More than hairline cracksline cracks

New member here. I have a 2012 Bighorn Silerado, built in Nov of 2011. I purchased it at the Hershey RV show through Wilkins Rv in Bath Ny. I really like the unit and had a few minor issues up front that were taken care of so well that I can't even recall what most of them were. The first year that I had the unit, I only made a few small trips. Long story short, I took it back to Bath to get a couple of things done to it when I wanted them to look at a couple of cracks that started to appear in the skin at the top back corners of each of the bunkhouse slides. Unfortunately for me it was a few months out of warranty, so they gave me two estimates to have a local body shop fix the cracks. At the time I chose not to have anything done due to my thought that I would attempt to get Heartland to cover the repairs. I didn't have much luck in fact I never heard back from the rep that I contacted and emailed.

Anyway, here we are today, in my winter prep I noticed that the hairline crack on one side is much larger and I think I see plywood. So, I am wondering if anyone else has had a similar issue or even some thoughts or expertise with their rig.

Obviously it needs to be repaired, but how deep should the repair go? Might there be a structural issue causing this to occur? Could it be caused by the slides be inaccurately adjusted, as I have read on Rv net? Don't get me wrong I do love my camper and it is my second Heartland product...I do wish that I got a little better service the first time around, but some of that falls on me for not being the squeaky wheel. Thoughts?

Hi Leggy,

You're on the right track - it's not enough to repair the body - you need to find out the underlying cause of the cracking. I'd suggest you start with a call to Heartland Customer Service at 877-262-8032 / 574-262-8030. Have your VIN # ready. If necessary, stay on hold until the customer service rep picks up. Before calling, take some clear pictures of the the cracks. Get a close up shot that shows the problem. You might tape a coin or something of a known size next to the crack for reference. Also include a wider shot that puts the damage into context so they know exactly where the damage is located.

As you relate the sequence of events, let them know that the #1 question you have is about what's causing this and how to repair both the underlying damage and the exterior walls.

The last part of the discussion can be about to what degree Heartland is willing to help.