New Heartland product and quality problems any?
- Thread starter Coryrehder
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JohnD
Moved on to the next thing...
Re: New Heartland product and quality problems any?
We've had several issues with our 2013 Heartland Trail Runner . . . most of them minor issues.
But our dealership was not the easiest to deal with, so now that our warranty is up, I'm having a hard time trying to decide if I ever even want to take it to them again for anything!
And when it is time for us to upgrade (probably not for 8-10 years), will I even give them the opportunity for my business?
Probably not . . . which is sad.
Anyway, I'd say the biggest frustration that I had as far as quality control was with the electronics.
The TV antenna wiring wasn't even connected in the wall, and when I took it to the dealer for that and several other warranty repairs, they never even touched it!
As I found out while camping in South Dakota and I wound up climbing on the roof in the campground and pulling the wire out of the roof and fixing myself in the rain!
And the Jensen stereo . . . that is a long story that I'll save for another day, but let me just say that it sounds terrible, and I also pulled it out of the wall in South Dakota after the dealership "fixed" it, only to find the biggest hodge-podge of wiring that I've ever seen!
Now, I'm a stereo freak and can wire up a sound system in a hot minute, but when I saw what I did behind that Jensen unit . . . I just put it back in the wall . . . tightened up the screws . . . and walked away from it v e r y slowly!
Even looking at the wiring diagram on the back, I couldn't make sense of what was done with the wiring.
And the wire used wasn't typical sound system wiring, as some of the speaker wire used was lamp cord, and none of the color codes matched anything!
In other words, it looked like they just pulled a bunch of wire out of the trash can and hooked this unit up!
I replaced the indoor speakers with good ones, but they still sound terrible, and the outside speakers were worked on (one replaced under warranty), and they still sound like they are both blown!
I'm thinking about taking the trailer to Car Toys over the winter and having a real system installed . . . inside and out!
We've had several issues with our 2013 Heartland Trail Runner . . . most of them minor issues.
But our dealership was not the easiest to deal with, so now that our warranty is up, I'm having a hard time trying to decide if I ever even want to take it to them again for anything!
And when it is time for us to upgrade (probably not for 8-10 years), will I even give them the opportunity for my business?
Probably not . . . which is sad.
Anyway, I'd say the biggest frustration that I had as far as quality control was with the electronics.
The TV antenna wiring wasn't even connected in the wall, and when I took it to the dealer for that and several other warranty repairs, they never even touched it!
As I found out while camping in South Dakota and I wound up climbing on the roof in the campground and pulling the wire out of the roof and fixing myself in the rain!
And the Jensen stereo . . . that is a long story that I'll save for another day, but let me just say that it sounds terrible, and I also pulled it out of the wall in South Dakota after the dealership "fixed" it, only to find the biggest hodge-podge of wiring that I've ever seen!
Now, I'm a stereo freak and can wire up a sound system in a hot minute, but when I saw what I did behind that Jensen unit . . . I just put it back in the wall . . . tightened up the screws . . . and walked away from it v e r y slowly!
Even looking at the wiring diagram on the back, I couldn't make sense of what was done with the wiring.
And the wire used wasn't typical sound system wiring, as some of the speaker wire used was lamp cord, and none of the color codes matched anything!
In other words, it looked like they just pulled a bunch of wire out of the trash can and hooked this unit up!
I replaced the indoor speakers with good ones, but they still sound terrible, and the outside speakers were worked on (one replaced under warranty), and they still sound like they are both blown!
I'm thinking about taking the trailer to Car Toys over the winter and having a real system installed . . . inside and out!
Was Ian Roberts you contact at Heart Land. I hated to see him go he was very helpful. Did not know he was gone until I called in today and asked for him. He helped me through all of the early disappointments of our 3585 Big Horn. He did his best to help us with the problems we had with our rig. He will be missed.
SeattleLion
Well-known member
Re: New Heartland product and quality problems any?
Our previous trailer had the Jensen unit (actually there are a bunch of different models, our Kodiak had the cheapest). This unit tries to be audio and video controller, dvd/cd player, and speaker switcher. It was horrible at all of this. We finally just let the unit do the switching and used an external DVD player and speakers. Our Bighorn has consumer audio components: Samsung sound bar and subwoofer, BluRay player, etc. This is wonderful. The trailer came with a car radio system in the basement and two horrible speakers on the outside. We don't use this at all. It sounds horrid.
