Lippert Warranty Doesn't Care about safety!

[Larryheadhunter]

Last summer I had a serious leaf spring breakage in Oregon. Lippert replaced them with 3 leaf springs, the same kind that broke, and I only lost 2 days on the road. Unfortunately, Lippert only reimbursed me $65 for a brand new Goodyear 614 $315 dollar tire, and told me they don't warranty or guarantee tires, although when my spring leafs broke, all 3 on the drivers side rear broke at the same time. This caused the whole frame to ride on that rear tire, which caused a dangerous smoking situation, that ruined my new 14 ply Goodyear tire. Then they have the gall to replace them with another set of 3 leaf springs, which puzzled me greatly. If I had those E rated Mission Tires still on my rig, the tire could have blown, and I could have gone over the side of the winding country road I was just on, causing terrible damage to my rig and to my wife and our safety. Michael Locke, Lippert's warranty rep, basically blew me off, and although friendly, was indifferent to a potential disaster.

I am not the only one this has happened to, and one day Lippert will be looking at a serious problem, due to their indifference, as far as I am concerned, which could have been avoided with better attention to their products. I have tried to reach Pamela, head of Lippert Warranty, with no success. This arrogance stuns me. Why didn't they put 4 leaf spring sets on or upgrade the 6K axles to 7K. I don't know about any of you folks, but I value me and my wife's life.

I have been sitting on this, and cogitating, and wondering how many other Heartland owners have had the same dangerous problem as I did with their suspension packages. Maybe if enough of us join together and make some noise, we can wake these Lippert folks up. I understand that at the National rally last year, there were several other spring leaf problems due to Lippert's choice of suspension packages for their RV's. I am not a complainer, but my wife is seriously scared to go out on our rig, until this situation is resolved. This puts me in an untenable position, as we love Heartland and have had wonderful experiences on the road RVing for the past 22 months.

Anyone who has had similar problems please tell your story on this thread, and we can send out our collective stories to Lippert, so they can understand the gravity of the situation, and hopefully ease our worries by upgrading our axles and spring leafs. Gee whiz , my truck has 4 or 5 leafs on it's suspension, and although it rides hard, it's only half the weigh of my rig.

Thanks for listening to my Lippert woes, and hopefully they will hear us and correct this grave problem before someone is seriously hurt.

 

[geeksrus]

Last summer I had a serious leaf spring breakage in Oregon. Lippert replaced them with 3 leaf springs, the same kind that broke, and I only lost 2 days on the road. Unfortunately, Lippert only reimbursed me $65 for a brand new Goodyear 614 $315 dollar tire, and told me they don't warranty or guarantee tires, although when my spring leafs broke, all 3 on the drivers side rear broke at the same time. This caused the whole frame to ride on that rear tire, which caused a dangerous smoking situation, that ruined my new 14 ply Goodyear tire. Then they have the gall to replace them with another set of 3 leaf springs, which puzzled me greatly. If I had those E rated Mission Tires still on my rig, the tire could have blown, and I could have gone over the side of the winding country road I was just on, causing terrible damage to my rig and to my wife and our safety. Michael Locke, Lippert's warranty rep, basically blew me off, and although friendly, was indifferent to a potential disaster.

I am not the only one this has happened to, and one day Lippert will be looking at a serious problem, due to their indifference, as far as I am concerned, which could have been avoided with better attention to their products. I have tried to reach Pamela, head of Lippert Warranty, with no success. This arrogance stuns me. Why didn't they put 4 leaf spring sets on or upgrade the 6K axles to 7K. I don't know about any of you folks, but I value me and my wife's life.

I have been sitting on this, and cogitating, and wondering how many other Heartland owners have had the same dangerous problem as I did with their suspension packages. Maybe if enough of us join together and make some noise, we can wake these Lippert folks up. I understand that at the National rally last year, there were several other spring leaf problems due to Lippert's choice of suspension packages for their RV's. I am not a complainer, but my wife is seriously scared to go out on our rig, until this situation is resolved. This puts me in an untenable position, as we love Heartland and have had wonderful experiences on the road RVing for the past 22 months.

