Heck of a 24 hrs. RV (2015 Heartland Gateway 3650bh) delivered about 3PM Friday. RV dealer or salesman didn't tell us they'd winterized unit, which entails of opening all faucets and plugging all drains. Smelled smoke, smoke alarm went off, after searching inside seeing nothing, ran outside, outdoor kitchen which wasn't even unlocked yet, flooded. Carpet soaked in bunkhouse. Wood warped that we can see, no telling what we cant see behind walls, under carpet, etc!! Saturday we found black tank leaking!!! You can see the blue chemicals draining thru underbelly on every bolt on the front end of 5er!!! So now both ends of RV have water damage. Dried all from kitchen, carpet in back, etc. It's been snowing off and on since Sat. Dealer gave me a phone number for "his" service, said to call Monday! I'm also calling heartland!! Thankfully it's warrantied and bought extended warranty! Problem is were staying in it. RV dealers service rep said to call Heartland warranty, said he'd sent emails with details and pics. Warranty has no record. Continue to get runaround!!! With the black tank leaking into underbelly and externally from underpinning, this is hazardous!!!! Someone help!!!
First 24 hrs of ownership, NIGHTMARE! Getting run around between heartland warranty and dealer
- Thread starter NicoleJ
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- underbelly
No. We didn't know amd weren't told that unit was winterized, which entailed of all faucets wide open, and all drains plugged. There were 2 guys outside and myself inside. Once I heard water, I turned it off, and took all plugs out of drains. We continued moving stuff into RV. We hadn't unlocked all compartments at this point. After little while we smelled smoke, detector started alarming. After racing thru inside and checking all, we ran outside. This is when we heard water and saw it pouring from outdoor kitchen. Also definitely discovered where smell was coming from. At that point we got up as much water as we could. We discovered carpet in bh soaked. We ran fans, heaters, and dehumidifier. I did email salesman once we got water up that we could, and got fans and heatwrs going. His words were, and i quote, "Relax, its all marine grade" i know the speakers are, but obviously not the walls, floor, subfloor, underbelly, etc. You can the wood in the areas visible in outdoor kitchen is warped and trim coming off.
The black tank leak was discovered the next day, at opposite end of unit. It was dripping underneath the shower area, but on the outside, coming from bolts holding underbelly.....
When unit was delivered I was told I'd have to pay extra for walk through, bc they'd have to send someone qualified with delivery. After paying $**K for unit and $2K for delivery, we opted out of it. So we were on our own
The black tank leak was discovered the next day, at opposite end of unit. It was dripping underneath the shower area, but on the outside, coming from bolts holding underbelly.....
When unit was delivered I was told I'd have to pay extra for walk through, bc they'd have to send someone qualified with delivery. After paying $**K for unit and $2K for delivery, we opted out of it. So we were on our own
Chippendale
Well-known member
NicoleJ
Sort of takes the fun out of a new RV doesn't it. Sounds like your dealer did not do a PDI (Pre Delivery Inspection) for you. Weekend before last when I used my furnace on my new Gateway 3300ML for the first time, the smoke alarm went off too. It was because the unit is new and the alarm was picking up the "new smell". When we did the PDI, and the alarm went off, I saw the tech push the button on the alarm to stop the noise. He said to open the door and a window and let the furnace run for about 30 minutes to burn the "new smell" out of the unit and it should be OK. I did what he said, and it seems to have taken care of the problem.
My rig is back at the dealer's because the plumbing fitting where the grey tank drains into the pipe coming from the black tank was not sealed properly, and when I opened the black tank to drain it, it was shades of Robin William's first dump experience in the movie RV. Sewage sprayed out of the fitting. At least mine was not as full and not as bad the movie version. Your problems are much worse than mine, I hope everything works out for you soon. Sorry I can't be of any more help, my guess is that help for most of your problems is going to have to come from Heartland and your dealer.
Sort of takes the fun out of a new RV doesn't it. Sounds like your dealer did not do a PDI (Pre Delivery Inspection) for you. Weekend before last when I used my furnace on my new Gateway 3300ML for the first time, the smoke alarm went off too. It was because the unit is new and the alarm was picking up the "new smell". When we did the PDI, and the alarm went off, I saw the tech push the button on the alarm to stop the noise. He said to open the door and a window and let the furnace run for about 30 minutes to burn the "new smell" out of the unit and it should be OK. I did what he said, and it seems to have taken care of the problem.
My rig is back at the dealer's because the plumbing fitting where the grey tank drains into the pipe coming from the black tank was not sealed properly, and when I opened the black tank to drain it, it was shades of Robin William's first dump experience in the movie RV. Sewage sprayed out of the fitting. At least mine was not as full and not as bad the movie version. Your problems are much worse than mine, I hope everything works out for you soon. Sorry I can't be of any more help, my guess is that help for most of your problems is going to have to come from Heartland and your dealer.
danemayer
Well-known member
If water was coming out of the open faucets, it sounds like you had the hose correctly connected to the city water inlet (one way to get black tank flooding and leakage is to connect the hose to the black tank flush by mistake). So if flooding occurred with faucets closed, it would sound like one of the water lines is disconnected or broken. But it's not clear how the black tank would have overflowed and leaked. On most rigs, the only thing that empties into the black tank is the commode. On rigs with a 2nd bathroom, sometimes the sink and commode both empty into a 2nd black tank. But that still leaves the question of how the water got into the black tank.
Unfortunately it does sound like you'll have to go back to the dealer for service.
Btw, winterizing is usually done with RV antifreeze, but can also be done using compressed air, in which case there would be no pink stuff coming out of faucets.
Unfortunately it does sound like you'll have to go back to the dealer for service.
Btw, winterizing is usually done with RV antifreeze, but can also be done using compressed air, in which case there would be no pink stuff coming out of faucets.
