Quality Control

This past summer my wife and I purchased an 09 Sundance 3012RE 5th wheel. We love the layout and the functionality of the unit. We've camped 6-7 times this year and it gets sweeter each time we use it!

Have had some quality control issues that my excellent local dealer has handled well. Both kitchen and bathroom faucets were loose and leaking. The kitchen sink and shower walls leaked and needed to be calked. The entire fiberglass (both sides) needed to be recalked because the factory quality control didn't inspect properly. Needed 2 storage compartment locks replaced and the front door main lock replaced. There were lots of electrical wire cuttings in different places and sawdust needed to be vacuumed.

I'm taking the unit in tomorrow to have 3 water hose connectors under the sink replaced, the air mattress replaced, the small accordian-style curtain divider repaired, and all windows competely calked on the outside because of multiple small leaks.

Currently, we have 7 rust spots on our 09 stainless steel kitchen sink. I rub them out with a fine brillo pad but they return quickly. Our local dealer recommended I contact you. I'm surprised that the quality on the stainless steel product on an 09 5er is quite poor. We are also seeing the finish on the kitchen faucet rubbing off/staining from splashes of Dawn liquid dish soap landing on it. What is happening? We love the overall product but this other quality control stuff is irritating me.....

Can someone help me? Are other owners having these issues?

warranty and repairs

Jim, Who do I talk to,to see about getting an extention on my warranty because I have had my 09 Pinehurst for 5 months and have had it out a total of 2 weeks because of a hole in the tank ,landing gear, counter flaw,leaks in lines etc.. and other odds and ends wrong..You have fixed the flaws but every time i take it out something else goes wrong and has been in the shop the rest of the time waiting on parts..Love what I have seen but am disapointed to not have had it all summer and should be able to get an extention..thank you and let me know what you can do..Wendell McGowan,Redding,Ca.

Jumpshot said:

This past summer my wife and I purchased an 09 Sundance 3012RE 5th wheel. We love the layout and the functionality of the unit. We've camped 6-7 times this year and it gets sweeter each time we use it!

Have had some quality control issues that my excellent local dealer has handled well. Both kitchen and bathroom faucets were loose and leaking. The kitchen sink and shower walls leaked and needed to be calked. The entire fiberglass (both sides) needed to be recalked because the factory quality control didn't inspect properly. Needed 2 storage compartment locks replaced and the front door main lock replaced. There were lots of electrical wire cuttings in different places and sawdust needed to be vacuumed.

I'm taking the unit in tomorrow to have 3 water hose connectors under the sink replaced, the air mattress replaced, the small accordian-style curtain divider repaired, and all windows competely calked on the outside because of multiple small leaks.

Currently, we have 7 rust spots on our 09 stainless steel kitchen sink. I rub them out with a fine brillo pad but they return quickly. Our local dealer recommended I contact you. I'm surprised that the quality on the stainless steel product on an 09 5er is quite poor. We are also seeing the finish on the kitchen faucet rubbing off/staining from splashes of Dawn liquid dish soap landing on it. What is happening? We love the overall product but this other quality control stuff is irritating me.....

Can someone help me? Are other owners having these issues?

Click to expand...

Jumpshot:

Yes, unfortunately I have had many of the same issues you have had. I purchased a Sundance 2998RB in March from a local RV Show. I too have had the camper in several times over the Summer and as a matter of fact, it is at the Dealer's now and has been since the third week in September!

We too had leaks in the water lines under the kitchen sink, then the kitchen sink drain, leaks from the shower supply lines, leaks from around the base of the shower enclosure, leaks from the main water supply line to the water heater which damaged the side of the cabinet.

We also had a leak in the bunk room slide that damaged the trim and to date that is what we have been waiting for. Appears the manufacturer has sent the wrong slide trim twice since ordered and they (Dealer) had to send them a picture of the trim to make sure they sent the right parts. Meanwhile the unit has been of no use to us since September ... not that we would have used it more then once after that time anyway. It is now well below freezing here in Vermont this time of year. We also had a problem with one of the windows in the main slide. One other thing that I can't seem to get them to own up to is the axle alignment, seems off slightly as I can insert expanding wheel chocks with some effort on one side but can't on the other because there is less space between the tires. (I have checked the air pressure and tried both expandable wheel chocks, same story, they both work on one side but not the other).

Because of all these issues to date, I have inquired about purchasing a long term warranty (extended coverage) because it seems apparent we will have some issues with this fiver. My last camper, a 30' tag along by Fleetwood served us for eight years and we never needed to extend the warranty on that. Some initial problems, minor and never another problem again thereafter with the camper itself.

