Sick of Heartland Big Horn! Worst purchase we have ever made
- Thread starter Georgia_Biker
- Start date
SeattleLion
Well-known member
Both of our Dometic AC's failed too. They were replaced by our dealer without further ado. Unlike the cheerleaders you often find on forums like this, I share your concerns about Heartland build quality. I am happy to say that after a very long list of repairs the first year, things have settled down and we are enjoying our coach. Even "Trailer Life" in a Heartland review pointed out the large number of defects. This isn't due to poor quality components. I think Heartland sources very good stuff. it's due to a very bad workforce and horrid quality control. Maybe one day they will learn that spending more on QC is actually cheaper than paying for all those warranty repairs.
By the way, one poster mentioned that the trailer is in a "rolling earthquake" as an excuse for the problems. Poster, does your tow vehicle keep falling apart? It's in the same "rolling earthquake" as the trailer.
Once I decided that I like my Bighorn because of the design and high quality components, I resigned myself to the fact that until they start building trailers somewhere that workers care what they do, we will continue to suffer through endless warranty work. So, I am a fan, just a grumpy one.
By the way, one poster mentioned that the trailer is in a "rolling earthquake" as an excuse for the problems. Poster, does your tow vehicle keep falling apart? It's in the same "rolling earthquake" as the trailer.
Once I decided that I like my Bighorn because of the design and high quality components, I resigned myself to the fact that until they start building trailers somewhere that workers care what they do, we will continue to suffer through endless warranty work. So, I am a fan, just a grumpy one.
SeattleLion
Well-known member
It doesn't???? Wow, you didn't order any options. Actually, my tow vehicle has plumbing for flammable fuel, oil, coolant, air conditioning gas/liquid, windshield washer fluid, brake fluid, transmission fluid, power steering fluid and lots of other things that if they break the way Heartland trailers fail, would kill us all.
A bit tongue-in-cheek here but walk around any parking lot and look at the various fluid stains on the parking lot - for that matter walk around the neighborhood and see the stains on the driveways. Leaks do occur. If you go to 'thedieselstop' web site (Fords) or 'Turbodiesel' stop (RAM), you will see numerous posts about radiator leaks, oil leaks and some A/C and Power Steering issues as well. However, just like our site, FAR MORE units have limited or no problems yet few of those people post. They lurk (not a bad thing) on the web until something peaks their interest and knowledge; at that time they jump in to help us. My thanks to them.
So does that excuse Heartland, or any other manufacturer of any product, from making a quality product that should require minimal warranty returns, absolutely not. As you mentioned, they MUST improve their QC - hopefully before we, the customer, become so disgruntled that we go elsewhere. In economic terms there are substitutes out there and we will move on! Off my soapbox.
So does that excuse Heartland, or any other manufacturer of any product, from making a quality product that should require minimal warranty returns, absolutely not. As you mentioned, they MUST improve their QC - hopefully before we, the customer, become so disgruntled that we go elsewhere. In economic terms there are substitutes out there and we will move on! Off my soapbox.
2psnapod2
Texas-South Chapter Leaders-Retired
And if you look at just about every one of those things, they all leak. Also comparing the cost of my truck and my RV, I did pay more for my Tow Vehicle. And my RV was not cheap. So your remarks still do not hold up. I would like for you to put any house on wheels and drive it down the road even 5 miles and I bet you would have major repairs. And that is comparing apples to apples.
If an employee gets fired or decides to leave the Heartland assembly line, chances are that next week he/she will be on the line building Montana's for Keystone.
It's my opinion that a person would not be any better off going elsewhere.
And they would not have this great forum and Heartland Family.
