Are We Just Unlucky?

[JohnD]

I don't always agree with Jim.Allison, but he is spot on with this post!! IMHO you must be able to diagnose problems, repair things yourself and properly maintain rather than depend on someone else or you should stay in a hotel. No middle ground.

Then I suppose that if you are not a professional race car driver . . . that you have no business behind the wheel pulling an RV in the first place!

Just because some of you are good with tool boxes doesn't mean that everyone else is, either!

We all have our things that we are good at.

If we were all good at the same things . . . this world would be a pretty boring place.

And none of us would probably have the wherewithall to buy an RV!

JMHO . . .

Oh . . . I'm off to get my free oil change and tire rotation that came with my new truck!

I could do it myself . . . but why?????

 

[jmgratz]

I think we all need to keep in mind that sometimes people use this forum too 'vent', which I understand. Ownership of any RV is a constant learning affair. Being able to turn a screw or tighten a nut is not that hard and just walking around your coach tightening those screws you can see is a big help. All of us must keep in mind there are thousands of Heartland RVs on the road and only a few of those have serious problems. I know firsthand but I also know the lengths that Heartland RV goes to to keep their customers happy and keep their products working properly. We should all also keep in mind that most RV sitting on a lot for sale are not their because the owner got tired of them, they are there because the owner either got tired of fixing it or saw something coming that would need to be fixed that he didn't want to deal with. 'Let the buyer beware' is especially true when buying anything used.

 

[Mburtsvt]

Some of the responses are a little heavy handed, but it does bring up a situation that the RV industry needs to address. In the past 20-30 years the auto industry has done an excellent job of removing the driver from the mechanical function of their cars. I know of several people who could not tell you how to check their oil. The reliability of the car has improved dramatically with very little interaction by the purchaser. Vehicle systems reliable has increased dramatically. Many of us remember changing spark plugs, air filters, and other “maintenance” item on our vehicles. Thats simply no longer the case. Very few people need to do any maintenance for a long time on their vehicles.

The RV industry may be suffering from customers perception that it’s just a car that I can sleep in and I don’t need to spend a lot of time or money or time maintaining it. Clearly most of us having an RV for several years understand that this is not the case, but it seems we still get several people who post their first RV purchases experiences as “severe disappointments”, not only from the quality standpoint, but the dealer experience as well.


What’s the solution - As we are always trying to do - education. There is no real “industry driven” educational resources for the consumer. Most industry supported efforts, gorving.com, RVIA, etc) are focused on the sales and lifestyle angle, ( picture yourself in an RV - change your life) proposition. We all need to encourage Heartland and other manufactures that’s it’s in their longer term best interest to insure that the customer is correctly informed regarding their RV purchase. I believe that Heartland does a good job at responding to their customer concerns and acts accordantly, but some of the issues should never come up.

 

[JohnD]

Part (most?) of the problem is the dealerships . . .

Once we sign on the dotted line, they can help us through our purchase and other issues . . . or wash their hands of us now that they have our money.

We had that problem with our first Heartland purchase . . . the dealership pretended to do stuff while really they were just riding out the wave until our warranty expired.

Our new dealership for our new 2015 trailer (purchased two months ago tomorrow) has been informed of our bad experience with our previous dealer (just up the road about 10 miles), and they have promised to not be like that!

I'll be calling them tomorrow to set up a time to take our new Prowler in for some minor issues that need to be taken care of (which they already know about).

At least our issues are minor . . . bad window/night shade that needs to be replaced . . . the window crank on a wing window was stripped when we took delivery . . . and the awning was out of the tract on one end when we took delivery . . .

I will let them fix these problems as that is part of the deal . . . and the 40 mile drive to the dealership will give me a little more time to get used to pulling this new 5th-wheel thingy!

Still working on that low water pressure issue . . . but I think I will deal with that myself as I believe it is my pressure regulator!

 

[Jim.Allison]

Hey....GOTTOYS, One must always be prepared to change their minds based on new information. I learn a lot on this forum by arguing with some of you armchair engineers.

BTW, I mean no malice to the people who bought their rig and have so much trouble with it, actually I really feel for them. I bought a boat once, it was a piece of junk. They got my money, and I got nothing. So I have been there and it hurts.

 

[Bones]

Hey....GOTTOYS, One must always be prepared to change their minds based on new information. I learn a lot on this forum by arguing with some of you armchair engineers.

BTW, I mean no malice to the people who bought their rig and have so much trouble with it, actually I really feel for them. I bought a boat once, it was a piece of junk. They got my money, and I got nothing. So I have been there and it hurts.

I'm an engineer but not an armchair one.

 

[Jim.Allison]

I listen to you too.

I'm an engineer but not an armchair one.

