Fireplace Concerns

[mike]

The last few days my dw and I have been using the fireplace in our unit and it seams to warm up the den o.k., but the one thing that I have noticed is that the cabinet above fireplace where the dvd is at gets very hot so hot that a remote control I had in there was almost to hot to hold. The main concern is that this heat may damage the DVD unit or the cabinet or it may ignite something else. Does the factory think this is correct and/or does anyone else have this issus?

Mike

 

[tinkers]

Tinkers-Pat

Mike, we have EXACTLY the same problem with our Bighorn fireplace. It gets so hot that it has discolored the wood above it, and gets hot all the way up to the tv. I have moved the cd's that I was keeping in the cabinet with the dvd/cd player. We are in Florida for the winter, and used it all the way down from St. Louis, and have used it here, including tonight when it's on now! The greatest heating of the wood is when the temp is above about 50%. But then again, this is just one of the very many problems we have had with this unit. Our dealer has been wonderful trying to help resolve all these things, but the initial response from the factory and especially Scott was very disappointing. We have not posted before because we were so upset that it would have taken 3 pages to cover it all! We traded our trusty 97 Avion Westport in on an impulse buy in May, and have pretty much regreted it ever since. In the first 4 months, it spent 9 weeks at the dealer with problems, the worst one was air did not work worth a hoot! And we have a list of issues now, including the fireplace, to take to a dealer down here this winter.

 

[driver311]

what part of flordia are u in i am in okeechobee

driver311None

 

[Paul & Nan]

Tinkers-Have to agree with your many problems and regret at buying a Heartland product. We have had many problems that our dealer has resolved, no thanks to Heartland. Even the dealer is frustrated with them. We have issues that the factory told the dealer we would have to come to them for, try to get anyone to handle that, NOT. We have been a month just trying to get anything but a runaround. Will not reccomment anyone to buy these trailers at this rate.
We do not have a problem with fireplace at least. But have a big bubble in outside sidewall, poping and cracking in floor, etc.

 

[Scott]

Response

Tiners and Paul & Nan -

While I know that Heartland does not build the perfect coach, we do our best to make it a point to react quickly with the support expected when an issue does arrive. Our dealers are our "hands and feet" out there in the field, and most of them do a great job. If they don't, we hear about it, and we eliminate them as Heartland dealers.

FYI - We now have 8 people working in our customer service dept. (parts/service/warranty), where six months ago, there were only two of us.

We strive to make yours and anyone's coach RIGHT when they experience issues. I am sorry that you felt "disappointed" in my response personally to your issues. As I only see your forum "nick name", I do not know the details.
I would like for you to call David Partin, our new customer service manager at 574.262.8030 (email: davidp@heartlandrvs.com) who will be able to address your service issues right away.

I am going to tell you that while we are not able to make everyone happy, I know enough of our owners through phone conversations, this forum, and meeting them in person to know that we are doing a pretty good job with the vast majority of them.

Not unlike any other company with hundreds of workers, we do not have the "perfect" work force. They are humans and they make mistakes. If they continue to make mistakes, they are let go.
During the large growth we have experienced this year, we had a lot of folks come to us from other RV companies. Some were pretty good.. some were not. But as soon as we found out a person was not up to par, we let them go. Because we DO strive to offer a quality coach. I know they are engineered very well. If there are problems, it is typically in the fit and finish, or when a vendor supplied part (like your A/C systems) fails or causes problems.

In regards to the fireplace, this discussion has come up before on this forum. The supplier of that component recommends it's usage not exceed a certain amount of hours at a time (see their owners manual for details because I'm not sure the exact time or wording). While it does provide nice, extra ambient heat in the living area, it is not to be relied upon for the actual "heating" of the coach - like in place of the furnace. If it run for extended periods of time, it will in fact, heat up the surrounding wood as you are experiencing - but they, nor do the building codes require any extra insulation or fire-retardant materials to be installed with these fireplaces.

As for the service that you experienced at your dealer, I am not sure how to repond to that but to say that nine weeks would be unacceptable to me too. I'm sure on some level they are blaming us, but I can tell you that even in the worst of times, we were getting parts out in less than two weeks - and now it is less than three days on average.

If you are not happy with your dealer's work at all - you always reserve the right to set up an appointment through our factory to have your coach worked on here in Indiana.
To do this, you will have to set it up through our customer service department and let them know when you would like to bring it.

Whether it's fit and finish, a systems issue or a sidewall bubble, we can and will get it fixed for you.

ST

 

[mike]

Scott, thanks for the quick reply.

I know that the fireplace was not intended to heat the coach but it does add a nice amount of heat in den area since my coach seams to have very cold floors the fireplace helps to keep from running the furnace all the time. I am sure that you are correct about additional insulation or fire retardant materials but I am also sure that at the time of build the cost of adding these is very low and would make new buyers fill a lot better, I know it concerns me now..

