Heartland Recall

[dieseldogsdad]

I didn't go into details here, but it sounded to me HL was very accommodating with those owners.


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I don't know what they are doing for them but when I questioned HL about owners being compensated in some way for their inconvenience, I was simply told no. If these units are just now being sold I am sure they are knocking some $ off their asking price to make a sale, but what about those who have already took delivery of the unit? Anything would be nice how bout a free pin box upgrade, or a large discount on independent suspension upgrade, or free upgrade to 8,000 pound axles, or one of their other options that customers may not have got originally, something. I know there are only 139 units affected by the recall but as was stated they are in business to sell units. With that being said I am sure they did not pull all their welders off the assembly line to repair them. If every unit was returned to the factory for repair and they only had one crew working on them with a repair time of 1 day each, that is a total time of 4 & 1/2 months to make all the repairs. I do know that some are going to be repaired at dealers but you can see the possible time line here.

 

['Lil Guy']

I think at this point the thought should be on a quality repair by HL themselves or whoever assembles these frames due to possible liability issues with any failure after repairs. I'm not familiar with all dealers but at my dealership, I don't think they have the right people to handle this repair from what I've seen. This work is being done on a higher end RV which is quite heavy. Safety of unit would be my main concern and I'm sure HL is doing everything they can to ensure the work is being done by capable people. I feel for the people who are affected by this recall but I would make it a point to give HL all the time needed for the repair to be done right. I intend to upgrade later to another HL unit. Being such a major expense, I'll do my homework on the next model I buy. Good luck to all involved in this recall.

 

[danemayer]

The axles on our Landmark had to be relocated several years ago. The original hangers were cut off the frame with a torch and new hangers were welded into the correct location. In our case it wasn't a safety issue - it was a problem with excess wear on some components due to a manufacturing transition issue when they switched from Lippert to Dexter axles.

At the time, I discussed the repair procedure with Lippert, Dexter, and Heartland engineers. All were confident that the work could be safely done without any future problems. And there haven't been any problems. The work was done at a local trailer shop.

This recall sounds like an identical procedure is being used.

Because this is a NHTSA Recall, NHTSA engineers had to approve the proposed fix. I'm sure they would not have approved the fix unless they believed the fix would actually result in a safe product.

 

[JohnD]

Since they will be messing with your axles, you should make sure that they are aligned as well after the job is done!

During our recent trip to Arizona, one of our axles had to be removed and sent out to an axle shop in Phoenix after loosing a spindle and brake assembly when we had a wheel bearing burnout.

By the time we got home, all of our tires where worn out on the edges . . . including the spare!

Three on the inside edge and two on the outside edge, and two of them seem to be out of round or something as the worn part of the tires was not the same all the way around!

The tires had all been balanced last fall and were in almost perfect shape before this trip.

 

[TravelTiger]

I don't know what they are doing for them but when I questioned HL about owners being compensated in some way for their inconvenience, I was simply told no. If these units are just now being sold I am sure they are knocking some $ off their asking price to make a sale, but what about those who have already took delivery of the unit? Anything would be nice how bout a free pin box upgrade, or a large discount on independent suspension upgrade, or free upgrade to 8,000 pound axles, or one of their other options that customers may not have got originally, something. I know there are only 139 units affected by the recall but as was stated they are in business to sell units. With that being said I am sure they did not pull all their welders off the assembly line to repair them. If every unit was returned to the factory for repair and they only had one crew working on them with a repair time of 1 day each, that is a total time of 4 & 1/2 months to make all the repairs. I do know that some are going to be repaired at dealers but you can see the possible time line here.

I sent you a pm. I think asking for a discount on independent suspension is a bit much... Heartland doesn't make or install that product. Free axle upgrade or Pinbox? Heartland doesn't make those either, but maybe they shut down the conversation based on ask #1. Maybe if you offered to pay "cost" to have these done, HL could do them while they had the unit. Just a thought.


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[dieseldogsdad]

I didn't ask them for any of those things. They are just suggestions. The only thing I asked was if they were going to offer anything to their customers affected by this recall to compensate for their inconvenience. For that I was simply told, no.

 

[dieseldogsdad]

I am pretty easy to please and I love our RV and it's floor plan/layout. I will be happy if they do a quality repair (which I am sure they will) in a timely manner. However the thought of going 3-4 months without being able to use this very expensive coach if they decided to fix the dealers stock first, would make me a little perturbed. Not looking to get something for nothing or anything like that, just think it would be nice for them to put customers ahead of sales until this matter is resolved. If they decided to give owners something to say, sorry for the inconvenience that would be even better. I was one of the first to purchase one of these new units, when I ordered mine there were only a couple to be found at dealerships across the nation. I am sure there are some like me who have paid for (or making payments on) their units and have not even used them yet as they were waiting for the weather to break. Then the manufacturer tells you it can not be moved until it is repaired with spring season just around the corner. That is what I would call inconvenience.

 

[jnbhobe]

If it was mine I would want the dealer to do a few first then do mine after he fixed all his mistakes.

 

[rdufek]

My dealer has been very responsive as has Heartland. I immediately got on the phone with my dealer who immediately filed a warranty claim with Heartland. I am weeks away from taking a 3000 mile trip on its maiden voyage outside of picking my unit up in December. Thursday my dealer stated parts were on order and will be here next week. Heartland does not want the customer to transport the units until the recall has been preformed. I was put in touch with Mike Rogers at Heartland who sent me a release via email to have Heartland transport my unit back to the dealer for repairs, see a prior post for the exact wording of the release. I immediately sign the release and sent it back. Mr Rogers stated it would then be sent to the transport department to make arrangements for transportation. 6 hours later I was contacted by a local transport service who in turn picked up my unit on Friday morning. My unit is back at the dealer and should be completed by the end of next week once the parts arrive. I have full confidence in my dealer as they have an excellent service department and I am confident the repairs will be completed properly. I will certainly let you know once my unit is completed as to how the recall went. The repairs are not to take much more than a day. They have been allotted 8 hours to complete the job, up from 5 hours.

Bob and Valerie

 

['Lil Guy']

Sounds like Heartland has stepped up to the plate here. Glad to hear that it should be ready for your trip and kudos to HL for expediting this for you.

 

[TravelTiger]

I didn't ask them for any of those things. They are just suggestions. The only thing I asked was if they were going to offer anything to their customers affected by this recall to compensate for their inconvenience. For that I was simply told, no.

My mistake, I thought you asked for specific things. But I would think, they don't want unhappy owners from this.

As far as dealers stock getting put ahead in the repair line, hopefully not. I got the impression that the take back of that dealers' units had happened a few weeks ago.

Remember, DEALERS are Heartland's #1 customer (and in this case, a large dealer with multiple locations across the state of TX that buys large quantities of certain floorplans).




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[dieseldogsdad]

Well all is well so far. The transport company contracted me today and would like to pick up the unit tomorrow. Looks like HL is working customers in with the dealer stock. I do agree that the dealers are HL number 1 customers but where would the dealers be without us? Hopefully they will not have my bighorn too long and we can resume our approaching first trip in it.

 

[rdufek]

Well all is well so far. The transport company contracted me today and would like to pick up the unit tomorrow. Looks like HL is working customers in with the dealer stock. I do agree that the dealers are HL number 1 customers but where would the dealers be without us? Hopefully they will not have my bighorn too long and we can resume our approaching first trip in it.

Is your unit going back to a dealer or Heartland, you were unsure the last time.

 

[dieseldogsdad]

Mine is going back to the factory. I assume the reason for that is probably just based on my location. The dealer I purchased mine from is probably capable of doing the work but they are about 5 hours away. The factory is about 6 & 1/2 hours away. I guess if they are going to transport it that far they are probably ahead to have their workers do it rather than paying another shops rates. I am hoping it can be back to me by the end of next week.

 

[Missmurphee]

We are kind of like you...we love our 3750FL...had to drive to another state to get it and are currently in Alabama with plans to head home to Indiana April 1st. They do not want us to drive it home. Our concern is that we have sold our home and our RV is our home. We can drive back to Indiana but will have to be staying in motels and buying meals. We also have a dog and not alot of motel/hotels allow dogs. We will have to stay somewhere while the work is being done on our RV. Being both retired, this is an extra expense we had not planned for. I would hope there would be some kind of compensation for our inconvenience and added expenses. I know Heartland is a reputable company and have been nothing but kind and considerate so far. We are sure they want to have satisfied customers and will do what it takes to keep them coming back.

 

[danemayer]

We also have a dog and not alot of motel/hotels allow dogs.

La Quinta loves dogs (and cats).

 

[dieseldogsdad]

We are kind of like you...we love our 3750FL...had to drive to another state to get it and are currently in Alabama with plans to head home to Indiana April 1st. They do not want us to drive it home. Our concern is that we have sold our home and our RV is our home. We can drive back to Indiana but will have to be staying in motels and buying meals. We also have a dog and not alot of motel/hotels allow dogs. We will have to stay somewhere while the work is being done on our RV. Being both retired, this is an extra expense we had not planned for. I would hope there would be some kind of compensation for our inconvenience and added expenses. I know Heartland is a reputable company and have been nothing but kind and considerate so far. We are sure they want to have satisfied customers and will do what it takes to keep them coming back.

I am not sure about this situation but I have read on this forum that heartland has let people stay in there units at the factory while work is being performed. May be something you could inquire about. If you were to hold out till April they will probably be done with most of the recall work and could probably get you in and out in a day would be my guess. If you can not stay in the unit they should pay for your hotel IMO. As far as transporting I really don't know the difference in the owner hauling the unit or some unsuspecting transport driver. As someone stated here earlier their transport driver was not made aware of the trailer's possible danger nor was mine. I told the driver about it and told him the unit was basically empty and it had pulled fine for me when I brought it home from the dealer. Don't know if HL didn't inform the transport company or if the transport co just doesn't feel the need to tell their drivers. After the driver hitched up he set his air bags to the pressure he normally use's when hauling a 5th wheel and his truck was way high in the rear. He said I can definitely see this is pretty light in the front. He then adjusted to about half his normal PSI and was on his way. Maybe they will come get it when you are ready to go home and you could follow them back to Indiana and pick up the unit when it's done. At least this way you would save on fuel and still be able to keep an eye on your fifth wheel and your belongings.

 

[boatto5er]

La Quinta loves dogs (and cats).

We've used LaQuinta a lot with our two dachshunds. As Dan stated, they are welcomed. Some Sheratons also allow small pets.

 

[kakampers]

To my knowledge, Heartland does not allow you to stay in your rig while it is being worked on...we had to drop it off and stay in a local motel...they do not have any hookups, etc. for this purpose.

 

[jassson007]

We've used LaQuinta a lot with our two dachshunds. As Dan stated, they are welcomed. Some Sheratons also allow small pets.

Marriott residence inn and their town place suites both allow pets plus some of their other brands on a case by case basis. Also candlewood inn and suites by holiday inn does as well.


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