We recently purchased a Heartland Fuel 287 from Camping World in Texas. We have only had this unit for 15 months. Last month in August, 2022, my husband climbed up to do his customary inspection on the roof and camper to find the sealant had given way in the front on both sides and the roof membrane was now retracted back from the sides. We immediately called Camping World and took the unit to the Alvarado TX location. Approximately 10 days later they called to inform us that although this was apparent manufacturer issue with lack of proper sealant application, Heartland's warranty will not honor or cover the repair. When contacting Heartland Warranty in Elkhart IN we were informed that the sealant was not properly maintained and the integrity of their product was in essense not to be questioned.
I was asked if i had a copy of the policy, i said no this was not provided to us nor explained to us. However, when i offered to obtain pictures of other Fuel roofs for obvious comparison to the seam of putty dispursement on other units in comparison to ours which were what appeared to be dots of thin putty, i was informed that we must inspect the unit within the first 90 days and maintenance the sealant. However, we have been inspecting this sealant which is how we were able to immediately identify the defect and issue, hence taking it to Camping World.
The Manufacturer Warranty of 1 / 3 year for workmanship and product quality along with quality of products used for such an important part of the structure is now falling back on us as the purchasers to have to pay out of pocket for. Then to add insult to injury per inspection of the roof by the service technicians at Camping World it is clear that at the manufacturers level the rubber on the front of the roof was torn and clearly pushed back under to hide.
What can we do to be made whole again for a new Fuel that we have only used 5 times and inspected, maintained and watched more frequently than others have in this forum. Had we had not been so diligent on our continued inspections we would have not caught this defect and potentially solid structure permanent loss? Honestly, this is agreecious and what would fall under a violation of the Federal Trade Commission Act.
I was asked if i had a copy of the policy, i said no this was not provided to us nor explained to us. However, when i offered to obtain pictures of other Fuel roofs for obvious comparison to the seam of putty dispursement on other units in comparison to ours which were what appeared to be dots of thin putty, i was informed that we must inspect the unit within the first 90 days and maintenance the sealant. However, we have been inspecting this sealant which is how we were able to immediately identify the defect and issue, hence taking it to Camping World.
The Manufacturer Warranty of 1 / 3 year for workmanship and product quality along with quality of products used for such an important part of the structure is now falling back on us as the purchasers to have to pay out of pocket for. Then to add insult to injury per inspection of the roof by the service technicians at Camping World it is clear that at the manufacturers level the rubber on the front of the roof was torn and clearly pushed back under to hide.
What can we do to be made whole again for a new Fuel that we have only used 5 times and inspected, maintained and watched more frequently than others have in this forum. Had we had not been so diligent on our continued inspections we would have not caught this defect and potentially solid structure permanent loss? Honestly, this is agreecious and what would fall under a violation of the Federal Trade Commission Act.