Tinkers/Paul & Nan/Scott

We have had a few problems so far like the closet rod in bedroom falling to the floor and the oven not working from day one (now fixed) and now that its a bit chilly seams to be a lot of cold air coming in from under cabinets and other areas, found some unsealed holes in floor under cabinets. But for the most part the unit has been o.k. now keep in mind it has not been pulled other than from dealers lot to where it is parked today about 10 miles once we start moving who the **** knows. I have read in this forum from Scott about the need for dual pane windows and wish that i had, but this would not help (winter/summer) for air coming in/out through holes in the coach..


Mike

 

[elwaller39]

How much heat well the DVD player - AM/FM radio handle in this compartment when the fire place heater is on? I have left the door open a bit to let some of the heat out, but the wood on which this unit sets on is getting very warm. I now have the DVD player on and that also makes heat also. So I am concerned as to how much heat will damage DVD player? Who will replace this unit if it gets too hot? Evans & Lana

 

[coyotejones]

I recently took delivery on a BigHorn 3055 and am thrilled with it. We took it out for a trial spin and encounter a few problems, major one being the slides would not go back in until played with it for close to 1/2 hour. We found out the solenoid was bad. The dealer was very proactive in correcting it but I seem to still have a holing mattress. After seeing this name on this forum I wrote the following email. I will post the answer if received.

"We very excitedly picked up our fiver a week or so before Thanksgiving. We were told that we would have a walk through explaining how things work. We did have a very short walk through escorted by a young kid who was not very knowledgeably. Every we question we asked him, he was not able to answer and need not bother to find out. At the end of the tour he handed me a piece of paper and by signing it, it would start the warranties on all the products in the RV. We then took it home and prepared to take it in on a two week trip to work out any bugs before leaving for the winter. After I got it home and was putting my bedding on the bed, I pulled off the plastic off the mattress and found a hole in the mattress. It is approximately 1 1/2 square. While on our trip we compiled a list of things to fix. This was one of the items. After returning home, we made an appointment with the dealer and took it down for repairs. The dealer made good on the list except for the mattress which he claims we should have pointed it out before we left the lot. I ask you, how many customer find it necessary to take the plastic off the mattress? The dealer also stated that he was unable to do anything about the mattress and we should contact you directly. He stated that you could send us a replacement. What do we need to do to make this mattress right? I have written to the company before but have received no reply. HELP Please. Jacquie Jones in Utah. 801 XXX-XXXX."

 

[Scott]

Fyi

I have emailed Jackie directly on this and gotten the Heartland Customer Services department involved - directing them to get a new mattress for her. The hole in the mattress, being under that plastic, obviously was not apparent to anyone at Heartland or the dealership so we going to make it right.

ST

 

[cdbMidland]

Scott, do you have an answer on the fireplace concerns that started this thread? The fireplace was one of the "must haves" for us.

Is there a problem and does the factory have a solution?

 

[Scott]

Fireplace

Somewhere on this forum is a posting that I put up last year that went into detail on this matter.
In short - no, we do not have a problem with our fireplace installation or operation. We install the same unit the same way as thousands of other fifth wheels that are put out of this county every year.
Yes, the surrounding woodwork does get awefully hot if the fireplace is run for extended periods of time. It is meant to be an addition or supplement to your furnace heat - it is not meant to heat the room by itself.
In that posting, I discussed what I had heard from the manufacturer and they said that in the owners manual it suggests limited usage and they only time they run into very hot woodworking is when people run it for hours on end.

ST

 

[cdbMidland]

Thanks, Scott. That makes me feel better.

 

[tinkers]

Scott, we haven't posted until now because of being busy with holidays, etc, but also we BOTH wanted to read and read again the owners manual for the fireplace to be sure we came up with the same conclusions more then once. And that is that there is no where that we find any mention of limitations for time or heat setting for the fireplace. Maybe you can enlighten us as to where that is located? Because we dang sure can't find it.

The high heat with the areas above the fireplace that we experienced have been when the fireplace has been on for less then an hour (we have tried it again and again since your posting), and when the heat is up more then about halfway on the knob. So now we no longer use it in those settings. Could you define what your understanding is regarding "extended periods" of use???? And we feel that there is no one out here who doesn't have the intelligence to know that the fireplace is not meant to heat the rig, but to give esthetics and take a bit of the chill off.

If the manufacturer truly feels that this should not be used for extended periods of time at high heat settings, then why put the higher heat setting there to start with, or why not put a warning label right on the fireplace where the controls are mounted?

