Imagine you’re tooling down the highway, towing your fifth wheel. Suddenly you notice smoke at the back of your tow rig. Fire! Jay Nelson, an RVer from Montana, didn’t need to imagine it—it was a real-life experience for him. Now a Montana judge has ruled that Nelson’s claim against Forest River can continue toward class action status, despite the big RV manufacturer’s attempts to get it tossed out. The worrisome part is this: If Nelson’s allegations are true, there’s a potential that a whole lot of Forest River RV owners could be in danger of fire in their rigs.
Smoking Puma leads to class action
Jay Nelson bought a new 2019 Puma, a Forest River product, from a Montana dealer back in April of 2019. A little more than a year later, in May 2020, Nelson and the family were heading out on a camping trip. Nelson saw smoke coming from an area at the back of his pickup. He pulled over and, sure enough, there was a wiring fire on the fifth wheel, which he successfully put out. A nerve-wracking affair, to be sure.
Back to the dealer went the fifth wheel. The shop repaired the damage and turned the Puma back over the family. But what kind of repairs were made? Essentially the fifth wheel was restored to its “off the factory line” condition. That was a real problem for Jay Nelson. Why? Because of how the fire is said to have started.
No circuit breaker
The fire broke out in the electrical junction box that connects to the rig’s 7-connector wiring that umbilicals the trailer to the tow vehicle wiring. Nelson contends the fire was the result of improper wiring and that Forest River didn’t have a circuit breaker in the wiring that ran from the house batteries out to the junction box. A short in the wiring led to too much current, and the wiring caught fire.
Since the repair job on Nelson’s Puma didn’t include a circuit breaker, the RV owner was worried that another fire could break out. What if such a fire should break out in the middle of the night, while the family was asleep in the fifth wheel? It proved to be too much for the Nelsons—they took the fifth wheel back to the dealer and traded it in on a newer model. What the Nelsons didn’t know was that the newer model, a 2020 Puma, had the same non-protected circuit from the house batteries as his earlier rig. When Jay Nelson found that out, he hired an electrician to install a breaker and make other wiring modifications to make it safe, from his view. Jay Nelson also hired an attorney.
Hundreds of rigs equal class action demand
Last May, Jay Nelson’s attorney filed suit against Forest River, alleging that the company not only didn’t properly insulate the wiring, nor include circuit overload protection, they did so in violation of RVIA safety standards. The suit asks the court to give it class action, since it contends that Forest River has manufactured hundreds of these rigs with the same alleged design flaw over a period of several model years.
They say the wheels of justice move slowly. On March 23, 2023, in a Great Falls, Montana, courtroom, Judge Brian Morris of the U.S. District Court handed down rulings on the opening salvos of the case. Perhaps the biggest takeaway from the judge’s ruling is this: At this point, Jay Nelson’s suit will move forward as a class action case. It’s a long haul, though—the actual jury trial is not scheduled until fall of next year.
Why you should be concerned
Regardless of the end result of the legal maneuvering, it begs an important question. If you own a Forest River fifth wheel, is your rig in danger of catching fire? For that matter, regardless of the manufacturer of your towable rig, could something similar happen to you? We’re digging into the matter, and we’ll have answers for you soon.
Other stories by Russ and Tiña De Maris
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It doesn’t just have to be a problem for 5th wheel owners. The same 7 pin config is standard for most travel trailers as well.
I don’t think the 7-pin wiring harness is the problem. I understood the article to say the problem was that there was no circuit breaker between the house batteries and the junction box the 7-pin harness connects to.
Perhaps I should have further elaborated and asked about circuit breakers between the 7 pin plug and the TT’s as a standard installation.
And the “billable hours” continue to mount up.
Is it possible or probable that other manufacturers followed suit and did the same procedure as Forest River? I have a 2018 Keystone Cougar fifth wheel. Granted I do not tow it often, but if there is a chance of it firing up, I would certainly like to know as well as many other RVers. thanks
So he bought the 2020 model without asking about the wiring on it? Not so smart in my book. Also shouldn’t there be a fuse or breaker in the tow vehicle to protect those circuits as well?
Agree…that would seem really dumb.
I can see how the class action will end. The lawyers and Nelson get millions. The rest of the class gets a voucher good for $5 off their next purchase of a new Forest River RV.
And Forest River will have to make the necessary correction to the wiring. That is how it should be. why should you “get rich” from somebody else’s lawsuit.
IF (big if ) that they actually have to recall all existing RVs with a wiring issue and correct them or just change for new production. And what about people out of warranty that sustained damages, etc., etc.
You jump to the conclusion that getting rich is the point. Making members of the class whole vs only the lawyers getting rich is the point.
So you would rather that nobody took action against Forest River because the lawyers would make money on it?!
Last I checked law firms are a business who are in business to make money. Why would they work for free. When all is said and done they will have thousands of hours and expenses into this suit.
While camping in Colorado, in 2020, we saw a 5th wheel on fire pulled onto the shoulder of I-10. Exactly the same scenario, but it took the truck and trailer. No chance of repairs.
Irrelevant to the gist of your post but you may want to edit your post since I-10 doesn’t go through Colorado.
Article gives few technical details. But it sounds like dumb engineering and/or installation.
It remains to be seen whether this is a failure of management to retain and use experienced technical designers, a failure of those technical designers, or failure of installer to install as designed (and a failure of quality control in the latter case). It may very well be a combination.
In September 2021 we saw a Keystone camper on the interstate with the backend burned out. I believe that was where the furnace exhaust outlet was. I have a 2020 couqar that had furnace fuse problems.
