ATF: North Trail - Spare tire and door

I purchased a 2014 North Trail FX23 from Roth RV in Deerwood, MN. When i got home, I realized that there was no spare tire. It clearly states in the brochure that a spare tire is standard equipment on this trailer. Roth RV claims that there was no spare tire on it from the factory. Who do I contact to get my spare tire? Also when i purchased the unit, i noticed that the entry door was rubbing on the frame. Not just a little, it wore through the paint and is eating into the frame itself. I made notes on the pre delivery inspection. The dealer said to just wait until it fails and it will be covered. What if it doesn't fail before the warranty expires? It seems that the top hinge should be attached to the door, but looks like the factory reversed the hinge to fix a different design flaw. Are there any recalls on this door? Thanks.
 

JWalker

Northeast Region Director-Retired
Call Heartland customer service. I have had great results talking to them directly.
 

GOTTOYS

Well-known member
Contact Heartland Customer Service about both issues. Have your VIN # ready when you call them. Who knows where the spare went. Perhaps the dealer "borrowed" it. There is no reason to have to put up with a door that doesn't fit properly and have to wait for it to fail completely before it gets repaired...Don
 

priorguy

Well-known member
My spare is under the tongue, I'm sure you would have noticed it there. Is there even a spare tire bracket mounted anywhere on the trailer?


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danemayer

Well-known member
If the dealer received the trailer without a spare tire, or without a TV, or without a door, or missing anything else, they should have contacted Heartland immediately. Could they have done an incoming inspection without noticing? Could they have checked air pressure on the tires without noticing? It seems very unlikely they wouldn't have known.

As Gottoys suggested, it's more likely that someone at the dealership "borrowed" the spare for another trailer and didn't replace it.

The sad part is that they handed you the problem by figuratively shrugging their shoulders and telling you it came to them that way.

The dealer response on the door is also inappropriate. They should have corrected the problem before you drove away. "Wait until it fails" is a dodge.

It wouldn't surprise me if Heartland tells you the dealer is responsible for making these things right. If so, and if you then have problems getting the dealer to do so, you may have to call Heartland back and ask for help "motivate" the dealer.
 

Ks.Kev

Well-known member
When I was researching the RV's out there and settled on the 2013 North Trail 22FBS, the "on line" brochure said that the TV and the Spare tire was an option. OK, still liked the NT 22 FBS! So we purchased one and when we picked it up, there was NO tv or spare tire!! When I asked the Dealer about why they don't come standard?..... they said "That's How We Ordered Them".OK, knowing that's what it said on line it was an option. So since I did have a tv from my last RV to put in it, I went ahead and purchased a spare tire and mount (rear bumper) and as they were putting it on I picked up a "PAPER" brochure from this dealer of the 22FBS and when I looked at it later on that night it said that the tv AND spare tire was STANDARD!!!! Go figure!
 
I contacted Heartland Customer service and they referred me back to the dealer, stating that the dealer needs to make a claim to them in order to get me a spare tire.... Looks like the good ole run around. Looks like it's time to get to the bottom of this.
 

danemayer

Well-known member
I contacted Heartland Customer service and they referred me back to the dealer, stating that the dealer needs to make a claim to them in order to get me a spare tire.... Looks like the good ole run around. Looks like it's time to get to the bottom of this.
Someone at the dealership is going to have to explain how it was missing at the time of delivery yet went unnoticed. One very simple and obvious possible explanation is that it got "lost" at the dealership, in which case the dealer should have to make it right. I think Heartland is correctly putting it back in the dealer's hands while allowing room for the dealer to come up with a credible explanation of how Heartland screwed up. The dealer shouldn't have put you in the middle of this. They are the ones giving you a runaround.
 
After speaking with the dealership again, they asked who my sales person was. i told them and the guy gave a sigh and said oh boy... I hope they will do something to fix this.
 
Latest info after speaking directly with heartland again. They tracked down the brochure and apparently there is some small print somewhere on the brochure that excludes my trailer as it doesn't have the right VIN number..... They said there was never a spare tire associated with this VIN number. They said i need to buy my own spare tire because i did not pay for it in the purchase price..............................................................................................
 
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