Dometic Power Awning Recall

[murry135]

Well its confirmed after numerous phone calls made by myself, I have been bitten by the Dometic Power Awning Recall. If another HOC member was not responsible enough to report and post the recall that was in an article in another periodical I would to this day not know with over 600 miles of travel on this unit since taking ownership in April. Guest what, and it's not hard to figure out where I stand now with a 2013 Heartland Landmark Key Largo, "DIW, DEAD IN WATER." I have to wait to travel with my unit until Dometic finds a certified repair to come and replace the two awning motors. Yet, lets take this to another level, I just towed my unit yesterday for 3.5 hours to its home dealership for repairs that were supposed to be addressed prior to pickup, found during PDI, and not authorized for replacement and repair until recently and then the wait for a service opening. So here I sit with a extremely expense high end 5'er and unable to use it because Dometic has advised me now not to tow until repaired. SO, will Dometic reimburse me for time loss, I still have to pay bank note even though I don't have unit? I am venting here about my discontent for the RV industry and the QC that goes into the product. I was told by my dealership that our unit was one that was pulled from the assymbly line for a closer QC control. Wow am I lucky can you imagine if I was not pulled and looked at closely. I have interior screws protruding through the bottoms of my slide outs, ripped squee-gee rubber seals on slide outs, dry rotted rubber mounts on all four shocks on Lippert suspension and slides that do not close and seal square. I understand the unit goes down the road and is a rolling earthquate but first you have to ROLL IT, not point out and wait almost 90 days for repairs and to then have to alert the dealer that my unit is part of the recall and there response is we will look into it. Let's go America wake up and let's get back to caring for what we make and offer. Sorry for the rant but I worked hard for what I have and expect people to work for me the way I did for them. Don't think I am asking for a lot here. I always read and to what others had to say about QC and dealer and industry short falls with a grain of sale, but now I am mad and disappointed, maybe RVing is not for my personallity. Whats your opinion?

 

[danemayer]

Hi murry135,

Sorry you're going through all this stuff. One thing I've wondered about the Dometic Awning Recall. I think I'd be looking for a way to tie up the awning so that even if it were to fail, it couldn't go anywhere. I'm surprised Dometic doesn't have some recommendation that starts with a couple of 16" velcro strips. But since I'm not familiar with the awning design, maybe I'm imagining something that wouldn't work.

 

[murry135]

I agree, what is a way to temporary fix this if your stuck in an area that can't be reached or serviced by a technician. Explain the problem more and offer options for continued use until repaired. Many units are effected and no real effort to make owners feel they can still travel and use unit. Will it open by a short in motor, will the gears or drive system fail and let go of tension hold awning closed, will a retension spring fail. What really is the problem maybe one of owners can come up with a temporoary fix. Will disconnecting motor eliminate problem till replaced, that seems too simple but what happens when electric motor fails and you need to manually roll up awning? WE are not being told all the info or they don't even know what is happening.

 

[Rickhansen]

Murry,
I'll go along with Dan on this. Personally, I wouldn't worry too much about Dometic's recommendation. I'd disable the awing by pulling the fuse and secure it with a handful of Tie Wraps until it can be serviced.

I suppose in hindsight, that you could have refused delivery until the defects found during the PDI were repaired. That's water under bridge at this point. I'd say that most owners can find some issues, big or small, that should not have occurred with good workmanship and diligent QC at the factory. It's been reported recently that Heartland has stepped up their processes to help in this area, but the dealers are also a wildcard in the big picture from the owners perspective of how the situation is resolved.

Take a deep breath, and make the best of it. You'll get it all worked out.

 

[TomSt]

Another option is if the awning is rolled up put a few self tapping screws into the support arms. That is my out since you cannot find a spot on ours that you can use velcro one wrap to hold in place. Just be sure to mark locations in advance while it is worrking.

 

[murry135]

Murry,
I'll go along with Dan on this. Personally, I wouldn't worry too much about Dometic's recommendation. I'd disable the awing by pulling the fuse and secure it with a handful of Tie Wraps until it can be serviced.

I suppose in hindsight, that you could have refused delivery until the defects found during the PDI were repaired. That's water under bridge at this point. I'd say that most owners can find some issues, big or small, that should not have occurred with good workmanship and diligent QC at the factory. It's been reported recently that Heartland has stepped up their processes to help in this area, but the dealers are also a wildcard in the big picture from the owners perspective of how the situation is resolved.

Take a deep breath, and make the best of it. You'll get it all worked out.

I thank all you fellow HOC members for your support and understanding along with your suggestion that a foggy mind can't clearly see. My rant was initiated this morning as a result of having been told again to wait, but they sure are quick on taking your money and pushing you out the door. My venting on the forum may not be appropriate and I appoligize but boy do I feel better. Our dealership tells me my one day service will now take until next week before all parts are received and installed for the Dometic and previous noted issues from PDI. The reason we took the unit after the PDI inspection was we were paid and expected at a Rally in Lancaster PA. So, we took our unit two weeks after the PDI report and enjoyed it. On this trip and subsequent trips we found other items that we missed on the PDI but dealt with via email and pictures. Hind sight is 50/50 and when you spend boo koo bucks you expect a lot more. Once again all is now in perspective and we should have our coach back by next weekend. Thank you for this format to learn, help and vent.

