Last June I wrote about how my parents decided to buy a new 2022 Heartland Mallard M33 travel trailer. The 37-foot-long, 7,746-pound beast is like a luxury hotel on wheels, but it came from the factory so broken that we couldn’t safely sleep in it. Over a year later, my family has finally taken our first camping trip in it. Guess what? This trailer is still broken! It’s so broken, it reminds me of the late ’70s cars tested by the charming Bob Mayer. Do you want to laugh today? Let’s check this thing out.
Let’s talk about the state of RV quality at large before I show you the pathetic state of my parents’ expensive, almost-new travel trailer. In recent times there have been a number of reports about a slump in the quality of RVs being churned out of Indiana factories. I wrote one of those reports! Then I got to see the quality in person. When I attended the Indiana RV Open House dealer show, I spoke with several dealership representatives, and many of them were there to figure out not just which campers to sell, but which ones they shouldn’t sell due to poor build quality. At the show I saw hastily-applied spraypaint covering up frame rust, an awning installed with such little care that the wall it was hung from was compromised, and even interior material choices so poor that the mere act of opening a cabinet door causes damage. These were all RVs that, according to their manufacturing stickers, were put together only a month or two before the show.
Building Them As Fast As Possible
One of the Camping World affiliates I spoke to claimed the problem has to do with how a significant portion of the RV industry operates. Workers in many RV factories are paid by the piece, so they have an incentive to complete their work as fast as possible. RV demand hit record numbers back in 2021 and was still hot in 2022, so these factories were churning out campers as quickly as they could. The Camping World dealer representative then said dealers are then responsible for fixing the many quality problems that arise from speedrunning camper builds. These practices have been called out by independent trailer manufacturers like inTech, which uses a profit-sharing model.
If you’ve owned an RV before, you already know that they aren’t the most durable things out there, so the fact that they’ve possibly gotten worse is almost impressive. Dave Solberg, an RV repair expert over at RV Travel, echoes what you just read above:
Most RV manufacturers build the cheapest rig as fast as possible
Keep in mind that most RV manufacturers strive to build the cheapest rig as fast as possible. Fit and finish is hidden with expandable foam, silicone, and a product called gimp, which is a vinyl strip used between cabinets and walls to hide uneven cuts and gaps. They use cheap fabrics, single-layer foam in cushions, and even low-level furniture that they give a fancy name like it’s designer quality when actually it’s a lower level than what you would find at a big box store!
Take a closer look. You’ll find particle board with a vinyl wrap, paneling used to look like solid wood, holes that look like they were cut out with a hatchet inside those cabinets rather than a nice cutout with decorative trim to finish it off. Nope, that all takes time, which costs money. Since the unit sitting across the aisle doesn’t have it, it’s a waste of money.
Solberg’s conclusion is that buyers are letting the manufacturers get away with bad quality by scooping up poorly-built rigs, essentially enabling the manufacturers to not care.
What Living With One Of These Campers Is Like
So, what do you get if you happen to buy one of the campers that was likely built at a lightning pace? Back in March 2022, my parents purchased a 2022 Heartland Mallard M33. Last year, I wrote about how the camper was delivered to my parents with faulty safety equipment. One of the safety chains broke when my father first tried hooking up the unit to their tow vehicle. These are chains that are supposed to keep the trailer from killing someone in an emergency. If for whatever reason your trailer comes off of the ball, the chains are a redundancy. In a freak accident, those chains can mean the difference between life and death. But, according to my father, the hook came off of one of the chains while just getting hooked up. How does that even happen?
That wasn’t the only piece of safety equipment that failed. This trailer also has a breakaway cable on its tongue. When this cable is pulled out, the trailer activates its brakes. The idea here is that in the event of an emergency like a trailer detachment, there isn’t a 7,746-pound missile going down the road. Well, that cable fell apart in my hand. In a real emergency, it would have done exactly nothing.
So, with critical safety equipment broken, my parents sent the trailer back to the dealership for fixes. Thanks to parts shortages at the time, it took a couple of months to get the camper back. And that’s when we discovered all of the other things that were wrong with the camper, and my, the list is long.
