Quality Control

heed71

Member
Let me first say that I enjoy my new 2011 3000RK and overall it seems solid and well built.

Where Heartland is making a big mistake is the apparent lack of quality assurance checks before the units leave the factory. I have gotten a number of "Surprises" over the past few weeks that make me wonder if the people putting these together don't have a lot of pride in their work. I have found:

- Loose fitting on the outside shower fixture (water leaked back into my bathroom)
- The main entry door has a hinge with a bent pin that you can hear a mile away
- The rear gray water tank for the galley has no knife valve. I got some vague assurance that the single gray water valve in my UDC controlled both. I found that out the hard way

I have spent alot of money on this new RV, so come on...really? These are not minor deficiencies that a dealer should be catching, these are obvious things that show a lack of design intelligence and in the case of the door, either a deaf line worker or one that just didn't care.

I would like to see a Sundance dealer in the area that I am in, established and I think they would as well, but it's hard for me to smile and recommend them, when they can't get control of what goes out the door. There are alot RV's to choose from these days and it's hard to determine whether you are buying something with hidden problems, even new.

I am hoping those that work at Heartland take notice. I would be interested to hear if any others have run across any of these problems.

Thanks

Rob Ewert
 

Bighurt

Well-known member
I can hear you.

My water pump went out this weekend, along with my speakers. Actually both probably didn't survive winter storage but I didn't discover the issue till we were on-site 100+ miles from a closed dealer over the weekend.

When I received my unit the outside shower leaked as well. Seams my basement has been soaked more than a few times since I bought it last year.

At least you are still in warranty and heartland will take care of you, it's to bad you have to go so far to reach the dealer...
 

codycarver

Founding Wyoming Chapter Leader-retired
I too have my pet peeves. The brad hole filler is a big one for me. How hard would it be to clean it up while your filling the holes? instead there is a big spackle knife width around the entire hole. With the roads here in the states I'm surprised more things don't come apart so I can give them a pass on loose fittings. I'm just trying to get in the habit of making my pre/post trip inspections and add things to my list as I see fit. I gotta say so far we LOVE our Big Horn.
 

heed71

Member
I am glad to see it's not just me. These are all correctable issues, but some are so obvious that they shouldn't leave factory. I think all manufacturers do it. I have heard stories of where they would run out of electrical wire for a line they were making, so they would just not connect the wires to the outlets because they were too short. They would ship it out that way and let the dealers fix it...if it was caught.

I am lucky. I am in Canada, bought in the US and my dealer has been great in getting me spare parts. My closest dealer is 2 hours away in new Brunswick, which may as well be across the country. Driving there and back with the RV would cost me more in gas, than it would to fix it myself
 

heed71

Member
Well I have to eat a bit of crow, but not much. There is a pull handle for the rear galley. It's not beside the outlet and you won't see it bending down to look at the outlet pipe. You have bend down further, look back upwards behind some wiring and built right into the I beam is a valve coming out of it. It kinda of undoes the benefits of the UDC if I have to feel around to pull a valve that is barely visible.

I will say Heartland's warranty service is good. They don't seem to squabble about little issues.
 

JakeB

Member
I sent this email to Heartland customer service two weeks ago and I think they are going to help me get some satisfaction.

