New Purchase with MANY problems on first trip

[TravelTiger]

I don't mean to stir the pot, or maybe a little. Saw this article from RV Business... Apparently it's NEWSWORTHY that they are doing this.

[h=1]Lifestyle Debuts Pre-Delivery Inspection Program[/h] Print
September 15, 2015 by RVBusiness Leave a Comment



Middlebury, Ind.-based EverGreen Recreational Vehicles LLC announced that its Lifestyle Luxury RV fifth-wheel division has instituted a retail Ready to Roll Pre-Delivery Inspection Program to better serve dealers and customers of all the builder’s fifth-wheel brands, including Lifestyle, Alfa Gold, Bay Hill and Tesla.
According to a press release, the inspection team is a group of highly trained, quality control technicians that troubleshoot each unit independently to find and repair any aesthetic flaws or mechanical system problems. Twenty-four dedicated quality control technicians comb over 200 PDI inspection points on the exterior and interior of the coach to test for, pinpoint and fix any flaws. This service is now standard for the entire Lifestyle fifth-wheel division.
“In the same EverGreen tradition of product innovation, we are implementing the new Ready to Roll Pre-delivery Inspection Program to enhance the delivery of our products in a unique way,” said EverGreen President Don Emahiser. “By removing the unit for inspection away from our manufacturing facility, we enable a fresh look at the product by independent, quality control experts whose job it is to find and fix these problems before it lands at a dealer’s lot.”
Emahiser stated he believes Lifestyle Luxury RV fifth wheel’s new approach to retail PDI and quality assurance could create a new, higher standard for the industry. “We think our dealers are going to be very pleased with the results of the new Retail Ready to Roll PDI Program,” he said. “Starting with our fifth-wheel division, our products will be ready for the retail lot with less preparation at the dealership and improved customer satisfaction down the road.”
Technicians in the program have expansive checklists of categories ranging from outside walls, wheels, and storage, utilities-even the underbelly of the coach is inspected systematically. Inside, the troubleshooting continues with room-by-room inspections for living areas, kitchens, baths and bedrooms for water, electrical, gas and décor systems.
Kevin McMahon, new product manager for the Lifestyle division noted, “The beauty of our new retail Ready to Roll PDI Program is that it takes our quality inspection to a higher level of scrutiny,” he concluded. “We still inspect, red tape and fix problems as we find them in the plant, but with retail Ready to Roll PDI an independent group of inspectors are trained in their own quality discipline to go deeper, locate and fix problems that just are not as apparent during the manufacturing process.”

 

[kowAlski631]

It's my understanding that the dealers DO get paid by Heartland to do a PDI. The question is do they actully do it or just take the money. Someone please correct me if I'm wrong.

Interesting question. I'd be interested in that answer too. I am wondering who at a dealer would do it. Salespeople won't normally do anything that removes them from the floor since they are looking for the next sale. Service departments are normally backed up with work, so techs are out. We had a person who did the PDI with us, but never asked who or if one was done prior to our arrival.

Martha

 

[MCTalley]

That's a great step in the right direction. Would love to see Heartland doing the same (maybe they will?).

One things folks would still have to remember is that doesn't relieve the responsibility of the selling dealer from doing their own PDI. Once the trailer leaves that initial PDI, it is delivered to a dealer after being pulled down the road and shaking things loose. Once at the dealer, it will probably be opened up for the public to tramp through it (wearing and possibly breaking items) and may even make one or more appearances at an RV show. That's still a lot of potential for things to be out of kilter by the time someone goes to buy the unit.

When comparing RVs to the automobile industry, remember that most automobiles are probably built by more robots than humans (whereas most RVs are pretty much hand-built) and then travel from plant to dealer on the back of a car carrier (truck/train). Once there, they may be moved once in a while around the lot and might be taken for a couple test drives carefully around town. Our truck, for example, had 13 miles on the odometer, 7 of which came from our test drive. Most new vehicles have fewer. People also will rarely go to just sit in a car or rifle through it on the lot as a representative model is usually sitting in the showroom for that purpose.