I’m sure you don’t have all day, so I’ll just list them out. In addition to the safety problems, we found three light switches that weren’t even screwed in, random staples everywhere on the ceiling, a window valence that fell off a wall, and a bathtub that wasn’t even close to being installed correctly. In fact, the bathtub wasn’t even screwed in or secured, but just sitting in place. Because of this, there was a huge water leak when we tested the shower and tub. Amazingly, that wasn’t even the only place water was gushing out into the wrong places. The water heater also sprayed water all over everything inside and outside of the trailer.
Mind you, these were all problems in a trailer that at the time, was just four months old, never camped in, and still had factory plastic and stickers over everything. And we’re not done yet! The trailer’s body was also already falling apart. The perimeter of the Mallard has side skirt-like parts that our dealership calls J-channels. These thin pieces of metal are there for aerodynamics and style. The J-channels on our trailer appear to have been secured with self-tapping screws and one of them was halfway through a self-deletion process.
The body also had signs of a rushed, cheap build, like the sloppily-applied sealant around the windows. Also notable is the front end’s LED light strips, which looked like they came from Amazon and were already falling off.
Oh, and did I mention that this trailer, which was then just a few months old, already had rust on its frame?
Our dealer believed that there isn’t anything in the form of rust prevention there. Further, the dealer tech said that the trailer was actually delivered to the dealership from the factory with surface rust. The recommended solution is to spray paint it and ignore it.
Fixed, But Still Broken
It took a full year to fix all of this. Sometimes, the first fix didn’t work. For example, the bathtub was mounted by the dealership, but it was mounted in a horribly crooked position. It took two more visits before the bathtub was finally put in correctly. Other times, the dealer had to wait months for a part to come in. Our dealership said that they were swamped with work, so even when the part came in, there was additional waiting time because there are only so many technicians to work on so many broken campers.
Further complicating things was stuff going missing from the camper. Apparently, a new Mallard arrived from the factory without seat cushions. Our dealership took the still new cushions out of our camper and put them into the other Mallard. They then forgot to replace the cushions in our camper. So, we had to wait for those to come in. Eventually, we spent so much time waiting for things that the camping season was over.
The camper stayed at the dealership for the winter. Apparently, during the winter, someone cut through the dealership’s fence and then stole just about everything that wasn’t bolted down. The alleged thief entered our camper and stole everything from plates and silverware to towels.
Finally, after a year of trying to fix a camper that was broken from the factory, my family was able to take our first camping trip in the Mallard last weekend.
To prepare for the occasion, my parents bought a 2016 Ford F-350 to tow the trailer. Their Chevrolet Suburban did tow the trailer, but we were riding the SUV’s limits, which wasn’t good. The F-350 tows the trailer almost as if it’s not even back there. What an amazing difference having the right equipment makes. As a bonus, the truck–a former municipal vehicle–came with snazzy graphics that sort of match the trailer.
Anyway, things were fun until they became comical, and they became comical because somehow, after a year of repairs, the trailer is still broken!
We first discovered things weren’t quite right when we tried to turn on the kitchen’s LED lights, which now don’t work. That switch knows what it did wrong…
Then, we tried to open the refrigerator to put food in it. The door jammed on the second closure, and when we tried to clear the jam, the door responded by snapping off its handle. I couldn’t help but laugh so hard that I started crying. This is the kind of stuff from a comedy movie, but a dumb one like an Adam Sandler flick.
And we’re not done yet. We found that the water heater wasn’t working. While I was troubleshooting it, I opened up the outdoor kitchen, which revealed that the refrigerator had pulled itself from the wall, taking its holder with it. Meanwhile, the ceiling of the outdoor kitchen is separating, causing a snow of particle board dust.
Inside, we found that the window shades don’t like to stay open on their own and perhaps thanks to Chicago potholes, interior wall trim is falling off. Also comical is the fact that every single fixture mounted to the walls is crooked.
I did figure out what was wrong with the water heater. The valves were turned off and its breaker was switched off for the winter. This trailer was supposedly de-winterized, but I’m not sure about that. The water heater is conveniently located behind the battery disconnect. I turned on the valves, which gave us hot water…and a water leak. But hey, at least the water heater leaks only outside now.
Speaking of water leaks, the kitchen sink’s plumbing has a bad leak, and the rear door, found in the bathroom, is so poorly sealed that rainwater gets in. You can see the ground through the lack of seals!
