Greetings...... Cyclone 4100 questions.

oscar

Well-known member
Currently own a Keystone Cougar 29BHS ultralight...... but would like some more space, and definitely need some cargo space.....

So.....seriously looking at a Cyclone 4100, or the Road Warrior 415RW. (Both Heartlands....)

Getting the one ton dually on Wednesday.

About the 4100, and Cyclone in general......what to look for..... the good the bad and the ugly, I can take it, and usually I can fix it.

Thanks for any insights you may have....

Oscar.
 

danemayer

Well-known member
Hi Oscar,

Welcome to the Heartland Owners Forum. You'll find lots of great information here along with a bunch of friendly and helpful people.

I'm sure you'll get some encouraging responses shortly.

Btw, duplicate posts are not permitted, so I deleted the other one.

Dan


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD
 

BarneyFife

Well-known member
We have a 370C. Not the 4100. But if it were me, I'd do two things right from the start.

1. If it has Tow Max tires, either get rid of them or have them replaced with something better from the start. Just do a search here about the Tow Max nightmares.

2. If it has the Shur-Flo 5.7 Smart Sensor water pump, go ahead and buy a replacement to keep on hand and have the necessary tools to replace it on a camping trip.

I could go much further with other issues but for the 4100 and most other Cyclones, I think these are probably the two most common issues I've heard of.
 

NWILSON

Kentucky Chapter Leaders - retired
One thing that puzzles me on so many rigs (not just Heartland) is the placement of the TV in the main living area. If you are prone to watching a lot be sure you can sit comfortably while viewing.
As to mods....Two things I'd get right away:
Some kind of surge protector is sure to be money well spent.
I would have a rinser installed in the rear black-water tank before it's ever used too.
Everyone has their own preferance for niceties but overall I think you're going to be grinning for a long time when you bring home a Heartland!
 

rgwilliams69

Well-known member
Hi Oscar! Can't go wrong with the 4100, or at least that is my experience to date. Initial quality on my unit was very, very high. In fact we haven't found one single thing yet that needs attention, PDI was completely clear. Someone mentioned the tires and yes, I suppose I am going to replace mine right off the bat. I am hoping though that in the next few months Heartland does something for all of us with these tires, if problems are indeed verified. I think we got pretty much every option on our coach and all of them will get a lot of use. Love the patio out back. In retrospect the only thing I probably could have dropped was the outdoor fridge. It is just a dorm fridge and if you wanted to add one later you could do it at much less cost.

Other than the tires the only thing I will likely do in the very near term is fix the entertainment system wiring. For some reason they did not run HDMI from the DVD/Radio/sound system to the TV in the living room. This looks like it might be an interesting job but I really would rather have high def instead of the L/R audio and standard video.

We are still experimenting with the best usage of cabinets, storage, etc. but there is plenty of it, and the garage area when unloaded with toys makes an outstanding totally separate living area for our boys (we have four, but just two still at home - 17 and 9). We have already done some cold weather camping and everything stays nice and toasty with the furnace and fireplace.

The king size bed/sleeper and bathroom are truly awesome in this unit. My wife loves the setup and space. Guess they call it the king for a reason.

Happy comparison shopping and best of luck to you. I think you will be quite pleased with the Heartland products, we have been so far. Another huge bonus are the folks on this forum. I have been a member of several (depending on what brand of coach we had) and this is is by far the best I have seen. Nice folks, tons of good information, and seems like a real "community". Can't wait to meet some of them at upcoming rallys.
 

scottyb

Well-known member
I would agree with the things mentioned by previous posters, with emphasis on the tires. I am installing a Progressive Industries EMS-HW50C surge protector this week.

One of the things that I think was an over sight is the location of the DVD player which is above the stove and microwave. It needs a HDMI cable ran behind the fridge, into the basement, and up behind the TV, if you ever hope to have Blue Ray. Just poor planning and use of space. The TV is mounted such that you can not access the HDMI and other ports. To remove it requires removal of the fireplace to access port holes through the mantle, to enable you to use a specialized 9" long allen wrench to loosen the locking lugs on the bracket. I like having access to everything.

The King sized bed was a huge consideration for us, however it is really squeezed in there, and difficult to make up. We just deal with it. We ended up adding a latex foam topper because the "memory foam mattress" was extremely hard. Now it sleeps as good as our home mattress.

Overall, we love the 4100 and plan to enjoy it for many years to come. I just think a little more creative planning could go into these things instead of being an after thought. I would also like to see them use more updated audio and video equipment. I feel they are several years behind in technology. These things are small, and maybe unimportant to some people. After all, in theory, a toy hauler is supposed to be out in the boon docks, and evrybody is supposed to be out playing with their toys, right?
 

rgwilliams69

Well-known member
Yep ScottyB, I had forgotten about the TV access. Good thing our flex hex bit was in the owner's manual bag. I haven't yet gotten back there though. I think there are two HDMI ports you can get to on the left side (left when facing TV) without removing it. Also I've seen several people mention the DVD player above the microwave. I have the 2013 4100 just like yours, but my DVD is in the island just to the left of the sink. Did they change to the cabinet in the 1/2 year or change to over the microwave in the 1/2 year? Not sure why ours are different. Anyway I think that running the HDMI cable from the sink/cabinet would be easier then messing with the slide - ouch! We topped our mattress as well but will probably just end up getting a standard residential mattress at some point.

