Heartland goes above and beyond.

TravelTiger

Founding Texas-West Chapter Leaders-Retired
Hey all,

Regulars here know we've been on this forum a while, and we've had our ups and downs as newbies in the RV world. Our first rig was a 21FBS, and thanks to this forum, we didn't panic when we started having a few issues. We upgraded in 2010 to an ElkRidge, and we've experienced quite a few "adventures" with it.... We've been in extreme hot, cold, wind, and elevation. Upgraded running gear and tires, too.

Well, go back to August, 2011, just 5 mo out of warranty... After the hottest/driest summer on record in Texas, we discovered an extremely large bubble in the fiberglass under our LR slide window. Now I'm diligent about the caulk, so I don't know how this happened. I contacted Heartland customer service, and then sent pics, as they requested. The answer was that I needed to have a professional remove the window and determine the damage, and send pics to Heartland, and they would see what they could do. At first this was not too encouraging, but then again, they didn't say no!

Well, due to already-made travel plans and other expenses, taking the rig to the shop was possible until later down the road. I removed all of the caulk and recaulked again, to prevent any further issues, if it was in fact, failed caulk.

In January, we were finally done traveling for a bit, so I contacted a local Mobile RV repair shop to see if they could look at the window. I spoke to Ryan Prough at Heartland and explained I was finally ready to get it looked at, and he asked to see the pictures once the window was removed.

We decided to take it to Blue Moon Mobile Rv Repair's home base, and save some trip charges. They removed and examined the window, and took a ton of great pictures. They couldn't say for sure what the "problem" was, but I sent the pics to Ryan. Within 24 hours, I received an answer, Heartland would cover up to a certain amount for the repair and repainting of the damaged area, and they would supply the graphics that would to be replaced.

Whoo hoo! After about 2 weeks, the rig was nearly ready. The body shop called requested a swoosh I thought I had requested, but also some additional graphics that they wanted. Upon further discussion with Ryan, we realized HL shipping may not have sent all the graphics to the correct address. Ryan immediately sent a swoosh that hadn't made it, and threw in the additional graphics!

We got the rig back, and it looks great. Once the final invoice was sent to HL, they sent a reimbursement check. A huge thank-you to Heartland for stepping up and offering to help repair this strange occurrence.

Erika

IMG_6019.jpg pic by me back in August

IMG_2804.JPGpic by Blue Moon

IMG_2807.JPGpic by Blue Moon

IMG_6968.JPG finished repair
 

olcoon

Well-known member
Looks great! Chalk up another one for Heartland! Just curious, what was the problem?
 

TravelTiger

Founding Texas-West Chapter Leaders-Retired
Roy, I cannot say for sure. HL never said specifically why they offered to fix it, and Blue Moon could only speculate. The rubber seal between the window and the rig looked "suspect", but we don't know for sure if that was the true cause. In my opinion, it was very odd for this to occur when I was diligent about the caulking. And to have it suddenly go from nothing to this much delamination in one month! July, the rig was fine. Took it in for the running gear upgrade (which turned into a month-long fiasco -- another story) And when we picked it up in August, there was the footlong bubble.

Erika
 

Speedy

Well-known member
Great post Erika,

Now I now exactly what delamination looks like and what to look for. Looks like a major chalking check for me once things warm up.
 
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