It’s Not All Bad
So, our first outing with the Mallard was sort of a crapshow. We spent more time laughing (or crying, if you’re my parents who actually spent a ton of money on this) at all of the hilarious faults than enjoying ourselves. There’s no reason things should be this bad. It’s almost as if this camper was built with the least amount of care one could get away with. Thankfully, this trailer has a warranty, so it will keep on returning to the dealership until it works as it should. Sadly, the one thing that will never get fixed by the dealership is the rust, which has advanced in the past year. Check this out:
This trailer has never seen salt or been towed in winter!
I’m not sure if the trailer’s quality will ever be good, but I’m rooting for it because aside from the issues, the Mallard really is a fun rig. In our brief moments of having fun, I really enjoyed the outdoor stereo system and the beds are actually quite comfortable. I also love the power awning, the power stabilizer jacks, and the fact that I actually fit in the shower without feeling like I’m fighting the shower curtain. From a towing perspective, the Mallard tracks well and when it’s windy outside, the trailer doesn’t feel like it’s trying to yank the tow vehicle off of the road.
Also, the fact that the steps actually touch the ground with today’s campers is brilliant. No more feeling like you’re going to rip the steps out.
I reached out to Thor Industries – the parent company of Heartland RV – for comment on quality struggles in the industry. As of writing, I haven’t heard back. I didn’t hear back when I asked a similar question last year.
Don’t Be Distracted By Pretty Features
So, what should you take from all of this? For one, don’t buy a camper sight unseen. Go and take a look at the one you want in person before you exchange any money. While you are there, try not to let the camper’s awesome features and design blur your vision. Try to focus on how it’s built. Is it just a month old and already covered in rust? Don’t assume the camper is built like your house or your car. Look it over inch by inch. You might be surprised at what you find.
If you find out that the camper wasn’t built well, don’t fret! The great thing about the RV industry right now is that there are perhaps countless brands out there and a lot of them do care about quality. If one brand doesn’t jive well with you, try another!
As for our camper, it goes out for another outing this weekend. Hopefully, this time we’ll have more fun and spend less time inspecting things.
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Hartland Mallard = Heartland Malturd, got it
Yes, but not specific to this model. Basically anything by a Thor or Forest River brand, which is most of the market. And even the better ones are surprisingly bad given the cost.
I thought it was just Australian RVs that were built like shit. Looks like it’s endemic in The States too! I have an 18 year old Jayco wind up camper trailer. (Not affiliated with US Jayco, they merely own the rights to the name in Australia). The interior fit and finish is… questionable. However, it’s lasted 18 years over thousands of kilometres, doesn’t leak at all and has zero rust on its gal chassis. I can fix most issues that arise during a trip pretty easily. The new ones however, are rolling warranty claims. The biggest, most egregious problem is the spate of delaminating roofs that owners have to put up with until a replacement becomes available. They obviously prioritise roofs they produce for products that are yet to be sold, not ones already in customers hands.
A few months ago I hired a Winnebago (again, different company to in the US, rights to the name purchased by an Aussie company). This motorhome was built specifically for hire so was more fortified than the usual consumer grade ones. Even it had a plywood floor that had caved in under the bed ladder (presumably from heavy people like me falling off the last step in the middle of the night), and a window that leaked rain water all over my daughter’s bed, which became the seats the kids were sitting in while we travelled. Meaning my kids were sitting on damp seats the whole trip. Most humorous of all, the door latch decided to suicide 200km from the next fuel stop, in the middle of the Western Australian outback. We had no duct tape, no cable ties, nothing – just had to cruise along at 100km/hr with the door flapping in the breeze!
Its a race to the bottom, like most industries, because customers don’t really shop quality anymore. Expensive luxury cars are being built with orange peel paint and cheap plastic interiors, but buyers are too dazzled by all the big rims, touch screens, and electronic gadgets to notice or care; home appliances are built like crap but come with WiFi connectivity and stainless steel faces, so they still move; mid-level department stores with quality merchandise, attractive buildings, and knowledgeable staff have been put out of business, because we actually want to buy vast quantities of low priced junk in ugly concrete floored warehouses; and airlines can’t do much to improve coach, because everybody just sorts ticket prices from low to high and books the lowest one available.
