Heartland Warranty ?

PMB

Member
I have a 2015 Heartland North Trail 22 FBS travel trailer that we purchased in May of 2015. I noticed some cracking or buckling across the front cap above the marker lights when I was washing the trailer. I showed the dealer we purchased the trailer from, pictures of the cracks on the front cap. The dealer service manager agreed it should be covered under warranty. When the warranty claim was sent in to heartland they rejected it, saying it was not a warrantable defect. I did call the customer service dept. at heartland after the claim was rejected and was told, even if the front cap was replaced the same cracking would happen again. I was wondering if anyone else is having this issue with the front cap cracking.
 

jrzygrl64

Active Member
I am no expert, but, we had friends with a different brand rig and when they had a crack in their cap it turned out to be a frame issue and their rig ended up being totaled by the company (they brought it back to the factory for repairs). I would not let this go - pursue until you find the cause of it - I cannot imagine that being normal.
 

MTPockets

Well-known member
The Gel Coat finish/coating/covering on the fiberglass can sometimes crack and chip, especially at edges and corners. That has no effect on the fiberglass structure, so no harm other than appearance. It'll be interesting to hear why it's not a covered item.
 

danemayer

Well-known member
I don't think we've had many posts over the past few years discussing front cap problems. One that comes to mind happened at a dealership while the rig was being serviced.

Not having seen pictures yet, it's difficult to understand why warranty coverage would be declined. But some obvious possibilities would be that Heartland believes it's damage from contact with something - perhaps road debris. Or perhaps as Terry mentioned, maybe it's something viewed as a minor cosmetic issue. That's why pictures are helpful.
 

PMB

Member
I still cannot load .jpg attachments thru Additional Options, Manage Attachments. It looks like it is going to work but does not load images.
 

boatto5er

Founding VA Chap Ldr (Ret)
Try using Firefox. I've had issues with Internet Explorer and picture uploads.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

PMB

Member
Thank You for the tip to use Firefox. I was able to load the images of the cracking or buckling on my 2015 North Trail 22FBS. Here are some of the images. 170022.jpg20151125_094518.jpg20151125_094540.jpg
 

GOTTOYS

Well-known member
Looks to me like it may be flexing from the wind hitting it while being towed, but what do I know...I don't think it would make me very happy....Don
 

bobw

Member
I would call heartland again and ask the service adviser if you can have their email address so that you could send them the pictures. After they have them then call and discuss your options.
 

JohnD

Moved on to the next thing...
You should get these photos to Heartland pronto.

That just doesn't look right . . .
 

jmgratz

Original Owners Club Member
Looks to me like you have some delamination on the upper part of the front cap and the wind is getting under the front of your roof material while going down the road. This can happen if the glue has come loose and the caulking at the front seam has gaps in it. The usual cause for the delamination is water intrusion due to improper caulking allowing water to get in beneath the outer skin. First thing to do is get on the roof and recaulk the front seam to prevent further damage. And get ahold of Heartland Customer Service and have your vin handy and be prepared to email the photos to them.
 

PMB

Member
I sent Heartland Customer Service an Email yesterday with pictures of the front cap buckling. The reply I received from Jamie Justis in customer service was, "after review of your information, this is a cosmetic issue only and not a warrantable issue". If this is how Heartland resolves there manufacturing defects, I will never buy or promote another Heartland product ever.
 

jmgratz

Original Owners Club Member
I sent Heartland Customer Service an Email yesterday with pictures of the front cap buckling. The reply I received from Jamie Justis in customer service was, "after review of your information, this is a cosmetic issue only and not a warrantable issue". If this is how Heartland resolves there manufacturing defects, I will never buy or promote another Heartland product ever.


The next step is to get a dealer to look at it and see if they will backup your claim of delamination. They can help you with getting warranty repairs but be sure you keep in touch with Heartland Customer Service. Jim Fenner is the man at the top with Heartland Customer Service. He could be someone you might need to reach out to if all else fails. Remember kill em with kindness. :)
 

PMB

Member
I did go to the dealer, they submitted the warranty claim to Heartland which was denied. Then the dealer told me to call Heartland customer service to see if I could get any action on the claim. Thats when the dealer told me he had three other claims for the same issue that were denied.
 

JohnD

Moved on to the next thing...
I did go to the dealer, they submitted the warranty claim to Heartland which was denied. Then the dealer told me to call Heartland customer service to see if I could get any action on the claim. Thats when the dealer told me he had three other claims for the same issue that were denied.

You'll need to get a service center who is NOT a dealership, but someone who is experienced with this type of repair to look at your trailer and let them talk to Heartland.

They (Heartland) gave me the run around with our previous Heartland Trail Runner . . . until I had a trailer builder have a look at my problems and had them (Heartland) speak with him . . . then they finally took my issue seriously.

Call Heartland on the phone and ask to speak with a supervisor . . . and even their supervisor if need be.

Your trailer shouldn't look like that . . . and they know it!
 
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