'07 Bighorn: Fresh Water Tank Drain wasn't poked out underbelly and was open!

lesjoy

Member
We have owned our 2007 3055rl Bighorn since June 06. Until this fall we have never used the freshwater system as we do not dry camp. You can imagine our surprise when we did have to use it for the first time
this September and discovered water leaking from the underbelly. When we took the trailer to our local
Bighorn dealer to investigate the leak he could not find the drain line. After opening the underbelly he discovered that it had been attached with the drain line open and inside the belly. Of course Heartland is
absolving itself of any responsibility as the trailer is "off" warranty. My cost to make right an obvious
construction oversight has been denied because we did not discover it sooner. Am I the only Bighorn owner that has had this experience and if not has it been resolved by Heartland itself.
 

BigJim45

Luv'n Life
Re: Manufacturing surprise

I would say that your the second or maybe the third owner of this rig. That being said, anything could have happen
to a 9 year old Big Horn by previous owners.
 

Speedy

Well-known member
Re: Manufacturing surprise

Sorry that this happened but I would just fix it and move on. I doubt it was a manufacturing error that went undetected for 9 years.

I found three bad crimped PEX clamps on my MIL's BH when she said I have no water inside but lots pouring out from underneath. The bad crimps failed when she hooked up to city water with no regulator, 126 psi will find the weakest links very quickly.
 

jmgratz

Original Owners Club Member
Re: Manufacturing surprise

IMHO even if you are the first owner to expect the manufacturer to make repairs on a 2007 unit that is over 8 years old and 7 years out of warranty is being unreasonable. Even if it was a manufacturing defect it should have been discovered years ago. Would you expect a car manufacturer to repair the air conditioning on a car if you never turned it on in 7 years? I think not.
 

pegmikef

Well-known member
Re: Manufacturing surprise

IMHO even if you are the first owner to expect the manufacturer to make repairs on a 2007 unit that is over 8 years old and 7 years out of warranty is being unreasonable. Even if it was a manufacturing defect it should have been discovered years ago. Would you expect a car manufacturer to repair the air conditioning on a car if you never turned it on in 7 years? I think not.

What Jim said. If you have owned this since 06, that would indicate you are the original owner. My question is why wasn't the fresh water system tested and run during the PD? The dealer has a responsibility to make sure everything works correctly and so does the buyer! The simple test conducted during most PDi's would have immediately exposed this problem.
 

2psnapod2

Texas-South Chapter Leaders-Retired
Re: Manufacturing surprise

I would have to guess that you did not do a Pre Delivery Inspection. Or at least a not very good one. So yes it is your fault and not Heartlands. If you had done one, it would have been found and then it would be on Heartlands dime and not yours.

We have owned our 2007 3055rl Bighorn since June 06. Until this fall we have never used the freshwater system as we do not dry camp. You can imagine our surprise when we did have to use it for the first time
this September and discovered water leaking from the underbelly. When we took the trailer to our local
Bighorn dealer to investigate the leak he could not find the drain line. After opening the underbelly he discovered that it had been attached with the drain line open and inside the belly. Of course Heartland is
absolving itself of any responsibility as the trailer is "off" warranty. My cost to make right an obvious
construction oversight has been denied because we did not discover it sooner. Am I the only Bighorn owner that has had this experience and if not has it been resolved by Heartland itself.
 

John T Bettencourt

Well-known member
Re: Manufacturing surprise

Sorry to hear this as they should at least admit that it was an error on their part. You could do what I am going to do and go back to Cedar Creek next time.
 

BigJim45

Luv'n Life
Re: Manufacturing surprise

Sorry to hear this as they should at least admit that it was an error on their part. You could do what I am going to do and go back to Cedar Creek next time.

Why do you think Heartland is at fault? This was most likely not the first owner of this rig. It could of happen before.........
 

Oregon_Camper

Well-known member
Re: Manufacturing surprise

Sorry to hear about the issue.

It seems like a rather easy fix. Pull down underbelly, drill hole for drain line, insert drain line, reattach underbelly, seal area. Should take you no more than 30 mins.
 

jbeletti

Well-known member
Re: Manufacturing surprise

Sorry to hear about your mishap. What I'm understanding you say is that the freshwater tank drain line was never poked through the underbelly. I have never heard of this before. Generally speaking, the fresh water tank drain valve is likely opened at the plant as part of the build and water test. So that part is normal. Not being poked out the underbelly is odd.

I'm assuming you are the original owner. If you're not though, is it possible the previous owner or selling dealer pulled the drain line up into the underbelly? The reason I ask is that freshwater tank drains and whole-coach low-point drains can be an Achilles heal for anyone who camps in or gets caught out in freezing temps. The water in that vertical column sticking outside freezes and the cold follows the line back to the next junction and freezes that too. In the case of low-point drains, it will freeze at least up to the T and that will ultimately cut off water in the coach. In the case of freshwater tank, a frozen drain line may allow partial freezing of the tank at the outlet but likely not much more than what the weather will be doing with the tank anyway.

Hope the dealer didn't hit you too hard for the easy fix.
 

danemayer

Well-known member
Hi lesjoy,

I don't think any manufacturer offering a 1 year warranty will fix defects found 9+ years after purchase. There seems to be an idea floating around that a 1 year warranty is supposed to cover minor adjustments, but that "manufacturing errors" or "construction oversights" somehow merit a longer warranty - perhaps even a lifetime warranty. I don't know where this idea comes from, but it's completely out of sync with the actual written warranty.

Sometimes Heartland steps in after warranty expiration and elects to fix a problem. I've seen where they've done that even 4 or 5 years after purchase. But that's a marketing accommodation made in the name of customer satisfaction. And I've never heard of that being done on a 9+ year old coach.

Unless there's something you're leaving out, this problem sounds like it should be really easy to fix, and shouldn't cost very much at all. If the repair shop says otherwise, maybe you need a 2nd opinion.
 
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Bob&Patty

Founders of SoCal Chapter
Mine was pushed up into the underbelly...but the hole was their. Pulled the hose out and problem solved. Took 5 minutes to repair. Did you look to see if the hole was their, before you paid big money to fix it?? If not shame on you.
 
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