Disappointed in Manufacturer

Well, we are on our last day of our "shakedown cruise", and for the most part things have been good. Today the ac units finally decided to start blowing well from the ceiling vents. That's a good thing! However, just after that the wife noticed a bunch of something on the floor so she swept it up. Well, about 3 minutes later she walked by there again, and holy shiznit, that stuff was on the floor again! We started looking around and that stuff was everywhere! We're breathing in this stuff! What the **** are the people at Heartland doing? Obviously our ductwork is full of saw dust and other stuff, such as small pieces of wire, etc...!!! Our little Chihuahua was lying on her bed, the wife looked at her and this stuff was all over her back! We were already disappointed in the dealership because we have found things that they failed to clean during our purchase. You see, we found sawdust in a few places, they promised to clean the trailer and remove all sawdust. They FAILED MISERABLY! I take part the blame for not checking the cleaning better before we pulled her from the lot. I am one of those guys that my word is my bond, and I expect the same, especially since our salesman was a fellow retired military man! Lesson learned! So anyways, we're obviously having to clean this stuff out of the trailer for us, and our two pups, to be not only comfortable, but breathing healthy air inside!
Another thing I am a little disappointed with is the waste system plumbing set up for draining the black and grey water tanks. The valves are set up, one to the left and one to the right, of the drain line outlet. You would think that after all these years, and the various connections people use when setting up, that this would be a perfect fit/design. It is not! I always connect my flush king to the drain outlet, then connect my waste hose to that. The way the valves are installed, it won't work for me anymore, like on previous TT. With that said, I will now have to find something else that will work like the flush king. Just so disappointed in some of the engineering that went into the Elk Ridge E292.
Another issue is the stereo systems they install in the 21st century. You would think that hdmi would be the cable of choice, not rca cables. And if I need to add another rca cable, the stereo needs to be removed (which in itself is no big deal) and the other cable will need to be fished through the wall like the first cable is. There is no access to the stereo from the bottom. It must be removed for any wiring changes that are needed. Now that sucks!
Last, but not least, is the ladder situation. Our TT came without the ladder. Then I asked heartland about ladder backers, to which they sent me drawings showing ladder backers. I was excited, and ordered me a ladder! Well, I then found out that there are NO LnADDER BACKER PLATES ON THE ROOF!!! Now I must return the laader because it attaches to the roof. And now I can't find just a straight ladder for a travel trailer! Looks like I will wind up with a telescoping extension ladder instead. That really sucks because my stepdaughter, who I love dearly, bought me a ladder flagpole kit which I now cannot use!!! Yeah, the wife and I are not happy about that!
Okay, now I have to go clean up more crap coming from the ceiling vents!
 
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mlpeloquin

Well-known member
I thought we were done with Styrofoam, but on the last trip we found just a few round bits. Over two years. Most trips no Styrofoam though. Need to make sure the dogs don't eat them.
 

JohnD

Moved on to the next thing...
I think I already told you in another topic thread to just go buy a better DVD/BluRay player . . . and plug the headphone jack of the TV into the front audio input of the stereo.

You'll be much happier than using the built-in player.

We are roughly 14 months into our 2015 Prowler P292 (same trailer as yours) and still getting sawdust and Styrofoam out of the ceiling AC vents
 

Pirana

Active Member
yeap on the stereo...no HDMI and if you have the LEGEND TV, it doesnt even have a digital audio output so installing a home theater system will sound like crap! Ask me how I know.
 
Well, if I am doing better than most, maybe I should just be quiet...lol. But seriously, if they don't know of this issue, they can't fix it. I will send them a polite letter informing them of my problem, as as what I have heard on here.
 

JohnD

Moved on to the next thing...
Well, if I am doing better than most, maybe I should just be quiet...lol. But seriously, if they don't know of this issue, they can't fix it. I will send them a polite letter informing them of my problem, as as what I have heard on here.

I think what he is saying is that the issues you are having are fairly minor compared to some other stuff that happens . . .

Like plumbing leaks . . . frame flex . . . suspension issues . . . slides not sliding . . . delamination issues . . . BlowMax tires . . .
 

sengli

Well-known member
Our rig is going on four years old, and my wife hates when we have to turn on the AC, still. The foam balls still drop everywhere. I have found so many loose screws lying around in the coach... I keep them bagged up for use. I have actually needed some of these for various repairs. Wow, you better not look behind the wall in the basement, there were a ton of scraps there, and lots of extra screws.
 

Bones

Well-known member
On the Styrofoam can you put in mesh screen on the vents? That should keep things from blowing out.
 

JohnD

Moved on to the next thing...
On the Styrofoam can you put in mesh screen on the vents? That should keep things from blowing out.

But then the screens would clog up.

The idea is to get it out of there . . .

Although it would be nice if it wasn't in the system in the first place (wink, wink) . . . :confused:
 

JohnDar

Prolifically Gabby Member
Unless it continues to disentegrate, you might be able to clean the loose debris with some air pressure. Maybe attach some nylon stocking material over the downstream vents and introduce the air from the other end of the rig. Just a blue sky SWAG on my part.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

jmgratz

Original Owners Club Member
I have always said that the last step in the manufacturing process is a guy with a bag of sawdust, screws and styrofoam that goes into the trailer and throws them around everywhere. LOL :) We have taken a shop vac and put the hose in the ducts to clean out as much as we can. Also wait till you turn on the furnace. Junk comes out of there too. Vacuum there too.
 

JohnD

Moved on to the next thing...
I have always said that the last step in the manufacturing process is a guy with a bag of sawdust, screws and styrofoam that goes into the trailer and throws them around everywhere. LOL :)

I know . . . right! :rolleyes:

Well . . .

I just spent the past three hours at the Blue Mesa Ranch RV Resort in Gunnison, Colorado, again chasing down a bad connection in the TV antenna/cable coax yet once more after having the dealership not fix it twice.

Guess that is the fun part of camping.

Finally got a decent picture for the rest of our stay.

Hope this is the last time I have to do this.

However, while I had the basement wall down (the whole thing), I figured out how I can slide it back about six inches and gain more space.
 

wrehfield

Member
****, I thought Heartland was a better builder. I guess with these blood suckers, all that matters really is money. I just purchased a seven year old Big Horn and it is in for all three slides to be repaired. Big Horn, in the luxury group, so they put one air conditioner on a 38 footer. They're as bad as Keystone.
 
Lmao...Sounds about right from what I've seen personally, and what y'all are saying. I am going to pull the vent covers, and shop vac all I can, including the furnace. I still think that this is really a poor quality inspection at the end of the mfg line. Oh, maybe they forgot that step.

- - - Updated - - -

Wow, you're going through alot with that Prowler, John. At least a positive has came from it, your basement can grow!
 
Our Keystone wasn't the best, although it functioned well. It was mostly the walls we had troubles with. I wish I had went to these forums prior to buying our Elk Ridge E292. I did some research, and Heartland won overall, so we purchased from them. Obviously I didn't do enough research.
 
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