Last year I bought an ’06 30′ Weekend Warrior Super Lite toyhauler to convert to a living/office trailer (toyhauler because of the big back door for furniture and cabinets to fit through). It is in very solid shape with great finish and detail work, no rust or leaks or signs of any other failures…just some scuffs and fading. I doubt that you can count on any one brand to always be good or bad and would have to do your own knowledgeable inspection, but maybe it’s reasonable to consider an older better-built trailer for a fraction of the cost of new.
We also have an ’88 Fleetwood Wilderness (bought in ’04) that lasted all this time because of how well it was built and I tend to not move on from something that works. It finally leaks and most anything made of plastic is getting crusty, but for 35 years and a bunch of wonderful trips it’s done great. Only repairs ever (incl. appliances) were old brake wire connections, a bearing set and new awning material; it’s been a ridiculously problem-free RV. Too bad I couldn’t go back in time and buy another like it.
Meanwhile I have plenty of experience with older stuff that just had to be cut up for scrap so there’s that. Certainly, once there’s structure rust or panel delamination issues inside or out, you’re done.
Other RVs/projects were one of those little fiberglass U-Haul trailers which we did not like, and a ’74 steel Superior M.H. that may never get done.
Just get a bunch of insurance and accidentally plunge it into a river or set it on fire or something, Jesus. Maybe the whole dealership could accidentally burn down and everyone could be free. I hope to God these people just had tons of cash rather than financing an asset that’s not just depreciating but actively falling apart.
Just say it was on a doctor’s advice…
I was going to suggest “wash with petrol, dry with match” but you beat me to it.
“Pretty sure that’s an Airstream, dude…”
Man I feel so bad for your parents. If i were them i would ask my wonderful daughter in law to assist in a full refund with backup from my famous auto journalist daughter.
Nice to see the quality of my 1980’s camper I paid less than $2,000 for is better than new.
I’ve been involved in RV’ing for a while, primarily with motorhomes, but the same principles apply to both quality for trailers as well.
In the best of times, you get what you pay for — mostly. There are overpriced models, as well as relative bargains that break the averages, but overall, RV’s and brands break down into low, mid, and high tiers. (Plus “wretched excess” on the very top…) Do not buy low-tier products, even if you’re handy at fixing RVs yourself. Just. Don’t. Be careful with mid-tier products. Learn which brands are typically “right” (mostly) out of the factory and which ones are known for being “hangar queens” for the first year of their life. NOTE: Even with “hangar queens”, issues should be limited to problems with 3rd-party supplied products, like appliances, levelers, slide-out mechanisms, etc. and minor build touch-ups. Not grievous build quality issues.
Thor Industries swallowed up a lot of low- and mid-tier brands and those designs kind of permeate everything they sell, due to economy of scale. As such, I don’t and won’t trust even their high-end products. Period. The company isn’t structured to support that. It seems to me like Thor has managed to swallow up and wreck a lot of the Elkhart area mainstream brands, and that’s unfortunate.
On the other hand, Winnebago has always been primarily a solid mid and upper-mid-tier manufacturer, and they’ve acquired a few other brands as well, up to high-end motorhome manufacturer Newmar and expanded into some of the Elkhart area. Winnebago builds trailers as well as motorhomes; their core lines tend to be maybe not as flashy or upscale-looking, but they’ve always had a reputation for cranking out highly standardized and repairable designs. (As has Newmar, in their market sector.) That goes a long way to having RV’s that withstand the rough physical forces of driving a house down the highway at 60 MPH several times a year, and coming back for more year-on-year. Winnebago also insists on stocking parts for everything they put their name on, going back decades. In a world of planned obsolescence, it’s both surprising and refreshing. It’s possible to do things right in the RV world — but you have do a lot of homework about the manufacturers to find the ones that are on the level.
Shout out to my past self for never buying an RV whenever I got the urge. I really wish they were better than this. I am usually against government intervention, but I really think we need to start taking seriously the scam the RV industry is. 5k or 500k I’ve heard nothing but horror stories. No regulation, no rules, huge soggy cardboard boxes flying all over our country’s interstates…
We can do better folks!
RV stands for, Ruined Vacations.
