A/C unit died tonight

[SailorDon]

I expected longer life from the 13.5K BTU A/C unit on my 2014 Wilderness 2175 RB.
There is only one A/C unit for this travel trailer.
It is not even 4 months old.
Only 1,700 miles of traveling.

I will call Heartland customer service tomorrow morning for arrangements to get it repaired or replaced.

I'm hoping for an easy, painless warranty repair or replacement.
.

 

[danemayer]

Hi SailorDon,

You need only take the trailer to your dealer for repair. The A/C unit is warrantied by its manufacturer, so there's not a lot Heartland Customer Service can do other than help you find a dealer if you're not near where you bought the trailer.

 

[RoadJunkie]

It will not hurt to go ahead and call Heartland Customer Service. I don't believe you can assume they won't be able to help in one way or another. Perhaps you can discuss the failure symptoms with them and they can use their knowledge base to nudge you in the right direction.

 

[donr827]

Mine was delivered to the dealer with the main a/c DOA. The dealer had to call Dometic to arrange for a new a/c.
Don

 

[SailorDon]

Dealer says to bring it in on Friday. It's under warranty, but I'll have to wait 2 days to get on their repair schedule.

It's only 85 degrees here in Texas. I guess I really don't need that A/C for a couple of days anyhow.
.

 

[Theresau]

We contacted Dometic directly and they handled from there. We did contact HL and let them know and they advised they would intercede if needed.

Dometic gave great customer service. We insisted on using a mobile tech because it was a brand new coach and didn't want to deal with a dealer. They agreed to pay the mobile tech fee. They ended up replacing both of our ACs. They sent out right away after he spoke with them and he received them via freight in 2 days. (Only thing they missed was they sent with white cover instead of black but then they sent that out immediately when they were told.)

The new ones are Brisk II - lighter, more efficient and more powerful - esp. the 13.5's.

Theresa

I expected longer life from the 13.5K BTU A/C unit on my 2014 Wilderness 2175 RB.
There is only one A/C unit for this travel trailer.
It is not even 4 months old.
Only 1,700 miles of traveling.

I will call Heartland customer service tomorrow morning for arrangements to get it repaired or replaced.

I'm hoping for an easy, painless warranty repair or replacement.
.

 

[SailorDon]

I towed my Wilderness 2175 RB to the local dealer yesterday (Oct. 18) morning to get the A/C repaired under warranty.

It is an Airexcel (Coleman) 13,500 BTU roof mounted unit.

What I found out from the dealer.

1. It will take 3 weeks before they look at it.
2. I have to pay (approx. $100) for the diagnostics since neither the Heartland warranty nor the Airexcel warranty cover the diagnostics on the A/C.

My personal diagnostic is that it doesn't work. And that's a free expert opinion!

Skip the diagnostics and replace the entire A/C unit with a new one.

I shouldn't complain. I've seen a lot worse Heartland warranty experiences on this website.
.

 

[danemayer]

SailorDon,

I hope you didn't leave the trailer at this dealer. For one, based on your earlier post, they've misled you on the repair schedule. Second, I doubt very much that they're entitled to charge to for diagnostic time on a warranty claim. That makes me 1) doubt their integrity, and 2) wonder if they're even an AirExcel authorized servicer.

I looked at the AirExcel Warranty online (you probably have a copy with the manual in your documentation pouch) and it says nothing about paying the dealer for diagnostics.

I would call AirExcel to find a nearby authorized servicer and to confirm how their warranty works. The number shown on their website is (316) 832-4357.

This might just be a bad dealer, but if you don't get appropriate warranty support from AirExcel, it would be time to ask Heartland to intervene with them on your behalf. If that's the case, call Heartland Customer Service at 877-262-8032 / 574-262-8030. Have your VIN # ready.

 

[RoadJunkie]

Sometimes a business will charge a diagnostic fee until they comfirm the problem is indeed covered by warranty. The fee covers their tech hours in the event the problem is not covered under warranty and the customer chooses not to pursue a repair with them. It may not mean they have low integrity, but rather experience with customers who let them perform the diagnostic and then choose to fix it themselves? Ask if the diagnostic fee is waved if the problem is indeed covered by warranty.

 

[SailorDon]

I hope you didn't leave the trailer at this dealer.

As the saying goes: "That ship has sailed."
When I wrote that I towed my travel trailer to the local dealer, I should have mentioned that I signed the repair work order and left my trailer at the dealers.
If I tried to reclaim it now to attempt repairing at another dealer or RV service center, they would probably charge me a storage and handling fee.
.

 

[TXBobcat]

I would go get the trailer. If they haven't worked on it I would not pay them a dime.

I have a mobile repair do my work, warranty or otherwise. Never had a problem.

FWIW
BC

 

[Birchwood]

We contacted Dometic directly and they handled from there. We did contact HL and let them know and they advised they would intercede if needed.

Dometic gave great customer service. We insisted on using a mobile tech because it was a brand new coach and didn't want to deal with a dealer. They agreed to pay the mobile tech fee. They ended up replacing both of our ACs. They sent out right away after he spoke with them and he received them via freight in 2 days. (Only thing they missed was they sent with white cover instead of black but then they sent that out immediately when they were told.)

