Your recreational vehicle may be involved in a safety recall and may create a safety risk for you or your passengers. Safety defects must be repaired by a certified dealer at no cost to you. However, if left unrepaired, a potential safety defect in your vehicle could lead to injury or even death.

What is a recall?

When a manufacturer or the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) determines that a recreational vehicle or item of RV equipment creates an unreasonable risk to safety or fails to meet minimum safety standards, the manufacturer is required to fix that vehicle or equipment at no cost to the consumer.

NHTSA releases its most recent list of recalls each Monday.

The number of RV recalls has increased significantly in recent years: 169 recalls were issued during 2016, 203 recalls during 2017, and 230 for 2018.

It should be noted that RV recalls are related to vehicle safety and not product quality. NHTSA has no interest in an air conditioner failing to cool or slide out failing to extend or retract—unless they can be directly attributed to product safety.

NHTSA announced 13 recall notices during October 2019. These recalls involved 8 recreational vehicle manufacturers—Jayco (4 recalls), Forest River (2 recalls), Keystone RV Company (2 recalls), Airstream (1 recall), Heartland Recreational Vehicles (1 recall), Cruiser RV (1 recall), Pleasure Way (1 recall), and Starcraft RV (1 recall).

Whispering Hills RV Park, Georgetown, Kentucky © Rex Vogel, all rights reserved

Jayco

Jayco, Inc. (Jayco) is recalling certain 2019-2020 Jay Feather X19H travel trailers. The handles for the emergency exit windows may not allow the windows to open sufficiently for them to be used as an emergency egress.

Jayco will notify owners, and dealers will replace the emergency window handles, free of charge. The recall began October 11, 2019. Owners may contact Jayco customer service at 1-800-517-9137. Jayco’s number for this recall is 9901441.

The Motorcoach Resort, Chandler, Arizona © Rex Vogel, all rights reserved

Jayco

Jayco, Inc. (Jayco) is recalling certain 2019-2020 Redhawk SE motorhomes. The seatbelt-unfastened warning light will not illuminate for approximately five seconds after the ignition is moved to the “on” or “start” position. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 208, “Occupant Crash Protection.”

GM will notify owners, and dealers will reprogram the instrument panel cluster, free of charge. The recall is expected to begin October 16, 2019. Owners may contact GMC customer service at 1-800-462-8782 or Jayco customer service at 1-800-517-9137.

The Lakes RV and Golf Resort, Chowchilla, California © Rex Vogel, all rights reserved

Jayco

Jayco, Inc. (Jayco) is recalling certain 2019 Eagle HT and Eagle recreational trailers. The gas range does not vent outside.

Jayco will notify owners, and dealers will install a range hood vent out the sidewall of the trailer, free of charge. The recall is expected to begin November 20, 2019. Owners may contact Jayco customer service at 1-800-283-8267. Jayco’s number for this recall is 9901438.

Hollywood Casino RV Park, Bay St. Lewis, Mississippi © Rex Vogel, all rights reserved

Jayco

Jayco, Inc. (Jayco) is recalling certain 2014-2018 Precept motorhomes built on Ford F53 chassis. The hydraulic lines may have been incorrectly routed too close to the exhaust without a heat shield.

Jayco will notify owners, and dealers will inspect and correct the hydraulic line routing as necessary and install a heat shield, free of charge. The recall is expected to begin November 15, 2019. Owners may contact Jayco customer service at 1-800-517-9137. Jayco’s number for this recall is 9903440.

Sunny Acres RV Park, Las Cruces, New Mexico © Rex Vogel, all rights reserved

Forest River

Forest River, Inc. (Forest River) is recalling certain 2019-2020 Sabre trailers, models SRF261RK-C, SRF270RL-C and SRF301BH-C. The rotating pin box may come into contact with the 7-way junction box/wiring and cause an electrical short circuit.

Forest River will notify owners, and dealers will relocate the 7-way and junction box to a location that allows movement when the pin box is pivoting, free of charge. The recall is expected to begin October 30, 2019. Owners may contact Forest River customer service at 1-574-642-2100. Forest River’s number for this recall is 62-1085.

7 Feathers Casino RV Park, Canyonville, Oregon © Rex Vogel, all rights reserved

Forest River

Forest River, Inc. (Forest River) is recalling certain 2020 Cherokee trailers, models CKT16BF-D, CKT16BFH-D, CKT16GR-D and CKT16GRH-D. The protective paneling may not have been installed around the distribution panel, allowing the distribution panel wiring to be exposed in a storage compartment, which can lead to damage to the panel and wiring.

Forest River will notify owners, and dealers will install a divider in the storage compartment to ensure the distribution panel wiring is protected, free of charge. The recall is expected to begin October 30, 2019. Owners may contact Forest River customer service at 1-260-499-2100. Forest River’s number for this recall is 17D-1089.