It seems that the entire TT industry uses the Jensen units. They simplify design and build. That nest of wires is actually pretty organized. Go to the Jensen site and you can get a wiring diagram for your unit. We used that to modify routing, etc.
Our previous trailer had the Jensen unit (actually there are a bunch of different models, our Kodiak had the cheapest). This unit tries to be audio and video controller, dvd/cd player, and speaker switcher. It was horrible at all of this. We finally just let the unit do the switching and used an external DVD player and speakers. Our Bighorn has consumer audio components: Samsung sound bar and subwoofer, BluRay player, etc. This is wonderful. The trailer came with a car radio system in the basement and two horrible speakers on the outside. We don't use this at all. It sounds horrid.
It seems that the entire TT industry uses the Jensen units. They simplify design and build. That nest of wires is actually pretty organized. Go to the Jensen site and you can get a wiring diagram for your unit. We used that to modify routing, etc.
EPaulikonis
Well-known member
Tom Montague is the current Landmark product manager I spoke with. He's supposed to get back with me after researching the VIN and coordinating with his QA and Warranty managers.
For20hunter
Pacific Region Directors-Retired
We just purchased a new Landmark and had similar problems with the inverter cutting out and shutting off our residential fridge, but I called Heartland and they put a new "reflashed" unit in the mail that same day and shipped it to me. It is a really easy change over and since then I have not had a single shut off from it.
Rod Ditrich
Rod Ditrich
I have a 2013 pioneer bh 25 and have never been so dis-pleased with anything I have ever purchased, I have my trailer in for service now just before my warranty runs out! I wonder if my trailer was wrecked before I got it or something, the finish is horrible I can see all the nail holes in the so called wood and they were patched with the wrong color putty, my trailer is not going to last. I wish I could just give it back and get my money back but that will never happen! I probably should have done my homework better before buying this trailer, live and learn i suppose, I will most likely try to sell it for a fraction of what I paid and get something that is better quality, I want to travel and camp stress free and all my trailer does is give me more stress because it is falling apart ! Seems it was over looked at the quality control department before it was shipped out! Next time around i will spend more time researching brands and spend more time going over the rig before buying!,
SeattleLion
Well-known member
I just wanted to add one thing that, at least for me, makes me a very happy camper: I sent my punch list to the service manager at my dealership (great, by the way) and also sent it (along with photos) to Heartland Customer Service. I just got off the phone with my dealer to confirm my appointment a couple of weeks from now. The service manager told me that Heartland called him to make sure he had everything he needs to make my coach perfect. I was told that many parts needed were on the way now.
If I had to choose between better QC at the plant and poorer customer service, I would vote for customer service every single time. By the way, my unit was in the Seattle RV show. There was no show damage at all. The carpets were plastic covered (they come that way from the factory) and no one was allowed in without someone there. Since there were only two Bighorns at the show, the regional sales manager was in the coach almost the entire time. Every single defect we found was caused by sloppy assembly.
Given the current state of the industry, we have to plan for 20 to 30 defects that get past the factory and PDI. By the way, dealer PDI took care of a bunch of fit and finish problems too. We have only two defective pieces of equipment: microwave/convection oven that on convection can't get hot enough, and the 15,500 BTU AC that has the fan stop and start during cooling cycles. We already have the new microwave/convection oven and I hope that Heartland has figured out the issue with the AC.
If I had to choose between better QC at the plant and poorer customer service, I would vote for customer service every single time. By the way, my unit was in the Seattle RV show. There was no show damage at all. The carpets were plastic covered (they come that way from the factory) and no one was allowed in without someone there. Since there were only two Bighorns at the show, the regional sales manager was in the coach almost the entire time. Every single defect we found was caused by sloppy assembly.
Given the current state of the industry, we have to plan for 20 to 30 defects that get past the factory and PDI. By the way, dealer PDI took care of a bunch of fit and finish problems too. We have only two defective pieces of equipment: microwave/convection oven that on convection can't get hot enough, and the 15,500 BTU AC that has the fan stop and start during cooling cycles. We already have the new microwave/convection oven and I hope that Heartland has figured out the issue with the AC.
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