Doing Your Own Repairs

I have seen numerous posts that indicate that if you have a fifth wheel you need to be ready to do many repairs yourself. Fair enough. My question is this: Would there ever be a worry that performing your own work would somehow cause your warranty to be invalidated?

Hi readytohittheroad,

Lots of us do some or all of the work on our own, and in many cases, Heartland will send you parts to do so.

Be aware that your appliances and some subsystems are actually warranted by the supplier. Normally if you go to a dealer for service, you don't get involved in the details. But when you become the servicer, you have to deal with the same things your dealer does.

Some suppliers will probably not want you doing your own work and probably won't send you parts under warranty. In my experience, Dometic is one.

If you cause damage while attempting a repair, I'd expect that most suppliers would not pay to repair the damage you caused.

To your specific question about voiding warranties, I don't think that's an issue.

Dometic would not send me parts to the awning. I had to order through my repair shop who then gave me the parts to install. The parts were the plastic covers to the awning rail that I watched fly away as I was going down the road. (Warranty)

Fantastic Fan sent me a new thermostat for the garage fan with no questions other than troubleshooting. (Warranty)

Heartland sent several parts with no issues. (Warranty)

I repaired my own hot water heater this past weekend. It was quite simple to do if you can find the parts. Before we Left the campground I found that my toilet was leaking so I have ordered the parts to fix that as well. I just find it easier to fix stuff myself instead of hauling the camper to the shop. I also find pleasure in knowing that I have fixed it myself.

Getting ready for our 1st time out this past weekend I noticed the lights dimming when the a/c compressor kicked in. Checked the terminal strips and found several loose connections and one that was just set on the strip on top of the nut to secure it. Then when I went to use the black tank flush, water started flooding the cargo area. After pulling the inspection panel I found the hose was never connected. With the dealer being 60 miles away I guess I should be able to troubleshoot and repair some things. Better than being without the rv for things the factory QC should have discovered.

Our cable wasn't plugged in correctly in the bedroom.

I think though that every brand has issues like this - and even with houses there are things that need to be redone or fixed. Hopefully that will be all of your troubles and you'll really enjoy it!!

Warranties are short lived and dealers get busy. You need to be handy to own an RV unless you are extremely rich and don't mind it being out of service for a long time. I like doing my own repairs and many on this site are very helpful to share their knowledge. I have asked many questions here on this site and helpful answers flow in. I want thank all of you who have taken time to help me out!! I do my best to help others also. Happy camping.

I use to work at a dealership and was amazed at the trouble people would go through to bring their rvs in for simple repairs. More disturbing was how management padded their bills for labor that was not performed. Customers were so grateful to have their rvs fixed and returned that they’d happily hand over their money.

My advice is to learn as much as you can about your rv and not be intimidated. These things are not built with magic. If you could dissect your rv you’d see just how simple they really are. In the end you’ll save yourself a lot of money and have that caveman ego boost that all of us men enjoy.

Good luck.

We had 6 TV outlets in our Cyclone. The factory wired them all wrong. Took it back TWICE to have the factory work on it. And to this day...3 years later...the cable hook up does not work!!! TV antenna works on 4 of the 6 hookups. We gave up and invested in a dish! Shame on you Heartland for all the problems we have had with our RV. After we had paid for it, a repair tech informed us that our RV was a prototype and should never have been sold but trashed back at the factory. Another shame on you Heartland. But we have many of the issues resolved. Always check your better business bureau on their rating. Our dealership we purchased from wouldn't even response back to the Better Business Bureau in Indiana. This dealership received the lowest of the lowest scores. We'll just be more cautious with our next RV purchase.

Curious as to where you purchased your Cyclone. I highly doubt that it went back to the factory for cable wiring repairs. That is normally a dealer job.
And your saying that the repair guy knew you have a prototype but no one else did?
Before shaming Heartland, give Heartland Customer Service a call and see if you can verify the prototype statement. Have your VIN handy.

Peace
Dave

Strange,,, a member since Aug 2010 and these problems just now being talked about???? Did you take it to the factory yourself or did the dealer tell you they did?

jbbdc said:

I use to work at a dealership and was amazed at the trouble people would go through to bring their rvs in for simple repairs. More disturbing was how management padded their bills for labor that was not performed. Customers were so grateful to have their rvs fixed and returned that they’d happily hand over their money.

