Took delivery of our 300C finally!

CrazyCooter

Well-known member
There was a knock at the door yesterday morning......the driver for Great Lakes RV, Ted and his wife were here with our 2012 300C.:) Ted gave us the walk around tour and inspection before heading back home.

Pretty obvious I'm either going to have to lower the pickup or lift the trailer. We had to stack blocks for the tires to ride on and remove the spare tire just to get it in the backyard.....They really need to move that tire forward....many of us are going to have to do it ourselves now.:mad:

The fresh water tanks don't hold water either....judging by the hacked belly patched with duct tape, there was a problem before it left Indiana, but they chose to ship it anyway.......many other issues as well, but hose I can fix pretty easily. Some I already have.

Overall pretty disappointed and depressed right now........Nothing time and work won't take care of though.

On the plus side, it looks really cool behind my truck!


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Bob&Patty

Founders of SoCal Chapter
Tony, sorry you have issues already. My 1st call on Monday morning would be to Great Lakes RV. "What the heck did you send me?? "Duct tape on a brand new coach"...really?? 2nd call would be to HL and ask if there is a dealer close to you that you can take it so it can be repaired properly...with a new underbelly provided by Great Lakes RV. Be nice but firm....JMHO.

Make them have it fixed and ready for you to drag it to the LV rally in September.
 

CrazyCooter

Well-known member
We will get it all ironed out, but just isn't cool that I have something we have been waiting months for that isn't useable. At least I knew enough to check everything before the day we would leave for a trip.

The list is getting bigger every time I walk though it.

Stitching on the sofa cushion is coming apart.
The speakers in the living area are shorted out.
Fresh tanks don't hold water and the belly has been patched up with tape. The hose connecting the two tanks is cut.....
Front flood light is full of water
The brakes don't work very well for being completely empty and only weighing 12K......can't wait to add 3K more and see how much worse it is.
The finish work on a few of the cabinets leaves some to be desired.
It's 2 feet longer than the specs say it is....now I'll be over length.
The rear ladder is plain scary to climb...it needs another set of supports added.
The spare tire drags the ground backing it into a regular city lot.

I should be used to being disappointed by large purchases. Seems the more you spend the less satisfied you are......shoulda kept the old Komfort....at least it was reliable.

This proves to me, all these manufactures are pretty much the same......Slam it together and get the money.
 

Vtxkid

Well-known member
Sorry for the disappointment... Although the unit should of never got to you like that, HL has very good coustomer service and will do what they can to get it right!
I will say that based on the pic's, the lift on your truck has caused a couple of you problems. Would not consider any more lift on the 5er its self as the weight distribution will definitly be a concern once toys are placed in the rear. Hope your up and running with a smile soon!!!
 

CrazyCooter

Well-known member
Just a little bump in the road. Over venting I guess......;)

The truck has no lift, but the tires did raise it 2" and that is an issue. It was nose high on the stock delivery truck.....which was the same truck as mine, but with stock tires.

This is a toy hauler......90% of people I see running down the road pulling these things are in taller 4x4 trucks and the market should adapt for that. They should have better than average ground clearance for traveling on uneven surfaces.
 

Urban350

Well-known member
My 300c sits exactly like yours and I have an 08 F350 srw and it is stock height and have yet decided on how I am going to lift mine. Either taller tires, but I do not know what the minimum clearence would need to be between the front and back tires, or suspension lift.
 

tmcran

Well-known member
Great looking rig. Sorry for the problems I know how frustrating that is.Tony do ya know who cut the bottom? HL or dealer?
 

6.7powerstroke

Active Member
Hey Crazy, had some of the same observations for my Road Warrior 30C, which is identical. My SRW F350 has it sitting just as nose high as yours does in the picture. I can't lower the pin box anymore or it will be too close to the bed rails. As for the length, I was told they had to lengthen it 2 feet to fit those GIANT (LOL) storage bins in the front. I saw the original version which didn't have any storage in the front and someone finally realized that might be the stupidest idea ever. So, they stopped production and added the basement which is better than nothing.

I am really curious about the brakes too. Mine have been very weak and last time I towed down I-70, I had the gain control on 10 and couldn't slow the thing down. When i pressed the brakes hard on the truck, I had a super violent shaking that felt like it was the trailer brakes grabbing and releasing. The truck doesn't do anything like that when it is unhooked. I have been dragging my spare tire all over too. I had to build a little PVC rack for the sewer hose that I screwed into the frame because there is no rear bumper. I am sure one day I will arrive at my site and that will be gone! LOL. Let me know what they find out about your brakes, it was not a fun experience.
 

CrazyCooter

Well-known member
My 300c sits exactly like yours and I have an 08 F350 srw and it is stock height and have yet decided on how I am going to lift mine. Either taller tires, but I do not know what the minimum clearence would need to be between the front and back tires, or suspension lift.

The only correct ways I can see to lift the trailer would be:

1)To cut off the spring hangers and weld on longer ones....this is the non preferred way as I have seen way too many x-member failures on trailer frames with the leverage of just the short hangers.

2) Cut off the stock hangers, add 2x2x.250 tube to the bottom of the I beam, the weld on the replacement short hangers. I would at this time tie both side's 2x2 spacer tubes together with 2x2x.120 tubes in three places directly above the hangers. This is my preferred method and have done dozens over the years.

