Dont think I will buy another Heartland Product

Charlie263 · Jul 10, 2017

Well, sorry to say my 2014 Torque 380 will be my last Heartland product. We sprung for a brand new 2014 Torque 380. Immediately after purchasing it, our bedroom slide started malfunctioning, I guess there was some manufacturing defect. We took it in to Dixie Rv in Defuniak springs, fl, and the bottom of the slide was all scored from grinding, apparently the guides fell off. Anyways here we are in 2017 and my slide is sagging so bad you cant even sleep in the bed. I took it to Runaway RV in dothan Al for some repairs and they say they have to take the slide completely off to get to the problem, and that I shouldnt use it until its fixed. So I called Heartland to see if they would help me with the issue, since its probably stemming from the original problem manufacturing issue, which they told me they couldnt help me. Thanks alot for nothing Heartland! Lost another customer.

Buster537 · Jul 10, 2017

Give the repair from Dixie some thought. We bought a Big Country from them and shortly after the warranty was out (less than 2 weeks) I was told by a service tech there they did not know me.

RoadJunkie · Jul 10, 2017

Best of luck with your alternate manufacturer.

alexb2000 · Jul 10, 2017

Let's all be honest for a minute. RVs... are not a super high quality product, PERIOD. Crawl under any of them, self tapping screws, mis-fitting panels, loose wiring, plumbing, plywood, etc. Every hole looks like it was cut with a hatchet. No where near the quality of your base model Toyota Corolla.

So what?

They are designed for camping at a price point that is affordable.

I quickly learned to accept that on my brand new RV, I would be doing a lot of work to get everything tuned up and working right, and I'd have to upgrade/improve all the things the factory choose not to do.

Whenever I drive by an RV dealer of any brand I see a lot full of those waiting for service, so this isn't a brand specific thing, they are all similar.

For example, my buddy just got his brand new Forrest River back after 1 year of repairs, 1 year of zero use.

It's just the way it is.

I personally think you are better off taking the time to make your RV reliable and then hold on to it. BWTHDIK

Charlie263 · Jul 10, 2017

Buster537 said:
Give the repair from Dixie some thought. We bought a Big Country from them and shortly after the warranty was out (less than 2 weeks) I was told by a service tech there they did not know me.

yeah, my experience with them wasnt good either. They seem shady. I had a small limb tear a couple of very small holes that were easily patchable with rubber patches, and they voided my "forever warranty" because I elected to just patch them myself instead of letting them hose my insurance company by replacing the whole rubber roof, which to me is a big mistake, because the factory roof install will always be way better than after the fact. After that, I lost respect for that place.

- - - Updated - - -

alexb2000 said:
Let's all be honest for a minute. RVs... are not a super high quality product, PERIOD. Crawl under any of them, self tapping screws, mis-fitting panels, loose wiring, plumbing, plywood, etc. Every hole looks like it was cut with a hatchet. No where near the quality of your base model Toyota Corolla.

So what?

They are designed for camping at a price point that is affordable.

I quickly learned to accept that on my brand new RV, I would be doing a lot of work to get everything tuned up and working right, and I'd have to upgrade/improve all the things the factory choose not to do.

Whenever I drive by an RV dealer of any brand I see a lot full of those waiting for service, so this isn't a brand specific thing, they are all similar.

For example, my buddy just got his brand new Forrest River back after 1 year of repairs, 1 year of zero use.

It's just the way it is.

I personally think you are better off taking the time to make your RV reliable and then hold on to it. BWTHDIK

Yeah, I realize they arent made that great, but I have been camping a long time, and we finally got the camper of our dreams, and paid in the mid 50's for it, so I feel like they know it was a bad slide, and they should stand behind it.

Charlie263 · Jul 10, 2017

And I also had two blowouts on my vacation because they elect to put "blowmax tires" on their units. One of which did over $2000 damage to the side of my fiver. I also had an A/C get replaced under warranty. I think I had more than my share of problems.

alexb2000 · Jul 10, 2017

Charlie263 said:
And I also had two blowouts on my vacation because they elect to put "blowmax tires" on their units. One of which did over $2000 damage to the side of my fiver. I also had an A/C get replaced under warranty. I think I had more than my share of problems.

Look, everyone here wants you to have a good experience with your RV. However, there is a point of personal responsibility. If you read ANY RV forum "blowmax tires" are an almost daily post. This is what I'm taking about when I say make your RV reliable, take off those tires the second it gets delivered, and put on some quality G rated tires (Goodyear or Saliun). Not doing so means you are just sitting yourself up for the hassle of a major repair and a lot of time without your RV. Blaming the dealer or the manufacturer isn't going to fix the problem.

Switching brands won't change those choices either.

JohnD · Jul 11, 2017

Re: Dont think I will buy another Heartland Product...

We had some big time problems with our previous Heartland trailer . . . yet we bought another.

We had a few items that needed warranty coverage on the new Prowler, and still have a couple of things to fix.

Heartland wasn't the issue . . . it was the dealerships and the very expensive extended warranty that gave us the finger

!

danemayer · Jul 11, 2017

Hi Charlie263,

It's always sad to hear when someone has a series of problems on their rig. Over the years as I've read the mostly good but sometimes bad experiences people have had, it seems like failures aren't evenly distributed. One person has almost nothing go wrong. But someone else may have a bunch of problems. I think there's a bit of "luck of the draw" involved. Most of the time these things get worked out under warranty, but after 2 or 3 or 4 years, if a problem comes up (or comes back), you either have to have an extended warranty, or like most of us, you just deal with whatever comes up. Not much different from what happens with a new home.