Edisto Beach State Park, South Carolina © Rex Vogel, all rights reserved

Keystone RV Company

Keystone RV Company (Keystone) is recalling certain 2020 Cougar 30RKD trailers. The 60″x29″ emergency exit windows over the dinette table in the cabin are missing a red handle and “EXIT” label.

Keystone will notify owners, and dealers will replace the existing black exit handles with red handles and add an “EXIT” label, free of charge. The recall is expected to begin November 5, 2019. Owners may contact Keystone customer service at 1-866-425-4369. Keystone’s number for this recall is 19-360.

Dakota Campground, Mitchell, South Dakota © Rex Vogel, all rights reserved

Keystone RV Company

Keystone RV Company (Keystone) is recalling certain 2020 Cougar fifth wheels and travel trailers, models 22RBS, 23MLS, 25RES, 26RBS, 26RKS, 27RES, 27SAB, 27SGS, 29BHS, 29FKD, 29RLD, 30RKD, 31MBS, 32RDB, 32RLI and 34TSB. The wiring for the solar preparation kit may have been incorrectly wired to the wrong side of the 12V breaker, potentially allowing an electrical short circuit in the event of damage to the wiring.

Keystone will notify owners, and dealers will inspect and correct the installation of the solar preparation wiring, as necessary, free of charge. The recall is expected to begin November 11, 2019. Owners may contact Keystone customer service at 1-866-425-4369. Keystone’s number for this recall is 19-361.

River Plantation RV Park, Seviereville, Tennessee

Airstream

Airstream, Inc. (Airstream) is recalling certain 2016-2017 International Serenity, 2016 International Signature, and Flying Cloud trailers that are 19 feet long. The vertically-mounted inverter may contact the floor-mounted inverter fuse.

Airstream will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the location of the inverter and inverter fuse. If the inverter and inverter fuse are not mounted on the same surface, the inverter fuse will be relocated, and secured to the same surface as the inverter. In addition, a protective cover will be installed on the inverter fuse bar, free of charge. The recall is expected to begin November 15, 2019. Owners may contact Airstream customer service at 1-877-596-6505 or 1-937-596-6111 extension 7401 or 7411.

RV Park USA, Comfort, Texas © Rex Vogel, all rights reserved

Heartland Recreational Vehicles

Heartland Recreational Vehicles, LLC (Heartland) is recalling certain 2020 Milestone recreational trailers. The wood backers for bunk supports were not installed on the slide out bunk end walls during manufacturing, possibly allowing the upper bunk bed to fall.

Heartland dealers will install wood backers to secure the bunk bed, free of charge, all affected vehicles were on dealer lots. The recall began on September 20, 2019. Owners may contact Heartland customer service at 1-877-262-8032.

Las Vegas RV Resort, Las Vegas, Nevada © Rex Vogel, all rights reserved

Cruiser RV

Cruiser RV (Cruiser) is recalling certain 2020 Southfork recreational trailers. The wood backers for bunk supports were not installed on the slide out bunk end walls during manufacturing, possibly allowing the upper bunk bed to fall.

Cruiser will notify owners, and dealers will install wood backers to secure the bunk bed, free of charge. The recall is expected to begin November 15, 2019. Owners may contact Cruiser customer service at 1-574-206-7920.

Columbia Sun RV Resort, Kennewick, Washington © Rex Vogel, all rights reserved

Pleasure Way

Pleasure Way Industries Ltd. (Pleasure Way) is recalling certain 2018-2020 Plateau, Plateau XL, Ascent and Lexor motorhomes equipped with a Fiamma F45 Eagle or Fiamma F65 Eagle awning. The awning drive mechanism may fail causing the awning to extend unexpectedly without input from the user.

Pleasure Way will notify owners, and dealers will install straps to keep the awning closed, as a temporary solution, free of charge. Fiamma will provide a permanent solution. Pleasure Way issued owners an interim notification on October 7, 2019. Owners may contact Pleasure Way customer service at 1-800-364-0189.

Ambassador RV Resort, Caldwell, Idaho © Rex Vogel, all rights reserved

Starcraft RV

Starcraft RV (Starcraft) is recalling certain 2018 Comet Mini, 2018-2019 GPS, Autumn Ridge Outfitter, Launch Ultra Lite, Launch Outfitter 7, Autumn Ridge, Launch Outfitter, Satellite and Avalon and 2019 Mossy Oak and Mossy Oak Lite travel trailers. The fuse/circuit breaker wiring between the battery and the converter may have bypassed the 30amp fuse, creating an unprotected circuit.

Starcraft will notify owners, and dealers will install a fuse harness assembly to protect the circuit, free of charge. The recall is expected to begin November 22, 2019. Owners may contact Starcraft customer service at 1-800-945-4787. Starcraft’s number for this recall is 9902439.

Meahler State Park, Alabama © Rex Vogel, all rights reserved

Note: Owners may also contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), or go to www.safercar.gov.

Please Note: This is the ninth in a series of posts relating to RV Manufacturers Recalls

Worth Pondering…

It is easier to do a job right than to explain why you didn’t.

—Martin Van Buren