And by the way, our rig was at the dealer for 9 weeks off and on because of a MAJOR problem with the air conditioning (along with 2 other Big Horns at the dealer) all summer long. Wouldn't cool unit down to below upper 80s to 90 degrees running all day long!!! Totally unacceptable!! And I did speak to you on the phone regarding this problem, and you told us in very caustic and no uncertain terms that there was no problem with our air, the other units at our dealer, and no problem at Heartland!!! The answer to our problem from the factory was that we needed a 2nd a/c, because it just couldn't handle it with one. BULL!!! If that was the case, you would be putting 2 units in, right?????? Well, we bit the bullet and put in a 2nd air (factory chipped in $300), and it didn't help but about 5 degrees. In the long run, factory people came to the dealer armed with a whole box of vents, the saw to cut the holes, and obviously the knowledge of what was wrong. That was the there were not enough vents in the living area!!! Only 3 in the whole kitchen/living area. They cut 3 more holes, put the vents in, found a crushed duct, and we believe it to now be resolved, but won't know 100% until the heat of summer comes around. Our warranty expires May 2, but we expect to have some special treatment regarding this totally ongoing situation until we are out in the 90 degree plus heat.

We have had many other problems which the dealer was wonderful in taking care of. The cabinets were not attached properly to the wall, the pocket door to the bedroom fell off the hinges twice, our closet rod broke twice, doors and drawers wouldn't stay closed, and I could go on and on. We can't say enough nice things about them, but the factory response to this air problem was initially disappointing, frustrating, and maddening!!

We now have a problem with the kitchen sink. It has cracked around the drain on both sides, appears to be just surface cracks right now, but it probably will have to be replaced. Since we are in Florida for the winter with it, we will want to bring it to the factory for this situation. Don't want that corian counter top removed and put back by anyone but the factory, so we will probably see you next spring!!!

Until then, we will be eagerly awaiting your info regarding the location of these warnings for the fireplace. We simply cannot find it.

Thanks, Pat & Logan (Tinkers)

 

[tinkers]

P. S. The one warning in the manual we were concerned about is the one which says do not install directly on carpet. We took the front off this morning, and indeed, the installation is directly on the carpet. There are vents on the bottom of the fireplace that are supposed to be open, and that's why the instructions in the book say to put the fireplace off the carpet. Could this account for the heat not being able to dissipate anywhere except straight up, causing things above it to become unacceptably hot?

Pat & Logan
Tinkers

 

[tinkers]

My husband will not let go of something until he solves the mystery. After removing the front of the fireplace and finding it is setting on carpet, he called the fireplace manufacturer regarding this. They were not surprised that Heartland had not followed their instructions, but said this will cause a lack of air circulation and the high heat. They asked him to take pics of the installation and send them so they could get in touch with Heartland and other manufacturers regarding this installation. There is NO restriction of the amount of time the unit should be used. There are 4 feet on the bottom of the unit which are to be off the floor. If you have a hardwood floor, you probably do not have any problem with the high heat above it. This is just let everyone know what we have found.

 

[cdbMidland]

Thanks, tinkers.

Scott, this in my opinion is a legitimate complaint that the factory has to address. Should the dealer remove and reinstall the fireplace, removing the carpet, or is this something that the factory should do?

Please advise.

 

[Scott]

Fireplace

Regarding fireplace installation -
For the record, the time reference for running the fireplace came from the product rep, who told me he thought it was stated in their manual. I just read the entire thing too, and while I did find a note about turning the thermostat adjustement backwards unitl it "clicks" once you have reached the desired room temperature (in theory to keep the unit from overheating) - I did not find a specific time frame mentioned as the rep told me last year when this question first came up.

I just went out to the line and had them pull a fireplace from the coach in final finish so I could see how it had been installed. It was sitting on a wooden platform that raised it up off of the carpet. I then pulled the installation manual out of a fireplace box which says that is a proper installation. There are, in fact, two proper installations, one is right on a wood floor, the other is raised up off of a carpeted floor. The bottom of the fireplace unit has three small nubs or "legs" that lift it off of what ever surface it is sitting on to help increase air ventillation.
If your fireplace is sitting directly on the carpet - that is a mistake and it will restrict the flow of air and cause it to become hotter than normal. If this is the case with your unit, I apologize that it got out of here that way and I am going to tell you to take your coach to your dealer where they will make sure your fireplace is re-installed correctly - under warranty of course.

ST

 

[cdbMidland]

Thanks, Scott. My unit comes out of storage tomorrow and I will check it out.

 

[mike]

Scott, Thanks for checking out all the info on the fireplace I will be looking at mine to see how it is installed also..


Mike

 

[tuckandsue]

We took delivery of our 3400RL Bighorn in October. We have not yet been able to use the fireplace because there was no remote. The dealer said they received the wrong remote from factory twice. I have tried to use the buttons manually, but all I get is the green light, the heat and "flame" lights do not work. Shouldn't we be able to use the buttons without the remote? Also, we have no paperwork on the fireplace, instructions, etc. and I can't find a name anywhere on the unit itself. Any suggestions how I can get this thing working and get a copy of a booklet? We sure would like to use it.