 

[porthole]

Jim - I would recommend you head on over to Reyes' and have him fix you up one of his specialties

 

[murry135]

Thats exactly the problem, Duane. I have not been around JC enough lately to help easy the stress. Just being around a campfire with you and Bylinkski and Proto works just as well but due to a busy schedule with family and son graduating we can get away to do exactly that. June is full up also with every weekend, looks like July before I calm down. Oh, by the way to all who read and don't like rants oh well.

 

[jbeletti]

Another option is if the awning is rolled up put a few self tapping screws into the support arms. That is my out since you cannot find a spot on ours that you can use velcro one wrap to hold in place. Just be sure to mark locations in advance while it is worrking.

I did exactly that in Nashville 2010 when my awning rolled in "funny". Funny as is the arms got all bent up. No idea what happened. A hammer and some wrenches wrestled the arms as closed as they would go. Then a few self-tapping screws and I was good to travel.

That said, If my awning was in perfectly good shape, I'd be hard pressed to put self-tapping screws in it. But, if it meant getting in more camping, then maybe I could just fill them holes with matching silicone rubber later

 

[jbeletti]

Jim - I would recommend you head on over to Reyes' and have him fix you up one of his specialties

Should be mandatory that JC is at all rallies to keep everyone calmed Though I missed going over to his rig in Gettysburg to see the new beast of get one of his calming specialties.

 

[murry135]

All hail the skill's of "Jimmy Cosmo."

 

[gvtahoe88]

All hail the skill's of "Jimmy Cosmo."

This is the only industry I know that people roll over and accept a product that is not up to par. Would anyone be happy to buy a car or truck that had the problems of some of these Rvs. Would you be happy to hear oh It usually takes 1 year to get the bugs out. I think not !!! Oh well I love being a shade tree mechanic???

 

[porthole]

This is the only industry I know that people roll over and accept a product that is not up to par. Would anyone be happy to buy a car or truck that had the problems of some of these Rvs. Would you be happy to hear oh It usually takes 1 year to get the bugs out. I think not !!! Oh well I love being a shade tree mechanic???

Ever try boating?

How about high end Harley Screamin Eagle motorcycles?

these campers ain't got nothing on those two items.

 

[Grampafish]

Thanks to Murry135 for posting this. We now know that we also have a unit that's subject to recall. We ARE leaving on a 4 week, 2500 mile trip next week. Don't know why Heartland hasn't notified us! Appears that many SOBs have notified owners - Keystone, Forest River, Jayco, to name a few. We just talked to Dometic a few minutes ago and were told not to move the unit until it's repaired. I wonder when I'll hear from them again. I did give them phone numbers for our dealer and a local mobile RV service company. We were planning on taking the rig in for a few warranty issues before our trip. One of which was that the awning interlock doesn't function when hooked to the TV with the ignition on. I hope to get this resolved before we leave, otherwise I'll be removing the fuse during travel -whichever one that is!

 

[mobilcastle]

What units and years are effected?

 

[Grampafish]

What units and years are effected?

This potential condition affects only the power awning products manufactured between February 13, 2013, (306XXXXX serial #) through April 9, 2013, (314XXXXX serial #). The serial # appears on a label on the right underside of the fabric and on the roller tube. On the power awning field Motor Service Kit the serial # appears on the end cap of the shipping tube. Here's a link for the whole notice: http://www.prnewswire.com/news-rele...cement-of-rv-power-awning-kits-206839051.html

 

[murry135]

[This is the only industry I know that people roll over and accept a product that is not up to par. Would anyone be happy to buy a car or truck that had the problems of some of these Rvs. Would you be happy to hear oh It usually takes 1 year to get the bugs out. I think not !!! Oh well I love being a shade tree mechanic???]

I don't think it is a matter of people taking something that is not right but a matter of the industry and dealers to correct the issues upon notification. Dealers saying don't worry use it and we will fix it down the road is what got my craw. When you take it the repairs now take second fiddle and there is no hurry to make the customer whole. Now I like my dealer but this coupled with the recall pushed my buttons. As a group, the HOC, who is approaching 20,000 members should have some say in this and the Heartland Company should look into how to make this better if they want to stay on top. I brought the recall to the attention of my dealer and still waiting 4 days for a reply as when the parts will be in.

 

[Grampafish]

Murry135, It's a bummer your dealer isn't providing timely service. I guess I'm pretty lucky in that I got immediate response from our dealer in Portland, OR and they have the replacement motor kit. However, towing it to them is at my own risk. I've put on about 400 miles, before knowing any of this. I did find out that pulling the fuse to the awning isn't an adequate safeguard as the awning can unroll with this particular defect. So, I plan to secure the awning tube and drive 20 miles to get it fixed as the first stop on my journey next week. Interestingly enough, my awning has a date code of 4/15/2013 which would put it outside the dates in their announcement but Dometic's customer service rep assured me I was at risk and should not tow until repaired.

 

[Mrsfish]

We were notified by heartland around 8 days ago.

 

[klindgren]

I got a letter from Heartland telling me to contact Dometic. Called them while I was on the Eastern Shore of Virginia at the Virginia HOC Rally. They got someone from an appliance repair company ("never done this before") to come out and replace the motor. Big problem is that the main awning, according to Dometic is on the recall, thus the replacement, and my awning on the slide-out is not subject to the recall. MAJOR problem is the main awning was working perfectly before they replaced the motor, the one on the slide-out quit working on Saturday morning when I was getting ready for our "show off your camper" walk through for the rally. Both awnings were made within 4 days of each other and are within the recall serial number, but Dometic says the smaller awning is not covered. Now, I have it wire-tied and hope I can get someone to look at it while I'm in Goshen. I'm NOT a happy camper