Quality Control whining ?

Is just me or does there seem to be alot of whining on this forum about Quality control. I understand that we have spent alot of money on our campers and we want it to be perfect. Is it possible to manufacture a perfect RV ? How much time did we spend on our pre purchase inspection ? I have been a home builder for 9 years and a aircraft mechanic for over 18 years and I have learned nothing is perfect ?
I have owned 3 different campers R Vision, Cardinal and a Heartland for the last 2 years. I have had problems with all of them. I take care of our Bighorn just like our home, it takes maintenance and upkeep. This is a great forum for information! Lets get out there and enjoy our RV ! You might need to get down on your knees and retighten that fitting under your sink, JUST DO IT. JIM who do I need to get in touch with at the factory about this problem I'm having? my wallpaper border is coming off.
HA HA.

AMEN!!!! Couldn't have said it better...

If you have been keeping up there are some on this forum that seem to think if only these trailers were made by Japan they would be perfect. Maybe they should move there and everything they buy would be perfect.

Yep, caokgafamily, that's pretty much what I've been thinking.
Peace
Dave

While I agree with you all, we now have a thread that is whining about the whining. Not very constructive.

I think some folks out there have way to much free time with nothing to do. Maybe they could go out there and volunteer to help the needy or visit some of the old folks in the rest homes. Maybe they could volunteer there time to Heartland to work as quality control inspectors.

Mrcomer,
Is it constructive to put things in perspective?

Depends

caokgafamily said:

Mrcomer,
Is it constructive to put things in perspective?

Click to expand...

Depends on whose prespective you are trying to put things into.

This kind of stuff is destructive not constructive.

As I said in another thread if you have problems under warranty let the dealer take care of the problems. That is why there is a warranty. After the warranty period you are pretty much on your own. The good thing about the forum is others can know what to look for and how to fix. Preventative maintainance goes a long way in an RV in catching a problem before it develops. The RV Handyman Club is another place you can get much info and assistance in fixing your RV.

Oh I forgot, here is the link to the RV Handyman Club http://www.rvhandyman.com/index.cfm?

jmgratz said:

Oh I forgot, here is the link to the RV Handyman Club http://www.rvhandyman.com/index.cfm?

Click to expand...

Don't forget the $29.95 it costs to join...might be a good deal.

This is a very good site to get info from and without people WHINNING about the problems they have with their high $$ rigs how would the dealers and manufacters know that there are problems that need to be addressed. I also have owned 3 different types of RV's and this is the 1st one that I have had the most problems with. Is it because the 1st 2 were of lesser cost or better QC. If people want to whine let them. Not all of us are completely retired. Some of us still work hard for the money to be able to buy a nice rig to enjoy without have to always be fixing something. Just a liitle better QC at the companies level and dealers is all any body is asking. If this is whinning, then call me a whinner.

I don't care about the whining (if you want to call it that). I appreciate knowing all these tidbits of information before I get to do my own PDI. Might have to bring a lunch with me when I do it.

The Dealers Don't Know

JohnDar said:

I don't care about the whining (if you want to call it that). I appreciate knowing all these tidbits of information before I get to do my own PDI. Might have to bring a lunch with me when I do it.

Click to expand...

I made a list over the last couple of years of the "whining" that went on on the Forums. People whining about the kitchen sink falling out, Missing bolts in the sliders. Tires exploding with less than 2,000 miles on them. Electrical outlets that don't work, delaminating walls, Sliders that go out but won't retract, and what to do if that happens. Sliders that come out while being towed. Light bulbs over the stove that are so dim that you can't tell if they are on or not. Problems with TV wiring. TV's that turn on by themselves. Latches on the closets that eat people. Major misaligned axles. Just too many things to list now.

I presented my little list to my dealer. He had never heard of 1/2 of the things on my list. And, when he went over the trailer, he found that nearly everything on my list was wrong with my trailer. They had never been notified of problems by the builder. They corrected them...and I'm still finding things that are wrong with my RV. The dealer now reads these forums...and notes consistent problems. He's ahead of the game when he can fix it before the customers has problems with it. He looks real good...and the customer is happy,

I can't walk...my wheelchair won't fit under the trailer. And, I don't have a tow vehicle to take it to the vendor. They either come out here to do the work...or the repairs don't get done. I may be "whining"...but, hey it's only me.

Some people have the expectation that their purchase will come with no major defects. And, when they find major problems, I cannot blame them for complaining about it. Maybe their complaints appear ludicrous to some, other people are glad to know.

People don't expect that new tires with less than 5,000 miles on them are potential killers. I seem to see a trend of people towing from the dealer directly to Goodyears. Why? Cause someone whined about the premature failure of tires from China and India. I think I have the expectation, whining though it maybe, to have the tires last more than 6 months.

When you are sitting on the side of the road, with two blown China Bombs, thousands of dollars damage done to your pride and joy, and now it cannot be moved. AND, surprise!!! you don't have the money to get it fixed or even for the cost of towing?

Is that whining? Lemme know. Kinda depends on whose ox is getting gored, don't it?

Now, can we let this thread die and get back to having some fun? Discussions like this are devisive (sp) and don't accomplish anything other than to cause hurt feelings.

I didn't start this thread to make anybody mad, Obviously some people have had some problems. My vynil came up in my bath,and I've had other minor problems. I spent about a month chasing some electrical problems caused by a power surge from a campground. I feel fortunate that I can fix any problems. My point was sometimes it seemed like some of the post are minor problems somebody could fix in little time themselves. I hope I didn't jinx myself and the rv gods are mad at me.

