Unhappy camper

I met a fellow BH owner while spending the night in Bakersfield, Ca. He was not a happy camper, he has many problems with his new BH and apparently the person he talked to at Heartland was not very sympathetic. He has srews comming up through the floor in a couple places, some under the slid that has caused damage. HIS WIFE SPEPPED ON ONE WITH HER BARE FEET. Ha said his previous 5ver was a NUWA and in the breif time he has owned this BH he has had more problems than he had the entire time he owned his NUWA. He was unaware of this forum, I gave him the information and suggested he join in and share his story. I doubt he will, he seemd very unhappy and not very receptive to my offer of help.

I really hate hearing of these types of situations that people have. It makes you wonder what may have happened on a particular day at the factory to cause these types of problems. We don't hear of it often but when we do it just makes you wonder. I certainly hope he's able to get his problems resolved.

I can sympathize with that BH owner as our LM put us through many trials and tribulations until we got it right. I would just tell that person to talk to the persons supervisor at Heartland and also the dealer. Remember the "squeekie wheel gets the grease" so what they (Heartland) doesn't know about they cannot fix. Be patient and when they get it right you cannot find a better one to own. The support, the people at the factory, the owners etc. And remember they can trace the rig back by vin to the day it was built and find out who was working the line that day. Good luck...

You never know about whats going on in the factory. We were there the day ours came down the line. We requested that they put the pantry as the floor plan showed. They said they would but it slowed the coach on the line about 2 hours. So what I think happened is, they were behind on production ,and after the pantry was finally installed ,they rushed it through the rest of the line. Explains why the 12 or so items that werent right got through the line.
Ron

azbound said:

I met a fellow BH owner while spending the night in Bakersfield, Ca. He was not a happy camper, he has many problems with his new BH and apparently the person he talked to at Heartland was not very sympathetic. He has srews comming up through the floor in a couple places, some under the slid that has caused damage. HIS WIFE SPEPPED ON ONE WITH HER BARE FEET. Ha said his previous 5ver was a NUWA and in the breif time he has owned this BH he has had more problems than he had the entire time he owned his NUWA. He was unaware of this forum, I gave him the information and suggested he join in and share his story. I doubt he will, he seemd very unhappy and not very receptive to my offer of help.

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I found lots of screws not screwed in flush. I'm having the screws that did come thru the slide floor ground off short. I just can't wait to take mine out on the road.

12 verses of "ON THE ROAD AGAIN" by Willy for Lefty. A ONE AN A TWO

sights of BH & LM

We are in an RV park in New Caney. 3 Big Horns,(including mine) I haven't contact the owners of one of them, as yet. 1 Cyclone, (parked in a storage area) and a Land Mark with a very unhappy owner. I stopped to say "Howdy" and got an ear full of things wrong with the Landmark, Cape Cod. They were very unhapy with the dealer and Hartland factory people.
I told then about the rally in April and they said they might go.

Mariposa said:

We are in an RV park in New Caney. 3 Big Horns,(including mine) I haven't contact the owners of one of them, as yet. 1 Cyclone, (parked in a storage area) and a Land Mark with a very unhappy owner. I stopped to say "Howdy" and got an ear full of things wrong with the Landmark, Cape Cod. They were very unhapy with the dealer and Hartland factory people.
I told then about the rally in April and they said they might go.

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Wow! An RV park? New Caney is growing up. My uncle was a deputy constable there for years...as well as the infamous "Bull Sylus". Where on 59 is this place?

http://www.rvparkreviews.com/regions/Texas/New_Caney.html

Yes, Lefty, there are two RV parks in New Caney. Forest Retreat RV park has been our stop several times. Love it!

cjwigley said:

http://www.rvparkreviews.com/regions/Texas/New_Caney.html

Yes, Lefty, there are two RV parks in New Caney. Forest Retreat RV park has been our stop several times. Love it!

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I remember when New Caney's sole claim to fame was Caney Creek Fish Camp..next gas 25 miles.

RV park

Lefty
We are in Forest Retreat Park. It is near Fair Grounds off McCleskey Rd.
It is a nice park and well maintain. Just have to get use to the road construction on Hwy 59.
Bob

Mariposa said:

Lefty
ust have to get use to the road construction on Hwy 59.
Bob

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Soon to be known as IH-69.

Unhappy BH Owner

I too sympathize with the "Unhappy Camper" We had many problems with our new 3670RL when we bought it. There were no major problems but a whole host of minor ones that are too numerous to mention here. They were things that indicated to me that either the people assembling the rigs are inexperienced or they are in such a hurry that things are not assembled with care. To be fair, I have heard many horror stories from owners of many different makes and models from entry level to top of the line models. It is the nature of the assembly line production methods.

