Our unit seems to spend much time at the dealer

Our unit is a 2009 Sundance XLT it seems to be at the dealer quite often we bought it in May 2008, we had it in and out of the shop a lot last spring,summer,fall...now here we are after a long winter finally getting into camping season. One weekend out and our unit is back in the shop bedroom window leaking, another day night shade broke. Last year we had two leaks in the bedroom ceiling area, they said it was the seal in the roof, they fixed the seal and it STILL leaked, we kept taking it back to get it fixed the dealer kept assuring us they did a pressure test which revealed nothing so we brought it home low and behold it was still leaking took it back and they did another pressure test only this time they upped the pressure and they finally found it. Now it is once again at the shop they have had it all last week for the bed window leak, and the other day/night shade when I called last night to check on it the response was wellll I can tell you it's not done yet! I said well we thought we would possibly like to come get it tomorrow and camp a night, the response was well all I can tell you it is in the locked chained area and it's not done. Wow..needless to say it's getting embarrassing the neighbors are asking where's your camper our reply is always... in shop....there reply is AGAIN! The other couple's in our small RV group all bought new campers pretty much when we bought this one and of course all they have to say is gee we haven't had any leaks. None of there's are from the same dealer/manufacturer. We mentioned to the dealer that maybe we should take our unit to the Heartland manufacture in Indiana to see what they have to say, the Dealer's response was oh no need to do that this is all normal things i.e. caulk for leaks, window shades breaking etc. We are beginning to get a complex...doesn't this seem unusual for a brand new unit? We really don't even know what to say or think anymore.

janjane, I can tell you about the window shades from experience. They are sensitive to adjustment. If they are even a little bit too tight, the cords will fray and break. If they are too loose, they won't stay put when up. Learning by trial and error is the best way to adjust the shade. They adjust by tension placed on the individual cords using the tabs at the bottom. Loosen the screw and turn the tab one way or the other to adjust and only use enough tension so that the top shade stays put while you raise the bottom shade. As for the leak/leaks. These are extremely difficult to find because once the water come in through it entry point, it can flow through the ceiling and come out in many different areas. Places to check first are all the seams on the roof and vents and clearance lights. Hang in there, it may take some time to find the exact point of entry and once it's found, your problems should be solved.

A little more to add to what Ray said on the day/night shade adjustment. Wind the cord clockwise around the tensioning spool and get the tension so that when the shade is raised or lowered, it is not hard to do, but tight enough so that it doesn't fall by itself. The reason for winding it clockwise is the cord now is keeping pressure on the screw so that it doesn't loosen. If you wind it counterclockwise, it will try to unscrew the tensioning spool and the shades fall down.

Hope this helps,

John

Thank you all hopefully we can put an end to the leaks soon. Our weekend camping get aways are sacred to us, as we both work full time, we have raised five boys and have had my dear 89 year old mother living with us 5 years now, we do so look forward to hooking this thing up on Friday and getting the heck out of dodge for the weekend, it truly is our time to ourselves. Best thing we did for US is to buy this camper and allow our selves some time away. We do love the unit light weight we pull with a F-250 superduty gas 5.4 we have been to Branson,MO, Texas, and would like to go see 2 of our boys and 2 grandkids in Colorado. We just need to keep it out of the shop. Right now we feel it is in Camper prison. Thanks again.

I know it's not easy having to deal with issues one after the other, however, when you get the bugs worked out you will really enjoy your unit. We've lived in our Bighorn for two years...trust me, it's had its share of "bugs", most of which are gone now.

Unfortunately sometimes, due to the luck of the draw, some of us get a unit that has more than it's share of problems. Just hang in there, the dealer will find the leak, and all will be well again....and you can get it out of "camper prison"...I like that!!