Worried North Country Owner

lgu

Member
WE just purchased a new 2012 Northcountry. WE have had a string of problems, they are little, but on a brand new trailer, the quality concerns me in the long run. We are new to the r.v. world. We bought our r.v. as a "second home" for my husband who was commuting 180 miles a day to his job. Since our purchase we have had multiple issues with various items in the r.v. breaking - all the heater vent floor plates are cracked and in peices, the kitchen faucet is cracked and squirts water all over when the water is turned on, the shower was not installed properly (without blocking) so when we stepped in it it disconnected from the drain pipe and water was leaking out; it appears the shower faucet is now cracked and we can't use it because the water squirts out before it makes it to the handle, the slide out auto reset doesn't work......there are multiple other issues that we have encountered to list here, but two months into a purchase we will be paying on for 10 years, these issues point to an issue with over-all quality, or lack of it. Are our expectations too high? Are R.V.s in general so cheaply constructed that this is the norm or is this a "lemon" situation?
 

jbeletti

Well-known member
Re: Worried new owner

Your expectations are NOT too high. While there is always some period of "knocking the new" out of a new coach, your issues aren't what I'd consider to be the norm. Please get an appointment over the winter months with a Heartland authorized servicer (dealer or service center) and get all of this taken care of. Make an extensive list of this and other items that aren't right and have it all addressed at one time. When you go to pick it back up, walk the unit and check everything that was repaired. Have them hook the water up so you can check the faucet repair/replacement as well. Your satisfaction is key and may as well take it home being satisfied. If you ned assistance fining a repair facility, kindly call Heartland Customer Service today at 574-333-1153.

Also - I will pass this on to the North Country team so the plant can be notified of these issues and check components and process.
 

jimtoo

Moderator
Hi lgu,

Welcome to the Heartland Owners Forum and Family. We have a great bunch of people here with lots of information and all willing to share their knowledge when needed.

It's not unusual to have a few things shake loose in a new unit. Did you do a very good PDI before you took delivery with the water and everything hooked up? Also has the unit been exposed to below freezing weather without heat inside and maybe the faucets froze and cracked. Work with your dealer to get things back in order and keep us updated.

Enjoy the forum.

Jim M
 

JohnD

Moved on to the next thing...
Sorry to hear about the problems you are having.

Contact your dealer ASAP and alert them to these problems so that you can get them addressed while the warranty is still in place!

We just bought a new 2013 Heartland Trail Runner in September and just took it out for the first time on Chrismas day for it's two-day maiden voyage.

As it had been winterized, we didn't use any water (sink, shower, toilet), but did give the furnace a good workout as it was snowing and cold (20 during the day, and below zero at night).

We did have a couple of warranty issues with ours which involved two trips to the dealership for repairs, but nothing along the lines of your problems.

Apparently, there was an issue with the outside aluminum panels and the insulation under it and was replaced by the dealership inder warranty, and the caulking along the eve troughs was cracked and had to be redone, and one of the cabinet doors in the front bedroom was warped and also replaced under warranty.

One other thing I found was that when I was mounting the two flat panel HDTV's, in the bedroom the sticker on the wall showing where to mount the TV was not where the mount actually was behind the paneling (but was actually about a foot lower and six inches closer to the outside wall), so now I have two drill holes in the wall that can be seen above the TV, plus now the TV won't fold flat agaist the wall when traveling.

Other than that, so far so good!

We are planning a week long campout on Memorial Day Weekend so we shall see if any other issues arrise!

Hopefully not . . .

Here is our new Trail Runner:

NewCamperTruck-P9110306.jpg

I've got some shots from our Christmas campout, but haven't uploaded them yet!
 

olyfire

Active Member
We bought our North Trail April 2010 and had a number of problems. Fortunately Heartland customer service and our dealer were great to work with. Our unit was in about 4 times through that first year. Since everything was fixed we have not had any problems. We use our trailer often and go South during the winter. This is our fourth RV and would not hesitate buying another Heartland product.
It is normal to have some defects on a new RV, we have with each of our new RV's, but it's how you are taken care of that really matters.
Good luck and I'm sure once the defects are fixed you will enjoy your Northcountry.
 

dbbls59

Well-known member
Unfortunately your experiences are not unusual. It is not isolated to any one manufacture, they all have these problems. I have had two used 5th wheels and did not have any problems with either. I've now had two new ones and they both had issues. Make a list and take the unit to your dealer and let them fix everything. Also, don't expect everything to get fixed the first time, it seldom happens.
 

mbopp

Well-known member
I would say your experience is not normal, though it sounds like the unit may have been exposed to freezing weather w/o antifreeze in the plumbing. Was there "pink stuff" in the plumbing?
I haven't even picked up our NT yet. On our previous Starcraft hybrid there were some minor issues, all fit and finish problems I fixed myself. The only dealer warranty issue was a locked-up A/C fan, but that wasn't a Starcraft problem.
I do expect some minor issues to crop up in the NT. Hopefully any major ones we'll catch on the PDI.
 
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