Anyone who has had similar problems please tell your story on this thread, and we can send out our collective stories to Lippert, so they can understand the gravity of the situation, and hopefully ease our worries by upgrading our axles and spring leafs. Gee whiz , my truck has 4 or 5 leafs on it's suspension, and although it rides hard, it's only half the weigh of my rig.

Thanks for listening to my Lippert woes, and hopefully they will hear us and correct this grave problem before someone is seriously hurt.

Larry: as you are aware I had a similar problem with the collapse of one of the spring sets ruining 2 Michelin Xrib tires (my scenario was posted on this forum in the summer). I dealt with 3 Lippert Reps, including Pam, before getting to Andrew VanSchoick Director of Warranty @ (866) 524-7821 x6029. He provided me with a compensation settlement of 75% of what I was out of pocket... better than others at Lippert had provided but not fully satisfactory. Under the circumstances I would have liked 100%.

After the Lippert supplied spring sets (same 6K as`the old ones) were installed, I took the unit to a local axle/spring manufacturer & had them install 7K spring sets that were locally Canadian-made. This cost was on my nickel & Lippert's compensation did not cover any part of this. BTW: this manufacturer told me that there was no need to upgrade the axles and during the spring install they inspected the axles & other components.

I've had other Lippert components fail including the motor/gearbox of the lift legs & most recently the PLASTIC gear reduction unit broke. From what I understand others have had similar & more problems with Lippert components including serious frame problems.

It amazes me that Lippert provides such inferior products and that RV manufacturers (Heartland & others) still allow this crap to be included in the units they build.

Eh!

 

[boatdoc]

I agree with you both wholeheartedly and our spring problems are well documented in my posts. I do believe though, we will come on deaf ears from Lippert because all they want to do is get our units past the warranty dates and wash their hands of us.
Larry, I don't think this thread will last long as this problem hasn't happened to some of our PC, "post changers", here on the owners forum.
I'm going to get my hands slapped for that remark, Your buddy, Gary

 

[jmgratz]

Let me first say to Larry & Debbie if you are going to be afraid to use your RV you might as well sell it and get something else like a boat, new car or some other type of device that you will enjoy. MHO Next I will say when our rig was new both of our axles were bent and had to be replaced. They were not made by Lippert but Alcor. I think all of the manufacturers (suppliers) use the most inexpensive parts (sometimes inferior) in order to remain competitive. We decided to replace our suspension with the Mor-Ryde IS system with disc brakes and never lube bearings. We do not have to worry about broken springs, bent axles, burnt bearings etc. I realize this upgrade is not cheap but if you intend on keeping your rig for any period of time it is an expense that will pay for itself. What can you do as a consumer to deal with your situation? In my opinion, since this is an industry wide problem about the only thing you can do is not buy the product or buy the product with the knowledge that you are going to upgrade to a better more reliable device, whether it be the suspension, brakes, converter, water heater or whatever. That is what we did, as when we bought our Landmark we already knew we were going to replace the suspension and brake system. Well that is my 2 cents for what it is worth. Good luck and Have a Happy and fruitful New Year.

 

[davebennington]

Boatdoc,

I am a little offended by you comment referring to moderators as "post changers" I can say that I have never changed anyones post and I do not think I ever will unless it get totally out of hand or really off subject. There are some rules in the forum and people have to be treated with respect and given the every chance to voice their opinions. Larry has an opinion and he is entitled to it and he has every right to voice it in a manner that is constructive and beneficial to the readers.

Of course this is only my opinion.

Dave

 

[jimtoo]

Boatdoc,

I am a little offended by you comment referring to moderators as "post changers" I can say that I have never changed anyones post and I do not think I ever will unless it get totally out of hand or really off subject. There are some rules in the forum and people have to be treated with respect and given the every chance to voice their opinions. Larry has an opinion and he is entitled to it and he has every right to voice it in a manner that is constructive and beneficial to the readers.

Of course this is only my opinion.

Dave

Thank you Dave, I agree with you completely. As moderators we do not change what members post. I have corrected spelling for some so that they do not look really bad. But that is not very often. I have *** out a few words that were not acceptable or prices.

