Bought new 2011 north country lakeside in 2012

[RTRT94]

We purchase a brand new 2011 heartland camper in April of 2012. so it is a carry over from 2011 and had been sitting on the lot for awhile. Here is my situation and i would like some input if i should feel fustrated or if it is normal for this stuff to go wrong.

We first took the camper out a few days after we purchased it and the furnace did not work. They did come out to the campground and rigged something up so we did have heat. We dropped it off on way home so they could work on the furnace. We asked them to replace the kitchen faucet which had a chunk missing out of the texture coating. There were places on the camper on the outside that had cracked caulking that need to be replaced, we were suppose to get a spare tire cover as the one on it from the lot was sun rotted, and we were missing the female end on the mini blinds to hook into the holder when traveling.

they took it in and said they fixed it all. We got it back and the only thing they had fixed was the furnace, no tire cover, no end on blinds, some of the caulk had been done and faucet ordered. ok....waiting...waiting...

so mean while...first time i take shower, the shower leaks all over the floor...so we call to take it in for that.. while the camper is in the shop they call me to ask if we can bring it in to put the faucet in....um already there...... and that wasn't the first time...we had it in for somethign else and they called and wanted us to bring it in for something ...and it was already at the shop! we have had water leak in bathroom from under the cubboard and figured out it was coming from the side where the water hookup is and some other stuff the caulk is all failing....

had to fight to get the spare tire cover, still have no end for mini blinds, now bedroom window leaking, it is looking like the outside wall covering is coming away from the wall! All they could tell me is that i have to look at the caulk every 90 days it is just going to be 90 days. Now they tell me because we have it set up on a seasonal spot we have to pay the service call. we have extended warranty so we have to pay the deductible.

while the camper has been at the shop our antenna has been unhooked, the power cord has been totally pushed in the little hole! try to get that out!!!! I just feel that yes, it is a 2011 but still brand new and we should not be having all this trouble already. they make me feel like i am being a pain. i would understand if it was 6 months, a year down the road.....but from day 1 have had trouble.

LMK your honest opinion...
Thanks

 

[Westwind]

It appears you have a dealership problem. When they call you to bring the trailer in and it's there, that's scary. I think I would start looking for another dealer to take it too and have Heartland assist you finding one. Since you didn't buy it from them they might not be happy to work on it but they might do a better job and at least know it's there.

 

[RTRT94]

i dont get it....why.....what really scare me now...is that the person that sold it to me said that they registered all our items or did the warranty card stuff for us so we didn't have to. All my stuff is in the camper 2 hours away, so i have to look to see if my cards are actually in the package yet or if they sent them in or online registered. i would think i would be able to contact the various manufactures to see if we are registered don't you think?

Debating on going straight to the owners...they are one of the biggest dealers in southern mn

 

[Sumo]

I say, make a list, have them write in down on a work order.
I know that the shop is 2 hours away, but a strong voice in the service department gets things fixed. Just so I'm clear, focus on the work that needs to be done, speak with a loud clear voice, no yelling, no name calling and no blaming.
New trailers do have problems, and expecting to have them fix in a timely fashion is not unreasonably. Remember focus on what needs to be fixed and a time line for completing all the work.

 

[ZNK]

Honestly,

Did you even do a PDI or walkthrough? You should have never left the lot unless you personally checked that all of these things were working. You should have ran the shower, scoured the outside looking for the caulk issues, ensure they ordered the tire cover before you left. You should have ran the furnace and ensured the heat was working, ran the A/C etc. If you did all this then the issues arose then thats different. You asked for an honest opinion. We have to be smart buyers, out smart the poor dealers.

Zack

 

[danemayer]

RTRT94,

Sorry you're having these problems. I think we all feel a bit helpless and put upon when he have to take our rigs in for service.

Some of the issues you've described may be due to the actual age of the trailer, rather than the length of time you've had it. Some models have a sticker on the frame that shows the build date. You might find your 2011 model was built in 2010. If so, it could have been sitting in the sun at the dealer, not getting the caulking checked or maintained (inside and outside). Given your experience with strange things happening to the rig while at the dealer, you can imagine that one or two strange things might have happened while it sat waiting to be sold.

I wouldn't get too wrapped up in someone calling you to bring the rig in when it's already there. The person who called probably has no visibility to which rigs are already there for service. The faucet probably showed up and triggered a call.

Hopefully you'll get these problems behind you and can just settle down to enjoy your RV.

 

[RTRT94]

We did a walk through but honestly never heard of a pdi until
I found this site after we bought our camper. I.have to say next. time if there is one i will be very picky.
I just feel we are paying the price now for buying hold over. We are new to the buying a new camper
Always had used. Guess should have done more research.

