Forest River Salem Problems by Model Year
NHTSA recorded 71 consumer complaints across the 9 model years of the Forest River Salem (2003–2025) that have at least 5 complaints. 2022 has the most, with 13. Across all years, the part named most often is body and structure (21 mentions). Pick a model year below to see its parts, mileage, recalls and service bulletins.
All Salem model years
Years with fewer than 5 complaints are not listed. The score compares years of the same model, allowing for the era and for how long each year has collected complaints: 50 is a typical year, lower means fewer complaints. It is not adjusted for sales volume.
| Year | Complaints | Median mi | Recalls | TSBs | Score (50 = typical) | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 5 | — | 8 | 6 | — | Too new |
| 2022 | 13 | 2,000 | 7 | 6 | — | Not enough data |
| 2020 | 12 | 3,500 | 7 | 6 | — | Not enough data |
| 2019 | 5 | 900 | 11 | 13 | — | Not enough data |
| 2018 | 6 | 1,000 | 9 | 6 | — | Not enough data |
| 2017 | 5 | 750 | 9 | 1 | — | Not enough data |
| 2016 | 9 | 625 | 8 | 1 | — | Not enough data |
| 2015 | 8 | 5,438 | 5 | 1 | — | Not enough data |
| 2003 | 8 | 7,500 | 3 | 1 | — | Not enough data |
Parts named most often, all years
Counts add up complaint mentions across the listed years. A complaint can name several parts.
- Body and structure21 22%
- Equipment16 17%
- Electrical system15 16%
- Tires13 14%
- Other or unknown12 13%
- Suspension9 9.4%
- Wheels8 8.3%
- Latches, locks and linkages2 2.1%
Example complaints
One per model year, chosen for length and detail. Personal details are removed. They are consumer reports, not findings.
2019: “I purchased a 2019 forrest river Salem cruise lite from camper world that came with castle rock st 205 75r14 tires on it. I have had all (4) tires explode going 60 MPH. I have replaced all tires. These tire are extremely dangerous. I always carry a spare now I carry two. Camper has very low miles on it. Is there anything to be done to get these time bomb tires off the road?”
NHTSA complaint #11386623, filed 2021-01, 800 miles2020: “While pulling our new 5th wheel Salem hemisphere camper we bought april 2020 on interstate near st.louis at 65 MPH rear drivers side tire blow out damaging the camper had roadside assistance put spare tire on unit to get home trying to get camper fixed by factory who installed tires on the unit.”
NHTSA complaint #11343354, filed 2020-08, 3,500 miles2018: “We were sitting in our travel trailer when I smelled something burning, like an electrical burn. I went around our travel trailer and looked under the sink and saw the water heater smoking. I immediately turned off the electricity. It turns out, the AC junction box that attached to the water heater had caught fire due to the wire nut not being properly secured to the wire. Travel trailer was stationary.”
NHTSA complaint #11104860, filed 2018-06, 150 milesOther Forest River models
136 complaintsForest River Rockwood
108 complaintsForest River Georgetown
99 complaintsForest River Wildwood
80 complaintsForest River Shasta
46 complaintsForest River Flagstaff
45 complaintsForest River Travel Trailer
40 complaintsForest River Cardinal
36 complaints
About this data. Data from NHTSA (ODI) complaints, recalls, TSBs and investigations, updated Oct 27, 2026. Complaints are unverified consumer reports and may be duplicated or inaccurate. Methodology