Jim M

 

[boatdoc]

Dave & Jim, I did not point any fingers at the mods on this site!!! What I did point at was people who take our threads and change directions 180 degrees the other way, ie: Lippert is just the greatest!!!
They blew off Larry, they blew off me and many more with or without Heartland products. We're not talking about a headlight out here, we're talking dangerous stuff here. Things going down the highway weighing 22K plus at 55MPH and they, Lippert could give a darn. They and their offshore junk are going to kill somebody and I hope it is not one of my fellow Heartland friends. Read the backed up horror stories about this company's running gear and put youself in our shoes. I does'nt sound all that bad untill YOU see the smoke bellowing out or the trailer dropped on one side. Then they, Lippert, battle you for months to get compensated for your loss. If they wouldn't cut corners and maybe add $100.00 to their frame cost with good running gear we, as in you and I, would get more reliable products and not be stuck in some little podunk town waiting for Lippert to send us the same offshore junk to repair the junk that failed in the first place.
For you guys, the mods on this site, you do a good job and I'm glad I not one of you because I don't have the people skills to be Politicly Correct. I'm from the old school and call them as I see them and not try a paint a big happy picture that many people do these days. I'm sorry my post was taken the wrong way. Sorry again.
Gary (boatdoc)
PS: I have never bad mouthed Heartland or any other RV company. I may have squeaked a bit about not getting returned phone calls but never bad mouthed mods or Heartland themselves. This is a great site with loads of info and I wouldn't do anything to jeopardize my membership here BUT I will speak my mind and voice MY opinion when threads like this come up.

Soap Box gone Thanks

 

[lwmcguir]

Reading the post saved us from a potential problem regarding tires and springs. We wound up changing axles to get 8K rating and Trail Air. It was money well spent but would just as soon have paid more and not had to upgrade. I think their should be an option that is well presented to upgrade the suspension. It is just barely marginal per the normal axles and springs supplied. If you want a safety factor then you are going to spend more money. We definitely would have been one of you sitting on the road somewhere waiting on parts and tires. That would not have made me a happy camper after 45 years of camping with several trailers and never any of these issues.

 

[beardedone]

If you read my posts you see where I have a serious suspension problem on our Landmark and I cannot go on a trip as it sits. I do not trust it anymore. I was a policeman for 30 years and an industrial safety officer following that so I have seen the results of disasters and the need to correct problems properly. We to were given the brush off by Lippert only 2 months after our warranty expired but it was also obvious that the isssue had started long before that. I tried to get Heartland to support me and they said it did, however it sure didn't work. Now I am going to an extremely well known and reputable manufacturer to upgrade and get it done right, and on my dime. I am not finished with the manufacturer yet but it is going to be a long haul.

 

[jimtoo]

Thanks Gary,

I have squeaked myself.

I do think Heartland has done a great job on the quality of the units for the dollar. I agree with you on the Lippert issue. If they could get Lippert to step up, or maybe even use another frame manufacture, and use better quality parts, even if it cost another $500-1000. Knowing that the springs are not going to break, brackets come loose or what ever it might be related to the running gear would be load off of our, and future owners minds. Use this as a advertising tool, give a full 2 year warranty on the running gear and frame. Be the first in the industry. I know nothing is 100%, but better quality is a whole lot less likely to give problems. Heartland is not the only manufacture that has had frame and suspension problems.

Then you have the problem of the folks knowing they have better quality and heavier load capacity which means heavier duty, which means I can load more in my RV.

So, where do you draw the line? Personally, I would like to see better quality springs and axles (and tires) with the same weight rating on the units.

Jim M

 

[beardedone]

I like your ideas Jim. As had been said many times before, there is a reason that the North American auto manufacuturers have so many problems now. They didn't react to consumer complaints! If the shipping costs for RV's across the Pacific weren't so high I am sure we would all enjoy a better built product.

 

[TXBobcat]

Well I guess I can put my 2¢ in here...

I believe I was the first one to bring up a problem with the springs on our 3400RE, which was October 2008.

I read this forum and other forums about tires that were being placed on the trailers.

