re-visit the reciever hitch topic and others

caddojay

Tired and Retired member
Well, the time has come to put up, or shut up. We're talking tough to a dealer for a 3055RL and the hitch is a sticking point. The dealer "says" the factory rep has advised against a bike rack, or any reciever hitch addition. The rep even went so far to say that the warranty, and after market warranty, will be voided if a hitch is welded on the frame. We want to add a bike rack, or a small extension rack, both would be less than 300 lbs. loaded. What has anybody else discovered? I did the search and see many items discused but they are a few months old.
Also, I questioned the dealer about tires and got the story that the factory will not put anything other than Mission on the unit. They buy in such bulk that they won't go to Goodrich, Carlisle, or Goodyear. I'll have four tires real soon to sell.
What about the plumbing for the tanks being at odd angles and not allowing complete draining? Is there some strapping or bracing that should be looked for, or at, closely when we get to the PDI? Can I se the plumbing problem with the removal of a few screws? Our dealer says they have heard nothing negative from customers and rep says that modifications have been made to correct any past problems. Yeah, yeah, yeah! Thanks for your input...
 

jpmorgan37

Well-known member
Read post #12 in this thread from Scott. //heartlandowners.org/showthread.php?t=2643&highlight=trailer+hitch.

John
 

geeksrus

Well-known member
Bike Rack: why not have it on the pin box?
On my previous 5er, I welded a 2" receiver on the pin box & carried the bikes with a Swagman bike rack.
I didn't want to do this on my new unit as it has an Airborne box, so I purchased a unit from Top Pop Rails: http://www.toppoprails.com/

EH!
 

mrcomer

Past Ohio Chapter Leaders (Founding)
First off from what I've read just on this particular thread I am not too impressed with your dealer. I hope this isn't a view of whats to come from them if you need warranty work done.

We have a hitch on our Bighorn and it is screwed on to the frame and a couple of cross members. Look at the link below and one of my replies explains what it looks like and how thwe dealer did it. We typically carry (2) bikes on a (4) bike carrier. It has done very well. I am very pleased with the installation. I will be doing the same thing when we order our Augusta next spring.


//heartlandowners.org/showthread.php?t=710

Good luck,

Mark

//heartlandowners.org/showthread.php?t=710
 

fishn2dmax

Well-known member
uhhhh how do I put this nicely.....your dealer is full of it.

#1 , We had a hitch put on by a professional hitch company. They actually called the Heartland and lippert to get instructions on how to not void the warranty. I have a custom fabricated hitch that ( rated for 3500 lbs pull and 500 weight) allows me to have a bike rack or pull my 4 wheeler trailer. Yes, it must be bolted into the frame with other custom bracing that was not invasive to the frame integrity. Three different Heartland dealers we talked with offered to add a hitch at their shop as part of the sell. In fact, one of them had bike racks already added to their bunk model trailers.

2, Heartland uses many, many different tires. My 08 trailer came with a goodyear spare and Unicorn Express tires. A walkaround the dealership looking at all the Heartland units revealed at 4 different makes of tires on the lot. In fact mission tires were only on one of the units. Heartland buys from local tire distributors that carry a number of different tires. Sadly, most of the tires used are made in China.

If you're getting this type of mis-information now from your dealer, I worry about what may happen down the road. Sorry, but I would walk from this dealer as there are indicators ( just from what you indicated) this dealer is only interested in the sell and not satisfying your needs.
 

caddojay

Tired and Retired member
Thanks for all of your replies and help. I had another conversation with the dealer this afternoon and the parts manager overheard the concern about the reciever hitch and tires. He agreed that there's no telling what tires will come on the unit and he agreed that it may come with the Marathon tires, or Chinese tires. As I was leaving the lot, he waved me over and gave the name of a local welding shop that has done work for them and said that the sales person has to "carry the liability line" but that recievers are added frequently. He also stated that nobody will void the warranty, unless it affects the frame continuity or directly causes damage to the unit. That's why I like the forums...
 

nhunter

Well-known member
My dealer said they would not install hitches due to liability, BUT did reccomend the name of a hitch shop they send everyone to.

On edit: Mr. Comer how does the hitch affect the rear stabilizer jacks. Did you remove them and reinstall below hitch or did you move jacks forward. Thanks, Neil
 
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