The contact owns a 2020 Forest River Rockwood. The contact stated that while driving 45 MPH, an abnormal snapping sound was coming from the RV, followed by a dragging sound. Upon inspection of the RV, the contact discovered that the battery had fallen out of the vehicle due to faulty metal straps. The contact was able to temporarily fix to the RV until reaching his destination. The contact was able to replace the battery and the straps to prevent the failure from returning. The contact linked the failure to a manufacturing defect. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but offered to assistance. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 2,500.

Source: NHTSA complaint ODI #11482994 · view all complaints for this vehicle at nhtsa.gov

We were traveling with our Rockwood Mini Lite and stopped at a traffic light. Someone from another vehicle ran over and told us there appeared to be an issue with one of our tires on the trailer and it looked dangerous. When we stopped to look, the passenger side tire on the front axle was bent in toward the center of the trailer. It is now at a repair shop and they have reported that the axle is broken. We don’t recall hitting anything, but filed an insurance claim for the replacement of the axle. Repair shop reports that they are still awaiting a response from the manufacturer, Dexter Axles, on when a replacement will become available. This morning, while perusing a Facebook page for Rockwood Mini Lite owners, I ran across a post from someone dealing with the exact same issue. Following, were numerous comments from others with the same issue. While this seems very odd, I cannot locate any recalls on the Dexter Axles. I feel as though this could have been disastrous for us if someone had not told us about the issue as well as these others who posted the same issue on Facebook. This is something that should possibly be brought to light.

Source: NHTSA complaint ODI #11513970 · view all complaints for this vehicle at nhtsa.gov

This trailer has twelve bolts and nuts that retain the body of the trailer to the trailer frame. I had three of the nuts completely fall off while the remaining nine were only finger tight. Additionally there are two brackets that retain the LP gas line that connect to an outlet on the side of the trailer. These brackets are held in place by self threading screws. Both screws on my trailer have fallen off.

Source: NHTSA complaint ODI #11464811 · view all complaints for this vehicle at nhtsa.gov

The Rockwood 2608BS I was towing with my 3/4 ton pickup began to sway and I was unable to recover from the sway. In a matter of 4-5 seconds, the trailer lay on its side and i was at a complete stop on the highway. No one was hurt, and there were no other vehicles involved in this incident. Earlier in the day I filled the 60 gallon fresh water tank on this trailer, which is the first time I have filled this tank prior to a road trip. The tank is located at the rear of the trailer and the weight of the full tank along with a side gust of wind we experienced, in my opinion, were major contributors to the sway, I want to emphasize that the location of the fresh water tank poses a weight distribution problem when the tank is full. I purchased this RV in September 2019 and this trailer has always been prone to sway. I've had the proper safety equipment on it such as a weight distribution hitch and anti-sway bar. I submitted an on-line report to the NHTSA in early 2020 citing the problem with sway and reported I felt the axles were a bit too far forward on this unit. After our accident, I searched online and began reading the "Rockwood 2608BS Forum," searched for "Sway" and learned others who have towed this make and model of RV have experienced problems with sway and submitted their review to the forum. Sway and loss of control of this make and model of RV due to design is a safety hazard to the operator and passengers of the tow vehicle, and to occupants of nearby traffic.

Source: NHTSA complaint ODI #11424792 · view all complaints for this vehicle at nhtsa.gov