We got our 31QBS, a few issues so far

[jj95]

All,

We picked up our 31QBS about a month or so ago. So far we set it up in the street for a few days while we loaded it up (and of course the kids and I slept out there a few nights), and have been on 2 weekend trips so far.

We are very happy with most things, but we have run into a couple issues.

While "camping" in the street, we had a rainstorm, and found a leak (window next to queen bed). Took it back to the dealer, they pressurized the inside, verified the leak, and recaulked it. They also found about 4 other small leaks, and caulked them up too. They went on and caulked up all the windows while they were at it.

During the last trip, I hooked up a host to the black water flush valve, and found that there is a leak on it as well - I had water running all over the inside of the trailer. Have not went in to get that fixed yet.

The floor is not consistently level. What I mean is that when I pull on site and am levelling it out, I threw a 3' level inside the door and checked it. I got it level based on that. I then slid the level up towards the front of the trailer, and got a different reading from it. The same with the side to side. It just wasnt very consistent. Its not significantly different, but enough that when I leveled it with the first location and stepped in, I could just feel that it wasnt right, hence forcing me to check a different location. Not sure if this is normal?

The only other thing I have noticed, and I know this is something that they are not going to fix (and it could be something with all RVs, I dont know, this is our first) - the seat cushions are absolutely terrible. While we had it in the street, we had some friends and family over that wanted to see it. They ended up sitting around the table, BSing with each other, yada yada. Well, after that, those cushions had TOTALLY broken down. They are as soft as a down pillow. When I sit down on it (I weight about 175lbs) my butt instantly hits the particle board underneath. The 31QBS has a small dinette in the rear bunk area, and those cushions are still nice and firm - my kids (ages 7 and under) are the only ones who have sat on them. The cushion material/consistency seems to be the same in the seat cushions as the bed cushions (bunks and queen) so I can only imagine that over time those are going to break down as well, although I would suspect not as bad as your weight is more distributed while sleeping. But for those seat cushions to break down the way they did, after being sat in for a few hours (by adults that admittedly could use to lose some weight) is really poor. Has anyone else noticed this, or is this what all RV seat cushions are like?

Thanks!
Jeff

PS - towing this trailer with my 08 Tundra was an absolute dream. WOW! We looked at quad bunks from other manufactureres, but they weighed about 2500lbs more - and I am so glad we went with this ultra-lite!

 

[irvin56]

seat cushions

We had ours out this lon weekend. We only had a little 5 min burst on rain twice so it never showed up any leaks. As far as the seats go I will xheck them out next time to see if ours are like that. I had an old 76 prowler and they had to original cushions in it. Maybe I'm just used to hitting the deck that I never noticed it in our new 31QBS. We really like the layout. The only other problem we had was the slider door on the front came
unstrapped and door came unhooked from slide. We are going to put a wedge across doorway while traveling. as the strap does not hold.

 

[sequoia7x]

jj95,

Congratulations on your 31QBS. We also picked up our 31QBS exactly one month ago and really love it so far. We are towing ours with a Toyota Sequoia and are very pleased with how this unit tows (very stable, no sway, and tracks behind the vehicle very, very well). There were simply very few choices in a quad bunk as light as the Northtrail 31QBS. Of course we have the Equal-i-zer branded hitch setup for weight distribution and sway control and are very happy with how the unit handles. We had ours out for our very first camping trip 2 weeks ago and were very pleased with everything (some minor issues came up that should be easily addressed).
I share your same experience regarding your leveling comments. When leveling ours the first time, I used a 3' level on the floor prior to adding those external stick on levels for future convenience. I note that I seemed to get the best leveling when I placed the level on the floor over/close to the axles. I saw some very small amount of "bending" in the frame structure in front of and behind the axles (front to back) and noted that this very slightly affected the left to right leveling. Like I said, referencing the level placed as close as possible over the axles seemed to work best and gave me a level that "felt great".
I don't know what to say about your dinnette cushions as ours appear to be performing just great. The main dinnette and "kids dinnette" in the bunk area feel about the same as far as being very adequately firm and providing the right level of comfort/support. We have had a fair amount of seat time by people weighing between 130lbs and 200lbs. I would address it with your dealer as Heartland RV really seems to have excellent customer support.
We really love our 31QBS so far, only issues that we had the first time out was a very slight drip/leak under the sink at one of the coupling connectors when the system was pressurized, and a couple bolt heads broke off the rear stabilizer jack...both issued should be easily resolved by our dealer.

 

[Emeup]

We have been internet searching for a new TT and after seeing and reading several posts on rv.net, we came to like the 31QBS floorplans and spec's, but here is our downfall we have no dealers that carry them, except over in St. Albans, VT which is carrying very little. So we are trekking to Hershey, PA RV Show on Sept.11 to spend 4 days looking and searching for what we want. I really like the North Trail, but DH wants to see one face to face.
We looked at a Cougar xlite 304BHS and it was okay, but to close to weight limit, dealer said you can pull it 100 miles w/o worry.
We want to Travel not sit in a seasonal camp!
Then we traveled to Albany RV's, where they sell the Jayco line and a dealer said" Heartland I heard they are going out of business." Which we do not believe, please HELP!!

 

[CampingJunkie]

Emeup, that is the first I heard about Heartland. As far as I know they are going strong. One of the strongest in the industry right now. We have a North Trail 28BHS and absolutely love it. I highly recommend their product. They stand behind their product and their customer service is second to NONE.

Good luck with your search!!

 

[jbeletti]

Rayshel & Theresa,

Welcome to the forum. I have read all 3 of your similar posts in various parts of the forum. Congrats on moving up and we really hope there is a Heartland product in your future. The Hershey show will be a huge one and I feel you made the right choice on which show to attend. We will have about 6 North Trails at that show. Hope we have one their that works for you!

To answer your concern about Heartland based on what an Albany Jayco dealer told you, Heartland is doing AWESOME! We are going no where but up and continue to crush the competition. Sounds like a comment of desperation to me.

I hope to see you there. Look for me around the Landmark/Bighorn/Big Country display (probably at Reicharts).

Jim

 

[Emeup]

Thank You all

Thanks to your replies we feel we are leaning towards the best of the best. My DH was not impressed with the Dealers comment, so we went home and googled it no info, but to hear it from you Jim helped ease our mind.
My DH loved the video on the North Trail construction and the space and weights, but after coming to this site we found owners who are pleased and this helps.
We are psyched about Hershey Show, the washer quit last night and DH said we will try to fix it, but may need new one, I spoke up and said "No way are we not going to Hershey! I can use laudromat LOL!!"
So we will be there!! Have our reservations and have our notebook ready!