Rear roof ladder's?

TopsRV2 · May 4, 2017

Has anyone ever installed a rear mounted roof ladder on a Heartland, specifically a Mallard, more specifically a Mallard M312, either with or without the permission of Heartland while under warranty? What have any of your experiences been? Good or bad.

I purchased my M312 about 3 weeks ago and was first told my the dealer that he checked with the manufacturer and was told that there would be no problems installing a latter on to that model, so we ordered a latter and I've been waiting on it this whole time. Well now on the 25th of April (I just found out today) that Heartland emailed the dealer and told them that they sent the latter to them but if it is installed and any damage is done or something goes wrong, then they will not warranty any part of it because it is "NOT AUTHORIZED" or Warrantied!! So I speak back to the dealer; my salesman and service manager and went off on them a little bit today because I got a nice little run around over the last few weeks now. As it stands now, I'm not letting the dealer put it on if nothing is going to be covered by any of them, being the dealer or manufacturer. They can return the latter. I'm just wondering about you all's experience for my own knowledge and my own future reference.

So, I'm just wondering if any of you all had any type of similar experiences with roof latter's on these models, or simply did it yourself and if you had any luck with them or not?

Thanks!

PS- I just saw another decent useful post on here with good recommended telescoping latter's that I'm going to check out.

danemayer · May 4, 2017

Hi TopsRV2,

Most RV ladders have a mounting point on the roof, and there's quite a bit of stress on those mounting points. When the trailer comes with a ladder, the roof has a backing board installed as part of the manufacturing process.

I'd guess that Heartland is letting you know that since they didn't design for a ladder to be mounted, you'd just be anchoring it to the thin luan layer under the rubber roofing, and you'll end up causing damage to your roof and will probably have water leaks down the road. This type of damage can lead to extremely expensive repairs.

So you'll want a standalone ladder that fits in your storage or in your truck. Some people use telescoping ladders. Some use folding ladders. Be sure the one you get is rated for your weight.

TopsRV2 · May 4, 2017

Thanks danemayer,

After some additional research between last night and this morning, I 100% agree with you and that is the route I am going to go. My wife spoke to the dealer this morning while I was at a medical appt and they told her they are still trying to work out a way to make it happen and figure out a correct way to mount this latter up there. They said they have a "great tech" and will have a good answer by 3 this afternoon. Sounds to me like they're stalling even more and don't want to lose any more money. But all they're about to do is make me even more angry for messing with my time, money and equipment. But, I'll fix it by this afternoon. Thanks again for the tips and info.

Sierra66 · May 14, 2017

Im looking at installing a ladder on the back of our Prowler. I know where the aluminum studs are but Im not sure about the roof.

Anyone have a good model in mind to use?

Any tips?

danemayer · May 14, 2017

Sierra66 said:
Im looking at installing a ladder on the back of our Prowler. I know where the aluminum studs are but Im not sure about the roof.

Anyone have a good model in mind to use?

Any tips?

Have you read post #2 in this thread?

jdamude · May 14, 2017

TopsRV2 said:
Has anyone ever installed a rear mounted roof ladder on a Heartland, specifically a Mallard, more specifically a Mallard M312, either with or without the permission of Heartland while under warranty? What have any of your experiences been? Good or bad.

I purchased my M312 about 3 weeks ago and was first told my the dealer that he checked with the manufacturer and was told that there would be no problems installing a latter on to that model, so we ordered a latter and I've been waiting on it this whole time. Well now on the 25th of April (I just found out today) that Heartland emailed the dealer and told them that they sent the latter to them but if it is installed and any damage is done or something goes wrong, then they will not warranty any part of it because it is "NOT AUTHORIZED" or Warrantied!! So I speak back to the dealer; my salesman and service manager and went off on them a little bit today because I got a nice little run around over the last few weeks now. As it stands now, I'm not letting the dealer put it on if nothing is going to be covered by any of them, being the dealer or manufacturer. They can return the latter. I'm just wondering about you all's experience for my own knowledge and my own future reference.

So, I'm just wondering if any of you all had any type of similar experiences with roof latter's on these models, or simply did it yourself and if you had any luck with them or not?

Thanks!

PS- I just saw another decent useful post on here with good recommended telescoping latter's that I'm going to check out.

Personally, I would forget the ladder. The back wall of your trailer will most likely be framed with wood even though the side walls are aluminum. The ladder is more an looks piece rather than functional. When using the ladder you will be pulling on the stanchions and stepping the wall eventually causing a water leak and rotten would. I had to have the rear wall replaced on my Sundance because of the same issue. We now have a Big Country with a ladder but we have never used it. We have a telescoping ladder that we lean against it.

John T Bettencourt · May 14, 2017

jdamude said:
Personally, I would forget the ladder. The back wall of your trailer will most likely be framed with wood even though the side walls are aluminum. The ladder is more an looks piece rather than functional. When using the ladder you will be pulling on the stanchions and stepping the wall eventually causing a water leak and rotten would. I had to have the rear wall replaced on my Sundance because of the same issue. We now have a Big Country with a ladder but we have never used it. We have a telescoping ladder that we lean against it.

If your camper did not come with a ladder it is because your roof is not strong enough to hold a 200 lb. person so stay off the roof !

Sierra66 · May 14, 2017

You all have good points. I think Ill just get one of those extendable ladders and not bother with putting holes in our camper. Seems it would just be another failure point.

Thanks for the input!

Oregon_Camper · May 14, 2017

John T Bettencourt said:
If your camper did not come with a ladder it is because your roof is not strong enough to hold a 200 lb. person so stay off the roof !

I respectively disagree with this statement. Our prior trailers (Keystone Outback) had no ladder as the back wall didn't have strong beams to support. I walked all over the roof of those.

Rear roof ladder's?

TopsRV2

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danemayer

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TopsRV2

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Sierra66

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danemayer

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jdamude

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John T Bettencourt

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Sierra66

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Oregon_Camper

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