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Old 05-14-2013, 06:52 AM   #15
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All new rigs have problems and they all use parts from the same manufacturers, Dometic, Suburban, Lippert, Dexter, Progressive Dynamics, etc., etc. The question is how they handle their warranties. I recently started a thread about my automatic transfer switch problems. I called Heartland yesterday, gave them my SN, and explained why I did not want to haul my rig to the dealer and have it sit there for several weeks. He had a record of everything that had transpired on my rig to date. He even had shipping and tracking info on some parts that were shipped to the dealer, but never made it to me, back in Oct last year. They are shipping the new switch to me today, no questions asked. I don't know how you can expect much better service than that. Now the dealers are another issue altogether. Mine is not just a HL dealer, but sells Dutchmen and several other manufacturers as well. At this time of year you can expect a minimum of 4 weeks to get anything done. If possible, I will do it myself rather than make the 150 mi r/t twice and suffer the long wait.
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Old 05-14-2013, 10:19 AM   #16
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Scottybdivin View Post
All new rigs have problems and they all use parts from the same manufacturers, Dometic, Suburban, Lippert, Dexter, Progressive Dynamics, etc., etc. The question is how they handle their warranties. I recently started a thread about my automatic transfer switch problems. I called Heartland yesterday, gave them my SN, and explained why I did not want to haul my rig to the dealer and have it sit there for several weeks. He had a record of everything that had transpired on my rig to date. He even had shipping and tracking info on some parts that were shipped to the dealer, but never made it to me, back in Oct last year. They are shipping the new switch to me today, no questions asked. I don't know how you can expect much better service than that. Now the dealers are another issue altogether. Mine is not just a HL dealer, but sells Dutchmen and several other manufacturers as well. At this time of year you can expect a minimum of 4 weeks to get anything done. If possible, I will do it myself rather than make the 150 mi r/t twice and suffer the long wait.
Good post. I'm in a similar situation as my dealer is 300 miles away. There's another dealer that sells the same unit 75 miles away. If it's something I can fix then It's just not worth the fuel and time to drive. Figure it would take me 4 hrs of drive time to go RT 150 miles 2x. Four hrs can get a lot done on an RV. Plus $100.00+ for diesel. Heartland seems to have very good customer service as does my manufacture, and that's the most important. Also once you start doing some of the work on your own unit then you become more familiar with it and it's not such a mystery.
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Old 05-30-2013, 01:29 PM   #17
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I purchased a 2955 Big Horn in 2007 that we really liked and thought the options included were above the rest especially for the price. After the first year we started to have significant problems with the seams on the front part of the unit. After several trips and no sucess with the fix the dealer took the front cover off the trailer. What we found is that the front bolts that held the trailer to the frame were never installed when manufactured. The dealer and Heartland took care of the cost but we were without our trailer for two months in May and June of 2012. We decided to get rid of the trailer and purchase a new one. We went with a new Excel Winslow and are extreamly happy. All I can say if dont go by what you see on the surface only. Make sure you stick with a well known small production company.
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Old 05-31-2013, 07:51 AM   #18
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My question is would that small production company take care of a problem in a five year old trailer? Heartland has always been very innovative and has offered more bang for your buck along with outstanding customer service to their customers.
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Old 05-31-2013, 01:09 PM   #19
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Not sure their are many small companies anymore. Thor Industries owns Heartland , Keystone, Airstream and Crossroads.
Forestriver Inc is huge, and Jayco has been around for a long time and doesn't seem to be doing bad. Northwood has been in the business for 20 yrs and are doing fine. I'm not sure where there is a small RV manufacture. Sure some may drop a model but they just bring in another one.
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Old 06-05-2013, 08:02 PM   #20
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Heartland Bighorn

I have a 2012 Heartland Bighorn, we have spent two snowbird seasons in it and so far I am very satisfied with our choice. It gave us a lot for our money in comparison to some other brands we looked at the the $$ we spent.
We have had a couple of problems all of which I repaired myself, our dealer is 250 miles away and it's not worth returning the trailer. The dealer was easy to work with on the purchase and I feel service would have been as good.
I have been very impressed with Heartland, every time I have called they have been very responsive for a large company. I've also participate in the Owner's Forum and it's impressive and very helpful.
I don't expect there is a perfect RV out there. Of course I don't have one that has had multiple problems that haven't been solved. But If your dealer isn't resolving the problems it's time to call the factory and find another service facility. Heartland would help and owner do that and has done it. I recommend any prospective owner to check out the owner's forum.
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Old 06-06-2013, 11:14 AM   #21
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My question is would that small production company take care of a problem in a five year old trailer? Heartland has always been very innovative and has offered more bang for your buck along with outstanding customer service to their customers.
Depends on the company.

