Its one thing after another - blowing off steam

Clymer

Member
:mad:I guess its time for me to vent on this forum about what I feel is poor quality on our 2011 3500 BC.

This is our 5th RV (first 5th wheel) and it has been in the shop more times than I can remember. It started with the trip home from the selling dealer:
#1) All slideouts were missing the majority of the bolts and had to be totally re-done to the tune of 2 months at the repair dealer. Quote from the repair dealer "you are lucky to have made it home".
#2) Fuses blow on the landing gear (I figured out the repair myself and carry extra fuses)
#3) Landing gear total failure on driver side..... back into the dealer for repairs (now have to carry bottle jacks because I know these jacks are not strong enough for this size unit and will "probably fail again". Quote from repair tech
#4) Refrigerator fan not working properly had to be replaced
#5) Cabinet doors loose
#6) Outside lights blow bulbs one after another...dealer still trying to figure this one out.
#7) The last and final straw.....the large Toshiba TV in the living area died...just quit working...the factory just told me it takes 2 weeks to get a new one and then they ship to the repairing dealer. So guess what another 3 weeks without use of the camper because its sitting at the repair dealer waiting for the TV to come in. Heartland service advised they don't stock TV's??

OK I realize that RV's have issues but I feel this BC is a lemon or has some sort of curse and am scared to death when it comes out of warranty not to mentioned that its no fun to "camp" at the repair shop! I hope we get it back in time for the NY rally so I can win enough money at blackjack to upgrade :rolleyes:
 

GETnBYE

Well-known member
Lee and Kathy, Sorry your repair dealer is taking.....IMHO way to long to fix stuff. I had the same long repair times that caused us to miss a lot of our first season. If you call customer service maybe they can refer you to a better repair dealer. The dealer that Matt Cameron sent us to RV WORLD OF GEORGIA were so good that as you can see I give them a plug whenever the opportunity arises.
Not suggesting that you come to Ga, but please keep in close contact with cust. service, my first repair guy, who was in NORTH ALABAMA, was telling me he had stuff ordered and that was the delay and when I called Matt, there had not even been anything ordered for my warranty work.
Good Luck,
I am sure it will get better soon.
Nita
 

SouthernNights

Past South Carolina Chapter Leader
GetnBye has given you good advice.

I am sorry you are having as many problems as you have had. I really do appreciate the manner in which you vented though. Thank you for showing maturity.

I would be very suspicious of anything a dealer or dealer's tech told me. When was the last time they built an RV?

Fuses blowing on the landing gear? Seems to be a common problem but there is a solution to it that Customer Service can help you with.

Cabinet door loose, lights blowing all the time, pain in the rear, I know, but hopefully all those things will be taken care of.

I would question why let the trailer sit at a dealer for 3 weeks because of a TV? Heck with the TV-go outside and have some fun and tell the dealer to call when the TV gets there.

Hope you get all things staightened out soon-but by all means get Customer Service involved.
 

POCOHORSE

Troy & Tracy Chaddon
I don't understand why the trailer would sit at the dealer just for a TV either. Is a TV worth more than the use of the camper to you?? Apparently it is. It doesn't seem like the trailer would be not usable just because the TV doesn't work. I agree with SouthernNights-get out and enjoy your surrroundings or read a book or just enjoy the rest of your camper and peace and quiet camping can offer.
We've only had minor issues with our North Trail-nothing that we couldn't take care of ourselves. It's really not worth dragging the trailer to the dealer (20 mins away) when we can go to the parts store and fix it ourselves. I hope you get your problems taken care of-I've heard nothing but great things about Heartland Customer Service.
 

Clymer

Member
Wow you guys certainly have lots of forgiveness.

I guess my complaint is when you pay cash, hard earned money for something that is suppose to be one of the best, its hard to accept failure after failure. I'm retired, worked hard till I was 76 years old to be able to afford to buy the toys I want to enjoy for the years I have left. Now I have a very expensive 5 wheel that one of the huge selling points was the lovely sitting area in the living section with the 40 inch HD TV with surround sound dvd player etc etc. We were suppose to go camping this weekend...cancelled because of the landing gear breaking, the dealer has fixed the landing gear which I AM SURE was no easy task because they had to remove the FACTORY installed generator to get at the gears. The factory installs generators without any way to get to the landing gear. Now this is NOT something I COULD DO or WOULD DO on any unit much less a unit that is 6 months old. Also its not the dealers fault that Heartland does not stock one or two TV's for these units and that it takes them 10 days to get a TV and another 3 or so to get it shipped to the dealer...why not ship directly to the dealer?? I have fixed many of the "little" items on the camper, I'm not a complete dummy owned a machine shop so I know how to fix stuff...... like all of the exterior locks, all of the bathroom shower issues, drawers not lined up and closing properly bathroom door not installed properly etc etc those items I did take care of but still do not feel I should have to. This is not some 10 year old camper that I bought at a fire sale and would expect to have to repair, its a new over $50,000 camper with options making it way more than that.

