Forest River · NHTSA safety record

2018 Forest River R-POD

Every safety complaint, recall and defect investigation the US government holds on this vehicle.

Complaints

Crashes

Fires

Injuries

Deaths

Owners of the 2018 Forest River R-POD have filed 10 safety complaints with NHTSA between September 2017 and October 2024. The most complained-about system is the body structure, named in 3 of them (30%). The typical failure was reported at 2,200 miles, the median across the 3 complaints that gave an odometer reading.

NHTSA has issued 1 recall covering this vehicle.

Recalls (1)

EQUIPMENT:RECREATIONAL VEHICLE/TRAILER:PLUMBING:SEWAGE/BLACK:PIPE/FITTINGS

20V763000 · December 10, 2020

The 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.
The risk: If the plumbing were to detach, it can become a road hazard and increase the risk of a crash.
The remedy: 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.

Forest River, Inc. · up to 2,828 vehicles across all model years covered

What owners report

Complaints naming each system. One complaint can name several, so these add up to more than 10.

STRUCTURE 3 30%

TIRES 3 30%

SUSPENSION 2 20%

UNKNOWN OR OTHER 2 20%

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 1 10%

FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 1 10%

When the complaints arrived

By the year NHTSA received them, which is not the year the failures happened. They peaked in 2021 at 4.

2017 to 2024

In owners' own words

Quoted from NHTSA's complaint file. These are unverified accounts by the people who filed them, not findings of fault.

SUSPENSION Filed October 24, 2024

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 was less than an inch clearance between the driver's side wheel well and tire, and there was 2-inch clearance between the passenger's side wheel well and the tire. The contact also stated that the passenger's side wheel was protruding 3-5 inches outside of the wheel well. The RV was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The

NHTSA complaint 11621800, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

SUSPENSION Filed August 29, 2024

There is a problem with the Axel on this trailer. It is making the floor buckle and the slide is sagging.

NHTSA complaint 11611620. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM Filed August 2, 2022

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. The wire and hose are held together by cable ties attached to to bed frame to keep it away from heater I assume but as a result hold the bundle close to the screws. The rubbing from vibrations during travel nearly cut clear through the propane hose insulation and also cut the wire insulation. Considering the hose is right next to the heater this

NHTSA complaint 11477159, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

TIRES Filed September 21, 2021

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 of the tire was separated and split into two pieces and separated from the frame. The tire was the original spare tire and had never been used. The spare tire was not replaced. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure.

NHTSA complaint 11433854. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

UNKNOWN OR OTHER Filed September 8, 2021

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 inch drop/bent start from the axle; the rear wall frame already separated to the carriage beam; the wheel tilt in and about to loose. On driver side: there's about 1/2 inch bent down right above the axle. Inside the trailer, the wall buckle, floor buck up. At the current stage, it is not road worthy and not towable. It poses hazardous to any road

NHTSA complaint 11432185, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

TIRES Filed April 26, 2021

2,347 miles

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 REPLACED WITH A SPARE. THE CONTACT THEN STATED UPON DRIVING FIVE MORE MILES, THE DRIVER'S SIDE TIRE EXPERIENCED A BLOWOUT. THE TIRE WAS REPLACED AND THE TRAILER WAS DRIVEN BACK TO THE RESIDENCE. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE OF THE TIRE WAS 2,347. CONSUMER UPDATE: STATED THE FENDER OVER THE

NHTSA complaint 11413943, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

Compare

Other years of the Forest River R-POD

Model year	Complaints	Recalls	Deaths
2020	8	3	—
2019	9	2	—

Other 2018 Forest River models

Cherokee 14 Wildwood 11 Rockwood 10

Every Forest River on this site — 30 vehicles, 428 recall campaigns and 0 open investigation s.

If this is your car and a dealer keeps failing to fix it, your state's lemon law may require the manufacturer to replace it or buy it back. What each state asks for , read from the statutes.

Where these numbers come from

Complaints: NHTSA's ODI complaint file , published August 20, 2026. One complaint is one ODI number, which is how NHTSA counts them.
Recalls: NHTSA's recall campaign API , most recent campaign filed August 12, 2026.
Investigations: NHTSA's ODI investigation file , published 2026-08-19.

A complaint is one owner's account and has not been verified by NHTSA or by us. A vehicle with more complaints is not necessarily worse: models that sold in larger numbers collect more of them. How this is counted.

Compiled and maintained by guarledes
Independent developer and analyst