2015 Shasta Airflyte

THE TIRES ON THIS TRAILER ARE P225/75R15 WITH A WEIGHT RATING OF 1874 @35 PSI. AFTER DERATING THESE TIRES BY DIVIDING 1.10, THE SINGLE ADJUSTED RATING IS NOW 1704 FOR A COMBINED RATING OF 3408. THE AXLE TAG CLEARLY DISPLAYS 3500 LB. THESE TIRES FROM THE FACTORY DO NOT MEET OR EXCEED THE AXLE RATING. IN ADDITION, THE GVWR LABEL ON THE TRAILER DISPLAYS 3635 LBS. THIS RATING IS HIGHER THAN THE AXLE RATING. THE DRY WEIGHT OF THE TRAILER DISPLAYS 2146 WITH AN ALLOWABLE INCREASE OF CARGO TO NOT EXCEED 1472. THIS ADDS UP TO 3618 GVWR. AGAIN, THIS NUMBER IS HIGHER THAN THE GAWR OF 3500 LBS WITH TIRES CAPABLE OF 3408. THIS IS NOT CORRECT BY ANY MEANS. I HAVE READ THE CURRENT RECALL ON JULY, 8TH 2015 BY FOREST RIVER ABOUT LABEL HAVING WRONG INFORMATION; HOWEVER, MY VIN # IS NOT INCLUDED IN THAT RECALL. THESE TIRES ARE NOT SUITABLE FOR THE AXLE OR LOAD RATING AND THE FACTORY IS MERELY CHANGING THE WEIGHT RATINGS TO ACCOMODATE FOR THE TIRES. AGAIN, SHASTA/FOREST RIVER NEEDS TO ADDRESS THE SERIOUSNESS OF THIS ISSUE AND NOT MERELY CHANGE THE NUMBERS ON A LABEL TO REFLECT A POOR TIRE CHOICE FOR THIS TRAILER. I HAVE SUPPORTING PHOTOS IF NECESSARY. MY TRAILER IS THE 16 FOOT MODEL.

AFTER ARRIVING HOME FROM PICKING UP THE TRAILER I HAD NOTICED THE INNER DRIVER SIDEWALL OF THE TIRE HAVING RUB MARKS. AFTER CLOSER INSPECTION, THE TIRE SIDEWALL CLEARANCE TO THE DRIVER SIDE WHEEL WELL HAS ONLY 1/4" TO 5/16" OF CLEARANCE. THE TIRE CLEARANCE ON TOP IS ALSO ONLY 1" CAUSING RUB MARKS ON THE WHEEL WELL. I CALLED A FOREST RIVER DEALER TO HAVE MY TRAILER FIXED UNDER WARRANTY. AFTER NUMEROUS CALLS, AND UNANSWERED EMAILS MY DEALER TOLD ME THEY APPROVED LONGER SHACKLES. THIS HOWEVER DID NOT FIX THE PROBLEM. THE SPRINGS ARE SO FLAT THAT THE LONGER SHACKLES HAVE ONLY MAYBE AT BEST INCREASED THE CLEARANCE 1/2". IN REGARDS TO THE SIDEWALL RUBBING, THE DEALER FINALLY GOT APPROVAL TO "POUND IT OUT". THIS WAS WHAT SHASTA'S WARRANTY ADMINISTRATOR TOLD MY DEALER. MY DEALER SAID THAT WAS NOT AN ACCEPTABLE FIX. AFTER ANOTHER 1 MONTH OF UNANSWERED CALLS AND EMAILS, MY DEALER SAID THEY HAVE AUTHORIZATION TO REMOVE THE AFFECTED WHEEL WELL, BUT DO NOTHING ELSE. THIS IS UNACCEPTABLE. ANY RUBBING ON A WHEEL WELL IS CLEARLY A SAFETY ISSUE FOR THE DRIVER AS WELL AS OTHERS SHARING THE ROAD. I HAVE PICKED UP MY TRAILER ON JULY 9, 2015 AFTER IT SITTING AT THE DEALER FOR WARRANTY WORK SINCE THE MIDDLE OF MAY. ONLY TO HAVE NOTHING FIXED PROPERLY. SHASTA/ FOREST RIVER IS CLEARLY NOT WANTING TO STAND BY THEIR TRAILERS. ALL I AM LOOKING FOR IS A TRAILER IN WHICH MYSELF AND MY FAMILY CAN TOW SAFELY AND NOT BE CONCERNED IF OR WHEN A TIRE WILL BLOWOUT. I BOUGHT A NEW TRAILER SO I WOULDN'T NEED TO BE CONCERNED ABOUT THIS. IN ADDITION, THE PASSENGER TIRES P225/75R15 WHICH CAME FROM THE FACTORY ARE UNDERSIZED FOR THE AXLE RATING AND ARE TOO LARGE FOR THE WHEEL WELL. LIPPERT AXLE RATING STATS 3500 LB BOTH TIRES 3408 AFTER DIVIDING BY 1.10