My advice is to learn as much as you can about your rv and not be intimidated. These things are not built with magic. If you could dissect your rv you’d see just how simple they really are. In the end you’ll save yourself a lot of money and have that caveman ego boost that all of us men enjoy.


Good luck.

Click to expand...

What about us cave women?
DH is somewhat clueless, I'm the one fixing/modifying and enjoy it...for the most part but then again, I took apart the toaster at 4 years old and put it back together. Dad used to say burnt toast makes you sing better...he thought it was funny it only worked on one setting....Mom didn't
As for the padded bills...sometimes I wondered if the place I worked at would charge more for the simple stuff as a sort of twisted way to keep customers coming back. Strange enough people tend to be more loyal the more they are charged (???).

mriley said:

We had 6 TV outlets in our Cyclone. The factory wired them all wrong. Took it back TWICE to have the factory work on it. And to this day...3 years later...the cable hook up does not work!!! TV antenna works on 4 of the 6 hookups. We gave up and invested in a dish! Shame on you Heartland for all the problems we have had with our RV. After we had paid for it, a repair tech informed us that our RV was a prototype and should never have been sold but trashed back at the factory. Another shame on you Heartland. But we have many of the issues resolved. Always check your better business bureau on their rating. Our dealership we purchased from wouldn't even response back to the Better Business Bureau in Indiana. This dealership received the lowest of the lowest scores. We'll just be more cautious with our next RV purchase.

Click to expand...

6 outlets? Not completely familiar with the Cyclones but sounds a bit strange for factory, your dealership may have used it at a show and wired in a couple of extras to run additional instructional video's.
Since Heart Land doesn't sell direct it sounds like the dealership you purchased it from has been less than honest regarding your unit though its good to hear you have all issues resolved. It's taken me almost 3 months and two dealerships to get ours fixed after a tow driver dropped the cap onto his bed none of which was a build flaw.

jbbdc said:

I use to work at a dealership and was amazed at the trouble people would go through to bring their rvs in for simple repairs. More disturbing was how management padded their bills for labor that was not performed. Customers were so grateful to have their rvs fixed and returned that they’d happily hand over their money.

My advice is to learn as much as you can about your rv and not be intimidated. These things are not built with magic. If you could dissect your rv you’d see just how simple they really are. In the end you’ll save yourself a lot of money and have that caveman ego boost that all of us men enjoy.

Good luck.

Click to expand...

My sentiments exactly. I just put my 2014 Landmark Sequoia in for some minor work. After discovering that there were over 100 units there to be repaired, I figured that I would get it back sometime in August (2014 ). Warranty work = 0 dollars out of pocket but, my work = continued use of the camper. Nuff said.

Curt

Curt_Hinson said:

My sentiments exactly. I just put my 2014 Landmark Sequoia in for some minor work. After discovering that there were over 100 units there to be repaired, I figured that I would get it back sometime in August (2014 ). Warranty work = 0 dollars out of pocket but, my work = continued use of the camper. Nuff said.

Curt

Click to expand...

Curt, hope you didn't mean there were over 100 Landmarks there, that would be ô¿ô
Round here when ours was taken in May 20th, there were about as many as that on the lot waiting for the repair shop. Most were folks who had them stored for the winter and found mice/water/spider blocked issues that needed attention.

For the weather we have during the winter it baffles me why there aren't more covered and protected storage places available. I've seen so much sweat on the inside of windows during winter on outside lots I wonder what the owners were thinking when they parked it there and didn't winterize it properly.

Sorry, parkit. I was unclear as to brand names, but Camping World in LA (lower Alabama) doesn't carry many Heartland models. I was outback hooking up my unit when I was told how many they had in for repair. I do not know how many mechanics they have on duty, but the most activity seems to be in the new RV prep area. My previous unit (Cedar Creek) was stored there (against my will) for over two months. That makes me somewhat paranoid about leaving my current unit there. Fortunately for me, I have been a wrench slinger since I was 6 years old. I ain't telling my age, but it is somewhere between 72 and 74 years old.

Curt