Heartland won't cover out-of-warranty repair cost on slide room repair.
- Thread starter Fireball56
- Start date
nextchapter2come
Member
per Heartlands Website, 3/8"
Check out the "Lamintated Floor Construction" area at Bighorn Standard Features and Options.
But then again this thread got away from the origional post on slide room repair.
Peace
Dave
But then again this thread got away from the origional post on slide room repair.
Peace
Dave
JohnDar
Prolifically Gabby Member
It's all Larry's fault. He started it in post #7, section 7. Badd, badddd, Larry. Then the dandruff (or just bald flakes) and tape measures started to fly. But it does appear there is a disconnect in the literature that Heartland puts out. As for the OP, he ain't been back since he started this.
SouthernNights
Past South Carolina Chapter Leader
ihsolutions
Well-known member
I'm a little late to the party on this thread but wanted to add my thoughts. I'm quite surprised at the number of folks here who are defending Heartland on this issue. Don't get me wrong, we love our BH, but if this had happened to us I would have gone berserk. And I'm not a berserk kind of guy...
Wharton, why on earth would a customer be expected to know about this type of structural delamination? I agree that a customer must be responsible for maintaining his rig (not an easy task) but that seems beyond the scope of what you could expect a customer to be aware of.
Heartland directing the customer to Parkland plastics for warranty coverage is absurd. Parkland's product was not being used properly. This is a Heartland manufacturing error.
I realize that no RV company is perfect... far from it. This is a very badly broken business model. The whole idea of requiring customers to interface with Tier II vendors is craziness. Think about an automobile for a minute. If you bought a new GM truck and the fuel pump went bad after a month, and the manufacturer told you to call their supplier for help, you'd go nuts. Why RV's are so different is beyond me. It's at least 30 years behind the car industry.
So back to the OP. What good is a one year warranty for issues that take time to develop, such as this one, due to a manufacturing defect. To me, this one should be obvious. We're not talking about a window that started leaking due to dried out caulk 18 months down the line. We're talking about something that was wrong from DAY ONE, and it took 18 months before OP realized the damage it was causing. You could argue that he may have found it sooner, but I'm not so sure that on a lightly used unit this problem would become apparent in a year's time or less.
Wharton, why on earth would a customer be expected to know about this type of structural delamination? I agree that a customer must be responsible for maintaining his rig (not an easy task) but that seems beyond the scope of what you could expect a customer to be aware of.
Heartland directing the customer to Parkland plastics for warranty coverage is absurd. Parkland's product was not being used properly. This is a Heartland manufacturing error.
I realize that no RV company is perfect... far from it. This is a very badly broken business model. The whole idea of requiring customers to interface with Tier II vendors is craziness. Think about an automobile for a minute. If you bought a new GM truck and the fuel pump went bad after a month, and the manufacturer told you to call their supplier for help, you'd go nuts. Why RV's are so different is beyond me. It's at least 30 years behind the car industry.
So back to the OP. What good is a one year warranty for issues that take time to develop, such as this one, due to a manufacturing defect. To me, this one should be obvious. We're not talking about a window that started leaking due to dried out caulk 18 months down the line. We're talking about something that was wrong from DAY ONE, and it took 18 months before OP realized the damage it was causing. You could argue that he may have found it sooner, but I'm not so sure that on a lightly used unit this problem would become apparent in a year's time or less.
JohnDar
Prolifically Gabby Member
The only reason I was able to short-stop mine was because I read about it here before any damage developed and did the "field fix" myself. Being active on these forums months before actually taking possession helped me identify ahead of time a lot of the minor problems that have become major aggravations for many owners.
That said, though, it does appear to be a design flaw that HL has addressed with the newer models, based on what I saw at the October RV Show. It would be an outstanding gesture on their part if they came up with some form of assistance for current owners that can have their slide floor damage documented by a reputable dealer and get it repaired. The value of the PR would probably outweigh the cost of the repairs.
That said, though, it does appear to be a design flaw that HL has addressed with the newer models, based on what I saw at the October RV Show. It would be an outstanding gesture on their part if they came up with some form of assistance for current owners that can have their slide floor damage documented by a reputable dealer and get it repaired. The value of the PR would probably outweigh the cost of the repairs.
RoadJunkie
Well-known member
I agree, John. There are many companies that recognize the value of "goodwill" warranty extensions on a case-by-case basis. I have, on occasion, been the recipient of such business grace and thus developed a much longer business relationship as a result. I do recall that (for a while) Heartland was supplying the hardware necessary to correct this problem. Am I recalling correctly on that?