The litany of defects cited will continue a long as this compensation package is in place. I know I’m being naïve, but if a large enough state, the CPSC or NHTSA stepped in with either safety or consumer protection rules — similar to lemon laws — manufacturers would change their policies and procedures to deliver safer and somewhat durable products.
One thought is a pre-purchase inspection akin to what homebuyers do. Here, sign a contract and pay contingent on completion of the punchlist. Again, this would take a consumer friendly state legislature to put such a mechanism in place. This would even the playing field for consumers.
That arrangement is crazy. If they’re paid by the piece then they should be contractors. If they’re really contractors they should have to personally repair their bad work or, if they can’t, have sufficient funds or liability insurance to cover the cost of hiring someone who can. Or they could just pay them hourly like every automotive and adjacent manufacturer since Ford.
This sounds like the worst way to spend $62k.
My coworker had a similar experience with the 2021 toy hauler they bought…though not quite as many issues as we see here.
My wife and I would love to have a small TT one day, but after seeing this, all the more reason to buy a used one for a lot less money (and spend a little elbow grease fixing any remaining issues).
Quality-wise, there’s also a lot of small brands that are at least less terrible for quality. Especially the molded fiberglass options, but Winnebago/Grand Design is at least less bad than the Thor and Forest River brands. Oliver seems to be genuinely rather good quality, but the price reflects it.
I’m so sorry to hear this, and it’s similar to what I hear all the time. I heard so many people say, “don’t buy a new RV… get a used one so someone else has dealt with all the initial build quality issues.” The depreciation off the lot is real too.
We love our RV’s, but our first was a Vintage RV from 1966 and we had a ton of fun doing vintage camper events. There wasn’t much to break, but we always have to keep up on maintenance and keep the water out. We still have it, but I need to do some interior work on it and it probably needs a re-paint soon.
Our 2007 Airstream has been great. It’s modern enough that it doesn’t feel outdated, but it’s been used enough that things are pretty dialed in. You sacrifice certain things, like slideouts, and a generator. In 2 years of ownership I have had to replace the 12V converter (it was still working, but noisy), but other than that, it’s been minor things like adjusting cabinet hinges, or doing upgrades that I wanted to do, like a new faucet, replacing the TV, etc. Once you hit about 10 years old, the Airstreams don’t depreciate much anymore if you keep them in nice shape. I’m not saying it’s still not a purchase that makes any financial sense, but at least I could see it for nearly what I paid for it. Airstream has had their quality issues as of late too. I’ve seen photos of whole kitchen sections pulling off the wall while driving, or cabinets just falling. Generally avoiding any trailer built during the boom years of Covid is a good idea.
If you are buying used (or new for that matter), I highly recommend asking to look at it while hooked up to water and power. It’s like buying a house. You need a full inspection. Test all the systems (water pump, AC, furnace, exhaust fans, fridge, stove, microwave, toilet, shower), look for signs of water leaks, check tires and tire dates, batteries, the generator if you have one, awnings, window operation, condition of the roof and all penetrations. It’s a big purchase and there are so many systems to check. If you can do work yourself, you will save a lot of time and money.
Hold up….
“Apparently, a new Mallard arrived from the factory without seat cushions. Our dealership took the still new cushions out of our camper and put them into the other Mallard. They then forgot to replace the cushions in our camper. So, we had to wait for those to come in. “
What kind of Pillow Fort Pyramid Scheme are these folks running?
Stealing parts owned by one customer, to round out the product for another?
Who did they buy this camper from? Hennessey?
Hennessey sells a version of the Mallard that they say can travel 200 mph…
Once 🙂
This is absolutely insane!!!! There’s got to be some kind of recourse for this, right?!!?!
…right?
Lawsuit against the dealer and manufacturer with breach of contract as the cause of action.
Regarding large RVs: good build quality, keeping it light, keeping it affordable. Pick 2. The more I see stuff like this, the more I want a Go Fast Camper.
Respectfully, I disagree. If RV makers had their feet held to the fire for the consequences of building crap products they would find a way to engineer/design their products for proper assembly and durability.
Nothing says “couldn’t give a shit” more than a manufacturer not sending a fully QC’d best example to a show. Or were those the best they got? :SHUDDER:
On top of that what dealership cant spot most of these errors. If i had the money id take a lawyer when buying, introduce as lawyer and the person you will be talking to if the RV isnt right.
