Maintenance Suggestions

[SeattleLion]

We just completed our last trip and the 3160 is going to the dealer on Saturday for warranty work (about 30 items). We traveled about 3,000 miles. The trailer was delivered in March. Is there any maintenance required other than winterizing?

 

[danemayer]

Lube the shackles and other suspension components. Check torque on pinbox and suspension components. Look at the owners manual maintenance checklist for any other items.

 

[TravelTiger]

I would recommend all the caulking be thoroughly inspected. Seems like every 3 months is what is recommended in the owners manual. Lack of caulking maintenance can lead to undiscovered water intrusion, and then something bad caused by water intrusion IS discovered long after the warranty is up.

 

[HooDad]

We just completed our last trip and the 3160 is going to the dealer on Saturday for warranty work (about 30 items). We traveled about 3,000 miles.

I'm scheduled to pick up my new 2015 3160 later this month. I'm curious, did you have any major issues? 30 items seems like a lot to me. My last camper only had a few issues and I put about 12,000 miles on it during the warranty period.

 

[SeattleLion]

I'm scheduled to pick up my new 2015 3160 later this month. I'm curious, did you have any major issues? 30 items seems like a lot to me. My last camper only had a few issues and I put about 12,000 miles on it during the warranty period.

The issues are not crippling to the trailer. They are fit and finish mostly. They include a dripping faucet, relcliner that won't recline, convection oven that won't heat up beyond 250 degrees [replaced and will be installed next week], screws (sharp points) protruding into the utility center, bad shade on the kitchen light, weatherstripping issues (a few around the trailer, but no leaks),torn carpet in the livingroom slide, window shade adjustments (some won't go all the way up, one is not correctly fastened to the wall), etc. No big deal but things that should have been caught at the factory or PDI.

Nothing is serious enough to cause us to skip a trip this summer. Now that we are done, the dealer will fix them up. Heartland customer service is great and has been a big help. I don't belong to the club that thinks it is normal to have warranty work on a trailer. But I do recognize that Heartland is no worse than any other manufacturer. Quality assurance is just something the industry doesn't want to pay for. If they get foreign competition that delivers problem-free trailers, things will change quickly.

Don't get me wrong. We love our Bighorn. Heartland has put in the very best components and the engineering is great. There are always outlets where we want them and we love the floor plan. It wasn't an inconvenience to go through the season with these issues. I have confidence in Heartland and my dealer to correct them. My advice to you is to take a lot of time on the walkthrough and make sure the dealer records any issues. If you have the time, make them fix everything you find before it leaves the lot. However, like most of the others here, I have complete confidence that Heartland customer service will make sure that anything that you do find after delivery will be fixed and fixed right.

 

[HooDad]

Thanks so much for the quick response. I know I've been very fortunate with few problems on my current fiver as some people have had major issues with the same model. By the way, Forrest River offers a second year warranty on their units for only $150. Do you or anyone know if Heartland also does this?

 

[GOTTOYS]

Thanks so much for the quick response. I know I've been very fortunate with few problems on my current fiver as some people have had major issues with the same model. By the way, Forrest River offers a second year warranty on their units for only $150. Do you or anyone know if Heartland also does this?

No they don't...Don