Before we ordered our rig I was well aware of the tire problems, the spring problems, the water leaks and the delamination problems, all from information i gathered at the forum. In light of being aware of these problems I ordered Goodyear tires and had planned to get the Mor/Ryde IS system and that would resolve the spring issues. During our PDI I checked to see if the fix for the delamination problem had been applied to our trailer(if it had not i would have insisted on it being applied prior to our accepting the BH). The dealer filled all tanks, ran all components and left the tanks and all pipes full for several days as part of his PDI. I consider this all due diligence on the part of the consumer.
Regarding being sent to various vendors to resolve issues this is normal in the RV and housing industry. When we built a hours years ago any problems we had with the HVAC we call them up, plumbing we called the plumber etc. Pretty much everyone would fix the problems for 1 year, after that you were on your own. A S&B costs a lot more than a BH..
The RV manufacturer purchases components from various mfgs., he does not make the parts himself vs. a car mfg. that makes many of the parts(or specifies the criteria) themselves. Also, by forcing the car buyer to go back to the dealer he can charge super high hourly and parts rates if the item is not covered under warranty.
We never buy anything of significance without thoroughly researching the item and its perceived positive and negatives.
Regarding being sent to various vendors to resolve issues this is normal in the RV and housing industry. When we built a hours years ago any problems we had with the HVAC we call them up, plumbing we called the plumber etc. Pretty much everyone would fix the problems for 1 year, after that you were on your own. A S&B costs a lot more than a BH..
The RV manufacturer purchases components from various mfgs., he does not make the parts himself vs. a car mfg. that makes many of the parts(or specifies the criteria) themselves. Also, by forcing the car buyer to go back to the dealer he can charge super high hourly and parts rates if the item is not covered under warranty.
We never buy anything of significance without thoroughly researching the item and its perceived positive and negatives.
ihsolutions
Well-known member
Bob, my point is, it's not necessarily the floor manufacturer's fault that delamination occurred. These floors are not intended to be exposed to constant moisture. Heartland's remedy for the issue with the drip edge proves that. The fact that Parkland said they would not cover the damage is not unreasonable, IMO.
ihsolutions
Well-known member
I have to respectfully disagree with your assertion that it's the customer's responsibility to proactively research, identify, and prevent manufacturing defects. This goes a little bit above and beyond a reasonable level of responsibility that can be expected from consumers, IMO. I'll agree that it's a great practice as a consumer, and I do it myself... I just don't think it's fair to point the blame at OP for not doing so.
ihsolutions:
I did not say it was the customer's responsibility to "prevent" mfg mistakes, just be aware of the known problems and make your your decision based on that knowledge.
When I am on the road and am looking for a CG I don't just stop and the next one that pops up along the road. I research what is available in the vicinity that meet our requirements. Like we prefer pull thrus but don't rule out backing in because there are no pull thru spots.
When we buy a new tow vehicle we don't walk into the dealer and say we need a TV to pull 16,000 pounds what do you have and then take the sales recommendation. I research it first, armed with many questions to test the saleman's knowledge. I know also the approx. cost of the vehicle so that I can negotiate.
We carefully assessed Montana vs. Heartland before we bought and accepted the known weaknesses of the Heartland and compared that to the Montana. We also proactively researched 6 dealers and gathered info from all before we decided who we would purchase of BH from.
Even with all the research things happen. We just try to be aware and prevent as much as we can.
I did not say it was the customer's responsibility to "prevent" mfg mistakes, just be aware of the known problems and make your your decision based on that knowledge.
When I am on the road and am looking for a CG I don't just stop and the next one that pops up along the road. I research what is available in the vicinity that meet our requirements. Like we prefer pull thrus but don't rule out backing in because there are no pull thru spots.
When we buy a new tow vehicle we don't walk into the dealer and say we need a TV to pull 16,000 pounds what do you have and then take the sales recommendation. I research it first, armed with many questions to test the saleman's knowledge. I know also the approx. cost of the vehicle so that I can negotiate.
We carefully assessed Montana vs. Heartland before we bought and accepted the known weaknesses of the Heartland and compared that to the Montana. We also proactively researched 6 dealers and gathered info from all before we decided who we would purchase of BH from.
Even with all the research things happen. We just try to be aware and prevent as much as we can.
Moose
Well-known member
Regardless it is a valid concern and apparently an issue affecting many judging by the posts here.
The OP only posted 5 days ago. Maybe he is out camping in the wilderness with no internet access or pinned under a defective slide. Who knows?
I am sure learing lots from this discussion and the collective wisdome of others more experienced than I am.
I wasn't aware that, for instance, you had to be a "Tim the Tool Man Taylor" to first purchase then operate a Heartland RV. I certainly expect to get what is advertised and what I paid for in my RV as with any other product I buy. Just because it is an RV should not matter nor should it be accepted.
Last edited:
