Considering a North Trail purchase - Information please

jcher41

Member
I am looking at the purchase of a new Heartland North Trail 24RBS. I am looking for any information about the build quality of this trailer as well as anything to look out for. I currently own a travel trailer so am fairly familiar with travel trailers. If I purchase this unit I am planning on keeping it for a long time. Thanks in advance.
 

jimtoo

Moderator
Re: Information please

Hi jcher41,

Welcome to the Heartland Owners Forum and hopefully to the family. We have a great bunch of people here with lots of information and all willing to share their knowledge when needed.

Personally I think the build quality is above average, but none are perfect. The Heartland personnel and service are second to none.

You will get more responses soon from other owners I am sure. Hope to see you on the road or at a rally.

Enjoy the forum.

Jim M
 

CliffP

Well-known member
Re: Information please

Welcome to the forum! We have a 2012 North Trail 32BUDS and are pleased so far. Still getting to know it better.

Good Luck!
 

berky

Well-known member
Re: Information please

I can't speak directly to the 24 RBS, but we just took delivery on a NT 26LRSS a few weeks ago. I initially was looking for a 5th wheel, but my wife forced me to take a harder look at the NT's after she fell in love with the floorplan and interior appointments. We were moving up from a popup, so I didn't have a ton of experience by which to gauge the NT. But I compared the NT against every other line in the size class at an area RV show, and felt it was the best of the bunch. I should mention that we bought the Caliber Edition.

I have had two weekends to go over the 26LRSS in the driveway, and I took it on our maiden voyage this past weekend. I have to say that it has exceeded my expectations. While I could quibble over a few minor factory defects, they are insignificant in light of the overall design, equipment selection, and construction.
 

PeternLiane

Well-known member
Re: Information please

We bought our first SOB hybrid trailer about 4 years ago. That trailer took a lot of work to set up and maintain. We started dreaming about a new trailer about 3 years ago. We started looking around at all sorts of trailers. When we got serious about a new trailer we looked at at some used brands that we liked. We saw that the other brands that we liked were breaking down in just a year or two of use. They didn't have the quality that we wanted. We found the Heartland North Trail. We really liked the quality that we were seeing. Personally we couldn't find any used North Trails in our area. We found a couple online and received some up close pictures. I liked that we didn't see what we saw in the other used trailers. We saw that the trailer stood up. Since we saw the quality first hand we now own a NT 22FBS. We bought our NT last year. We love how easy the trailer levels. We love how easy the trailer is to set up. We love how the trailer pulls. The NT pulls a 100+% better than our SOB trailer. We really love our NT 22FBS. We are getting prepared for our first camping trip of the year this weekend. We can not wait.

As you know when ever you buy a new trailer a thorough PDI is mandatory. Ask about and look at everything.

Happy Travels
 

pegmikef

Well-known member
Re: Information please

We have had our NT 26LRSS for a yearand have put around 10K miles on it. We love it and have had no major issues with it. Everything has worked as advertised. Look around on the North Trail forum and you will see a lot of useful mods many of the owners have made. Good luck.
 

TeJay

Well-known member
Re: Information please

We currently have the 24-RBS and have taken two 4 week extended trips. The wife looked at floor plans for a good 18 months before we decided on the NT. She was concerned with floor plan and fit & finish. I was more concerned with towing weight and handling. The weight was good. It came delivered at 5200 lbs. That was well within our towing limits. I did not want to come close to our max limits. Why stress your TV any more than necessary. We tow with a 2010 F-150 with the 4.6 aluminum engine. We do get 0ver 10.5 MPG while towing. The handling, with a 4-point equalizer hitch and shocks that I installed on the TT is really great.
Now to the minuses. I don't know how many people will be in you unit on any given trip but with just us two and two animals it is tight. The steep angled front tows better but making the bed is very difficult because you can't get to the top of the bed very easily. I say just don't make the bed but that's not what the wife does. There is not enough room for hand-up clothes. There are two cupboards in the front and one in the back. I put shelf's on my side of the front cupboard for socks and stuff because there was no place to put that stuff. So I lost my hang up room. In the rear cupboard I added shelfs for towels/linens because there is no place in the bathroom. Here's something else about floor plans. If the kitchen is across from the dinette any time somebody is cooking there is a jam up in that area. That is not usually a problem if the slide moves out enough to give you the extra room. The 24-RBS kitchen/couch slide only moves out 11 inches. That does not give you enough room in the kitchen area. You solve that problem by getting a unit with the bed in the rear to do away with the roof issue and getting a front kitchen. We are searching for a floor plan that has those changes. A front kitchen rear bed, wardrobe slide and slides that go out farther than 11 inches. I still don't want to go beyond 28 feet and 6,000 lbs. We have actually settled on a unit and are considering ordering it. It's not a HL unit and that concerns me but we are still looking for quality and functionality.
TeJay
 

