Should I look into Texas Lemon Laws for my RV?

So I have been on this site before posting some issues in the past because unfortunately since my boyfriend and I purchased a 5th wheel 2019 Forest River Wildcat 32wb brand new (from camping world) and we have been having a lot of issues! I wanted some peoples opinion as to whether all the issues we are having is normal or if it is indeed out of character for an RV and if we should look into  pursuing a case with Texas lemon law to have this RV legally taken out of our name and returned to the manufacturer. So here goes the story:
The unit was purchased June 2019. Since then these are the problems we have had.
- the manufacturer incorrectly placed the underbelly in relation to our two grey tanks. they only made two holes for the valves for the gally and the black. did not make a hole for the grey nor did they ever put in a valve for it- had that repaired- twice
- the black tank sensor on the inside control panel did not properly read the tank levels. always read full- got that "fixed" but it still does not work but we don't need it anymore because we are familiar with when it needs emptying
- note: these two things required two separate visits to camping world because they could not fix it right the first time.
-propane leak, which we did not even know we had, they just so happened to catch when they were working on the rig- fixed
finally everything is working went 1.5 months with no problems then!
- the furnace stops working-sometimes it would ignite, other times not: we were in as Vegas at this time on a 3 month job contract so we decided to just live in the cold and use space heaters when applicable. we could sometimes get it to come on. was told that there has been a bad batch of heaters and apparently everyone is having issues with them. RV tech said it took two people to figure out what was wrong because it quote "stumped my first guy who looked at it"
- other minor cosmetic things: the screen door broke, a few plugs in the bedroom fell out of the wall, the kitchen sink barely flows any water (though to be honest it was like that from day one),
the kitchen vent no longer operated, and two of our curtains broke.
We took our camper in to camping world when we got back home which was one month ago to fix all of the problems from the furnace and that last of things, plus I wanted them to check the tires, axels, and make sure there was not another propane leak (fear of blowing up).
Well I now very much dislike camping world. it took them two weeks to even look at the unit, that was with me calling and them giving me the same answer every time "our tech isn't here today, they will look at it tomorrow and call you," NEVER HAPPENED. Finally spoke with the manager and things started moving. Problem was we were on our next job assignment and paying rent for a motel and an RV site with no RV! so still with no end in site they tell us it will be two weeks for them to order parts for the furnace, curtains, and the roof vent. All they did was check for a propane leak, and found out our battery on off switch was missing. We could not keep it there anymore without losing money. We decide to live in the cold and deal with it since Texas winter is almost over. So we pick up our rig this past Thursday and arrive at the RV park, find out the battery is still stuck in the on position (at least we think because the slides were operable) AND TO REALLY TOP THE CAKE
After attaching everything like we normally would, city water being one of those, we were inside the camper for not even 30 mins when we heard a huge gush of water. Sounded like when we empty a holding tank. Walk outside and there is water spewing from underbelly and its everywhere. So now we are back in a motel. I'm not an expert but I think maybe we busted a pipe some how some way, also am suspicious that camping world messed with something under there and did not put it back together properly.
ANYWAYS! I feel defeated! I'm anxious that after getting this fixed there will be another big issue right around the corner! I want my home back! Is this normal to have these types of problems! I don't want to have to stay in a motel anymore. Is this lemon law worthy or is this really what it is like living in an RV? I know lots of other people who live full time in RVs like we do but they never mention frequent problems like this.
Also if anyone has in suggestions as to what they think happened when the water explosion occurred please also feel free to let me know, I have a tech coming out to see it this Tuesday because I am done with camping world. Id rather pay out of pocket until my extended warranty kicks in than deal with them anymore.
Thank you all in advance for any advice! Everyone has always been helpful on this site!

Yikes, what an adventure.  Sorry to hear this.  Many of your little fixes, in my opinion, seem to be little fixes.  I will agree, I loathe Camping World, every aspect about them.  I truly think that many of your issues are lack of competence from Camping World.  Although you do have some pretty crappy manufacture defects from the beginning.  My question is: Have you been in touch with Forest River?  They might be able to offer options before you pull the legal card.  Good luck.

