2001 year model front cap water leak problem

First topic message reminder :

We have a 2001 model and, after owning it for a few years, discovered we were getting a lot of water in the bedroom after a rain storm. The short story is that the front cap, because of a design flaw, had come loose and tilted forward leaving a 1/4" gap between the roof and the front cap. We took the unit back to the dealer who contacted Forest River. Forest River admitted a design flaw and, free of charge, retro-fitted the fix - a brace to hold the front cap in placed. We specifically asked whether or not there was any water damage inside the walls that would cause us problems later and were assured that we would not. Last week, returning from a short local camping trip, the luan board inside the left wall broke loose and left us with a 3'-4' chunk of wall skin flopping in the breeze. The damage estimate for this problem, that was not supposed to occur, is just shy of $5,000. The dealer has since gone out of business. The new Forest River dealership in town has contacted Forest River who adivsed them that this is not Forest River's problem. I am attempting to contact Forest River, personally. I also do not feel that this is due to a 'lack of customer maintenance'. My rig looks pretty ugly from all the caulk I've had to apply over the years to attempt to keep out the water.

Has anyone else had a similar problem or experience??

Regards,
Jacque

It sounds reasonable to me especially since they are replacing the whole side. The other option is to take the trip to Indiana, but that would take alot of vacation, but nice trip.

We thought about taking it ourselves - we are retired so -

"Every night's a Saturday night and every day's a Sunday. I know I've been wrong, but, I'm gonna try it one more time." - Brother Dave Gardner (1960)

In other words, vacation is not a problem. But, Rod Batts estimated that the total repair time might take as long as 4 weeks. We didn't want to stay that long or drive back. We thought about picking it up after the repairs - but, I don't think there very much to be seen on the trip that we have not already seen except Graceland. If anyone can suggest sites worth seeing between Memphis and Elkhart, we are open to suggestions.

Jacque

Land between the lakes area is beautiful. Other than that, lots of very nice farm land.

moo2613 wrote:Land between the lakes - - - - - - -.

Brad -
Which lakes?? We ARE starting to lean towards picking it up ourselves. A little more detail would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Jacque

Just north and east of Paris, TN, there is Lake Barkley and Kentucky Lake. The actual park is in Kentucky, just east of Paducah, but even on the Tennessee side, there are state parks (I think they are state anyhow). I used to work out there cruising timber and I lived in Murray, KY and drove down to TN every day. Wonderful area!!

Thank you, Brad. I'll look them up in my Atlas.
J.

Well, folks - things are shaping up. Rod put me in touch with an outfit called Star Fleet that does the transport of RV's and I'm getting the backhaul arranged. The folks at ExploreUSA, my local Wildcat dealership, are going to patch it up enough to be transported without further damage. It should be ready next Monday. Star Fleet will then find a driver next week to haul the rig to Elkhart. Rod has scheduled the side replacement for Sept 22nd and is a bit flexible on that. Rod has also assured me that the side replacement is at Forest River's expense - all I'm responsible for is transportation. My wife and I are still undesided about picking it up ourselves or having Star Fleet transport it back. It all depends on when the repair is finished and what the weather looks like at that time. This has not been fun - it remindes me to much of when I was working - trying to coordinate hardware, software, communications networks and all the other cr*p necessary to put together a data processing system. But, it looks like things are coming together. When all is said and done, it will be interesting to see the final result.

Brad, thanks for that tip on the Land Between the Lakes area. We had never heard of it. We have always planed a trip to Graceland and to see Tennessee/Kentucky/the Virginia's on the way to Washington D.C.. The Land Between the Lakes has been added to that trip if we don't see in retrieving the Cat.

Jacque

Jacque,

Glad to hear that FR is going to take care of you.

My suggestion, go pick it up yourselves. Reason being, if it hasn't been corrected to your satisfaction, you'll be there to tell them about it.

Someone on the old forum had sent their camper back to the factory, and when it came back, it wasn't fixed. Had to send it back a 2nd time. Then when it came back, the ribber around the super slide was coming off. FR ended up sending a person to their house to fix that.

Just a suggestion.......

oldelmer1 wrote:Jacque,My suggestion, go pick it up yourselves. Reason being, if it hasn't been corrected to your satisfaction, you'll be there to tell them about it.

Someone on the old forum had sent their camper back to the factory, and when it cam back, it wasn't fixed. Had to send it back a 2nd time. Then when it came back, the ribber around the super slide was coming off. FR ended up sending a person to their house to fix that.

Just a suggestion.......

Tom, that is excellent advise. If you pick it up at the factory, you could do a thorough walk through and make darn sure it meets your expectations. Having to ship it back to FR a second time for an additional $5k would be very costly.