I wanted to buy a NuWa HitchHiker Champane when I was looking to go fulltime. I priced the HH and it was above my expendable cash. It was also to heavy for my truck. So what did I do? I looked around for a trailer that I could pull with my existing truck. I talked to friends, read forums, went to RV shows, and dealerships to see what I wanted.

We went to a dealer in Seguin TX and looked at every trailer they had, new and used. I didn't like any of them and many were to heavy for me to pull until they showed me this 3400RE. DW & I really liked it and we talked to the dealer and a friend and in the end came up with a deal we were happy with. Did I get a great buy? I don't really know but it was one that we could afford and the dealer was known to be dependable.

So to make a long story short we did what everyone out here did. We bought the best trailer that we liked for the price we could afford. Many went to discount dealers, drove around looking for a good deal some close by and some quite a distance away. I don't believe anyone here went to a dealer and told them I want a trailer that has the best tires, suspension, jacks, slides, appliances and I don't care what the cost is and then I will go out and buy the best truck to pull it with regardless of price.

I was not happy with the tires on my trailer, so the day I drove it off the lot. I went directly to Discount Tire and bought all new Michelins. I had a gear box on my landing gear go out when I was in Canada in 2008. Dave at Lippert sent me one under warranty with the exception of fast delivery.

When my springs broke in Lousiana about 1:30 in the afternoon, I called Heartland. They put me in contact with Dave at Lippert. They sent a man out to replace the springs on my trailer on the highway and they arrived about 3:00 pm. They replaced the springs then told me I had a collapsed rear axle but it was good enough to get me to Tyler TX. I called Discount tire in Garland TX who helped me contact Michelin Tire Co. They gave me the name of the companys that carried their tires. I called Miller tire in Shreveport and they got me 2 XP Rib tires and I was on the road again by 5:00 pm. I think that worked out real good.

I got to the campgound in Tyler and on Monday Dave overnighted me new axles and springs for my trailer. I had 7k axles installed on my trailer. Paid for one set of axles and springs and Lippert paid for the other. I also paid $1040 to have it all overnighted. My request, so I paid. I made the wedding in Austin that we were trying to get to from Halifax Nova Scotia.

When I attended the rally in Goshen IN I wanted to put Mor/Ryde IS and Disk Brakes on my trailer. I wanted my trailer to ride the best to keep it in good shape. I offered my 7k Axles and springs to anyone that wanted them for free. All they had to do is go to Mor/Ryde and have them changed out and pay only the labor. No one took me up on my offer!!

I don't like the electric landing gear on my trailer. So when I have saved up enough to put the level up or big foot on it I will have it done.

At this time I have invested about $1300 in tires on my trailer and about $6500 for the Mor/Ryde system and plan for $3500 for the level up system. If I had gone to a different Manufacturer I would have probably paid a lot more than $11,000 to get a trailer that I could pull and has everything I have on mine now. I will probably keep this trailer until it falls apart or I croke. I can't afford another now and only maybe in the future. I am trying to save each month so I can get a new truck, trailer, fix the truck or trailer however it comes out. God is in charge of how and when, but I am doing the best I can.

As Jim Gratz posted. If you can't afford to live this life style find something else to put your investments in. Like JimToo said I would really like Heartland to improve the landing gear, frame and suspension integrity mainly because of safety. I am hoping my landing gear does not die before I install the level up system and I hope the frame does not break, so I am nervous and always looking for a problem to make sure I am pulling a safe trailer.

Now would I buy this trailer again. Yes, if the situation was the same. If I had a half million dollars or more, I would probably buy an Allegro Bus or Prevost and a Renegade Jeep.

But then I would miss all of you guys out there.

One bit of advice…. If your not happy do something else..

That's my 2¢. Flame ON

BC

 

[TXBobcat]

And BTW.. I have had posts deleted by the moderators. Hee Hee.. And I consider them a friend. I think..

I may not have have agreed with their reason but WTH, if I am unhappy I can always go to RV.Net..

BC

And then there is our friend.... Hi Lefty.. Hee Hee..