Whining, that's in interesting take on it.

I don't see many people whining about little things like peeling this or that. Most of what I've seen is real problems and some of them caused by design flaws or very poor quality control.

Let's do a comparison.

Notice this rust and this is some of the better spots. All on a 7 month old camper. Not acceptable.



Now if your home had rotting rafters in home after 7 months. I bet you'd be hopping mad.

How many people have the ability to take care of this?


Let's try this again.





Now let's say you're heat is not working so good in your house, you go up in the attic and you see a mess like this. I bet you'd be hopping mad and suing someone.

This is just sloppy, I don't care , I'm an assembly line work who can't wait till 5pm type of work.


Both these problems could have be avoided with some QC and fix some design flaws. Some of these things people should have to take care of.

Maybe you call this whining....... I think Heartland needs to address these things. There needs to be some but kicking on the assembly line.

Is water pooling in the belly of my camper whining?

Hi Steve,

Not sure if you were serious or not - but as with most issues, I am going to recommend you contact Heartland Customer Service at 877-262-8032.

Now for all - to address what Steve has brought up and others have commented on.

I feel it is a-ok for each to have his opinion and his own feelings about any particular matter. The goal of this forum is to share and care. And on this forum, if someone giving their opinion is sharing for the purpose of helping someone else - I like that.

Even if someone is giving their opinion just to vent a bit - that's not always a bad thing. If however, the same thing seems to appear over and over from the same person, that gets old and is not constructive. This I do not care for so much.

What I feel we all need to be more careful with are threads about fuel costs when we all try to determine the root cause and lay blame. And threads about the auto industry woes and again, trying to determine the root cause and lay blame. These two example are certainly related to RVing but are not a central focus of the Heartland Owners Forum.

What some of us may fail to consider are the sensitivities of others on this forum who have or do work in these other industries. And in some cases, the comments are hurtful - even when they are not meant to be. Many of these folks suffer silently as they know it is not a central focus of this forum and they don't want to "rock the boat".

Point I am trying to make on these non-central or non-core matters is that there are so many other forums dedicated to these other matters where they can be discussed. These should be considered and some conversations taken there.

This all said, I am not trying to stifle constructive conversation about Heartland RVs and Heartland products - even when that conversation is criticism.

Thank you everyone for understanding what I am trying to get across and thank you Steve for sparking this discussion and others who have responded thus far.

Jim Beletti

caokgafamily said:

Is just me or does there seem to be alot of whining on this forum about Quality control. I understand that we have spent alot of money on our campers and we want it to be perfect. Is it possible to manufacture a perfect RV ? How much time did we spend on our pre purchase inspection ? I have been a home builder for 9 years and a aircraft mechanic for over 18 years and I have learned nothing is perfect ?
I have owned 3 different campers R Vision, Cardinal and a Heartland for the last 2 years. I have had problems with all of them. I take care of our Bighorn just like our home, it takes maintenance and upkeep. This is a great forum for information! Lets get out there and enjoy our RV ! You might need to get down on your knees and retighten that fitting under your sink, JUST DO IT. JIM who do I need to get in touch with at the factory about this problem I'm having? my wallpaper border is coming off.
HA HA.

Click to expand...

I really take offense with your comment about WHINING. Previously I've stated that I've had quality problems with my BH3400RL, but I don't consider that I'm WHINING.

Lack of quality was the reason that the Big 3 lost their market share to the Japanese, primarily to Toyota. If Heartland would invest in the standards that Japanese companies use they would greatly increase customer satisfaction & reduce their after sales warranty / rework cost. Their customer service department is great but the quality component remains poor.

My quality issues were/are:
*of the five tires only two matched
*use of Chinese bombs
*floor that constantly squeeks (has been returned to the service center without being solved)
*fire place fan that constantly squeals (has been returned to the service center without being solved)
*cheap microwave / convection (had to replace at my cost 20 days after the warranty expired)
*crappy home theatre system (DVD drawer doesn't open unless pryed)
Etc, etc, etc

Compared to some other Heartland owners I've talked to, my problems are minor.

I know many will point the finger at dealers & the component manufacturer as the problem area - not me - if Heartland were a quality organization they would ensure they used quality components and ensure the dealers provide quality service (just like the automotive companys do).

Eh!

Originally Posted by caokgafamily //heartlandowners.org/images/buttons/viewpost.gif
IYou might need to get down on your knees and retighten that fitting under your sink, JUST DO IT.

I had my sink fall out...with water in both sinks and dirty dishes. It's fixed and caulked. But, Uncle Lefty was not a happy camper.

I think it is GOOD for most of these things to be out in the open. It helps people decide on what brand to buy or not. And helps people get things fixed.

I am sure there is some "whinning" - but I would not stereotype all QC problems as whinning. My Sundance is my third rv. I never had any trouble with my two previous RVs like I have had with my Sundance. Mainly - EVERY water line leaked somewhere. I could care less about sawdust and minor things. It went back to the dealer twice for fixes, but they were just half way fixing things. So I just fixed everything myself. Some people like doing that and some don't - or can't. Each to his own.

If you don't like the whinning, don't read the posts about stuff being wrong. I, myself, like reading them and sometimes I actually learn something. I just did a quick scan of some of the forums, and maybe, 20% of the porblems with QC could be construed as "whinning" - but that is subjective. I think some people just like to stir the pot and I just like to read and learn and go on.

my .02

red


by the way - "I'm tired - I ate too much - My head hurts"

Sorry about that last line of whinning!