will pay 70% of the repair - and only if you produce this inspection log.
I didn't think they thought anyone would read the fine print. Took me a few evenings. And then I had to send away a dozen or so registration cards. Only a couple allowed me to register their piece of my new RV on line at their website.
I've read some of the warranty claim "fun" folks on line have had. Axles seem to be particularily interesting.
AND, of course you must take it to the dealer where you bought it (presuming the dealer will fix it) and not to another dealer of the same brand. This I found outlandish. But there are signs right in the shop - "We fix our own customers RV's ONLY" I was told exceptions may be made for breakdowns for those on holiday in the area, but not residents. Seems it is a backlash against internet and mail order RV's from discount wholesalers.
Can you imagine if cars were warrantied like this. Sorry your windshield wiper no longer works, but take it up with the windshield wiper motor manufacturer and not you local dealer.
I can only hope I A) never need to find out how bad it can be, or B) my dealer comes through for me and does the repair under warranty.
As for you set up, I think you should be fine, my trailer is a wee bit bigger and just a little too much for my half ton, but it pulls it OK. Takes my CGVW to the limit.
ANYway - Congrats on getting your new RV. We have really enjoyed ours.
FKD
09 Rockwood 8319SS
08 Dodge Laramie QC 4X4, 3.92 with the 5.7 Hemi
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Edited by - fortkentdad on Oct 10 2009 6:21:27 PM |
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AFnewRVers
New Member
Canada
12 Posts |
Posted - Oct 10 2009 : 6:49:19 PM
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Hi Fortkentdad
Thanks for the warranty information. It is eye opening about the dealership and the many warranty registrations!
How do you get the quarterly roof inspections done, at the dealership?
Thanks
A&F from Canada |
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fortkentdad
Junior Member
Canada
66 Posts |
Posted - Oct 10 2009 : 8:10:20 PM
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Never heard of anyone doing those inspections. From what I read it looks like you climb up, look around, note any deficiency in you log, and do it again in 3 months. I'm sure a dealer would love to charge you for your quarterly inspections. Plan on reading through all of your warranties, and recommended maintenance documents.
From what I can tell the big maintenance items are
A - winterize - well as we are both Canadian. (Friggin' freezing out there already)
B - check you bearings - if running hot, repack with new grease.
C - lube you slide mechanism
I've only ever done the winterizing. Touched my hubs a few times to see if they were hot, they were not. Have not lubed my slide mechanism but probably will at the beginning of the next year. I only had used it one weekend in 2008 - we bought it labour day weekend. So 2009 ws the first year, and I was able to get out in it about eight times.
But I am a novice still learning, get involved in the forums as you can, ask questions, no dumb questions.
I had to ask what various switches were for because my dealer ran though my delivery instructions in a hurry as we were on our way out the door to go camping, ... no dumb questions.
There is another forum for all Forest River products, not as specific as this one, but has a much wider user base. http://forestriverforums.com/forums/index.php
I pop into a few forums, mostly this one, and the above. Found http://www.rvitch.com/ to be a fun place, not so much for product specific questions, but camping or RVing in general.
BTW what part of Canada, I'm out in North Eastern Alberta, (and it is winter here already :( )
FKD
09 Rockwood 8319SS
08 Dodge Laramie QC 4X4, 3.92 with the 5.7 Hemi
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Draytondave
Average Member
Canada
249 Posts |
Posted - Oct 11 2009 : 12:08:04 AM
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In regards to the second year Forest River Warranty, I have just had my left hand side front lower trim panel replaced. I found it had cracked over last winter and by the time I noticed it in April I was out of the first year warranty. The dealer put the claim in against the second year and it was replaced at no charge. Paid back the $120.00 it cost me right there. I called Forest River to buy the coverage and sent in a cheque. And yes there was a pretty tight time line to do it in. My dealer only offered there extended warranty which was outrageous. A & F I have a 2002 F-150 5.4 and find keeping the the RPM to a max of 3500 RPM with Overdrive off on the big hills will get you up them at a reasonable speed and the engine likes it. On the flat I leave my overdrive in the on position and it will pull around 95-105 KPH happily at around 2000-2500 RPM. On hills I turn it off again and you will see the RPM's increase slightly for the same speed.
Dave
2002 Ford 5.4 F-150 4x4 XTR.
Monroe coil over rear shocks
Reece W/D Hitch, Twin Reece friction sway bars.
2008 Flagstaff 831RLSS
 
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Draytondave
Average Member
Canada
249 Posts |
Posted - Oct 11 2009 : 12:14:11 AM
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Oh, and my hitch is a simple weight distributing hitch with two friction anti-sway bars mounted one on each side. Princess Auto has them at the best price of $39.99 each when they put them on sale regular $79.99. Hitch there is about $250.00 at the moment and comes ready to take both sway bars.
