fltoftheconcord
Tennessee
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Joined: 01/24/2010
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I'd like to hear from current or previous Forest River Forester owners regarding their experiences with the unit and company.
We are evaluating the Forester Class C, but I'm interested in general observations from those who have owned Forest River products in the past several years.
What has been your experience with the quality of build?
Also interested in ride quality.
Thanks!
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mwebber78
New England
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Joined: 08/07/2005
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I have a 2011 Forester bunk model, just finished our first year with it. The unit is a Sunseeker with some upgrades including leatherette couch, soft-touch ceiling, flush mounted lighting, and heated tanks. The roof on the Forester line is a one-piece fiberglass unit. The front nose is a one piece wrap-arounde cap.
The unit is put together on-par for the price point. I had several minor issues that I corrected, nothing terrible and very typical for the industry.
I like the ride, Foresters come off the line with the front end aligned and standard metal valve extenders, and Firestone Ride-Rite rear airbags. The unit stays straight on the road and I love the adjustable rear airbags.
The one thing I will say right off, unless they changed the couch in 2012 I consider it junk - but I noticed that on other brands too 
Michael 
2 DD's and my DW 
2011 Forester 3171DS Class C
Nissan Altima "The Fun-Box"
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BozemanTrail
Montana
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Joined: 11/20/2010
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I picked up new 2011 Forester 3171DS in Oct 2010. No bigs issues to date. A DVD stuck in the DVD player which I fixed... It's a nicely built unit -- only trim issues were some cabinet doors weren't aligned -- I just used the hinges to adjust the alignment.
It rides well, gets pushed around a bit when in high crosswinds while pulling a Jeep GC, but I think most rigs would.
The bunk with the extra couch is nice to have with kids.
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handysam1
SW, Ohio
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Joined: 09/06/2006
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We owned a Forest River Rockwood TT for 6 seasons. We had a leaking window which was finally fixed by my husband. The only issue that was recurring and ridiculous was the television and the sound system. they were of poor quality and our television had to be replaced twice by the dealer, and once by us after the warranty period.
Our only issue was with our dealer. The sales guy was wonderful of course. The service was HORRID and unpredictable.
We would have bought another Forest River product (from a different dealer) had we found a 5th wheel to our liking. We were overall happy with the product, and when we talked to Forest River customer service directly they were friendly and helpful. Good product for the price.
- 2007 Dodge Mega cab 2500 6.7 CTD
- 2011 327RES Cougar Fifth Wheel
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Al Fresco
North Idaho
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Joined: 02/04/2012
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My wife and I purchased a new Forest River Sunseeker 2300 (E350, V10) in 2010. We are both favorably impressed by the quality workmanship that went into the construction of the unit and the relative ease of handling. The fit and finish are of much higher quality than we had expected for such a moderately priced unit. While it drives more like a truck than a car, it is much less susceptible to passing semis and other adverse road conditions than we had been led to expect. To put things into perspective, my wife thoroughly enjoys driving the unit whenever she can persuade me to relinquish the steering wheel.
Having read many new owner horror stories, we were prepared for the worst. Fortunately, our unit has been virtually trouble free after 2,300 miles of travel. We have (thus far!) only experienced two minor problems – a kitchen sink faucet that was clogged with a small piece of plastic material and a hose clamp on the fresh water inlet that was not sufficiently tightened. (Both were easily repaired by me.) Other than those two minor difficulties, all the appliances and systems have worked without a hitch.
After filling the tank six times, we are averaging 10.3 mpg at 55-60 mph. We will be towing a Ford Fiesta this year with a ReadyBrute tow bar system, so I expect our mileage to be somewhat less.
I give a big thumbs up to this Forest River class C. I would expect the Forester (the Sunseeker’s fancier cousin) to be equally well built.
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tmmar
Nassau County, Long Island, NY
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Joined: 09/03/2007
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If you are looking for additional feedback, you might want to try this site:
http://www.forestriverforums.com/forums/
2008 40' Forest River Berkshire DP Bunkhouse
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gktsuda1956
Washington
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Joined: 10/30/2010
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My first TT was a Forest River Flagstaff V-nose. Having now replaced it with a larger different layout TT, I miss a lot of things Forest River did. I think they really understand the needs of RVer's. It was a well designed rig with little things that made a big difference. Bright white scare light back side of TT. Made utility hookups easy in the dark. I now have to wear a headlamp to see what I'm doing. ONe thing I really miss and will ALWAYS have in the future, electric heated drainage pipes and holding tanks.
But I agree with the previous poster. The ONLY real trouble I had was w/ the Concertone stereo system. It was a problematic product which was exasperated by a terrible service department at the local RV dealership out on I-5. The last thing that happened was Concertone stepped up to the plate and provided the latest product version, which was suppose to fix all the problems w/ previous Concertone products. I took it to another dealership to install and never really had a chance to use it before I traded up to the bigger TT.
Glenn
Retired Navy Saturation Diver
2011 230RKS Wind River - Outdoors RV
2011 F-350 Crew Cab 6.7L Diesel Short Box
Longview, WA
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BozemanTrail
Montana
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My 2011 Forester 3171DS was luckily not equiped with anything Concertone.
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mwebber78
New England
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Mine either - they must have wised up, the systems are all Jensen which have been trouble free.
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capndinghy
Fort Worth, Texas
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Joined: 02/06/2012
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We purchased a new Sunseeker 3170DS and are currently having Vent Covers installed. The dealer replaced the APU Gen carbuerator and struts for an upper bunk. The struts would not hold the bunk and the cheapskate Dealer refused to pay for latch3s for the bunk, so I am paying out of my own pocket. It is only $100 but it is the idea that upsets me. He certainly collected my check for the purchase price of this motor home. We took delivery on it Jan 13. McClains RV, Rockwall, Texas is not very high on my list at the moment.
We are newbies, so it is good to see that seasoned RVers are happy with their Forest River Sunseeker.
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