Factory Repairs Reply

[Bob&Patty]

Bigziff, sorry you feel that way. Just so you know, most of the structure failures are frame related. Those are made by Lippert. I think (my normal disclaimer) about 70% or more of all RV manufacturers use Lippert frames. So find out who made the frame for the coach you buy. Same frame...same problems. BTW, maybe the people that made your SOB will got bat for you like Heartland will. Fleetwood never went to bat for me, just told me to "go pack sand." Did you notice that Jim Fenner posted a response on this thread. JMHO Bob

 

[newbie]

Bob,

That is an excellent point. One the main reasons for me choosing a Heartland was this site. It take guts for them to maintain and answer all of us here on a daily basis in front of the world every time someone has an issue (things that can quickly get the attention of the brass)

 

[Bob&Patty]

Newbie, my point was that any great house is only as good as it's foundation. Have I had issues with my Horn...........yes I have. But in Lipperts defense. They came to my home and fixed the problem at no cost to me. It was not an easy thing to work out at first but JB and Jim Fenner got involved and made it happen. Now find another company that will do that. I beg you to find me one. Heartland is still in business and growing. Why? Customer service? Or is it because they care about their reputation and their owner's. Le is going to get her coach fixed and be good as new. I have a $100.00 bucks that say's so. Any taker's? Bob

 

[kakampers]

Bob, you win that bet...that I know from experience! Jim Fenner is a man of his word, no question! If he says it will be taken care of...it will.

Jim B. ain't so bad himself....

 

[brunsje]

When Elaine and I were looking for our camper I joined this forum. I ready a lot of negatives about the various Heartland products. BUT I also went to other forums and not one responded to owners concerns like the Heartland Company! Sure I have had a few problems, not the least our dealer went out of business! But all issues, though minor compared to this one were taken care of! I am confident Heartland will make this problem right!

 

[out the car window]

Hi Folks
I have a quick update. I am on my way this morning to take the camper to a local dealer to have it looked at - re getting some repairs completed. I am going with high hopes that this might be the last time I have to take it in to finally have all these outstanding issues resolved. On the day before Thanksgiving I have every reason to be thankful!

I really want to thank you kind people. Your support here helped sway the pendulum and get things moving again and I sincerely appreciate this. I want to take this opportunity right here to wish you all a wonderful and very happy Thanksgiving.

I want to also thank Jim. He jumped in and helped get things going again. Chris will be managing it now as Jim is away and I am sure he will sort it all out with the dealer.

I do want to ask again for some advise please. When I received the RV back from the factory the whole area that was painted and where they tried to blend it is a very noticeable orange peel finish. My experience with paint is only in the automotive industry – can you get a good smooth finish on the fiberglass so that the repairs to the wall damage are unnoticeable?

I can't imagine that no one has figured out how to do this – but sadly I have no idea. I know it was not done in a booth – and will not be this time with this local dealer. This is standard practice in the automotive industry – is it needed with RV's or is it to do with the prep, sanding and finishing?

I am just a little concerned as I have this large area around the bedroom slide that needs attention and now with more delamination on the rear slide I do not want it looking a mess as well.

Sure appreciate any comments on this. Am taking it to be reviewed this morning, but will go back to them and check re any suggestions you make – thanks in advance.

Again – my thanks for all of your support and helping me get this fixed up. It has been truly wonderful and we thank you, Le

 

[2010augusta]

Le, Re: the finish issues, I am not sure about the gel-coat, but the recent body work I had done to fix the rear cap of our Landmark is unnoticeable. if I had not seen it in primer, I would have no idea that any repair was made. I have looked very close and can not find the "fade" line between new and old. It was done in a very large paint booth, so maybe you local dealer can make arrangements to have is repaired in a facility with a booth.

Hoping for the best with your repairs.