As you did, we noticed a lot of filings, sawdust, wire strippings, etc under enclosed areas. We purchased the unit because it seemed to offer the most for the most competitive price. We too like the layout and the overall design and features of the unit, especailly the contoured front end (I have a short box) but we are rather concerned about the overall quality of the unit.

I wish you better luck in the future!

Here's an update... went to winterize my 3012RE today. Took the panel off in the storage compartment and found the antifreeze hose... abra cadabra...all done! Easy to do.

While under there, and having read a bunch of articles about Sundance owners finding quality control issues, I also found that the underbelly was not heated...no duct hook up. I also found out that the factory worker who put the labels on the black/gray #1 and #2 release/flush valves couldn't read... they are reversed. Sad stuff!!!

I'll have the dealer fix these issues next week.

Hello Jumpshot, I am sending this info to my Service & Warranty Department. They will be getting in touch with you to see if we can help with your issues.

Thanks,

Dave

quality control issues

My wife and I bought a 2009 sundance 3300sk, we really like the layout, we too have had some workmanship issues. The bathroom door would not close completely and would not latch. On almost all the drawer slides, the holes were drilled off or oversized. The kitchen sink leaked, the sink drains did not have any sealer. Got ready to winterize, got to the outside shower and antifreeze was spraying all over the storage area, loose shower hose where it attaches to regulator. The shower stall in the bathroom leaks, I've caulked it but I'm not sure if it's fixed or not. One of the ceiling panels came down in the bedroom, the person that put it up missed the mark with his staples. All these issues I fixed myself. I realize that these are not earth shaking issues, but should not have happened. We really enjoy our Sundance, but we also would interested in a extended warranty, because I see more problems on the horizon

Just a thought. If you have warranty issues let the dealer fix them. I believe the bonuses that Heartland pays its employees for quality workmanship are charged back to the employee (no bonus) if too many issues in workmanship occur. Jim B you can correct me if I am wrong. But how does a manufacturer know about workmanship issues if dealer repair facilities are not getting paid for repairs from the manufacturer. If the consumer (buyer) makes their own repairs then everything is fine as far as the dealer and manufacturer are concerned. That is why I get my repairs done by a dealer when my unit is under warranty. You can complain all you want about quality but prove it if you haven't had the dealer preform the repair. Again...my opinion.

jmgratz, very good point. No work orders from the dealers then everything must be fine.

That may be true for the warranty period, but many of us have latent issues ( post warranty) that have shown up after the warranty period expires. While feedback from dealer Warranty work orders to the factory is great, it will only make a lasting difference if the data broken down and analyzed to determine trends, then employees and suppliers given the time to work as a team to determine root causes and make recommendations / changes to improve (fool proof) the assembly process to preclude the issue from happening in the first place. Simply giving feedback or taking away bonus opportunity from employees is not the answer. Some issues may not be related to workmanship, but rather materials, equipment or poor design. The real solution is to empower the employees, give the feedback ( digestible data) and time to collectively offer feedback and suggestions for continuous improvement.

Ohhhh sorry, I just remembered, Heartland is an American company. If they were Japanese owned, they would have Total Quality Management. Let's see... our big 3 auto makers are about to go under without a HUGE government bail out, so why isn't Toyota and Honda asking for Money from uncle sam? Hummm... could it be they understand quality is built in, and not something that the selling dealer and customer should deal with?

Fishn2dmax;
Having retired from Honda, spent time on their assembly lines where every associate has a button to stop the line if they perceive a problem, worked my final years in Research & Development, I have but one thing to say-Amen. But with that said, I also believe in Heartland. I have seen the growth in the product and the management since I purchased my "Classic" Landmark. I have watched an impressive evolution in their manufacturing process and the growth in their product line. Scott Tuttle led the move until he moved on earlier this year and it has been picked up by an innovative and progressive management team. I also know, first hand, the customer service that Heartland provides to their customers is as good, if not better, than any RV company in the industry. I'm certainly not saying that there isn't room for improvement, but I would say to give the dealer and Heartland a chance before we berate them publicly. My first question to any new owner is: Did you do a Pre Delivery Inspection? How long did it take you? If you tell me less than 4 hours, I'll tell you that you didn't do a complete PDI. When we spend that many thousands of dollars for a new coach, you want to be as sure as possible that it is right. Problems will occur. That you can be sure of, but you don't want to take them home with you. JMHO

John

Please get with your local dealer and have these issue repaired. I am getting with my plant manager to look into these issues. We should be catching this on the line and not out in the field. Thanks for your input.

Dave

We have a production meeting every morning and the service manager is in the meeting relaying any issues that we may have to myself and the plant manager. We address any issues directly after the meeting.

Dave

Thanks Dave Willis! The trailer went to the dealer this morning so we'll see what happens. I look forward to talking with anyone from the factory.