Who would think that an RV manufacturer would top all automakers in safety recalls in the early days of 2024? The RV manufacturer, the second largest, is cranking out recall notices faster than Ford and GM, each of which dwarf even the largest RV maker in production.
As of last Thursday, two well-known RV manufacturers made the 2024 year-to-date “Top Twelve” on the recall list from NHTSA, the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration. The list identifies vehicles and equipment that have been recalled for highway safety concerns.
Forest River RV #1 spot for “Top Twelve” of the recall list
Forest River’s 13 different recalls for this year represent a full 25% of ALL recalls from NHTSA for 2024. The other RV manufacturer on the “Dirty Dozen” list? That would be Tiffin, running far behind Forest River in the Number 8 slot, with three recalls, representing 8% of total recalls.
What caused these two manufacturers to make it into the “Top Twelve” of the recall list? Forest River’s baker’s dozen of recalls covered a wide range of issues. From LP tank gas brackets on motorhomes that could break—imagine a 50-gallon LP tank dragging on the freeway—to other problems. Axles that could break. Tires that could impact an adjuster and blow. Overheating furnaces that could blast deadly carbon monoxide into the coach. Awnings that could open while tooling down the highway. Shorting electrical wires.
Of course, not all of Forest River’s RV recalls for highway safety concerns are as dramatic, like marker lights that don’t reflect as they should. Incorrect tire placards not giving the straight dope. Tail light bezels that didn’t get installed, reducing rear visibility. On the other hand, if you had a Forest River travel trailer and the draw bar mechanism failed, allowing your trailer front end to suddenly drop, you’d probably prefer one of the lesser evils.
Tiffin is at #8 on the recall list
And what about venerable Tiffin—How did it hit the “Top Twelve” of the recall list? Imagine sitting behind the wheel of your motorhome when suddenly your view of the freeway ahead is hampered—because your driver seat broke away, dropping you on the floor. Two other gremlins plagued some Tiffins. There were issues with shifting batteries that could allow their terminals to come into contact with grounded metal—creating shorts. In an unrelated “electrical” issue, solar panels could sometimes come loose, flying off the roof.
Others have more recalled vehicles
To be sure, there were plenty of others who made the “Dirty Dozen” list, and some of those with far more vehicles to be recalled. From Ford, which had 10% of all recalls on the list, five individual recalls netted a whopping 2,060,929 call-backs. And while representing only 4% of the total recalls on NHTSA’s list, Tesla took the cake with its 2,393,869 recalls. Its biggest issue between two total recalls? 2,193,869 vehicles were recalled because the font size of their dash warning lights are too small. The number of recalled rigs between Forest River and Tiffin combined are, indeed, small potatoes in comparison.
Nevertheless, that two RV manufacturers would make the “Top Twelve” of the recall list should cause the industry to take a step back. Granted, the issue of Tiffin’s driver seat support breakage isn’t technically Tiffin’s fault. The same is true for the LP gas tank brackets that could break in Forest River’s camp. These issues came from outside manufacturers. Still, the issues reflect on the integrity—and safety—of products sold by RV builders. Are RV manufacturers just in too much of a hurry to shove product out the door? Before shopping for a new rig, buyers might do well to examine NHTSA’s recall history books.
We’re working on a “deeper dive” into the RV industry’s recall track record. We want to find out whether RV manufacturers are more often victims of bad suppliers, or whether many of their recall problems stem from something they may have far more control over. We’ll report back.
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Manufacturers who use vendor parts should have design specifications and receiving inspection should verify that purchased components comply with the specifications. The RV manufacturer should also have both design and manufacturing specifications on the various modules that they manufacture that will be integrated into the whole. Quality control inspections should occur throughout the manufacturing process. All warranty corrections should be logged and used to improve the manufacturing. While more expensive on the front end, it should become cost effective on the back end. The RV companies probably don’t have the design and structural engineering talent, nor the technical writers.
The Quality Control argument. I’m a proponent. But you still can’t control something that doesn’t exist. No matter how much the buzz words are bantered around.
The problem, in recent times, seems to have been that what was the incentive for manufacturers to improve perceived quality? They were selling every unit that they could produce. I know that picture has changed. But when will the manufacturers realize that their reputations, which are difficult to rebuild, become important ?
They don’t care if they can sell CRAP at constantly higher prices. Too many bean counters in charge or should I say “bonus babies”.
Don’t blame “bean counters!” An astute financial mind will look at costs across an entire process, including warranty costs, which must drain many millions off the RV industry.
