2018 Forest River Salem problems, complaints & recalls
Most-reported problem areas: Structure:body (2) · Electrical System (2) · Wheels (1)
Safety recalls (9)
Electrical System:wiring 2025-10-10 · campaign 25V682000 · 20,305 vehicles
Defect: Forest River, Inc. (Forest River) is recalling certain 2025-2026 Forest River Aurora, Coachmen Catalina, 2026 Coachmen Viking, Coachmen Clipper, 2016-2026 Wildwood, and Salem recreational trailers. The distribution panel wire may be connected to the battery without over current protection.
Risk: Unprotected wiring can increase the risk of a fire.
Fix: Dealers will relocate the distribution panel wire to the correct side of the breaker, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed November 18, 2025. Owners may contact Forest River customer service at 1-574-825-4995. Forest River's number for this recall is 205-1987.
Electrical System: Integrated Trailer Brake Control 2020-09-18 · campaign 20V563000 · 4,397 vehicles
Defect: Forest River, Inc. (Forest River) is recalling certain 2018-2021 Wildwood, Salem, and 2020 Sonoma travel trailers. The break-away safety switch may not be wired to constant power, which can cause the trailer brakes to not activate in the event of a trailer separation from the tow vehicle.
Risk: If the brakes of the trailer do not engage, it can result in a loss of vehicle control, increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: Forest River will notify owners, and dealers will rewire the breakaway switch, free of charge. The recall began October 13, 2020. Owners may contact Forest customer service at 1-909-873-3777. Forest River's number for this recall is 67A-1230.
Electrical System:12v/24v/48v Battery 2018-08-21 · campaign 18V550000 · 5,847 vehicles
Defect: Forest River, Inc. (Forest River) is recalling certain 2014-2019 Forest River Salem, Wildcat Maxx, Wildwood, Vibe, and Rainier recreational trailers. The break-away safety switch may not have been wired to a constant power source, and, as a result, the switch may be inadvertently disconnected from the trailer house battery causing the brakes to not engage if the trailer detaches from the tow vehicle.
Risk: If the trailer brakes cannot engage if the trailer detaches from tow vehicle, there would be an increased risk of a crash.
Fix: Forest River will notify owners, and dealers will install a new wiring harness to reroute the wiring, free of charge. The recall began September 25, 2018. Owners may contact Forest River customer service at 1-503-831-5410. Forest River's number for this recall is 22/30-0824.
Equipment:recreational Vehicle/Trailer 2018-06-27 · campaign 18V436000 · 326 vehicles
Defect: Forest River, Inc. (Forest River) is recalling certain 2016-2018 Forest River Wildwood, and 2016-2019 Forest River Salem recreational trailers. The outside auxiliary shower faucet cover may cover the water heater exhaust panel when opened.
Risk: The covered water heater exhaust panel could increase the risk of injury.
Fix: Forest River has notified owners, and dealers will install a replacement outside shower, free of charge. The recall began on July 24, 2018. Owners may contact Forest River customer service at 1-574-534-3167. Forest River's number for this recall is 44-0762.
Equipment:other:labels 2018-04-12 · campaign 18V232000 · 24 vehicles
Defect: Forest River, Inc. (Forest River) is recalling certain 2018 Forest River Salem recreational trailers, model SMT282QBXL-OR. The Federal Placards on these vehicles may incorrectly state the tire pressure as 54 PSI, however, the correct tire pressure is 65 PSI. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 110, "Tire Selection and Rims." These vehicles also fail to comply with the requirements of 49 CFR Part 567, "Certificati
Risk: Incorrect tire pressure information can cause the operator to under inflate the tires, increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: Forest River has notified owners and provided a tire placard with the correct tire pressure information, free of charge. The recall began April 13, 2018. Owners may contact Forest River customer service at 1-503-831-5413. Forest River's number for this recall is 22-0693.
Equipment:other:labels 2017-12-08 · campaign 17V790000 · 133 vehicles
Defect: Forest River, Inc. (Forest River) is recalling certain 2018 Salem and Wildwood recreational trailers. The Federal Placard on these vehicles incorrectly states that the trailers are equipped with ST215/75R15 Load Range D tires, however, the installed tires are size ST205/75R15 Load Range D. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 110, "Tire Selection and Rims," and these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of
Risk: If the incorrect label causes the operator to install tires of the wrong size, vehicle handling may be affected, increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: Forest River will notify owners and provide corrected Federal Placards, free of charge. The recall began on December 18, 2017. Owners may contact Forest River customer service at 1-574-848-1335. Forest River's number for this recall is 05-0595.
