Heartland = Quality??

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gotlieb

Active Member
Bought a new camper from a dealer out of state. Had everything ready to go, paperwork signed, money transferred, expecting delivery on Monday. Got a call on Friday from the dealership saying there was a hole in the fresh water tank. So now they need to replace the tank and won't be able to deliver it until Wednesday. They found the hole during pre-ship inspection. The Dealer told me that during assembly, they must have drilled a hole through the floor and it went through the tank.

A couple questions. Wouldn't the fresh water tank be one of the last things to be installed? How would the person drilling not realize they drilled through the tank? Makes me wonder what kind of people are assembling these campers? Also, is there no inspection at the assembly point prior to shipping these to dealerships? Do I need to be worried about other things with my camper? Will the tires fall off on delivery because they weren't properly fastened during assembly?
 

codycarver

Founding Wyoming Chapter Leader-retired
Somebody will correct me if I'm wrong but I believe the tanks are one of the first things to be installed.

I think the good news here is your dealer is doing great job with there PDI.

We haven't had any major issues with our BH in over two years and you should always check the torque on your log nuts every 25, 50, and 100 miles anytime the lug nuts are removed.

Enjoy your new RV
 

danemayer

Well-known member
Hi gotlieb,

The dealer story sounds pretty unlikely to me. Why would the assembly team drill a hole in the floor at all? How long a drill bit would it take to go through the floor and the tank? It makes no sense. Did you speak with the tech who worked on the rig, or did you hear this from a sales person? If it came from the sales person, you're getting second or third hand information.

I don't want to shake your confidence in your dealer, but if I were you I'd tell them I'm from Missouri, the "show me" state. Or if you want to find out more, call Heartland Customer Service at 877-262-8032. Have your vin# ready and ask them what warranty work is being done and what parts are on order. If you don't have the vin#, you can call the dealer to get it.
 

TravelTiger

Founding Texas-West Chapter Leaders-Retired
All RVs, aka "rolling homes" have the potential for construction and assembly-line mistakes and mishaps... After all, they are homes, completely built in a matter of days!

So rather than be upset, it's probably better to be prepared.

I believe the tanks are installed with the frame upside down, before anything else is installed. It could be possible that while installing the Coroplast (the material that covers the undercarriage, made of corrugated plastic) a screw missed its intended target into the frame crossbeams and ended up hitting the tank by mistake. It is a very good sign that your dealer caught this before you took delivery.

Most RV manufacturers rely on their dealers to check their units before they sell them to customers. Some do better than others at catching construction and assembly issues that may arise with active use.

It is important that you as a buyer also take responsibility for fully inspecting your unit before you take possession, called a PDI. There are many checklists available, to aid you during the PDI. Take at least 3 hours or more to verify the unit is completely operational, and the dealer goes over everything with you so you know how to operate and maintain it correctly.

Congrats on your new "rolling home" purchase, and welcome to the Heartland family!



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GOTTOYS

Well-known member
If I remember correctly the tanks are installed even before the chassis is flipped over on the assembly line. Whatever the case is, don't expect everything to be 100% perfect. There are a lot of parts that went into your new RV. It's quite possible there maybe a few other things that need attention. It happens with all of them from the lowest priced to the most expensive and it doesn't matter what brand or make it is..It sounds to me like your dealer is doing a good job on their inspection...Don
 

CliffP

Well-known member
If that's the case you're lucky to find out now. Make sure to do a good PDI so nothing else gets missed. You may have a hard time getting a dealer near you to work on it.
 

hillsonwheels

Well-known member
For the most part, my glass is always half full :) rather than half empty :(............so, I believe I'd really be glad the dealer found the leaking tank and is standing up to the replacement. What if they hadn't tested it? Sounds to me like a respectable dealer. And, not all build processes are perfect. How many lemon cars are out there?

We had a cracked grey water tank in our Bighorn. It was fixed by Heartland. We still are enjoying it. Only problem was we missed it while it was being repaired. Enjoy! Safe travels!
 

jbeletti

Well-known member
Frames are flipped in the first station of the build process. During the flip, they get underbelly (coruplast), steps, axles, springs, wheels and tires. Then the frame is flipped back upright and the unit is moved sideways to the next station.

Insulation is added, tanks, hydraulic lines and more are added at station 2.

It does seem a bit odd that a screw could have been put through the fresh water tank but I suppose it's possible. It's great that the dealer actually did a thorough PDI and is taking care of this before delivery. It will be worth the wait.
 

TeJay

Well-known member
It seems that everybody missed the posters comment as relayed from the dealer. They said that they must have drilled a hole through the FLOOR and into the tank. Think about that. If they drilled through the floor the hole had to be in the top or possibly the side of the tank. How would a PDI reveal a hole in the top of a tank since it is covered with the coroplast???? They don't pull the coroplast down to inspect the top of a tank. Maybe they filled or overfilled the tank, which I doubt, and caused the water to leak from the hole. It then flowed down to the coroplast then out on the ground at which point they would have discovered a leak. Secondly, I've built many things and whenever I'm drilling through something with the potential of going through and into something else I always check and use the shortest drill possible to avoid these problems. OK, the factory assemblers are so inexperienced and they are not cautioned concerning drilling holes in the floor or they just drill with no thought about the potential drill through problems??? Somehow I doubt that but anything is possible. As suggested I would go back and get a better report from the dealer and if possible check with the person who found the leak and have them explain exactly how they found the hole/leak. If you get the straight story I think you'll be surprised. If however somebody did drill through the floor into the tank I would be concerned about the QC and the builders. My guess is the tank had a hole in it when it was installed and it was towards the bottom. That would have been discovered during a PDI. They would have put water in the tank to check the water system. At that point a leak was discovered. They did not want to tell you that a defective water tank was installed so they came up with the story. The story they came up with does not sound reasonable.

