Trim strip cracked and falling off

rmckee6

Member
I have owned my 3450TS for 6 months now and the trim on the side and just above the rain gutter has all cracked and most of it has fallen off due to the winds. Has anyone else experienced this and how long is that stuff supposed to last. I feel it is to soon for it to fail.
 

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Ray LeTourneau

Senior Member - Past Moderator
Without the pictures, I would have found it hard to believe the trim cover only lasted 6 months. Something like that usually occurs in extreme dry sunny areas like southern CA. The stuff is available in rolls at many dealers if you want to replace it on your own. It is very inexpensive an easy to install. Your dealer should be able to take care of it if you are close enough to them. It should be a warranty issue. Your call.
 

jbeletti

Well-known member
I agree with Ray - this is nuts. Please contact Heartland Customer Service today on this. If you are willing to install it yourself, perhaps we can send you the footage of this product you need. Less complicated that a couple of dealer appointments.

I am moving this thread to the BC Exterior sub-forum.

Jim
 

JohnDar

Prolifically Gabby Member
Bad batch of vinyl? Perhaps HL should request some of the material be sent to them for analysis. Might preclude other owners of the same production run from getting upset if they were notified and sent the replacement material (or referred to a nearby dealer).
 

rvn4fun

Well-known member
My trim is now doing the same thing, we are about 9 days out of warranty. Trim is just cheap plastic instead of real rubber like my last 3 rvs. Pretty upset about this.
 

KOJA

Member
I just got off of the phone with my dealer, and was informed that Heartland will not warranty the plasic molding after six months because its not made for the West Texas sun. I wish they would have told me that when I bought it in August 2010 that I was buying a fifth wheel made for the shade. The trim only cost me $16.00 for 80 feet and will take 5 minutes to install but its still not right that they wont cover it. Very disappointed
 

SJH

Past Washington Chapter Leaders
I just got off of the phone with my dealer, and was informed that Heartland will not warranty the plasic molding after six months because its not made for the West Texas sun.

We get very little sun and I have a few small areas doing the same thing! The vinyl that is not cracking is still soft but the vinyl where the cracks are is hard as a rock! Our 2011 has a manufacturing date of Sept 2009 so it must just be a bad supply of vinyl trim. Our previous rig was 7 years old and the trim pieces were still soft.

Now I have to figure out how Heartland gets that neat tuck in the trim ends!
 

GOTTOYS

Well-known member
I just got off of the phone with my dealer, and was informed that Heartland will not warranty the plasic molding after six months because its not made for the West Texas sun. I wish they would have told me that when I bought it in August 2010 that I was buying a fifth wheel made for the shade. The trim only cost me $16.00 for 80 feet and will take 5 minutes to install but its still not right that they wont cover it. Very disappointed

BALONEY! Where do these dealers come up with this stuff? ...Don
 

Ray LeTourneau

Senior Member - Past Moderator
We get very little sun and I have a few small areas doing the same thing! The vinyl that is not cracking is still soft but the vinyl where the cracks are is hard as a rock! Our 2011 has a manufacturing date of Sept 2009 so it must just be a bad supply of vinyl trim. Our previous rig was 7 years old and the trim pieces were still soft.

Now I have to figure out how Heartland gets that neat tuck in the trim ends!
To attach the strip at the end, you begin by not inserting the strip into the metal trim piece for the last few feet. Pull the strip to stretch it a little and fold the end back and insert the screw. When you let go of the stretched strip, tuck the strip into the trim piece. CAUTION, if you stretch it too far, it will crack prematurely. Only stretch it as far as needed to put the screw in.
 

burks353

Member
Is this a generic trim or do I have to see my Heartland dealer to purchase the replacement trim? My dealer is 80 miles away. Can I go to any RV dealer to get replacement trim?

John
 

jimtoo

Moderator
Hi burks353,

Welcome to the Heartland Owners Forum and Family. We have a great bunch of people here with lots of information and all willing to share their knowledge if needed.

I would think it is a generic insert. You could call your dealer and he could probably mail you some if needed.

Enjoy the forum.

Jim M
 

SJH

Past Washington Chapter Leaders
To attach the strip at the end, you begin by not inserting the strip into the metal trim piece for the last few feet. Pull the strip to stretch it a little and fold the end back and insert the screw. When you let go of the stretched strip, tuck the strip into the trim piece. CAUTION, if you stretch it too far, it will crack prematurely. Only stretch it as far as needed to put the screw in.

Awesome...that's great to know! Now, doing it might take a few practice pieces but I think I am up to the challenge!

Thanks!
 

KOJA

Member
Well, I talked to Matt with Heartland parts yesterday. He siad that it was covered under warranty and is sending the new and improved insert to my front door. It looks like I need to find a new dealer. Thank you Matt and thank you Heartland owners
 

Dartgod

Member
I had the same thing happen, about 2 months out of warranty. I didn't even bother calling the dealer and called Heartland instead. I spoke with Steve in customer service and he told me they had a batch of trim that was not UV protected that had been installed on some RVs, but they did not know which ones or how many. He said that they would replace it if I gave him the measurements. I called him back the next day and three days later it shows up on my door step.

Now that's customer service!
 

kseagle

Active Member
Also happened to our 2011 BC but we are 8 months out of warranty and Heartland refused to cover it, even though they knew that they had used defective materials before the warranty expired. Seems like they could have notified all BC owners of a possible problem as soon as they knew of it. The good news is that the material is in-expensive ($.11 or $.12 ft) and it's on the way.
 

rvn4fun

Well-known member
Our 2011 has the inset trim falling off since warranty has ran out. At first I contacted Heartland and they wouldn't replace it but our dealer replaced about 50 feet of it. They supplied the trim we put it on. I wanted all the trim as I knew it would continue to fall off, it did, nobody would replace it all. So now both sides of the roof trim have fallen off and we are sitting here with what we think is a new trailer but with the trim falling off we are kind of the laughing stock of the campground. NOT happy, wife says she's had enough, hot water heater quit, now has been repaired, air conditioner has been repaired, water freezes up between water pump and water tank and constantly fighting mice in the storage area's of the trailer, microwave quit but was replaced under warranty. Just about have had enough. This trim thing is so bad I can't believe Heartland just doesn't recall the Big Countries and replace the trim before the bad publicity and owner frustration doesn't do them in. I know I wouldn't recommend them any more.
 

archbarb

Member
We have a 2011 BC 3250TS and the door side trim at the roof line was split and beginning to fall down. I emailed Heartland Customer Service about the problem and they are sending me replacement trim for it. We were just two weeks out of warranty. It always pays to call Heartland first.

Thanks Heartland Customer Service!!!!!

Archie
 
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