Unhappy with our new Sundance 285

[krblair]

This is our first weekend in our new 5th wheel. This is our 3rd camper that we had purchased, all new. The first 2 were Jayco's and we loved those. Here is some complaints about this unit.

To turn on the lights inside or outside you need to open up the coat closet to get to the switches. Dumb.

The inverter is mounted below the coat closet in the living room. All you hear is the fan running. That should have been mounted in the storage compartment below the 5th wheel with vents installed.

There is no silverware storage. You would have thought the designers intended that people would eat.

The counter space is limited. So to make that up the designers place a extension counter in the way of the door to exit the camper. Dumb.

There is no toilet paper or towel holders.

As a side note our Jayco had all of these items listed above and below and was $10k cheaper.

The stove does not have a flat cover on it. With the limited counter space you would have thought this cheap addition would have been there for when you attempt do dishes you have a place put them. Or a place to put your crockpot when cooking.

There are 4 areas for storage that are open cubbies. There should have been installed at lip or brace to hold items up there. Nothing will stay while traveling.

Plastic cheap hitch cover ripped out of the fiberglass on the way to our first camp ground. So cheap.

Overall we are not happy with this purchase. This was to be a upgrade and so far the little things are adding up. Shame on us for jumping in.

 

[jbeletti]

Re: new Sundance 285. not happy

krblair,

Sorry to hear you are unhappy with your purchase. Did you look this coach over thoroughly prior to purchase? I ask as it sounds like most of this could have been made obvious to you prior to making the purchase commitment.

As for the light switches, while not handy where they are for you now, please consider relocating them to a more useful spot. That would be at least one improvement that could get you closer to happiness.

As for the hitch cover - have your dealer repair this under warranty. Don't leave the dealership until you are pleased with the repair.

 

[Kbvols]

Re: new Sundance 285. not happy

With so much dissatisfaction I wonder why you purchased in the first place? 2 prior Jayco's and happy what prompted the brand change?? It Seems there must be something that you liked before you bought?? Sounds like the issue with the plastic cover has set off some post purchase cognitive dissonance....

 

[krblair]

Thanks for the reply. The dealer is a entirely other issue. We ordered this unit so we only saw it the day we picked it up 2 days ago. As I said, shame on me. That's all my fault.

Many of these things didn't come to light until we started moving in. I forgot one item. There is no way to shut off AC vent to different areas. For example, as in our Jayco's on the vents for each room we could turn the vent off to control the temp is different rooms. All of these things I have listed are small but easily addressable at the plant. Also at the plant you should blow out the access foam form the ceiling that sits in the AC vents. We have had 2 days of foam pieces blowing out into the bed and floor.

Also the DVD player broke already. Won't play cd's. already talked to he dealer and the unit is going back Monday.

For this much money I am shocked at list of basic items missed. So sad.

 

[kowAlski631]

Did you inspect your rig before you accepted it?

 

[Bob&Patty]

A question on the hitch cover. What broke it...was it too close to the top of the bed rails? I'm sorry that you are seeing things you don't like. Most of these you can be correct for a few dollars and a little time. I have never bought anything that I can look at first. Looking at pictures does not do it for me.

Sounds to like you bought a lower ($$) HL coach. Dont get me wrong, a Sundance is a good coach and have served people that own them very well. But you bought a Chevy compared to a Cadillac. Our BH came with all the things you don't like....but It cost more. These things are all cosmetic....so get some wood and fix the shelfs. A saw, some screws, stain and you will be good to go. You can buy the A/C registers that shut off from any RV store or order them on line and they are cheap. Try these people....they are to ones that HL uses for their coaches. http://www.dwincorp.com/index.php?cPath=55

 

[scottyb]

Sorry for your discontent but it sounds like your are blaming Hertland for your choice in RV's. I expected to see a list of failures but all I see is a list of items that your coach came with but you don't like. I would never buy or order something this expensive w/o at least walking through a comparable model. If my wife had never blessed the kitchen, it's a no go. There are a few things that I would have liked to see done differently, but I accepted it as is. I will decide if they are big enough of a deal that I want to pursue making the changes or if I can learn to live with them as they are.

 

[danemayer]

Since this appears to be mostly about aspects of the Sundance design, I've moved the thread into the Design Ideas sub-forum.

 

[JohnDar]

Why does this sound like a troll for Jayco?

 

[Joelcindy]

I bought a Sundance 277 Rl and am very satisfied. Sounds like you are picking on very small items! I have bought a few new RV's have never seen one that didn't have some foam in the AC ducts and shelling! As far as closing of AC ducts the 277 does have a slide cover on the AC unit so AC comes out of the ducts, please note if you
shut down the air ducts you will cause the unit to ice up. I am very happy with the counter space in the 277 and find the fold up counter addition very handy. We usually use it for our toaster when making breakfast. I looked at the Jayco units and would choose the Sundance Heartland hands down!

 

[priorguy]

Agree on the troll idea, the only way a Jayco would be $10K under a Sundance is if it were a TT and not a 5er. Jayco 5er's are the same price or more then Big Horns let alone Sundances in my area.

 

[szewczyk_john]

I had two Jayco's that we loved first one was a used pop up and the second was a new pull behind eagle. We loved them and were so happy with Jayco I didn't look at another brand for many years. Once we decided to go for a toy hauler we were forced to look else where. We are glad that we did but you will not here me bad mouth Jayco. That said. Jayco could not match what we got in the road warrior for the same price. We love our road warrior and are glad with our purchase.

 

[retirie]

i have a 2014 3010cyc. the few minor problems found in any new rv or vehicle were handled by my dealer/sales person,bary at rocky mountain rv butte montana,asap. i will purchase my next rv from heartland if i ever need to purchase another and it will be through rocky mountain again. see my video in "cyclones".

 

[Grey Ghost]

I own a 2011 29MK Greystone and I'm very HAPPY. I heard they (Heartland) is going to discontinue the Greystone and keep making the Sundance. I'm sure glad I got a Greystone before they discontinued the model. Sorry for your problems I know how that goes, we had an Alfa Sun 34' prior to this Greystone and had a number of problems and design errors with it. Alfa went out of business and we were pretty much screwed after that. Keep working with Heartland they have treated us pretty good. Our front end cap faded really bad and they stepped up to the plate and helped with the repainting of that even though we were not the original owners and the coach was a few years old. I was impressed and thought they were pretty good to work with. Hang in there and I hope everything gets better down the road.

 

[Grey Ghost]

Oh, by the way, prior to the Alfa we had a 26' Jayco Eagle and loved it also, however we burned it to the ground on HWY 160 outside of Shiprock, NM a few years back. Brake repair job just wasn't done correctly and we blew three tires between Phoenix and Durango, CO. On the way back home I guess things just got to hot and WOW what an experience that was. Looked at the Jayco prior to buying the Greystone, however the Greystone was cheaper and very gently used so did a little research and found that Heartland was a pretty good company. So far please with our choice!!

 

[Birchwood]

Seems you had confidence in Heartland to produce a product that would meet your expectations.In the past I have purchased vehicles thinking because they have been on the market for a few years all the bugs would be corrected...not really.All you can do at this point is try focusing on the the RVs good features.