Disapointed in Heartland 1st purchase

[rlcartie]

Bought a brand new 33bkss day after Thanksgiving last year. While in storage realized it had multiple leaks. All of the mdf trim in the living/kitchen area got saturated and expanded and cracked.

Brought it back to dealer(Dixie RV) 2nd week of March. Had to go through a long approval process from Heartland and parts were supposed to ship by the 12th of April. Got a call on the 12th that they would be another week, hold up at the factory. Last Friday I get a call....all of the parts were in, but the factory shipped the wrong color wood and not sure how long it will take to get the correct pieces in.

I did a lot of research on the Heartland brand and put a lot of faith and $$$ into this camper. We have owned it approx 5 months now and 1 month of that has been in the shop. Definitely not what I expected from all of the reviews and positive comments.

 

[danemayer]

Hi rlcartie,

Sorry to hear you've been having these problems with your North Trail. One thing I might suggest is to call Heartland Customer Service at 877-262-8032 / 574-262-8030. Have your VIN # ready. Customer Service may be able to get the correct parts shipped on an expedited basis.

 

[avvidclif]

Just one question. Are you going by what your dealer told you or have you talked to Heartland direct? If you are going by what the dealer said I hate to tell you but they have been known to lie. Call Heartland like Dan said and find out what is really going on.

 

[RoadJunkie]

No manufacturer will deliver a perfectly built unit, that's reality. This is why a warranty period is defined during purchase. I have previously referred to realizing this fact as the slap down phase of RV ownership; the purchase is simply not meetings your vision of ownership. I predict that if you are patient, and work in harmony with repair technicians/parts advisors, your journey will be shorter and less painful.

It also seems that the money people spend on RVs gives them license to measure and bolster their post-purchase disappointment in an attempt to gain attention towards their immediate problem. In my experience, the money is gone when one decides to "pull the trigger" on the purchase. Gone, gone, gone. Resurrection of the memory of that money only adds to the stress of the situation. I understand the expected correlation between money and fair value, but dwelling on this factor is wasted energy.

Finally, I feel that owning an RV is like the advise one gets in reference to the ocean...never turn your back to your RV. These things take constant attention. They sit in the sun, endure rain and snow under extreme temperatures, hit potholes, connect to varying water pressures and power fluctuations, survive insulation-eating rodents and sometimes simply succum to these factors.

Please don't take my thoughts as unsympathetic to your plight, I have been in similar situations with my unit and so have a lot of us, but hang in there. You will be having fun in your RV when this issue will hopefully be a distant memory.

 

[Speedy]

Well said RJ! Heartland will step up and get you the proper parts rlcartie but before installation you need to find the water leaks. Either you or Dixie RV need to get on that right now or the matching trim will be the least of your worries.

 

[Sniper]

No manufacturer will deliver a perfectly built unit, that's reality. This is why a warranty period is defined during purchase. I have previously referred to realizing this fact as the slap down phase of RV ownership; the purchase is simply not meetings your vision of ownership. I predict that if you are patient, and work in harmony with repair technicians/parts advisors, your journey will be shorter and less painful.

It also seems that the money people spend on RVs gives them license to measure and bolster their post-purchase disappointment in an attempt to gain attention towards their immediate problem. In my experience, the money is gone when one decides to "pull the trigger" on the purchase. Gone, gone, gone. Resurrection of the memory of that money only adds to the stress of the situation. I understand the expected correlation between money and fair value, but dwelling on this factor is wasted energy.

Finally, I feel that owning an RV is like the advise one gets in reference to the ocean...never turn your back to your RV. These things take constant attention. They sit in the sun, endure rain and snow under extreme temperatures, hit potholes, connect to varying water pressures and power fluctuations, survive insulation-eating rodents and sometimes simply succum to these factors.

Please don't take my thoughts as unsympathetic to your plight, I have been in similar situations with my unit and so have a lot of us, but hang in there. You will be having fun in your RV when this issue will hopefully be a distant memory.

Wow! What a sound and sage post. I really need to practice this, not only when it comes to our RV, but with everything. My much better half has this attitude towards most everything. I, on the other hand do not. LOL , and rl I truly hope, and I do believe Heartland will help you get your issues resolved, and that you will soon be enjoying your rv as much as we do ours. Welcome to the forum!

 

[rlcartie]

From what Dixie told me, the wiper seals on the slides were not sealing properly and let all of the water in. They said they had that issue repaired but were waiting on replacement wood. I just got an email from Dixie today stating that the part will not be in till the 9th of May.

I understand no unit is perfect but I purchased a new Forest River Grey Wolf and had it for 5 years with out one problem...so i guess I was spoiled!

 

[RAL6]

We are due to do our PDI On our 33bkss in a few weeks. How can you tell if these seals are not sealing properly? What do we look for? I've downloaded and printed a few different checklists, but any extra bits of advice would be appreciated! Thanks for any help!
Ann

 

[Shortest Straw]

Get up on the roof for starters and check all of the caulking and then continue everywhere else. When you get it home douse it with water and look for leaks, put the slides out and repeat. Biggest piece of advice is do not leave your rig unattended for long periods of time without checking on it. I check ours every once in awhile after a big rain/snow. Just makes sense to me to do so.

