2018 Forest River R-Pod problems, complaints & recalls
Most-reported problem areas: Tires (3) · Suspension (2) · Structure:body (2)
Safety recalls (1)
Equipment:recreational Vehicle/Trailer:plumbing:sewage/Black:pipe/Fittings 2020-12-10 · campaign 20V763000 · 2,828 vehicles
Defect: Forest River, Inc. (Forest River) is recalling certain 2018-2020 RPOD travel trailers. The sewer termination bracket may fail, causing the plumbing to drag on the ground or to detach completely.
Risk: If the plumbing were to detach, it can become a road hazard and increase the risk of a crash.
Fix: Forest River will notify owners, and dealers will install a new securement bracket, free of charge. The recall began January 12, 2021. Owners may contact Forest River customer service at 1-574-642-3119, option 2. Forest River's number for this recall is 51-1265.
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.
Equipment 2020-05-15 · 511086 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
the p-trap swivel fitting may crack during normal use, potentially allowing water to leak, which may lead to premature degradation of any non-water resistant components.
Equipment 2019-02-25 · 470961 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
the silicone sealant used to seal the vehicle may not adhere to all surfaces as intended. this may allow water to leak into the vehicle.
Equipment:recreational Vehicle/Trailer 2018-09-28 · 510780 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
per the service bulletin from dometic ?dometic corporation has identified a visual cosmetic defect that has occurred on our dometic dm2652 refrigerators up in the freezer compartment. this does not occur on all units, but may be present on units with serial numbers starting with mb between 805xxxxx
What owners report
2024-10-24 · Suspension“the contact owns a 2018 forest river r-pod towable. the contact stated while stepping on the rv floor, the contact noticed that the side of the floor located behind the axle was sagging. additionally, the contact stated that the driver's side outriggers were significantly corroded, fractured, and bent. additionally, the contact stated that there wa…”
2024-08-29 · Suspension“there is a problem with the axel on this trailer. it is making the floor buckle and the slide is sagging.…”
2022-08-02 · Fuel/Propulsion System“i just encountered an issue that could have been disastrous with our rpod 177 travel trailer camper. the other day i happened to pull back the bed plywood and noticed that the propane hose and also 120 wire were chewed up from two long, sharp screws that hold some of the wood together by the water pump and go through into the bed frame/panel wood.…”
2021-09-21 · Tires“the contact owns a 2018 forest river r-pod equipped with lionhead tires, tire line: castle rock, tire size: 225/75/r15, dot number: jult-1mt. the contact stated while the rv was parked outside of the residence, he heard a load pop coming from the vehicle. the contact inspected the vehicle and noticed that the spare tire had exploded, and the thread…”
2021-09-08 · Unknown Or Other“this is a 2018 forest river rpod rpt180 travel trailer, total about 10 trips or 4500 travel mileage. the underneath 2 support carriage beam for the whole structure buckle and bent down due to the manufacturer design/material failure. both supporting beams above the axle buckle and the passenger side is more sever. on passenger side: there's about 4…”
2021-04-26 · Tires · 2,347 mi“tl* the contact owns a 2018 forest river r-pod trailer equipped with castle rock tires, tire line: lionshead, tire size: st225/75/r15, dot number(s): jult1mt1917 and jult1mt2217. the contact stated that while driving 65 mph on the freeway, the fender over the passenger's side tire thread separated which caused fender to come off. the tire was repla…”
2021-03-10 · Structure:body“tl* the contact owns a 2018 forest river r-pod. the contact stated that the bracket detached from the trailer. the contact temporarily repaired the failure with a screw to hold the bracket together. the vehicle was not yet diagnosed nor repaired. a dealer was not contacted. upon investigation, the contact associated the failure with nhtsa campaign …”
2019-07-10 · Tires · 2,200 mi“tl* the contact owns a 2018 forest river r-pod equipped with castle rock radial st226 tires, size: st225/75/r15 (na). while driving approximately 66 mph, the rear passenger side axial tire suddenly blew out. the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. the manufacturer and local dealer were not notified of the failure. the tire and vehicle failure mi…”
2018-11-28 · Unknown Or Other“manufacturing defect in thermostat wire to liquid propane tank. (xxxxxx). propane heat would not turn off. took in for warranty work and was advised the cause was a crimped wire in the manufacturing process. if we were not present to shut off the propane tank, it would have burnt down or worse. *dt parts of this document have been redacted to …”
2017-09-15 · Structure:body · 1,000 mi“tl* the contact owns a 2018 (na) forest river r-pod 176 travel trailer. while driving, the black water tank pipe detached and dragged on the ground without warning. as a result, the valve leaked of sewage. the contact independently replaced the valve, the termination cap, and the three inch bayonet and double wack nut. the dealer was not contacted.…”
Excerpts of consumer complaints filed with NHTSA, lightly truncated. They are owner statements, not verified findings.