Slide Floor Delaminating

[wdk450]

Re: "Bathroom Fan is Whining":
These bathroom vent fan motors are a POS, and many times cause interference on the TV systems. I replaced mine with a computer-type "Box" fan (also 12 VDC). Others have done a Fantastic Fan swapout. Heartland is just going to give you another original fan, if they do anything about this specific complaint.

 

[Erika]

Thanks, Bill, good to know. I will look into the box fan and fantastic fan ideas.

Also, not sure why one of the photos I attached went in upside down… couldn't delete it without deleting the whole thing, so I attached it right side up, too.

 

[Erika]

Well, I just talked to customer service and the guy said that I need to find a shop (he suggested Camping World) and have them take a look and contact Heartland with the info. He told me that they don't pay for service calls on warranty work. Then he basically hung up on me. No interest in seeing pictures or hearing about what the problem was.

Since we are living in the RV down here in GA, 700 miles away from our NC dealer, I guess I'll just have to ask the park office if they have someone they recommend, pay for the site visit / service call myself, and wait for the parts he requests to come to him… if he thinks he can repair it. If the whole slide floor needs to be replaced, then I guess we'll have to get on some shop's schedule and hope they can get it done in a day or two, since we will have to find a place to live, with our dog, while it is in the shop.

 

[danemayer]

Well, I just talked to customer service and the guy said that I need to find a shop (he suggested Camping World) and have them take a look and contact Heartland with the info. He told me that they don't pay for service calls on warranty work. Then he basically hung up on me. No interest in seeing pictures or hearing about what the problem was.

Since we are living in the RV down here in GA, 700 miles away from our NC dealer, I guess I'll just have to ask the park office if they have someone they recommend, pay for the site visit / service call myself, and wait for the parts he requests to come to him… if he thinks he can repair it. If the whole slide floor needs to be replaced, then I guess we'll have to get on some shop's schedule and hope they can get it done in a day or two, since we will have to find a place to live, with our dog, while it is in the shop.

Erika,

Sounds like the customer service rep didn't communicate as clearly and completely as he might have.

Warranty requires you to take the trailer to an authorized dealer, but Heartland will usually authorize non-Heartland dealers, independent service shops, and mobile service. They do want to validate the servicer's credentials before agreeing to pay. Reimbursement doesn't cover the travel time charge for mobile service, and it only reimburses the warranty claim if you have prior approval to use a given service outlet, if it's not a Heartland dealer.

The mobile service guy will probably not file the warranty claim directly with Heartland; rather he'll expect you to pay for both the travel charge and repair costs and seek reimbursement from Heartland. So if you call a mobile servicer, you MUST get prior approval to use that particular servicer.

Beyond that, I seriously doubt that many mobile servicers are going to be able to do much in the way of repairs beyond what you could do yourself. That may be one reason why the rep directed you to a dealer.

I'd suggest you make a short-term patch to start with. Take a piece of plastic or cardboard and tape it to the side of the slide to divert water away from the damaged area. Give it a day or two of not getting wet. Then use a hair dryer to dry it out. Apply clear silicone to the damaged area to prevent additional water intrusion. Before the silcone cures, drive in a few screws from below to compress the wood back together.

This should keep the problem from getting worse until you can get to a location that is qualified to do a better repair.

If anyone has a better approach for a short-term patch, please jump in.

 

[JohnDar]

Short term patch might be to use Gorilla tape to secure some thin plastic strips that will extend from above the trim strip to below the floor panels and allow run-off to drip harmlessly to the ground.

For a time, a few years back, I thought they were addressing the problem by adding the angle trim to wrap the ends of the floor, even putting some kind of plastic sheeting underneath. Obviously, in your case they either stopped doing that or the production line on the day your rig was built was out to a liquid lunch. A thin coat of paint on the end of a plywood panel will not prevent water absorption by dry wood. Might as well just blacken it with a Magic Marker. The protection will be the same.

The condition of your slide floors in a 2015 Heartland product is totally unacceptable. If some hotshot in CS doesn't want to get involved, then maybe you need to contact the brand manager of the Cyclone line at Heartland.

 

[Erika]

The condition of your slide floors in a 2015 Heartland product is totally unacceptable. If some hotshot in CS doesn't want to get involved, then maybe you need to contact the brand manager of the Cyclone line at Heartland.

Thank you for that boost of confidence. I called back and asked to speak to the Cyclone manager. The customer service person, Scott, wanted to know a little more about my concern and listened with interest as I explained. I told him that I had photos and he asked me to email them to him so that he could get started on figuring out what to do. He said that he will send me a repair kit for the unaffected slide and get back to me after he sees the photos. Very helpful and reassuring, compared to the first person I spoke with.

I told him of my bad impression of the earlier phone call and he said that he would address it with that person directly. Scott was the person who was helpful to me when I first brought my Cyclone off the lot and discovered that the electric recliner was not properly mounted to the slide, causing it to fall forward when anyone sat in it. That matter was resolved quickly and effectively. I guess it really just matters who you speak to in customer service. I'll see what he says in his response to my email.

 

[JohnDar]

Thank you for that boost of confidence. I called back and asked to speak to the Cyclone manager. The customer service person, Scott, wanted to know a little more about my concern and listened with interest as I explained. I told him that I had photos and he asked me to email them to him so that he could get started on figuring out what to do. He said that he will send me a repair kit for the unaffected slide and get back to me after he sees the photos. Very helpful and reassuring, compared to the first person I spoke with.