 

[Tundra2084]

O.K IS HEARTLAND LISTENING? IF A COMPETING COMPANY CAN AND IS DOING THE ROLL OUT PROGRAM MAYBE YOU SHOULD THINK ABOUT DOING THE SAME AND GET THINGS ROLLING OUT OF THE SHOP WITHOUT SO MANY PROBLEMS.

Sorry but for the life of me I simply cannot accept, that all the problems or at least most of the quality issues, can't be resolved by rewarding the good employees who take pride in their work and replacing those who could care less. I for one think Quality in a product that costs most of us a small fortune should be priority. Repeat customers and word of mouth can make or break a company. If a car maker sells a lot of lemons they end up with a bad reputation and bankrupt. JUST SAYING

And by the way yes we've had our share of problems with our unit and YES we WOULD buy another Heartland product and YES we had SOB of RV with fewer problems but we very much like the heartland products.

 

[codycarver]

i don't mean to stir the pot, or maybe a little. Saw this article from rv business... Apparently it's newsworthy that they are doing this.

lifestyle debuts pre-delivery inspection program

print
september 15, 2015 by rvbusiness leave a comment



middlebury, ind.-based evergreen recreational vehicles llc announced that its lifestyle luxury rv fifth-wheel division has instituted a retail ready to roll pre-delivery inspection program to better serve dealers and customers of all the builder’s fifth-wheel brands, including lifestyle, alfa gold, bay hill and tesla.
according to a press release, the inspection team is a group of highly trained, quality control technicians that troubleshoot each unit independently to find and repair any aesthetic flaws or mechanical system problems. Twenty-four dedicated quality control technicians comb over 200 pdi inspection points on the exterior and interior of the coach to test for, pinpoint and fix any flaws. This service is now standard for the entire lifestyle fifth-wheel division.
“in the same evergreen tradition of product innovation, we are implementing the new ready to roll pre-delivery inspection program to enhance the delivery of our products in a unique way,” said evergreen president don emahiser. “by removing the unit for inspection away from our manufacturing facility, we enable a fresh look at the product by independent, quality control experts whose job it is to find and fix these problems before it lands at a dealer’s lot.”
emahiser stated he believes lifestyle luxury rv fifth wheel’s new approach to retail pdi and quality assurance could create a new, higher standard for the industry. “we think our dealers are going to be very pleased with the results of the new retail ready to roll pdi program,” he said. “starting with our fifth-wheel division, our products will be ready for the retail lot with less preparation at the dealership and improved customer satisfaction down the road.”
technicians in the program have expansive checklists of categories ranging from outside walls, wheels, and storage, utilities-even the underbelly of the coach is inspected systematically. Inside, the troubleshooting continues with room-by-room inspections for living areas, kitchens, baths and bedrooms for water, electrical, gas and décor systems.
kevin mcmahon, new product manager for the lifestyle division noted, “the beauty of our new retail ready to roll pdi program is that it takes our quality inspection to a higher level of scrutiny,” he concluded. “we still inspect, red tape and fix problems as we find them in the plant, but with retail ready to roll pdi an independent group of inspectors are trained in their own quality discipline to go deeper, locate and fix problems that just are not as apparent during the manufacturing process.”

​like!!!

 

[TravelTiger]

Now this article may be lip service to sell units, there's no proof they'll be better quality than what we currently see.

At the Dallas RV Show, I saw a number of Heartlands with a sheet that said the coach had gone through a quality audit. Too bad it was poor quality b/w laser copy, not a major selling point in flashy color prominently displayed.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[danemayer]

At the Dallas RV Show, I saw a number of Heartlands with a sheet that said the coach had gone through a quality audit. Too bad it was poor quality b/w laser copy

When you start talking about quality, it's always a good idea to do it in a quality way, and to carefully proof read.

