Does Heartland stand behind it's products??

I have a question for the factory. Two months ago I purchased my new Cyclone 3010( wich I Love!!). However, my second night of camping(1st rain)my awning ripped off the side of my camper. I was not too upset, I know new campers can have defects. Well I was just informed today that Heartland will not cover the repair costs. They said if it was defective it would have had problems when shipped to dealership,even though it was not open. Now there were no strong winds, just steady rain. I have had nothing but good words for Heartland up till now,now i"m not so sure..
 

tcbrady

Well-known member
maliskasmith - according to our warranty department the awning was left open in a rain storm. Looks like the weight of the water pulled the forward awning mounting bracket down when looking at the picture on file. All awnings are tested before shipping. The awning has been replaced and no installation defects on the initial awning installation were noted by the dealer.

Hopefully lesson learned here as this would not be a warranty issue. Sorry to bring bad news.

Best regards, Coley
 
Coley, I'm not sure what you mean when you say "awning was replaced and no defects found". My awning has not been replaced and no one from dealership or factory has looked at it, just pictures.
 

jmgratz

Original Owners Club Member
Coley, I'm not sure what you mean when you say "awning was replaced and no defects found". My awning has not been replaced and no one from dealership or factory has looked at it, just pictures.

Have you tried filing a claim with your insurance carrier? Most companies will cover awning damage.
 

Ray LeTourneau

Senior Member - Past Moderator
)my awning ripped off the side of my camper. I was not too upset, I know new campers can have defects. Well I was just informed today that Heartland will not cover the repair costs. They said if it was defective it would have had problems when shipped to dealership,even though it was not open. Now there were no strong winds, just steady rain. I have had nothing but good words for Heartland up till now,now i"m not so sure..
Am I understanding you correctly? Your awning was NOT extended and it basically just came off of the trailer? In all my years of camping/rving I have never heard of this happening. As a side note, you may not get a reply from Mr. Brady again until Monday.
 
The awning was out and fully extended. The campers all around us also had theirs out as it was not a windy night, just steady rain. Nobody else had problems. I will look into insurance but believe I have a $1000 deductable. I still love my Cyclone, just feeling a little discouraged about this whole thing.
 

gpshemi

Well-known member
Well I feel your pain actually, so I guess I'll jump in here. My experience in general has been good, but I took pictures of tires that looked questionable at the PDI as a just in case thing. I won't go into details, but sure enough on the maiden voyage I lost the worst looking one with in 500 miles of leaving the dealership. Screwed up the fender flare as well naturally. Purchased some new tires while on our trip, sent the pictures to Heartland CS, expalined that I lost one shortly after leaving, and they promptly responded with - not covered...they look fine to us...your loss.

Am I sore about it? Darn right, but what are you going to do other than take it on the jaw? Everythings tested and it's always perfect leaving the factory right?
 

hoefler

Well-known member
If you had both arms extended equally on your awning, the awning would trap water and could not drain properly, that would be the cause of the failure. Unfortunately, it would not be a warranty issue. If rain is suspected, you should do 1 of 2 things: make sure one arm is significantly lower than the other to allow proper drainage, or retract the awning.
 
I never had an electric awning before so I actually read the manual before use and it does not have a way to let one side down. It says it senses the water and automatically dumps. But now that I vented I will suck it up and not dwell on this one issue. Life isn't always fair and it's just an awning.
 

cookie

Administrator
Staff member
Maliskasmith, if your awning is supposed to be an auto dump and it didn't dump in the rain, I would contact the manufacturer of the awning and tell them the story. Maybe they will help you out. It's worth a shot.
And for what it's worth, I have not heard any good things about the auto dump feature.

Peace
Dave
 

jmgratz

Original Owners Club Member
Here is my best advice concerning awnings. Never leave an awning unattended whether it be you being gone or you being asleep. And, never leave an awning to the whim of the elements such as wind and rain. Remember Murphy's Law, Whatever Can Happen, Will Happen.
 

vangoes

Well-known member
For future reference, are all electric awnings at risk when open during the rain? If so, makes me glad I still have the manual type.
 

gpshemi

Well-known member
Mine works just fine for what it's worth. We didn't realize it was raining one time and it dumped the water with a huge cawoosh. We rachet strap it to ground anchors for the wind. We've lost awnings in the past, but not with this one.
 

kakampers

Past Heartland Ambassador
Our new electric awning can be "dipped" on either side...we always make sure it's dipped so rain will run off...not been a problem...
 
We purchased our Cyclone the last week of august, the awning collapsed on our first trip(first rain), around Sept. 10, and there is no way to let just one side down.
 

cookie

Administrator
Staff member
Just curious, does your awning have a little black knob like the one in this picture?

Peace
Dave
 

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