Started one thread about 39MB issues

[bwdt]

This is a consolidation from two threads I started, sewer gas smell and the second on issues.

I left a message with the president of Thor and do you think he ever called back? I'll give you one guess, NO.

I contacted the dealer who contacted Heartland and they actually called me.
The unit is scheduled for repairs on this Monday at RV Doctor in Fort Meyers FL. They have a 3.5 stare rating so we shall see. I decided to drive by to make sure I wouldn't have any issues getting in and met with the owner. I was originally told by the selling dealer that all of the repairs would be done in two days, and wanted to ask the repair shop how long it would take, they told me a week to a week and a half......NICE. My extended warranty will cover four nights in a hotel....So I contacted both the dealer and Heartland about covering the hotel, since this particular unit has so many issues, and that I did take it with them on the condition that it would be repaired. They both said NO. When talking to Heartland about the issues when I was at the dealer about the issues, I offered to drive the unit over to their factory for the repairs, which was less than a hundred miles away, and they said NO. I figure that the total costs of warranty repairs on this unit to be several thousand dollars. WOW! Makes you wonder how they make a decent profit?

Recap of issues.
Sub floor not screwed down to joist
Island rocks back and forth
Floor damaged by slide (probably related to above)
Closet doors damaged due to improper instalation
Dining room table fell apart and needs full replacement
Floor under fridge not assemble correctly and damaged
Material around pin box falling down
Electric brake wiring laying on top of leaf springs
Bed Mattress turned into grand canyon in less than ten days( this can't be normal, I only weigh 150)
Water leak in basement from hot water bypass valve
Toilet drain not sealed to black tank which caused odors and fly problem
Kitchen window not installed correctly stick out about a half inch in the middle
Bath room door not installed correctly and damaged
Misc. electrical issues
No rubber mount under water pump which resonates all through the unit.
Propane leak on right side of unit most likely regulator (gas is off on that side)
Electric hot water heater doesn't work

Issues that I repaired
Dresser in bedroom in wrong location, moved over about an inch so that the blinds wouldn't interfere
Blind and valance re-centered on window
Blind and valance in hall was off by two and half inches to one side
blind and valance in living room was crooked by an inch and half
Sink drain was crooked


Quick question. I do realize that they put cheap mattresses in these units but less than a week.......This can't be normal.

Warning to all

If you find issues with a unit, tell the dealer to fix it immediately or walk, If they tell you it will take three weeks, tell them you'll go somewhere else. When I originally talked to Heartland, there attitude was that they really didn't care whether I bought their unit or someone else's and that it would take three months before they would begin repairs..........

Not getting a call back from the president about the issues says millions.

Oh and I forgot to re-mention that this unit was inspected by Jerry as ready to ship, If Jerry inspected your unit RUN!

 

[danemayer]

Hi bwdt,

Your trailer manual includes the Heartland Warranty, which clearly states what you can and cannot expect from Heartland. While it doesn't cost anything to ask for more than the warranty promises, you should go into it realizing that it's likely the company will stick to what's in the warranty.

 

[kowAlski631]

We still don't understand why you completed the purchase on this trailer with all the enumerated issues. Didn't you find these on your PDI? Did you do a PDI? Did you get the selling dealer to compile a list of deficiencies that you both signed in acknowledgement?

 

[LBR]

To the OP...

In all honesty and respect, I think your way off base expecting the President of Thor to "call you back"....if YOU had the reins and responsibilities for 17,800 employees and umpteen suppliers of construction products, would you seriously return a call to Mr. Joe Consumer?

 

[bwdt]

Most companies I have dealt with over the years will have someone contact you and some companies the actual president will contact you. Tippin president contacted my friend for his repairs issues and even talks to the owners when repairs are getting done. I do realize that its a much smaller company, by not getting back to someone shows their actual opinion of their customers.

As to completing the purchase, I was stuck between a rock and and a hard spot. I had sold everything off in Cali and needed to get to Florida to get back to work. Getting a Hotel and hanging out in Ohio for four weeks wasn't going to work and driving down to Florida to get to work, renting a hotel for a month would have been costly. All of the apartments wanted a six month lease and rooms are hard to find. ( I already went through this in the winter while working). The dealer said that it would not be a problem to get repairs done and they would send a mobile tech to handle the repairs. So I figured this was the best way to handle the situation. The big issue as there were more and more issues that kept coming up......And now I'm looking at shop time for weeks. Heartland new of these issues but really didn't care. So my issue is that knowing the situation, you would think that heartland and the dealer would step up a little more.

I hope this helps to clarify whats going on.

 

[kowAlski631]

There was no other trailer that you could purchase in lieu of this one? You say that Heartland knew of the issues but didn't care. Was this based on the decision for you to not come to the factory?

 

[danemayer]

From one of your other threads:

Decided to take unit and not wait for a second unit, since I was planing on living in it for the next six to ten months and didn't want to rent a house or stay in a hotel.

From the Warranty Statement (with emphasis added)

WHAT IS NOT COVERED BY HEARTLAND’S LIMITED WARRANTIES• Any recreational vehicle used for rental, business, commercial, residential (the residential limitation shall
not apply to the Big Horn, Big Country, or Landmark brands), extended living, disaster relief purposes, any
purposes other than recreational travel and family camping, or any recreational vehicle titled or registered in the
name of a business entity;

Not sure if the Bighorn Traveler is considered a Big Horn for purposes of the warranty exclusion on residential and extended living. I'd guess maybe not. Lots of people use other Heartland brands for residential/extended living, and I've never heard of this exclusion being applied, but maybe you don't really want the President of Thor to call. Just sayin'.

 

[bwdt]

Thanks for the info

The Traveler are rated for extended living. This was one of the reasons I chose it and it is not registered to a business. But that being said, I don't believe that their waranty being denied and the unit falling apart with in ten days would work out so well.

The what next syndrome just happened. The Dresser drawer slides just fell out of the frame on the top drawer.......NICE! I believe that I may have opened the drawer about ten times.....WOW!

 

[Shortest Straw]

When we were looking last year we were told that the traveler is warrantied for full time living.