2019 Forest River Flagstaff Problems

Two of the Frame Bolts underneath the front of our E-Pro 19FBS camper are partly rusted and missing a nut (one on driver side and one on passenger side). The bolt on the passenger side is out of the metal frame hole it should be in, and the metal frame is slightly bent. Both bolts are at a slight angle. The other 10 Frame Bolts are not visibly rusted and there is a nut on each one but a few are loose enough to twist off by hand. The others seem tight enough but we can’t be sure without knowing what torque number they should be tightened to. We double checked the Forest River owner’s manual but there is no mention of Frame Bolts in the 'maintenance' list or anywhere else. Also, there are no lock washers on the frame bolts to prevent self-loosening. This is surprising because it seems these frame bolts are the only thing holding the body of our camper to its frame. We have owned our camper a little over 3 years and we use it 3 to 5 times a year to travel short distances, all on main roads and major highways for camping only on paved or gravel leveled lots. We have never taken the camper off road or towed a heavy load. Our frame bolts should not be so loose that two bolt nuts fell off and a few can be twisted off by hand. We are reporting this Frame Bolt failure because it is something that can cause separation of the RV box from its frame while in motion. We routinely check everything on the camper but not everyone does unless there is a reason to. Maybe what we found is not a common issue but it is worth reporting because paying special attention to Frame Bolts during production (Forest River) , at point of sale (Dealership) and as part of routine maintenance (RV Owner) could save a life. We sent an email to Forest River yesterday describing the problem and requesting they cover the cost of repair. Nobody has inspected our camper except for us because we just discovered the issue last weekend during routine camper maintenance.

. THE STABILIZING JACKS ARE DEFINITELY JUST FOR STABILIZING. WE THOUGHT THEY WOULD TAKE THE LOAD OF THE RV. 4 JACKS TO SUPPORT 1 RV. THE WARNING ON THE JACKS IS LOCATED ON THE TOPSIDE OF THE JACK, SO A CLUELESS, NEW RV OWNER WOULD NOT SEE THEM UNTIL THE JACKS ARE DOWN. ALSO THE DOCUMENTATION DOES NOT SAY THE JACKS ARE NOT LOAD BEARING. MY ONLY EXPERIENCE WITH A SCREW JACK IS FROM MY CAR AND CHANGING A TIRE. LONG STORY SHORT, WE BENT 2 OF THE 4 JACKS B/C WE THOUGHT THEY COULD TAKE THE RV LOAD TO LEVEL THE RV ON UN-EVEN GROUND. LUCKILY NO ONE WAS HURT AND NO OTHER DAMAGE. *TR

The Castle Rock spare tire failed while on the rim mounted to spare tire holder. Tire was covered 24/7. Size st 205/75r14 Failure was in belts on tread. Large bubble on inside of tire under treads with outside of tire deformed. Pictures available Tire was never used. Air pressure checked with other tires before usage.

Tire blowout on single axel travel trailer ST205/75 R14

I setup my camper and turn the hot water heater on using the propane setting. I left the camper and came back and could smell something hot/burning inside the camper. I looked at the rubber propane line connected to the hot water heater was on fire. I opened the cover to the hot water heater and blew the flame out. Propane was leaking from the rubber line that was cracked. I turned the gas off to prevent additional fire. The gas line appeared to by dry rotted. The camper would have burned if I didnt catch the line on fire. The line was replaced, but should have been a better line. I made the repair myself and did not report it to the manufacturer or anyone. There was no warning of the fire until I bought the fire outside.