I assume that any modifications we would make to lift the trailer would void any chassis warranty there might be..........So we go back to lowering the truck and maybe installing taller tires. I have been eyeballing the 19.5's anyway. If I get 1" lift on the trailer with tire height and lower the truck 1", we should be golden.

Bottom line.....The suspension needs to be 2" taller to accommodate the modern 4x4 trucks "Your Target Market" and still have room above the bed rails.
 

CrazyCooter

Well-known member
tmcran,

I assume it was the dealer. I had been told by another dealer, Heartland doesn't water test at the factory?

Could be wrong on this.....
 

CrazyCooter

Well-known member
Dave,

That explanation makes sense to me now......

We looked at an early production RW30C that had no storage before we ordered this one. I remembered the bedroom being smaller than what we have now. I bet that is it.......

Maybe we had an early brochure for specs. The web site still shows 37'9" for an overall length though. Mine is 40'4"
 

Urban350

Well-known member
I assume that any modifications we would make to lift the trailer would void any chassis warranty there might be..........So we go back to lowering the truck and maybe installing taller tires. I have been eyeballing the 19.5's anyway. If I get 1" lift on the trailer with tire height and lower the truck 1", we should be golden.

Bottom line.....The suspension needs to be 2" taller to accommodate the modern 4x4 trucks "Your Target Market" and still have room above the bed rails.



Funny as I am trying to sell my 19.5 tires and wheels as they are 1.5" taller than my factory 20", but I might try to put them on my trailer lol....:rolleyes:
 

Urban350

Well-known member
I am really curious about the brakes too. Mine have been very weak and last time I towed down I-70, I had the gain control on 10 and couldn't slow the thing down. When i pressed the brakes hard on the truck. I have been dragging my spare tire all over too. I had to build a little PVC rack for the sewer hose that I screwed into the frame because there is no rear bumper. I am sure one day I will arrive at my site and that will be gone! LOL. Let me know what they find out about your brakes, it was not a fun experience.

I would also like to know about the brakes I also have mine set @ 10 on my Ford.
 

slmayor

Founding California Northern Chapter Leader
Tony, sorry you're having issues already, but excited for you that it's finally here! Can't wait to see it in person, so hurry up and bring it down to do the solar.
You might look at the Correct Track system for lift, it will give you approx 2". I have it on mine, and it's my trailer in the Rieco-Titan video. Not very pricey either. Simple install for you at the shop.

We also have issues with the factory controller, not really issues, but the gain has to be on 9 to 9.5 and we top out at 10. both Jeff and your Dad have looked at my brakes and there isn't anything wrong. It just seems to be in the integration with the factory controller.

Deb
 
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GOTTOYS

Well-known member
Tony, sorry you're having issues already, but excited for you that it's finally here! Can't wait to see it in person, so hurry up and bring it down to do the solar.
You might look at the Correct Track system for lift, it will give you approx 2". I have it on mine, and it's my trailer in the Rieco-Titan video. Not very pricey either. Simple install for you at the shop.

We also have issues with the factory controller, not really issues, but the gain has to be on 9 to 9.5 and we top out at 10. both Jeff and your Dad have looked at my brakes and there isn't anything wrong. It just seems to be in the integration with the factory controller.

Deb
Same problem with my Dodge integrated controller. Works fine if I use the manual control on it. Asked a dealer about it and he looked at me like I was kidding...I think I'm going to replace it with an aftermarket unit...Don
 

CrazyCooter

Well-known member
Tony, sorry you're having issues already, but excited for you that it's finally here! Can't wait to see it in person, so hurry up and bring it down to do the solar.
You might look at the Correct Track system for lift, it will give you approx 2". I have it on mine, and it's my trailer in the Rieco-Titan video. Not very pricey either. Simple install for you at the shop.

We also have issues with the factory controller, not really issues, but the gain has to be on 9 to 9.5 and we top out at 10. both Jeff and your Dad have looked at my brakes and there isn't anything wrong. It just seems to be in the integration with the factory controller.

Deb

Glad to finally see you here!:)

The Correct Track would give me lift, but also more leverage on the hangers. I would consider my use severe duty with the roads we travel on. May give it another look as it would be an easy solution and give a chance to try a new product line.

I'm using the Prodigy P3 as the 06's didn't have the integrated brake controller. I do know feeding the trailer plug 13.8V wasn't enough to stop it safely unloaded and 4K more will only make it worse. My last trailer stopped on a dime at the same loaded GCVW as this one is unloaded. They also had the same size and quantity brakes...... I suspect either grease contamination or voltage drop through the wiring from being too small.

I'll know more once I get it to work where I can roll around under it and check it all out.

Still waiting on the solar controller to show. The inverter, remote and battery monitor showed up today......:cool:
 

CrazyCooter

Well-known member
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71stang99

Well-known member
Also had the front flood light fill up with water after I washed it when it arrived home. Took off the cover and applied sealant, not sure if its held as the trailer is in storage and I wont be seeing it until the new year.

Brakes were another issue I had, think when I towed it out of Denver on 70 the controller was at 9.5 on the Ford. Not good. was never sure of the problem as time ran out to troubleshoot it.

Still had the issue with the rear happy jack bunks, fuel gage and some other incedentals. Never mesured the unit so if its ~40' that wasnt expected. I have a list but not the time to address it now but most was solved through my fixes.
 
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