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Forest River · NHTSA safety record

2018 Forest River R-POD

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

Owners have filed 10 safety complaints about the 2018 Forest River R-POD with the US government. Of those, no death is recorded. One recall campaign is open against it, covering equipment.

The most complained-about system is the body structure, named in 3 complaints, 30% of the total.

Compiled from NHTSA's complaint, recall and investigation files · Covers September 2017 to October 2024 · How this is counted

What is on file

10 complaints on file

10

Complaints

0

Describe a crash

0

Mention fire

0

People injured

0

Deaths

A complaint is an unverified account by the person who filed it, not a finding of fault. One complaint is one ODI number, which is how NHTSA counts them.

A recall is the manufacturer conceding a defect, and the repair is free. Whether one covers your particular car is a question only its VIN can answer, because a campaign covers a production range rather than a model year.

Which system owners named

Complaints naming each system
STRUCTURE 3 · 30%
TIRES 3 · 30%
SUSPENSION 2 · 20%
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 2 · 20%
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 1 · 10%
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 1 · 10%
0 4 8

Red marks a system with a recall campaign against it. One complaint can name several systems, so these add up to more than 10.

When the complaints arrived

By the year NHTSA received them

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

8 6 4 2
17 18 19 21 22 24

This is the year the complaint was filed, not the year the failure happened. The range runs from 2017 to 2024.

Crash test ratings

NHTSA New Car Assessment Program

NHTSA has not crash tested the 2018 Forest River R-POD. Its New Car Assessment Program tests a selection of each year's vehicles and does not reach motorcycles, heavy trucks, motorhomes or most low-volume models, so an absence here says nothing about how the vehicle would perform. It is not a low score.

What owners have reported about this vehicle is below, and it is a different question: a crash test measures what happens to the people inside in a controlled impact, while a complaint records what broke during ordinary use.

Recall campaigns

1 on file

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

In owners’ own words

Quoted from the complaint file

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

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 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
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
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
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
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

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

Complaints on file, same model year.

Every Forest River on this site — 30 vehicles.

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. How many repair attempts it takes, and how long you have to file, is set by the state you bought in and by nothing on this page.

Where these numbers come from

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
Independent developer and analyst