Problems with new Heartland Sundance

[papote611]

Hi, I'm new to this forum.

I purchased a 2013 Heartland Sundance last October and have been having nothing but problems with the unit. First when I picked it up, found that the entertainment system did not work correctly, turned out to be a bad wire. We went out camping for the first time and found multiple water leaks from the toilet, kitchen sink, water heater, and inside the service areas that I have no access to. Also had problems with the toilet flushing correctly. Dealer fixed all leak and had to replace black tank to correct toilet flushing problem.(Heartland left vent to tank to long and was not venting the gases). Picked up the trailer from service to find another water leak from the outside shower which has now also been repaired.
I am doubting Heartland quality and I'm concerned that maybe this is going to be a money pit after the warranty expires.
Called Heartland this morning but nothing was achieved and I feel that they are washing their hands with this trailer. They offered no support and just blamed dealer for not finding the problem before delivery. Dealer blames Heartland for all the issues.
I think the quality of the Heartland is not there. I feel that my trailer was poorly assembled and very little care was put into it...

I don't know what to do?

Thanks for nothing Heartland! Will never consider buying another of your products again!

 

[jimtoo]

Hi papote611,

Welcome to the Heartland Owners Forum and to the family. We have a great bunch of folks here with lots of information and all willing to share their knowledge when needed.

Did you do a PDI before you picked it up? The dealer is supposed to check everything about the unit before delivery and then the buyer should do a PDI so that anything found not working or leaking can be repaired before you take possession of it. When you do a PDI the unit should be hooked up and everything turned on and check for operation and leaks. It is not unusual for a unit to have leaks when new after being transported for the first time due to the shaking and bouncing.

What were you expecting Heartland to do if all the leaks and problems have been fixed?

Now that everything is working,, take it out and enjoy your new toy. Join us at a rally when you can and meet lots of other Heartland owners.

Jim M

 

[danemayer]

Hi papote611,

I'm concerned that maybe this is going to be a money pit after the warranty expires.

I agree with Jim's recommendation. Now that the early-life warranty problems have been corrected, enjoy your RV.

Since you're concerned about future expenses, you might want to look into "extended warranties" from 3rd parties. We bought a 3 year policy from Good Sam and had occasion to use it during the 3rd year to pay for a very expensive refrigerator repair. Policy coverages and deductibles vary a lot, so read the fine print carefully.

To minimize the possibility of future repair expenses, you'll also want to review the maintenance schedule in your trailer manual. Sometimes people read the manual only after a problem crops up and they're surprised. Lack of maintenance can result in expensive problems.

 

[gvtahoe88]

Hi, I'm new to this forum.

I purchased a 2013 Heartland Sundance last October and have been having nothing but problems with the unit. First when I picked it up, found that the entertainment system did not work correctly, turned out to be a bad wire. We went out camping for the first time and found multiple water leaks from the toilet, kitchen sink, water heater, and inside the service areas that I have no access to. Also had problems with the toilet flushing correctly. Dealer fixed all leak and had to replace black tank to correct toilet flushing problem.(Heartland left vent to tank to long and was not venting the gases). Picked up the trailer from service to find another water leak from the outside shower which has now also been repaired.
I am doubting Heartland quality and I'm concerned that maybe this is going to be a money pit after the warranty expires.
Called Heartland this morning but nothing was achieved and I feel that they are washing their hands with this trailer. They offered no support and just blamed dealer for not finding the problem before delivery. Dealer blames Heartland for all the issues.
I think the quality of the Heartland is not there. I feel that my trailer was poorly assembled and very little care was put into it...

I don't know what to do?

Thanks for nothing Heartland! Will never consider buying another of your products again!

Everyone wants to blame the dealer and the PDI but they should not have to rebuild these units from the get go!!!!!

