2022 BH280 - Panel Separation

[magikmn]

Curious to get everyone's thoughts on this. I have a Heartland 2022 BH280 that is just under a year old and thankfully still under warranty. The rig has maybe 5k miles on it, East Coast U.S., and hasn't been hit or suffered any direct impact. I do have a warranty claim opened with the place I purchased it, who is also processing it with Heartland. In the meantime, I was curious to get feedback.

My last time out in July, upon arriving to our destination I noticed the interior panels, on both sides, in the front bedroom were separating at the seams. The panel also pulled away at the front entry door, which looked like failure of the nail fasteners. On the way back home, the separation got more pronounced. In addition, when driving at highway speeds, I can see the drivers side exterior aluminum panels bowing outward -- could that be a simple air leak, or an indication of something more major going on? Part of me thinks these things might be related, but not sure if anyone has seen this. The attached pics are tough to do it justice, but it at least provides a visual.

Like I mentioned, this should be covered under warranty, but was curious if anyone has seen this before. I'd like to know how long I'm going to be without my rig while repairs are done.

 

[wdk450]

Along with the possibilities you mentioned, I would be worried about cracked/broken frame welds or other frame manufacturing damage. Stay on top of this, make sure that the dealer has done what they said in contacting Heartland (there are many warranty stories out there about Heartland never really being contacted by the dealer service department). I would call Heartland myself with your VIN number, see if a claim is truly in process, get the e-mail address of who you talk to at Heartland, and e-mail them your photos.

 

[Dahillbilly]

take wdk450 advice above & call Heartland yourself, glad I did before the warranty ran out

 

[thewanderingeight]

That seems like a lot of movement in those panels. We traveled to Alaska this summer and I do have one panel that seems to have had its staples shaken out, same thing with the other family we were traveling with. My main concern is that you are seeing panels separate and something bowing while towing. Fingers crossed it’s nothing, but let us know how things go!


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[magikmn]

Thanks everyone. So far, so bad. Word from my dealer is that they're still waiting for approvals from Heartland. I did try calling Heartland several times at 877-262-8032 -- and each time get forwarded to an identified vmail box. Very frustrating, which I'm learning is not an unusual experience.

If anyone has any other contact information, feel free to send over.

I'm a bit pi$$ed at having a camper that I don't feel safe towing. I'm guessing the general consensus is to get things checked out before towing it anywhere, eh?

 

[magikmn]

Just an update on my issue. The dealer has opened a warranty claim with Heartland, who approved the claim and associated repairs. The feedback I received was that it's a known factory defect -- the front interior and exterior panels were cut too long, which resulted in the bowing and panel separation that I see. I suppose that makes logical sense, but was told it's an awful lot of work in order to fix. My dealer has been giving me run arounds on lead times, scheduling, etc, so it's been a very excrutiating process. The dealer recommended not traveling with the rig in this state... I'm almost at the point of buying another rig, fixing this one and selling it ASAP. Anyone else run into a dilemma like this? Thanks!!

 

[magikmn]

BTW - I'm not ready to publicly chastise my dealer at the moment, but I'm getting very close. It's a big national chain that talks a good game, but doesn't live up to the hype. Lesson learned, I guess. If anyone has had any other dealings with getting the run around from dealer's service departments, feel free to chime in.

 

[david-steph2018]

Who told you it was awful lot of work to repair it? The dealer, in translation that would be:
1) take allot of time ties up techs
2) it is a warranty claim and the dealer only gets paid a predetermined rate for repairs, but if it was coming out of your pocket, the dealer probably would jump on the job, more money
3) they really don't want to do it
You could suggest to the dealer they try to get the rig sent back to Heartland and see if the factory would handle the job.

 

[NYSUPstater]

I too would want to see if rig would be taken back to HL for them to repair. OR, have dealer fix it, then turn around and trade it in. OR just simply trade it in now and be done w/ it altogether.

 

[magikmn]

Thanks for the feedback. I’d have no issues having it sent back to HL for repair, at least I would have confidence it was done semi-correctly. Is that an option that can even be requested? At this point, I have no expectations of the job being finished before spring, at this pace. So what’s another month or three? Lol! I’d even drive it from PA to HL myself, if need be.

If I could sell or trade it now, I would — certainly prefer to cut my ties. But I’m not gonna eat the monetary hit for something that was not anywhere near my fault.

 

[atrinh15]

How did this pan out? Was it fixed or did you end up just winterizing the RV?

Is this happening with all TT? or just heartlands. Anyone who has a heartland and loves it please chime in

 

[david-steph2018]

How did this pan out? Was it fixed or did you end up just winterizing the RV?

Is this happening with all TT? or just heartlands. Anyone who has a heartland and loves it please chime in

Any brand has issues. It is just not limited to one brand. For example, friends purchased a Class A unit, @ $175,000 in August 2022, and it has been back in the shop since November for repairs. They were able to take it out for 3 times, then it had to go back for work.

 

[atrinh15]

I understand that. Ive had a Zinger TT that had a leak on the front bedroom. I just sold my Class A Thor and didnt have any problems with it. I only put 5k miles on it too. I really like the layout and color of the interior. Seems like all the other brands are still using the out dated brown or using really dark cabinets making the space feel small.

Thats why Im on the forum to get as much info as possible to make sure I know what im getting into

 

[magikmn]

Time to close out this old thread. In case anybody was following, I had this issue partially "fixed" by Camping World, although I couldn't see any sign (or have pics) of them actually having removed the panels, let alone cut or replace them. Like previously mentioned, all makes are going to have issues, but I think my beef was half heartland "quality" and the rest my dealings with Camping World.

Either way, I decided the headache wasn't worth it. I sold the unit and was very up front about my issues, warranty claims, etc. He didn't seem to care, and I got a decent payout on it. I then bought a very gently used 40' diesel pusher, so I traded one headache for another. ;-). Thanks for the feedback everyone.