Hello. We purchased a 2011 Sundance 3300RLB June 23, 2010 from Couch's Campers in Middletown, Ohio. We traded in our 2009 Sundance 3300BHS for this new floor plan and we got another Sundance because the first one was overall great. This Sundance is another story and I had some repair issues that needed addressed before Memorial Day so I called dealer for repair work. They addressed some of them, but most of them are still unfixed. The last trip over around Memorial Day the owner (Jerry Couch) came over and told me a few of the problems with the camper could not be fixed and a few others that parts needed to be ordered but I've never received. All the questions and concerns that I had when we purchased this camper was assured would be taken care of when we purchased it but realize now that they only push sales and no service after the sale. I've tried for a year now and still have gotten the same treatment after we signed the papers on it. The VIN of this camper is 5SFSG3329BE213843. When we took delivery of this Sundance, there was areas of the frame that was rusted into the frame and underneith the enclosed underbelly of the frame. Camper had black streaks on the bottom sheet metal around the lower portion of the unit that I still cannot get completely clean or off surface. The shower enclosure was pulled away from wall and it leaks everytime we use the shower. (This was supposed to be fixed, resiliconed but its not.) The screw holding it in fiberglass shower wall has stripped out and silicone will not hold it. Our door has never latched correctly when shut and now the locking mechanisms are giving me trouble to even lock and unlock the door. We have the bench seat dinette table and the trim keeps coming off, I asked Couch's to investigate it but they said they could do nothing to fix it. Every step going up the ladder in back is broken. We have never been on the roof so Couch's said they would order the black step sides that are broken that screw into the railing. I've called twice, but still have not heard anything. The biggest problem is the slides and what is on them everytime I open and close them. On every slide and we have 3 of them, there is a gray sticky glue-sealant that leaves the rubber seals around slide and the side of slides covered in a sticky gray line of goo everytime I pull them out. I have cleaned these 20 times but it still rubs onto the slides. I can see the problem and its the sealant on inside of rubber flap that keeps making the mess. Couch's said that they could do nothing to fix and eventually would stop doing it. We have had camper almost a full year now and still same thing. The radio/dvd/cd player under big tv will not eject any dvd's or cd's anymore and the sound thru speakers is distorted. We have camper in Pigeon Forge, TN at moment and reading my owners manual from Heartland in the blue packet. I see that camper has a one year warranty of most everything on or in camper and I still have not gotten anywhere with dealer (Couch's Campers). We are camping at River Plantation RV Park and I've been talking with alot of others down there about their camper and showing them our problems. There are alot of snowbirds from Florida here that are full timers and they even say they have never seen anything like this on a newer camper. We stopped at Camping World just east of Knoxville, TN on Sunday and had a free inspection done and the mechanic said all these issues should be taken care of with the dealer but they are not a Heartland servicing dealer.

I would just like to express my experiences and displeasure of this dealer. Its funny, our first Heartland we bought from Best Buy RV's in Richmond, Indiana and two weeks after we purchased it, they shut their doors and we were stuck. They never told us they were closing or any indication that they shutting their doors. Now we have this mess and we are looking at other brands of campers. I surely wish we could come to a resolution with this and get some satisfaction from this. We love the floorplan for the kids and enjoy it alot. We camp alot with my sister and her family. They just sold their bumper pull Prowler and are looking into a new Heartland Elk Ridge fifth wheel. They are unsure of what to do because we have had one great Sundance and current one has problems. We know that Keystone has a similar floorplan that we saw at a RV show over the winter and we are holding off until we find out if anything can be done with ours. Thank you for your consideration and I would be happy to supply pictures for your reference if you like.
 

bigdob24

Well-known member
I agree on lack of quality control. I have had two coaches in the last three years and had the same issue with the water system. They can't run the vent and fill hose so the tank will fill . The factory knows about the problem but I guess its easier to have the customer spend the time for warrantee work then do it right at the factory.
Also have had many little things that I just fixed myself rather than make the 140 mile trip to the dealer.
The dealer is great and also realizes where the problem originates.
They won't get my money on number three
Dan
 

caissiel

Senior Member
I see someone mentioned the outside speakers.
I replace one scrachy speaker after our first trip to Florida and now I went to listen to the outdoor system and the other speaker is now bad.
Jensen send me a replacement speaker at no cost in Florida the first time but now I think I have it figured.
The outside speakers are for boating, and not realy exposed to outside air movement at 60MPH, it realy puts a hard pull on the speakers installed on the side of the coach. So I am going to install some high quality ones on the inside covered by a door or doors when I travel as I had for 15 years on the previous trailer. Now to find a proper location is my next project.
 

ParkIt

Well-known member
Was thinking the same about the outdoor speakers, I've got some jeep light covers that fit perfectly (older Jeeps are part marine replacements as they fit) to keep them from gathering dust and pull from the road.
Already upgraded the wiring to match the OhM's which no one ever gets right on installation.
 
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