I told him of my bad impression of the earlier phone call and he said that he would address it with that person directly. Scott was the person who was helpful to me when I first brought my Cyclone off the lot and discovered that the electric recliner was not properly mounted to the slide, causing it to fall forward when anyone sat in it. That matter was resolved quickly and effectively. I guess it really just matters who you speak to in customer service. I'll see what he says in his response to my email.

Excellent! Keep us appraised of how it all pans out.

 

[whp4262]

Erika, what danemayer suggested will work because I've done a similar repair. The only thing I would add is use countersunk screw when installing them from the bottom up so they don't catch when you run the slides in or out.


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[JohnDar]

Erika, what danemayer suggested will work because I've done a similar repair. The only thing I would add is use countersunk screw when installing them from the bottom up so they don't catch when you run the slides in or out.


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From the looks of her photos, there isn't a whole lot to drive a screw into. I suggested the tape/plastic as a temporary protection until she gets some direction from Heartland. Sounded like they were living "full time" in the rig, so moving it anytime soon might not be a consideration. Once she gets some direction from HL and/or has to move the rig, the tape can just be pulled off to bring in the slides to take it for repair, if that be the case. I also would not load it up with silicone before finding out what the deal will be.

 

[Erika]

Thank you, all, for your suggestions. Yeah, I am nervous about screwing into the floor; thanks for the reminder about countersunk screws.

It is a nice sunny day today, so I am going to start with the protective strip to keep the area from getting wet again, and I have a mobile repair guy coming out later in the week to take a look. I was just feeling around under there and I actually don't think there is a sheet of plastic underneath… it's more like a plastic coating sprayed on the surface of the plywood. I can actually see an area about 6-8 inches back from the edge where the swelling of the wood stops (there is a visible line and crumbling area). It almost looks like a patch, but that may just be how the wood split with the moisture. Hopefully, that is as far as the damage extends.

Still waiting to see what Heartland suggests.

 

[2psnapod2]

Also another option for a vent fan would be a Maxx air Fan. It is a little spendy but ours has been good to us. http://www.campingworld.com/shoppin...-control-rv-ventilator-system-white-lid/48933

 

[Erika]

Thanks for the fan suggestions. I will talk to the mobile tech about that, too, when he comes out.

Heartland's customer service person, Scott, replied that he is sending me four repair kits (3 for the as-yet-undamaged edges; 1 for when the damaged edge is fixed) so that I have them in hand and he said that he will wait to hear from the mobile tech guy. While he didn't necessarily do much differently for me than the first customer service person I talked to, he seemed concerned and sympathetic - which the first guy was not. I guess I just wanted to be heard, that this was an unacceptable situation.

I still don't understand why, if this is a known problem (they have repair kits!) then why are new units coming off the assembly line like this? Why not just put the repair kits on in the first place?? The good thing is that now I know how important it is to be looking for these sorts of things to happen.

For now, I have some plastic corner guards that I am going to tape to the edges today, to keep them dry.

 

[Erika]

Heartland's repair kits arrived today. I have attached a pic to show what was included: caulk, hard plastic L-shaped edge guards (about 2 inches on one side, 1 inch on the other) with self-adhesive tape on inside edge, and flexible plastic guard strips (about 4 inches wide) with adhesive strips (presumably to extend covered area beyond the approximately 1 inch area that will be covered on the bottom by the hard edge guards.

Repair guy is coming out in the near future to install.

 

[JohnDar]

Erika, the wide black strips are supposed to be placed so that the slide rollers ride on them. They are a reinforcement strip. That 105 tube is actually a black structural adhesive caulk that you apply to the strips, between the adhesive tape strips. It is very sticky, so don't use it like a standard caulk and don't load a ton of it on.

 

[Erika]

Thank goodness the repair guy is going to do it for me. I'd have a real mess on my hands if I had tried to do anything. No instructions included.

I will make sure to show him your comment and make sure he knows…

 

[JohnDar]

Thank goodness the repair guy is going to do it for me. I'd have a real mess on my hands if I had tried to do anything. No instructions included.

I will make sure to show him your comment and make sure he knows…

Ta Da! These are the only instructions from Parkland.

 

[Erika]

Thank you for those instructions.

The thing that really scares me about looking at that is that it seems to imply that the floor has to be removed in order to make that repair. How the heck is the floor supposed to be removed when it is… you know… being used to hold up the couch and refrigerator? *cue heart palpitations*

Are there some cross beams or something under there that hold the bulk of the slide up? Is that slide floor more of just a protective barrier to the outside? I hope so.

I suppose the time to do it will be when the refrigerator is already being pulled out of position to replace the cooling unit that died recently… serendipity? I am so glad that someone else is going to be doing this for me.

 

[JohnDar]

Unless the board itself is being replaced, you don't have to worry. I think they show it that way for illustration only. Kind of hard to get a decent photo of the procedure upside down, under the slide.


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[Erika]

UPDATE: Slide floor repair kits have been installed and look good. I have attached a few before and after shots. We decided not to try to do anything to repair the wood because that would have been a real ordeal and it didn't seem that far gone. Repair tech just squirted the adhesive in between the separated layers, compressed the layers with a piece of wood pushed up underneath, removed the trim piece, smeared some adhesive along the outside edge, waited for adhesive to dry and then adhered the edging and replaced the trim piece. The strips designed to go along the wheel path seemed unnecessary for this situation, more useful for situations where there had been damage further back from the edge of the floor board.

 

[danemayer]

Looks good.