3250ts Big Country

JayG

Member
Hello, I have a 2009 3250 TS Big Country, the slide floors have rotted away from the edges of the slides. It's worse in the corner behind the couch where the wiring comes into the slide. Is there a recall from Heartland or is this acceptable from a company that took $40,000? I had plumbing leaks too numerous to recall right now and now I discover this. Has anyone talked to the OWNERS of Heartland about their problems? I've read many posts concerning problems that seem to be careless defects/workmanship from the factory.

Thanks, Jay
 
Last edited by a moderator:

cookie

Administrator
Staff member
Sorry to hear about your problems, that is not something to look forward to.
Just curious, have you been keeping up with caulking?

Peace
Dave
 
Last edited:

SJH

Past Washington Chapter Leaders
Hello!

I am sorry you are having issues with your rig! No one likes to spend so much money (in my case, my entire savings) on something that does not perform or meet expectations.

Are you the original owner? The only reason I ask is there has been a lot of discussion about the older rigs (2010 and before) and the floor delamination you speak of! HERE is a thread regarding the issue and a fix. Unfortunately this is a preventative and won't be of much use for rigs already damaged. The post was dated March of 2010 so the issue is well known.

Leaks are everyones fear! They damage and destroy. We too have had a few leaks including plumbing issues but considering these rigs are bounced down the freeway for many miles I work on the premise of checking things frequently. Tightening sink fixtures etc is part of a "preflight". Our entire rig was re-caulked this past summer. I am not saying this is acceptable only that it is the way it is and has been with every RV (regardless of brand) I have owned. No intention of demeaning your problem, RV's seem to need a lot of preventative maintenance and TLC...it is part of ownership much like boat owners, motorcycle owners and/or classic car owners etc. Sometimes this frustrates me to consider another hobby...then I make the fix, go camping, and all is well again.

I sincerely hope you can resolve the damage and again enjoy your 3250!

Best Wishes!
 
Last edited by a moderator:

Ray LeTourneau

Senior Member - Past Moderator
Jay, sorry to hear of your slide floor issue. The early Heartland slide floor edges were exposed and only protected by a black paint like coating. I had the same issue as you but caught it early enough to stop the damage from going any further. Like many others, I noticed the problem and found the preventative fix on this forum. As far as I know, there is no recall. If you are the first owner of this trailer you can try calling Heartland and plead your case but after almost 5 years, I wouldn't expect them to offer much help.
 
Last edited by a moderator:

oldmannj

Well-known member
The repair for the slide floor delam on my 2010 trailrunner was a wider piece of aluminum flashing on the face of and under the floor of the slide. As described by my dealer HL had a short term problem with under protection of the area. This seems to have been a correct fix. Hides the problem area and prevents any further damage with the extended coverage under the slide. Since it's plywood and not OSB the delam stops when the wood dries out. I'm happy with the outcome as it looks "factory" and has been no issue since it was done. ED
 
Last edited by a moderator:

kakampers

Past Heartland Ambassador
Jay, sorry to hear of your slide floor issue. The early Heartland slide floor edges were exposed and only protected by a black paint like coating. I had the same issue as you but caught it early enough to stop the damage from going any further. Like many others, I noticed the problem and found the preventative fix on this forum. As far as I know, there is no recall. If you are the first owner of this trailer you can try calling Heartland and plead your case but after almost 5 years, I wouldn't expect them to offer much help.

Same with us...we have a 2008 that had the exposed slide edges...caught it and fixed it before damage was done....this is something that has since been remedied in the newer units, but unfortunately is of no consolation to those of us who own earlier models. Good luck...
 
Last edited by a moderator:

bigbird272

Active Member
*************************************** There are so many problems with Heartland products. The slide floors rotting is just one. The flex issue at the pin box is another. I had my flex issue fixed at Heartlands factory tw years ago. I had to threaten the rep ************ in order to get it fixed. Now this year when I was away my big slide on my Bighorn 3580 would not come back in. The support beam running the length of the slide is bent and requires fixing at the dealer. By the time all is said and done I will be spending another $1,000 on this thing. I would dump it on another brand but when you owe more than the thing is worth that is not possible.

I know there are a lot of happy Heartland owners out there. I am not one of them. If anyone asked me if I would recommend one of there trailers it would be absolutely not. The quality and workmanship just is not there.

Rick
 
Last edited by a moderator:

Milton_and_PeggySue

Active Member
We are on our 4th trip out right now and we had rain 2 nights ago. We noticed water coming in thru the top of the picture window in the back of our big country. It started out as drips but within a minute we had a waterfall. Milton took the valance and the blind off while I held a towel over the deluge. He and my son went on top of the roof (in the rain) and noticed that the tiny bead of caulking at the strip where the back of the roof meets the back wall had separated. He put a tarp over the area (held it down with wood) and that kept water out for the rest of the night. Yesterday morning Milton went to Walmart to get caulk and he was able to put caulk over the area and the strip in the front of the BC, where the caulk was cracking. Hopefully we don't have water in the wall in front. No more rain yet.

We are having a problem with the water heater and bathroom GFI outlet. Every time we turn the water heater on 120 the GFI trips and the light on the switch is dim. We are not able to reset the GFI but we are able to use the 12 volt system for the water heater This started on our last trip out. We had a leak in the clean-out hose and took the BC to the dealer for service. As it turns out, the factory had stapled thru the hose and the dealer replaced it and thought a loose wire was the problem with the GFI, which they tightened. So we have to take it back to the dealer to have them look at the water heater and the GFI again. They will also look at the roof to make sure it won't leak anymore. Anybody had this issue with the water heater?
 
Last edited by a moderator:

danemayer

Well-known member
Hi Milton and Peggy.

I'm pretty sure the water heater electric and the bathroom GFI circuits are on different circuit breakers. So if turning on the electric water heater trips the bathroom GFI, I'd be looking for what they have in common. That might be the power pedestal, power cord, receptacle for the cord, transfer switch if you have generator prep, or perhaps the backside of the circuit breaker panel.

Make sure the power cord is inserted fully into the trailer receptacle.

If using an extension cord or some type of adapter, check them carefully for damage or signs of arcing.

If this has been happening at one particular campsite, there could be a problem with the pedestal.

When you do get it resolved, please let us know what caused the problem.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD
 
Last edited by a moderator:

Snow

Well-known member
Milton & Peggy sue I had the vary same problem with my 3650 just a couple of week ago , you might as well order some eternabond about 4 " wide by 25' enough to do both ends your front is probably the same way it just not leaking we're you can see it I wonder how many more had the same problem?? ⛄⛄⛄⛄⛄
 
Last edited by a moderator:

Milton_and_PeggySue

Active Member
Just to provide an update... La Mesa still has our BC (I'm having serious withdrawal issues) 3 weeks later. They replaced the GFI outlet and it still trips. Also they still don't know why the water heater doesn't work on 120. Who knows how much longer they'll have it. They fixed the leaking problem and replaced a faulty vent valve for one of the grey water tanks. I just want my BC back, working properly, of course. I just realized that I started the thread with "3250ts", it should say "3251ts".
 
Top