2016 Sundance 278 TS 31' with multiple warranty issues

Jpastore

Member
Hi everyone we just brought home a 2016 Sundance 278 TS 31' unit. I am just getting use to how it works. We are not off to a great start, after arriving home I read the manual on leveling the RV and disconnecting from the two vehicle. I opened of the three slide outs and started orientation of the RV. Later that night my wife noticed one of the slide outs dragged while opening and caused damaged to the laminate flooring and carpet. While going over the RV at the dealer we found the Black and Gray tanks labeling crossed and marked incorrectly. Dealer guy just peeled them off and moved them to the correct valve. I tools home they would not stay on but he said it was good. As we drove home one of the fell off.
So back to checking the unit out. We have had it now 3 weeks and everytime I check out the RV I keep finding issues like very poor workmen ship with nail head showing on trim, trim just falling off and multiple chips through out the unit. I wanted to check the new ramp I picked up that makes changing a tire very simple. I only had time to check the passenger and I found the front axle tire hub not tight. I have not checked the driver side yet. We had a good rain storm last night and I keep all the silide out open. I found the slide out in the master bed leaking and water coming and dripping onto the carpet. I check it out to day and found the leak coming from the top of the slide out. I also discorved the OSB is now had water soaked into it and knowing construction the OSB will need to be replaced. I am hopping for no issues with the dealer and Heartland making this right. Anyone else have any issues with a Sundance models.


Joe Pastore
2016 Sundance 278 TS
 

danemayer

Well-known member
Hi Joe,

Welcome to the Heartland Owners Forum. Sorry to hear about the problems you're having, but I'm sure your dealer will be able to get everything corrected.
 

ucwinters

Active Member
Joe,

I have a 2016 Sundance XLT 285TS. I have some trim that is loose - will fix that myself. Leak behind the panel for the hot/cold valves in the shower - fixed that myself. Kept finding small amounts of water in the top drawer that, when closed, is under the kitchen sink. Thought that the faucet might be defective or have a loose connection on a water line but turned out to be lack of sealant/caulking around the sink/countertop area - fixed this myself w/ some clear silicone caulk. Last outing one of the recliners broke - contacted Lippert (they handle warranty issues w/ the furniture that is in my unit). Rep told me Friday morning that he would email me forms to fill out - haven't received those yet. On the same outing, the hinges on the chip board under the mattress came loose when raising this up - screws too short and had pulled out. Went to Home Depot and bought door hinges, machine bolts, washers & nuts and fixed this the right way. Biggest issue that I have is a bowing of the floor in the living area from the door side to the off-door side, which makes it impossible to level the trailer side to side. When standing on the off-door side by the refridge/stove, you can feel a noticeable drop. My cousin has the identical unit as mine and had this same issue. The RV tech told him that the self-tapping screws used had pulled loose and these were replaced w/ bolts which corrected the issue. I have an appointment later this month to (hopefully) get this fixed on my trailer (have been waiting 3 months). I tried getting 2 different independent RV service techs/centers to help with the frame issue but they wouldn't touch it. When vacuuming the floor and carpet, have picked up numerous staples and small nails - hopefully have found most of them. We noticed that the linoleum flooring was getting scratched when the door-side slide came in or went out. Found a screw in the trim on the bottom of the pantry that was too long that was dragging on the floor (cousin had the same issue also). I put 3 washers under the screw head and solved that problem.
 

Jpastore

Member
Thanks everyone for getting back with me. I appreciate the posts. Sound like the Sundance may have a frame/floor issue. I would like to know how the dealer make the repairs and if you continue having issues with the slide out hitting. I agree on dealing with little item my self and then I know it will be fixed the correct way. Our unit is at the dealer right now getting repaired. I will let you know how it turns out. We are planing on heading across the country soon. Take care and safe travels.

Joe


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 

Jpastore

Member
Ed, I took my Sundance in for warranty items after only using it once since purchased in February (note second in for warranty). Its been in the dealer now 3 months for warranty repairs. So they are replacing the linoleum flooring due to the slide out dragging and pitting the linoleum flooring. like we talked about earlier the bow in the living area was checked by the dealer and said Heartland said it okay and made that way and I have now warranty problem. I tell this POS going to be a problem with the slide out not coming in or out with without causing problem. Now that my warranty is just about gone it Heartland will not back up their product. Did you every get your Sundance floor fixed?