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.
Equipment:other:labels 2017-08-02 · campaign 17V484000 · 30 vehicles
Defect: Forest River, Inc. (Forest River) is recalling certain 2018 Salem and Wildwood recreational trailers. The Federal Placards on these vehicles may state an incorrect weight of the trailer. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of 49 CFR Part 567, "Certification."
Risk: An incorrect weight on the label may affect how the operator loads the vehicle, impacting the handling and increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: Forest River will notify owners, and dealers will install a corrected Federal Placard with correct weight and cargo carrying capacity, free of charge. The recall began August 4, 2017. Owners may contact Forest River customer service at 1-574-534-4058. Forest River's number for this recall is 63-07312017-0485.
Tires 2017-04-26 · campaign 17V282000 · 71 vehicles
Defect: Forest River, Inc. (Forest River) is recalling certain 2017-2018 Salem, Wildwood, XLR, Sanibel, Wildcat, Vengeance, Chaparral Lite and Columbus recreational trailers. The Federal Placard may inaccurately list the tire and rim combinations that are installed on the trailers. Additionally, the Gross Axle Weight Rating (GAWR) and the Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR) information may be incorrect. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standa
Risk: The incorrect information may cause the operator to install an incorrect replacement rim or tire, overinflate the tire, or overload the vehicle, all scenarios that may increase the risk of a crash.
Fix: Forest River will notify owners and will provide a corrected Federal Placard, free of charge. The recall began on May 17, 2017. Owners may contact Forest River customer service at 1-800-348-7440. Forest River's number for this recall is 51-04242017-0393.
Service bulletins (6)
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:other:owners/Service/Other Manual 2021-10-29 · 511435 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
generic instructions for xantrex - freedom x inverter configuration "adjusting feature settings in configuration model".
Structure 2021-04-07 · 511323 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
rear wall backer locations for installation of rear ladders at dealerships.
Equipment 2020-08-05 · 511213 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this is a document that describes how to take the required photos to assess the slideroom mechanism for adjustment and function.
Structure 2019-11-01 · 041104 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
the 42dl model has a potential of the side wall bowing when the sliderooms are in the deployed position. add decorative gussets per notice.
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
Equipment:recreational Vehicle/Trailer 2018-09-28 · 510692 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
per the service bulletin from dometic ?the nuisance issue enunciates by either blowing the protective fuse, opening the circuit breaker in the furnace circuit, or rendering the furnace inoperative. our testing has shown that in all instances the furnace fails in a safe manner.?
What owners report
2021-03-07 · Tires · 1,000 mi“traveling on florida turnpike, 9:00 a.m., port saint lucie area. a loud bang and the blown tire. passenger side front tire. we made it safely to the breakdown lane where we awaited fhp for assistance. after spare tire was put on we took the next exit and bought a new spare before continuing our trip to key west. after a two week stay we started ou…”
2020-02-09 · Wheels · 1,200 mi“traveling from newton to panama city fl, 5 miles across state line right rear tire blew apart. split from one bead to the other. tread layer cake off and damaged travel trailer. tires were st225/75r15 castlerock 8ply trailer tires. came on trailer from factory. dot date code 4516. just over 3yrs old. i have been in tire business for over 20yrs so i…”
2019-03-13 · Structure:body“tl* the contact owns a 2018 forest river salem travel trailer. the contact stated that the travel trailer had not been hauled by a vehicle yet because one of the stabilizers associated with the two fuel tanks fractured. the manufacturer was contacted and stated that this was a known failure. the contact was waiting on a response from the manufactur…”
2019-02-27 · Structure:body“i received a new forest river rv, travel trailer with rusted gas line piping and frame…”
2018-06-30 · Electrical System · 150 mi · 🔥 fire“we were sitting in our travel trailer when i smelled something burning, like an electrical burn. i went around our travel trailer and looked under the sink and saw the water heater smoking. i immediately turned off the electricity. it turns out, the ac junction box that attached to the water heater had caught fire due to the wire nut not being p…”
2017-10-26 · Electrical System“tl* the contact owns a 2018 forest river salem hemisphere. while attempting to use the fan, lights, and slide, the electrical system failed. the contact called an unknown dealer and was advised that the part to do the repair would not be available for 6-8 weeks. the contact notified the manufacturer of the failure via email. the failure mileage and…”
Excerpts of consumer complaints filed with NHTSA, lightly truncated. They are owner statements, not verified findings.