 

[ncrzrbk]

I had a couple small issues with my Sundance and the dealer repaired them. Since then. I have no issues. Heartland was easy to work with. Sorry for your problems but I think the Sundance is well made for the price point. My 3400QB has been enjoyable. I didn't have any water leaks but had a small blank tank leak at the valve.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

 

[iawoody2]

We picked up our new Sundance last May and took a week long shakedown trip. When we returned went to the dealer with a list of things to fix, mostly cosmetic. Everything was fixed and have had no problems since. Are currently in Atlanta on our way to Florida. It was 27 last night and we where very comfortable. Just hang in there and enjoy your travels.

 

[Birchwood]

What you are experiencing is normal and unless the government intervenes to improve the quality of these RVs these annoying warranty issues will continue.These RV manufacturers should not get away with poor workmanship especially when it involves poor quality tires and unbalanced wheels.

 

[papote611]

Thank you for all of your replies and comments, so to answer some of the questions and comments:
I also forgot to mentioned that the bedroom window also needed to be replaced due to a gap that the dealer could not fix. Do you think this is good quality? I'm afraid to look at the wiring!

Jimtoo
1- I did do a PDI, but this is my first RV so I really did not know what to look for. Also the trailer was hooked up to electrical and water but we just briefly ran the water, My PDI took no more than 1 hour.
2- I expected Heartland to own up to their poor quality and lack of care during the manufacturing of the trailer. I know they manufacture thousands of trailers a year, but that is still not an excuse to manufacture poor quality, specially when they claim to be a top notch brand. I guess what I would have like to hear was that they would honor a small extension of the warranty to offset the time I have not been able to use the trailer due to their lack of care. I had to cancelled two trips du t all these problems.

Danemayer
1- I did purchase an extended warranty, but it carries a $100 deductible. I don't mind to pay it, if its only once o twice. My trailer has been in the shop more than five time since October.

Birchwod
Its sad to expect our government to step in to resolve quality issues with American companies, that should come from pride of the "made in the USA". I buy domestic as much as I can, but it's a reality that due to lack of quality or lack of care, the USA product are considered inferior in comparison to imports.

Anyway, Thanks for looking at my complaint, I needed to vent. I'm planning another trip in the next week or two, will update how the repair held up and or if get any more problems..

Best regards,

Lorenzo

 

[DonnyB007]

When we got our trailer, we did a thorough PDI and filmed the whole thing. I read all the manuals before the PDI. After the PDI, we took our trailer out for a four-day camping trip and picked out a few other things that the dealer fixed or I did. Then we took off on our 4 month summer trip discovering a defective leaking water pump. In the city we were at, we were given top priority and the pump was fixed the next morning. We also had a big hitch failure problem, but was really well dealt with by giving me a whole new hitch by Husky.

One other thing was that I found, screws, scrap metal, lots of saw dust and a badly kinked pipe, when I had to get the kitchen drawers out. This shows that they must be in a huge hurry getting these trailers out the door in two days. It sounds like they need to slow down a bit to keep better quality.

This will be our second summer with our new trailer and are thoroughly enjoying it. I think with so many things and so much technology, you have to expect some things are not going to work right. Anyway, good luck to you and happy trails.

 

[olcoon]

Lorenzo,
One thing to keep in mind is that your coach had to travel from Elkhart, IN to your dealer in CA. That is a long haul, and during the trip I'm sure that some things vibrated loose (the water leaks), and possibly some other issues. Also RV transporters don't have a good reputation (I'm not blaming them, per se) of treating the rigs they haul with kid gloves, or like it was their own. The first national rally we went to in Goshen in 2011 we were refueling, and there was a transporter in front of us, with a travel trailer. When he pulled away from the pump, too fast, he turned too sharp, and the tires of the TT hit the concrete island & it jumped up in the air, if it'd have gone much further I think it would have turned over. Before ours was delivered, I found the forum, and read every post on here…took a long time, but I really got an education. I'd never owned an RV before. One of the first things I did was to check all of the screw on connections on the water lines, and found several loose. We had some issues with ours in the first year of owning it, and all of them were taken care of. No matter who makes a rig, and what level their workmanship, or quality control is, they all have to hire from the human race, and we as humans will make mistakes. As I've read on here several times...one thing to remember is the condo on wheels we are pulling around is a rolling earthquake. We have to constantly check things and fix things. For me, it's a labor of love, because we have developed a love of the RVing lifestyle, and the people we have met in our travels! I hope you get these issues taken care of so you can enjoy your investment. In my opinion, which is shared by many Heartland owners, is that Heartland is a good company & puts out good products. When it's time to upgrade, we'll stick with Heartland!