Joe Pastore
Salinas Ca, 93907
Jpastore@live.com

D
Joe,

I have a 2016 Sundance XLT 285TS. I have some trim that is loose - will fix that myself. Leak behind the panel for the hot/cold valves in the shower - fixed that myself. Kept finding small amounts of water in the top drawer that, when closed, is under the kitchen sink. Thought that the faucet might be defective or have a loose connection on a water line but turned out to be lack of sealant/caulking around the sink/countertop area - fixed this myself w/ some clear silicone caulk. Last outing one of the recliners broke - contacted Lippert (they handle warranty issues w/ the furniture that is in my unit). Rep told me Friday morning that he would email me forms to fill out - haven't received those yet. On the same outing, the hinges on the chip board under the mattress came loose when raising this up - screws too short and had pulled out. Went to Home Depot and bought door hinges, machine bolts, washers & nuts and fixed this the right way. Biggest issue that I have is a bowing of the floor in the living area from the door side to the off-door side, which makes it impossible to level the trailer side to side. When standing on the off-door side by the refridge/stove, you can feel a noticeable drop. My cousin has the identical unit as mine and had this same issue. The RV tech told him that the self-tapping screws used had pulled loose and these were replaced w/ bolts which corrected the issue. I have an appointment later this month to (hopefully) get this fixed on my trailer (have been waiting 3 months). I tried getting 2 different independent RV service techs/centers to help with the frame issue but they wouldn't touch it. When vacuuming the floor and carpet, have picked up numerous staples and small nails - hopefully have found most of them. We noticed that the linoleum flooring was getting scratched when the door-side slide came in or went out. Found a screw in the trim on the bottom of the pantry that was too long that was dragging on the floor (cousin had the same issue also). I put 3 washers under the screw head and solved that problem.
 

cookie

Administrator
Staff member
Three months is a might long time to sit at the dealer.
Have you contacted Heartland to see if they are actually aware of the floor problem?

Peace
Dave
 

JohnD

Moved on to the next thing...
Three months is a might long time to sit at the dealer.
Have you contacted Heartland to see if they are actually aware of the floor problem?

Our problem was with the dealership . . . not Heartland.

Our Prowler was at the dealership last year for 10 weeks getting warranty repairs after they told me three weeks (dropped it off in October and got it back in January), only to get it back to find that most fixes were just band aid fixes, plus a couple of new problems to boot!

They asked me to bring it back . . . I declined.

We went back and forth several times and I finally told them that I was going to contact Heartland and have them authorize another repair facility (and a Facebook review of their work helped), and they finally offered to send their mobile tech to our house to redo the repairs.

Took him three visits to finish most of them and I did the rest myself.

Here are good examples of their work . . .

ProwlerWireHarnessOnTire-P1010529.jpg ProwlerWireHarnessOnTire-P1010533.jpg

ProwlerWireOnTireWear-P1010544.jpg ProwlerWireOnTire-P1010525.jpg

ProwlerMissingBumperCaps-P1010553.jpg

When I got the Prowler home I discovered that two wiring harnesses under the slides were not secured and left dangling on top of the tires, plus the rear bumper plugs had been stolen (actually noticed these before I left but they told me they were not responsible for lost of stolen property).

And this one . . .

After working on the furnace ducting inside the underbelly, they used wood screws to reattach the coroplast where they had to cut openings.

All they did was put the screws back onto the coroplast but not in to anything solid.

ProwlerCoroplastOnGround-P1010575.jpg

We were rolling down I-25 just south of Colorado Springs on our way to the Arizona HOC Rodeo Rally in Tucson when I noticed that nobody was passing us and that there was a line of cars hanging way back behind us.

I pulled off at a rest area (just happened to be close by), and I found this wrapped around the front axle.

I looked at the other spot they had cut open and that was holding, but was starting to pull loose.

Anyway . . . stay on top of the progress of the work and don't trust that everything was fixed right.

Check all of the repairs and look at everything before you take back the trailer.
 

Jpastore

Member
Three months is a might long time to sit at the dealer.
Have you contacted Heartland to see if they are actually aware of the floor problem?

Peace
Dave

The dealer is working with Heartland on the warranty coverage. When i took the unit in it had a hit list of 20 items that were fixed within a month and half. The replacement of the vinyl flooring and the bow in the floor have been most of the hang up waiting for warranty approval. I am concern that the bow in the floor Is consider normal from Heartland does not make me feel comfortable.

Thanks for the reply.

Joe Pastore


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

cookie

Administrator
Staff member
If you have not been in contact with Heartland I suggest that you make a call.

Peace
Dave
 

Shortest Straw

Caught In A Mosh
You need to be proactive in this. If you are just sitting at home hoping that your dealer and Heartland are playing well together you need to change your way of thinking and become involved. Call your dealer and get a status, call Heartland and follow up on what your dealer is saying. Shortly after we purchased ours the dealer wrecked it causing some pretty severe damage to the curb side including the awning, a window and the body. It was fixed in three weeks including about 15 other issues. Sounds like your dealer either does not know what they are doing or they are playing you.
 
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