I do agree about the technology, our last coach (Keystone Alpine) had top of the line and current equipment in it. I will probably end up changing out the DVD player, speaker system, and TV for a Blue Ray/LED TV setup eventually.
 

oscar

Well-known member
Thanks for the warm welcome and thanks for all the responses. We are not new to camping, we've had our Keystone Cougar TT since new in 2008 and we've used it a lot, and done some mods to it as well.

Yes, the mattress came out brand new in it's plastic and sold on Craigslist in 24 hours. We plan to do the same when we get the fiver. Roger on the surge protection. Never trust the power at a campground. One upgrade I plan on is to up the battery banks, install an inverter and a condition monitor. We do a fair amount of boon docking and that way essentials work at night without running the genny.

I plan on putting flushers on the black tanks.

We don't watch a whole lot of TV/movies. I'll see if the existing configuration in whatever unit we get works and otherwise I'll work on that.

Appreciate the heads up on the tires. I will search this forum and educate myself on the subject.

We've been to the RC shows, and we are regulars on RVtrader.com and the like. After much searching we've decided the 415 or the 4100 are the layouts that most suit what we do. So in the next few weeks we'll be shopping around for real. There appears to be a good supply of them, and as it's winter and sales are slower the prices appear competitive. Of course we wouldn't shy away from a lightly used 2011 or 2012.
 

scottyb

Well-known member
Good luck with your purchase. Doubt you will find a used 4100 yet since 2013 is the 1st year for that model. Increasing the battery capacity is on my list as well, along with hydraulic disc brakes, and a few other improvements.

One more thing you might think about is an upgraded pin box.

Greg, not sure when you got your 4100. We got ours off a lot in July. Interesting that they have another location for the DVD. I know Alaska Dodge had the same as mine because he told me how he ran the HDMI cable to the TV and how to access the locking screws. My TV does not have the two ports on the left side. They are all on the back. I was able to contort myself enough and after about 30 min of sweating, managed to get one plugged in with my fingertips. I needed it for my Dish Tailgater.
 

rgwilliams69

Well-known member
The build date for ours I think is 09-2012, and we picked it up the first week in November. We have a Magnavox TV - I'm thinking about swapping it out for one of the super slim 55" Samsung LED TVs. Easier to watch those with all the windows open since they are brighter.

We have a Winegard Carry Out satellite and Dish network - I think I'm going to install the receiver in the basement storage compartment for the little fridge (we do not carry that) and run a HDMI cable from there to the main TV and bedroom. We have RF remotes so we can locate the receiver basically anywhere. Not sure when I will get to all of these projects though. I am glad that my DVD player is not above the microwave, that seems like an awkward place. I will post a pic of the location in the sink island, it works pretty good there.
 

oscar

Well-known member
One more thing you might think about is an upgraded pin box.

Got a thread about that going on the hitches and pin boxes forum. Wondering how hard it is to swap out the boxes. Looks like 8 or so bolts, but can't tell how accessible they are. (Yes, have the tools including the torque wrench and know how to use them....)
 

scottyb

Well-known member
I got the 5th Airborne thrown into the deal so the dealer installed it. It looks very easy and I could have done it, no problem.
 

porthole

Retired
"If" i were to buy a new trailer it would come with my choice of tires as part of the deal or it will not be purchased. Although, if I was to buy a new trailer this year I would just swap out my current set of Goodyear G114's.

A Progressive EMS was mentioned and Oscar and an inverter. According to the Progressive instructions it is not to be used with an inverter. There is no mention as to why you can't use an inverter.
My EMS recently failed (internal circuit board). One phone call and I had a quick replacement of the lifetime warrantied part.

After the fact I found the note about inverters. Before my EMS failed I had hooked up the trailer to a Heart 2500 inverter. Everything worked including the AC and heat. This was a test and all worked well. It was several days later I found the dead batteries because the EMS had failed and not allowed the battery charger to operate.

BTW, you can bypass the EMS if you can get to it. Or you can just plug your battery charger in until you can repair the EMS. The 80 amp converter on the Cyclones takes a 20 amp plug though, that means your standard extension cord will not work. And if you are looking for a 20 amp female replacement end after the the 500 year storm you won't find one...............

And a 2nd note, the DC amp draw while running either the AC or heater was about 160 amps!
 

oscar

Well-known member
And a 2nd note, the DC amp draw while running either the AC or heater was about 160 amps!

Yup, had a 1500w inverter on a boat once, with 1000Ah of AGM batteries running a 5000 BTU AC in the master bedroom. 80A draw.
 
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