Owners have filed 11 complaints
about the 2020 Forest River R-Pod with NHTSA between 2020 and 2024.
The largest single group is the body & structure.
Across this model's run it ranks 2 of 3 worst.
The letter says how bad. This says what kind — whether this year drew
an unusual number of complaints, unusually dangerous
ones, or failures that arrived unusually early.
The dashed ring is 50 — the national norm. Further out is worse.
Complaint volume — 46
Against the median year of the Forest River R-Pod. 50 means typical for this
model; 100 means roughly double.
Severity — 0
0% of these complaints
involved a crash, fire, injury or death, against a national rate of
9.7%.
Early failure — 100
100% of failures with a mileage on record happened under
36,000 miles, against a national rate of
29%.
How 2020 compares with every other Forest River R-Pod
Complaints filed with NHTSA, by model year. Bar colour is the FaultScore grade:
A
B
C
D
F
ungraded
What breaks on a 2020 Forest River R-Pod
Every complaint is filed against a part. Follow any row for the complaints about that part alone.
Other & Unspecified
436.4%
Median failure at 4,650 miles
Body & Structure
436.4%
Median failure at 2,300 miles
Windows, Mirrors & Wipers
218.2%
Median failure at 200 miles
Electrical System
19.1%
Median failure at 2,300 miles
When owners complained
A spike years after the car went on sale usually means a part wearing
out on schedule across the whole fleet — the kind of pattern no single
owner can see from inside their own car.
Jul 2020peak 3Mar 2024
Recalls on the 2020 Forest River R-Pod
A complaint is one owner's allegation. A recall is the point at which
the manufacturer or a regulator agreed the defect is real and dangerous
enough to fix for free — however old the car is.
Canada — Transport Canada
Canada runs its own recall programme, and its campaigns do not
always mirror the American ones.
Recall 2020606361 units in Canada
Structure
Issue: On certain travel trailers, the sewer termination pipe bracket could fail. If this happens, the plumbing could fall and drag on the ground or detach from the trailer while driving. Safety Risk: Plumbing that falls from the trailer could create a road hazard for others and increase the risk of a crash. Corrective Actions: Forest River will notify owners by mail and instruct you to take your trailer to a dealer to secure to the sewer termination pipe.
Recall 2020052743 units in Canada
Accessories
Issue: On certain travel trailers, the U-bolts used to hold the spare tire carrier to the travel trailer may break. This could cause the tire and carrier to separate from the trailer. Safety Risk: A spare tire carrier that falls from the trailer could become a hazard for other road users and bystanders. This could create a risk of injury and/or a crash. Corrective Actions: Forest River will notify owners by mail and instruct you to take your travel trailer to a dealer to replace the defective U-bolts. Forest River advises that you should remove the spare tire until the recall repairs have been completed.
Recall 2019238146 units in Canada
Electrical
Issue: Some travel trailers were built with refrigerator wiring that does not have proper circuit protection. This could cause a wire to overheat and melt instead of tripping a circuit breaker. Safety Risk: Wiring that melts or overheats could create the risk of a fire. Corrective Actions: The company will notify owners by mail and instruct them to take their trailer to an authorized dealer to re-wire the refrigerator spark igniter circuit.
In the owners' own words, exactly as filed with NHTSA.
Orting, WA
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
2020 Forest River Rpod 191. Sewer termination bracket failed and the plumbing dragged on the road. Contacted Forest River and was told our VIN was not included in the national recall for the exact same thing. Our RPod model and year is the same in the recall but apparently wasn't included in the recall.
NHTSA complaint #11580176 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Huntsville, AL
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Front window randomly shattered while parked for a week with know known impact to trailer or window. The windshield shattered, and did not have an ANSI stamp anywhere on it.
NHTSA complaint #11566822 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Huntsville, AL
VISIBILITY/WIPER
Front window randomly shattered while parked for a week with know known impact to trailer or window. The windshield shattered, and did not have an ANSI stamp anywhere on it.
NHTSA complaint #11566822 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Angleton, TX
STRUCTURE:BODY
Sagging walls on 2020 Forest River R-Pod RP-190. Walls sag to the point where the tires will contact the fender.