 

[JohnD]

You guys act and sound like you are holier than thou . . .

Remember . . . not everyone is a mechanical engineer!

 

[Bones]

You guys act and sound like you are holier than thou . . .

Remember . . . not everyone is a mechanical engineer!

"Disclaimer"
This is a Joke

:angel:Hands up in the air, sun behind head, and Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh Chorus:angel:

This is a Joke
"End Disclaimer"

 

[alwayslooking]

Over the years I've purchased several RV's beginning with a 1988 Avion (used). With the exception of the Avion, these trailers have all had "issues" that should have never gotten past the the factory. The fact is quality assurance in the RV industry significantly lags other manufacturing. It is remarkable to me that the RV industry seems to be built on a model that is based on spending $1000's on fixing things under warranty that if done correctly in manufacturing would have cost only $10 or so. The "issues" I'm referring to relate to unit construction, not components like refrigerators, A/C's, jacks, etc. I've had problems with components as well.

Most manufactures seem to address warranty problems for the original purchaser. In fact, I believe that many warranties only cover original purchasers. If you buy a used unit, you might be lucky and get one where the original owner has taken care of warranty issues or you might not. If you are buying a used unit, it is a good idea to have the dealer give you the name of the the previous owner and contact that person directly and ask them about their previous experience, use and opinion of the trailer.

 

[Mburtsvt]

JohnD - I don’t believe anyone is claiming to be “mechanical engineers”. We understand what is involved in maintaining and doing some of the servicing on our rig’s. Thats a developed skill that evolves, (like everything), over a few years. Reading on this form, talking with other RV’ers, working on maintaining them have all added to our knowledge pool.

 

[JohnD]

If you are buying a used unit, it is a good idea to have the dealer give you the name of the the previous owner and contact that person directly and ask them about their previous experience, use and opinion of the trailer.

Not too sure how many here would want someone calling them about issues with their previous trailer, most especially if it was traded in and sold by a dealership to someone else.

If you sold it yourself to the new buyer, then that is different since you dealt with them personally.

Would you want someone you don't even know calling you about, say, your old truck that you traded in for a new one when the tranny blows up?

I doubt it . . .

 

[jmgratz]

Over the years I've purchased several RV's beginning with a 1988 Avion (used). With the exception of the Avion, these trailers have all had "issues" that should have never gotten past the the factory. The fact is quality assurance in the RV industry significantly lags other manufacturing. It is remarkable to me that the RV industry seems to be built on a model that is based on spending $1000's on fixing things under warranty that if done correctly in manufacturing would have cost only $10 or so. The "issues" I'm referring to relate to unit construction, not components like refrigerators, A/C's, jacks, etc. I've had problems with components as well.

Most manufactures seem to address warranty problems for the original purchaser. In fact, I believe that many warranties only cover original purchasers. If you buy a used unit, you might be lucky and get one where the original owner has taken care of warranty issues or you might not. If you are buying a used unit, it is a good idea to have the dealer give you the name of the the previous owner and contact that person directly and ask them about their previous experience, use and opinion of the trailer.

I might add to that suggestion and that is if you are going to buy a used unit spend a little on hiring a Certified RV Inspector to inspect the unit. You wouldn't buy a house without having it inspected by a Certified Home Inspector so why buy an RV without having it inspected. At least then you would know what if anything needs to be taken care of. If the dealer doesn't want it inspected then walk away from it. You can find a Certified RV Inspector through www.workkamper.com or contact Terry Cooper at workkamper.com

 

[Shortest Straw]

My biggest issue is the standard one year warranty. No one can make me believe that any manufacturer really cares much about quality when they only have to make an RV last for one year. I agree with consumer education. I also believe that some peoples expectations are way out there. I can get a 3-5 year replacement warranty on a toaster, but buy a 100k RV and I get a year? That is cheap as well as a weak industry standard to say the least. Until we all stand up against that kind of highway robbery, nothing is going to change...

 

[JohnD]

My biggest issue is the standard one year warranty. No one can make me believe that any manufacturer really cares much about quality when they only have to make an RV last for one year. I agree with consumer education. I also believe that some peoples expectations are way out there. I can get a 3-5 year replacement warranty on a toaster, but buy a 100k RV and I get a year? That is cheap as well as a weak industry standard to say the least. Until we all stand up against that kind of highway robbery, nothing is going to change...

I agree with you there . . .

There are some brands of RV's that offer a two year warranty . . . but not many.

We bought our Trail Runner in September (2012), so didn't really get a chance to use it until May . . . 8 1/2 months later.

At least we got our new trailer at the beginning of the camping season (May - two months ago today) so we've had a chance to try out just about everything in it during the first month we had had it.