Does HEARTLANDS trailers have a high quality build?

Don't buy a Heartland product. We deeply regret our decision. The quality and execution of design is without any obvious care and concern by their employees for longterm use of product and life of the product. While we love the layout the execution of the build is extremely discouraging. If you only wish to leave it on a seasonal site it may last better but if you plan on towing it thousand's of miles it simply does not have the quality of design and build details to survive.
We are considering trading but have no confidence that any other mass market builder of fifthwheel's has any better build and design quality.
If I was not a electromechanical technician by profession I could never keep this thing on the road. It would be in the repair shop continuously and I would be broke.
As an RVER for over 35 years I mourn the disappearance of quality manufacturers such as Newmar, Excel, Travel Supreme, NUWA, Alpenlite and Carriage from the fifthwheel scene.
It seems that Thor, Keystone and Forest River are intent on destroying the "goose that lays the golden egg" (the towable market) with the junk they release.
I won't purchase any vehicle produced by a Asian owned manufacturer but it may be time for the Japanese to enter the RV business.
Just spoke with a RV owner this week who's front fiberglass cap on his new fifthwheel just simply fell off on their first trip out. There is no excuse for junk like that.
Sorry for being so negative but it is buyer beware as the manufacturer's do not care how well your product perform's after they get your cheque.

B.O. Plenty wrote:

Super_Dave wrote:

Blanco1 wrote:

goducks10 wrote:
There's a reason Big Country, Landmark and Big Horn are warranted for full time use and the Pioneer isn't.

The Pioneer has a 3 year Warrenty.

Incomplete information, only the structure is warrantied for 3 years. I think bumper to bumper is 1 year and the roof is 10 years.

And the 10 year roof warranty like everyone else's...covers only the replacement fabric, no labor, no other materials. If that isn't bad enough it's pro-rated. Not the big deal the salesman wants you to think it is.

B.O.

As you correctly point out, the mythical roof warranty nothing but a useless sales tool that is abused by sales lizards, to impress the clueless. The "warranty" involves giving you a pro-rated refund on a $400 sheet of rubber, so you can spend $4000 to have it replaced. Even if you thought you might be the lucky winner of a $40 pro-rated check, when your roof leaks in nine years. you're not there yet. You still need to get the rubber manufacturer to agree that their product is defective, and the reason your roof is leaking. Since there is a 99% chance that they can pin your roof issue on a lack of maintenance, you probably won't be seeing that check any time soon.

Bottom line? If you have a leak in the full warranty period provided by the RV manufacturer, and you have a decent dealer and manufacturer, you will probably have your issue covered at no charge. Beyond that, you're typically on your own. There is no Easter Bunny, and the ten or twelve year roof warranty doesn't exist either.

Well you have to realize that the rv workers get paid based on a quota, once they get their 10 or so RVs out the door they get to go home so with that being said, how much quality do you expect to have in an RV when they are throwing them together as fast as they can? Do as another poster said, find a floorplan you like, then find a good dealer because that's going to be your first line of defense for repairs. Don't call Heartland or Thor or Keystone, find a good dealer that will take care of you after the sale.

We ordered our Bighorn in October 2016, took delivery late December 2016, and moved into it late May 2017, have now been in it 283 days. We have been somewhat disappointed in the assembly craftsmanship: stripped and crooked screws, less than great fit-up of some of the wood trim, etc.

Most of the components within the camper are from vendor companies that supply the industry in general across virtually all brand and price barriers. We had issues with our Dometic thermostat system, with our Anderson Kantleak selector valve, with the auto-changeover propane regulator, Jensen audio system and a few other items. The majority of the items i have fixed myself, our dealer has provided the required parts under warrantee.

Just as our warrantee ran out we had an issue with a slide along with a few additional items. I contacted Heartland and they advised we take it to any Heartland dealer in our area, which was in the Phoenix area ar the time. I contacted La Mesa RV in Mesa, AZ. They got us in within a week, and successfully took care of all the issues in a day. Even though our warrantee had expired Heartland took care of all issue at no cost. Since we are fulltimers, La Mesa was prepared to supply us connections so we could stay in our "house" overnight if necessary.

While having issues is not desireable, things do happen. We are very pleased with our camper and am very happy with Heartland RV, our dealer (Wagner Trailer Sales in Cleveland, WI, and La Mesa RV in Mesa for their assistance when needed.

The RV industry in general needs to improve quality, that being said we would purchase another Heartland product.

Best of luck to you & happy camping!

Larry-D wrote:
We have a 2016 Heartland Pioneer. Other than one minor fit and finish issue with an interior panel that was fixed prior to delivery there have been no problems. Going through the thing over the past 2 years no problems with fit and finish. The controller board on the water heater was bad from its factory, I replaced it with one from Amazon, no problems.

Glad to hear that!

We have a 2016 Heartland Pioneer. Other than one minor fit and finish issue with an interior panel that was fixed prior to delivery there have been no problems. Going through the thing over the past 2 years no problems with fit and finish. The controller board on the water heater was bad from its factory, I replaced it with one from Amazon, no problems.

Only one data point, but a buddy of mine had major issues with his 2012 Heartland Landmark. He battled with Heartland for a year to resolve a number of problems, including returning it to the factory for attempted repairs, the main one being a serious a slide leak. He finally got an attorney involved and filed suit under the lemon law. Heartland agreed to exchange his trailer for a new 2013 model.

He picked it up and towed it to another dealership where he traded it in on a new (not Heartland) 5th wheel. Yes, he took a bath financially.

I guess we are the exception to the rule. our Heartland Oakmont has been relatively trouble free. We've only really had one issue: the slide in the kitchen caught the linoleum was it was retracting and tore a big gouge in it right at the end of last season. I think A rock got caught in the roller or something. Not a difficult fix.

Other than that we are not terribly ginger with anything in the trailer. things are built of light materials to keep the weight down, but the recliners and couches are super comfy. even the beds aren't bad. We haven't had plumbing problems or water storage problems or AC issues or anything else. just set it up, use it then clean it, put it away. Basic maintenance goes a long way regardless of the brand of RV you buy.

I hope I didn't just jinx myself.

Bought a Big Country last year and very happy w/ it. Came out of a Cedar Creek Silverback.

This topic is no different than that of the Ford 6. Uh-Oh. Vast majority of folks didn't have problems with them and quiet. Those that did, we all heard the loudest.

Blanco1 wrote:

goducks10 wrote:
Let me get this straight. Brand X has a problem so all brand X's are bad?
RV (Insert brand here) has an issue so all brands have issues?
Whats the point of asking?

& I suppose theres always happy & not happy customers?

Pretty much.