Worried about lack of Quality Control

[L'l John]

Comments directed to the factory Represenative:

I have on order a 3400RL that I expect to arrive in about 4 weeks. I have paid $1000.00 deposit on order.

Some of the things that I am hearing about the lack of QC or design errors have me very concerned. Things like air conditioner ducts not delivering air, fresh water tanks sagging when filled, the electric fireplace running dangerously hot, and others that I cannot think of right now.

I know there alway things that need to be corrected by the dealer before delivery to the customer and other things that are not known until the buyer has discovered after taking delivery. I am not worried about minor details that the dealer can correct, but the major stuff already mentioned.

What I need to know is anything being done at the factory to correct these things? Are you going to leave the dealers saddled with trying to figure out how to deal with these things?

I was a little apprehensive about ordering anything sight unseen. I am thinking seriously about giving up my order deposit and moving on in my search for my new 5th wheel trailer.

 

[Scott]

L'l John

L'l John,

I assume you have been in a Bighorn and that you decided to purchase it based on a number of factors - not the least of which was it simply offered more for the money. It was engineered and designed with some very innovatvie features as well as the styling you were looking for.
That being said, Heartland uses Dometic 15,000 BTU A/Cs. They are the best in the business. Do we have coaches every once in a while where the seal around the A/C unit get's compromised; or the ducting gets squashed somewhere? Yes. With over 4,500 coaches out there now, you are going to run into things where we screwed up.
Are we able to fix them when this happens? Absolutely, and we do.
As far as fresh water tanks sagging, I have been in this bussiness for over 22 years and the one that remains the same is the fresh water tanks being overfilled to point where they sag down through the underbelly - or completely burst the tank out of it's brackets and through the underbelly. While manufacturers add more and more steel around the tank to prevent this from ever happening, it still does. When you ask if the manufacturer cares enough to "..is anything being done about it.." the answer is a resounding YES. It has and will continue to be done when we discover areas of concern where Heartland can improve.
On the Fireplaces being hot - we use the same the unit with the same installation proceedures of the vast majority of RV mfg.s. The maker of that unit audits our installations and we are in compliance.
That being said, have there been times when our guys may have made a mistake and caused a unit to be closer to the cabinet? Yes, it happens. But kind of like with a crushed A/C duct - it is not common and we do whatever we can to rectify the situation.
We never claimed to build a perfect coach - but we do claim that we are here to make it right if we do screw something up and I am going to tell you that I get emails and letters all the time from satisfied customers who really appreciate our work on their behalf.

ST

 

[busted2341]

Scott,

Well said....I still beleive in the Heartland product after spending about 7 months searching and investigating.....

 

[nhunter]

We've had ours for four months and only the toilet seal went(bowl would not seal from sitting dry for a long time). Great units my only suggestion is to move the thermostat up from hip height as I have broken the controls off mine twice and the wife has once. otherwise keep up the good work.

 

[L'l John]

Feeling Better

Scott,

Thanks for your reply.

Today I revisited my dealer and talked to him about some of the problems that I have been hearing of. The same ones that I wrote about here.
He was aware of the problems with the air conditioner ducts a while back. Seems that there may have been some sabatage by disgruntled workers, and hopefully that has been taken care of. He assured me that he knows what to do if my Bighorn has that problem when it arrives.
As far as the fresh water tank sagging when it is filled, it should hold however much water it is advertised to hold, and not give problems. My dealer also told me that there had been more support added to units as of late.
And about the electric fireplace. I have decided to delete that item from my order. My wife wants the storage cabinet more than the fireplace. So that is no longer of concern to me.
So, it seems that I have jumped to some wrong conclusions and worried more than I should.
We can hardly wait until our New BigHorn 3400RL arrives.
It is a good thing that we have this forum and that People from Heartland care enough to deal with our problems (real or perceived).

Thank You,

__________________

--L'l John--
BH 3400 RL (on order) due possibly by end of May,
'06 Silverado, 2500HD Duramax LBZ, 6 Sp. Allison, CC/SB, 4X4