2015 Forest River Berkshire problems, complaints & recalls
Most-reported problem areas: Electrical System (1)
Safety recalls (3)
Equipment 2017-11-22 · campaign 17V756000 · 365,885 vehicles
Defect: Forest River, Inc. (Forest River) is recalling certain 2003-2018 Forest River Berkshire, Charleston, Rockport, Cedar Creek, Cherokee, Riverstone, Salem, Sandpiper, Sierra, Vengeance, Wildcat, Wildwood, XLR Boost, Cargo Mate, Continental Cargo, motorhomes, recreational trailers, toyhaulers, cargo trailers and restroom trailers and 2009-2018 Coachmen Mirada, Pursuit, Concord, Leprechaun, Freelander, Orion and Prism motorhomes, 2009-2017 Coachmen Apex and Catalina recreational trailers, and 2013-20
Risk: In the event of a fire, if the fire extinguisher does not function properly, it can increase the risk of injury.
Fix: Forest River will notify owners, instructing them to contact Kidde for a replacement fire extinguisher, free of charge. The recall began on December 27, 2017. Owners may contact Forest River customer service at 1-800-348-7440, or Kidde customer service toll free at 1-855-262-3540, or online at www.kidde.com and click on "Product Safety Recall" for more information. Forest River's number for this recall is 51-0544.
Exterior Lighting:headlights:high/Low Beam Dimmer Switch 2017-10-06 · campaign 17V623000 · 276 vehicles
Defect: Forest River, Inc. (Forest River) is recalling certain 2014-2017 Berkshire XL and XLT buses. The headlights may shut off while switching from low beam to high beam settings, reducing visibility for the operator and other vehicles.
Risk: If the headlights shut off while driving, decreasing or causing a full loss of visibility, there would be an increased risk of a crash.
Fix: Forest River will notify owners, and dealers will install a supplemental wiring harness that will stop the headlights from shutting off unexpectedly, free of charge. The recall began on October 31, 2017. Owners may contact Forest River customer service at 1-574-295-2117. Forest River's number for this recall is 40-0241.
Equipment:recreational Vehicle/Trailer:lpg Systems:water Heater 2015-11-19 · campaign 15V771000 · 489 vehicles
Defect: Forest River, Inc. (Forest River) is recalling certain model year 2012-2016 Berkshire, Charleston, Legacy, Dynamax, XLR, Continental Cargo, Work & Play, Shockwave, and Coachmen Brookstone recreational vehicles and toy haulers, equipped with Atwood on demand water heaters, models OD45, OD50, and OD50CW, manufactured January 2, 2012, to August 13, 2015. The affected water heaters have a water and gas valve that may cause the water heater to overheat the water in the hot water supply tap.
Risk: The overheating of the water may result in the release of steam, possibly causing the operator is to scald themselves and increasing the risk of injury.
Fix: Forest River will notify owners of a field remedy as provided by Atwood to the Dealerships and O.E.M. A. Inspection and installation instructions for the remedy, to be used and applied only by qualified service center personnel. B. Installation of a water flow adjustment STOP KEY that prevents the adjustment of the water flow down below .5gal/min. C. The addition of a star or lock washer to secure the adjustment screw that prevents unintended adjustment or and adjustment drift from vibration as
Service bulletins (3)
Technical service bulletins are repair instructions manufacturers send dealers for known issues. Unlike recalls, the fix is not automatically free — but naming the bulletin at the service desk can save diagnosis time and support goodwill repairs.
Unknown Or Other 2025-08-29 · 401963 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
generic drawings to help service centers trouble shoot vehicles.
Unknown Or Other 2025-07-31 · 401951 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
generic drawings to aid in trouble shooting components,
Exterior Lighting:headlights 2017-09-04 · 400241 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
berkshire xl & berkshire xlt models use a shutter style headlight. with this style of headlight we have seen sporadic failures of the headlight system. when switching from bright to dim one of the headlights on occasion will shut off for 3-5 seconds prior to turning back on.
What owners report
2018-03-08 · Electrical System · 12,000 mi“recall 17v-799 indicates 2016-2018 motor homes are included in this recall. we have proof from photos of earlier units from as early as 2014 but could be as early as 2012 and also other models of forest river motor homes such as charleston, etc could use these same components and were modified to permit assembly with the current enclosure buss bar…”
Excerpts of consumer complaints filed with NHTSA, lightly truncated. They are owner statements, not verified findings.