ATF: Bighorn - Skin coming loose in king pin area

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In front underneath around the king pin area the skin is sagging and wrinkled and it looks to be pulling away from the sides. My dealer wants to put screws in it. I don't want to do that. It is an 09 model so I know it is out of warranty. I would really like to get it fixed right and to find out the cause. I don't think water is the problem. Any chance I could bring it up there for you to fix it. My dealer no longer carries Heartland product. Thanks
 

JohnDar

Prolifically Gabby Member
Unless there's been water damage, the sagging in the area on the DS of the overhang is typical after a while. The panel is not attached to the framing, other than where the retainer clip for the compartment cover is on the other side. Putting a screw with a washer may be the only way to remove the sagging without tearing the front end apart and using some kind of adhesive. Mine droops, too. One of these days, I might run a fastener into it.
 

SJH

Past Washington Chapter Leaders
In front underneath around the king pin area the skin is sagging and wrinkled and it looks to be pulling away from the sides. My dealer wants to put screws in it. I don't want to do that. It is an 09 model so I know it is out of warranty. I would really like to get it fixed right and to find out the cause. I don't think water is the problem. Any chance I could bring it up there for you to fix it. My dealer no longer carries Heartland product. Thanks

I didn't think water was the issue either but as it turned out, that was what caused the wrinkles. You might remove the pinbox cover and look at the trim screws on the end...water would drip out this area on mine. After re-sealing the entire fromt cap with no success, I discovered water was wicking up into the the bulkhead through the trim through the vinyl insert area. Sealing the trim did not stop it but when I caulked all the vinyl on the horizontal trim piece, the leak stopped. Eventually I will remove the entire trim piece and use some putty tape to seal it properly but this happened last winter and the weather was just too bad!
 

stevebotts

Active Member
I would suggest you call Heartland Customer Service. We met a guy at the Elkhart Campground who had an appointment with Heartland Factory Service Dept due to the same problem. He said they fixed his for free as a manufacturing problem. Was leaking at the edge of the overhang. I believe this might be a know issue. He was out from under warranty too.
 
I got an answer from Heartland. And I'm disgusted with them as usual. Should have known better than to contact them. I was hoping that with Thor acquiring them they might be different, but they haven't been any help to me. I wasn't expecting them to fix it for free. Just to fix it right. I can't understand how with all the complaints on here they are still selling product. My dealer quit caring them shortly after I bought. I like my trailer but wouldn't buy another. The company won't stand behind it. My dealer won't tell me why he quit caring them, he now carries FR.
 

danemayer

Well-known member
I got an answer from Heartland. And I'm disgusted with them as usual. Should have known better than to contact them.
Hi Dale,

I'm sorry you're having problems with the skin sagging. Looking at your posts, it looks like you've had your Bighorn for nearly 3 1/2 years and have had a few appliances fail and now have this problem.

I know we all buy these luxury RVs with the expectation that they'll last for a long time and are disappointed when problems arise. But I'm curious about your expectations. What I mean by that is that when the house I bought needed to be painted 4 years after buying it new, I hired a local painter. I didn't expect the builder to either paint it for free, or to come out and paint it himself. Same thing when the dishwasher failed and had to be replaced. Same thing when I had to replace a $200 part on the oven. On my house I had an expectation that when the warranties expired, I was on my own.

I wish I didn't have any problems on my Landmark, but alas, I have had some. I'm out of warranty on the coach and on many of the appliances. I have an extended warranty covering some things for a while yet to come and I will be disappointed if I have to use it. But frankly, things do break. Things do go wrong. After warranty, I turn to the extended warranty for what it covers, and I own the rest. That's basically my life experience with houses, cars, appliances, electronics, and just about everything I've ever bought in my life.

If a manufacturer goes above and beyond their stated warranty, I'm delighted. But if they give me just what they promised, well, they did what they promised. My experience with Heartland is that they've done more than they promised and more than they had to do.

What are you expecting from Heartland?
 