Yes, that probably was the best they could do. I forget the brand, but I remember one of Thor’s divisions posted a YouTube video at one point, proudly showing how their campers were made (expecting viewers to be impressed by the level of “hand craftsmanship” involved), but it actually showed indifferent workers carelessly and haphazardly slapping together parts that obviously didn’t fit, and they got savaged in the comments and eventually took it down
Jayco, and there’s still some copies of it on YouTube. The scary thing is, I think they’re better than some of the Thor brands.
Wow, how can your family put up with that? Seeing the state of the dealership work being done how could you let them touch it again to fix things? They might have pride in their work compared to the factory, but that doesn’t mean they do good work.
We really need to drastically change the way this country does business. This kind of result is rampant everywhere and it shouldn’t be this way. What an absolute travesty of a product.
In general EU protects the customer better, do they have better builds for trailers over there? Anyone know? Be interested in seeing the best EU models and hearing from a trailer camper from that side of the ocean.
Toyota goes into the RV business and undercuts everyone with campers that are more affordable, but better built, while being smaller and more efficient. Honestly, it’s going to take something like that, the RV industry is like the US auto industry was before the rise of Japanese and West German competition, similar approaches to quality control, customer service, and innovation.
Geez. If I check in to a hotel room that is falling apart, I can just check back out! You guys are stuck with this dreck.
This camper needs to be bought back by the dealer. Hopefully your parents live in a state which has lemon laws. As anti lawyer as I am I would sue the shit out of the manufacture and dealer.
Wow, that is bad…Thanks for letting consumers know how bad quality has gotten so they are aware
As someone who recently bought a truck and has considered getting into the RV/camper world, all these stories of poor quality are a huge turn off, and part of the reason I haven’t actually bought anything. Two friends of mine bought trailers during the pandemic and have dealt with all sorts of issues, and one is a friggin’ Scamp which is probably the most basic uncomplicated trailer you can buy!
Like someone else in this thread said, the RV industry taking advantage of short term gains by making shortcuts on quality seems like a surefire way of shooting themselves in the foot long term.
Most consumers aren’t that savvy – all the “brands” come from a couple of manufacturers. But if you get a bad one they’ll just buy something from a different brand. The manufacturers have brands which have sub-brands which have their own sub-brands.
You can buy a camper branded “River Ranch” a sub-brand of “Columbus” which is a sub-brand of “Palomino” which is a sub-brand of Forest River which is owned by Berkshire Hathaway. Forest River has like 7 sub-brands all with their own models.
As tedious and sometimes confusing as it is, you really have to trace brand ownership in order to know what you’re really getting in the RV world. Thor brands are probably worth steering away from, currently. (That actually cuts out a big swath of brands…)
Thor and Forest River have nearly 80% of the US market between them.
Even the small independent manufacturers still use the same crappy Dometic parts and appliances, too.
This is so sad to hear.
At the end of 2017 I purchased a 2018 Kodiak (Dutchman RV is parent company, so another THOR company!). Since I purchased my unit new, I did buy the Route 66 Extended Warranty which is set to run out this year.
I did have a few issues which my local dealer took care of at no cost to me. (My A/C went out and I had a simple issue with my fridge light not coming on).
I did have a bigger issue in 2021 where the pulley system on my slide went out while we were packing up to leave for a long weekend. I had a call into my dealer the following week and they let me take it down. A few days later I got a call that they fixed it, under warranty, but asked if I had realized the floor was soft in a few spots. I was aware that it was but it was in the middle of the camper so I just assumed maybe there wasn’t enough bracing under it and through the years it just “wore”. Long story short, there was a recall from Kodiak/Dutchman for my model year the way they made the floor was incorrect and it was rotting from the inside out. There was nothing I could have done to prevent it. I store the camper in a barn for the winter months (I’m in Pennsylvania so snow/ice is a concern) so rather than storing it, it went out West and they put a brand new floor under it and covered any issues for a period of time.
Other than that major issue which cost me NOTHING to repair, my dealer has been awesome as well as my Kodiak. I think mine is just old enough to not suffer from the same issues as the 2020+ models. Hopefully they get their stuff together because we use the heck out of our camper (April through October) and we have a blast with it. Granted, like everything else, they do require maintenance and can be a pain when something goes wrong.