I was not impressed with Heartland's responses to my queries but I will say that Kelowna Truck & RV where we purchased our rig and La Mesa RV in Yuma have been very good to deal with.

We really like our rig after completing a 10,000 mile trip this fall and winter. Fortunately, I have the knowledge and the tools to correct almost any problem we have encountered. I have gone over the rig from top to bottom and end to end and corrected many small issues and many issues that could develop further down the road.

It is true that "The squeaky wheel gets the grease" so I would say that Unhappy Camper should make sure that he contacts his dealer and Heartland until he is satisfied. I have kept a detailed record of any and all issues, including date and time and the steps taken to correct them. I will be supplying my dealer with a copy of this record upon our return home next month. Hopefully this will assist them in avoiding future problems with other customers.

It is not too good when you spend a large amount of money for a rig and have a lot of problems, but that is what happens in most mass produced consumer goods whether it be cars or trailers. Once the bugs are out, the rig is a good comfortable unit and we like ours a lot.

This is a serious question. Does anyone know of 5th wheel type trailer, getting nailed under any states "lemon" law?

I have been wondering; if anyone on the line in the factory is a certified plumber or electrician? I would like believe that a certified person designed the plan for the systems, but doubt that the actual installers on every trailer are certified to do plumbing and electrical installation work in a stick and brick, and I do not know if a certification is required to install systems in trailers? Are there any "building codes" for trailers? Jim, any ideas on this?

I don't know about the States but in Canada there is a certified RV technician course. I would bet that the systems are installed by production line workers and not certified trades. If they were, the cost of the unit would double due to the hiigher wages.

Boats are the same way. Certified Techs but not plumbers elect. etc. They get some training in every aspect of the boat.
Paul

Generally, just like in home construction, those that are doing the work are not the trade license holder. The owner of the trade company is the license holder, not the worker bees. They may be in an apprenticeship, or had been enrolled in a trade school, but they are not licensed. The license holder, which is usually only 1 person in the company and usually the owner, assumes the responsibility and liability for the employees and the work they perform. As a side note, an employee may possibly be better trained or have more knowledge than the actual license holder, but may not be willing to be tested and acquire the license an operate his own business. Most jurisdictions require a certain amount of financial, legal, and on-going training support which many do not want to assume, therefor they stay an employee.

2010augusta said:

I have been wondering; if anyone on the line in the factory is a certified plumber or electrician? I would like believe that a certified person designed the plan for the systems, but doubt that the actual installers on every trailer are certified to do plumbing and electrical installation work in a stick and brick, and I do not know if a certification is required to install systems in trailers? Are there any "building codes" for trailers? Jim, any ideas on this?

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Alan,

I do not know the answer to your first question - but my assumption is along the lines Clark suggests.

Most RV manufacturers design/engineer their own products but incorporate RVIA standards in doing so. Sort of the building code for RVs. Much of the standards relate to safety. I have never seen the standards.

As a side note, RVs that are larger than 400 square feet cannot be RVIA sealed. This does not mean they do not build them to RVIA standards - minimum. It does however, mean that you will not likely seen them at RV shows as most shows are RVIA sanctioned.

Jim

I think I met this same BH owner last fall in Williams, AZ I won't say they didn't have a legitimet grip but I have to tell you I was not impressed with the way this person I met told me they were going about getting help. Maybe the squeaky wheel does get the grease but I have to say it is all in "how you ask"! We have not had any major problems but the problems we have had were dealt with in a proper and timely manner by both Heartland and our Dealer, even to the point our Dealer is not selling Heartland products any longer (change of ownership) but they told me no matter I am still their customer and I should bring it on by anytime I have a problem and they will be happy to work with me. And they did when I needed a circuit breaker replaced on the hydralic pump for the slides.

We have met 3 fellow BH owners on the road and unfortunately they were all 3 complainers one fellow was such a crab he told me he was banned from this forum. Again I have to say from my experience with these folks that you really will get your best response if you go about your dealings with customer service with a civil tone but yet be firm and give them the chance to help you rather than go at it like you starting a fight and making all kinds of threats. Heck I even had a problem taken care of by Heartland even after we were out of warranty so I know your attitude has a lot to do with it. Just my 2 cents worth hope to see y'all at the Rally that's where we met a large number of nice folks and happy Heartland owners.