Now for the silver lining around this ugly gray cloud, you might get the chance to tour the factory!

The Star Fleet driver picked my Cat up this moring - said the trip would take him 2 days (DOT only lets drivers drive 10 hour max each day). So, baring any unforseen catastrophies, Forest River should have the unit late tomorrow afternoon. Now, we play "wait'n'see". This has been a learning experience up to this point. And, "it ain't over 'til the fat lady sings", as they say at the opera.

Regards,
Jacque

jacqueeagonsr wrote:And, "it ain't over 'til the fat lady sings", as they say at the opera.

And unfortunately she isn't even warming up her throat! Now you wait-n-see what is going to happen. Hope everything works out in your favor. Have you decided to pick it up or have it delivered back home?

Well, I heard from Rod Batts today. He responded to my query about how long the work would take. And here's what he said - I quote -

"There is a lot of work that is needing to be done to your unit. It will take roughly a month. Thanks, Rod"

So, a month puts me at the end of October. The wife and I are starting to really lean toward picking it up ourselves and are looking for places to visit on the way back. Brad has suggested "the land between the lakes" and my wife has always wanted to see Graceland. We already have a long list of places we want to see in Arkansas. So, any other suggestions between Memphis and Elkhart (including Illinois, Kentucky and Missouri plus other spots in Tennessee) will be appreciated.

It will probably be November before I can continue this saga. I want to thank all of you who have helped with your comments and suggestions. I would have been lost without your advice.

Regards,
Jacque

A month, WOW, that seems to be a long time.

I'm glad you decided to go pick it up instead of getting the delivery folks to return it to you. This way, you can verify its fixed to your liking.

- - - and are more than pleasantly suprised. Shocked would be a better term. They replaced BOTH sides, the rear cap and the front cap. They even shampooed the carpet. We basically got back a new 2001 Wildcat. The frame (axels, wheels, etc.), the roof and everything inside, and the slide-out is still original. But, it looks brand new on the outside - even the decals match the original. We did decide to let Star Transportation do all the driving. It was going to be a logistical nightmare trying to figure out the bare minimum gear that would be needed to go get it and still have a fun trip coming back. I'll see if I can post a couple of before and after pictures.

It will be safe to say that, in my case anyway, Forest River stands behind their products.
Many thanks to all for your comments and advice. I'll be hanging around this site - there's too much to learn not to.

Regards,
Jacque

Wow! I'm impressed with Forest River. I never would have believed that they would do so much to an older trailer. I wonder if it has anything to do with the fact that it was one of their first year trailers?

I am also very impressed. Glad it all worked out.

My wife made an interesting comment this morning. I was commenting, once again, on how much FR had done to our rig. She agreed that she was also amazed and then made the following observation. "It hasn't rained yet.". Even if it does have a few small leaks, I don't think I can complain. I did ask Rod a few pointed questions and would like to share his response. Briefly, I thanked him for all FR has done for us and asked what caulking material would FR recommend; is the new front cap thicker and redesigned; how can I keep the decals from coming loose; and for a list of everything FR repaired. Here is his response - I quote -

"Thank you for the positive comments. we here at Forest River greatly appreciate all of them. For the outside sealant, using a good water proof caulking will fix this. I would recommend going to a dealer to see what they use so you are sure to get the correct caulking. As for the decals, they are completely different than the originals. We use a different supplier for them and I am not experiencing any issues with the new. Just normal maintenance will keep them looking good. As for the front cap, it is slightly bigger than the old. A lot better design of a cap. I hope I have answered your questions. If not, please let me know. I will send you a legible copy of the repairs that were done as soon as I am able to.
Again, thank you,
Rod"

And, we are supposed to get some rain here this week. We should get the answer to my wife's observation.
Does anyone have a favorite 'this works best' caulk?? I've always just used whatever the local hardware store had without much consideration.
J.

I was suprised when I went to look for 'before' pictures. When we first got the Cat in '01, my wife always took pictures of the Cat at the campsites. I guess it got so ugly looking because of the decals, she quit taking them. I did find a couple of 'before' unintentionally taken. The one in 2006 shows how the decals were deteriorating - in 2007 you can see where had removed the decal on the front cap. Then, you will see a couple of 2008 pictures showing the damage followed by a couple of 'after rebuild' pictures. Unfortunately you can't tell a lot from the pictures except that the decals are new.
Many thanks to all who advised and supported me in this effort - couldn't have done it without your help - and a lot of cooperation from Forest River.
Jacque.

p.s. sorry, folks - I can't seem to figure out how to insert an image. They just seem to go off into some never-never land called servimg.com and I can't get them to show up here.