NHTSA complaint #11492478 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Fort Myers Beach, FL
STRUCTURE:BODY
The glass in the front window spontaneously combusts
NHTSA complaint #11450170 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
at 200 milesGranite Falls, NC
VISIBILITY/WIPER
FRONT WINDOW OF CAMPER SHATTERED FOR NO REASON SITTING IN MY DRIVEWAY. FOREST RIVER HAS BEEN UNRESPONSIVE ABOUT REPAIRING THIS. IF WE HAD BEEN IN THE CAMPER SLEEPING, THE SHATTERED GLASS WOULD HAVE WENT ALL OVER US, POSSIBLY INTO EYES AND MOUTH. CAMPER WAS PARKED ON LEVEL GROUND WITH STABILIZERS DEPLOYED. HAVE READ ABOUT OTHER INSTANCES OF THIS HAPPENING. WINDOW FRAME LOOKS TO HAVE SEVERAL SCREW HEADS THAT ARE OVERTIGHTENED, FRAME APPEARS TO BE WARPED WHICH MAY HAVE PUT GLASS IN A BIND.
NHTSA complaint #11414584 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
at 7,000 milesNovato, CA
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
WE WERE DRIVING EAST ON HIGHWAY 50 ABOUT 65 MPH.WE LOOKED IN THE SIDE MIRRORS AND SAW THE FRONT WINDOW OF THE RPOD SHATTERED. WHEN WE NOTICED THE WINDOW WE WERE ABOUT 90 MILES WEST OF ELY NEVADA. WE HAD STOPPED ABOUT 30-45 MINUTES PRIOR FOR LUNCH AND EVERYTHING WAS GOOD. VERY LIMITED TRAFFIC ON THE ROAD. THE WINDOW WAS COMPLETELY SHATTERED AND GLAD WAS ALL OVER INSIDE OF THE POD ON THE BED.
NHTSA complaint #11388937 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Marysville, WA
STRUCTURE
FOREST RIVER R-POD. CONSUMER WRITES IN REGARDS TO SEWER PIPE FAILURE ON TRAILER. *LD THE CONSUMER STATED THE SEWER PIPE COULD FAIL WHILE DRIVING CAUSING RAW SEWAGE TO BE RELEASED ON THE HIGHWAY. THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED, BUT THE FAILURE RECURRED. *JS*DT
NHTSA complaint #11354675 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
at 2,300 milesAloha, OR
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
WE BOUGHT 2020 R-POD 172 OFF ROAD PACKAGE TRAVEL TRAILER IN DEC OF 2019 TO BE TAKEN TO PRIMITIVE CAMPGROUNDS. THIS IS WHAT HAPPENED TO IT WHEN WE TOOK IT ON A 25 MILE COUNTY ROAD IN MONTANA. IT WAS TOWED AT A AVERAGE SPEED OF 10 TO 20 MILES AN HOUR ON THE TRIP TO THE CAMPGROUND: THE REFRIGERATOR BROKE LOOSE FROM THE 4 SCREWS HOLDING IT AND SLIDE BACK, LUCKILY THE PROPANE LINE DIDN'T BREAK OFF, ALSO THE REFRIGERATOR HAD BEEN IN FOR WARRANTY WORK IN JANUARY 2020 BECAUSE THE REFRIGERATOR WAS MOUNTED IN FROM THE FACTORY. THE EXIT DOOR GOT STUCK AND WE HAD TO CRAWL OUT THE EMERGENCY EXIT WINDOW. THE CIRCUIT BREAKER PANEL FELL OUT OF THE WALL. THE MICROWAVE BROKE LOOSE FROM THE 4 TINY SCREWS HOLDING IT IN PLACE. THE SINK WAS JUST SCREWED UP TO THE BOTTOM OF THE COUNTER TOP WITH THREE WOOD SCREWS WHICH BROKE THE COUNTER AND FELL DOWN. THE THREE WINDOW VALANCES BROKE LOOSE AND WERE HANGING DOWN. THE ELECTRIC BRAKE WIRES ON THE RIGHTHAND HUB FELL OUT OF THE SPLICES. THE TOP CABINET ABOVE THE SINK WOULD HAVE FELL DOWN BUT I HAD BUILT A SHELF UNDER IT BEFORE WE LEFT ON OUR EXCURSION. EVERYTHING THAT BROKE OR FELL OFF ON THIS TRIP COULD HAVE BEEN ELIMINATED IF FOREST RIVER WOULD HAVE JUST TOOK A LITTLE TIME TO EVALUATE THEIR MANUFACTURING PROCESS, BUT I GUESS THEY ARE MORE INTERESTED IN GETTING THEM OUT TO THE DEALER TO SELL THEN PRODUCING A QUALITY PRODUCT.
