Crack in outer body fiberglass

[eagle1000]

We bought our 3450TS second hand from the original owners. Will be the last time I let someone talk me into buying sight unseen.
My bad, I'm an appraiser and know better. If the deal is to good to be true, it probably is.
Anyway to my question. Since we got her home there has been a crack develop at the front top of the LH rear slide that includes the kitchen and entertainment center.
As I inspected it it became apparent that it had been repaired. Mismatch paint and over spray on to the slide seal. The owner denied this had been repaired but did offer up that the nose cone had been repaired under warranty. He had not mentioned the nose cone repaint before in any of our communication. Have found several items like that.
So I've read that others have experienced body cracking but haven't seen if any others have had this problem in the area we have.
Anybody else?

 

[jimtoo]

Hi eagle1000,

Welcome to the Heartland Owners Forum and to the family. We have a great bunch of folks here with lots of information and all willing to share their knowledge when needed.

Before we get much further along,, I think a little more information is needed. What year is your Big Country and we also need some pictures of the area showing the crack.

Jim M

 

[eagle1000]

The BC 3450TS is a 2011.
Any help with how to upload pic. let me know.
Will work on this afternoon.

 

[eagle1000]

Here is a picture of the crack.

 

[JohnD]

Here is a picture of the crack.View attachment 33254

All I have to say is this . . . You NEED to call Heartland's 1-800 number . . .

This is something that needs to be fixed by Heartland, regardless of when the warranty expired!

Or who the original purchaser was . . .

Period . . . end of story!

 

[Bob&Patty]

I would call HL service, send pictures with the VIN#. Whether they do anything to help you is up to them. Your BC could be up to 4 years old now and you do not know what happened to the coach in the 3-4 years before you bought it.. If they decide to help you..you will most likely have to take it to the plant. JohnD may be correct...but if it was caused by some physical damage like hitting something by the original owner. HL may not step up to the plate. You will have to show that it was a design defect. Remember asking nicely will get a better result.

 

[danemayer]

Heartland has fixed problems with pinbox flex due to frame problems in the front of some trailers - even those long out of warranty. But a crack around a rear slide out might be a different story. I talked to one owner who had forgotten to pull a slide back in after stopping for a lunch break. If the previous owner did something like that, it could have caused the damage.

I'd suggest starting the conversation by sending photos and asking what might have caused the problem and how it should be fixed. After getting through that part, you can move on to whether Heartland will offer any assistance.

And as I'm sure you know, if Heartland provides any assistance to 2nd owners, it's strictly a goodwill gesture. There's no warranty coverage.

 

[JohnD]

I bought a brand new 2015 Chevy Silverado 2500HD off of the dealers lot on August 28, 2014 . . .

On September 29, 2014, we experienced a massive hail storm here in the Denver, Colorado area that gave me over 35 hail dings and over $1400 damage to my brand new truck!

Is this Chevy's fault?

No . . .

Just sayin' . . .

 

[eagle1000]

Thanks for the in put. I knew that the factory warranty was up and that was confirmed by Heartland when I first contacted them.
Also I was pretty confident that they would not share with me any warranty work that had been done. Nailed that one. I knew that the warranty contract was only with the original owner and was private. Never hurts to ask.
My concern is that the crack is now the second time it has shown up. As I stated in my original post it is very obvious it had been repaired before.
As there is no damage to any other areas of the slide it appears that it was not ran into something.
I plan on contacting my local dealer for their in put.
So I take it from your responses that no one else has had this problem with their BC 3450TS. That's what I was really looking for. Is it a design flaw or am I the only one with this problem. I would think that this narrow area between the big slides may be a weak area prone to flex. Never thought about it before we bought it.
I don't think it's the same as hail damage scenario. Hail would be an outside force acting on it. Would be covered by insurance. Now if the original did hit something and it's NOT a structural malfunction it's my baby an as I said my Bad.
Again thanks for the in put.

 

[jimtoo]

Just thinking here... I don't ever remember any of the units having a problem in that area of the frame or side wall. Wonder if unit was set up for a time and maybe had some supports under the slides and to much pressure was placed on the slide lifting it up due to tire going flat or jack breaking under frame. There were a few problems with some of the frames,, but they were all up at the front due to pin box support weight on front of frame.

It's hard to think that someone would sell a unit and not tell the truth about previous repairs,,, but there are those folks out there. Was there any papers in the trailer.. like in the blue pouch with owners manual that may show previous repairs that he forgot to remove??

Jim M

 

[cookie]

I have the same basic floor plan in my Bighorn 3585RL.
The Landmark Grand Canyon is also the same.
I never thought of that as a weak area between those big slides and haven't heard of any walls cracking in that area.

Do you see any cracking on the wall inside the coach?

One thing that came to mind is perhaps the slide is out of adjustment and is closing realy hard on the top corner.
I don't know if that would crack the wall, but it's something I would take a look at.

Peace
Dave

 

[rod_s]

In looking closely at the photo it appears to me as though the force that broke the fiberglass was an outward force from the inside. It may be that the slide is badly out of adjustment with that upper corner hitting hard when opening and possibly over extending. If that is the case a good tech can adjust everything and a trip to the body shop for another repair and things may be fine for a long time. Just my thoughts.

 

[eagle1000]

Saw my local serviceman today, had a call into him. We're gonna take it to his shop as mine isn't heated. Check it all over, run slides in and out see if we can spot a problem. He said we'll do that and contact Heartland C S and get their take on what might have happened.
Here's a kick in the paints. Now we've found that water has gotten into the LH front slide. Dang when it rains it pours. This appears to have happened before and is probably the real cause of the water damage to the bedroom door frame. I was told it was a spill while cleaning the carpets.
Anyway Mommas warm here with her dogs in Kansas and I'm taking off for Des Moines in the AM then on to Chi-town.
Picking up 4 pedal tractors and going to the Muscle Car Show in Chi-town.
Everyone will be here working and I'm gonna play. Life is good and I'm blessed.
Thanks again.