Some Disappointment, "normal" or not ???

[teasac69]

We took delivery of our BH3875FB in October and immediately went to a HOC rally (Bullard, TX). Then went out the next week, both intended to be an old Navy term, a shakedown cruise. Went well with no big deals pop up.

Now we're out "on the road" for the first time and I'm having some issues.

• Inverter won't stay on, so I don't have refrigeration while traveling;
• kitchen slide closing up apparently crushed the water line and broke it so now I don't have water/ice in the door
• auto level is not working and must need to be recalibrated. shows "level" but trust me, it's not.
• I'm not going to post a couple of really picky ones just so I don't appear to be trying to cause trouble.

Guess I'm headed back to dealer when I return but 4-6 weeks behind on repairs is not a scenario I want to deal with since my unit is just over 30 days since delivery?

I love my BH but I guess I'm a little shocked to have some of these issues with this quality a unit.???

 

[Bob&Patty]

Call HL service with your VIN# handy. Ask if there is a HL dealer or and independant service center close to where you are that can do some or all of the repairs. As far as the "auto leveling" you should have a manual that will tell how to reprogram the unit. I dont think that recalibrating it is a warranty issue...but maybe one time.

As to the invertor, are the battery connections clean and tight? Is the battery diconnect turned "on"? Is you truck charging the batteries while traveling?

BTW, RV's are no different than buying a new home. Things will need to be repaired from time to time. As a side note your new home on wheels is a "rolling earthquake" and things can shake loose.

 

[jdfishing]

Look on the inside of the storage compartment door by the "level up" controller. Should be a set of instructions on how to reprogram the system for auto level. I personally use the manual functions most of the time to level the trailer. Everytime I use auto level, I have to readjust the level manually to please the wife. Good luck and safe travels.

 

[danemayer]

Hi Tim,

Sorry you're having problems.

First of all, if you're not getting water through to the frig and you suspect damage to the feed line, make sure you turn off the cutoff valve. You don't want to have a water leak. Once shut off, timing of your visit to the dealer may be more flexible.

Also, with the cold blast a couple of weeks ago, it's possible that the feed line may have frozen and been damaged. When temps are going below freezing, it's really important to winterize the refrigerator so the ice maker line doesn't have water in it. We have a Residential Refrigerator Guide that covers how to do that.

There was a problem where the refrigerator supplier changed to a compressor that demands more power at startup than the ones used when Heartland did the residential refrigerator design. The inverter firmware was upgraded to handle that startup surge. You may have an inverter that needs to be replaced. It's an easy install if you want to avoid a trip to the dealer. Heartland would probably be willing to ship it to you directly if you're in the affected range.

Similarly, with the auto-level, there's a simple procedure to re-calibrate. If you want to avoid a trip to the dealer, you might try it. Here's a link to a page from the Lippert manual. About 1/2 way down is the calibration procedure.

Just wanted to give you some options in case you'd prefer to defer the visit to the dealer to a more convenient time.

 

[dave10a]

BTW, RV's are no different than buying a new home. Things will need to be repaired from time to time. As a side note your new home on wheels is a "rolling earthquake" and things can shake loose.

I have a lot less problems with my stick house than my trailer. Fortunately, I was able to fix all of my problems myself while Heartland supplied the parts that I replaced under warranty. it has taken me one year to get all the bugs out of the trailer and my stick house that is now 10 years old has had significantly less problems-- 99.9% of which are from normal wear and tear. The big difference is the workmanship and the trailer travels. My trailer problem after one year was the wheels bearings which failed because I had a false faith in the easy lube marketing scam. In short most travel trailers are built to be light as possible while sacrificing reliability. Also the QC was very bad for my trailer. Hopefully Heartland has improved on the newer builds. Now that I am looking to trade for a newer unit, I will be looking very hard at the trailers at the Tampa RV show this year.

 

[Bob&Patty]

Dave I'm glad your new sticks and bricks was trouble free. Our home is few years older (13) than yours. It was a nightmare from day one and I mean day one. We did not have a useable kitchen and downstairs for almost a year because of water leaks in walls and plugged sewer lines. 3 new real hardwood floors and lower cabinets. To put this in perspective.....The Horn cost about 56K....the S/B was $500K and the Horn has been a lot better in quality. In fact the whole sub-division had all the same problems.

 

[TedS]

I then gather that whether sticks and bricks or trailer the most common cause of problems is quality of workmanship. As for a rolling earthquake, the trailer builders know the application don't they? How upset would you be if your fittings on your tow vehicle came loose from vibration? There are techniques available to ensure quality and design for use.

 

[iaflatlander]

I am constantly amazed at the quality information and support that are supplied by the people on this forum! I don't know you Mr. Mayer but you just provided an example of a very unusual and appreciated benefit of owning Heartland!

QUOTE=danemayer;394913]Hi Tim,

Sorry you're having problems.

First of all, if you're not getting water through to the frig and you suspect damage to the feed line, make sure you turn off the cutoff valve. You don't want to have a water leak. Once shut off, timing of your visit to the dealer may be more flexible.

