HEARTLAND Complaints

TRAILER TIRE TREAD SEPARATION AND BLOWOUT. WHEN THE TIRE TREAD WAS FLAPPING, IT DESTROYED THE WIRING TO THE SLIDE OF THE RV BEFORE I COULD SAFELY STOP. TIRE WAS PROPERLY INFLATED @ 65 PSI AND WAS NOT OVERLOADED. SPEED WAS 55 MPH. THE TIRE HAS 2000 MILES ON IT. *TR

DROVE TO AZ ANF BACK HOME TO ALBERTA. LOOKED UNDER 5H WHEEL - 3W SHACKLES BROKEN. THESE ARE FROM LIPPERT MANUFACTURING. WE REPLACED AND INSTALLED 3 SHACKLES AY OUR EXPENSE. *TR

MISSION TIRES ON 2008 HEARTLAND SUNDANCE 2900MK 5TH WHEEL TRAILER. LOST ALL 4 TIRES DURING RV TRIP WITH APPROX 10,000 MILES ON THEM. ONE OF THE TIRES BLOW OUT CAUSING MAJOR DAMAGE TO RV. SIDE OF TRAILER IS BEING REPAIRED AND ALL 4 TIRE HAD TO BE REPLACED DUE TO SEPARATION OF TREAD IN THE REMAINING THREE TIRES. NO PERSONAL INJURY, JUST MAJOR DAMAGE TO 5TH WHEEL DUE TO TIRE FAILURE. *TR

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2006 HEARTLAND BIGHORN FIFTH WHEEL TRAILER, MODEL 3655. WHILE DRIVING 55 MPH, THE WHEEL CRACKED AND BLEW OUT THE AMERICANA TIRES. THE WHEELS PERFORM POORLY ON ROUGH ROAD CONDITIONS. THE CONTACT FELT THAT THE WHEELS WERE UNSAFE BECAUSE THEY COULD BLOW OUT AT ANY TIME. A NEAR CRASH OCCURRED DUE TO THE FAILURE. THE MILEAGES WERE NOT APPLICABLE.

WHILE OPERATING THE RV UNDER NORMAL CONDITIONS, I OBSERVED POSSIBLE DAMAGE TO THE FRONT CAP, I.E. THE CAP COMING LOOSE FROM THE MAIN BODY. UPON HAVING IT EXAMINED BY A LOCAL RV DEALER IT WAS FOUND THAT THE FRONT FRAME HAD CRACKED IN SEVERAL PLACES ON BOTH SIDES. THE LOCAL DEALER STATED THAT DUE TO THE LOCATION AND EXTENT OF THE CRACKS, BEHIND THE SIDE WALLS, THE DAMAGE WAS NOT REPAIRABLE. THE FRAME MANUFACTURE AND THE RV CORPORATION DEALER STATED THEY WERE GOING TO SEND A REPAIR PERSON OUT AND WELD THE FRAME IN ORDER TO REPAIR THE FRAME. THE REPAIR PERSON HAS STATED TO OUR DEALER, WHEN HE RESPONDED TO REPAIR ANOTHER CRACKED FRAME, THAT THIS TYPE OF FRAME FAILURE OCCURS ABOUT EVERY 50 UNITS PRODUCED. THIS IS THE SECOND CRACKED FRAME THE LOCAL DEALER HAS HAD IN THE PAST MONTH. THE CONSEQUENCES OF THE FRAME FAILURE COULD RESULT IN THE RV BREAKING LOOSE WHILE BEING TOWED ON THE HIGHWAY. *TR

WE PURCHASED A 2007 BIGHORN 04/25/2007, NEW FROM A LOCAL RV SHOP. WE USED IT VERY LITTLE THE FIRST YEAR, I WAS WORKING, NOW SINCE I RETIRED WE STARTED TRAVELING WITH OUR BIGHORN. ON 07/08/08 NOTICED A BALL ON ONE OF THE TIRES. THE TIRES CAME WITH THE 5TH WHEEL ARE A KARRIER LOADSTAR ST235/80 R16 DOT 7YHJ ANC. TIRE REPLACED WITH LES SCHWAB. ON 09/24/2008 WE WERE TRAVELING, AND NEAR DILLON, MT. I NOTICED A BALL ON A DIFFERENT LOADSTAR , WENT TO DILLON AND REPLACED THAT TIRE, HAD THE OTHER TIRES CHECK AND WAS GOOD TO GO. LESS THAN 30 MINUTES FROM DILLON A LOADSTAR BLEW AND CAUSE CONSIDER AMOUNT OF DAMAGE TO OUR BIGHORN. I HAD THE DILLON LES SCHWAB COME AND REPLACED THE ONE THAT BLEW AND THE LAST LOADSTAR ON THE 5TH WHEEL. I CONTACTED KENDA MAKERS ON KARRIER LOADSTAR. ALSO I SEEN ON DIFFERENT BLOGS AND WEBSITE THAT THERE HAS BEEN PROBLEMS WITH THE TIRES. THAT THERE EVEN COULD BE A SILENT RECALL ON THE LOADSTARS, IF NOTHING AT LEAST PUT OUT A LOOK AT TIRE NOTICES. I FEEL THAT MY WIFE AND I WERE IN DANDER USING THE TIRES. *TR

