2019 Forest River Vibe

Defect. Forest River, Inc. (Forest River) is recalling certain 2019 Coachmen Catalina and Apex travel trailers and Forest River Shasta, Wildwood, Salem, Vibe, Sierra, Sandpiper, XLR and Prime Time travel trailers. The axles may be missing inner bearing races on the hubs, which can cause the bearing to burnout or cause the hub to overheat.

Risk. The missing bearing race may cause premature hub bearing failure, possibly resulting in a separation of the hub from the axle, thereby increasing the risk of a crash.

Remedy. Forest River will notify owners, and dealers will replace the defective hubs with new hubs or replace the axles, free of charge. The recall began October 9, 2018. For customer service, Catalina owners may contact Coachmen at 1-574-825-8657, Apex owners should call 1-574-358-0401, Shasta owners: 1-574-825-8717, Wildwood and Salem owners: 1-574-534-3167, Vibe owners: 1-574-296-2084, Sierra and Sandpiper owners: 1-574-534-4574, XLR owners: 1-574-642-0432, Prime Time owners: 1-574-862-1025. Forest River's number for this recall is 51-0851.

Defect. Forest River, Inc. (Forest River) is recalling certain 2014-2019 Forest River Salem, Wildcat Maxx, Wildwood, Vibe, and Rainier recreational trailers. The break-away safety switch may not have been wired to a constant power source, and, as a result, the switch may be inadvertently disconnected from the trailer house battery causing the brakes to not engage if the trailer detaches from the tow vehicle.

Risk. If the trailer brakes cannot engage if the trailer detaches from tow vehicle, there would be an increased risk of a crash.

Remedy. Forest River will notify owners, and dealers will install a new wiring harness to reroute the wiring, free of charge. The recall began September 25, 2018. Owners may contact Forest River customer service at 1-503-831-5410. Forest River's number for this recall is 22/30-0824.

This travel trailer is dual axle. Each side has 3 couplings welded to the frame. The leaf springs bolt to these couplings. During a routine inspection on 9/30/2023, found cracks on the aft passenger side coupling. The aft welds are cracked all the way through and the front welds are cracked half way through. The coupling is pulled away from the frame. This coupling has less than 1 inch of the weld intact holding it to the frame. If the remaining weld failed, The aft section of the leaf spring would become free. This could cause the travel trailer to become unstable and possibly crash. This is the second serious issue we have had with this travel trailer. (See complaint 11493254, dated 11/12/2022). Tomorrow (10/2/2023) will be contacting welding shop to see if it is reparable and get an estimate.

On Friday, November 11, 2022 while traveling to North Carolina from Ohio, our travel trailer suffered a catastrophic incident. One of the axles broke while driving on I64E, resulting in the tire coming off, damaging the body of the camper, and leaving my husband stranded several hours from home. After waiting for hours, he was not even able to find anyone to tow the vehicle, so he had to make his way to a repair shop 23 miles away. Thankfully, no other vehicles were involved, and there were no injuries. This is the second issue we have had with this particular travel trailer. The camper is only 3 years old. In late 2020, a leaf spring broke, rendering the camper unusable. Subsequently, during repair, it was discovered that a second leaf spring was on the verge of breaking, and it was replaced. We have reported the incident to our insurance company, as well as the extended warranty company. I have also contacted Forest River, Inc. and I am awaiting their response.

The propane stopped working, I had just installed new refilled tanks and was troubleshooting so I turned on the refrigerator propane and waited outside for it to light. When it tries to light there is a big whooshing noise coming from the burner. I have never heard that before when running my refrigerator off of my propane. I went to listen at the tanks to see if I can hear propane going through the lines, I do hear propane, but the burner will not light. Nothing propane wise currently works. I did some internet research and came across the Jayco recall with the exact same regulator part that I have. I called Forest River and they said since they do not have a recall on that part, they will do nothing about it. They gave me a number for the distributor, which I called, he told me they also do not have a recall on it and also will not replace it he also said the manufacturer will also not replace it because they also do not have a recall on it. I find this to be a huge safety issue, as reading the recall Jayco put out it appears that the regulator could put out to much propane and cause a fire.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2019 FOREST RIVER VIBE. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE RV WAS LEAKING WATER FROM THE CEILING ONTO THE WALLS. THE CONTACT ALSO STATED THAT THE SHOWER, TOILET, AND EXHAUST PIPES WERE ALSO LEAKING. THE CONTACT TOOK THE RV TO CAMPING WORLD TAMPA (LOCATED AT 4811 MCINTOSH RD, DOVER, FL 33527, 1-888-851-2832) WHERE IT WAS DIAGNOSED THAT THE WAX RINGS NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE RV WAS REPAIRED; HOWEVER, THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE LEAKS CAUSED MOLD. THE RV WAS RETURNED TO THE DEALER WHO STATED THAT THEY WOULD PROCEED WITH FURTHER TESTING. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2019 FOREST RIVER VIBE. WHILE THE RV WAS PARKED WITH THE HEATER ACTIVATED, THE CARBON MONOXIDE ALARM SOUNDED. ON A SECOND OCCASION, WHILE THE CONTACT WAS SLEEPING, HE WAS AWAKENED BY THE NEIGHBOR ALERTING HIM THAT THE CARBON MONOXIDE ALARM WAS SOUNDING AGAIN. THE CONTACT NOTICED THAT THE HOT WATER HEATER WAS NOT ATTACHED TO THE FRAME, WHICH CAUSED THE LEAK. THE RV WAS TAKEN TO CARSON CITY RV (4550 N CARSON ST, CARSON CITY, NV 89706, (775) 882-8335) WHERE IT WAS DIAGNOSED THAT THE HOT WATER HEATER NEEDED TO BE REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THERE WAS NO MILEAGE.