One day old 2017 Oakmont 385 QB Hydraulic failure

[Ezekiel2214]

I need some input on what to do this situation. My wife and I just bought and picked up this 5th well from Wade's RV in Glenpool, Ok near Tulsa. We towed it home yesterday (4+ hours). During the walk-through, the tech had some problems getting the slides and the auto leveling to complete. He said the hydraulic fluid level was just low and had to refill it 4 or 5 times. There was also a funky smell, we mentioned this several times, he could not figure out where it was coming from and he tested the gas to make sure of no leaks. We heard a loud noise, like water rushing or air and it was right when we were bringing in the slides. it was raining that day and wet everywhere, so the tech blamed it on the air conditioners that had been running and condensation falling off the roof. Turns out after we got it home the smell was a hydraulic leak, and I believe the sound we heard was something blowing. Either a line or pump on one of the slides I believe. So now we are home and after hours of driving, (we have been up there twice already) the fluid is leaking all over our driveway and there is a flap that was cut into the bottom of the tarp material that is hanging down. The slides don't work and we now have a one day old "new" trailer that is broken. What are the return laws, is there a lemon law for trailers? What would you do in this situation, should I ask for money off of the asking price? Should I just get rid of it? Needless to say, this is a huge bummer and we are very dissapointed. I am military and just have a few weeks before we move to California. I also have a very large family, i.e.: lots of little kids. We are getting close to being under a time crunch for this move and we will be in this 5th wheel while we look for a house or wait for a house on base. This could be up to a year I'm being told. So, we bought a new 5th wheel in order to avoid any issues like this. Thanks for any input.

 

[danemayer]

Hi Ezekiel2214,

Welcome to the Heartland Owners Forum. It's awful to hear dealer stories like this. The tech obviously knew when adding hydraulic fluid repeatedly that there was a bad leak.

I'd suggest that tomorrow morning you call Heartland Customer Service at 877-262-8032 / 574-262-8030. Have your VIN # ready.

Explain what's happened and ask their help to either point you to a local dealer, a local independent or a mobile repair service that can fix the leak without making you wait. The servicer should inspect all of the hoses and fittings while doing the repair. Heartland is usually pretty good about authorizing non-dealer service, but it does have to be pre-authorized.

And Heartland needs to understand what your selling dealership did.

 

[Ezekiel2214]

We called Heartland first, they were willing to call out mobile service for this which is great. We also called our bank in case we needed to put a stop on the payment. We didn't know what to expect from the dealer, so we wanted to be prepared. Thankfully the dealer responded amazingly to our situation. Part of the reason we chose that dealership, which was so far away is because they had great ratings. The owner called us back and they are sending a driver to make the 4 hour trip and pick up our trailer, take it back, fix it and bring it back to is. They didn't want to use a mobile repair and offered to do it themselves, with the owner overseeing the fix to make sure it's done right. I think this is great, there are a bunch of horror stories online when I started reading up on what to do, but this dealership is upfront and honest. The tech that had done the walk through with us called as well and apologized, telling us he should have caught it. I just gained a huge amount of respect for them with the way they handled this. They should have it back to us in about a week and thanks for your input!

 

[Oregon_Camper]

Glad to head the dealer is stepping up and fixing the issue....and sending their driver to get the trailer is some of the best service I've heard of.

Now...while you wait for the driver to arrive, I HIGHLY (and I mean HIGHLY!!) recommend you do your own Pre-Delivery Inspection. You can search the internet for one, or simply click on the link in my signature to download mine. This will take you about 4 hours to complete. I'm guessing you will find other small issues, and you might as well have the dealer take care of them while they they have the trailer back at their facility.