2018 Forest River Salem: recalls and complaints
Official NHTSA recall campaigns and consumer complaints for one RV model year, with the notice text and links to the source.
Key facts
- The 2018 Forest River Salem has 9 NHTSA recall campaigns that list this model year.
- No chassis mapping is recorded for this model year, so no chassis recalls are counted.
- 0 equipment recalls are linked to it by reviewed rules.
- NHTSA holds 6 consumer complaints for this model year. Complaints are unverified reports, not confirmed failures.
- The latest campaign was received on October 10, 2025, 344 days before the NHTSA release of September 19, 2026.
- RV class: Travel trailer. Brand owner in this site's reference table: Forest River (medium confidence).
NHTSA records released through September 19, 2026; Transport Canada records through September 19, 2026. The absence of a recall in this dataset does not establish that a vehicle is safe.
Recall campaigns
9 campaigns in total: 9 listed for this model year, 0 inherited from the chassis and 0 equipment. Remedy text is quoted from the official notice; open the full notice for the whole text.
| Campaign | Received | Component | Summary | Remedy (official text) | Type | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 25V682000 | October 10, 2025 | Electrical System | Forest River, Inc. (Forest River) is recalling certain 2025-2026 Forest River Aurora, Coachmen Catalina, 2026 Coachmen Viking, Coachmen Clipper, 2016-2026 Wildwood, and Salem recreational trailers. The distribution panel wire may… | Dealers will relocate the distribution panel wire to the correct side of the breaker, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed November 18, 2025. Owners… | Vehicle | Full notice NHTSA |
| 20V563000 | September 18, 2020 | Electrical System | Forest River, Inc. (Forest River) is recalling certain 2018-2021 Wildwood, Salem, and 2020 Sonoma travel trailers. The break-away safety switch may not be wired to constant power, which can cause the trailer brakes to not… | Forest River will notify owners, and dealers will rewire the breakaway switch, free of charge. The recall began October 13, 2020. Owners may contact Forest customer… | Vehicle | Full notice NHTSA |
| 18V550000 | August 21, 2018 | Electrical System | Forest River, Inc. (Forest River) is recalling certain 2014-2019 Forest River Salem, Wildcat Maxx, Wildwood, Vibe, and Rainier recreational trailers. The break-away safety switch may not have been wired to a constant power… | Forest River will notify owners, and dealers will install a new wiring harness to reroute the wiring, free of charge. The recall began September 25, 2018. Owners may… | Vehicle | Full notice NHTSA |
| 18V436000 | June 27, 2018 | Equipment: Recreational Vehicle/Trailer | Forest River, Inc. (Forest River) is recalling certain 2016-2018 Forest River Wildwood, and 2016-2019 Forest River Salem recreational trailers. The outside auxiliary shower faucet cover may cover the water heater exhaust panel… | Forest River has notified owners, and dealers will install a replacement outside shower, free of charge. The recall began on July 24, 2018. Owners may contact Forest… | Vehicle | Full notice NHTSA |
| 18V232000 | April 12, 2018 | Equipment: Other | Forest River, Inc. (Forest River) is recalling certain 2018 Forest River Salem recreational trailers, model SMT282QBXL-OR. The Federal Placards on these vehicles may incorrectly state the tire pressure as 54 PSI, however, the… | Forest River has notified owners and provided a tire placard with the correct tire pressure information, free of charge. The recall began April 13, 2018. Owners may… | Vehicle | Full notice NHTSA |
| 17V790000 | December 8, 2017 | Equipment: Other | Forest River, Inc. (Forest River) is recalling certain 2018 Salem and Wildwood recreational trailers. The Federal Placard on these vehicles incorrectly states that the trailers are equipped with ST215/75R15 Load Range D tires,… | Forest River will notify owners and provide corrected Federal Placards, free of charge. The recall began on December 18, 2017. Owners may contact Forest River customer… | Vehicle | Full notice NHTSA |
| 17V756000 | November 22, 2017 | Equipment | Forest River, Inc. (Forest River) is recalling certain 2003-2018 Forest River Berkshire, Charleston, Rockport, Cedar Creek, Cherokee, Riverstone, Salem, Sandpiper, Sierra, Vengeance, Wildcat, Wildwood, XLR Boost, Cargo Mate,… | Forest River will notify owners, instructing them to contact Kidde for a replacement fire extinguisher, free of charge. The recall began on December 27, 2017. Owners may… | Vehicle | Full notice NHTSA |
| 17V484000 | August 2, 2017 | Equipment: Other | Forest River, Inc. (Forest River) is recalling certain 2018 Salem and Wildwood recreational trailers. The Federal Placards on these vehicles may state an incorrect weight of the trailer. As such, these vehicles fail to comply… | Forest River will notify owners, and dealers will install a corrected Federal Placard with correct weight and cargo carrying capacity, free of charge. The recall began… | Vehicle | Full notice NHTSA |
| 17V282000 | April 26, 2017 | Tires | Forest River, Inc. (Forest River) is recalling certain 2017-2018 Salem, Wildwood, XLR, Sanibel, Wildcat, Vengeance, Chaparral Lite and Columbus recreational trailers. The Federal Placard may inaccurately list the tire and rim… | Forest River will notify owners and will provide a corrected Federal Placard, free of charge. The recall began on May 17, 2017. Owners may contact Forest River customer… | Vehicle | Full notice NHTSA |
Complaints by component
6 unique complaints. The share is the number of unique complaints tagged to a component category divided by the 6 unique complaints for this model year. A complaint can name more than one component, so shares can add up to more than 100 percent.