Peace
Dave
Oregon_Camper
Well-known member
^ ^ ^ ...agreed x2
Georgia_Biker
Well-known member
If ya'll have forgotten I am the poor guy that started this thread sometime back. During this time my Big Horn is still in the shop for repairs. I did ask to borrow it for the weekend and they patched it up so we could use it but, after the trip and stopping by my house and unloading the refrigerator I took it back to my RV repair shop. The replacement wood parts are supposed to be in this week. A decision from Heartland warranty coverage is still pending. I am looking at about $2500, - mostly labor - not parts - and to add insult to injury we discovered over the weekend the door of the refrigerator was damaged during removal for the icemaker line repair. Not Heartlands fault - but if the icemaker line had been properly installed the water damage and door damage would not have occurred and we would be somewhere camping,
In reading many comments on this thread I know many of you have had good luck and don't understand my frustration, and some of you just are understanding and accept it, to me I think Heartland builds these things in high production with a minimum of cost to amplify profits, and accept a certain amount of Warranty as the cost of doing business. The best Quality thing Heartland has going for it is the Heartland Owners Club and for that I am greatful and to have a forum to express my feelings - it's a shame the factory is not pro active from feedback in trying to improve Quality Control.
A I have stated this was my second Heartand purchase and last.
In reading many comments on this thread I know many of you have had good luck and don't understand my frustration, and some of you just are understanding and accept it, to me I think Heartland builds these things in high production with a minimum of cost to amplify profits, and accept a certain amount of Warranty as the cost of doing business. The best Quality thing Heartland has going for it is the Heartland Owners Club and for that I am greatful and to have a forum to express my feelings - it's a shame the factory is not pro active from feedback in trying to improve Quality Control.
A I have stated this was my second Heartand purchase and last.
Bones
Well-known member
Larry,
I'm sorry for your issues but this brand is not the only brand having issues with the refrigerator. Another Popular manufacture having issues is Forest River Cardinal line as well. It got so bad that the owners have actually permanently cut the line to the refrigerator because the dealership couldn't get it fixed. They have had other problems as well over the last 2 years.
All I am saying and I am not defending is that I don't think this issue is exclusive to Heartland.
JohnD
Moved on to the next thing...
Had a mobile tech from our dealership here yesterday working on the trailer and as he was looking at our refrigerator where the top two mounting screws keep falling out of the wall he was telling me some fridge horror stories he's seen.
Basically, he told me that he has worked on lots of high end RV's of all brands and types (including monster motor homes) where he has found that the refrigerators were put into place but never bolted in and has seen a couple that the fridge just fell out while traveling or when the kitchen slide was put out.
Makes me feel bad complaining about the small things we have been having issues with.
Interestingly, I mentioned my theory (which I've posted here but most here don't agree with me) that from what I have read here and on other RV chats, it seems that the big major warranty problems with RV's more often than not seem to come from RV's that were special ordered and not RV's purchased off of a dealers lot.
He said that he had never thought about it that way before, but now that I mentioned it he thought there might be some truth to my theory from his own experiences.
Footnote:
Again . . . just my own theory and no math or scientific research was used or wasted to come to my conclusion.
Basically, he told me that he has worked on lots of high end RV's of all brands and types (including monster motor homes) where he has found that the refrigerators were put into place but never bolted in and has seen a couple that the fridge just fell out while traveling or when the kitchen slide was put out.
Makes me feel bad complaining about the small things we have been having issues with.
Interestingly, I mentioned my theory (which I've posted here but most here don't agree with me) that from what I have read here and on other RV chats, it seems that the big major warranty problems with RV's more often than not seem to come from RV's that were special ordered and not RV's purchased off of a dealers lot.
He said that he had never thought about it that way before, but now that I mentioned it he thought there might be some truth to my theory from his own experiences.
Footnote:
Again . . . just my own theory and no math or scientific research was used or wasted to come to my conclusion.
kowAlski631
Well-known member
Larry,
I think everyone on the forum can understand your disappointment and frustration. You make a large purchase and expect everything to be perfect. When your expectations fall far short in reality of course you're angry.
Yes, it's difficult for many owners on the forum to relate to your feelings because we haven't experienced both a.c. units and a refrigerator's icemaker to go sideways in just a few months time. The a.c. unit failures were felt across the entire industry using those units, so not isolated to Heartland.
Manufacturer's side: Yep, the goal for all companies no matter the size is to build or produce services at as low a cost as possible to produce profit. Yep, potential warranty claims per unit produced are factored into calculations. Now the hopes are that there will be no warranty claims, but they happen. I've also read that there is a severe shortage of qualified experienced workers in the Elkhart area which leads to the building errors all the manufacturers are experiencing. Keep in mind that each warranty claim has to be examined six ways from Sunday to determine if the fault lies with Heartland, a supplier, the purchaser (results of misuse, abuse, or accident), or even the dealer.
