Buyer Beware is right. We have a beautiful 40' Coach in our CG, when I said how Beautiful both Owners said "It's a piece of sh$$" at the same time. This Couple has had nothing but problems and it's under warranty so Techs are flown out, Drivers deliver it back and forth to the shop, they have a whole folder of paperwork problems. This is over a million dollar coach!! AND "he" cruises the CG on an electric Cooler...I'll take a pic tomorrow 8)

I'll take a pic of him on the cooler but I thought you would want to see the beautiful pos coach 8)

[quote author=Percy Jack link=topic=2155.msg19381#msg19381 date=1357160714]
I was hoping to do some prep work before selling my wife

Then I read the rest of the sentence....................

We bought a 2013 Viking Epic 2107, loaded, last July. I had had (lost in divorce) an epic 1906 before, and liked it. The 2107 is, for the most part, identical, except it's a 10-foot box versus the eight-and-one-half-footer.

EXCEPT for the awning. The 1906 had an awning with a rather heavy, rectangular-channel steel frame. It was no nonsense, could be set up with the feet on the ground or set into holders on the side of the unit; when it was up, IT WAS UP.

The 2107 has a Dometic awning (the awning itself seems sturdy) with the most PATHETIC frame I have ever seen. It is LIGHTWEIGHT aluminum (think the weight and sturdiness of paper towel tubes). The upright supports have the holes-and-spring-loaded-knob system, but they are round and there is no way to easily align the knobs with the holes; one little turn, and you spend the rest of the day trying to align the thing. The stretcher arms each have three twist-to-lock segments which really do not want to lock securely; no matter how hard I twist-to-lock them, they slip, especially when it rains. And, when the arms are wet, it's almost impossible to re-"tighten" them. The awning sags miserably.

I contacted Viking (Forest River) about this problem, via email, telling them in no uncertain terms how unhappy I am, and what a piece of *** the frame is. Their official response? "The awning you have is our lightest and most cost effective, made for specialty applications not suitable for our standard awnings.  Due to weight restrictions, that awning can not be built to seem as durable as our standard awnings that have heavier parts."

I spent my career in sales, sales management, and marketing. We can translate "cost effective" in this case to mean cheap, in the most negative sense of the word. And, if the heavier frame of the 1906's awning wasn't too heavy for a smaller, lighter unit, what is the BS about "Due to weight restrictions..."? The 2107 is a larger, heavier unit than the 1906.

It seems to me that Forest River is increasingly dedicated to cutting corners and screwing buyers. Do they think we will not notice? Or, that we will not tell other people, potential buyers, to beware?

I am actively seeking a replacement awning for the POS that's currently on my Viking (and, I told them so).

Caveat emptor of Forest River products.

TKnecht - I agree. Because I had to re-wire the trailer for 220V, I had to really dig in places most would never go. 3 out of 4 of the water heater wires behind the converter came out of the crimp connectors when I just touched them. The zip ties in the picture are mine...

[img width=640 height=480]http://i1065.photobucket.com/albums/u384/BaronDugger/Our%20new%20Clipper%20Sport%20126/Clipper%20defects/waterheaterswitchwooddamage.jpg[/img]

Every single thing that could be done to save money was done. I mean down to the privacy curtains just being long enough, if stretched TIGHT, to almost completely block off the bunks.

And then I asked for a wiring dfiagram. "(Coachmen/Viking) Never has had one in 25 years" is what I was told by a long-time Viking employee, while I was looking at the wiring diagram for my 2007 Starcraft to see if it would help me....

The GM of ALL of Viking has been very helpful, but I'm beginning to wonder if it was done to appease me...

Prior to moving from my pup 4 years ago, I looked at all the major brand pups.
Coleman was in financial trouble, so although I had 3 colemans before, I decided I didn't want to buy a brand that might not be there in the future.
The remaining brands were cheaper, but so poorly built, I started looking at HTT's.
Guess what? all those pups brands that were making HTT's, were of the same lack of quality/craftsmanship.
I finally settled on my Keystone Passport. It has had very few problems, all of them minor. There are things that I would change and have changed, but overall the quality was better than the 14 or so brands I looked at.
In the OP's case, i would look at the new Somerset's. The one's I've seen seem to be of a much, much better quality, albeit a bit higher in price.
Good luck.

FMB, thanks for posting that photo! It is more than I expected from a cool cooler!  8)

Baron, I hope you can get something reimbursed from the pos they sent you! Knowing from your snow camping, I wish you well with exposure to the elements!

You need Judge Judy! Is there anything we could do. Flood someones mailbox with letters. Make some phone calls. Please let us know Baron as we all feel for you. 8)

Thanks. I'll be able to handle it from here. I haven't really pushed because it's show season and they have a lot to do.
I'm going to give everyone ONE MORE CHANCE, and then.... 😉

This is interesting...

I now know why....

Coachmen Clipper factory tour