On july 10, 2014 my wife and I bought a columbus 340 rk fifth wheel made by forest river. Upon delivery august 14th 2014 we noticed immediate defects and called rv wholesalers to notify of the issues. Since we had a tripped planned with the 5th wheel to drive through the rocky mountains my wife and I stated we would take it in for repairs after the trip. During our trip I noticed that the brakes felt like they were not working properly and notified the dealership of the issue. We agreed on a repair shop where I delivered the 5th wheel (sept 14, 2014) and gave a list of defects to the repair shop and rv dealer. Brakes were number 1 concern. The repair shop called me and stated the wiring harness to the brakes were never wired and complete (pictures were sent) also, issue 2 the backing plates for the brakes were installed incorrectly. In a nut shell my 13,800 pound trailer had no brakes! Currently in a lemon law suit against forest river and need my governments help. Rv still at shop with zero work done to it. Sitting since sept 2014.
2014 Palomino Columbus brakes problems
15 complaints (83% of all complaints for this car). Typical mileage when it fails: 2,000. 1 crash reported.
- owner complaints
- 15
- of this car's complaints
- 83%
- typical mileage
- 2,000
- crashes
- 1
- recalls
- 0
Which part fails
Owners did not name a specific part.
At what mileage
Complaints by mileage at the time of the problem.
Palomino Columbus brakes problems in other years
Related recalls
No recalls on record for this model year.
Related investigations
Brake Surface Grease Contamination
The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened this investigation based on 8 Vehicle Owner Questionnaires (VOQ) alleging grease contamination on the trailer brake shoes or drums.This condition could potentially increase the towing vehicle's stopping distance and therefore increase the risk of a crash.During the investigation, ODI received 2 additional VOQs alleging the same problem.ODI sent Information Request letters to Forest River and the component supplier, Lippert Components, Inc. (LCI).In response, each provided complaint and warranty information for the subject & peer vehicles and components respectively.ODI visited multiple Recreational Vehicle (RV) dealers to survey their pre-delivery and maintenance inspections.In addition to local dealerships, ODI visited the Columbus, Forest River and LCI axle plants.ODI observed the hub assembly process at LCI and noted that the hub and bearings are assembled at a subassembly station and greased before transferring them to the main line for assembly on the axle.This allows for grease to escape the seal before ever being assembled.If the grease is not completely removed by the employee just prior to assembly, it may remain on the braking surface. A thorough review of the available data revealed one crash.The crash was minor and although an injury was reported, ODI was not able to confirm as no police report had been generated.ODI attempted to interview both parties; however, the subject vehicle owner was the only respondent.At the time of the incident, no injuries were apparent and the police therefore did not respond.The subject vehicle owner later learned that the other party claimed an injury.ODI's review of warranty data indicated that most owners recognized an issue with their trailer brakes early in the life of the trailer.RVs are typically returned to the dealer for warranty work after the first month or two of ownership.Many units were corrected during this initial break in period.Others were corrected when receiving the first annual service, as is recommended in the owner's manual.Grease on the vehicle's braking surface can diminish the vehicle's brake performance.However, as this issue exists at the time the trailer is originally purchased and does not get progressively worse over time and given that the trailers have one to two years in service with no significant events as the result of brake degradation, ODI does not believe this condition presents an unreasonable risk to safety.Forest River has initiated an Owner Notification Program (ONP) and will alert each subject vehicle owner that their unit should be inspected for grease on the braking surfaces if they have not already done so. LCI claims to have improved their training and material handling practices to reduce future issues.This investigation is closed as further use of agency resources does not appear to be warranted. The closing of this investigation does not constitute a finding by the federal safety agency that no safety-related defect exists. The agency reserves the right to take further action if warranted by the circumstances.The ODI reports cited above can be reviewed at: http://www-odi.the federal safety agency.dot.gov/owners/Searchreference under the following complaint identification numbers: 110546092, 10560304, 10561961, 10563621, 10563591, 10564143, 10563464, 10567696, 10577479, 10587690
PE14008
What 2014 Palomino Columbus owners say
Most recent owner complaints, unedited.
Brakes were suspect, weak, inconsistent action. Took to dealer for repack and inspect brakes. Discovered all 4 seals failed and all four brake assemblies were covered in grease. Dealer contacted manufacture of brake assembly, lippert components, inc., and they replaced brakes under warranty.