Last year when my 2020 Montana caught fire from a fridge propane feed rupture, the dealer showed ZERO concern other than to tell me we were off warranty. Apparently not their first rodeo with this type of incident. Thankfully the fire damage was contained to fridge and we converted to a DC residential fridge shortly thereafter. Best decision ever!
The RV industry is HORRIBLE!
My 2011 chev has a 40 amp fuse protecting the 7 pin power and the running lights brake lites are fuse protected also. He was concerned about the power FROM THE BATTERY BANK
OK, the wire in the circuit from the tow vehicle to the house battery got hot and burned somewhere, making a lot of smoke. That means somewhere in the circuit, the wire carried too much current most likely due to a short circuit rather than the tow vehicle sending too much current to charge the house battery. So where was the short circuit? Possibly on the tow vehicle side and not the trailer? Electrical wiring is the number one cause of RV fires. And a circuit breaker might not have protected the wire 100-percent based on the sources of electrical power between the tow vehicle and trailer. Wiring needs both electrical and physical protection.
Shouldn’t this also be a complaint filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Council. They hold auto MFG’s accountable for years.
Forest River should also held be accountable for their slide out issues concerning the 263 BHXL models they produce, Salem Cruise Lite models. My ’21 model had an improperly installed slide out seal that leaked from the day we bought it, unbeknownst to us. Every time it rainedmore water came in the area where the seal was. We would put the slide out when we had the camper at our house and there would be a puddle of water on the floor that the slide out covered, where we couldn’t see it. We couldn’t find where the leak was coming from. After numerous trips to the dealer to find the leak, they finally found the leak, but by then the floor in the slide out had completely rotted out. 8 months later, the repairs got completed. 2 days later, at home, we open the slide to find a huge gouge in the vinyl floor, from under the slide. Took it back to the dealer, 4months later we have a new floor, but the slide out is still messed up and FR sends the dealer some kind of “fix” kit to repair it,??
We take it in Monday April 3rd to see if that works.
I had an issue with my slide on a 2021 KZ E201BH, every time it rained prior to my fix had water pooling on the floor between the refrigerator and the twin bunks also along the wall forward of the slide. The fix was simple and cost of materials was about $30. Bought a single bulb seal from amazon and a small tube of clear sealant from home depot for bath and kitchens, water resistant. Placed the bulb seal between the inner and outer slide seal, the seal has 3M automotive adhesive tape on it. I lifted the outer seal to measure how far back to place the bulb seal making sure it didn’t affect contact of the outer seal to slide surface. Next measured what was needed for each side of the slide, added a half inch to the top and an inch or so to the bottom prior to cutting the required length. The half inch over hangs the top of the slide and the inch or so the bottom. Added clear sealant to both sides of the the bulb seal, no more water leaks since.
My best guess as to how the water was coming in is due to the two metal strips on either side of the slide, one at the top and bottom. The gap left on the top of those metal strips and the outer seal let the water travel the length of them and into the rv. The bulb seal and sealant stop the water from traveling into the rv and the added length of the bulb seal ensure the water doesn’t get passed it and also at the bottom the water does not fall between the inner and outer seal of the slide to pool and find its’ way inside the rv.
Robin, sounds like your fix was effective. To make the info you provided more useful, could you post some pictures that will explain the fix? Would be very helpful.
I had that same issue on my wildwood.
Is it not standard practice across the entire industry to wire the emergency breakaway switch direct to the battery without any sort of protection? The logic being you wouldn’t want a blown fuse to stop the brakes working in the event of a breakaway.
I would like to keep up on this issue – I have a 2020 Coachman Catalina by Forest River. I’ve actually never really taken it out as it was delivered right before pandemic. Should I be joining this class action, does my rv have the same defect? Should I be concerned?
Years ago we bought a new R-Vision travel trailer. On one of our first trips I noticed none of the lights in the truck were working. (Stop, taillight, turn signals) When we got to the campground I found there was an unsealed metal junction box under the trailer tongue and the wiring inside was a charred mess. Water spray from the truck tires had penetrated the unsealed box and shorted out the wiring.
How much more would it have cost to use a proper weather-proof box, and the proper connectors? Just more evidence that the RV industry is a joke. And the RVIA is an even bigger joke. Frankly, the entire industry needs to be sued.
You guys are really on top of things; thank you! Although we have a DP, we have friends with towables, so we still have great interest in what you learn and reading more in the future. Thanks again!
I reworked the trailer wiring to the 7 pin not long ago. 2006 Montana that used an unsealed metal box like you would see in sticks and bricks construction to connect the trailer to the 7 pin with out proper grommets to protect the wiring from the box. Tore it all out and replaced the metal box with sealed plastic box designed for trailer wiring. Not sure how it’s all fused but at least there is no wiring rubbing on a metal edge.
Our “NEW” 2022 Forest River Micro Boost XLRE was purchased from Camper’s Inn RV (Jacksonville, FL-West) it was sold w/ major prior damage(s) – claimed & paid out by the original warranty (prior to purchase), safety recalls, missing/repaired parts, premium parts swapped out and replaced with used substandard equipment, major issues camouflaged with cosmetic repair, propane leaks, Unit rated as uninhabitable/total loss by certified inspector. Faulty wiring throughout- major electrical fire 1st week requiring FD to assist.
I purchased a 2020 Forest River Wolf Pack 325 in April 2024 replacing my 2005 FR All American Sport. Just 3 weeks ago taking it to the first campground it caught fire within the first 15 minutes of being there. The 7 wire junction box was smoking and caught the wire harness on fire between it and the cut off switch. It also took out the hydraulic system as the hot wire was draped over the hydraulic reservoir and line which cut them like butter losing all its fluid. Luckily my wife and was able to put out the fire using a fire extinguisher. It’s still sitting as insurance company is dragging adjusting the cost of repairs.