Bonus Babies…probably hit the nail on the head there. Very poorly designed executive pay packages. Oh…but that’s Wall Street driven. Where all these problems there when the majority of RVs were made by privately owned producers not beholden to impress stockholders every quarter?
Agreed. Quality is born from Competition. The big guys buyout the little guys and eliminate competion which is the only thing that drove improved quality or created any incentive to consider quality as part of the product.
The little guys had small marketing budgets so they relied on quality to make the sale. The big guys bought the little guys because it was more cost effective than matching quality.
Haha! You’re joking, right??? just ain’t gonna happen.
Gary…you got it. 👍
Wouldn’t it be more useful to discriminate, a dirty word in our current era, between Motorhomes and Trailers? In the case of Forest River, this might be informative.
Great article! I look forward to your findings as you dive into this story, but I suspect that the outcome will be: manufacturers being more focused in production numbers i. e., quantity over quality.
Another article that reinforces my pledge to never buy a new RV. Yes, I know the recalls can come a very long time after the initial sale, but I’d still prefer to not take the hit on my new purchase that I can’t use.
Dan don’t let that keep you from having something you want. I’ve been lucky. I bought a 2022 FR wolf pup and so far it’s been worth what I paid for it. I’ve been proactive about some things – roof coating, new leaf springs (they were crap) & upgraded my tires. I think the key is to do your homework and take an inspector. If I buy another one I’ll pay an inspector especially if it’s used. Good luck!
If all conversations with suppliers start with the phrase ” As cheap as possible” don’t be surprised if you are on the recall list. As to Tiffin- we have a 2006 40QSH DP- with no inherent design issues- look who owns them. You will be sore if you buy a Thor.
I agree. My Tiffin had one recall, but it was very minor. If someone wants to rant and rave about only 2 Manufactures, look at trailers/5vers and other so called “RV’s” track records. Some trailers are built from start to finish in 6 hours!. Like any reviews and ratings, read them all and read between the lines, and how good the company backs their products. I know of no manufactures that has had “no issues”! IMHO!
Remember that Thor bought Tiffin a few years back when Bob Tiffin wanted to retire. It’s no longer a family business with the tiffins reputation on the line
I read this with two very different takeaways:
The first is similar to others – Numerous recalls provide testimony as to the dominant chanting of poor quality.
My other takeaway is GOOD ON FOREST RIVER.
There’s two choices an OEM can take, acknowledge a potential problem and issue failure specific coverage or say nothing and tell the owner their issue doesn’t constitute defect.
My house will never have a recall. That doesn’t mean it’s quality, it means the builder has long since moved on. The defects are still there, they just don’t have to endure 65 mph vibration, wind and potholes.
I don’t understand the tone of this article (I do really). Why can’t you just report the information without the hyperbole? I read through the whole thing and then looked to see who wrote and thought of course it’s these two.
“… of course it’s these two”? Really, Larry? They’re stating the facts. I don’t really see any hyperbole in this article. In fact, it looks like they were quite nonjudgmental throughout. But I’m guessing you don’t have a Forest River product, or you’d be singing a different tune.🤔 Have a good day. 🙂 –Diane at RVtravel.com
Thank you, Russ and Tina! I wonder if being publicized as the worst recall offender will awaken Forest River? I also wonder if other manufacturers are nearly as egregious offenders, but somehow avoiding having to issue recall notices? I wish you well as you investigate this, but I am reasonably sure that gathering data will include a few hard-fought battles. Good luck and safe travels! 🙂
Not surprised. Having been involved in a couple of recalls in the Automotive industry and even responsible for initiating one, I understand how sections of Automotive work hard to avoid recalls by working to improve reliability and product quality, while it seems that the RV Industry only has one metric…”How to make things cheaper.” It just doesn’t care.
Forest River is the largest travel trailer manufacturer with something like 50 brands, many of which are twins of each other, and most of which use the same components. The incorrect placard issue is actually 4 separate recalls for the same small problem. On the other end of the spectrum, Tesla’s massive number of individual recalled vehicles was for two software updates to do things like change font sizes of safety warnings on the screen. The number of recalls is a meaningless figure.
Yes, there are recalls. The other side of this is the “walkthrough” provided by the dealers. Our walkthrough on the last trailer we bought consisted of a newbie who simply did not know what he was doing. It was so obvious. Fortunately, we have years of trailering experience. There are always new things to learn off of You Tube. Including the youtubers who specialize in repairs, etc.
I think bad suppliers are just as under control of the manufacturer as anything else