Complaint Review: Liberty RV

Here are the problems.  Front axle manufactured by Drexel was defective.  Tile around stove was not glued down.  Cover on furnace was not attached preventing heat being diverted into floor ducts.  Under belly cover came off.  Sofa was not attached to wall properly.  TV connections were not set up properly causing TV to have static off and on.  Neither Forest River, Liberty RV nor Drexel Axel wanted to take care of these problems.

We purchased a Rockwood Lite in April 2015 from Liberty RV in Liberty MO. We were told by the dealer it was the first 2016 off the production line. We really like this trailer but we have had more issues then I think is normal. We took several short weekend trips the first year. Then in the summer of 2016 we took it to Florida.  On the second day we pulled in a park for the night and discovered we have lost the right front tire.  All that was left was the side walls.  We had no way of knowing that we had an axle problem because there was no tread left.  We had about 1500 miles on the trailer.  It had also ripped the trim off the side of the trailer.  We purchased two new tires so they were matched.  We also purchased Tire Sensors so that we would know if we had any more tire problems.   When we got home I ordered the trim and repaired the damage to the side of the trailer myself.  Later that fall we took a weekend trip to Trenton Mo and on the way discovered that the underbelly cover in the front had come loose.  I temporarily held it up with a strap until I got home.  Upon further investigation I discovered that the installer had only used three screws and they were on the edge of the cover.  There was no metal strap across the edge either.   I called the dealer and they wanted me to bring it in and then they would decide if they would fix it under warranty.  It was easier to fix it myself so I bought new material and fixed it right.

 The next problem was the tile around the stove was not glued to the wall properly.  I have fixed that.  I also like to seal all the voids so I took the cover off the bottom of the stove and discovered the cover on the furnace that deflects the heat into the floor vents hadn’t been screwed in place.  I fixed that. Then this spring we took the trailer to New Jersey.  On the return trip the tire sensor alerted us we were losing air in the right front tire.  Same tire as before.  The new tires had about 1500 miles on them.  At the same time a driver waved to us and indicated we had a tire problem.  We pulled over and the tread on the right front tire was gone but the tire was holding air.  This time it ripped all the trim off the side, the metal radius in front of the trim and broke the plastic trim under the door.  I changed the tire and we continued home.   I took the tire to the dealer where I had purchased them and they discovered that the tire was wearing on the outside edge.  I looked at the left side of the front axle and that tire was also wearing but not nearly as fast as the right side.  I had saved the left side tire from when we changed them out in Florida and investigation it also showed some unusual wear on the outside of the tire.  At that point it was decided that the axle must be bad.  I contacted Olathe Ford RV, an authorized Drexel dealer and took it in to them in May.  The weekend before our appointment with Olathe RV we discovered the refrigerator wouldn't work.  Olathe said they reset the refrigerator and it was working.  So I have enclosed the offers from the axle manufacturer.  I have been in contact with Liberty RV and they are also contacting someone.  We had Olathe Ford RV order the axles and they have installed them.  We are picking the trailer up this morning. The techs at Olathe RV, the authorized dealer for Drexel axles found no damage that would have caused the problem.  The bill is for over $400. That doesn’t include the 3 tires, three trim pieces, a radius and the labor.  I don’t feel anyone but Drexel is responsible.  They say on their web site that this axle has a 10 year warranty.  This problem was an issue from the beginning.  Drexel would not warranty the axel stating that they didn't know is we had hit anything, overloaded the trailer or were towing it incorrectly.  They came up with every excuse not to honor their warranty.  As for Forest River they wouldn’t even respond to the dealers, Liberty RV or Olathe Ford or my calls and emails.  Once the sale was done they were done with us.