While we don’t think of them often, a trailer breakaway switch is a critical safety part. If your trailer comes loose from your tow rig, the switch will help to stop it from running away. In this case, Forest River, Inc. (Forest River) is recalling certain 2025 Nightfall travel trailers and XLR Toy Hauler fifth wheel trailers. The Forest River breakaway switch may be incorrectly wired and fail to activate the trailer brakes during an emergency. Trailer brakes that fail to activate increase the risk of a crash. Potentially 120 RVs are affected by this recall.
Forest River breakaway switch remedy
Dealers will rewire the breakaway switch, free of charge. Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed April 23, 2025. Owners may contact Forest River customer service at 1-574-642-0432. Forest River’s number for this recall is 45-1909.
Notes
Owners may also contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-888-275-9171), or go to www.safercar.gov.
What’s the issue?
The Forest River breakaway switch problem surfaced on March 13, 2025. It was then that Forest River’s Office of Corporate Compliance learned that inspectors had found a problem with some towable units. It turns out that the breakaway wire on these units was “inconsistently hooked up to the battery disconnect.”
To operate correctly, the breakaway switch must always see “hot” voltage. If wired through a battery disconnect, should the disconnect be “off” the hot voltage might not be present at the switch. Forest River describes the situation as a “Manufacturing Error.”
MORE FOREST RIVER RECALLS
- Forest River recalls trailers with wrong safety chain guidelines
- Forest River recalls trailers for cooktop explosion risk
- Forest River recalls RVs after 25 reports of breaking LP brackets
- Forest River recalls some 2025 trailers for microwave issue
- Forest River recalls more than 41,000 RVs for bad wiring fire risk
- Forest River recalls trailers for missing side marker light
- Forest River recalls RVs with dangerous, sagging LP lines
##RVT1201b
Another Forest River Whoops!
Is it that they can’t find qualified people? Don’t pay enough to attract them? Have a management or cultural deficiency?
Thank you, Russ and Tina! My goodness, Forest River routinely seems to have “manufacturing errors.” Do these not dissuade customers from buying their products? Somehow they continue to operate and sell their sometimes flawed products. Have a great day and safe travels!