Forest River built a new advanced water management rain bay facility in Goshen, Indiana.
The company said the project expands its Manufacturing Process Improvement (MPI) initiatives. The 2,200-square-foot facility is Forest River’s second rain bay. The rain bay is designed to simulate real-world conditions.
Forest River MPI Manager Ira Mullet said the state-of-the-art facility is equipped with advanced features to educate teams and provide root-cause analysis of water-related concerns.
“The MPI rain bay reinforces our commitment to building better products,” Mullet said. “This investment allows our teams to better understand real-world water exposure and apply those learnings directly back into our plants. Education and innovation remain central to how we improve our products for our customers.”
Forest River said the bay’s testing capabilities will include 73 total rain heads—56 fixed rainbirds and 17 portable spray heads—along with mobile road spray carts to simulate undercarriage and wheel well exposure.
The bay includes quick-dump valves, seal technology to assist in diagnosing water and air intrusion, increased water-volume testing, and a soft-wash system that disengages as RVs exit the facility.
“Together, these capabilities create a controlled, repeatable environment designed to strengthen product validation across multiple unit types,” Forest River said. “The rain bay will support testing of service units, prototype units and selected production units, and insights gained through the process will help inform manufacturing practices and product design across Forest River’s RV divisions.”
The new facility will be a centralized resource for validation, innovation and plant-level learning.
“Over the past several years, the company has strengthened its MPI initiatives with an increased emphasis on water management,” the company said. “Key efforts have included expanding knowledge and best practices related to sealants, components, long-term durability and slide-out sealing systems, reinforcing Forest River’s sustained focus on innovation and industry leadership.”
