Taking care of warranty issues yourself? Tired of dealing with delership service, or lack there of!

[Kenneths]

Just wondering if Heartland will allow you to do repairs and replace items covered under warranty yourself? If so who do I need to talk to at heartland regarding doing this? I am tired of dealing with dealers who care less about getting your unit fixed in a timely manner or at all for that matter. I am sure they charge Heartland countless hours of labor for things they never do. I don't want to get into that here though, just wondering if this is an option and if so feedback from those who have done this.

 

[cookie]

Depending on what type of repair you want to do, Heartland may send you the parts.
Sometimes with prior authorization you may also be able to contact an individual service provider for warranty work.
It would be best to contact Heartland Customer Service for advice.
877-262-8032 / 574-262-8030

Peace
Dave

 

[danemayer]

Hi Kenneths,

Heartland is usually pretty flexible. Many of us have had warranty parts shipped directly to us for self-install. But it probably depends on the part involved. Some things are obviously easy to change out. Other parts, where a higher skill level is required, I would think they might want you to let an authorized servicer handle the repair.

Also, if you look at the warranty that's in your manual, you'll note that appliances and many devices in the trailer are warranted by their respective manufacturer. For example, if you need a thermostat for your water heater, Heartland will probably refer you to Suburban or Atwood. Manufacturer policies vary. ShuFlo sent me a pump for self-install. Dometic insisted on a visit to an authorized servicer on a very simple, low-cost issue.

If you have a specific issue, call Heartland Customer Service at 877-262-8032 / 574-262-8030. Have your VIN # ready.

 

[ksucats]

Not to hijack the thread but anyone know if the factory is willing to do the warranty work at their location / facility. I have some issues with slides that are tearing up the carpets (I've had the unit four weeks now I guess). Has been back to dealer once and they told me that the slides were properly adjusted by the factory and they don't mess with them. Kitchen/entertainment slide is, as I mentioned, tearing up the carpet; the opposing slide (dinette and recliners) goes out so far that it has pulled the facia loose. I know this isn't right and there are several other things that need work (door cutouts are too large, the doors don't stay shut - dealer put three small washers behind the strike plates to get a little more grab . So, again, my question, I'm willing to pull the thing back to the factory if they will fix.

 

[danemayer]

Not to hijack the thread but anyone know if the factory is willing to do the warranty work at their location / facility. I have some issues with slides that are tearing up the carpets (I've had the unit four weeks now I guess). Has been back to dealer once and they told me that the slides were properly adjusted by the factory and they don't mess with them. Kitchen/entertainment slide is, as I mentioned, tearing up the carpet; the opposing slide (dinette and recliners) goes out so far that it has pulled the facia loose. I know this isn't right and there are several other things that need work (door cutouts are too large, the doors don't stay shut - dealer put three small washers behind the strike plates to get a little more grab . So, again, my question, I'm willing to pull the thing back to the factory if they will fix.

Heartland opened a repair facility last June. Initially they are handling selected repairs where they believe the repair is beyond dealer capability. Yours? You should call Heartland Customer Service at 877-262-8032 / 574-262-8030. Have your VIN # ready. Be prepared to send pictures. Maybe yours is a fit, maybe not.

 

[GOTTOYS]

Don't be surprised if you get a call from Heartland Corporate parts in the next few days. I made a similar post a few years back for the same reason as you and they called to see what parts I needed. Then a UPS truck showed up one day with everything I needed. Fortunately the area dealer I bought mine from is no longer a dealer, but they are making buyers of the competing brands they now sell, just as unhappy with their service as they made me...Don

 

[Kenneths]

Sad to say but it seems this is the Norm, not the exception with dealers and their service centers. All they want to do is sell units. This has been getting worse every year. This is my 4th RV, all 5th wheels and all higher end units from 5 different dealers. This is my first Heartland unit and I am so happy to see the support of this forum.

