I'm going nuts!!!

[bigredtruck]

I also lost a lot of sleep between the time we ordered our Cyclone and the time DH picked it up in Michigan. It has been home for 2 days with the kids and I in it full time and while there have been one or 2 little issues, I have come to look at this website as the wealth of information that it is. The problems have all been solved before so we don't have to re-invent the wheels (or in our case, the front landing gear!)
I have read the forums on our old trailer, and they have far more problems than the Heartland brand so I am confident we have made the right choice. Now I just have to catch up on my 2 weeks of lost sleep

 

[slmayor]

We too, use the forums as a source of information. We read about problems and issues and then if it happens to us, we can generally pinpoint any problem quickly. In example, our last trip we discovered a water leak in the bay after about 14 days out. Because of reading the forums I knew the two most likely places for a leak were the outside shower fittings and the water heater fittings. Four screws off, remove the access panel and we discovered that was exactly where we had a slow leak. Quick trip to the hardware store and was fixed temporarily with a cap on the shower hose fitting and a tightening of the other fittings. Had we not read of others having the problem, we might have thought it was a lot worse than it was or not known where to look. Having the information made the leak a minor annoyance instead of a major problem.
The forums are a great source of information and coupled with the outstanding factory support make Heartland products a great choice.

 

[Shadowchek]

There is definately a wealth of information here. When we first bought our BH I was out there constantly doing mods and checking for potential problems. All of that time spent didn't make my better half real happy but she didn't complain about lack of air flow to the bedroom when it was approaching 100 outside and I am sure the same will be true in the winter. It was overwhelming at first but now I just look at it as constructive critisizm. Better to know and head it off before it happens or be able to fix it when something happens than to stick your head in the sand and think it should be perfect.

Greg

 

[leftyf]

I understand about being overwhelmed. I bought a 3055 in April. Had nothing but problems from the dealer. The trailer is currently parked at an RV Park. Still doing a shakedown on the trailer. So far, I have found not one problem, zilch, nada.

There are a lot of things I would like to seen done differently in production. But, nothing that major. I'm not wild about the ventilization of the sewer tanks. Too much smell seems to back into the trailer. I've bought some supposedly super-duper vent caps that are supposed to take care of that.

One thing to check for is the seal of the drain in the sink. It was lose and water was draining -a little- into the cabinet. A 5 minute job to fix it.

Nothing is perfect and you can worry yourself sick worrying about stuff that may never occur. Jump in the water is fine.

 

[kakampers]

Lefty...if the venting problem is with your kitchen drain...we had the same issue. We replaced the vent cap with one of those rotating type that moves with the wind. Worked like a charm and stopped the smell instantly!! Apparently it causes a "suction" affect and pulls the gases out of the tank instead of allowing them to vent back into the coach. I'm sure it will work with any of the drain vents. Worth every penny!

 

[BC2009ND]

We just bought a BC 3490BH on 8/8/08. Have been out the last two weekends - found just a few minor problems, that I had read about previously on this forum. My husband is a do-it-yourself kind of guy and fixed everything up real quick. Thanks to all the suggestions here. We love our camper and look forward to many, many years of camping.

 

[jimtoo]

Another place for smell is the inline vent on the 3055RL. Don't know about all the other models, but it is located about 1 foot away from the "P" trap in the top of the "T" where it goes down to the tank. My understanding it is an anti siphon to keep water in the "P" trap. I wrapped mine with saran wrap and the smell was gone, so I bought one at Home Depot and replaced it. About $5. No more smell now.

This is a very easy and quick check before you replace the roof vent.

 

[imchud]

Well fellow Campers its our 1st trip out, leaving in the morning, we will be gone for 1 week so I will report back and let you all know how it works out when we get back... Thanks again for the great follow-ups addressing my concerns on our new BH, 3385...

Tom

 

[leftyf]

Another place for smell is the inline vent on the 3055RL. Don't know about all the other models, but it is located about 1 foot away from the "P" trap in the top of the "T" where it goes down to the tank. My understanding it is an anti siphon to keep water in the "P" trap. I wrapped mine with saran wrap and the smell was gone, so I bought one at Home Depot and replaced it. About $5. No more smell now.

This is a very easy and quick check before you replace the roof vent.

Thanks, I'll look at it. Wouldn't happen to have a picture would you? None

I know there are some problems with the venting. When they come around and pump the tanks...the smell will knock you down, in the kitchen.

You can leave the sink drain plugs in place and that will help...but, I'd like to fix it properly not with a bandaid.

 

[jimtoo]

This is picture of the vacuum breaker or anti siphon valve on my 3055RL. Open lower cabinet door on living room side and it is against the other wall. It is screwed into top of the tee fitting.