 

[GOTTOYS]

I received the same kind of "service" from the same dealership. They claim they are one of the fastest growing dealers in MN. With service as poor as theirs' that won't last forever...Don

 

[RTRT94]

i Called Heartland today just to find out exactly when our camper was made, it was 3/2010. i told the Customer Service guy about our caulking issues with the camper and that dealer said we should be checking it every 90 days when we have barely had it 90 days. Told him about the fiberglass pulling away from the wall on the outside and he said he was calling dealer directly. When he called back he stated that once on the dealers lot they should be doing lot maintenace on campers as long as they sit there. Also it should have never left the lot with out being resealed being that it had sat there so long. so long story short we are getting camper resealed and wall fixed at no cost to us. Not sure how Dealer will feel about me calling Heartland directly but not sure i really care!

Guess lesson learned, next time i will call manufacturer directly to see when camper was made no matter what date says on sticker! Shame on them for trying to blame me for not doing maintenace on a 2 year old camper!

 

[bighorn3370]

RTRT94, It is ok to step on toe's or go over someones head. You Just need to do it nice. It sounds like that is what was done. Now that Heartland is up to speed things should move better. Ernie

 

[2psnapod2]

If you trailer is only off the dealers lot not quite 90 days, then it is still under the 1 year warranty. You have done the right thing by contacting HL. But don't sit on it. Make sure you are following up with HL. The dealer is at fault for not doing a proper inspection for you. HL will make it right, but give them time to react. But do not wait. Get with HL and get the process going. And follow up.

 

[RTRT94]

next question....can the camper be resealed sitting on the seasonal site or does it have to be takin in to the shop?
Also wondering how long is a reasonable time to expect camper to be in shop to have the wall fixed? We have vacation starting on the 10th come back the 19th (which Heartland already knows) and then labor day weekend few weeks after. will already have to tell grandkids the weekend in between when we were suppose to take them will be canceled.

 

[danemayer]

next question....can the camper be resealed sitting on the seasonal site or does it have to be takin in to the shop?
Also wondering how long is a reasonable time to expect camper to be in shop to have the wall fixed? We have vacation starting on the 10th come back the 19th (which Heartland already knows) and then labor day weekend few weeks after. will already have to tell grandkids the weekend in between when we were suppose to take them will be canceled.

RTRT94,

The warranty requires you to take the trailer to a dealer.

How fast the dealer turns it around is not going to be under Heartland's control. The actual time working on the rig may not be too long - maybe just a few hours. But there will be other owners who each wants to get back to using their rigs. Labor day is another complication because everyone wants their trailers back so they can go camping on a long weekend. And to compound it further, many dealers have big sales around Labor Day and have their techs tied up getting newly sold rigs ready for delivery. The upcoming holiday is working against you.

Maybe you can convince them to prioritize you since they've already let you down and Heartland lit a fire under them. Also, it might be worth asking to make an appointment where you bring it in and they work on it that day while you wait. Don't know if they'll do it, but it won't cost anything to ask.

 

[RTRT94]

thanks for help & ideas i will call today. do you think i dare ask to have them temp fix leak for wall till after labor day?

 

[danemayer]

thanks for help & ideas i will call today. do you think i dare ask to have them temp fix leak for wall till after labor day?

I don't think that would be terribly daring. You might want to have a calm discussion with them covering the list of things that need to be done. That'll lead into the question of when they can work on it, turnaround time, and how that fits your schedule. They may be happy to split the work into 2 visits to help manage both your schedule and theirs.

 

[ZNK]

Sounds like the dealer took advantage in this situation. Honestly when I scoured my new rig all of the staff at the dealer kept giving me bad looks. Every time I asked for stuff to be fixed there was a deep breathe and then they would go get whatever they needed to make the repair. replace a screw, cover up bare wood with trim tape, assemble the grill, etc. Once your picking up it seems that they will do everything they can to get it ready for you to take home...even in my case weld on distribution hitch saddles... for free.

 

[RTRT94]

talked with the dealer and he stated that he was to only reseal the roof area...i read the email that HL sent me that says the entire coach which to me means the whole camper. Dealer says depends on how you read it. so i emailed photos of other bad spots to HL and told him that dealer and i have 2 different ideas of what entire coach means. i got email back from HL that says " received your email and the photos attached. Shawn and I have already discussed this and he is going to be contacting you to set up a time to get this taken care of". so didn't really answer my question and the guy at dealer ship is gone today. hmmmmm hope they are resealing the whole thing...get it over and done with....i am already tired of having push to have things done the right way. anyway just a update...

 

[RTRT94]

Good for you...if ever a next time...believe me...i will have a PDI with me and pick it apart....

Sounds like the dealer took advantage in this situation. Honestly when I scoured my new rig all of the staff at the dealer kept giving me bad looks. Every time I asked for stuff to be fixed there was a deep breathe and then they would go get whatever they needed to make the repair. replace a screw, cover up bare wood with trim tape, assemble the grill, etc. Once your picking up it seems that they will do everything they can to get it ready for you to take home...even in my case weld on distribution hitch saddles... for free.

 

[ZNK]

I recommend it. I was lucky to be a part of the forum before I bought my rig, and the great community directed me to scour it before I took it home. This really is a great community! Hope you find it to be just as beneficial.