3010 vs 3612

Have been contemplating a new 3010 for a long time now. Worried about the 10ft garage and thinking seriously about going with the 3612 to get the garage and also the loft bed to use vs the garage bunks.

1) I've never had a 5'er before, or a trailer for that matter. What's the practical difference in towing a unit that's 4 ft longer.... 39ft vs 35ft?

2) How would an F350 SRW with a 4000lb payload capacity do at towing this trailer with a 3200 lb pin weight for regular 180 mile roundtrip weekend trips (summer months only)?

3) Finally.... trying to put together a list of the most important and practical upgrades either in the factory or out... in other works what will the factory do to upgrade axles/tires, etc and what do I need to do later. For instance lately I saw a thread on a bad water pump in these rigs... and a possible recommended replacement. I'd rather do that BEFORE my floor is flooded.

The biggest thing is ask yourself of how much garage space you need and what you are going to hauling in it or use it for.
Suggestion is research of what you want of size and how many you want for sleep arrangements. Ex..(family-friends). To let you know also, your F350 will pull it like a dream.

For my self personally, I prefer a 5th wheel over a bumper pull as a 5th wheel pulls a lot nicer.

We have a 2011 3812. A couple of pros & cons on the loft:

-It's good for sleeping kids up to about 12 yrs or so. The older ones find it claustrophobic.
-It's heated & cooled as part of the main cabin. Sleeping in the garage means more temperature extremes (but we've done it with success.)
-It's a great storage area for seldom-used things that you want to keep climate-controlled.
-The ladder rungs really hurt grown-up bare feet. I always put on shoes to fetch something or put it away.

The 3612 is a favorite of ours & we very nearly bought one. Having said this, a big consideration for the 3010 is overall weight. I don't get too concerned about the length difference, but the 3612 gets you into 3 axles versus 2 which means more maintenance costs and stress & strain on the suspension in tight maneuvers. If you go with the 3612 you'll want to review your truck's capabilities. The 2011 & newer models should be okay; not sure about older ones, diesel or not. We have a 2011 F350 duallie. It pulls, handles & stops well, but we are at legal limits on weight.

TwoGypsies said:

-The ladder rungs really hurt grown-up bare feet. I always put on shoes to fetch something or put it away.

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I figured by now the "broken foot" demonstration at Goshen would have corrected this.

Thanks all for your responses. Pull vehicle will be a new 2012 F350 SRW SB 6.7 Diesel. Will be in weight for payload easily, but could go over towing capacity if we loaded it down. I think for my wife and I the 3010 would be all we need, but we live in Alaska, as our toddler gets older and we anticipate the occasional rained in camping trip, not having to empty our the garage as soon as we pull in to allow for comfortable sleeping makes enough sense to go with the bigger unit. We are leaning heavily toward the 3612. Can pull in, keep the garage full, sleep in the dedicated bunks / beds without pulling out the couch, etc.

What non-advertsied factor upgrades can you request on these things?

If you are a family of three - consider the 3010 and swap out the U shaped couch for a love seat and dining table w/ chairs. it provides a pull out bed without interfering with the AM meal. The U shaped couch does not open actually open for a bed but does have an insert to make it a double bed. But either way I would consider the swap of the U shaped couch for the Love Seat and Table regardless of what rig you go with unless you are looking to entertain large groups.

Kevin


CORRECTION: This is not an OPTION for the 3010 ( See post # 14 ) Sorry for the Misinformation

Kevin, I don't recall, do you have the love seat and table?

I didn't know if was an option to change the seat to a love seat. Is it an extra charge?

porthole said:

Kevin, I don't recall, do you have the love seat and table?

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Duane,

I'm sorry to say that No I do not since I purchased used - It is on my list of potential modifications to the Rig ... I find that the kidney table is less than comfortable to sit at for adults ( which all my kids are ).

Porkchop said:

I didn't know if was an option to change the seat to a love seat. Is it an extra charge?

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Yes it is possible - and I do believe there is a cost to do so, but I do not know the cost, but the dealer should be able to tell you with a quick call to the Factory. Also you could make that call your self and I would think that the factory should be able to tell you the cost of that as an option.

CORRECTION: This is not an OPTION for the 3010 ( See post # 14 ) Sorry for the Misinformation

recumbent615 said:

Duane,

I'm sorry to say that No I do not since I purchased used - It is on my list of potential modifications to the Rig ... I find that the kidney table is less than comfortable to sit at for adults ( which all my kids are ).

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Yeah, it is not the most comfortable, but I do fall asleep on it quite well watching TV.
Just an FYI, on mine, the trim is finished all the way to the floor and the carpet runs to the outside wall. So removing the u-shaped won't leave a non finished area exposed.

The slide on the 3010 is not the super slide like on the 300C. I didn't think a couch/dinette combo would fit on the smaller slides. Are you sure Heartland offers this for the 3010? It's a $1000 option on the 300C.

-steve

sJv said:

The slide on the 3010 is not the super slide like on the 300C. I didn't think a couch/dinette combo would fit on the smaller slides. Are you sure Heartland offers this for the 3010? It's a $1000 option on the 300C.

-steve

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Steve,

as I recalled the conversation I had with AJ - it should be an option. But I have PMed AJ to ask him to Chime in on this from the Factory since I'm prone to confusion from time to time.

Kevin

You are correct only the super slides can really house those changes in furniture. We have done a couple special builds with two recliners or even a free standing dinette with a recliner. However space is very limited and the large furniture or combinations will not fit

AJ,

Thanks for the correction and clarification. I guess I have to take that Mod off my list...

Kevin

"1) I've never had a 5'er before, or a trailer for that matter. What's the practical difference in towing a unit that's 4 ft longer.... 39ft vs 35ft?"

We just upgraded from a 35' fiver to a 40' fiver and the only real differences are that it cuts corners a bit more and some campsites are a little more difficult to get into.

"2) How would an F350 SRW with a 4000lb payload capacity do at towing this trailer with a 3200 lb pin weight for regular 180 mile roundtrip weekend trips (summer months only)?"

No problem. We tow with an F350 and are doing 10,000 miles a year.

"3) Finally.... trying to put together a list of the most important and practical upgrades either in the factory or out... in other works what will the factory do to upgrade axles/tires, etc and what do I need to do later. For instance lately I saw a thread on a bad water pump in these rigs... and a possible recommended replacement. I'd rather do that BEFORE my floor is flooded.[/QUOTE]"

Not sure how this will relate to your particular rig but I would recommend:

6 point auto level system (maybe not so important if you are not moving all the time)
Mor/Ryde or Trail-air pin box (ditto)
second aircon (essential!!)

The 3010 has a smaller 8' slide that does not have enough room for the furniture found in the Mega slide units. We have had a few people do a couple recliners IPO the U-shape but you will not fit much more than that because it is only 8' long.