Also, with the cold blast a couple of weeks ago, it's possible that the feed line may have frozen and been damaged. When temps are going below freezing, it's really important to winterize the refrigerator so the ice maker line doesn't have water in it. We have a Residential Refrigerator Guide that covers how to do that.

There was a problem where the refrigerator supplier changed to a compressor that demands more power at startup than the ones used when Heartland did the residential refrigerator design. The inverter firmware was upgraded to handle that startup surge. You may have an inverter that needs to be replaced. It's an easy install if you want to avoid a trip to the dealer. Heartland would probably be willing to ship it to you directly if you're in the affected range.

Similarly, with the auto-level, there's a simple procedure to re-calibrate. If you want to avoid a trip to the dealer, you might try it. Here's a link to a page from the Lippert manual. About 1/2 way down is the calibration procedure.

Just wanted to give you some options in case you'd prefer to defer the visit to the dealer to a more convenient time.[/QUOTE]

 

[JohnD]

Imagine having your dealership telling you at the PDI that you need to bring your brand new trailer in so they can remove ALL of the siding so they can replace the top strip and the insulation under it on both sides (apparently a manufacturer's recall)!

We had to take ours back two two weeks after delivery to have that done . . .

 

[dave10a]

I then gather that whether sticks and bricks or trailer the most common cause of problems is quality of workmanship. As for a rolling earthquake, the trailer builders know the application don't they? How upset would you be if your fittings on your tow vehicle came loose from vibration? There are techniques available to ensure quality and design for use.

You are correct about design considerations and RV trailers certainly could improve in design for use. The manufacturers seem to put more effort in glitz than quality and good design. The suspension systems, plumbing, electric systems and general structure is sadly under-designed in most trailers. The cost and weight of the trailer would significantly increase if they incorporated those improvements. However better engineering is no better than the QC effort. Insufficient QC makes poor design a disaster and good design is compromised. Also, good design does not cost more money in every situation while poor design can cost even more when one considers warranty work to correct them.

 

[teasac69]

I think I updated you guys on another thread but just in case.......

Dan, thanks for the outline and feedback, as well as others who have spoken up. This has already been mentioned but worth repeating, the value of the info shared on this forum cannot be priced. (unless I catch you at a rally and buy you a cold one).

Got the Inverter replacement on the way from Heartland, as Dan mentioned, Frigidaire made a change and the firmware had to be updated. going to install that myself.

The 1/4 inch line was winterized prior to the cold snap and I used it after the freeze. The damage occurred when I closed the kitchen slide and somehow the line got pinched. You can easily see the flat section of the plastic line and the water is spraying out of the top of that smashed section where it cracked. I just plugged the line and finished my trip and now I'll repair that line myself, just have to figure out how to route the new line to avoid the crushing.

Been toying with the auto level and plan to use it a while longer to see if it goes out any more and then recalibrate. Got lots of info on that little event.

Overall the unit did well on this outing, silly little fireplace does an amazing job heating the trailer in the 40's - 50's, needs some help in the 30's

 

[teasac69]

UPDATE !!!!

Got the inverter from Heartland, installed in 10 minutes or less, seems to be working fine, no more dropping power.

bought the supplies to repair the water line at Lowe's under $10 and then only because I'm using gator plugs to avoid compression fittings.

Auto level is seemingly better, but still not sure it's repeating every time. going to work with it a while before attempting to recalibrate.

Overall very happy with my new Big Horn, just need to spend a lot more time in it........

 

[fredwrichardson]

Dave,

I understand your concerns but if you jacked up your stick home add some wheels and drove it across the US it would most like have some issues. It is kind of comparing apples to oranges for the only thing they have in common is we try and live in them but a trailer is really a vehicle that has room to live in. A stick house is a house that never moves and in anchored (at least I hope so) to the ground.

We love our Ashland and yes it is not perfect but it is pretty close. We also are not going to sell our house for we love that too.

Fred

I have a lot less problems with my stick house than my trailer. Fortunately, I was able to fix all of my problems myself while Heartland supplied the parts that I replaced under warranty. it has taken me one year to get all the bugs out of the trailer and my stick house that is now 10 years old has had significantly less problems-- 99.9% of which are from normal wear and tear. The big difference is the workmanship and the trailer travels. My trailer problem after one year was the wheels bearings which failed because I had a false faith in the easy lube marketing scam. In short most travel trailers are built to be light as possible while sacrificing reliability. Also the QC was very bad for my trailer. Hopefully Heartland has improved on the newer builds. Now that I am looking to trade for a newer unit, I will be looking very hard at the trailers at the Tampa RV show this year.

 

[jbeletti]

Tim,

Gald to hear you are getting happier with your Bighorn!

 

[SeattleLion]

I then gather that whether sticks and bricks or trailer the most common cause of problems is quality of workmanship. As for a rolling earthquake, the trailer builders know the application don't they? How upset would you be if your fittings on your tow vehicle came loose from vibration? There are techniques available to ensure quality and design for use.

Thank you! +1