Camping World Kicks Heartland out in Texas

I Called the Camping World in Katy Tx. today to get a part for my Northtrail Coach. They told me they no longer service or have anything to do with Heartland Now this puts me in a bid mess !!! I bought my coach from Camping World and now they tell me I'm SOL !!!!!!
There isn't another Heartland Service center in at least 100 miles that I know of.
I am open for any advice I can get.

Slick42

Why No Heartlands??

Has anyone been told why Camping World has decided to sever their ties with Heartland?? Which party made the decision to end the relationship?

I was reading on another forum, that Thor asked CW to drop Heartland, or they ( Thor ) would pull out of CW.. Just what I read, don't know if it's gospel though.

Yes I read it too

They lent Camping World $ 20,000,000.00 (million). and of course they would drop anyone/ everyone for that sum of dough.
I know I would.

Question we don't know is the term of contract, and what else is included in deal.

Could make it a good deal??? or a complete flop ???

I just can not remember the place it was or I'd link it (to here), so everyone could read it

Slick42, there are at least three other dealers in Houston that carry Heartland, Lone Star RV, Terry Vaughn RVs and Ron Hoover RV. I'm not certain what lines they each carry but they should service our trailers that were bought from Camping World. Of course, Heartland service can authorize another service center to do repairs under warranty.

I'm in the same boat as you are with having bought from CW and now they are not a dealer any more. I know Heartland will not leave us hanging and will see to it that we are taken care of.

This appears to be the new strategy for many manufacturers. They don't want to go head to head with Heartland, in other words they don't want a potential buyer to have the ability to compare thier product side by side with a comparable Heartland trailer. I was told by the local Heartland dealer last years that Jayco was putting the heat on for him to drop the Heartland line.

2 years ago the CEO of NUWA went on the Internet and blasted Heartland by name as an inferior product, less than a year later NUWA suspended production developed a new Business Plan and 9 months later restarted production.

The success of Heartland has many RV manufacturers very nerves.

Found this on Reuters news which could explain that Camping World favors a particular brand.

CHICAGO, Feb 3 (Reuters) - Thor Industries Inc (THO.N), a U.S. maker of motorhomes vehicles and towable campers, said on Tuesday that it had extended a second $10 million loan to a key dealer.
In a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Thor said Stephen Adams, who owns 90 percent of Camping World/FreedomRoads, had agreed to use the proceeds of the Jan. 30 loan to buy Thor's products.
Camping World/FreedomRoads is the largest RV retailer in the United States, with dealerships in 32 states.
The one-year loan carries an annual interest rate of 12 percent and is the second Thor has extended to Adams in the past month.
On Jan 15, Thor made a $10 million loan to Adams. That five-year loan carried an annual interest rate of 12 percent.
The obligations are guaranteed and secured by a first priority security interest in all Adams' interests in FreedomRoads Holding Co, which owns Camping World.
The recreational vehicle industry was already in its fourth straight year of sales declines in 2008 when the credit crunch compounded its woes and prompted some RV lenders to exit the business.

One of the reasons why I bought the Cyclone with no Cyclone dealers within 250 miles was because there is a CW 15 miles from me,

Thanks Jayc

jayc said:

Slick42, there are at least three other dealers in Houston that carry Heartland, Lone Star RV, Terry Vaughn RVs and Ron Hoover RV. I'm not certain what lines they each carry but they should service our trailers that were bought from Camping World. Of course, Heartland service can authorize another service center to do repairs under warranty.

I'm in the same boat as you are with having bought from CW and now they are not a dealer any more. I know Heartland will not leave us hanging and will see to it that we are taken care of.

Click to expand...

Well I guess I'm going to have to try and get time off of work and make the rally up in spring so I can talk to Heartland Reps. I wasn't sure that Terry Vaughn had Heartland because I went there in 08 When I was looking for a new coach and they didn't have any. They are only 10 miles from me. I will check them out. Also Holiday World in League City told me they are going to start selling the Big Countrys.

You can try the ExploreUSA RV in Sequin, Tx. I purchased my cyclone there and they were good people to deal with. They should be able to service any of the Heartland products.

Update on Camping World and Heartland RVs

Hey all,

On Friday, I received word from Heartland Corporate that we reactivated warranty work accounts at all Camping World locations. It may take a few days for the word to get out to all CW locations. Before you take your coach to a CW location for warranty work, phone our Dealer Services department at 877-262-8032 for assistance.

Thanks,

Jim

dealer

there is another dealer in Cleaveland, TX, south bound 59 not far from Martin Dodge, also on the south bound side. He had Big Country there last time I was in. Said he was a Heartland Dealer.
Bob

I contacted Terry Vaughn and they stated they did not do warranty work on BigHorns. I contacted Lone Star and they were extremely helpful. Made an appointment and took it in they had the work done in a little over a week and I was out the door. They handled everything with no questions no problems.

hcriddle said:

I contacted Terry Vaughn and they stated they did not do warranty work on BigHorns. I contacted Lone Star and they were extremely helpful. Made an appointment and took it in they had the work done in a little over a week and I was out the door. They handled everything with no questions no problems.

Click to expand...

We used Lone Star RV when we had our Alfa Gold as they were an Alfa dealer. They have an excellent service department and a very well stocked parts department also. Great folks to deal with and am glad they are now a Heartland dealer.

Buddy,
Glad you got your rig worked on at Lone Star. They are good people there. I bought another brand of trailer there and they always took care of me.

If you're in the market, Gordon at the north freeway store, is very good to work with on your next purchase.

I am one of those who bought my rig out of state because of the huge difference in price with Camping World. After finding out about the forum and reading all the posts I thought I was going to have to drive back to Michigan if I ever needed warranty work. When I called Lone Star they didn't bat an eye about doing the warranty work I needed. Great folks to work with in the service and parts departments.

Camping World ....

I don't know the full story about this issue. But I do know the 1 year warranty will be over very quick. We really haven't used dealerships didn't have many issues. But we do and will use Camping World. We have never bought a RV from Camping World, and probably want due to the fact they don't sell our brand. Read to many horror stories about dealerships and they seem to take for ever to do warranty work. I don't believe there is any excuse for a RV to be in the shop for weeks on end waiting for parts. From my living room or the Cab of the Freightliner I can order parts and have them delivered within hours. For example we just ordered a system for the Chevy HHR to make it towable, base plate, tow bar, wiring and brake system last week and it will be installed next week while we are at our mini Rally in Nashville at Camping world. Granted we had to pay but that is normal. Pay seems to be the problem, dealers service centers tells me thats the problem??? I don't know who is right but the only time I had a dealer tell me this I call the manufactor while standing in the service department and ask what was the problem, you will be surpised at the answers you get. I'm sure you have the Manufactors contact number, use it. GBY...

Really sorry to see that Camping World has severed ties with Heartland. A year ago our local CW was covered with North Trails & Heartland 5th wheels. Now, about 3 left over units. What we hear is that it all has to do with Keystone RV. Something about the Montana 5ver & Heartland 5vers. So now our CW is full of Keystone models. Toured a handful and they certainly don't add up to Heartland quality. It is a cryin shame IMHO!!

Maybe Heartland owners should stop going to CW. They are way overpriced anyways and why would HL owners want to buy something operated by Keystone (Thor Industries). Just a thought.

I was told today by a Big Horn owner from Ontario, Canada that Heartland is going out of business. This was told to him by Camping World and he was a little upset since he just bought his 2010 BH just 2 months ago from Leisure RV. I told him about this forum and told him how big HL has gotten with all of the models and where they were in sales. He drove off feeling a little better about his purchase and I felt like a dummy for not getting his name.