 

[JohnD]

I don't think that the dealerships or the manufacturers look at the PDI the same way that those of us experienced RV buyers do.

They look at it as a brief overview of the camper and it's functions, where we think of it as a way to find all of the manufacturers defects.

Also, the time of year you buy your new RV is key as well . . .

Our previous Heartland was purchased by us in September . . . eight months before we got to take it out and try everything.

BIG MISTAKE (don't get suckered in with 'end of camping season closeouts!') as we burned off eight months of the manufacturers warranty with it just sitting in our side yard waiting for the snow to melt.

Our new one was purchased in May of this year . . . at the beginning of the camping season . . . not the end of it!

Two weeks after the day we bought it, we were out camping and finding those pesky little issues.

 

[etcmss]

Is there a Heartland contact that us owners can discuss quality improvement with?

For those owners that have factory tour experience "did you see PPI testing?"

 

[donr827]

If you have a good dealer that you purchased the trailer from they would do a GOOD pdi before delivery. The dealer that I purchased from did a extensive pdi which he showed the list to me. I got to the dealer 2 days before scheduled delivery. He worked on the pdi for a full day. He checked every water connection, filled all tanks with water to check for leaks, operation of six point system, all the appliances, and much more. He found loose water connection, loose wire connections, adjusted a few compartment doors, and more. They were not the cheapest dealer when it came to the price of the trailer but they do good work.
Don

 

['Lil Guy']

I purchased a New 2016 3270RS in June and before leaving for our trip to Alaska I noticed leaking water tank trough the under carriage. Slector valve for city water is leaking and over filling tank. So why is it overflowing out the under carriage and not the over flow tube? So the entire trip I have had to fill tank and use the water pump. I called the factory to talk about warranty issues and as soon as I get home in Boise area I will get issues looked at.
So far there is a list a mile long I have that should have not happened. Most are quality issues from the factory that I see as very disappointing seeing that I purchased the Bighorn as to be a top of the line unit. I will have more comments in the future...

..I"d sure like to hear about the other issues you have encountered on your 3270RS. I have a deposit on our new BH due in the 1st part of October and don't want to pay for a bunch of problems. If I see a bunch of problems at the PDI, I'll give up my deposit and keep the 'Lil Guy". We've been really lucky on our 1st 2 units and I'll give this one a chance. But, if a lot of issues raise their heads at the PDI, good chance there are more waiting to happen. If that happens, we'll lose our deposit and I'll buy the sofa and recliners we want for the 'LG'. Now with that said, we really want this new rig to be a good one and will give it every chance. I expect some drippy plumbing and the likes. John will have everything opened up and checked when we get there and he'll go through it with us before he closes it up. So for now, I'm going to quit worrying and stay positive. However, I would like to hear of every issue people have had so I can look for them the best that I can.
So again, what are your other issues?

 

[kowAlski631]

Is there a Heartland contact that us owners can discuss quality improvement with?

For those owners that have factory tour experience "did you see PPI testing?"

Our tour was not when workers were present. I would think that people on tour during production could create a liability exposure to Heartland and to their insurance companies. I know our tour included the ability to closely examine frames waiting for construction as well as units in varying states of completion.

Martha

 

[codycarver]

If you have a good dealer that you purchased the trailer from they would do a GOOD pdi before delivery. The dealer that I purchased from did a extensive pdi which he showed the list to me. I got to the dealer 2 days before scheduled delivery. He worked on the pdi for a full day. He checked every water connection, filled all tanks with water to check for leaks, operation of six point system, all the appliances, and much more. He found loose water connection, loose wire connections, adjusted a few compartment doors, and more. They were not the cheapest dealer when it came to the price of the trailer but they do good work.
Don

Our experience was much the same. When I arrived to take delivery our trailer it was hooked up to 50 amp service, a/c running, tv on, water heater on, ect, ect. The man doing the delivery took me from front to back around the outside explaining all that was done and what should be checked regularly. Then we went inside and the same thing. I found a few minnor things that were taken care of. Since then we have had no quailty issues with our trailer. I think a proper PDI by the Dealer goes along way to a satisfied customer.