 

[donr827]

A good PDI by the dealer should take quite a few hours if done by a good dealer. Mine checked every water fitting, filled all of the holding tanks, ran air conditioner, fridge, and water heater in every position, checked the caulking. etc. I did the same thing when I did my PDI. These are things that you learn from experience. When you buy your next RV it will be a much better experience. I check all the water fittings, caulking etc several times a year.
Don

 

[cookie]

I check all the water fittings, caulking etc several times a year. Don

Same here. Just routine maintenance.

Peace
Dave

 

[clubmgr]

Lorenzo,
One thing to keep in mind is that your coach had to travel from Elkhart, IN to your dealer in CA. That is a long haul, and during the trip I'm sure that some things vibrated loose (the water leaks), and possibly some other issues. Also RV transporters don't have a good reputation (I'm not blaming them, per se) of treating the rigs they haul with kid gloves, or like it was their own. The first national rally we went to in Goshen in 2011 we were refueling, and there was a transporter in front of us, with a travel trailer. When he pulled away from the pump, too fast, he turned too sharp, and the tires of the TT hit the concrete island & it jumped up in the air, if it'd have gone much further I think it would have turned over. Before ours was delivered, I found the forum, and read every post on here…took a long time, but I really got an education. I'd never owned an RV before. One of the first things I did was to check all of the screw on connections on the water lines, and found several loose. We had some issues with ours in the first year of owning it, and all of them were taken care of. No matter who makes a rig, and what level their workmanship, or quality control is, they all have to hire from the human race, and we as humans will make mistakes. As I've read on here several times...one thing to remember is the condo on wheels we are pulling around is a rolling earthquake. We have to constantly check things and fix things. For me, it's a labor of love, because we have developed a love of the RVing lifestyle, and the people we have met in our travels! I hope you get these issues taken care of so you can enjoy your investment. In my opinion, which is shared by many Heartland owners, is that Heartland is a good company & puts out good products. When it's time to upgrade, we'll stick with Heartland!

You are right on the money, Roy. If we ever buy a new rig, it will be a Heartland.

 

[MTPockets]

What you are experiencing is normal and unless the government intervenes to improve the quality of these RVs these annoying warranty issues will continue.These RV manufacturers should not get away with poor workmanship especially when it involves poor quality tires and unbalanced wheels.

My gosh, we don't need more Government in this!

 

[kakampers]

A good PDI by the dealer should take quite a few hours if done by a good dealer. Mine checked every water fitting, filled all of the holding tanks, ran air conditioner, fridge, and water heater in every position, checked the caulking. etc. I did the same thing when I did my PDI. These are things that you learn from experience. When you buy your next RV it will be a much better experience. I check all the water fittings, caulking etc several times a year.
Don

Exactly! Our dealer gave us our own Tech for the ENTIRE day...however long it took to go through the unit and move all our belongings from one to the other. He was instructed to go over every fitting, connection, etc., and to repair anything we found on the spot..which he did. He also voluntarily moved our stained glass window from one front door to the other. He didn't have to hurry as he didn't need to work on anything but our rig and he made sure EVERYTHING was perfect before we pulled out.

We've been in it over a year now and there has been no issue concerning connections, fittings, wiring...nothing! The ceiling fan and the flame motor in the fireplace died...but these were things he would not have known. Heartland sent us a new ceiling fan and flame motor which we replaced...we have never had to return to ANY dealer.

That's how a PDI should be done...an hour and out the door is a joke! Should there have been problems from the factory...no, but as others said, it's kinda like having to tighten lug nuts after the first 500 miles on your tires...things shake loose during transit and the PDI is suppose to catch those issues.

 

[JohnD]

Re: Problems with new Heartland . . .

We had several issues with our 2013 Trail Runner that took five trips to the dealership, but they were all mostly taken care of.