 

[jbeletti]

Here's mine from the kitchen sink. Looks like Jimtoo's.

Jim

 

[kakampers]

Apparently different units are vented differently...our 3600RL does not have the anti-siphon vent under the sink, or anywhere else for that matter...it is vented directly out the roof.

 

[jimtoo]

Just to make sure you know, mine is also vented through the roof. The line that is pictured goes about another 2' to the wall and tee fitting and drops into tank and up through the roof.

 

[imchud]

We too, use the forums as a source of information. We read about problems and issues and then if it happens to us, we can generally pinpoint any problem quickly. In example, our last trip we discovered a water leak in the bay after about 14 days out. Because of reading the forums I knew the two most likely places for a leak were the outside shower fittings and the water heater fittings. Four screws off, remove the access panel and we discovered that was exactly where we had a slow leak. Quick trip to the hardware store and was fixed temporarily with a cap on the shower hose fitting and a tightening of the other fittings. Had we not read of others having the problem, we might have thought it was a lot worse than it was or not known where to look. Having the information made the leak a minor annoyance instead of a major problem.
The forums are a great source of information and coupled with the outstanding factory support make Heartland products a great choice.

Slmayor,
Well its been 4 days into our vacation and, well... its almost been flawess... On day number 2, i went into the storage bin to get something and noticed about a 1/4 inch of water covering most of the floor... After a few choice well placed words i remember reading the post listed above before we went on vacation... I figured out how to remove the panel that covers the all the water connections and there it was, the bypass valve for the water heater was leaking "a lot" ... I removed the screws in the control panel that holds the valve in place, then I removed the water line hose (hot side) from the 90deg fitting that screws into the valve... I had to tighten the fitting 1 complete turn, then I retrimed the water line and reattached it to the 90deg fitting and...... no more leaks... One thing that puzzled me was the fitting in question had a worm gear style clamp on it, where "all" the other connections had the pinch style (odiker) clamp that the factory uses, so it looked like somebody tried to fix it once before, but they must have not tested it because it leak pretty bad... So after I fixed it, it took about a 1/2 hour for the repair and about 1/2 hour to clean up the water and dry things off, I was back on vacation drinking beer... My wife said to me, you were so calm (except for my initial reaction), I'm very impressed, i then told her that I read a post on the Heartland web site that talked about the very thing I just went through... So, my wife said I better get busy and read "all" the post to keep informed... So far (knock on wood) things are going great, I'll be back to you later............................ Hey honey.... can you get me another beer.......please.... Lol

 

[mrcomer]

Sounds like you are doing great so far. Glad you were able to fix that one on your own.

Mark

 

[slmayor]

Glad to be of help, although thankfully somebody else had posted the "fix" earlier and I just remembered it. LOL Ours has the same type of clamps, a couple hose clamps in different places, then the other type on most of it. I think it might be to allow for easier servicing of the connections?
DH has got in the habit of making me check the boards any time he has a question about something. (I type faster) LOL
Hope the rest of your vacation is uneventful and relaxing!

 

[kakampers]

Jimtoo...we've looked all over, even removed the backside in the outside corner cabinet to make sure it wasn't behind there. For some reason ours has no valve...either they meant to do it or they forgot...who knows!

 

[phranc]

Ka ka kamper . On our 3600rl the vent/anti siphon or Studor Valve is accessible in the cabinet door in the island opposite the dinette. open the door and it's tucked in there on your right.. Of course all may have changed as our unit is older than yours..

 

[deee2]

Ok, here we are on our first biggest trip we've ever taken. Been gone 3 weeks and have about 2 to go. yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeha! We're having a ball. We've enjoyed Crater Lake, friends in Prineville, Family in Tigard, Cannon Beach, Yachats, Winchester Bay, Gold Beach, and now are about 9 miles east of Crescent City to tour the Redwoods. We've had a leak in the kitchen sink, and one in the bathroom... both my hubby fixed. We broke a handle outside the rig that Heartland replaced, even though it was our fault... do we love our bighorn?? you bet!!!! Do we trust Heartland? YES!! We're hooked!
And, we're so proud to see our Bighorn in the RV parks, one darned good looking 5er if you ask me!!

Good luck to you and enjoy!

Donna

 

[kakampers]

Phranc...thanks...but they must have changed things. Either that, or ours somehow got forgotten. We looked in there and even removed the panel at the back. The only thing back there is the elbow bend where the drain changes direction and heads to the side of the RV to go into the chase, and then down into the tank. As far as we can tell there is absolutely no anti-siphon in the kitchen plumbing.