Heartland Recall

[JohnD]

When we were broken down in Phoenix (Sun City) in January, the Ramada Inn right next door had an RV park, where we stayed the first night.

When it was looking like the trailer might not be done before the RV shop closed the next day, we started looking for a place to stay as we would not be allowed to stay in the trailer on the RV service centers lot.

We had three cats with us . . . which stayed in the trailer during the day while it was being repaired.

We inquired at the Ramada Inn, to which they did say yes, although they had a $10 per pet per night fee.

Every other place we called said no to pets, including a close by Holiday Inn Express.

Ramada Inn RV Park in Sun City (Phoenix), AZ:

 

[Missmurphee]

That's actually an idea that I haven't thought of...following it back to Indiana. Having to pay for hotel/motels, food, etc. not anticipated is a hardship we hadn't planned for. The man I've been talking to at HL said unfortunately, no compensation. My husband actually was a transport driver for 2 companies out of Elkhart, has a CDL license and drove big rigs. He told us if we wanted to drive it back, we would have to sign a release not holding HL responsible for anything that happened. He did say there were a couple of accidents involving those models recalled. They probably don't want any lawsuits if they could be avoided. He did tell me that they are totally swamped at this time but being that we were coming back in April we should have it done within a weeks time. He offered us to stay at a extended stay place in Elkhart with their corporate rate and assured me the dog would be allowed. He's a 110 pound lab. Most that allow pets, only allow under 20 pounds. I really think there should be some kind of compensation if an owner is a fulltime RVer. Thank you for your ideas and information. Any other info, please keep us posted.

 

[kbp]

Not Too Happy

Just found out my new 2015 Bighorn 3750FL is being recalled. There is a weight distribution problem with it. They are going to send a driver to pick it up and take it for repairs. From what I have found they are going to move the axles back and add ballast to the pin box. This is major too my way of thinking as too me they are going to have to tear into the underbelly and move the fender wells on the sides. I feel that I now own a 2015 refurbished RV that is now not worth near what I paid for it.


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[Bob&Patty]

Re: Not Too Happy

I can't see why a recall would make your BH lose value. Cars and trucks that have a recalls does not make them worth less money.

 

[kbp]

Sorry for repeating some of this in my post- I didn't know this thread had been started- mods moved it for me- a lot of good info on here. B&P I stated in MY way of thinking - hopefully I'm wrong. After all they are not replacing a faulty seatbelt - they are taking a torch to it and doing body work, would you be OK with your dealer doing that to your new $90000 Mercedes w 75 miles on it?


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[avvidclif]

Sorry for repeating some of this in my post- I didn't know this thread had been started- mods moved it for me- a lot of good info on here. B&P I stated in MY way of thinking - hopefully I'm wrong. After all they are not replacing a faulty seatbelt - they are taking a torch to it and doing body work, would you be OK with your dealer doing that to your new $90000 Mercedes w 75 miles on it?


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Then don't have the recall done and see what it's worth?

 

[kbp]

You got me there! Don't get me wrong- I am glad they found the problem and I am glad they are taking care of it. It just seems like almost everything I have bought recently has something wrong with it- been on a run of bad luck! Feel like if I ordered a steel ball bearing it would show up at my door in pieces. Apologize for the rant- I'm thru crying now.


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[kakampers]

You got me there! Don't get me wrong- I am glad they found the problem and I am glad they are taking care of it. It just seems like almost everything I have bought recently has something wrong with it- been on a run of bad luck! Feel like if I ordered a steel ball bearing it would show up at my door in pieces. Apologize for the rant- I'm thru crying now.


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From my experience with Heartland...when you get it back it will be better than new, and we didn't loose one single penny in value when we traded in our Bighorn, which had a major sidewall replacement done.

 

[JohnD]

Re: Not Too Happy

I can't see why a recall would make your BH lose value. Cars and trucks that have a recalls does not make them worth less money.

Depends on how many recalls there are.

One big reason I got my new truck was due to the fact that I had a three year old Chevy car that had so many recalls that GM was trying to get them off of the road because the recalls were costing them more than what the car sold for brand new.

Trade in value was almost nothing due to the recalls ($20,000 new, $3000 trade in) . . . but the GM incentives for taking it back more than made up the difference.