And most of the issues we had were fairly minor compared to some that I've read about here in the forums.

That being said . . . our RV's are not a $50 pair of headphones, a $250 smart phone (before $200 rebate ), or a $500 digital camera!

These are our vacation homes on wheels that we pay tens of thousands of dollars for . . . many of us paying for them over a 10-15 year time frame!

It shouldn't be wrong for us to expect to get a good quality product (Towmax Tires???) and good quality service when we need it!

And personally . . . since these things cost as much (if not more) than an automobile, it sure would be nice if we got at least half as good of a warranty as we do on our vehicles!

Two to three years would be more like it for those of us who don't live full time in our RV's as we can't find all of the issues in three or four weekend outings during the summer months.

I know many here seem to think that these things would be too cost prohibitive and would make many purchasers turn elsewhere . . .

However . . . I don't believe this to be true!

As an example . . . I didn't expect to have to spend $1500 on a new set of tires for a brand new RV that has brand new tires that should have lasted me five or six years (if not longer).

I would have gladly spent the extra dollars at purchase to have good tires put on in the first place had I known then what I know now about the tires that not only Heartland, but my dealership, told me were good!

Now, my Blowmax tires are still on my trailer and still look like new (around 3,000 miles on them since it was manufactured), but after reading what I have about them, I'm scared to death to even pull it to the tire store that is only about two miles away!

Anyway, is it wrong for us to expect NOT to have to spend so much time at our dealerships during the first year trying to beat out the clock when we should be out using our brand new RV's instead?

And yes . . . we did get the extended warranty . . . however, we all know it is not the same as the manufacturer's warranty!

All that being said . . . we love our new trailer and will probably get another Heartland product next time around . . . probably 10-15 years from now!

 

[GrumpyOneandTwo]

Re: Problems with new Heartland . . .

Without a doubt, PDI's, vary from dealer to dealer. When we went to pick up our Gateway we were given a PDI tech ( I use this term loosely). He had only been at the dealer for a few months. He knew less about the RV than we did. He told us that he would show us everything first, and then we could ask questions!!!! I tried to write questions down but that proved impossible When he was finished I had remembered only a few questions. One was where was the cable & satellite connection, as I didn't see them on the walk through. He said "What cable and satellite connection? You don't get them on this RV." I said yes we do. Let's go find them! Of course we found them in the UDC He said "I didn't know they were in there. Then on the inside he showed me how to fix the refrigerator door for traveling. (I knew at this point he was sort of...lost ???) In the bedroom I asked where can I mount a TV? He said to put Velcro on the dresser top and put the tv there. The best is yet to come.....

When we got ready to leave we put the slides in and was getting ready to hook to it when a salesman with another customer came over and said that the off door slide didn't go all he way in. I went to get a service rep and they said they would bring it back in and adjust it After an hour or so they came back and said they would have to keep it. So we drove the 90 miles back home. They got it "adjusted" the next week and we went back to get it. When we got there I still wasn't convinced it was right. I went and got the service manager (who is no longer at this dealer). He said, and I quote,......."If you aren't satisfied with this RV, take it home and let a tree fall on it." Shirley and I, to this day, didn't know if he was kidding or not!!!!!!

So you see, a dealer is only as good as his employee's training and attitude!!!!!!!

Thanks for letting me vent a little!

Mike

 

[sengli]

The thing is they build these units in like two days, from bare frame to out the door. They slap these things together so fast it is crazy. Its no wonder things get overlooked.

 

[gvtahoe88]

The thing is they build these units in like two days, from bare frame to out the door. They slap these things together so fast it is crazy. Its no wonder things get overlooked.

Amen to that bro!!!

 

[BobX2]

Sometimes you can't cover everything during the PDI. When we did ours a week or so ago, it was 12° F and the unit was completely winterized. Won't be checking the waterlines or A/C until spring. The exterior walk around was on the rather quick side as well. Exterior locks were frozen so I didn't realize until the next day that I didn't have my crank to manually operate the slide or landing gear. I do know the furnace does work very well.<o></o>