Torque 261 needed fixing

cheska

Member
We purchased a new 2013 Torque 261 on Sept 28, this year. We are in the middle of a 3 month plus trip West coast, east coast and back
up into Canada. When we did our PDI we missed a lot. The on board generator was wired incorrectly. The furnance was wired incorrectly. Plus some smaller items of concern. This is our 2nd Heartland TH. We like it but someone at Heartland sure screwed up in
the manufacture of this one. Quality control was seriously lacking. On the good side Heartland paid for most of our repairs under
warranty. So we will keep on Toy Haulin. Bob
 

DingoDave

Member
Cheska,
Hello, I hope you have better luck with the TH in the future. I had a number of incidents & am still in the "working out the bugs" department. I'm glad I didn't take my 261 on the road for any distance, because I have had the new 2013 TQ 261 in & out (more in than out) of the shop since we picked it up. (10-2012) We did a tour of the Torque plant (after we already purchased the TH) & what I saw was concerning to me. The workers were in such a hurry & under pressure to pump out these units so fast that it's no wonder there were so many mistakes made on our 261. I thought as I was watching the construction of these units that as fast as things were being put together there could be alot of problems. As it was, unfortunately, there were many problems & I'm not sure yet if they are all worked out. (2 months)
And to boot the dealer in Elkhart is very incompetent with their QUALITY control. I've had to go back for many things they forgot or "inadvertently" forgot or didn't fix properly the first time. The next time, if there is one, before buying a new RV believe me it will be checked out long before I put a penny down. It seems that the manufacturer spits out the units as fast as possible, knowing there is going to be problems & expects the dealers to check them out & correct the mistakes. The problem seems that the dealers (I hope not all of them) do very poor jobs of checking the units out until after there is a problem. I say this because my water leak problems, TV bracket, debris under the flooring, the back door screen not closing correctly (which the dealer said could not be fixed) etc. (there is more) would have been caught if the dealer would have really checked it out in depth. Things are moving in the right direction but slow, if I would have gone on a long trip I would have been very displeased. I have spent a lot of $$ camping (close to home) and left & went home because I couldn't stay in the trailer. That's not to mention the cost traveling back & forth to Elkhart (fuel & tolls) that has been spent. This is unfortunate because this TH is a well constructed unit, and well thought out & has a good floor plan, but they just need a better QC system. I know with time things will be fixed but it is really unnecessary not to mention if it continues I think people will begin to look elsewhere for their RV's. Heartland please take note of this post and hopefully do it right the first time.
 
Ours also had a generator NOT wired in and the HOBBS meter was wired backwards. The fridge would not light on propane, the bathroom faucet (hot tap) didn't work also. I'm not rich, but when I spend $$ on what I can actually barely afford, I also expect better qc from a well known company...:mad:
 

miboje

Active Member
We purchased a new 2013 Torque 261 on Sept 28, this year. We are in the middle of a 3 month plus trip West coast, east coast and back
up into Canada. When we did our PDI we missed a lot. The on board generator was wired incorrectly. The furnance was wired incorrectly. Plus some smaller items of concern. This is our 2nd Heartland TH. We like it but someone at Heartland sure screwed up in
the manufacture of this one. Quality control was seriously lacking. On the good side Heartland paid for most of our repairs under
warranty. So we will keep on Toy Haulin. Bob

I'm sorry I found this thread so long after it was posted. Unfortunately, lack of QC at the factory appears to be a problem across most brands and not exclusive to Heartland. I am a member of other RV forums, brand specific and general, and these sorts of problems being reported are commonplace, sadly. When we first decided we wanted an RV, I was assigned the task of researching, so I started with RV forums. It wasn't long before the idea of buying an RV left me with seriously cold feet.

What has become clear to me is that an extremely thorough pre-delivery inspection is imperative to heading off problems. Unfortunately, it doesn't look like QC is thoroughly performed at the factory, though I have to say I am certain this would alleviate much of the problems and increase customer confidence and satisfaction extensively. Perhaps manufacturers used to perform QC just before the unit left the factory, but the economy started tanking and they had to stop doing it to cut costs. Perhaps it was not a common practice then or now. I don't know. What I do know is that it's an industry-wide problem.

And the comment on seeing workers rushing around the factory is another common report, though I am sure it's not all of them. Have manufacturers found themselves in a place where more units must be pushed out the door in a day to raise profits enough to stay afloat? I don't know. Either way, it's costing them more down the road in warranty issues, in my opinion. But perhaps it costs the manufacturer less to have the dealer correct issues after the fact, than it does to find and correct them at the factory. It doesn't seem logical, but it must be working.
 
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