Lemon laws are usually only for MOTOR vehicles, so probably not an option.
The 2 week wait for parts is the standard BS, most parts can be had next day.
You need to have some mechanical ability to own an RV or you will have a difficult time.
Download the manual for the furnace and do the troubleshooting.
The water leak, who knows what happened, do you have a quality pressure regulator?
Tank level gauges are something that rarely works.

Owning an RV, non motorized, is much like owning a house. If you can afford to have other folks come in and do the work, more power to you. If you can?t afford that or don?t know how, then it?s not for you. I do less and less work around the house. Bad knees. But my son in law can do plumbing, roofing, tile and a host of other things. Our son lives with us and he does carpentry, welding, sheet metal and other stuff. My son and son in law helped me find a leak in the RV and replace the window. A branch fell on the roof and went through the bathroom skylight and broke the fan blade. Had to replace all that. The worst is when you have to make repairs on the road. Like broken and dangling stabilizer jacks (on the shoulder of an interstate). Water tanks that come loose while driving. Flat tires. These are the types of breakdown that take labor and very little knowledge to fix. Once you get into electrical, plumbing, gas (propane) problems you need some knowledge and expertise to fix them. If you are using you RV as your home and have a problem that requires you take the unit to a shop, you will have stay in a hotel or other accommodation while your unit is being worked on. Well, I?ve rambled on long enough. There?s a lot of planning and consideration when considering the RV lifestyle.

The Texas Lemon Law does cover RVs, both motorized and towable. However, the terms of the law are designed around cars & light trucks, not traveling homes, and interpreting the clauses with respect to an RV can be troublesome.  Without trying to be too negative, here's a site by a firm that deals with Texas Lemon Law, citing some of the issues they have encountered. They do take cases from RV owners, though, and so do other lemon-law specialist firms.

https://www.tx-lemon-law.com/trailers-and-campers/

You need to contact the manufacturer and try to get your issues resolved before the 1 year warranty has expired. After the year you will not be getting much help from them. You need to explore this option before getting an attorney involved unless they will take the case on contingency.

I'm sorry to hear of problem cases like this, but they are all-too-common in the RV world.  So yes, "normal" to a degree even though a bad example.  Much of the problem cited here is the lack of prompt response and possibly shoddy workmanship at CW.  Sadly, both of those are endemic to the RV service business.    Forest River should have done a higher quality job of building the unit to begin with, but having defects "escape" the factory is common in an industry where the products are hand-built in a wide variety.  The quality control is poor so all RV manufacturers build a certain percentage of lemons. Whether its 10% or 20% of production makes no difference if you get one of the poor ones.

The good news is that the problems will almost surely get sorted eventually and you won't have major problems every few days. The first year or so of RV ownership is often a trial, but it usually gets better.

Keep pressure on the CW service managers but also raise your issues to FR directly and formally. Do it in writing or note who and when if discussed orally. Let both CW and FR know that failure to resolve the issues in a timely manner is interfering with your livelihood and not just spoiling a vacation.

lynnmor said:

Lemon laws are usually only for MOTOR vehicles, so probably not an option.
The 2 week wait for parts is the standard BS, most parts can be had next day.
You need to have some mechanical ability to own an RV or you will have a difficult time.
Download the manual for the furnace and do the troubleshooting.
The water leak, who knows what happened, do you have a quality pressure regulator?
Tank level gauges are something that rarely works.

Click to expand...

we have a couple of regulators that we switch between. both 40-50 psi

Gary RV_Wizard said:

I'm sorry to hear of problem cases like this, but they are all-too-common in the RV world.  So yes, "normal" to a degree even though a bad example.  Much of the problem cited here is the lack of prompt response and possibly shoddy workmanship at CW.  Sadly, both of those are endemic to the RV service business.    Forest River should have done a higher quality job of building the unit to begin with, but having defects "escape" the factory is common in an industry where the products are hand-built in a wide variety.  The quality control is poor so all RV manufacturers build a certain percentage of lemons. Whether its 10% or 20% of production makes no difference if you get one of the poor ones.

The good news is that the problems will almost surely get sorted eventually and you won't have major problems every few days. The first year or so of RV ownership is often a trial, but it usually gets better.

