Please tell me if this is just the way it is with fifth wheels?

First, we love our ElkRidge Fifth-wheel. And show it off with pride.

Second, we hate it being fixed all the time : )

We have owned our unit for ten months. 4 trips so far, none longer than 2 weeks.

It's been in the shop (5 times) for warranty work longer than we've had it on the road.

We are new to fifth wheels, but have been trailering/camping all our lives.

The things we've had fixed already, Sink plumbing leaks (3 times), Electric Jacks, Electric Awning (3 times), Shower leaks, Furnace stopped working, Fridge stopped working, Ceiling panel dividers falling down, screw heads coming up through the kitchen floor, T.V. froze,
Coach drawer slides fell apart (little ball berrings everywhere). Slide out rubber roof tape coming off ALL FOUR SLIDES...and there are a number of much smaller things...

Finally my question (sorry it took so long). Is this normal when buying a new fifth-wheel?

We are planning on longer seasonal trips and this is starting to scare us off...

If this is the norm...why is it? I would never accept a new car, or boat with this many problems. (yes, I've had boats all my life as well).

Based on my two year experience with our BH3670, I would say your situation is not the norm. That's not to say mine hasn't needed some work, but I was able to fix or modify most of the minor stuff myself, like the shower stall leak. Getting the bedroom floor repaired, along with alignment of two slides and replacement of the awning drive motor, I was able to wait until the end of our season and drop it off at the dealer while we went off on a two week vacation without the rig (as we had planned). So far this summer, everything is working perfectly.

We use our's on a summer seasonal site (May - Oct) 200 miles away, basically two weeks at the BH and 7 - 10 days back home, so it gets plenty of use, but not a lot of road time. If you search around the forums, you can find a lot of preventative maintenance and modifications that will keep you out of the dealership for all but the most serious problems.

I know your frustrations. Not all 5th wheels have these frequent problems. It's unfortunate that it appears quality control, if there is any, is not consistent. I had to deal with similar problems. The good news is once you get all the issues fixed over time, you'll have more fun with your RV.

Another note.. This happens with all RV's. As time goes by every Mfgr is trying to make an RV that people will purchase and they need to make a profit so they try new things to ecomomize. A friend has an Alegro Bay MH and he has had to take it into the mfgr to get a lot of things repaired. He even wishes he had not bought the MH. It was one of the the new FRED MH's and their methods are new. Now the problems have been recognized and are doing better.

This is the same with Heartland. They are trying to do new things and they have similar problems. However Heartland has been doing well to correct the problems. Better than most Mfgrs. Sometimes part of the problem is Dealers do not know how to repair some of the problems. They represent many brands and each have their own methods of doing things. Their training on each brand of RV is very limited. That is why I like to take my Bighorn in to Elkhart to have a lot of the work done.

I hope things work out for you, but hang in there and things will get better.

BC

Appreciate all your input! It's not as much all the repairs themselves, but so many problems with limited use. We plan to full time very soon (as soon as the house sells) so a little worried about the things that will happen with heavier use. I realize we will need to become much more handy with repairs on our own as we get out on the road...but yes, frustrating at this point. Rather big investment in something that at times seems to be falling apart before our eyes and is new : )

Traveling full time is our dream so we will not give up on it...