I recently had a long conversation with a gentleman at a dealer. He's been in this business for over 40 years. He's worked for many different companies and has toured all of the factories in IN. Some have good QC and others don't. Some are more concerned about a quality product and others aren't. Also there are differences within each manufacturer. Most have different factory's that make these units. Heartland has over 250 different units/floor plans. There will be differences in QC between different units because they are made at different factories. Most importantly keep in mind that Heartland has been bought out by Thor Industries and things may have changed from the top down. We don't know what the new owners will do and we may not until it is seen in the units that they build. What was true this year about a company and their products may not be true next year.

TeJay
 

TravelTiger

Founding Texas-West Chapter Leaders-Retired
Right TeJay, the explanation from the dealer doesn't sound very plausible.
The laminated floor of a BigHorn is more than 2.5" thick, from their brochure: "2.5 inch aluminum framing, with block foam insulation, covered with one-piece seamless decking and thermo-board Luan."


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TandT

Founding Utah Chapter Leaders-Retired
The bottom line sounds like a two day delivery delay, because the problem WAS caught by the dealer.

In the bigger scheme of things, this sounds like a very minor problem. IMHO


I know it can be frustrating, but patience will pay off. Happy camping. Trace
 

BarneyFife

Well-known member
Yes. At least it was caught prior to your first trip. Good for that. Unfortunately, my factory installed blunders were discovered after the fact. We live 100 miles from our dealer and taking it back to fix assembly screw ups got really old and really expensive.
 

CliffP

Well-known member
Yes. At least it was caught prior to your first trip. Good for that. Unfortunately, my factory installed blunders were discovered after the fact. We live 100 miles from our dealer and taking it back to fix assembly screw ups got really old and really expensive.

Ditto on the 100 miles, on getting old and being expensive.

I'd just make sure to do a complete PDI. It would be interesting to know what the deal is.

Hope you get past this little snag and enjoy camping with your new camper.

What kind of RV did you buy anyway?
 

Nathan

Active Member
Frames are flipped in the first station of the build process. During the flip, they get underbelly (coruplast), steps, axles, springs, wheels and tires. Then the frame is flipped back upright and the unit is moved sideways to the next station.

Insulation is added, tanks, hydraulic lines and more are added at station 2.

It does seem a bit odd that a screw could have been put through the fresh water tank but I suppose it's possible. It's great that the dealer actually did a thorough PDI and is taking care of this before delivery. It will be worth the wait.

My son and I have watched the Ultimate Factories (Winnebago Company). I know that Heartland does not make most of there own parts but is this basically how you guys build your trailers (minus the obvious difference that the show is utlizing the build of a Class A)?
 

caissiel

Senior Member
my neighbour with his SOB unit found a hole in his tank after a year of ownership. The hole was caused by a support screw that penetrated the tank and the employee pached it with silicon. of course after a year it got loose and leaked. We dropped the tank and welded it at a local bodyshop. First class repair. It was cheaper then to drive to the dealer and leave the unit there and pick it up later
 

iaflatlander

Active Member
I guess I don't understand how it is surprising the hole was found. Wouldn't the water pump provide a pressurized system that would reveal a leak/hole in the tank? Seems like standard part of any pre-delivery inspection...

Anyway, enjoy the unit. Hope this is the only roadbump you hit ;^)
 

jimtoo

Moderator
I guess I don't understand how it is surprising the hole was found. Wouldn't the water pump provide a pressurized system that would reveal a leak/hole in the tank? Seems like standard part of any pre-delivery inspection...

Anyway, enjoy the unit. Hope this is the only roadbump you hit ;^)

The pump does not pressurize the tank. The tanks are used for storage only. The pump sucks water from the tank and pressurizes the lines and water heater.
 

cookie

Administrator
Staff member
Well, actually the pump does not pressurize the system. They stopped using that system when they stopped using hooped skirts.
The pump sucks water out of the tank. It is only pressurized after the pump.

Peace
Dave
 

gotlieb

Active Member
Well, the dealership called me back today. Heartland was supposed to overnight the water tank on Friday, but instead sent it with standard shipping. Now my water tank isn't supposed to arrive at the dealer until late this week and we had already paid for camping spots for this weekend. We're having them plastic weld the tank as a temporary fix so we can still camp this weekend and then we'll take it to a local Heartland dealership to replace the tank when we have time.

We bought the camper from a dealership that is about 10 hours away, so we're not driving 600 miles to have them replace the tank. We bought a Greystone 29BL. Our 7 year old wanted the loft and we needed bunks because we have a 3 month old and there's always a possibility for a third. And this was the closest dealership that we could find that had this specific camper.
 
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