NHTSA complaint #11341754 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
at 2,300 milesAloha, OR
STRUCTURE:BODY
WE BOUGHT 2020 R-POD 172 OFF ROAD PACKAGE TRAVEL TRAILER IN DEC OF 2019 TO BE TAKEN TO PRIMITIVE CAMPGROUNDS. THIS IS WHAT HAPPENED TO IT WHEN WE TOOK IT ON A 25 MILE COUNTY ROAD IN MONTANA. IT WAS TOWED AT A AVERAGE SPEED OF 10 TO 20 MILES AN HOUR ON THE TRIP TO THE CAMPGROUND: THE REFRIGERATOR BROKE LOOSE FROM THE 4 SCREWS HOLDING IT AND SLIDE BACK, LUCKILY THE PROPANE LINE DIDN'T BREAK OFF, ALSO THE REFRIGERATOR HAD BEEN IN FOR WARRANTY WORK IN JANUARY 2020 BECAUSE THE REFRIGERATOR WAS MOUNTED IN FROM THE FACTORY. THE EXIT DOOR GOT STUCK AND WE HAD TO CRAWL OUT THE EMERGENCY EXIT WINDOW. THE CIRCUIT BREAKER PANEL FELL OUT OF THE WALL. THE MICROWAVE BROKE LOOSE FROM THE 4 TINY SCREWS HOLDING IT IN PLACE. THE SINK WAS JUST SCREWED UP TO THE BOTTOM OF THE COUNTER TOP WITH THREE WOOD SCREWS WHICH BROKE THE COUNTER AND FELL DOWN. THE THREE WINDOW VALANCES BROKE LOOSE AND WERE HANGING DOWN. THE ELECTRIC BRAKE WIRES ON THE RIGHTHAND HUB FELL OUT OF THE SPLICES. THE TOP CABINET ABOVE THE SINK WOULD HAVE FELL DOWN BUT I HAD BUILT A SHELF UNDER IT BEFORE WE LEFT ON OUR EXCURSION. EVERYTHING THAT BROKE OR FELL OFF ON THIS TRIP COULD HAVE BEEN ELIMINATED IF FOREST RIVER WOULD HAVE JUST TOOK A LITTLE TIME TO EVALUATE THEIR MANUFACTURING PROCESS, BUT I GUESS THEY ARE MORE INTERESTED IN GETTING THEM OUT TO THE DEALER TO SELL THEN PRODUCING A QUALITY PRODUCT.
NHTSA complaint #11341754 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
at 2,300 milesAloha, OR
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
WE BOUGHT 2020 R-POD 172 OFF ROAD PACKAGE TRAVEL TRAILER IN DEC OF 2019 TO BE TAKEN TO PRIMITIVE CAMPGROUNDS. THIS IS WHAT HAPPENED TO IT WHEN WE TOOK IT ON A 25 MILE COUNTY ROAD IN MONTANA. IT WAS TOWED AT A AVERAGE SPEED OF 10 TO 20 MILES AN HOUR ON THE TRIP TO THE CAMPGROUND: THE REFRIGERATOR BROKE LOOSE FROM THE 4 SCREWS HOLDING IT AND SLIDE BACK, LUCKILY THE PROPANE LINE DIDN'T BREAK OFF, ALSO THE REFRIGERATOR HAD BEEN IN FOR WARRANTY WORK IN JANUARY 2020 BECAUSE THE REFRIGERATOR WAS MOUNTED IN FROM THE FACTORY. THE EXIT DOOR GOT STUCK AND WE HAD TO CRAWL OUT THE EMERGENCY EXIT WINDOW. THE CIRCUIT BREAKER PANEL FELL OUT OF THE WALL. THE MICROWAVE BROKE LOOSE FROM THE 4 TINY SCREWS HOLDING IT IN PLACE. THE SINK WAS JUST SCREWED UP TO THE BOTTOM OF THE COUNTER TOP WITH THREE WOOD SCREWS WHICH BROKE THE COUNTER AND FELL DOWN. THE THREE WINDOW VALANCES BROKE LOOSE AND WERE HANGING DOWN. THE ELECTRIC BRAKE WIRES ON THE RIGHTHAND HUB FELL OUT OF THE SPLICES. THE TOP CABINET ABOVE THE SINK WOULD HAVE FELL DOWN BUT I HAD BUILT A SHELF UNDER IT BEFORE WE LEFT ON OUR EXCURSION. EVERYTHING THAT BROKE OR FELL OFF ON THIS TRIP COULD HAVE BEEN ELIMINATED IF FOREST RIVER WOULD HAVE JUST TOOK A LITTLE TIME TO EVALUATE THEIR MANUFACTURING PROCESS, BUT I GUESS THEY ARE MORE INTERESTED IN GETTING THEM OUT TO THE DEALER TO SELL THEN PRODUCING A QUALITY PRODUCT.
NHTSA complaint #11341754 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.