I'M CONCERNED ABOUT THE SAFETY OF SEVERAL FEATURES OF MY BRAND NEW 2015 SHASTA AIRFLYTE TRAVEL TRAILER (BY FOREST RIVER). BASED ON INITIAL INSPECTION OF INTERIOR FIXTURES ALONE, IT'S APPARENT THERE WAS NOT A LOT OF FORESIGHT WHEN DESIGNING THESE, AND QUALITY CONTROL WAS SERIOUSLY LACKING. CORNERS WERE SEEMINGLY CUT TO SAVE TIME OR MONEY ON INTERIOR FIXTURES (I.E. A/C, WOOD TRIM, SEALING OF WINDOWS AND OTHER SEAMS, + MORE). AS A RESULT, I'M CONCERNED ABOUT WHAT LIES BENEATH THE PRETTY SURFACE OF THE TRAILER IN ITS GUTS (FRAME, WHEEL WHEELS, SPRINGS, ETC) AND HOW THEY WILL HOLD UP OVER TIME. UPON STUDY OF THESE COMPONENTS, MY CONCERNS RING TRUE, AND I AM BRINGING THEM TO NHTSA ATTENTION TO HOPEFULLY AVOID ANYONE BEING KILLED OR INJURED AS A RESULT. *OF PARTICULAR CONCERN IS WHEEL CLEARANCE. EVEN WITH MY SMALL HANDS, I CAN BARELY FIT TWO FINGERS IN BETWEEN MY TIRES AND WHEEL WELLS. IT HAS PASSENGER TIRES, NOT TRAILER TIRES. EVERYTHING I'VE READ ABOUT TIRE SAFETY AND RV TOWING INDICATES THIS IS NOT A BEST PRACTICE. THE TIRES (P225/75R15, 35PSI) ARE RATED 1843LBS EACH. AS THIS IS A SINGLE AXLE TRAILER, 1850X2 = 3700 LBS. THAT'S TOWING IT EMPTY, WITHOUT ANY FURNISHINGS ADDED, WHICH IS UNREALISTIC AS THESE ARE SUPPOSEDLY MEANT FOR CAMPING, NOT FOR SHOW IN A MUSEUM. ADDITIONALLY, THE GVWR AS STATED BY SHASTA IS 3790 LBS. IF YOU DO THE MATH FOR GAWR OF 3375LBS + 260LBS TONGUE/HITCH WEIGHT, THE TOTAL IS 3635LBS WHICH IS INADEQUATE. MY UNDERSTANDING IS THAT TIRES AND WHEELS SHOULD BE RATED AT LEAST 20% HIGHER THAN GVWR OF THE VEHICLE. MY F150 TOW VEHICLE IS MORE THAN EQUIPPED TO TOW MY TRAILER, HOWEVER THE AMOUNT OF BOUNCE I SEE IN MY REARVIEW IS ALARMING, AND I'VE ONLY TOWED IT MOSTLY-EMPTY SO FAR, NOT WITH ANY WATER ADDED TO THE TANKS, AND LESS THAN 100 LBS OF FURNISHINGS. I WINCE WHEN GOING OVER EVERY BUMP. BOTTOMLINE: I DO NOT FEEL SAFE USING MY TRAILER AS IT WAS BUILT.