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2006 HEARTLAND LANDMARK RV. THE VEHICLE HAS POLARIS LOAD BOSS TIRES, SIZE 235/85/R16. ON OCTOBER 12, 2008, WHILE DRIVING 35 MPH, THE CONTACT HEARD A LOUD NOISE. THE CONTACT NOTICED THAT THE REAR PASSENGER SIDE TIRE DETACHED FROM THE WHEEL. HE REPLACED THE TIRE WITH THE SPARE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 1,500. UPDATED 11/12/08 *BF UPDATED 11/13/08. *JB

I PURCHASED A NEW 2008 HEARTLAND BIGHORN FIFTH WHEEL 9/2/08. AFTER 3 WEEKS, 4 ELECTRICAL PROBLEM AROSE SIMULTANEOUSLY IN ONE WEEKS TIME. DEALER AND MANUFACTURER WILL ONLY CONTINUE TO REPAIR AND NOT REPLACE. THIS TRAILER IS OUR HOME AND VERY UNSAFE. AFTER WAKING TO A SMOKE FILLED TRAILER, THE FIRE DEPT WAS DISPATCHED. *TR

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2007 HEARTLAND BIGHORN. THE VEHICLE HAS KENDA KARRIER TIRES, SIZE ST235/85/R16. THE CONTACT OBSERVED A BLISTER ON THE SIDEWALL OF THE FRONT DRIVER'S SIDE AND RIGHT REAR TIRES. THE INDEPENDENT MECHANIC REPLACED THE TWO DEFECTIVE TIRES. THE FAILURE AND CURRENT MILEAGES WERE 5,500. UPDATED 10/14/08. *LJ UPDATED 10/15/08 .*JB

DEAR REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NHTSA AND GOOD SAM CLUB, 1) ON 5/23/08 WHILE IN TRAVELING ON A CALIFORNIA HIGHWAY OUR CYCLONE'S SPARE TIRE WINCH FAILED, RELEASING THE SPARE TIRE WHILE IN TRANSIT. FORTUNATELY NO INNOCENT BYSTANDERS WERE INADVERTENTLY HARMED. ACCORDING TO RICHARDSON'S SERVICE CENTER MY ENSUING COMPLAINT WAS NOT THE FIRST OF THIS EXACT NATURE. HEARTLAND AUTHORIZED THE REPLACEMENT OF MY FAULTY WINCH AND THE REPLACEMENT OF MY SPARE TIRE ON 6/12/08; HOWEVER, AS OF THIS WRITING I AM STILL WAITING ON THESE PARTS, INCLUDING A SPARE TIRE. THOUGH HARTLAND ALLEGEDLY IS COVERING THIS MATTER UNDER WARRANTY, THEY HAVE NEVER EMPHASIZED ANY CONCERN OVER THE ACCIDENT OR ELUDED TO ANY IMPROVEMENTS IN THE SAKE OF SAFETY. 2) ON 7/4/08 WHILE IN TRANSIT ON A UTAH HIGHWAY MY CYCLONE'S DRIVER-SIDE FORWARD TIRE BLEW OUT, CONSEQUENTLY CAUSING SIGNIFICANT DAMAGE TO THE SIDE OF OUR TOY HAULER (SEE ATTACHED PHOTO). SOME OF THE SURROUNDING FACTS THAT HAVE CAUSED ALARM WITHIN VARIOUS TRANSPORTATION AUTHORITIES (NHTSA) AND MOTOR CARRIER SPECIALISTS (DOT/FMCSR), INCLUDING WITHIN FAMILY, IS AS FOLLOWS. THE ORIGINAL TIRES WERE GOODYEAR MARATHON ST225/75R15D (DATED 0107), RATED AT 2540 LBS. AT 65 PSI, WITH A COMBINE LOAD RATING OF 15,240 LBS. MY CYCLONE HAS A GVWR 18,000 LBS., WITH A DRY WEIGHT OF JUST UNDER 14,000 LBS, A (DRY) HITCH WEIGHT OF JUST UNDER 3,000 LBS (OR < 15% OF THE GVW), AND A GARAGE CARGO CAPACITY OF 2,500 LBS. CONSIDERING THIS WE WERE NOT ABLE TO LOAD 2,500 LBS. IN TO THE CARGO AREA (GARAGE) OF MY CYCLONE, WHILE NOT EXCEEDING THE TIRES COMBINED LOAD RATING OF 15,240 LBS., WITH THE TRAILER AT A LOGICAL LOAD (E.G. ENOUGH WATER/FOOD/CLOTHES FOR A WEEKEND FOR A FAMILY OF FOUR); NOT UNREASONABLY ABOVE ITS DRY WEIGHT. NOT TO MENTION THE ABSENCE OF ANY SAFETY FACTOR. FURTHERMORE, WE'VE ALSO REALIZED THAT HEARTLAND'S CURRENT CYCLONE SPECIFICATIONS NOTE FOR TIRES A ST225/75R16D, WHICH OBVIOUSLY HAVE A FAR MORE SUPERIOR LOAD RATING THAN DO THE 15" TIRES. *TR