Now, since we're in ND, our sewer and at the connections is frozen!!!! Where it's leaking in 2 areas, where you stated grey drains into black, the connection at that pipe has leak with ice chunks! The other leak around the bolts holding up the underbelly isn't leaking/dripping bc it's froze!
danemayer
Well-known member
Nicole,
If you're in the path of the arctic freeze, and temps are going down to -20 or -30 F, you need to winterize best you can before all your water lines freeze. If you don't winterize, you could have freeze damage to your water inlet, control valves, water pump, and other areas. If you have tank heaters, you need to keep them on, with some water in the tanks. If you don't have tank heaters, you need to drain all the water tanks to prevent damage.
We camp in temps down to -30 but have done a lot of work to protect the water systems at those temps, and we started with a much higher level of insulation.
If you're in the path of the arctic freeze, and temps are going down to -20 or -30 F, you need to winterize best you can before all your water lines freeze. If you don't winterize, you could have freeze damage to your water inlet, control valves, water pump, and other areas. If you have tank heaters, you need to keep them on, with some water in the tanks. If you don't have tank heaters, you need to drain all the water tanks to prevent damage.
We camp in temps down to -30 but have done a lot of work to protect the water systems at those temps, and we started with a much higher level of insulation.
danemayer
Well-known member
I saw the earlier post. You have other things that may freeze.
We've got grey line open, water running. We do have the tank heaters, got propane heat going. We've also put some heat lamps in areas of underbelly and at connections. I'm almost to the point, having asked for replacement unit, and that was ignored, I'm almost willing to call mobile tech, pay myself and fight like **** for refund
danemayer
Well-known member
Heartland will often approve warranty service by mobile techs, but it has to be pre-approval.
With respect to tank heaters, if you leave the gate valves open so there's no water in the tank(s), the heating pads can burn holes in the tank. There needs to be at least a little water in the tanks to dissipate the heat from the pads.
Bob&Patty
Founders of SoCal Chapter
Sorry your new RV turned into a nightmare. It sounds to me your dealer should take the blame for all this. HL pays a dealer to do the PDI with you and to do one before you even see your coach. To charge you for the PDI is called "stealing" in my book because HL already paid them to do it. We cant talk about legal actions on the forum. I hope you make it through the BIG freeze coming your way and can get your coach repaired soon. I would call HL yourself, have your VIN# handy, and calmy as you can explain what has happened and let them get you help ASAP.
scottyb
Well-known member
I am very sorry for your problems and I sincerely hope you get everything fixed to your satisfaction. I have read through all the post but having a hard time deciphering what took place Am I understanding this correctly? Your dealer delivered to your location, a brand new RV, and you moved in immediately without so much as doing any type of pre-delivery inspection?
Yes!! We looked anand researched for over a year, kept going back to this floorplan, love it and the decor. When it came down to getting Jeff Couchs RV Nation in Ohio had the best price. When it came down to delivery, I asked if the delivery guy was the one to do the walk through. I was told NO, bc it was being delivered, I'd have to pay extra so they could send someone certified. Discussed with DH, and we decided with today's technology and youtube, we didn't need to pay extra for this. Some of this was to be expected being a new 2015 unit, however I just can NOT fathom having to deal with the black tank leaking thru the bolts holding up the underbelly (into whatever is down there, floor, subfloor, insulation, walls, etc) and a leak where the grey tank pipe connects to the black tank drain pipe, where it comes out of the underbelly is leaking also!
JohnD
Moved on to the next thing...
The lowest price generally is very rarely the best deal...
I bought our Heartland Trail Runner from a local dealer because, since I am in sales, I know that the lowest price generally is very rarely the best deal.
Not to mention that since they are 20 minutes from my house, it wasn't a big deal to get there to get stuff done.
Granted, they weren't the best when it came to service (matter of fact, I give them a 3 out of 10) . . . but our warranty issues were very minor compared to some I've read here in the chats.
Plus . . . I like to support my own local economy . . . not someone elses (except when camping, of course).
I bought our Heartland Trail Runner from a local dealer because, since I am in sales, I know that the lowest price generally is very rarely the best deal.
Not to mention that since they are 20 minutes from my house, it wasn't a big deal to get there to get stuff done.
Granted, they weren't the best when it came to service (matter of fact, I give them a 3 out of 10) . . . but our warranty issues were very minor compared to some I've read here in the chats.
Plus . . . I like to support my own local economy . . . not someone elses (except when camping, of course).
Re: The lowest price generally is very rarely the best deal...
I agree. But having talked back and forth and emailed, I REALLY felt comfortable with the customer service part, not now!
Did I mention the salesman would NOT talk to my husband today, transferred him straight to the owner of the dealership, who proceeded to begin a cussing war with my husband!!??!!?? How professional, huh?
I'm regretting the WHOLE PRUCHASED COMPLETELY. (I do have record of my email and dealers response or lack of when I requested to bring me a NEW unit to swap or come get it!!!)
I agree. But having talked back and forth and emailed, I REALLY felt comfortable with the customer service part, not now!
Did I mention the salesman would NOT talk to my husband today, transferred him straight to the owner of the dealership, who proceeded to begin a cussing war with my husband!!??!!?? How professional, huh?
I'm regretting the WHOLE PRUCHASED COMPLETELY. (I do have record of my email and dealers response or lack of when I requested to bring me a NEW unit to swap or come get it!!!)
JohnD
Moved on to the next thing...
Re: The lowest price generally is very rarely the best deal...
You might check into a state lemon law . . .
Might be something you can do to get the unit switched out, or at least to force the dealership to do something about the issues at hand.
You might check into a state lemon law . . .
Might be something you can do to get the unit switched out, or at least to force the dealership to do something about the issues at hand.