 

[slmayor]

So glad things are on a positive track for you.
In our experience, it IS the prep, sanding and finishing that determines the finish. As a veteran of many, many garage and yard type paint jobs, the orange peel usually has to do with the wrong temperature paint reducer used, or laying on the paint too heavy without the VOC's in each coat having a chance to evaporate before the next is laid on. Looking at the runs in the paint, I'd say too heavy if I had to guess. Most orange peel can be fixed by successive applications of compounds and polishing. And on an even more positive note, fiberglass can be refinished many, many times if it's messed up. Much more forgiving than metal.
Hope everything continues to be positive for you, and happy Thanksgiving!

 

[Bob&Patty]

Le, Deb is correct about paint. Having worked in auto dealers most of my working life with body shops, I have really learned a lot about paintng. Deb is correct on the temperature aspect. That can have a great bearing on how the finish comes out. Also "fish eye" caused by oils, silicones, and waxes not cleaned off before painting. Anything she mentioned will cause the paint job to look like it was applied with a mop. Happy Thanksgiving to you. Bob

 

[biggziff]

Bigziff, sorry you feel that way. Just so you know, most of the structure failures are frame related. Those are made by Lippert. I think (my normal disclaimer) about 70% or more of all RV manufacturers use Lippert frames. So find out who made the frame for the coach you buy. Same frame...same problems. BTW, maybe the people that made your SOB will got bat for you like Heartland will. Fleetwood never went to bat for me, just told me to "go pack sand." Did you notice that Jim Fenner posted a response on this thread. JMHO Bob

Thanks, Bob. I think that's part of what really rubs me the wrong way. Others have pointed it out also. If I buy a $40,000 unit from Heartland I expect Heartland to make it right. Period. I didn't buy parts and have someone assemble it for me...I bought a complete unit that the manufacturer designed, spec'd out what components to use and built. They sold me an assembly, not component parts. I expect to take it to a dealer when it has problems and pick it up when it's fixed. I don't expect to be told that the frame is bad and I have to call the frame manufacturer, etc. Heartland has the relationship with all the parts vendors...not me...they should handle the warranty claims for the customer.

If these things were $15K, maybe I'd feel differently, but they're not.

Just one man's opinion.

 

[lwmcguir]

Dittos on your message. We are purchasing a package. We shouldn't have to deal with Lippert until after the warranty period is over.

 

[Bob&Patty]

Biggziff, this was not a personal attack by any means. We looked for a trailer for 3 years. We joined the forum in August of 2006. We read everything that was posted. The good, bad and the ugly. But we kept coming back to Heartland. I have not always been a cheerleader for Heartland......... but I understand vehicles. They are nothing but a piece of machinery. The best thing an OL' timer told me once was "a car is nothing but 10,000 loose parts flying in close formation". The worst part is they are made by people. All in all Lippert does a good job...but sometimes things happen. Most of the time it happens to nice people like Le. You are correct about buying a "package". If something happens then Heartland is the one to step and have it repaired within their warrenty period. I compare this the GM. They sell you the car. It breaks, you take it to the dealer for repair. You get your car back and GM pays the dealer. Then GM bills the manufacturer or sub-contractor that built the part. I'm sure thats the way it is between Heartland, Lippert, or any one that supplies parts to them. Sometimes the sub-contractor tries to weasle out of paying. The one thing I wish we all knew is, what happened to Le's BC and why was it sent back to the factory. As I stated in her 1st thread, Heartland usually does not do repairs at the "factory". It appears that something did go terribly wrong during the repair process. Jim Fenner will get it repaired and Le will be happy again. As a side note, Heartland knows who built or installed every part on your coach by the VIN#. Heads have rolled over shoddy work. JMHO, but I dont think you will find any coach builder that will stand behind their product any better than Heartland no matter what it costs. Bob

 

[DougLynne]

Lee, we had a couple of gouges repaired on our Bighorn and I couldn't tell you where they were after the repair. Ours was quite small compared to yours but I understand if done properly, the fibreglass can be repaired.

Hope everything works out for you and yu get to start enjoying you unit again..../Doug

 

[Cheryl]

As I stated in her 1st thread, Heartland usually does not do repairs at the "factory"

But they do them there sometimes. They did ours there. Nelson drove it out to the factory and went back to pick it up when completed. They did a much better job on our unit. You can't see where the work was done. Only time will tell if it stays that way, but I have high expectations that it will. I also have high expectations that this time out the car window will get much better results.

