Interested in MPG 184

[Clarice]

i am interested in purchasing a 184 in the next year. I am single and plan to travel with a small dog and cat. I also will need to have a vehicle to tow it. My Honda Civic obviously won't work. So I'm in need of advise from those who own an MPG. Did I mention that I have never camped? This is my retirement plan!

Thanks,
Clarice

 

[jimtoo]

Hi Clarice,

Welcome to the Heartland Owners Forum and hopefully to the family. We have a great bunch of folks here with lots of information and all willing to share their knowledge when needed.

I sure you will get lots of recommendations from our other members about camping and towing.

Enjoy the forum.

Jim M

 

[bigmaho]

Sounds like a plan Clarice! Check out this forum. The main issue with the MPG's were a bad batch of axles. The axle company, Lippert, has replaced most of them, but if you buy a used one, look for wear on the inside edge of the tires. That's an indication that the axle has to be replaced. Factor that into your buying price. As for a tow vehicle, pretty much anything with a 5000 lb tow rating. The MPG fully loaded is in the 3000 lb range but you want to leave yourself plenty of wiggle room.
All the best for a great road trip,
Billy

 

[Leanna66]

Clarice, that was my retirement plan a couple of years ago, and it has worked out great for me. I didn't have any experience with a trailer either. I bought my MPG on my first day of retirement. Then I joined a retired singles camping group. They have been a great help and have become good friends. Good luck to you.

 

[gahorn]

So.. if I buy a 2011 MPG (used)... will Lippert still stand behind the axle? and how do I contact Lippert? and how difficult is it to change the axle?

 

[danemayer]

So.. if I buy a 2011 MPG (used)... will Lippert still stand behind the axle? and how do I contact Lippert? and how difficult is it to change the axle?

Hi gahorn,

You can call Lippert at 866-524-7821. That number and those for other Heartland suppliers are on the forum home page, on the left side.

Warranty on a used 2011 model expired quite a few years ago and even if it hadn't, most trailer and component warranties only apply to the original owner.

But "a batch of bad axles" doesn't necessarily mean every MPG has a bad axle. And if this unit did, it may already have been replaced. So just check it out. Look at the tires to see if they're showing uneven wear which is an indication of an axle problem.

 

[Kirbyboy]

I bought my 2011 mpg used last year. Tires looked fine but it was parked it's hole life. The tires looked to be on an angle so I called Lippert. They said to take pictures and they would review it. They emailed me back and said they will replace the axel. Told them where I wanted the work done. Took about 6 weeks to get the axel but they came through. Paid the labor for installing too.I Was very happy. Only thing they didn't pay for was re packing the wheel bearings.which was fine with me. The shop said the new axel was quite a bit heavier than the one they took out.👍👍

 

[danemayer]

I bought my 2011 mpg used last year. Tires looked fine but it was parked it's hole life. The tires looked to be on an angle so I called Lippert. They said to take pictures and they would review it. They emailed me back and said they will replace the axel. Told them where I wanted the work done. Took about 6 weeks to get the axel but they came through. Paid the labor for installing too.I Was very happy. Only thing they didn't pay for was re packing the wheel bearings.which was fine with me. The shop said the new axel was quite a bit heavier than the one they took out.

That's nice to hear. Thanks for posting.

 

[hatterascal]

I bought a 2011 MPG 185 in 2013. You could visibly see that the tire under the slide was slanted out. I contacted Lippert and they told me to crawl under the camper and take a picture and send it of the serial number. They knew by the number that the axle needed to be replaced. I chose the service shop. They delivered the axle to them and paid for labor, free of charge. I found Lippert to be an excellent organization to deal with. I absolutely have no hard feelings towards Lippert or Heartland. I feel I was treated more than fairly. I love my MPG!

 

[Gmari]

Hmm, we are looking into buying a MPG 183. Pretty much all of the ones up for sale are 2011 models. Was that perhaps the year of the "bad batch of axles"?
Thank you for the very good advice about getting a grip on that problem.