HEARTLAND Complaints

Range is installed in our Heartland RV. Suburban put out a TSB to have silicone placed at wiring connections on stove knobs under stove top. Then they put out a recall to disconnected and cap the wiring for the illumination of the stove knobs and the oven lighting. The range has an issue with the temperature control that it doesn’t reach indicated temperature. The main issue is that when the pilot is lit and you set it to a temperature like 300 degrees it lights okay. But, after a few minutes the burner goes out and so does the pilot. You have to continually relate the pilot and each time turn the range to a higher temperature to keep the burner in the oven on to cook anything. Suburban has indicated that it is a manifold issue on the top of the stove but has not provided any corrective action or recall on any of this. The Range should be recalled and replaced.

The rear spring shackles that hold the leaf springs and axle to the frame of the trailer broke off of the frame while going down the road. I took the RV to Clyde's Frame shop in Pontiac MI. and was told that this is a very common problem with frames made by Lippert because they do not brace the shackles the way they should be to prevent this from happening. I have filed an insurance claim but they have not inspected the damage to the RV yet. Thankfully we were only driving at a low speed and noticed a lot of smoke coming from the back of the RV. If we would have been traveling at highway speeds the rear tires would have blown out causing the RV to become very unstable or cause a serious accident. Also where the spring shackle broke off of the frame it broke a PVC tube that has to gasoline lines in it that run from the fuel tank in the rear of the RV to the generator in the front of the RV. Any sparks could have caused the gasoline to ignite causing a major fire. There were no warning signs, lamps or messages before this happened. We were going straight down the road, we felt a small jerk, looked in the rear view mirror and seen a lot of smoke coming from the rear of the RV.

June 2023 from the inside of the RV we noticed the back end of the RV sagging. I inspected the frame and found it was broken in several places. The right side of the 'I' beam was cracked just above the rear leaf spring hanger. On the left side of the trailer the leaf spring hanger was broken off the 'I' beam and the 'I' beam was bent. This rendered the trailer extremely dangerous to pull. This trailer was purchased in 2019 and was not driven recklessly to cause this to happen. Just normal driving. The RV is available for inspection however it has been repaired, and the frame has been re-enforced with steel plates. The RV forum I am on indicated both the RV manufacture and the frame manufactures blame each other for these failures, thus avoiding the cost of taking responsibility. The vehicle was not inspected by any manufacture of government agency. There were no symptoms of any eminent failure other than the many other broken trailer frames. Knowing these trailers have a high frame failure rate is what caused me to inspect it, which I have done frequently since buying it.

The contact owns a 2018 Heartland Pioneer RV. The contact stated that while outside and touching the RV, the contact experienced electrical shocks. The electrical shocks had occurred only while kneeling and touching the RV. While examining the RV, the contact discovered that the electrical wiring to the air conditioning unit was chard and burnt. Additionally, the air condition compressor had overheated. The cause of the failure was not determined. The local dealer was notified of the failure. The manufacturer was not yet contacted. The failure mileage was 100.

My Mallard 25 manufactured by Heartland was in the shop for another issue (black water tank). As they removed the under-belly, they noticed 4 cracks/fractures in the I-Beam on both sides behind all 4 wheels. The cracks vary in length. They told me to contact Heartland to see what can be done. I have done that and have received no response. I believe this is a dangerous driving condition and that NHTSA should be notified immediately. Kennedy’s RV technicians will confirm their findings through pictures. I also have copies of the pictures. Thank you in advance for your quick response.

On two separate occasions I have had the door on the RV melt and crack from the door resting against the heat vent placed behind the door. The latch is NOT PRACTICAL OR SUFFICIENT. Many people go in and out and the door gets open and closed a lot. There’s no real visible warning except hot written on the vent in the same color. We are educated people who are aware of what the plug is for. It only took minutes for this to happen. I can’t imagine if we were not there and the door was left open what would have happened. If we were inside sleeping we would have no way out either. This is a poor design . I’m certain there is some kind of hinge that would stop it from lying flush with the back or stoppers that would bounce it back. I would appreciate it if you could review this matter. This is a FIRE HAZARD. I have also called and emailed the Heartland Company as well.

The contact owns a 2023 Heartland Bighorn built on a 2019 Mercedes-Benz Sprinter chassis. The contact stated that while the awning was opened, the front passenger’s side the awning fractured. The contact stated that the water tank also filled up with water independently. On another occasion, while pulling the stairs, the screws to the handle detached. The RV was taken to the dealer and the RV was repaired. On another occasion, while turning on the water, the contact became aware that the water was not heated as needed. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and the battery was replaced; however, the lights inside the RV were low. The RV was diagnosed by an inspector sent by the manufacturer and stated that a ground wire was loosened. The contact was informed that the RV was unsafe to operate. The RV was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted but did not provide any assistance. The failure mileage was unknown.

The awning material is coming loose from the frame at the sidewall. This is an active recall for other Heartland Trailers but appears that the scope of the issue should be expanded as I have been told this issue is not under recall for my specific unit. Your assistance with this matter is requested.

In January 2023 the 26th breaker panel sparked and started smoking no breakers flipped and at 3am my roommate who works nights started pulling anything that could produce power or consume it. After almost two weeks of fighting manufacturer we were sent a converter and a licensed technician installed it and power was restored. May 21st 2023 there was a loud pop and the entire system started flickering off and on and an electrical smell of burning wires started producing and i immediately went to evacuate the children and disconnected anything that could be consuming power. Flickering and clicking went on for a couple hours before it ceased and no power was returned to the unit.

The auto leveling system caught fire. The RV was a total loss. The system was properly powered down at last use.