Keep pressure on the CW service managers but also raise your issues to FR directly and formally. Do it in writing or note who and when if discussed orally. Let both CW and FR know that failure to resolve the issues in a timely manner is interfering with your livelihood and not just spoiling a vacation.

Click to expand...

Thank you, I will do these things and also look into the lemon law. I have some relief now knowing that maybe its all going to be ok. But still kind of anxious about the whole thing.

Thanks so all for advice. I will try to keep this post updated best I can to let you know how the issue is resolved. Will contact forest river and go from there. One more question. I have heard about RV tech training classes and don't know much about them. From what I read, I was thinking it would not be a bad idea to invest in a course/class just to  be able to fix most of my RV problems. Is this something anyone has dealt with or recommends?

Tech training is fine if you have the time and $ for it and several here have done so. There is also a lot of "training" available in YouTube videos and somebody has recorded a repair of almost anything you can imagine. Some are by amateurs and some are by pros showing how they do common repairs. Those are generally great if you have any handyman mechanical aptitude at all. Or you can wait til problems arise and ask for advice here.

I recommend that you carry a simple volt-ohm meter (VOM) and some basic hand tools [Phillips & Robertson (square) screw drivers, common size wrenches, and a modest socket set] and a couple short clip leads for jumpering electrical circuits.  Learn how to do volt, resistance and continuity tests with the VOM if you don't already know.  Those tools will get you through diagnosing 90% of common RV problems and repairing many of them.  You don't need a huge toolbox to begin with - you can buy any tools specific to a repair when & if you have it.  You can buy everything you need to get started at Harbor Freight for under $50.

Lemon laws are about how long you've been denied enjoyment of the unit in a period of time (year for instance) due to lack or repair for unrelated issues OR for the number of repeat attempts to repair the same issue without success.


Make sure everything is documented, included the in and out times on every service order receipt.


Don't bother including items that are cosmetic - those are frivolous and can be repaired at a convenient (non use) time.  Major issues - appliances not working, brakes not working, roof leak, no A/C, etc. Items such as those deny you the free enjoyment of the product as could be expected by the average customer.


Very often a registered, non emotional, factual, letter to the sales manager, service manager, dealership owner(s), MH manufacturer, secretary of state, BBB and of course to the applicable Lemon Law department or your state can generate attention and action. Most manufacturers do not want to chalk up a lemon law case.

UPDATE: yesterday we had some mobile RV techs come and see our unit and great news! They were able to fix the water issue with ease. Here is the kicker. As soon as they opened up the area where the suspected problem was (this is after we told them our troubles with camping world) the first words that came out of his mouth was "Wow, are they retarded or what." It appeared to him that for some reason, 3 extra clamps had been applied to the city water line where it attached to the unit causing excess pressure which is why it exploded. They also noticed that where our on and off switch for our battery was located they also removed and did not replace it and left the wires hanging free and untapped within that same compartment. I had them look at the heater as well to see if they could replace the sail switch (because that is was camping world said was wrong) and the gentleman noticed that they just threw the heater back in the compartment in which is belonged and did not hook anything up and left wires hanging free. Thankfully they were really nice, they even mentioned the used to work at camping world but left due to the poor conditions there and quote "took at the good techs with them and left all the bad ones" they even mentioned that most of the work they get from clients is related to failures from camping world to perform the job. He was nice to enough to take photos of the damage they caused and said he would have his secretary get in touch with camping world to get them to compensate for the situation they left us in since he has all the proof. They only charged us the diagnostic fee given how unfortunate the situation was. For now all is well, they are going to order the sail switch they need for our furnace and we have running water again and finally back in our home!

Fantastic for you, glad you got it all sorted out ) ) ).  Thanks for the update.  Yet another great review of Camping World. 

Thanks for updating your post. Fantastic news, you must be very relieved and excited to get out camping.

Happy travels.

I'm guessing Camping World (and many others) are similar to what we used to say about IBM pcs:


You can ALWAYS get better, but you can NEVER pay more!




What a great corporate mission statement...




Glad OP got the issues straightened out - Cya.