They told me it was a 99% chance it was caused from water. He also told me to contact my dealer and he could put screws in it. But I can do that. Shortly after I bought, I ordered it the way we wanted it, the dealer told me to recaulk and I did, the entire trailer. I have fixed all the issues myself except for replacing my springs and the dealer did that for me over a year ago. My son also repaired my Apollo for me. Seems like I am always repairing something. I didn't expect Heatland to fix for nothing. But it would have been nice if they could have scheduled a time I could take it to them of somewhere closer to be repaired right.
 

TravelTiger

Founding Texas-West Chapter Leaders-Retired
Did you send Heartland pics? Can you remove some of the screws and see if they appear rusted, as from water?

You could try to locate a reputable independent rv repair shop and get their opinion, as well, before assuming what it is or isn't.
 

danemayer

Well-known member
Dale, let me suggest opening a new thread in the RV Service Experiences section of the forums and ask for recommendations from other owners for a good repair facility near you. Heartland might be able to give you a recommendation, but nothing beats firsthand reports from people who've had similar work done.
 

comptonj

Member
I would also contacting Heartland and sending them pictures if requested. I just had a problem which started with the same issue. Not knowing any better I thought it was just normal. It turns out the aluminum framework had broken and Heartland made it good to thier credit. They do require that the work be done by them at the factory, seeing what was done this is not unreasonable but is somewhat of a pain.
 
My 2009 did the same thing. I took it to our local dealer in 2011 and they would not fix it under warranty and said there was damage (small surface cracks in gel coat) and told that to the factory. I took pictures was even willing to take unit to the factory (from Idaho) and the factory would not make the repairs under warranty. I removed the trim and utilized a marine grade calk/adhesive that I purchased from westmarine and sealed the sheeting to the plywood as well as the trim back on to the trailer. I think they build the greatest doit yourself kit on the market. I believe it may have been caused by a leak as I resealed the upper roof to cap areas and have not had a problem since. Seam resealing appears to be a constant process.
 

DRGalligher

Well-known member
Hi Dale,

I'm sorry you're having problems with the skin sagging. Looking at your posts, it looks like you've had your Bighorn for nearly 3 1/2 years and have had a few appliances fail and now have this problem.

I know we all buy these luxury RVs with the expectation that they'll last for a long time and are disappointed when problems arise. But I'm curious about your expectations. What I mean by that is that when the house I bought needed to be painted 4 years after buying it new, I hired a local painter. I didn't expect the builder to either paint it for free, or to come out and paint it himself. Same thing when the dishwasher failed and had to be replaced. Same thing when I had to replace a $200 part on the oven. On my house I had an expectation that when the warranties expired, I was on my own.

I wish I didn't have any problems on my Landmark, but alas, I have had some. I'm out of warranty on the coach and on many of the appliances. I have an extended warranty covering some things for a while yet to come and I will be disappointed if I have to use it. But frankly, things do break. Things do go wrong. After warranty, I turn to the extended warranty for what it covers, and I own the rest. That's basically my life experience with houses, cars, appliances, electronics, and just about everything I've ever bought in my life.

If a manufacturer goes above and beyond their stated warranty, I'm delighted. But if they give me just what they promised, well, they did what they promised. My experience with Heartland is that they've done more than they promised and more than they had to do.

What are you expecting from Heartland?

Excellent response, Dane. Thank you. I found this thread because we too have a delamination issue in the king pin area, under the front overhang. We purchased it new in 2010 so it's out of warranty. It's helpful to see that marine grade calk/adhesive was used by droberson1821 which ironically is on the same model of Bighorn that we have - 3055RL. Everyhing else has been trouble free and we've thoroughly enjoyed our unit.
 

wdk450

Well-known member
Dale:
Sometimes this sagging is a symptom of frame flex in the pinbox area. Your rig is of the right production era to have this. I would take your rig out on a secondary road (wit moderate bumps), look in your center mirror, and see if your pinbox is visibly flexing up and down into the surround enough to make you nervous about the integrity of the welds and frame supporting it. If that is true, I would do a search on this forum on the term "frame flex" to come up with many threads on the subject. Heartland is fixing rigs way out of regular warranty at Elkhart on a regular basis for this problem. My 2007 production Bighorn was fixed in Elkhart last June.
 
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