Disappointment in Heartland Warranty

[buckeyebob]

heres my 2 cents,get on the keystone forum and you will be so depressed you will need theapy!!!!!overall very few complaints on heartland site,i owned a keystone and monitered the heartland site for a year before i bought.i found myself logging off keystone forum and going to heartland forum so i could try to enjoy reading something that wasnt so negative about my current brand at that time.i had some problems with sundance HOWEVER they called me,emailed me and were very responsive to my problems.buckeyebob

 

[Barry & Alana]

So sad t o see this post turn into personal bashing by bullys. If Heartland can't speak up in their own defense - then so be it. But don't turn this into a RVNet attitude by bullying a poster due to the difference of opinion.

Just a bit of info - In Canada we pay 30-50% higher Rv costs up here. A RV in the states may sell for 40k - same one here is 55-65 - so the exytra $ hurt - especiallly when they are broken.

 

[Pulltab]

Were not bashing Him he is bashing Heartland. You're just fueling the situation, nice going

 

[jpmorgan37]

When this forum was started, the idea was owners helping owners. I loved it for a long time, but now it is starting to look like some of the other forums where it is owners bashing owners. Come on folks, lets keep it a fun place to come. JMHO

John

 

[CrazyScotsman]

I'm with you John.
Lately it's looking like that other RV Forum, net saying it's name.. oops " Not " fraudulent slip on the keys there..

 

[Bobby A]

As some of you know, I also was sent 200 miles away to RV Capital for a Leno replacement. We arrived to find out there was a big shake up and several of there good people were either fired, quit or just left. They had to get replacement workers, and those workers did not do the leno job to our satisfaction, we told them it was completely unexceptable. I got customer service involved at Heartland and they had the factory fix it, and they did a FANTASTIC JOB in one short afternoon. I have nothing but praise to Heartland and there committment to make the customer happy. We just have to stay calm, make the right connections, and Heartland will make us a happy camper. I still have issues that need addressed and I have been in touch with customer service at Heartland and I'am confident they will make things right.
Bobby A

 

[boatdoc]

I'm going to have to side with Geek on his spring problem and won't side on any other problems. My one and only beef with Heartland is their use of Lippert overseas crud. (I think that's legal verbage). I personaly have a list of I think 13 of us Heartland owners and I have not checked in a long time now, that have or had spring probelms and now with them crawling under most everyone's coach at the big rally that proves their's a problem with their oversea's junk. Yep, some flat springs again with less than 200 miles on them. This was a weekend jaunt just up the Coast to the Oregon rally. Getting home it was the first thing I did, check the springs. Maybe they are designed to be bowed up in the middle and not arced but I've never seen a trailer spring, and I've replaced a bunches on boat trailers, look like these things.

 

[jimtoo]

boatdoc, you might want to check your source of information for reliability, not just guessing, as to where the springs that are going flat were made. I was told by Lippert employees that the springs that were giving problems and being replaced were made in Canada.

And if this thread continues to go down hill, it will be closed.

Lets help each other.

Jim M

 

[jbeletti]

To those who feel it is curiously interesting that Lippert was at the rally...

For the record, Lippert's appearance at the rally in Goshen was not at their request based on some fear they supplied mostly defective products to us and the industry. Their appearance was at my request. I asked them to inspect frames, axles, springs and pin boxes of all Heartland units there. I did this because I felt it would be an awesome value added service for the rally. And honestly, I too am concerned about spring failures I have read about.

Well, to my surprise, Lippert stepped right up and agreed to come do the inspections. I was impressed. But not half as inpressed as I was with what they did for owners who have Lippert components that required work or replacement. They worked hard for us and they worked hard at improving their brand image. I am sure they took a lot of decent infomation away from their involvment in the rally and it is my hope that they do a full set of tests on items they replaced so they can learn from that as well. And that benefits everyone down the road. I doubt anyone there would disagree with the value-added component of having them at the rally and I hope they agree to do it again in 2011.

I do agree that it "seems" like there is a spring failure rate that is high. Is the rate really higher than normal? I do not know as I do not know what a normal rate it. I do know this:

1. We use springs rated for the GVWR of the unit they go on
2. You "can" overspring an RV and have negative collateral issues
3. Loading can contribute to spring failure
4. Many RVs we've repaired at our plant with issues that were serious enough that required them to be done at the plant, "were over GVWR". Some by a large margin.

That all said:

1. Not everyone overloads their RV
2. RVs are generally heavier on the kitchen side
3. Some spring failures are the result of material defects
4. Some spring failures are the result of owner contributed factors

So I feel there are many factors that can contribute to spring failure, including material defects. But this does not mean every spring set Lippert supplies is defective.

Jim

 

[osims]

I hope Lippert comes back in 2011 also. They inspected my rig and found a small problem (not springs ) and made me aware of the problem and fixed it. They could have said nothing and moved on to the next rig but they didn't.
Bill

 

[jayc]

Like Bill, I hope Lippert comes back in 2011. They did a fine job this year. They found a problem on my springs and replaced them for me after the rally was over and I am forever thankful that they took the time and effort to correct the problem.

 

[kakampers]

I too was impressed with Lippert's participation at the rally. They really tried to make sure that everyone was taken care of...are they perfect no...but who is?

Same goes for Heartland...they're not perfect, but they really try and take care of their customers, and for me, that's what counts.

I'm glad the OP's issue is being addressed...hope their problems are now behind them.