| Component category | Complaints | Share | Bar |
|---|---|---|---|
| Electrical System | 2 | 33% | |
| Structure | 2 | 33% | |
| Fuel/Propulsion System | 1 | 17% | |
| Tires | 1 | 17% | |
| Wheels | 1 | 17% |
Complaint excerpts
The 5 most recent complaints with a narrative. Names, emails, phone numbers, VINs and addresses are removed. Reports are unverified. NHTSA record set for this vehicle (JSON).
TRAVELING ON FLORIDA TURNPIKE, 9:00 A.M., PORT SAINT LUCIE AREA. A LOUD BANG AND THE BLOWN [removed]. PASSENGER SIDE FRONT [removed]. WE MADE IT SAFELY TO THE BREAKDOWN LANE WHERE WE AWAITED FHP FOR ASSISTANCE. AFTER SPARE [removed] WAS PUT ON WE TOOK THE NEXT EXIT AND BOUGHT A NEW SPARE BEFORE CONTINUING OUR TRIP TO KEY WEST. AFTER A TWO WEEK STAY WE STARTED OUR RETURN HOME. ONCE AGAIN ON FLORIDA TURNPIKE IN MIAMI, 11:00 A.M., 02/25 WE BLEW ANOTHER [removed], PASSENGER SIDE, REAR [removed]. RESULT OF THAT FAILED [removed] CAUSED SEVERE DAMAGE TO RV. RETURNED HOME AND HAD FOUR NEW TIRES …
TRAVELING FROM NEWTON TO PANAMA CITY FL, 5 MILES ACROSS STATE LINE RIGHT REAR TIRE BLEW APART. SPLIT FROM ONE BEAD TO THE OTHER. TREAD LAYER CAKE OFF AND DAMAGED TRAVEL TRAILER. TIRES WERE ST225/75R15 CASTLEROCK 8PLY TRAILER TIRES. CAME ON TRAILER FROM FACTORY. DOT DATE CODE 4516. JUST OVER 3YRS OLD. I HAVE BEEN IN TIRE BUSINESS FOR OVER 20YRS SO I TAKE KNOW THE IMPORTANCE OF TIRE MAINTENANCE. THIS IS [name removed] A TIRE DEFECT AND TIRE MANUFACTURER SHOULD BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE. I FOUND SEVERAL COMPLAINTS ABOUT THIS TIRE AND OTHERS MADE BY THE SAME MANUFACTURER ONLINE. SOMETHING NEEDS TO BE …
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2018 FOREST RIVER SALEM TRAVEL TRAILER. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE TRAVEL TRAILER HAD NOT BEEN HAULED BY A VEHICLE YET BECAUSE ONE OF THE STABILIZERS ASSOCIATED WITH THE TWO FUEL TANKS FRACTURED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS CONTACTED AND STATED THAT THIS WAS A KNOWN FAILURE. THE CONTACT WAS WAITING ON A RESPONSE FROM THE MANUFACTURER. THE DEALER WAS NOT CONTACTED. THERE WAS NO MILEAGE. THE VIN WAS NOT AVAILABLE. *DT*JB *DT*JB
I RECEIVED A NEW FOREST RIVER RV, TRAVEL TRAILER WITH RUSTED GAS LINE PIPING AND FRAME
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.
Chassis
Towable RVs have no chassis maker, so no chassis recalls apply.
Canadian notices
Transport Canada publishes its own notices with their own IDs. They are separate records from the U.S. campaigns above and are never merged with them.
- Notice 2017610 (December 6, 2017): Accessories. Official page
- Notice 2018347 (June 28, 2018): Accessories. Official page
- Notice 2018438 (August 21, 2018): Electrical. Official page
- Notice 2025545 (October 10, 2025): Electrical. Official page
Related model years
- 2017 Forest River Salem
- 2019 Forest River Salem
- Forest River Salem, all years
- 2018 Forest River Cherokee (same class)
- 2018 Forest River Flagstaff (same class)
- 2018 Forest River Rockwood (same class)
- 2018 Forest River Wildwood (same class)
Source release: NHTSA September 19, 2026. Method version v1. How this page is built.
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