Heartland Frame Thread on RV.com forum

[isitime]

Has anyone been following the thread about Lippert frames that Heartland (and others) use for their RVs. Apparently stress cracks can develop around the gooseneck/bedroom area. It turned into a semi-violent name calling thing.
However, my question is, do you think it is necessary to reinforce the frame in the area they are talking about and what would be the cost (can we discuss cost?).
Sorry for the lack to technical terms - I have a year to learn this stuff.
isitime
Hoston

 

[jimtoo]

Hi isitime,

Yes, that thread is being watched by a number of folks that are Heartland owners and members of the Heartland Forum. It seems that a lot of the threads on RV.NET end up on a totally different subject and a lot of name calling. I only visit a couple of threads there myself because of that. You never know who is going to jump on you because of a misspelled word or call you a name because they don't like your post.

The unit in question is 3 years old and you have no way of knowing what kind roads it was pulled on or how it has been treated by previous owners. You do not know if it was towed with a goose neck hitch or maybe even dropped by a previous owner. They also have not posted any pictures of the "failed" area, so I would question the claim with out pictures of the cracks and area. If they were, or are, expecting Lippert or Heartland to cover the repairs, then they deserve pictures.

I personally do not know of anyone that has gone in and reinforced the frame in any area.

Welcome to the Heartland Forum and hopefully to the family.

By the way,, the 3055RL is a great unit, that is what we have and love it. If you get a chance come to the Heartland Owners rally in the Woodlands (Spring) April 3,4,5. and visit with us.

Jim M

 

[leftyf]

Has anyone been following the thread about Lippert frames that Heartland (and others) use for their RVs.

Personally, just about anything I read on rv.net is suspect to me. My experience over there is about on par with Jimtoo's.

If the situation was as bad as they tried to make it out...there would be 500 trailers getting repaired, a large class action lawsuit in process, and another company going into bankruptcy.

As p*ssed off as I get with Heartland, sometimes. I do not doubt the quality of the work on the important parts.

If there was anykind of a real problem, Heartland would have recalled the product. Ethics they got.

 

[rckc228]

Not very friendly or helpful people. They are all trying to compete with each other about who is the most knowledgeable.

 

[jbeletti]

Has anyone been following the thread about Lippert frames that Heartland (and others) use for their RVs. Apparently stress cracks can develop around the gooseneck/bedroom area. It turned into a semi-violent name calling thing.
However, my question is, do you think it is necessary to reinforce the frame in the area they are talking about and what would be the cost (can we discuss cost?).
Sorry for the lack to technical terms - I have a year to learn this stuff.
isitime
Hoston

Lippert has built about 20,000 frames for Heartland. On a percentage basis, there have been extremely few problems with their frames. There are a lot of variables that can affect one's frame through use. Weight, road conditions and hitch geometry are a few. We feel that by and large, Lippert does a decent job for us.

In the RV.net case you refer too, we don't have all the details in order to make a judgment on the failure root-cause in the hitch area. Suffice it to say that we missed an opportunity to make this right by the customer and we are doing our best to do so now.

This owner is a very pleasant person to work with and was at her wits end with this failure. We are pleased to have the opportunity to make this right. There is more to this situation than is fair to discuss in public.

As several have mentioned, sometimes, posts on RV.net take on a Cybil-like nature with ever changing personalities. And usually by no fault of the OP (original poster). Same in this case. Information was provided and others start to speculate, add opinions etc. The OP did not fuel that fire. It just happens.

My hope is that we can get the OP (CelticCamper) back on the road of being a happy camper and get them over here on this forum and show them some Heartland love.

Jim

 

[leftyf]

Not very friendly or helpful people. They are all trying to compete with each other about who is the most knowledgeable.

Swing over to Escapees sometimes...some really nice people, and some really nasty ones as a wholes.

Say the last three words of the above sentence r-e-a-l fast!

 

[leftyf]

posts on RV.net take on a Cybil-like nature with ever changing personalities.
Jim

Heartland love?

Jim, you are beginning to sound like a preacher....anyhow, Cybil? No, more like Lilith!

RV.Net people were born to quarrel. And, they are good at it. If there ain't an argument going when they get there...there will be when they leave.

I got faith.