 

[WRIGHT ll]

Well, we missed the rally due to another commitment, and I do regret it. I, for one, won't badmouth either Lippert or Heartland because we haven't had any problems with our rig, 2008 BH 3400RE. The only problems we had were well taken care of by our dealer. When we did the PDI we took most of two days to do it.My son in law is a neat freak and we had only 17 items to correct and the dealer took care of them before we picked the rig up. I know everything can't be discovered during the PDI and not everybody knows what a defect might look like, but I feel that the time we spent on the PDI has been directly related to the condition of our rig. Please don't think that I won't hammer Heartland or Lippert or anybody else if I can't get the service I think I should get when the time comes. I have only had to deal with our dealer so far and I go there often enough to be known by name not just the rig in the lot, maybe that has something to do with it. We do travel some and have about 9000 miles on the rig but we aren't full timers.

 

[Bob&Patty]

Beaver, just so you know. My story was directed at the other poster. There are people that just have to chime in about the problem they have had no matter what the original posters problem was.

B&A, I dont see that standing up for HL is being a bully. But I do believe that right is right and wrong is wrong. Beaver was having a problem with a slide tearing his floor. There was not any mention of a spring problem. So after Beavers post the only answer he got was someone jumping up and down about a spring problem. This poster goes on and on about HL making the springs. WRONG, Lippert has them made, they come on the frame from Lippert. As does all the slide parts, pin boxes, brakes. HL only makes the body of the coach. Period.

I think that JimToo has the right idea, If you dont have anything nice to say, dont say it. Call HL, Lippert or the company that made the things that HL bought from them and complain.

 

[jmgratz]

Although we do not have springs on our RV (we have Mor-Ryde IS) at the Rally I asked Lippert personnel to check out bedroom slide adjustment. They found it to be out of adjustment and found the slide to be mounted incorrectly on the floor. This incorrect mounting had been done by a dealer (remains unnamed) when the slide was repaired. Lippert adjusted the slide and then Heartland factory personnel correctly remounted the slide so it is now properly aligned. I must say on 3 different occasions I have had to ask for Lippert's assistance for different issues and each time they stepped up to the plate, took care of our issue without argument and fixed the problem. When you consider the number of recreational vehicles on the road with Lippert components I think their track record is pretty good. What we hear here on the forum are the few with problems and not the many without. Please keep that in mind, not to minimumize those with problems. I just wanted to personally thank the folks at Lippert for their speedy and professional assistance.

 

[TXBobcat]

I don't know when the first comment was made about the springs, but this may have been one of the first. I had not read one until I posted this thread.
//heartlandowners.org/showthread.php?t=7353
http://s140.photobucket.com/albums/r27/ka5kmu/Heartland/

When I had the problem on a Friday around 2pm I called Heartland. Heartland called Lippert. Dave from Lippert called me. Dave requested that Lippert at Longview TX send a tech to replace the springs on my 2008 3400RE. He arrived and was working by 4pm. I called Michelin and found 2 new XPS Ribs. I was on my way before 5pm. On Monday I called Dave and told him one of the axles had collapsed, per tech. He shipped two new 7k axles, four 7k springs, 4 shocks and I went to Longview to have them installed. It cost me for the overnight of the parts. That was my choice. I paid for one Axle and a set of springs. My choice. I was in Austin for the wedding on time.

If Heartland, Dave and Lippert had not assisted me I would have still been on the side of the road.

I was unsecure with the axles and drum brakes. I could have stayed with the 7k suspension. So I replaced them with the Mor/Ryde IS and DB's. My choice. I feel better.

Everything in this post is fact. Yes I wish the original system had been of a higher quality, but I purchased what I could afford. I can not purchase a Prevost, and even it is not beyond need to repair. If you don't like it get rid of it. If you do like it fix it and get on with life, it is to short to sweat the small thing. And above all ... Be Nice.

BC

 

[lhetsler]

Chiming in

Okay, after reading this thread I too think it helps no one to just complain and threaten to never buy from a company again. There is no doubt that Heartland makes a great product. We spent a year looking before buying and talking to owners at campgrounds while traveling. We still look all the time and cannot find a better product than our 2008 Bighorn.

If you have a problem come to this forum for help and explanations. This forum will not be successfully used to bash anyone. We all just consider the source.

If you cannot be constructive, wait a few days before posting. I know how upsetting these things can be. We invest a lot of money in our units. They are complex machines with components from dozens of companies.

I have had dozens of questions answered on this forum, but have never received an ounce of help from a complainer. Take a deep breath, explain your problem and be patient.

Some problem solving is a process that takes time. Make a post, ask if others have had the same problem, wait for responses, find what solutions have worked. Using this forum as a battering ram is inappropriate and shows immaturity. And yes, we are all that way sometimes when we get frustrated, but like I said just take a break and calm down before posting.

 

[TXBobcat]

Hear Hear.. and BE NICE...

 

[Beaver00]

Last comment from Beaver00: This was not meant to be a Heartland bashing on my part. I was just disappointed in the way the one individual treating me and kind blew me off instead of trying to work with me to resolve the issue. As I said before, Iam very happy with our Landmark and we've had very few problems with it. In fairness to RV Capital, we also arrived the week after the BIG shake-up and the people we had dealt with were no long there and we were back at square one. Several posters commented about why didn't you check it BEFORE leaving "dummy". Things were taking longer then expected due to the shake-up and we HAD to be somewhere for a funneral and things appeared ok so we left. End of story!!!

 

[Ray LeTourneau]

Thread Locked

With all that's been said and since Beaver00 has posted his final say, I think it's time to bring this one to rest.