With respect to your slideout, if you can post specific information about what was done to fix the problem you had under warranty, along with specific information about what exactly is wrong now, including why the dealer has to remove the slide room to fix it, someone may be able to give you some useful advice. Or perhaps someone has fixed the same problem and can suggest an alternate approach that would save you some time and money.

BighornELK · Jul 11, 2017

We too, had a new Heartland product with several issues. We took it to the dealer and tried to have the problems fixed, with horrible results. Finally, we started contacting Heartland Customer Service directly, and found the dealer had never contacted them or requested parts. We told Heartland what our issues were and they contacted the dealer, problem solved. Out of warrant now, and still some minor issues, but I would still buy another Heartland product. At the Goshen Rally Heartland fixed several issues for us, without cost. One of the issues, which we didn't think they'd help with, was a bad refrigerator door. They couldn't get the door before the rally was over, so they shipped it to our house. Now that's customer service!!!!!!

wdk450 · Jul 11, 2017

Before you give up on a warranty-paid repair, call Heartland again and ask to talk to the service department manager. If he is unavailable, ask for his e-mail address, and try to contact him by both phone /e-mail. Photos you can send of the problems helps get approvals.

See if you can find a reputable INDEPENDENT RV repairer in your area. Heartland service keeps a nationwide list of these they have worked with. RVServiceReviews.com is a website of RV repairer evaluations by RV owners.

If Heartland paid for a warranty repair on this specific problem, and it was repaired at that time to your satisfaction, by corporate policy they might not pay for a REPEAT warranty repair of the very same problem.

BWStark · Jul 12, 2017

Charlie263, I understand your frustration, as we had a similar problem with our crossroads cruiser bedroom slide, swinteck drive. Ours was in the shop six months not all at the same time. We just by chance ran into a service manager while shopping at an rv dealer in Longview, tx.. He set up an appointment and after dropping it off he found a leak we knew nothing about had caused the slide floor to rot out. He fought for us with our insurance co and after two agents looked at the damage our ins. Paid for the repairs. The slide had to be pulled, the floor replaced and the entire drive mechanism replaced. The slide was repaired and we got several years of good use afterwards.

Just a thought, the shop that wanted to pull the slide might be the best bet. It was for us. Hayes RV in Longview, Tx is where we had ours repaired and because of the service given us by the service manager we just went back to them for our 2017 BH 3760 EL.

I hope you are able to get the issue resolved and enjoy your trailer.

BWStark

sean.harp · Jul 12, 2017

alexb2000 said:
Look, everyone here wants you to have a good experience with your RV. However, there is a point of personal responsibility. If you read ANY RV forum "blowmax tires" are an almost daily post. This is what I'm taking about when I say make your RV reliable, take off those tires the second it gets delivered, and put on some quality G rated tires (Goodyear or Saliun). Not doing so means you are just sitting yourself up for the hassle of a major repair and a lot of time without your RV. Blaming the dealer or the manufacturer isn't going to fix the problem.

Switching brands won't change those choices either.

Jayco uses Goodyear tires by default on their Eagle 5th wheels. Not saying Jayco is perfect by any stretch but at least they stopped using crap tires.

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alexb2000 · Jul 12, 2017

sean.harp said:
Jayco uses Goodyear tires by default on their Eagle 5th wheels. Not saying Jayco is perfect by any stretch but at least they stopped using crap tires.

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Good info. If we could just get people to automatically add $1500 or more to the price of any trailer with Towmax tires in their minds (like a mandatory option), then it wouldn't be long until all the manufacturers followed Jayco's lead.

sean.harp · Jul 12, 2017

I think they should either raise the price to cover the tires or come clean about the failure rate of cheap tires. I'm still frustrated on the jayco side with the use of cheap parts. Like the cheap plastic bushings on the MORryde 3000 suspension. For $75 more they could have used heavy duty shackles and bushings and wet bolts. Why skimp on something safety related like this when we see bushing failures in the first year!? They shouldn't skimp on safety related items like tires and suspension.

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danemayer · Jul 12, 2017

The larger coaches have been shipping with Sailun S637 (excellent) or Goodyear G614 (very good), or Goodyear G114 (excellent). Not sure what Heartland has switched to on smaller trailers.

But of course a change on the manufacturing floor doesn't change tires that have already shipped. And it doesn't keep dealers from giving your good tires to someone else before you buy.

As for other companies shipping Goodyear tires, it's important to know which Goodyear tires. Last time I looked, Goodyear Marathon had more complaints to NHTSA than Towmax.

MCTalley · Jul 12, 2017

danemayer said:
As for other companies shipping Goodyear tires, it's important to know which Goodyear tires. Last time I looked, Goodyear Marathon had more complaints to NHTSA than Towmax.

Endurance Tires, E-rated 16 inch.

JohnD · Jul 14, 2017

Also, Jayco is now a Thor product . . .

As is all Heartland RV's.

sean.harp · Jul 14, 2017

JohnD said:
Also, Jayco is now a Thor product . . .

As is all Heartland RV's.

True, but I'm guessing it will take years for any Thor related changes to make it into their manufacturing processes.

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TravelTiger · Jul 14, 2017

sean.harp said:
True, but I'm guessing it will take years for any Thor related changes to make it into their manufacturing processes.

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Not so, the buying power of Thor in massive quantities from suppliers is huge. That's probably the quickest way for them to gain profit. Start using what Thor is already getting at a lower price.

Dont think I will buy another Heartland Product

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