 

[rlcartie]

RAL6:
just saw your sig line...we too are parents of 4 boys (12,9,6,3). We took our 33bkss on a maiden trip from right oustside New Orleans to Disney World and loved it. WE pull it with a 1500 suburban and it pulled like a dream. We had so much room and never got on top of each other once. That why the leak is so disheartening...our boys keep asking when we can go out again, but we keep waiting and waiting

 

[wino2]

Roadjunkie said it perfectly. Exactly 2 weeks and 4 days ago my husband and I picked up our new Landmark 365, and everyone who owns a 365 knows the cost of one. We drove 123 miles to purchase this trailer. Brought it home started loading it which is a lot of work just like a house. Took it back to storage when the weekend was over. My husband went to pull it out a few days later to have a satellite installed our brake controller had the following message "Wiring fault on trailer" he had no trailer brakes. Called a couple of other Heartland owners got their thoughts and they told him where to look. The brake line by the axle was frayed. Pulled the pin out of the emergency switch and it fryed. Called the dealer got a service writer who had a real crappy attitude. Told my husband well you got it that far and we would have to bring it back. This guy expected him to drive 123 miles with no brakes. So that night I wrote an email to Heartland. We had an answer by 5:50 am California time. They got ahold of a local mobile RV service which. Was a waste of time. Sent another email to Heartland. Long and short of this is the service and response we are getting from Terry Hayes at Heartland is totally unbelievable. We both feel they are going out of their way to get this situation handled. I can't say enough good things about Terry and Heartland. I firmly believe they stand behind their product and have good customer service employees. We are taking it in on May 11th for the repair. Terry also told us that He would be checking up on our progress to make sure everything is handled correctly. I have always said people are very quick to complain but slow to compliment.

 

[rlcartie]

Roadjunkie said it perfectly. Exactly 2 weeks and 4 days ago my husband and I picked up our new Landmark 365, and everyone who owns a 365 knows the cost of one. We drove 123 miles to purchase this trailer. Brought it home started loading it which is a lot of work just like a house. Took it back to storage when the weekend was over. My husband went to pull it out a few days later to have a satellite installed our brake controller had the following message "Wiring fault on trailer" he had no trailer brakes. Called a couple of other Heartland owners got their thoughts and they told him where to look. The brake line by the axle was frayed. Pulled the pin out of the emergency switch and it fryed. Called the dealer got a service writer who had a real crappy attitude. Told my husband well you got it that far and we would have to bring it back. This guy expected him to drive 123 miles with no brakes. So that night I wrote an email to Heartland. We had an answer by 5:50 am California time. They got ahold of a local mobile RV service which. Was a waste of time. Sent another email to Heartland. Long and short of this is the service and response we are getting from Terry Hayes at Heartland is totally unbelievable. We both feel they are going out of their way to get this situation handled. I can't say enough good things about Terry and Heartland. I firmly believe they stand behind their product and have good customer service employees. We are taking it in on May 11th for the repair. Terry also told us that He would be checking up on our progress to make sure everything is handled correctly. I have always said people are very quick to complain but slow to compliment.

Who is Terry Hayes and is this someone I should contact?

 

[wino2]

He handles the West coast of the US. Call Heartland like Dan Meyer suggested. Our first email went to two people we know about at Heartland and one of them contacted Terry about our situation, that's how we started getting our problem solved

 

[RoadJunkie]

Hey, Wayne and Melinda...Congrats on the new rig! I hope your loading process included some vintage Fireball! We can't wait to see you guys in the new digs.

My apologies for the slight deviation to the OP's thread.

 

[Bones]

Roadjunkie said it perfectly. Exactly 2 weeks and 4 days ago my husband and I picked up our new Landmark 365, and everyone who owns a 365 knows the cost of one. We drove 123 miles to purchase this trailer. Brought it home started loading it which is a lot of work just like a house. Took it back to storage when the weekend was over. My husband went to pull it out a few days later to have a satellite installed our brake controller had the following message "Wiring fault on trailer" he had no trailer brakes. Called a couple of other Heartland owners got their thoughts and they told him where to look. The brake line by the axle was frayed. Pulled the pin out of the emergency switch and it fryed. Called the dealer got a service writer who had a real crappy attitude. Told my husband well you got it that far and we would have to bring it back. This guy expected him to drive 123 miles with no brakes. So that night I wrote an email to Heartland. We had an answer by 5:50 am California time. They got ahold of a local mobile RV service which. Was a waste of time. Sent another email to Heartland. Long and short of this is the service and response we are getting from Terry Hayes at Heartland is totally unbelievable. We both feel they are going out of their way to get this situation handled. I can't say enough good things about Terry and Heartland. I firmly believe they stand behind their product and have good customer service employees. We are taking it in on May 11th for the repair. Terry also told us that He would be checking up on our progress to make sure everything is handled correctly. I have always said people are very quick to complain but slow to compliment.