So I guess on Saturday when its 100 outside I will go take a walk and croke instead of sitting in front of my nice 40 inch HD TV and watching the race :)

Like I said I hope its fixed before the NY Heartland rally because we are looking forward to meeting back up with other owners that we met at the PA rally...maybe someone in the group has a TV that works.

P.S. FYI I left it at the dealers waiting for the TV because I am sick of making the trip over and back....its not easy getting that 40ft camper in our driveway so they can keep it till its 100% and ready to come home :)
 

DW_Gray

Well-known member
Lee and Kathy, it's alright to blow off steam here on the forum. It's better to do it here than blow off someone's face that I'm sure you, like me, have thought about it. I don't know if your state has lemon law but at some point I would be thinking of considering that as an option. Time will tell.

I really need to go visit the Heartland plant for myself and see how they operate. From time to time when I read a post like yours, I can't help but think there are some serious quality control issues there. Overall Heartland builds a great product and I wouldn't trade my Cyclone for anything else right now.
 

Clymer

Member
Lee and Kathy, it's alright to blow off steam here on the forum. It's better to do it here than blow off someone's face that I'm sure you, like me, have thought about it. I don't know if your state has lemon law but at some point I would be thinking of considering that as an option. Time will tell.

Will probably look into a extended warranty for sure on this unit its too pretty to get rid of :)

BTW Looks like we have twin trucks...did you add the airbags?? because of the weight of the toyhauler??
 

Chainsaw

Saskatchewan Chapter Leader
I have to wait for parts for our trailer, I have the full use of it. How, I told the dealer to call me when the parts come in and I will install them. I only leave it at the dealership if it is a safety issue or something big which I may be tooo lazy to fix myself.
 

noobee

Well-known member
Lee and Kathy

I feel for you... sure isn't enjoyable to spend a lot of $$$$ for something that you thought was a quality unit & then have things break on you. Especially when some of the items have been faulty for a number of years.

CS
 

DW_Gray

Well-known member
BTW Looks like we have twin trucks...did you add the airbags?? because of the weight of the toyhauler??


I did add air bags but I really don't need them. Even with only 10 pounds that jumps up to about 20 when hooked up, the truck bed is level. I do increase the air to 35 to 40 pounds most of the time. Yesterday we drove it with only 25 pounds and was just fine. My pin weight is only 3,600 pounds and that's less than half allowed on the truck. Monday I will have the Trailair Tri Glide Air Ride Pin Box installed on the Cyclone. The Ram 3500 HD is a great truck. But when I buy a Smart Car to take in the garage, I'll have to get a bigger truck. The new 3500 Chevy 2011 truck sure fits the bill. Chevy has really raised the bar.
 

Clymer

Member
[ But when I buy a Smart Car to take in the garage]

Before you buy the Smart Car check out the Mini Coopers...they don't weigh much more but are 10 times the car and 40MPG...we towed one behind our motorhome before we went to the 5th wheel and what a GREAT car and wow what a hoot to drive. They are not much bigger than the Smart car so I would think they would fit into the toyhauler...maybe not.
 

DW_Gray

Well-known member
Before you buy the Smart Car check out the Mini Coopers...they don't weigh much more but are 10 times the car and 40MPG...we towed one behind our motorhome before we went to the 5th wheel and what a GREAT car and wow what a hoot to drive. They are not much bigger than the Smart car so I would think they would fit into the toyhauler...maybe not.

Mini Cooper is too heavy. The Cyclone garage limit is 2500#. Smart Cars are only 1808#. I already have about 600# in the garage.
 

tmcran

Well-known member
Some may recall the posts I made the first 3 months we had our 09 Sundance and all the issues we had. Wife had even reached the point of "just get it out of my sight" Some dealer bashing seems to be going around again but for me if not for a great dealer I would have dumped the Sundance. His commitment to making me happy was his constant goal and he did. We had to cancel 3 trips the first 3 months of ownership-related to major leaks,plumbing issues, and several minor problems. I will also give HL credit for letting the dealer try different things and providing parts as needed. To me the main concern was that these were problems that should or would not have happened if QC was up to par. After getting our problems resolved we have enjoyed our Sundance. First impressions are very important and you only have one chance to make that first impression. My wife still recalls the frustration she felt the first 3 months we had the RV. Good luck on your repairs. Just say all this to let you know there is light at the end of the tunnel.
 

porthole

Retired
Well there is an advantage to having the Jensen TVs. When I had a "ghosting" problem I sent an email through the forum here, got a reply from Jensen, had a new TV shipped to my house with a return label for the old one. No dealer involved.
 
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