NuWa quit manufacturing, but still sell and service 5ers. When they quit manufacturing the first time in 2009 or 2010 (darn CRS!) they kept their parts and service departments open to support the rigs they had manufactured.

New Horizons, Peterson Industries (Excel brand), Northwoods Manufacturing (Arctic Fox) and Space Craft Manufacturing are some examples of small manufacturers - and from what I've read from owners they all provide excellent service.

In most cases, the smaller companies have to provide superior customer service to compete, and not just on their new rigs, but on their older rigs, too. I don't know what service would be provided if they went out of business, however, the same holds true for large companies.

Jim
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Old 06-06-2013, 11:57 AM   #22
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Manufacturer's

NuWa, Excel, New Horizons etc. make great fifth wheels, unfortunately our budget was not up to their entry level, I could have gone for a 1 - 3 year old unit knowing the quality, but my wife wanted new so that pushed us into and different market of other brands. What we liked about the interior of the Bighorn was it was gaudy, it had all wood cabinets - no contact paper and the floor plan. We also found one on the lot at a Maine dealer that met our likes and he added a 2nd AC and Washer/Dryer without sending us to the poor house.
We established a ceiling of $40K, ended up spending more but just a few K more. We were unable to find a FW equipped the same from a closer dealer for that price.
Our problems have been minor to date. I've repair all and so far we are happy with Heartland, our dealer, and our Bighorn. A Dealer can really make or break a product in my opinion.
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Old 06-21-2013, 10:39 PM   #23
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Wanted to ask ya'll what your thoughts are on the Heartland brand of 5th wheel. I'm hoping for input from all 5th wheel brand owners who have considered Heartland or have input as to the quality, benefits, or whatever. Or those who purchased a Heartland and what they like/don't like about them. I am especially interested in the Landmark models.

I am considering trading my TT to a 5th wheel.

Thanks in advance!
We recently purchased a 2014 Landmark Key Largo and aside from some small issues we are extremely pleased with everything. The quality of the unit is great, no issues so far. We love the floor plan, we got all the options plus a few more and very happy with our purchase
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Old 06-22-2013, 01:01 PM   #24
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Fat Fingers - what I meant to say was

What we liked about the interior of the Bighorn was it wasn't gaudy, we got the leather look recliners and couch and it had all wood cabinets.
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Old 06-23-2013, 01:06 AM   #25
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A few of the things I don't like about our 2006 Landmark- the real problems are all under the skin so to speak. There has been a problem with pot. water tanks, wiring never connected, mislabeled, marginal frame/suspension, water lines crossed. Dealing through the Heartland site- they seem to have an army of apologists whose anthem is-well, they all have problems. No one can answer a simple problem such as-why there are 4 vent lines off the pot. water tank-all of which seem to siphon 1/2 to 1/3 of the water in travel. The problems are not necessarily with the installed appliances but more with the lack of QC. I have not had the lack of documentation from anything I have ever owned that comes with a Heartland. Documentation would help for instance, to trouble shoot wiring, cabling, and other systems installed at factory. None of this is available on line for instance- like Winnebago has. Be very careful what you buy-on one hand the impression is given the unit would make such a wonderful long term livable unit-but then if you look in the fine print they are busy explaining how you cannot expect to use the RV on a full time basis as it was never designed for that-full time for a 6 week holiday?? They do make very nice lipstick-just be very careful what is underneath- cause that is what will sustain your purchase for the long haul.
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Old 06-23-2013, 03:44 PM   #26
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They Are what they Are!

I agree that RV's in general could be put together better and designed better. A lot of manufacturers will just keep manufacturing a product even thought they know there are problems. I have seen Heartland make improvements to their RV's from year to year improving things and I have seen simple things like cabinet finish decline. Is Heartland perfect - no, but none of them are and cost doesn't
play into it.
I do know they had some problems with frames in the earlier years and have taken those trailer's from the original owners for repairs at their cost.
I do know the perfect trailer will loosen up, wear out, and I hate to say it but fall apart as they travel down our rough roads as we travel. It's the nature of the beast. Being handy and willing to work on them saves the day and money.
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Old 06-23-2013, 05:41 PM   #27
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Poppasmurf things have changed a lot in the years since your Shenandoah was built. The Owners forum has become a great asset with advice and knowledge from other Heartland owners. A large library of repair how-to's and owners manuals has been prepared by other owners to use as a reference, all for free. The Landmark, Bighorn and Big Country are warranted for full time use.
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Old 06-24-2013, 12:26 AM   #28
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Landmark Warrantied for Full Time Use

As with all things, when one depends on nothing more than opinion rather than fact- the truth gets "confusticated". In fact in our owner's manual it is clearly stated our Shenandoah is not suitable or designed for full time use. And therein lies the problem with Heartland, while fellow owners mean well, they do not carry the weight and accuracy of the company line- and Heartland is silent on so many ongoing questions and problems.
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