Note - axel info is: front axel serial# 045-002512768, rear axel serial# 045-002512757, nv# 284479, dom is 1-16-14. Purchased trailer new with first use in april 2014. Over next few months trailer would not stop as easily and quickly as it did when we first started using it. The continued reduction in braking ability over time required that I continue to increase the brake controller settings until I reached the highest setting of 10. We did not feel safe while pulling this trailer. Although we did not have an accident I asked our dealer to inspect. When they did they found that 3 wheels had blown seals and entire brake system was covered in grease, the 4th wheel also had a blown seal but although it was compromised it was not as bad as the others. Lippert mfg sent a mechanic to the dealer and replaced all four with new drum/brake assemblies. I asked the lippert mechanic what corrections have been made to the new brake assemblies and he stated they are using new seals. Trailer is now in winter storage so it will be next spring before we can use then inspect after some limited use to determine if we have problems with the new parts.
Took trailer to shop because brakes were sluggish and not working well. Dealer discovered all seals blown and brakes covered in oil. Line for brakes on front axle pinched, therefore no braking action on front axle. Had to have all four brake units replaced and brake line to front axle repaired. Mechanic stated that grease in axles was not proper grade, to thin. Lippert and columbus put my family and myself in a dangerous situation. Thank god no one was hurt.
Unit returned to dealer for inspection after receiving notification of important safety information from the brake manufacturer (lippert components). Dealer inspected and found grease in three of the four brake units. Dealer notified forrest river and lippert, both seem to be pointing to the other for the repair costs. This rig is 17 months old and has been at the dealership for warranty work for 7 months out those 17 months. The rig has less than 10,000 miles of road travel on it. This is a severe safety hazard given the weight of the vehicle. Several posts have been made on various forums and many owners are having similar issues.
Brakes failed to provide adequate braking since 5th wheel trailer was new. I complained to collier rv of rockford of poor braking ability and asked them to inspect brakes which they said they did. This august 2014 while at the forest river owners rally in goeshen, indiana I took advantage of lippert's rally price on forward adjusting brakes to be installed because I was never satisfied with the 5th wheel brakes. When the lippert tech. Came to install new forward adjusting brakes he found all 4 seals blown and 3 out of the 4 brakes were coated with grease. One wheel had a bad bearing also. I have pictures showing the brakes covered in grease. At the august 2014 rally, I only had 1350 miles on my 14 month old columbus 5th wheel.
When I purchased my fifth wheel, the wheel bearing on the front right side axle had no bearing seal cap. Grease had been flown to brake shoes and drum. Lippert does not want to cover the damages or repairs. I had to replace the brake shoes and bearings.
I have filed before for failed grease seals on same unit...two times before...entire axle assemblies were replaced last time. I took trailer to local shop for brake adjustment before a long trip and they found a leaking grease seal on right rear. Replaced seal.....
On july 12th 2014 all four lippert axle hub seals failed after only 500 miles of towing! Leaking grease into brake drum causing brakes to contaminate and fail. Overheating of this grease could potentially cause a fire in hubs with catastrophic consequences. This event just so happened the day of my warranty expiration and I am currently fighting with lippert to cover labor costs. I could not make an appointment with dealer until the following monday (due to the weekend) which put me two days past my warranty. This is a very serious issue that needs to be addressed before someone is severely hurt or killed due to lipperts choice to use low quality parts.
Received new trailer and had no brakes. Returned to dealer shortly thereafter for repair. Dealer completely disassembled and found excessive grease and multiple other problems with brake system, replaced multiple parts.
Questions about the 2014 Palomino Columbus brakes
Does the 2014 Palomino Columbus have brakes problems?
Owners have filed 15 complaints about the brakes of the 2014 Palomino Columbus, 83% of all its complaints, more than any other problem.
At what mileage do 2014 Palomino Columbus brakes problems start?
The typical (median) mileage in owner complaints is 2,000 miles.
Was there a recall on the 2014 Palomino Columbus brakes?
There is no recall for this problem on this model year.
What year does the Palomino Columbus have bad brakes?
The Palomino Columbus model years with the most brakes complaints are 2014 (15 complaints) and 2013 (14 complaints).
Other 2014 Palomino Columbus problems
Wheels 5Body 2Tires 1
VIN decoder
See the problems and recalls for an exact car
Buying a used 2014 Palomino Columbus?
Check the exact car before you pay: accidents, salvage or flood titles, odometer readings and previous owners.
Check its history