Saildogs

Well-known member
Re: Information please

We've had our North Trail 24RBS for two years now and LOVE it. We travel with two standard poodles and have never run out of space for clothing or food so I'm a little confused about the most recent post on lack of space. The rear wardrobe is big enough for all our hanging clothes and we put bins in the front wardrobes for underwear. The cabinets above the bed are more than enough for folded clothing such as jeans, shorts and tees. The only times we experience tight quarters are when we are traveling and stop to make lunch and don't extend the slide. With the slide out, there is even enough room for a camp chair if needed.

We ordered this unit sight unseen from our local Heartland dealer. It has exceeded our expectations as to floor plan and comfort.
 

TeJay

Well-known member
Let me add a little more info regarding our 24-RBS. We have a dog and a cat. The cat requires a cat box and that takes up floor space. We use the cupboards over the couch and dinette for kitchen stuff. Also my Wife is not tall and has a difficult time getting into the dinette cupboards so putting any clothes in that area would not work very well. I'm not upset with the storage in the TT but with a little more planning it could have been laid out better. The rear closet does not go all the way to the ceiling. There is a window in the back that is virtually useless because the shelf on top is used for storage. We put the dirty clothes basket on it and shoes. The toilet could have been moved away from the wall some and a closet installed on the back wall for towels and linens. I can build just about anything but moving the toilet would not be practical. Installing a linen closet in the bath would not work. Maybe a couple of shelves above the toilet would work but head room is limited because the toilet is close to the wall.
There are always trade offs when looking at a floor plan and making decisions. It's also difficult to make a good decision because you have not lived in the unit with all your stuff. When you travel in the spring and fall you have to keep warm and cold weather clothes with you because the weather will change. That requires two sets of clothes and therefore more storage area. Most units have storage areas under the bed and dinette. The 24-RBS does not have drawers to access those areas. You have to lift the bed mattress and take the dinette cushions up to access the areas. That's not really difficult but just remember that is has to be done to get stuff in and out.
We've looked at some other units and one choice that makes for more comfort is to have a table and 4 chairs instead of the dinette. It greatly opens up the kitchen area. Most of the time there are only two of us. We could leave two of the chairs home and take two fold up canvas chairs. You loose the dinette storage but a couple of totes might take its place and they could be stacked to take up less floor room.
These are just things to think about when searching for a unit. Try to consider how you will use the unit and where you will store your stuff. We also purchased our 24-RBS sight unseen. We saw a floor plan but not a live unit. Retrospect and we should have looked at one.
TeJay
 

jcher41

Member
Took the plunge today and purchased a new 26RKS. My wife liked the rear kitchen and separate bedroom plan. Also the additional storage. Once again thanks for the information.
 

jcher41

Member
Re: Information please

Picked up the new trailer today. Now I have to pack everything. Traded a 2007 Skyline Nomad 225Lt. The 26RKS is a bit larger but tows well.:)
 

tarik3061

Member
Re: Information please

Enjoy, we traded in our 1992 27" Nomad (rear bedroom, front kitchen) for a new 31 RED, (front bedroom, real living with 2 slides) would never go back. Best decision we ever made. Took it out in March and loved it. We have been out 4 times already this year and are going again next week. I could live in it, it is so well laid out and comfortable. We tow with our 2004 Chevy 250 Silverado 4X4. You will really enjoy your new trailer.
Paul & Wanda Saunders, Kelowna, BC Canada V4T 2H2
 

jbeletti

Well-known member
Re: Information please

Picked up the new trailer today. Now I have to pack everything. Traded a 2007 Skyline Nomad 225Lt. The 26RKS is a bit larger but tows well.:)

Congrats on the new unit. Hope to meet you at a rally one day. Happy camping.
 

CliffP

Well-known member
Re: Information please

Enjoy, we traded in our 1992 27" Nomad (rear bedroom, front kitchen) for a new 31 RED, (front bedroom, real living with 2 slides) would never go back. Best decision we ever made. Took it out in March and loved it. We have been out 4 times already this year and are going again next week. I could live in it, it is so well laid out and comfortable. We tow with our 2004 Chevy 250 Silverado 4X4. You will really enjoy your new trailer.
Paul & Wanda Saunders, Kelowna, BC Canada V4T 2H2

Congrats on your new camper and welcome to the forum!
 
Top