Don't discount Heartland yet . . . and sorry for the long post!
Don . . . sorry to hear of your issues!
I don't know if you've followed my escapades with our
2013 Heartland Trail Runner, but next week our trailer is going in to get both axles replaced with upgraded ones, along with the springs, wheels and tires after having a massive failure of said parts from the factory.
At first, we were on our own, and were prepared to drop over $3000 to get all of this fixed as we were out of warranty (not to mention having a bad taste towards our purchase of our Heartland product), despite us not putting over 4000 miles on this trailer since we bought it 2 1/2 years ago (purchased September 11, 2012).
And back in January of 2015 on our way to AZ . . . the final straw!!!???
First, we discovered that our tires were being torn up . . . seems that the trailer was bottoming out on the tires while we were driving down the highway . . . not to mention the damage that has been caused to the bottom of our trailer and the slideout!
Not only have the tires torn up the bottom of the slideout and the floor of the trailer on the other side, but I've noticed that the dinette is coming apart due to the flex in the flooring of the slideout!
And then, while 1000 miles from home on our way to a Heartland Owners Club Rally in Arizona . . . a wheel bearing blew on our trailer, almost resulting in a fire that would have destroyed not only our trailer, but probably our new 2015 Chevy Silverado 2500HD as well) had it not been for a passing motorist who flagged us down to alert us to the cloud of smoke billowing out from under our trailer that I couldn't see in the side mirrors.
Good thing I decided to take the highway through Phoenix instead of the scenic mountain view two-lane road from the Grand Canyon to Quartzsite . . .
Luckily, we were less than a mile from an RV dealership that had an RV park right next door to them . . .
And let me send a shout out to Sun City RV in Mesa, AZ . . . they had us back on the road the next day by sunset!
First shot is us in the RV park next door, second shot is us pulling out of their parking lot the next day after the repair:
Look at that first shot close enough and you'll see the front trailer tire leaning in at the top due to the burnt out wheel bearing . . .
Anywayz . . . our extended warranty refused to pay for the repair ($1000) . . . and we were NOT happy campers!
So we bit our lips . . . paid for the band aid fix to get us to the Rally after loosing two days of our vacation . . . went to the remaining two days of the AZ HOC Rally and had a blast (thank you Garry and the rest of the AZ HOC Chapter members!), then home to Colorado . . . and now time to figure out what was going on.
To make a longer story even longer that really should be shorter, both Heartland and Lippert said that I had overloaded our trailer, which they both said is probably what caused my issues, so I finally decided to empty the trailer of almost everything, then took it to have it weighed.
The sticker on the trailer says that it weighed 5970 pounds out of the door from the factory . . . and the certified weight of the trailer when I had it weighed was 7040 pounds . . . and the trailer has two 3500 pound axles on it!
With those kinds of numbers . . . can't even put any water in the fresh water tank . . . let alone any clothes, food, DVD's or beer (beer the most important camping supply)!
Anywayz, after presenting our findings to Heartland Customer Service . . . Terry in Customer Service at Heartland helped us relay our issues to Lippert, who has decided to ship us two new upgraded axles and spring sets to replace the ones that came on our trailer from the factory.
Now, I do have to pay for the labor charges to get them replaced, plus the new axles do not have the brake assemblies and wheel bearings, so we'll be using the same brake assemblies that are currently on our trailer, plus I'll be paying for new wheel bearings all around, plus I am upgrading all five tires and wheels (at my expense) to a larger size and rating than what came from the factory!
Once this work is done . . . our 2013 Heartland Trail Runner TR22RK will be the biggest and baddest TR22RK (RK stands for rear kitchen) on the face of the planet earth!
BUT . . . isn't there always a 'BUT?'???
Now, it wasn't easy . . . not only Heartland, but Lippert both stepped up to the plate once they saw the real issues at hand!
Now, after all of this, we have decided that perhaps this might be the time to upgrade our trailer, and have been looking around at our options.
We've found a few pull-behinds (bumper pulls) that we really like . . . but none of them are Heartland products!
However . . . we found a couple of 5th-wheel options that we really love . . . and guess what?
They are both Heartland product products!
Not to mention that we really love the Heartland Owners Club and all of the friends we've made since we bought our Trail Runner 2 1/2 years ago, and don't want to leave the fold!
Now, we have not decided if we are going to keep our Trail Runner, or upgrade to a 5th-wheel . . .
But let me tell you this . . . there is another brand that is taunting us with a couple of features that Heartland doesn't offer that is really tempting . . .
But one thing we do know for sure is that WE WILL consider another Heartland trailer next time we do buy a new one!
And we most likely will buy another Heartland trailer when we do!
Most especially due to the Heartland Owner's Club and all of the people we've met along the way!
So . . . please don't discount Heartland for problems with one trailer . . .
There is a much larger picture out there . . . and in the end, it seems that what ever is supposed to happen will happen!
No matter what the issues we've had . . . we love our current Heartland trailer, and will most likely upgrade to another Heartland trailer when we do decide to do so!