Wayne and Melinda,
Please check your wires inside the axle tubes. I had very similar faults and was chasing them down for quite awhile. My wires actually fried inside the axle tubes where you could not see them and was causing massive shorts in the trailer braking system. Here are a few pictures. If you feel comfortable on testing them I can tell you what you need to do to test the wires. It involves a multi-meter wire cutters and then all the appropriate wire crimps and new 14gauge wire. This will tell you if you have a direct short in the system which is what I suspect.



I ran new wires on the outside of the axle tubes and attached them to the tubes. The one picture shows on wire as I was pulling it out of the axle. If you test and one is bad then do the other one too because it is not long behind in failure. You also need to check your pigtail as well for faults and the associated wire connections. Basically go over the whole system.

 

[RAL6]

We are due to get ours in two weeks now and I'm a bit nervous.... We are newbies and I just want to make sure if there's a way to check for these things , that we do. from what I've been reading for the last few weeks (seems like forever!), is that for the most part, if there is an issue, Heartland will help if they can. I think the shorter end of the stick comes from the dealers. We have been working with a small local dealer who has bent over backwards to make this experience a good one - so far �� I am sure that Heartland will make things right for you. Hope your dealer gets things taken care of quickly.
Our "boys" are much older (25, 23, 21, and 18) but they are still around finishing degrees and soon to head off to college. They may not be as active as your kiddos but they sure take up a lot of space! LOL! For us it's the dogs... Murphy (12), Ivy, Reggie and Junior are 7. Yes we're crazy but families come in all different packages!
Hoping for a quick resolution! Keep me posted! Would also love to hear about any mods you've made or things you've really found you've needed along the way.

Ann

 

[wino2]

Thanks for the reply. This is our second Landmark our other one was a 2012. There was nothing wrong with it its just this one will be easier for my husband inside and out. My husband is an amputee. As far as our dealer is concerned they aren't any help. They are a very big dealer all across the US. I have gained back my confidence about the trailer with all the help we are getting from Heartland. You take a chance with anything you buy now a days. What is really great about Heartland is we are taking it to a trailer repair facility that has been in business 51 years not a big RV dealer. When I called and made the appointment they told us the soonest we could get it in was May 11th that was on Tuesday Heartland called Wednesday morning and could get us in on the 7th. I feel Heartland must have a good reputation to get us an appointment that quick. It's hard to say what to check for I would have never dreamed in a million years we would have a brake problem. Evidently this is a common problem with ALL RV MFGRS. Make sure you join the Heartland Owners Forum. Everyone in your group will be a great help if you need it. We have become very close friends with a few of the members. And camp with them as much as we can. We too have fur babies they love to camp. My husband says it's their trailer and their truck. There is nothing in the world that can compare to camping. Enjoy it the US is really beautiful.

 

[JohnD]

Bought a brand new 33bkss day after Thanksgiving last year. While in storage realized it had multiple leaks. All of the mdf trim in the living/kitchen area got saturated and expanded and cracked.

Brought it back to dealer(Dixie RV) 2nd week of March. Had to go through a long approval process from Heartland and parts were supposed to ship by the 12th of April. Got a call on the 12th that they would be another week, hold up at the factory. Last Friday I get a call....all of the parts were in, but the factory shipped the wrong color wood and not sure how long it will take to get the correct pieces in.

I did a lot of research on the Heartland brand and put a lot of faith and $$$ into this camper. We have owned it approx 5 months now and 1 month of that has been in the shop. Definitely not what I expected from all of the reviews and positive comments.

We bought our first Heartland product, a 2013 Trail Runner, in September of 2012.



Big mistake . . . wrong time of year to buy a camper!

The reason I say this is because that was at the end of the camping season, so it sat in our side yard for eight months of the one year warranty before we had a chance to really try it out to find any problems!

We had a lot of problems with that dealership dragging their feet on warranty repairs, then when the warranty was up . . . they basically said "Sorry . . . warranty is up!"

Needless to say . . . they didn't get our business last year when we upgraded to a 5th-wheeler.




After I explained how are previous dealership (just a few miles down the road) treated us, our current dealership promised us that they would not be that way.

However . . . we had some issues getting them to do our warranty repairs as well.

They kept putting me off and playing phone tag . . .

However . . . it is amazing how fast they'll call you back when you tell your story about them on their own Facebook page!

They called me back in less than five minutes . . .

There is more to this story . . . but for another time!

However, I will say this . . . our one year warranty is up one month from tomorrow (Friday) . . . and we are still trying to get several warranty issues resolved.

Their mobile tech is supposed to come here next Thursday to finish the repairs and we have an HOC Rally the following weekend.

 

[Bob&Patty]

Melinda, Pat and I will be at Pechanga until May 20th. Why don't you and Wayne drag your new 365 over here for a few days after the repair. Patty has some new bottles of "fireball" and I'm sure she has some wine hidden in the Horn somewhere.

 

[wino2]

Just might do that Bob. We still need a shake down cruise.
Hugs to all!