 

[rdufek]

Has anybody received their units back after the recall was performed? I am still awaiting mine which I am told should be by weeks end. Just wondering what people thought about the work done after getting their units back? I will certainly post my thoughts after I get my unit back.

Bob and Valerie

 

[dieseldogsdad]

No still waiting. Mine has been gone about 11 days now but probably took a day to get there.

 

[dieseldogsdad]

Very curious as to what they are going to do with the tank valves. They are right where the new location for the back tire will be. Anyone got one back yet?

 

[rdufek]

Very curious as to what they are going to do with the tank valves. They are right where the new location for the back tire will be. Anyone got one back yet?

Unfortunately still waiting for the return of my unit. The dealer has completed the axle movement but Heartland did not pay attention to the color associated with my trailer vin and sent the wrong color J-Channel to the dealer. That was suppose to of been corrected and am being told by weeks end the job will be complete. Will keep you posted as soon as I get my unit back.

Bob and Valerie

 

[JBehrens]

Unfortunately still waiting for the return of my unit. The dealer has completed the axle movement but Heartland did not pay attention to the color associated with my trailer vin and sent the wrong color J-Channel to the dealer. That was suppose to of been corrected and am being told by weeks end the job will be complete. Will keep you posted as soon as I get my unit back.

Bob and Valerie

I just received my 3750FL back last night. Engineering really dropped the ball on this one. The overall fix looks good. The two fenders on the kitchen slideout were off from inside to outside of the wheel well by about 2" at the bottom and the back fender just flops.

I got the unit late last night and was appalled at how dirty it was. I don't understand how they can expect a customer to sign off on a unit that looks like it had been pulled down a mud road. The unit had mud and dirt up two to three feet on each side and both caps were terrible. In all the years I have pulled RVs, I have never had one this dirty. The disturbing part, is transportation said it came from heartland that way. I will get the power washer out this morning, and hopefully everything.

Unrelated to the recall, my couches overlapped by a little over 5" when folded out together. After going back and forth with the heartland, I ended up fixing the problem myself.

My unit also came with a deep scratch in the front cap. I discussed this with Greg Legatt each of several times in talking with him on the phone. I was told it would be taken care of, but it was not touched.

This is my second new bighorn in four years, I will pay to have a body shop fix the scratch, but if I have problems with the axles down the road, it will be my last. Sorry to be negative, just felt other customers need to know about my experiences.

My first heartland was 3610RE, and we loved it.

JBehrens

 

[danemayer]

Can you post a picture of the fenders on the kitchen slide so we can understand a little better.

 

[rdufek]

Well I'm happy to report my BH 3750FL is finally done at the dealer. I will be headed out tomorrow morning to pick it up and bring it home, the dealer is only a few hours away. I want to state Heartland and the Dealer offered to have my unit transported back to me at their cost but I chose to pick it up myself as I want to see how it handles. I am about to embark on a very long trip and I want to be sure all is ok prior to that trip. Hopefully I'll be able to post pictures and give a full update tomorrow afternoon.

Bob and Valerie

 

[JBehrens]

Can you post a picture of the fenders on the kitchen slide so we can understand a little better.

You should find an attached picture. The unit cleaned up nice, everything else looks good.

JBehrens

 

['Lil Guy']

What did they do about the ballast to be added up front along with the axle moving back 3'? I don't understand why they didn't move the axle back far enough to make it right without adding dead weight. Is this still the case? What does your new weight label say compared to the original?

 

[danemayer]

The two fenders on the kitchen slideout were off from inside to outside of the wheel well by about 2" at the bottom and the back fender just flops.....

You should find an attached picture. The unit cleaned up nice, everything else looks good.

JBehrens

So assuming the slide is pulling in evenly at both front and rear, it would seem that something is different in the j-wrap. If there's a brace holding the front, but not the back, could that be it?

 

[JBehrens]

So assuming the slide is pulling in evenly at both front and rear, it would seem that something is different in the j-wrap. If there's a brace holding the front, but not the back, could that be it?

The slideout trim actually overlaps the back fender. In closer inspection, both the front and back J-wrap, and thus fenders, do not have any bracing and are allowed to flop. From prior experiences, if these are not braced properly, they will tear themselves up when going down the road.

JBehrens