 

[jfrench]

I have seen these stress cracks maybe 5 times in the last 5 years (never so far on a heartland) so I dont think its a big thing. I could underestand someone being upset if it happens to them but it is not the norm so I dont think any Heartland owners really need to worry.

Just my 2 cents

 

[dieselengineer]

frame deflection

For a comparison, it would be nice to know want the maximum allowable amount of deflection can be in the frame. A measurement unhitched from the pin box (reference point) to bottom of the frame rail. Then the same reference points hitched. The delta would be the amount that the frame flex under load. This could be something to keep a eye on before the actual cracks appear. Something to think about

 

[wyleyrabbit]

How would these cracks possibly be fixed, anyways?

 

[jpmorgan37]

Wyleyrabbit;

A few years ago, National RV's Seabreeze (no longer in business) had a recall on some of their fifth wheel trailers (I had one that was recalled) and they removed the front cap and welded in a lot (eleven, if I remember correctly) gussets to reinforce the front frame section. I pulled it many miles after the repair with no adverse effects.

John

 

[leftyf]

How would these cracks possibly be fixed, anyways?

New metal and a mig welder. My airstream's frame broke in the same place on both sides of the RV. Metal patch and a arc welder took care of the problem.

Oh, forgot the 95 ton bottle jack.

 

[lmcclure]

I have been a member of the Heartland Forum since last August and a member of the RV.Net forum for 3 years. It seems that on the Heartland Forum when you ask or make a statement it is taken in the exact way it is meant. On the RV.Net forum when asking a question or making a statement you are automatically challenged. It is so tense on the forum that sometimes you could cut the air with a knife. I have an 08 3200ES Sundance and have found no problems with it that I could not fix myself. It seems as if most posters on the other site all majored in Biology as they always want to dissect the problem. I cannot believe that you can get 9 pages of conversation on 1 statement. I have a problem with the OP as they said that they didn't have time to post on this forum but had enough time to post on the other one for 3 days. I hope that they simply didn't know of this site. Sorry for being so long winded but had to get that off my chest. Thanks to Jim for trying to get the OP's problem fixed. Happy Camping.

 

[wyleyrabbit]

I too used to spend time on rv.net, and I experienced the same thing. In fact, I was warned in a private message to not worry about the aggressive nature of some of the responses to my question, and that (paraphrasing) "some of those guys are like that with everyone, so don't take it personally."

I sure appreciate the existence of this forum though! This was definitely a factor in our decision to go with Heartland over the other brand we were considering (Montana).

Chris

 

[isitime]

Thanks to everyone for your input.
I will put the frame issue aside and continue looking for a really, really good deal on a 3055.
John

 

[wyleyrabbit]

John,

We got what we felt was a great deal on a 2009 3055RL. Right unit, right price, dealership close to home (~ 15 minute drive). Good luck!

Chris

 

[Dusty]

I can tell you from sad experience that Heartland has had some broken frames up in the bedroom area. Mine was one of them. I have a 2006 Bighorn and my frame broke. The good news is, it was fixed under warranty. They also welded several pounds of gussets in to reinforce the front frame area. I don't think it is a rampant issue for them, but it does happen.

 

[JohnDar]

Question: When a frame separation such as this occurs, does it make the rig untowable? Imagine if you're out camping someplace and it gives way, how do you get it to a repair facility. And with the threads about dealers not honoring Heartland warranties if you didn't buy from them, what then?

 

[Ray LeTourneau]

Question: When a frame separation such as this occurs, does it make the rig untowable? Imagine if you're out camping someplace and it gives way, how do you get it to a repair facility. And with the threads about dealers not honoring Heartland warranties if you didn't buy from them, what then?

John, I truly believe if the frame was to start to give way you would be able to notice it well in advance of total failure beyond the ability to be towed. As Dusty mentioned, I don't think it's a widespread problem but if you feel you may have some flexing that's causing concern I would certainly not wait to get it to a dealer. Take pictures for reference and if your dealer isn't doing you right, get with Heartland. Without looking up the specifics, I think the frames warranty is more than one year.

 

[Bob&Patty]

John, the frame warrenty is 5 years, at least it is on my 07 BH. Lippert fixed my slide pump problem a year and a 1/2 out. Bob