We're new 3260 Owners...

[danemayer]

Re: Help!

UPDATE 5/2/14

DH just called the dealer. They are still "waiting for the part." What the heck?? Giant RV in Colton, CA has had the unit since April 15th.

I guess we won't be leaving on our long-anticipated Oregon trip on Monday as planned.

Seriously, what should we do now? Would calling Heartland do any good? Is there a certain person who can help? What is the best number?

We didn't think we could get much more disappointed and now this.

Can anyone help? Please?

It won't hurt to call Heartland about it. But if it's an A/C or Heater part, it's probably coming directly from Suburban or Dometic rather than from Heartland. So don't be surprised if Heartland doesn't know anything about the part.

In my experience, most vendors ship parts using inexpensive ground transportation. From the time the dealer tech actually decides what needs to be ordered, to the time he has it in his hand to install, can easily be 2 weeks, if not longer. The tech often hands the info to another person at the dealership to actually order the part. That may add a day or two (and sometimes longer) at some dealerships. Same thing when the part shows up. It may be another day or two before the parts person logs it in, and then they may take additional days before the tech actually installs it.

This time of year at many dealerships, they're so busy prepping new units that are being sold, and de-winterizing other units, that they can be pretty slow.
I usually place a series of friendly follow-up calls to nicely make sure things are moving along and so they know I have travel plans. I'd suggest you call and ask, based on their experience with this particular vendor, what day they expect the part. Then call back on that day.

 

[SeattleLion]

For what it's worth, I think that much of the pain from poor quality control comes from the fact that Heartland glues a long list of their suppliers on the inside of one of our cabinets and expects us to chase warranty claims on components of our trailers. In the case of the microwave, you were very lucky that Heartland didn't tell you to contact the manufacturer. In our case, the frame on our brand new trailer has rust. The dealer was unable to get authorization to paint where the frame had no powder coat. I called and HL customer service manager told me that it's not their problem. They buy the frames from Lippert and I have to get Lippert to authorize the fix.

This is all unacceptable. I paid HL (via the dealer) and I didn't pay Lippert for anything. If anyone should file a claim with Lippert, it's HL. THEY not me bought the frame. I bought the finished product from Heartland. This is a problem across the RV industry. It's the only experience I have ever had where I was responsible for initial quality issues with components from THEIR vendors. I think it is fair to ask me to go to the vendors after some time has elapsed after my delivery, but really it makes no sense to force me to handle problems on products they selected. If I buy a microwave at Best Buy and it doesn't work right, the store takes it back and replaces it. The store, not me, then deals with the manufacturer.

In terms of the initial quality of my Bighorn, don't get me started. The quality is a disgrace.

 

[danemayer]

SeattleLion,

When I bought my house, which was new, the builder gave me a list of appliance contacts in case anything went wrong with the furnace, air conditioning, plumbing, fans, etc. He didn't stand behind any of the appliances, didn't handle replacement of defective units, didn't have repair people, and didn't stock parts. I'm pretty sure this is typical of builders and If you've ever bought a new house, I'd expect it was the same.

On the other hand, when I bought my truck, GM covered just about everything in it, except for tires.

In the case of our RVs, warranty coverage falls somewhere between these two in that the trailer manufacturer and all the appliance manufacturers rely on authorized technicians for warranty. Just about everything in your RV requires you to take it to the dealer or another authorized tech for warranty service. Normally the process they follow is hidden and everything just happens without us knowing the details. It's when we get in the middle of that process, the details become apparent and it's like finding out how hot dogs are made.

The list that Heartland puts inside the cabinet gives you the information if you want to contact the suppliers directly during warranty, but more importantly, you have contact information for post-warranty situations where many owners choose to do the work themselves.

 

[SeattleLion]

SeattleLion,

When I bought my house, which was new, the builder gave me a list of appliance contacts in case anything went wrong with the furnace, air conditioning, plumbing, fans, etc. He didn't stand behind any of the appliances, didn't handle replacement of defective units, didn't have repair people, and didn't stock parts. I'm pretty sure this is typical of builders and If you've ever bought a new house, I'd expect it was the same.

On the other hand, when I bought my truck, GM covered just about everything in it, except for tires.

In the case of our RVs, warranty coverage falls somewhere between these two in that the trailer manufacturer and all the appliance manufacturers rely on authorized technicians for warranty. Just about everything in your RV requires you to take it to the dealer or another authorized tech for warranty service. Normally the process they follow is hidden and everything just happens without us knowing the details. It's when we get in the middle of that process, the details become apparent and it's like finding out how hot dogs are made.

The list that Heartland puts inside the cabinet gives you the information if you want to contact the suppliers directly during warranty, but more importantly, you have contact information for post-warranty situations where many owners choose to do the work themselves.

Good point. Who selected the appliances? Was it you? Maybe I shouldn't think of the trailer as a vehicle but as a house. Maybe I expect too much from Heartland. I do, by the way, appreciate the list of vendors.

 

[danemayer]

Re: UPDATED 5/2/14: We're (really disappointed) 3260 Owners...

The builder selected the appliances.

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk

 

[I_Did_It_My_Way]

Re: UPDATED 5/2/14: We're (really disappointed) 3260 Owners...

We received a call from Heartland. Their records show that the dealer, although having had the rig since April 15th, didn't bother to even order the part until the 30th.

Heartland can't help us.

 

[I_Did_It_My_Way]

Updated 5/7/14

In terms of the initial quality of my Bighorn, don't get me started. The quality is a disgrace.

You can say that again! And, the dealers aren't much good either!

Yesterday, DH drove down to the dealer and picked up our Bighorn so that we could go on our trip. No repairs had been done. The person DH spoke to said that the "part was due in on Friday." There were no apologies. Nobody cares anymore.

With luck, it will not get too hot or too cold on the trip as the heater isn't functioning and only one air conditioner works.

Hopefully, the dealer won't be charging Heartland for a warranty repair it didn't do.

This will be our first long trip in the rig.