Wildcat by Forest River: Thumbs up or Down?

[bdaniel]

I have the 2002 28BH (bunkhouse) model just like jthorpe. I really like mine so far. I've towed it 3-4000 miles with no problems. I did a lot of research and narrowed my list down to the Keystone Cougar and the Wildcat. The things that swayed me to the Wildcat were.



1. I could find nothing wrong with the unit on the lot. Every opening was caulked very well. It was very water tight. I crawled under and over it. It was tight. Water is the number 1 enemy of an RV.



2. The kitchen layout was much better than the Cougar. There is an obvious place to store the trash can, a drawer for the heavy skillets, etc. The Cougar did not have that. The kitchen area did not seem suited for cooking in the Cougar.



3. All the wall joints inside had a good fit and finish. Nice matching color caulk or trim everywhere.



4. Hydraulic slide on the Wildcat is much faster than the electric gear drive. During a quick stop I can have the slide out in 10-15 seconds.



5. The overall quality was good. Lots of attention to details.



6. Axles are higher weight rating in the Wildcat.



Other than the sewer pipe mount which jthorpe mentioned I have yet to find any problems.



If you have any specific questions just yell.



Bobby

 

[1BIG44]

5th wheel bunkhouses

We currently have a Wilderness Bunkhouse model about 30'. We decided that the middle bath would be nice so we started looking around. The Wildcat has the best floor plan, but I have some concerns on the quality so we are still looking. I must have an enclosed water tank and enclosing it with a little sheet metal and running a 2" vent doesnt' seem reliable to me. The Wildcat does have tons of storage.



If you want to step up a little Newmar makes 2 bunkhouse models, but they are long and heavy. Most all of the bunkhouses with the middle bath are loooong.



You can get a Sunnybrook with 3 bunks in the back in replace of the 2 recliners, but this isn't a very functional plan to me.



Now if Sunnybrook would make one with a layout similiar to the Wildcat, with a bedroom slide. I would order it tomorrow.



Happy Camping,



Wes

 

[C Schomer]

JThorpe, I fixed the dinette, sofa and bed myself. I didn't catch the seal problem until well after a yr. , and fixed that too - lots of sandcloth and elbow grease. The floors also didn't give way until after a year. The siding at the bedroom area broke the staple heads off and buldged out and the staples in the paneling(same area inside) all came out. I never went back to FR or the dealer because it all happened after a year except for the sofa - that was an easy fix with some wood and screws. I traded it 'as is' and took my lumps! A friend in Mich is shopping for a new 5th wh and went to the FR factory a couple weeks ago. He was very impressed with Cedar Creek and the rest of their upper end units. I won't bother repeating what he said about Wildwood! Craig

 

[Windrider]

hmmm.....



Funny you should mention the sewer hose issue.



My wife loves the bunk house model. Enough that I was crawling all over it and under it at the last RV show to see if it was something I'd spend the money for.



The only thing I found that worried me was where the sewer pipe came out of the rear holding tank. The pipe is only about 1-2 inches above the spring shackle.



The factory rep happened to be there and we discussed it. :-{}



However he said that he had several hundered units on the road and had never had a problem with the sewer pipes on that model.



He'll be at the Dallas RV show next weekend.

I'm printing this thread right now so we can discuss it again.

 

[richardcoxid]

airmore



Anything that I would buy would have to have a factory with a service dept. close to where I live or normly travel to. I have found that the factory service is much better than most dealers. Most of them know diddley squat and over charge for knowing nothing.



I have a Hitchhiker ll made in Kansas, have stopped by the factory twice for minor slide out adjustments after the guarentee had expired and was charged nothing! Their response was that they wanted to keep their owners happy.



The selling dealer tried to charge me $270. 00 to re-pack the wheel bearings, install new seals and adj the brakes! This was after a 10 persent discount for buying the unit there. Needless I will not go back there for service!

 

[dabubba]

I've Had so so luck with warranty issues with forest river;Cracked alum wheel,broken radio, leaky black water valve- but my dealer has been GREAT all fixed ++ my sugestion is to stay away from most west coast manufactured coaches (exceptions- Alpinlite, Monico, Automate)- the attention to quality is poor, the joke is pedro needs peso's for tortias and beans-- I got my cardinal with all the upgrades and paid less than I could have gotten a sunnybrook. good luck

 

[jelvington]

I have had my Wildcat 28BH for almost a month now. So far so good though it hasn't gotten much use yet. Me and the wife liked everything about it compared to the others that we looked at. Everything I have read about the Wildcat other owners seem to be pleased with what they have. I hope I don't have any warranty issues like I see being discussed here, I guess we'll see. I paid Forest River $100 to extend my warranty to 2 years. I figure it is a small price to pay for piece of mind.

 

[icarus33]

My experience is only indirect. A friend of mine at work purchased his Wildcat last year with the bunkhouse floor plan. Did no shakedown trip before going to Lake Powell. On the way up, his dad radio'd for him to pull over who was pulling the boat behind him. A piece of the roof had come off where the pvc front nose section meets the roof.

As it was hot and the wind force pushed on the nose of the 5ver, it would buckle under the force. Finds out later that there is no structural support under the cap, not designed for any.

On the way home, brakes would not release after coming to a stop and not a brake controller problem. Would have to back up 6 inches at every stop to release. First time back at the dealer, brake assy. rebuilt. No help, so finally full replacement.

In the end, the problem list got so long and roof issue not getting fixed, the trailer was finally transported back to manufacturer for 4 months. New carpet, couch, stereo, etc... also. This is very condensed, but covers the major issues he has had. Since I've been looking at purchasing a 5ver for the past year, he's asking about his replacement.

It sounds like he got their premier lemon since so many here have had no problems with the Wildcat. You may be safe in getting one since I think he purchased the 1 in 1000 with headaches.



ic