Purchaser's side: I've done a lot of research, purchased an expensive TV, and either plunked down a chunk of money or signed a bunch of papers committing me to a bunch of payments for a trailer. Is it too much to ask for a trailer with no problems that I can just enjoy?
I'm certain that Heartland doesn't intentionally build defective units in the hope that problems won't be found until the warranty period is long gone - no manufacturer of any product does because their reputation is on the line - reputation for shoddy goods = sales falling into a death spiral.
If you're not in conversation directly already with Heartland about your issues, I'd suggest you do so. We hope that all gets resolved soon and that you're able to have some good times with your trailer.
Safe travels, Martha
I think everyone on the forum can understand your disappointment and frustration. You make a large purchase and expect everything to be perfect. When your expectations fall far short in reality of course you're angry.
Yes, it's difficult for many owners on the forum to relate to your feelings because we haven't experienced both a.c. units and a refrigerator's icemaker to go sideways in just a few months time. The a.c. unit failures were felt across the entire industry using those units, so not isolated to Heartland.
Manufacturer's side: Yep, the goal for all companies no matter the size is to build or produce services at as low a cost as possible to produce profit. Yep, potential warranty claims per unit produced are factored into calculations. Now the hopes are that there will be no warranty claims, but they happen. I've also read that there is a severe shortage of qualified experienced workers in the Elkhart area which leads to the building errors all the manufacturers are experiencing. Keep in mind that each warranty claim has to be examined six ways from Sunday to determine if the fault lies with Heartland, a supplier, the purchaser (results of misuse, abuse, or accident), or even the dealer.
Purchaser's side: I've done a lot of research, purchased an expensive TV, and either plunked down a chunk of money or signed a bunch of papers committing me to a bunch of payments for a trailer. Is it too much to ask for a trailer with no problems that I can just enjoy?
I'm certain that Heartland doesn't intentionally build defective units in the hope that problems won't be found until the warranty period is long gone - no manufacturer of any product does because their reputation is on the line - reputation for shoddy goods = sales falling into a death spiral.
If you're not in conversation directly already with Heartland about your issues, I'd suggest you do so. We hope that all gets resolved soon and that you're able to have some good times with your trailer.
Safe travels, Martha
mlpeloquin
Well-known member
Georga_Biker,
Heartland is trying to understand where manufacturing problems are occurring. They have built a new large building that is used to inspect a selection of rigs off the assembly line. They have their best most experienced techs go through each one to find manufacturing problems so that assembly problems can be nipped in the bud. They are striving to have the dealers not to have to do warranty work on manufacturing problems. They cannot help the suppliers defects via infantile death of a product like your AC units. It does take time to get manufacturing problems out of the units, but they are spending money proactively to do so and want to do so. And finally I hope they don't have a disgruntled employee. It only takes one in a short period of time to make a lot of customers unhappy.
I had a big problem crop up after my 5er was out of warranty for about a year and a half. Back and forth between my repair shop and Heartland and Lippart. Pictures and even two short movies to show what was wrong. Lipparts parts were not defective. A proper repair and reassembly was agreed upon. Heartland gave a good faith payment that covered half of the cost. I was more than satisfied and could not have asked for better treatment. I just wish it could have taken less time, but it was mid December and Heartland shuts down for two weeks. They did not have to pay for anything, but they did. All I just wanted was the 5er to be repaired correctly.
Georgia_Biker
Well-known member
Martha-
I thoroughly enjoyed reading your thoughtful comments and agree with much of what you said. As I had stated earlier the Heartland Owners Club and Forum are second to none.
un
I did contact Heartland on the recent Ice Maker/Water Damage issue and I was directed to work trough my local repair dealer who by the way is a totally dedicated RV repair and body shop dealer. Everything has been submitted to Art at Heartland and a decision will not be made until all repairs are completed. My guy says we are so far looking at about $2500. which is mostly labor. This would be for a failure not my fault and water damage from a leak that obviously went undected for a long time because the carpet underneath and behind the cabinets was soaking it up.