 

[newbie]

Not to get off the subject but I noticed that the clearance between your truck bed rails and fifth wheel are pretty tight. Is that your normal set up?

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[Cheryl]

It's just the angle of the picture. I was up on a hill. There is 8" clearance between the bed rails of the truck and the bottom of the 5th wheel. I measured after the same question was posted in a previous thread.:angel:

 

[phoenix50]

Lee,
My sympathy to you and I wish you all the luck. I purchased a 2010 Augusta and picked her up 12/08. It looked fine, but doors were side hinged and not top hinged as in the show's model. Every trip this summer past something went wrong ie. hydraulic leak, low water pressure, water leaks etc. Now it has been in the shop since 10/12 addressing 32 issues. From low water pressure, missing border, lights mounted crooked, wrong light switch, to replacing baggage doors and a holding tank. How could such a beautiful coach have so many problems. So much for quality control!
Best of Luck.
I feel your pain & Frustration.

 

[kubo]

I also have a 2010 landmark agusta and I question the border layout on mine, where are you missing boarders on your unit ? kubo

 

[out the car window]

Hi Folks
Thanks again for all your comments and discussions.

As I posted previously Jim organized for it to go to a dealer for repairs to the repairs done at the factory. To date all is going well with the people there being very professional and hopefully things moving well.

Sadly it took over a week for parts to leave the factory and the repair dealer is closing on Dec 15 till Jan 9 2010 - so it will be another 6 weeks without our RV.

This is all OK for people that still have a home base I guess, but this has been a nightmare for us as we lived fulltime in our RV. I mention it as we have now been out of our RV since October - so by the time the parts arrive and are installed it will be mid to late Jan before we have it back.

At first we were fortunate that friends who were away said to house sit - but sadly that ended after a couple of weeks and we were forced to move into an appartment begin paying rent.

Short term rentals are expensive. There is no such thing as a cheap rental that is of reasonable standard. In total we will have to pay for 4 months rent (all things going to plan and we have it back in mid Jan - 5 months if it goes to the end of Jan).

This is unexpected expense and when you sign up for a new unit you do not expect to have to add to your total cost of ownership thousands more for renting an appartment while your RV is being repaired.

I think if Heartland is planning to become an RV of choice for fulltimers this needs to be a consideration in their planning. I know another competitor that paid for accomodation for while they fixed a twisted frame after it was jacked in the wrong place at a dealer. They target the fulltime market, but I have noticed that many people here in this forum are also fulltimers. It is not something we planned for but it happend (and is still happening) to us.

Anyway - I mention it here as many people in this forum are fulltime in their RV and if a major structural problem occurs (flexing to the frame) then you may find yourself in a similar position and it is something that none of us prepare for.

BTW to answer the person that asked - you can see photo's (see previous post) re the major flexing problems in the RV - the bed slide had dropped more than an inch and the floor in the bedroom had dropped about an inches as well in places - the whole hitch flexed some 3 inches. Similarly it had delamination on the front and rear walls, the door frames had cracked and had to be repaired, the main slide had dropped at one end and damaged the carpet and torn is rubber boot off and a few other smaller issues like leaking toilets and leaking values on the blackwater tanks etc. It is all outlined in the photo's taken over the past year in my photo area (though not all of them are there...)

I found a local dealer who would fix it but Heartland wanted to take it back to the factory as the repair quotes were significant as work had to be done to fix the flexing issues on both front side walls and reattach the floor after leveling it all. They then had to replace the rear wall, repair the front wall and realign all the slides and get them working properly and install 2 new doors.

Hope this clear that up.

Anyway folks - I will come back on in Jan and let you know how we are traveling at this point in time. Meanwhile, I hope you have a safe, warm and wonderful Christmas with family or good friends.

Best wishes, Le

 

[geeksrus]

Hopefully all works our okay when you get it back.

BTW: Heartland does not endorse their units for 'full-timing".

Eh!