2011 Road Warrior problems

Bellan

Member
Hi, I'm a new member to the site. Bought our 2011 Road Warrior new from a dealer 1 year and 3 months ago. warranty expired. Used the RV three times so far. Just got back from a short trip opened the kitchen slider and an 8 inch diameter chunk of paint fell from underneath the slide. The floor is already rotten, I removed the kitchen booth and rug. plywood rotten right through. I removed the outside trim on the side wall, three of the five screw heads were snapped off from over torqueing when it was installed, but held into place by the sealant. Heartland told me it's probably a seal maintenance problem. Didn't know plywood could rot right through in the one year that we owned it. When we were checking it out before we bought it. there were two egg size bubbles under the rear passenger side window of the garage. Dealer told us this was normal, it will expand and contract in the sun, ( took his word for it ) Bubbles stayed the same size till a couple of weeks ago. Now they are getting bigger. Again Heartland said probably a seal maintenance problem. Had other minor issues that I fixed myself. Has anyone had the same problems? Thanks
 

cookie

Administrator
Staff member
Hello Bellan and welcome to the Heartland Owners Forum. A great place.
Sorry to hear of your problems.
What you have heard about maintenance is an important part of owning an RV.
If you bought a 2011 model a year ago it most likely has been sitting on the dealers lot for 3 years.
I doubt that the dealer took the time to inspect and/or replace any caulking issues.
At this point about the only thing that you can do is make the necessary repairs and inspect/replace all the caulking.
RV manufacturers caulk only the top of the windows. Although there is a rubber seal around the window I like to caulk the top and both sides.
And to answer your question, I have heard of others having the same problems. Caulking seems to be the common denominator.

Peace
Dave
 

Bellan

Member
Hi Dave, thanks for the reply, my wife and I really like our Road Warrior except for these problems. before we left for this last trip, I was under the slide out adjusting the brakes & the slide under belly looked ok, just couldn't believe 4 days later the chunk that fell when I opened up the slide out, when we got back home. I've built some homes in my time off as a fire fighter, (retied now) so I know what to look for. didn't see any big caulking issues. We purchased an extended warranty, so hopping they cover both issues. If not I'll be tackling them myself Thanks Dave B.
 

Bellan

Member
Hello Bellan and welcome to the Heartland Owners Forum. A great place.
Sorry to hear of your problems.
What you have heard about maintenance is an important part of owning an RV.
If you bought a 2011 model a year ago it most likely has been sitting on the dealers lot for 3 years.
I doubt that the dealer took the time to inspect and/or replace any caulking issues.
At this point about the only thing that you can do is make the necessary repairs and inspect/replace all the caulking.
RV manufacturers caulk only the top of the windows. Although there is a rubber seal around the window I like to caulk the top and both sides.
And to answer your question, I have heard of others having the same problems. Caulking seems to be the common denominator.

Peace
Dave

Thanks for the response, I tried to send this to you earlier, but I'm new to this and messed up. Thanks again.
 

cwhittle

Member
Sounds like what happened to my Road Warrior 385. The floor under the kitchen slide was rotten and falling apart. The slide was dropping and started to rip the flooring. I was lucky and that it was still under warranty. I only had it for about three months before it starting falling apart. They also blamed it on a seal. The first year I owned the unit it was at Ron Hoover in Katy for about 6 months. I will NEVER take it back there again. They put the wrong flooring back in, scratched the counter tops, scratch the cabinets, and a VERY long list of other problems. It took four trips before they almost fixed everything they screwed up. It should of gone back again but it wasn't worth the trouble and I had trips planned. I contacted Heartland and asked it they would extend the warranty. I asked them to extent the warrant since it was in the shop for 6 months out of the 1 year I owned it. They would not without me signing a release, releasing them of all responsibility for the repairs that had been done. I would not sign it. Good luck with your repairs.
 

Bellan

Member
Plywood can last a long time out in the elements before it rots through, leaks had to have started on the dealer lot before we purchased them. My pre inspection with the dealer rep was very quick. mostly switch operation and location. I Should have spent more time checking things out. didn't think something new on a dealer lot would have problems like this. After going over the whole trailer, caulking everything, i found a lot of little defects. screws missing, screw heads snapped off but caulked in place. found a plastic wedge between the back window frame and RV wall. Now i have delam problems below the window and wedge location. Dealer waiting for Hartland response on wedge delam problem. Need a little better quality control before they leave the factory.
 

JJandDD

Member
We have a RW 305 and have seen the same quality problems. Every screw seems to be over tightened or at a bad angle many shaped off heads and then put back on with silicone. The bed slide frame fell apart the staple weren't even in the wood on some. Under rated light switches that melt. Awning screws that pull out of the sidewall because they missed the frame. In the basement the box by the door is rotten since they designed a water trap and placed the osb box right in where the water accumulated. Small delay under the refer (dealer said it is ok The unit is a 2011 used 3 weeks every 2 months I spent 2 days after every trip fixing Heartland's poor standards of quality and craftsmanship if they actually have any real craftsman. I will never buy another heartland product and warn every one about the poor standards if the company.
 

Bellan

Member
Well my extended warranty wouldn't cover either problem, would fix the seal but not the damage caused by the seal. I fixed the slide floor myself, just heard from the dealer, Heartland is stepping up & fixing the delam problem. Thank You Heartland!!! Trading it in on a new model after the fix. Will be going over it very closely. Dave B
 
Top