With the offering of so many brands in the heartland stable they should be able to set up Heartland dealers across the country. That would be a great marketing tool to sell and SERVICE the heartland brands.

 

[ksucats]

I jumped ship from another maker due to service and sales history of their local dealer - camping world. (I'm not sure if giving makers / brands is authorized here so I'll leave it out.) However, they (the other maker) had their owner's group rally in Goshen shortly after the Heartland Rally. Looking at their owners group website I see where they repaired units - some as old as 15 years -- at no cost to the current owners. Now this was an exception (or so I will assume) but the bottom line is that the factory stood up behind their products and replaced / repaired numerous things on many coaches, all at no charge. And most were not warrantied items or on coaches in warranty. The reason for this statement is if a company will stand behind its product when it is out of warranty why can't we get the same type of service when it is in warranty. Also, I don't see any comments on our board indicating that Heartland did anything like that.

That said, I also realize that the first line is the local dealer but, as mentioned above, the lack of service (and I'll add trained technicians) is the norm. Now don't get me wrong, the wife and I love our Key West so far for its livability and design. Now to get the not so little bugs fixed.

End of rant and off my soapbox. Sorry for the thread hijack.

Moderator: If I'm out of line (which I hope I am not) feel free to modify / remove post.

 

[danemayer]

I jumped ship from another maker due to service and sales history of their local dealer - camping world. (I'm not sure if giving makers / brands is authorized here so I'll leave it out.) However, they (the other maker) had their owner's group rally in Goshen shortly after the Heartland Rally. Looking at their owners group website I see where they repaired units - some as old as 15 years -- at no cost to the current owners.

If you come to the 2017 North American Rally in Goshen, you'll find that the Heartland Service Team will come out and take care of minor repairs at no charge. Heartland also pays about 1/2 of the cost of the rally, which as far as I know, no other manufacturer does.

 

[ksucats]

Minor repairs does not even come close to F.R.O.G. and what they did. One coach was over 15 years old, had major structural issues and they took it back to the shop - rebuilt the front and back ends (replaced structural beams, exterior fiberglass, replaced carpets, tile, updated faucets - basically rebuilt this one system to new and at no charge to the owner. Others got new fabric for their awnings (even completely new awnings, not just the fabric), entry doors, windows replaced, new steps, lighting and even some front caps. Pretty much anything that was not working or that they saw wasn't to their liking, they fixed and at no charge to the owners. Until your post above I've not seen anything of significance regarding what Heartland took care of. As for the cost of the rally being covered, I know that the group I would have been with had a couple of pot-luck dinners, other than that everything else was provided. Vendors, display units, tours and more was provided - just as Heartland did for this group. I did just go back to their site and see that there was a registration fee of several hundred dollars. I don't know about the Heartland event.

I'm not trying to belittle Heartland in any way - I have only been a Heartland product owner for a little over a month and would not have considered this coach if I did not think it had a great company behind it, but I sincerely hope they will step up; our website and leadership speak very highly of Heartland customer support which is a major reason why we came over to the Landmark. As I mentioned above, we love our Landmark Key West. As with any product this complex it has some issues - they should all be fixable given the right technical knowledge and parts.

 

[danemayer]

Others got new fabric for their awnings (even completely new awnings, not just the fabric), entry doors, windows replaced, new steps, lighting and even some front caps.

That's an impressive list. Given that awnings and awning fabric come in all kinds of sizes on different models of RVs made through a number of years, that would be quite a challenge. Same with windows. Replacing front caps? Wow.

Just getting the parts together for a collection of repairs like this would be a huge undertaking and the cost must have been astronomical.

And rebuilding a 15 year old coach? How would they even get the parts?

Were you actually there to see this or is this a story handed down over campfires?

 

[Bob&Patty]

HL has repaired frame problems on coaches WAAY out of warranty. At the national rally, there's no charge for the repairs even when out of warranty. Many times the tech'shave repaired/replaced things not even found by the owner. Maybe we are not hearing the whole story about the SOB coaches but if true...that's great customer support.