- - - Updated - - -

..I"d sure like to hear about the other issues you have encountered on your 3270RS. I have a deposit on our new BH due in the 1st part of October and don't want to pay for a bunch of problems. If I see a bunch of problems at the PDI, I'll give up my deposit and keep the 'Lil Guy". We've been really lucky on our 1st 2 units and I'll give this one a chance. But, if a lot of issues raise their heads at the PDI, good chance there are more waiting to happen. If that happens, we'll lose our deposit and I'll buy the sofa and recliners we want for the 'LG'. Now with that said, we really want this new rig to be a good one and will give it every chance. I expect some drippy plumbing and the likes. John will have everything opened up and checked when we get there and he'll go through it with us before he closes it up. So for now, I'm going to quit worrying and stay positive. However, I would like to hear of every issue people have had so I can look for them the best that I can.
So again, what are your other issues?

Were the first two purchased from the same dealer?

 

[jbeletti]

Is there a Heartland contact that us owners can discuss quality improvement with?

For those owners that have factory tour experience "did you see PPI testing?"

I think your best contact is to call and speak to the GM for a particular brand. He has ta large vested interest in his plant putting out a high quality product. While he does not run the plant, he has influence at a higher level. Heartland's main number is 574-262-5992. Anyone can call and ask to speak to the Brand Manager / General Manager for any brand.

By PPI, do you mean PDI (Pre-Delivery Inspection)?

 

[etcmss]

Yes PPI is PDI. Pre Purchase Inspection Pre Delivery Inspection to me the same.
So Jim Do the Heartland Managers read this forum? And have you heard of any improvements as a result of the owners forum?
Gary

 

['Lil Guy']

Dave, I'm getting it from the same dealer as the other two. I've already been in touch with the guy that gets it ready. In the past I have given him a $100.00 on the sly and will do it again. He seems to go above and beyond and I know he could use the extra money. They don't pay him much. He does a thorough job and points out all the problems he encounters getting it ready. This rig is going to be our 42nd wedding anniversary gift to ourselves. Sure like to get it right and hoping this will be our best rig yet.
A little nervous and excited at the same time waiting for delivery.

 

[danemayer]

Good plan Frank. I've found that a big thank you and a case of beer also go a long way with the service team.

 

[codycarver]

Dave, I'm getting it from the same dealer as the other two. I've already been in touch with the guy that gets it ready. In the past I have given him a $100.00 on the sly and will do it again. He seems to go above and beyond and I know he could use the extra money. They don't pay him much. He does a thorough job and points out all the problems he encounters getting it ready. This rig is going to be our 42nd wedding anniversary gift to ourselves. Sure like to get it right and hoping this will be our best rig yet.
A little nervous and excited at the same time waiting for delivery.

Your other two worked out fine so I'd expect the same with this one. I think the dealer PDI has a huge impact on the users exprience.

BTW.....can't wait to see what you replace the Bighorn with next spring.

 

[justafordguy]

I think the dealer PDI has a huge impact on the users experience.

I agree 100%.

Our PDI earlier this year on our Gateway was a huge joke and only lasted 10 minutes, but thank goodness I know way more about this stuff than the dealer does and knew what issues to look for. The Gateway has been a great unit so far with very few issues.

 

[danemayer]

I notice that PDI is used pretty broadly to represent two different things. The dealer is responsible for checking out the RV before you step into it. Then they're also responsible for showing you how everything works.

In theory, they should catch most problems and fix them before you even see the RV. But some dealers to better than others.

RVIA training for techs includes a module on Pre-Delivery Inspection (before the customer sees the RV). The training document is 115 pages long. Their sample checklist has around 300 items.

I have no doubt that if a dealer actually followed RVIA recommendations, we'd have far fewer warranty issues showing up after taking delivery.

And of course this is all completely separate from the walk-through where they explain how everything is operated.