I recently took my 2013 Bighorn 3855fl in for service before the warranty ran out. I could not find a Heartland dealer that could get it in in a reasonable to me amount of time as most places were 6-8 weeks to look at it, so I took it to an independent rv repair facility.
My main problem with the fifth wheel was that the heater kept blowing the fuse. The facility I took the trailer to called me and said they had traced the problem down to a certain section of wiring between the furnace and the thermostat. After talking to Heartland they established that the section of wiring is not accessible without tearing the rig apart, and Heartland would not authorize that much work for a single wire. The only option the repair place said Heartland left them was to install a separate, mechanical thermostat somewhere in the rig where wiring could be ran.
I went ahead and authorized this because I need the trailer back and I was left feeling like I had no other choice. I was also informed that Heartland will not pay for diagnostic time so I'll be on the hook for time it took the facility to track down the bad wire.
So now I'm left with a trailer that I paid very good money for, with a separate thermostat for the furnace only that has to be installed toward the front of the trailer to look even half right, with a section of wiring ran through a cabinet, instead of having things as they were from factory.
I purchased a Bighorn because I had read about the ease of Heartland warranties, but this experience has insured my next trailer will not be a heartland product.
I know this may seem like small potatoes to some after reading some of the problems others have had, and maybe it is, but what is right is right and what is not is not. I don't think any of us would be happy with purchasing a vehicle, having some kind of problem with a headlight, and having the auto manufacture say it's too hard to fix right so they are just going to bolt headlights down to the hood and run wiring down the hood to them.
It saddens me to have this be my first post to this forum, as up until this I was extremely happy with my trailer. I have been bragging up Heartland quality to everyone, and recommending them to those in the market. After this warranty experience and learning Heartland will not spend the money to fix something correctly, I can no longer recommend them and can only hope nobody buys one of their products based on a prior recommendation.
My main problem with the fifth wheel was that the heater kept blowing the fuse. The facility I took the trailer to called me and said they had traced the problem down to a certain section of wiring between the furnace and the thermostat. After talking to Heartland they established that the section of wiring is not accessible without tearing the rig apart, and Heartland would not authorize that much work for a single wire. The only option the repair place said Heartland left them was to install a separate, mechanical thermostat somewhere in the rig where wiring could be ran.
I went ahead and authorized this because I need the trailer back and I was left feeling like I had no other choice. I was also informed that Heartland will not pay for diagnostic time so I'll be on the hook for time it took the facility to track down the bad wire.
So now I'm left with a trailer that I paid very good money for, with a separate thermostat for the furnace only that has to be installed toward the front of the trailer to look even half right, with a section of wiring ran through a cabinet, instead of having things as they were from factory.
I purchased a Bighorn because I had read about the ease of Heartland warranties, but this experience has insured my next trailer will not be a heartland product.
I know this may seem like small potatoes to some after reading some of the problems others have had, and maybe it is, but what is right is right and what is not is not. I don't think any of us would be happy with purchasing a vehicle, having some kind of problem with a headlight, and having the auto manufacture say it's too hard to fix right so they are just going to bolt headlights down to the hood and run wiring down the hood to them.
It saddens me to have this be my first post to this forum, as up until this I was extremely happy with my trailer. I have been bragging up Heartland quality to everyone, and recommending them to those in the market. After this warranty experience and learning Heartland will not spend the money to fix something correctly, I can no longer recommend them and can only hope nobody buys one of their products based on a prior recommendation.