Just wondering what I'm in for?

[Wild Bill]

Greetings guys. I'll try to make this as short as possible.

I'm really bummed out. I just brought home a 2007 3670RL. I bought it in California and drove it up here to Oregon to live in full time. The drive was horrendous as it rained and snowed almost the entire way (about 1,000 miles). When I got it home, I opened the slides and the cabinet door behind the kitchen slide jammed up and bent the hinges on the cabinet and tweaked my slide. It still works but doesn't seat well on the one side when out. After calming down from being completely frustrated by the slide, I look down at the floor and the whole length of my dining/living room slide was drenched. I'm ready to completely lose it at this point. I've been dabbing it down with towels and running the heat with a fan blowing on it but no way is that going to dry the floor underneath. I called customer service and they hooked me up with a service center in Salem. So here are my concerns.

1. The Service Center advised me to try to dry the carpet. So what's going to happen to the floor underneath? Without pulling up the carpet I can't get it completely dry. Are they actually going to re-use that carpet?? Mold is a major concern and so is the wood rotting prematurely now. Can you tell me what is going to be done?

2. What will happen with the kitchen slide? Is that my problem now?

3. What kind of a time frame can be expected. This is my home now.

Thank you sincerely for your input.

WB

 

[linuxkidd]

Morning WB:
Sorry to hear about your first experiences with your new RV. It really can be frustrating when things like this happen with a new vehicle.

Although I have no direct ties with Heartland, based on past experiences I'm certain they will do everything in their power to make things right.

As far as the Service Center advising to dry the carpet, I wouldn't take that as a notice that they're going to re-use it. They might.. But I'd imagine that decision will be made after the service center inspects things. I would think that they were simply trying to help you get the coach to a state that was more comfortable for you and yours, as well as limiting the damage as much as possible.

I hope this initial experience doesn't taint the enjoyability of your RV. Hold in there, it sounds like help is on the way..

LK

 

[HappyKayakers]

Wild Bill,
It sounds like you have a problem that's been reported in the past by many on this forum. The solution in previous instances was to have a dealer install D seals and/or corner blocks under the slide. You should be able to find a few earlier posts for more info.

 

[HappyKayakers]

Wild Bill,
The cabinet door is very easy to miss when extending slides. I did the same thing to mine on the maiden voyage. Now all cabinet doors have kiddie locks installed when traveling. If it can't be locked, it gets double-checked by climbing over, under, around, etc before extending the slide.
I also posted a response about your water intrusion but it mysteriously disappeared. Do a search on the forum for D-seals and corner blocks.

 

[kakampers]

Wild Bill...I'm sure Heartland will do whatever it takes to make it right. Don't be too concerned about the carpet and flooring. I had a water heater tank burst in my mobile home, in the middle of the night, leaked for hours. It had the same OSB flooring used in the Bighorn's, the insurance adjuster said that's what saved us, took the water without a problem. As for the carpet, I had Servicemasters come in immediately, and they pulled back the carpet and dried it and treated it...no problem...no odor... nothing. We were able to replace the padding and re-lay the carpet...never knew they was ever a problem.

 

[Ray LeTourneau]

Hello Bill. Sorry you had trouble right from the git go. Others have mentioned the corner blocks that should have been installed on your slides. I'm sure your dealer can correct the slide adjustment and stop the water intrusion. As for the flooring. I believe the entire floor of the trailer is covered with linoleum under the carpet. This should have helped keep any water intrusion to a minimum. If it wasn't soaked for too long of a period, you should be fine. At any rate, welcome to the Heartlad family. Hang in there. Heartland is a great company. We've been full time in ours for 18 months so far and love it.

 

[Wild Bill]

Thanks all! I am finding Heartland to be extremely easy to deal with. This is very reassuring and it makes this whole ordeal much easier to handle. The whole cabinet door thing taught me a huge lesson. I know I'll be checking in, on, and around every slide before I even LOOK at that slider button. My customer service rep in Indiana called me this morning to reassure me about the flooring and not to worry about it being damaged. I thought that was great!

Anyway, thanks again everyone for your input and reassurance. It's nice to know we aren't alone in our adventures... good or bad.

WB