I've come to the conclusion this am that my 2012 heartland bighorn needs compleatly re plumbed. I woke up to my 4th bad leak, fittings are comeing apart at random, plus the lines look like they were installed by a child at the factory. Everything is intangeled looks like an absolute mess. Then add wiring and duct work all twisted together and it's a mess. My RV is getting ruined little be little. There has to be better plumbing materials vs the cheap, no craftsmanship way this thing was slopped together. Some lines need shortened and better clamps need to replace the crimp on style. Any suggestions for better materials? I'm at a loss, less than 4 years old and rotting away.

I feel your pain on watching something new keep having problems.... My new Cardinal looks like a mess behind the bulkhead wall too in the basement. I had to get in there and tighten all of the water connections, as I had leaks in my brand new unit. Everything is a mess down there. So a couple questions... I've owned 3 trailers now with PEX lines, and crimped connections and never had a problem. so, I'm not sure the materials are the issue in my mind. Maybe craftsmanship, or something else. Just out of curiosity, where do you use your Bighorn the most? Full hookup sites? If so, do you use a water pressure regulator? Maybe you have been overpressurizing your system unknowingly? Are all the failures at fitting connections? Or any mid-line failures? What kind of winterizing process do you use?Not implying you are doing anything wrong, just asking a lot of questions to get you to think about other ways this could be occurring.Dave

X2 on the PEX. There are a different methods to attach the fittings.Do a little research and decide which is best for you.Sharkbite fittings are probably the easiest but, they are somewhat expensive. It depends on how many connections/fittings you will need.

A properly installed PEX fitting will not leak. Emphasis on PROPERLY. But it's a good idea to use a pressure regulator when water pressure is an unknown.

Intel1 wrote:I've come to the conclusion this am that my 2012 heartland bighorn needs compleatly re plumbed. I woke up to my 4th bad leak, fittings are comeing apart at random, plus the lines look like they were installed by a child at the factory. Everything is intangeled looks like an absolute mess. Then add wiring and duct work all twisted together and it's a mess. My RV is getting ruined little be little. There has to be better plumbing materials vs the cheap, no craftsmanship way this thing was slopped together. Some lines need shortened and better clamps need to replace the crimp on style. Any suggestions for better materials? I'm at a loss, less than 4 years old and rotting away.It might be worth a call to Heartland customer service. If you get lucky, some of the problems might be reparied by Heartland via warranty or in the interest of Customer relations.

It's used on full hook up sites. I've used a regulator. The first was on the hot water tank under the kitchen counter. A plastic compression type fitting came loose and flooded the lower portion of the camper. Lucky I was leaned a little and most water ran out under the living room slide. It's just depressing to pay for a mercades and get yugo quality and craftsmanship. I'm sure heartland at most would say bring it to the factory hundreds of miles away for who knows how long and still not stand behind it. The water lines and care of construction will the the first things I look for when I buy another. If they sold for $15,000 I'd understand cutting corners, but the sell for $55 and up! The cost of luxury cars! This is also the second power converter that has been taken out by the water leaks, I guess someone at the factory thought in the center of the water lines was the best place to install the power converter so it gets drowned with every leak.

Best plumbing materials for a leaky 2012 bighorn

15 Replies

laknox
Nomad
Sep 30, 2016
bkick wrote:
2015 Big Country 3700. Four water leaks in the first week. All poor workmanship. All repaired by cutting lines and putting on new crimp clamps. Figured my unit was built on Monday morning as black tank level indictor was connected to the fresh water tank, and the black water empty lever was labeled waste water. When I first tried to open the right front slide the cable pulley pulled it self out of the wall, company only had two screws in it instead if six. Will say that Heartland stood behind that repair 100%. Would I purchase another heartland, you bet I would. Mass produced units will always Have some problems.

CR@P! It's the fact that nearly every mfr pays their employees on a piecework basis and not hourly. I'd love to see the results of a minimum 1 year trial where a company paid a straight-up wage and cut production by even 1-2 units per day. I'd put money on quality going up...significantly.

It still boggles my mind that when any particular rig is designed, they don't have wiring looms pre-made on a jig. I'd be willing to bet that a good portion of the plumbing could also be done the same way.

