2020 Forest River Cherokee

There are 2 major defects that we would like to make the NHTSA aware of and feel that the manufacturer should issue a recall and have these issues properly fixed. Our 2020 Forest River camper/ice house has a structural defect and the entire camper is breaking away from the frame. We had this confirmed by a service company that specializes in RV frames/wheel alignment. Our camper has had structural issues within 2 years of owning it. We are the original owners (bought Aug 2020) and the camper's wheel well is bowing, the exterior walls on the camper are bowing/wavy, interior walls are bowing/wavy. We have made attempts to work with Forest River to fix this major structural issue, but they have denied our claim. We have an extended warranty, but was given the impression that they also will deny our claim. In talking with other owners of Forest River camping/ice house, this is a wide spread issue (both the structural wall and tongue failure). We are also aware of a recall of what appears to be a similar if not exact issue that Forest River had to fix in 2014/15 (NHTSA Recall No. 14V-689 / Manufacturer Recall No. 6-102914). In addition to the wall/structural issues, the trailer's tongue weld failed and snapped while we were in transit. This occurred in Nov 2023. I have documents and pictures to upload and provide, but I was unable to get the upload tool to work when submitting this request.

PURCHASED NEW 2020 FOREST RIVER CHEROKEE WOLF PUP 16BHS [XXX] FROM DEALER CLOVIS CA. TRAILER HAS MADE 1 ROAD TRIP 205 MILES FROM DEALERSHIP TO MY HOME IN NAPA, CA THAT WAS DAY OF PURCHASE ON 2/1/2020. THE TRAILER HAS BEEN PARKED SINCE 2/1/2020. ON 2/14/2020 I WAS SETTING TRAILER UP WITH SUPPLIES INTERIOR INSPECTION I NOTICED WALL, CEILING SHIFTING TRIM STAPLES COMING LOOSE. FURTHER INSPECTION BED FRAME WOOD BREAKAGE AND SEPARATING. CEILING RIPPLES AROUND AC AND SKY LIGHT INSTALLATIONS. TRIM MOLDING RIPPLES SEPARATING FORM TOP CORNER WALLS. FRONT BED OVERHEAD CABINET SEPARATING FROM ATTACHED SIDEWALL. EXIT DOOR FRAME TRIM MISALIGNED. EXTERIOR INSPECTION REAR LEFT SIDE CORNER BEHIND WHEEL LOWER ALUMINUM SIDING SEPARATION SMALL GAP. EXTERIOR FRONT RIGHT CORNER WALL ALUMINUM SIDING SEPARATION GAP AT ROOF. EXTERIOR RIGHT FRONT SIDE WINDOW AND STORAGE COMPARTMENT DOOR TRIM SEPARATING. REAR ROOF CORNER TRIM CRACKED. ON THE FRONT OF TRAILER UPPER BODY TOP RIGHT AND LEFT JUST INSIDE OF SIDE TRIM BODY DIMPLE. UNDERBODY INSPECTION I FOUND TWO BODY MOUNTS ATTACHING TRAILER BODY TO FRAME ARE BENT ON LEFT SIDE. I THINK THE BODY MOUNTS FRAME FAILED CAUSING THE SHIFTING, SEPARATION AND BREAKAGE OF TRAILER PARTS. I DO NOT FEEL VEHICLE IS SAFE TO BE ON THE ROAD IT WILL REMAIN PARKED UNTIL REPAIRED BY WARRANTY. I CONTACTED MY LOCAL NAPA FOREST RIVER AUTHORIZED DEALER SOONEST SERVICE APPOINTMENT 2-3 WEEKS. I MESSAGED CLOVIS DEALERSHIP SATURDAY 2/15 FOR ADVICE/OPTIONS NO RESPONSE YET. I NOTIFIED FOREST RIVER INC CHEROKEE WOLF PUP SERVICE CONTACT PERSON VIA EMAIL. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6). *TR

SAFETY ISSUE WITH A NEW MODEL RV. HAVEN'T HEARD ANY RESPONSE FROM THE MANUFACTURER AFTER REPORTING IT TO THEM VIA EMAIL TO SABRINA SHANNON OF THEIR CHEROKEE OWNER RELATIONS OFFICE ON SEPT 7 2019. I TOLD THE BLUE DOG RV DEALERSHIP SALESMAN DEREK BROWN IN BEND OR ABOUT THIS PROBLEM AND HE CONTACTED HIS FACTORY REP ABOUT IT. FOREST RIVER HAS NOT COMMUNICATED TO ME ON THIS ISSUE. THIS SAFETY ISSUE CONCERNS OVERLOADING (TOO MUCH WEIGHT) OF THE CONNECT POINT BETWEEN THE TOW VEHICLE AND THE RV. THE PART BEING OVERLOADED IS THE FRAME COUPLER WHICH FITS OVER THE HITCH BALL FROM THE TOW VEHICLE. THE PARTICULARS ARE AS FOLLOWS: MANUFACTURER: FOREST RIVER DIVISION: CHEROKEE MODEL: WOLF PUP 18TO (WESTERN DIVISION MADE IN OREGON ONLY MODEL YEAR: 2020. I HAVE THE SAME MODEL RV- 18TO -BUT IT'S THE MIDWESTERN DIVISION ( MADE IN INDIANA) MODEL YEAR 2019. THE GROSS VEHICLE WEIGHT (CALLED GVWR) OF MY 18TO IS 4999LBS AND THE A FRAME COUPLER IS RATED FOR 5000 POUNDS. ITS CLOSE BUT NOT OVERLOADED. THE PROBLEM I'VE NOTED IS THAT THE 2020 MODEL MADE IN OREGON IS CERTIFIED BY FOREST RIVER AT 5600+ LBS GROSS VEHICLE WEIGHT, BUT THE A FRAME COUPLER HAS THE SAME RATING AS THE RV I HAVE 5000LBS. THE PROBLEM IS A 600LBS OVERLOAD IN WEIGHT AND EVENTUALLY THE PART MAY WEAR PREMATURELY AND/OR EVENTUALLY FAIL, POTENTIALLY CAUSING AN ACCIDENT. I'VE SEEN A TOTAL OF TWO 18TO UNITS AT TWO BLUE DOG RV DEALERSHIPS. 1 IN BEND OR AND IN REDMOND OR THAT HAVE THIS PROBLEM, SO ITS NOT A ONE UNIT MISTAKE. NOTE THE 2019 18TO WESTERN DIVISION ALSO HAS A GVWR OF 5600+. I HAVE NOT SEEN A MODEL TO DETERMINE IF THE A FRAME COUPLER HAS THE SAME ISSUE. IF IT DOES IT ENLARGES THE RANGE TO THE PROBLEM. I DO NOT KNOW ABOUT 2018 OR EARLIER MODEL YEARS THE FIX IS SIMPLE. A DIFFERENT A FRAME COUPLER RATED AT 6000-8000LBS - GROSS VEHICLE WEIGHT. THE 2019 MODEL MADE IN INDIANA STILL HAS THE GROSS VEHICLE WEIGHT AT 4999LBS SO ONLY THE OREGON LOCATED DIVISION MADE THE CHANGE. *TR *JS *DT *DT VIN UNAVAILABLE *JB*JB