 

[boatdoc]

Bob, You must have caught Dave at Lippert with the secretary or something else. He's not known for his flamboyant "help you no matter what style", at least to several of us here. I kind of picture him sitting there at his desk rubbing Lipperts last $.02 together.
Consider yourself lucky or maybe your problems happened long before WE all started having ours and he just got sick of hearing the same old story and decided to be the way is now or was, I haven't had to deal with him or Lippert since I got my new offshore crap from him.
I know I'll never get a CHRISTmas card from him or Lippert.

Happy New Year, Gary

 

[caissiel]

I had a 95, Canadian made 34ft Trailer before this unit. The axles were 5000 Lbs and only loaded to 4000 lbs. The tires never lasted, had blowouts and broke springs at every trip. I upgraded the tires to LT truck tires and used 3 ply springs instead of 4 ply springs that came with the trailer. Never had problems with tires and springs after. I changed the springs after 10 years and installed them on my utility trailer. The short bottom ply was causing the longer plies to brake at that point. I choose the 3500RL because of the G tires and the 7000 lbs springs. I will be traveling with 2 spare springs again as soon as I can buy some. I never change one spring on one side without changing the other side. They have to match in strenght and size.

 

[Delaine and Lindy]

X-Factor......

Bob, just read your post, great information and advise. We have friends in the park we are in and the have a 2009 Landmark and have had serious frame problems. Haven't talk to them yet but I do know they had to have something similar to the X-Factor that Mor/Ryde is using. I for sure would have the X-Factor installed, but with the Mor/Ryde IS system I don't know it the system is avail for the IS. Seems to be a lot of frame problems??? Read about them everyday and it seems to be getting worse. GBY....

P.S. Bob as for being flamed, I get that a lot but it doesn't bother me. Most all of my topics are from passed experience and things that have happened to me and as usual it cost money. Life is Good.

 

[Uncle Rog]

Happy New Year! I guess I am just lucky, actually it is a proven fact! Last year when doing a visual inspection of the suspension prior to a run, I noticed that the spring configurations on both sides of the rig were not right. They were both "fanned" and looked like they would fail in just a few miles. If I had not found the problem inside the wire I surely would have been left standing on the side of the road. I contacted Lippert, and after a couple of calls, and e-mailed pictures to a little girl in Elkhart they set up an apointment at J&L where they replaced the entire suspension, needless to say I was pretty ** happy........................

 

[TXBobcat]

Bob, You must have caught Dave at Lippert with the secretary or something else. Gary

Not so for me. When I called I talked directly with Dave each time. He was very civil to me each time. We did discuss what each required and came to an agreement. They also paid me for two Michelin XP Rib tires. I sent him pictures of the tires and the date of purchase. Infact Lippert has a someone answer their phone 24 hrs a day and it is not a secretary, rather a man that seemed to be a technician.

At this time I have no problem with either Lippert or Heartland. My trailer is out of warranty and I have a 7yr extended warranty which I will be testing out after the Sweetheart Rally in Kerrville in Feb. to get my bedroom slide repaired.

BC

 

[Delaine and Lindy]

Retro-fit !!!!!!!!!

Well go to talk to our friend about his frame failure! When this happened he call Heartland and then Lippert, his 2009 Landmark was bought new in April 2008 and of course he was out of warranty. He did learn that Lippert has a retro-fit ???? So like most everyone my friend has Ins. and called them and they took care of the cost. Lippert does have a repair team that came out and did the repair in Louisanna. The repair should be on all 5th wheel. It is similar to the X-Factor by Mor/Ryde but the Lippert retro-fit has to be welded onto the frame at each suspension point. Of Course he had to replace the G614's. I suggest everyone check their frame were the suspension is connect, thats were the frame rolled. Just another thing a person has to check. GBY....

 

[jmgratz]

I can't believe it. I talked to someone today who has a Mobile Suites that has serious suspension problems and told me he called the manufacturer who told him he is out of luck because he is out of warranty. Wow. And I thought Mobile Suites stood behind their product. I will say that when we owned our Alfa Gold (top of the line Alfa) we were always breaking shock mounts. So many broke that we carried several extras and I got good at replacing them. I guess it don't matter whether it is an Alfa, Heartland or Mobile Suites, a manufacture can and will only do so much. At that point it is left up to us to deal with it. BTW most extended warranties (except Alfa) would take care of those types of problems. Have a great new year...