Lyle
laknox
Nomad
Sep 30, 2016
blkdodge wrote:
nickthehunter wrote:
coolmom42 wrote:
A properly installed PEX fitting will not leak. Emphasis on PROPERLY.

But it's a good idea to use a pressure regulator when water pressure is an unknown.
X2

However, you have to do your part also which includes proper winterizing. 1 leak maybe, but 4 leaks and I begin to think "Operator Error". Not saying the fault is with the owner but seems highly irregular in my experience.

I don't think "OPERATOR ERROR" is a fair assessment.. I for have a 2012 Landmark also made by Heartland, and OP is correct in saying looks like a child plumbed it. The first morning I woke up to water all over the bathroom floor(bad connection at toilet). I have had countless leaks in my basement. Fix one and get two more leaks. I think I have them all fixed by now. This winter I plan on re-plumbing the entire water distribution panel with a manifold that has separate shut offs for hot and cold. Also I might add I'm a certified plumber.

I note that you and the OP both have '12 models. Could the same team have plumbed both? Be interesting to see your two build dates.

Lyle
wvcampers
Explorer
Sep 29, 2016
Using a good water pressure regulator is a must. When you connect to the campground water it may not seem like it has a lot of pressure, but when everyone that uses that community water system goes to bed it can double. I use a whole house residential one purchased from Lowes. You can also get the fittings there to adapt it to hose fittings. Another advantage of using the residential regulator is that the flow is not restricted, only the pressure. The $8.00 ones made for RVs are worthless.
time2roll
Nomad
Sep 26, 2016
Pex pipe and Sharkbite/Gatorbite fittings. Get everything at the local home store not the RV dealer.
B_O__Plenty
Explorer II
Sep 26, 2016
I liked my 2011 Heartland Big Country, but must admit, I chased plumbing leaks for at least the first 2 years that I owned it. Plumbing and wiring looked like it was done by the same careless slob that did yours. All I could do was keep fixing it and sorting it out. Finally got it right. My new Cedar Creek is like day and night different. One of the reasons I changed manufacturers. Maybe the new Heartland stuff is better.????

B.O.
bkick
Explorer
Sep 26, 2016
2015 Big Country 3700. Four water leaks in the first week. All poor workmanship. All repaired by cutting lines and putting on new crimp clamps. Figured my unit was built on Monday morning as black tank level indictor was connected to the fresh water tank, and the black water empty lever was labeled waste water. When I first tried to open the right front slide the cable pulley pulled it self out of the wall, company only had two screws in it instead if six. Will say that Heartland stood behind that repair 100%. Would I purchase another heartland, you bet I would. Mass produced units will always Have some problems.
blkdodge
Explorer
Sep 26, 2016
nickthehunter wrote:
coolmom42 wrote:
A properly installed PEX fitting will not leak. Emphasis on PROPERLY.

But it's a good idea to use a pressure regulator when water pressure is an unknown.
X2

However, you have to do your part also which includes proper winterizing. 1 leak maybe, but 4 leaks and I begin to think "Operator Error". Not saying the fault is with the owner but seems highly irregular in my experience.

I don't think "OPERATOR ERROR" is a fair assessment.. I for have a 2012 Landmark also made by Heartland, and OP is correct in saying looks like a child plumbed it. The first morning I woke up to water all over the bathroom floor(bad connection at toilet). I have had countless leaks in my basement. Fix one and get two more leaks. I think I have them all fixed by now. This winter I plan on re-plumbing the entire water distribution panel with a manifold that has separate shut offs for hot and cold. Also I might add I'm a certified plumber.
FlatBroke
Explorer II
Sep 26, 2016
My first new trailer I discovered the black tank flush had no line connected to it! If I used it before I discovered it I would have blown water all over the converter and really flooded things.
nickthehunter
Nomad III
Sep 26, 2016
coolmom42 wrote:
A properly installed PEX fitting will not leak. Emphasis on PROPERLY.

But it's a good idea to use a pressure regulator when water pressure is an unknown.
X2

However, you have to do your part also which includes proper winterizing. 1 leak maybe, but 4 leaks and I begin to think "Operator Error". Not saying the fault is with the owner but seems highly irregular in my experience.
md_procouple
Explorer
Sep 26, 2016
One thing is certain... You DON'T get what you pay for... Trailers, Cars, Trucks, etc. Good Luck & Happy Camping in the future