I am holding my breath to see how it turns out. Either way I'll have to accept it. We will try to continue to keep camping and get as much use out of the Big Horn as we can. We have a long 4 month trip coming up to the Mid West and we are very apprehensive but we are going.
In the end We just have not been lucky -I think you need some with these things- Take care!
Georgia_Biker
Well-known member
Hey folks! I wanted to end this thread by saying thanks to everyone for letting me vent.
I finally got my Big Horn back on 3/30/2016. The total repair bill was $1601.64 which turned out not to be as bad as initially thought. On 3/3/2016 Art at Heartland Warranty authorized a reimbursement to me for $1119.99. That leaves me $481.75 out of pocket for the repair. As of this posting I have not received the reimbursement but, I had hoped it would come quickly so I could report it to the forum. I will keep further comments to myself - hope to see some of you on the road somewhere.
I finally got my Big Horn back on 3/30/2016. The total repair bill was $1601.64 which turned out not to be as bad as initially thought. On 3/3/2016 Art at Heartland Warranty authorized a reimbursement to me for $1119.99. That leaves me $481.75 out of pocket for the repair. As of this posting I have not received the reimbursement but, I had hoped it would come quickly so I could report it to the forum. I will keep further comments to myself - hope to see some of you on the road somewhere.
TxCowboy
Well-known member
Larry, happy to hear that you and Sharon have a reasonable resolution to these issues. We've had a few small issues (including the ice maker issue) and we're also a few hundred bucks out of pocket ourselves. Like you and so many others, Heartland stepped up quickly with repair parts, etc., and we chose to work through a reputable mobile tech rather than haul our Landmark back to a dealer.
Congrats again and now get out and enjoy your RV.
Congrats again and now get out and enjoy your RV.
Hogladyrider
Well-known member
Good to hear you got your RV back and repaired. We have had a similar situation happen with our 3875FB Big Horn with the Frigidaire water and ice in the door, water leak not once but twice while still under warranty.
We live full time in our RV and my view is whether it is a stix n'brixs or an RV there are always going to be some issues.
We contacted Heartland and they were very supportive. Our problem was finding a reputable repair company in our area where we were residing as this was mostly a labor job and attention to detail with cabinetry as the entire slide was affected. Heartland was more than willing to work with us.
In the end we opted to return to our original dealer and trade in our 5th wheel for a Cyclone as we now have a Gold Wing to travel with us. Our new Cyclone has NO water and ice in the door, no ice maker as we opted to go back to an 18 cu' RV refrig.
We have been very satisfied with all three of our Heartland purchases and I am sure there will be issues as we travel across this country with our new Cyclone.
This forum is a great place to share and realize that we are not alone, however, Heartland is a company that stands behind its products and though the process may not move as fast as we all would like, it will get resolved unlike some other horror stories I have heard regarding other RV companies.
Susan
We live full time in our RV and my view is whether it is a stix n'brixs or an RV there are always going to be some issues.
We contacted Heartland and they were very supportive. Our problem was finding a reputable repair company in our area where we were residing as this was mostly a labor job and attention to detail with cabinetry as the entire slide was affected. Heartland was more than willing to work with us.
In the end we opted to return to our original dealer and trade in our 5th wheel for a Cyclone as we now have a Gold Wing to travel with us. Our new Cyclone has NO water and ice in the door, no ice maker as we opted to go back to an 18 cu' RV refrig.
We have been very satisfied with all three of our Heartland purchases and I am sure there will be issues as we travel across this country with our new Cyclone.
This forum is a great place to share and realize that we are not alone, however, Heartland is a company that stands behind its products and though the process may not move as fast as we all would like, it will get resolved unlike some other horror stories I have heard regarding other RV companies.
Susan
Wmnmy
Well-known member
W purchased our bighorn 3270 in February last year. After the pdi I went through the the entire coach hand tightened everything so far we have not had any problems no leaks I even caulked everything with clear caulking we travel a lot and running up and down the road things happen every now and then people get appliances Ac units that don't work I know you are angry and frustrated but through this forum I have avoided a lot of mishaps that some have experienced thanks heartland for my third product I have purchased without many problems and remember maintenance is the key ..