 

[MCTalley]

Kitchen/entertainment slide is, as I mentioned, tearing up the carpet; the opposing slide (dinette and recliners) goes out so far that it has pulled the facia loose.

The fact that your dealer says that the factory has adjusted the slides and won't fix the above tells me they don't understand slide adjustments and are just avoiding looking at it.

I can tell you for a fact that the opposing slide issue (pushing the fascia loose) is a simple and standard adjustment fix that you can do yourself (this is assuming that the slide is hydraulic). The other slide (again, assuming hydraulic slide) is probably almost as simple a fix.

 

[ksucats]

Not first hand as, due to work, we were not able to attend. However, I believe that the photos on their site show it not to be a 'story handed down over campfires'.

Hopefully the above work - before and after photos of the front work; there is also a picture of the damage to the rear but I don't see an after photo.

In that same thread there are photos of others getting repairs as well as other individuals postings about work done.

http://www.cedarcreekrvownersclub.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=3452&start=60

Yes - I believe that to be customer service - as I said, hopefully Heartland is as good if not better.

 

[TravelTiger]

Not first hand as, due to work, we were not able to attend. However, I believe that the photos on their site show it not to be a 'story handed down over campfires'.

Hopefully the above work - before and after photos of the front work; there is also a picture of the damage to the rear but I don't see an after photo.

In that same thread there are photos of others getting repairs as well as other individuals postings about work done.

http://www.cedarcreekrvownersclub.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=3452&start=60

Yes - I believe that to be customer service - as I said, hopefully Heartland is as good if not better.

Wow, I read the thread, seems like a lots of falling apart coaches??

Why would you need to replace so much stuff on them? I've never seen that numerous of problems on HL products. Yes, all units have issues. But usually not so many at once. What happened to preventative maintenance?


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[kowAlski631]

Maybe I missed it in my reading of the postings on the site where these owners were discussing, but I didn't see reference to the major repairs being done at no cost. If I missed that, my apologies.

 

[azbigfoot]

After repeated problems with dealer doing any work in a timely fashion I gave up and now either

1) Call Heartland and do the work myself

or

2) Call Heartland and have a mobile tech come do the work. In this case I have to pay upfront and send the bill to Heartland and they cut me a check. Also, I have to eat the service charge for the mobile tech to even come out (usually $45 to $75). I much rather pay the service charge than drive the rig to a dealer (my gas and time), drop it off, and then wait six weeks for absolutely nothing to happen.

 

[ksucats]

I do not, and did not, intend to make this an our brand is better than your brand, (or as someone wrote to me and said 'if you like that other brand so much why didn't you stay with them) event. My purpose was simply to say that my wife and I came over to Heartland because of the quality of the product we now have (Landmark 365 Key West), the ratings that our selling dealership had from owners who purchased their coaches there, and the super users group Heartland has here. We hope that the dealership, and Heartland, continue to stand behind their product. I don't know what the future will bring. 'nuff said.

As a side note - I was asked one time why I owned an RV as I'm not mechanically inclined (a pair of pliers is a good small hammer, a dime is a screwdriver - this almost exceeds my mechanical knowledge). My answer was because of the good friends we had made and hope to make in the future. We have been blessed with many and look forward to making many more. As for the repairs, that is why warranties exist, and for those things out of warranty, we try to fix ourselves, we get our friends help, or with the specialists as budgets allow.

Wishing everyone safe travels.

 

[boatto5er]

Don't worry about the "lack" of mechanical skills. It certainly helps, but I've also found that there is never a lack of competent help around in a campground, especially if you are at a Heartland rally.


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[MCTalley]

Don't worry about the "lack" of mechanical skills. It certainly helps, but I've also found that there is never a lack of competent help around in a campground, especially if you are at a Heartland rally.

This is true. Pull out a toolbox or empty out your basement and you'll have a crowd on-hand pretty quickly.