The new ones are Brisk II - lighter, more efficient and more powerful - esp. the 13.5's.

Theresa

Dometic paid for mobile repair,WOW,is this a new trend for Dometic ? I despise the fact they wouldn't pay for house calls.Its wrong these companies insist you have to bring the failed product to one of THEIR authorized dealers.

 

[SailorDon]

Thank you all for your input.
I called the Airexcel warranty dept. and they told me the local dealer was not one of their authorized warranty repair locations. I would be responsible for the diagnostic charge, but Airexcel will pay for the repair.
The diagnostic charge is $90.
The closest authorized warranty repair location for Airexcel is 50 miles away. (No diagnostic fee charged.)
50 miles to deliver the travel trailer plus 50 miles to drive home is 100 miles.
Another 100 miles to pick up the repaired travel trailer.
That's 200 miles of "non-recreational" traveling. At 10 mpg, that's over $60 for gasoline alone.
I will leave my 2014 Wilderness 2175 RB at the local RV dealer (10 miles distance) and wait the 3 weeks that they informed me about.
I will pay the $90 to avoid 200 miles of driving to get authorized warranty service w/o the diagnostic fee.

I'll let y'all know what happens in 3 weeks time (or sooner if they repair my A/C before then).
.

 

[RoadJunkie]

Good news, Sailor Don. It sounds like you have it figured out. Best of luck and now the camping fun begins in your, now-cool, rig.

 

[Theresau]

Just my two cents but I would ask to speak with a manager - that's what I had to do when I got Dometic to agree to pay the mobile tech's fee. Don't see why you should have to pay anything, your coach is new. (I recognize this isn't Dometic but I suggest pushing on.........). You might consider asking HL to contact Airexcel regarding this as well.........

Thank you all for your input.
I called the Airexcel warranty dept. and they told me the local dealer was not one of their authorized warranty repair locations. I would be responsible for the diagnostic charge, but Airexcel will pay for the repair.
The diagnostic charge is $90.
The closest authorized warranty repair location for Airexcel is 50 miles away. (No diagnostic fee charged.)
50 miles to deliver the travel trailer plus 50 miles to drive home is 100 miles.
Another 100 miles to pick up the repaired travel trailer.
That's 200 miles of "non-recreational" traveling. At 10 mpg, that's over $60 for gasoline alone.
I will leave my 2014 Wilderness 2175 RB at the local RV dealer (10 miles distance) and wait the 3 weeks that they informed me about.
I will pay the $90 to avoid 200 miles of driving to get authorized warranty service w/o the diagnostic fee.

I'll let y'all know what happens in 3 weeks time (or sooner if they repair my A/C before then).
.

 

[SailorDon]

Just my two cents but I would ask to speak with a manager - that's what I had to do when I got Dometic to agree to pay the mobile tech's fee. Don't see why you should have to pay anything, your coach is new. (I recognize this isn't Dometic but I suggest pushing on.........). You might consider asking HL to contact Airexcel regarding this as well.........

I don't want to give myself a heart attack over this.
If this is the way Heartland and Airexcel do their warranty business, I'll live with it and post my experience here for all to share.
It is 3 weeks of free storage. (Even though I have "free storage" on my own property.)

I don't have any trips planned for the next 3 weeks.
.

 

[SailorDon]

It has been over 3 weeks since I took my Wilderness 2175 RB to the local Heartland dealer for warranty repair of the air conditioner.
I called them this morning to get a status report. They said they haven't even looked at it yet.
Furthermore, they won't even give me an estimate of when they will start the repair.
I called Heartland customer service to see if this is standard warranty repair time for air conditioners on their travel trailers. I left a voice mail since there was no answer at Heartland.

Does anyone else experience this kind of warranty service from Heartland?

 

[donr827]

One thing I learned, it is best to call back instead of leaving a message.
Don

 

[jayc]

Don, there could be a lot of explanations of the slow service work. Did you take your trailer to your selling dealer? Many times, a non-selling dealer will push units not bought from them down the list to be worked on. How busy is the dealer's service shop? If they are busy, they may be working on units that are simply ahead of you. There seems to be a shortage of qualified technicians, so this could be another source for the slowdown.

A call to Heartland Customer service could get you a suggestion of another service location that you can take your trailer to.
Even a non-Heartland dealer can be used with prior approval. Service-only dealers seem to be better because that's all they do-service.

 

[SailorDon]

The owner of my local Heartland dealer called me this morning. He informed me that he is under no obligation to Heartland (or to me) to repair my Heartland travel trailer air conditioner.
If that is the way Heartland trains their dealers for customer support, I think that is bad customer relations.
The owner said he will only work on my travel trailer after he has taken care of all "his customers" that have purchased travel trailers from his dealership.
This is not like buying cars when it comes to warranties.
You are pretty much on your own when you buy from a Heartland dealer that is 1,000 miles away.
Of course I could make the 2,000 mile round trip and get it warranty repaired at the dealer where I bought it, but that doesn't seem like the best choice.
Is this just my local Heartland dealer, or all Heartland RV dealers, or all RV dealers (all brands of RVs)?

The local dealer said they might have time to look at it this week.
Or I can take it and get it repaired somewhere else if I want.