Dave
Dave
2002 Ford 5.4 F-150 4x4 XTR.
Monroe coil over rear shocks
Reece W/D Hitch, Twin Reece friction sway bars.
2008 Flagstaff 831RLSS
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Brush
Junior Member
USA
68 Posts |
Posted - Oct 11 2009 : 9:48:23 PM
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I highly recommend the second year warranty. We have owned our RV for 16 months and are still having warranty work done on our couch.
Bill and Darlene
2008 Tundra 5.7, 4.30 axle, 8' Bed, 4WD
Super Springs
Reese dual cam weight distr hitch, Prodigy Brake control
2009 Rockwood 8319SS
Nights camped in 2009 = 31
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Fire Instructor
Average Member
USA
174 Posts |
Posted - Oct 12 2009 : 07:45:26 AM
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We didn't find out about the availability of the second year warranty until we were past the period that we could purchase it. I always had that fear that we'd regret not knowing abiout it, but we are now in month 19, and today I'm winterizing, so by the time we camp again the TT would have been out of the second year. The good news, knock on wood, is that we haven't needed any "second year" repairs. There were a couple of things taken care of under the original, first year warranty, but nothing beyond that.
Fire Instructor
'04 Dodge Ram 4x4 Quad Cab
'09 Rockwood 2607
"If everyone is thinking alike, then somebody isn't thinking." George S. Patton |
Edited by - Fire Instructor on Oct 12 2009 07:46:21 AM |
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AFnewRVers
New Member
Canada
12 Posts |
 Posted - Oct 13 2009 : 4:51:19 PM
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Thanks everyone for your help.
The dealership was quite impressed with our Rockwood knowledge. We told them our knowledge came from other Rockwood/RV owners, who were glad to share their experiences! The salesperson, we dealt with, was great. He spent a lot of time with us and got answers to all our questions. He did not rush us and wanted us to be comfortable with our purchase. We are going to buy the Forest River’s second year warranty for $200.
We spent the last two days with the "new baby" and signed on the dotted line! Today it will get winterized and sent to storage until next spring. This should give us enough time to get the hitch, the weight distribution, and break system on our F150 truck.
Today, we had a discussion with the dealer’s technician about if an installation of a weight distribution system would void the frame warranty. Forest River warrant says it might void the warranty though it also recommends you have one if the TT is much heavier then the towing vehicle. Dexter Chassis Group’s warranty letter says you have to ask for their approval if you want affix aftermarket devices (such as a loading distribution hitch) to the RV or it reserves the right to void the warranty. Our Dealer says Forest River (they called their FR representative) will honour the frame warranty as long as the system is installed properly and does not damage the integrity of the RV chassis. Therefore we are not 100% clear what circumstance will void the warranty, but we will continue to research it?
Next Spring, we hope to join a safety RV caravan for newbies, so that we can learn how to handle our TT safely. If you know of any safety caravan that starts in southern Ontario, let us know.
We would like to share a picture of our 2008 Rockwood Windjammer, but not sure how to post it?
Thanks
A&F from (ON) Canada
2001 Ford 5.4 F-150 Supercrew.
2008 Rockwood Windjammer 2808W
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fortkentdad
Junior Member
Canada
66 Posts |
Posted - Oct 15 2009 : 10:05:34 AM
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Congradulations, and thanks for the further insights into the mysterious world of RV warranties. Second year now costs $200, it wasn't that much last year, but times they are a changing.
As for posting pictures. I post my RV pics (among others) on my Facebook page. To post it here, I open my facebook in another window, open the picture and then right-click on the picture, select properties from the menu that pops up and hightlight the "Address/URL", be sure to get all of it. While it is highlighted press CTR C (copies the highlighted to your clipboard memory) then go back to the forum and click on the insert a image, you will see something like {img}{/img} and click between them and press CTR V, this will put your images URL address in between the two {img}'s.
And Voila you image in the forum.
Press Preview to check before posting. (When posting pictures use the regular "reply to post" and not the quick reply under the post)
That's how I do it.
You can do the same from many other picture hosting sights.
FKD
09 Rockwood 8319SS
08 Dodge Laramie QC 4X4, 3.92 with the 5.7 Hemi
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Edited by - fortkentdad on Oct 15 2009 10:21:10 AM |
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fortkentdad
Junior Member
Canada
66 Posts |
 Posted - Oct 15 2009 : 10:16:36 AM
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PS That is a picture of how not to have a campfire.
I had built a nice "t-pee" from fallen dry sticks, and put a match to the dry kindlin in the middle of the t-pee. Within a minute the whole thing flared up. It was a nice campsite, but next time I'll look for one with the firepit just a little further from the space intended for the trailer.
FKD
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Edited by - fortkentdad on Oct 15 2009 10:19:03 AM |
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Forest River's second year warranty
