new 2013 North Trails, less features

Hi,

I have been intensely looking at north trail 26lrss, calibers. I went and looked at models on lots, many online and finally decided to get one. Very positive stuff about them.
The 2013 models we saw, had what we wanted. However, I have since found out that the new units seem to have been redesigned to a cheaper design. We have a trailer now and needed more room. The 26rlss had more storage but it appears much of that has been removed with the remodel.

- Garden tubs, gone. Now only a shower stall. This is probably a deal killer for my wife. She likes to bath and small kids needs baths.
- Kitchen drawers, were two, now one.
- Bedroom drawers, were two, now one.
- Entertainment center, previously large doors that served as pantry. Now 1/2 the size.
- No storage under the couch in living room (could be wrong on this as none were opened up in the online pics I saw)

The reason I noticed the changes is becausse I had pointed out to my wife all the wonderful storage and bath etc. I had really liked many heartland features but she liked other manufacturers models. The storage and bath is what sold her on the units. Now everything is diminished. Seriously, go from 3 to 2 drawers in the kitchen? These seem like deal breakers to me.

Is this the base standard model or have I been looking at an upgraded version all along?

Hi mjd2k,

Welcome to the Heartland Owners Forum. There's a lot of useful information here along with a great bunch of friendly and helpful people.

If you've been looking at 2013 models all along, it does sound like maybe the latest ones you've seen might not be the same model as you previously walked through.

I'd suggest you call Heartland Customer Service at 877-262-8032 / 574-262-8030, identify yourself as a prospective North Trail customer, and ask to speak with the North Trail Brand Manager. I'm sure he can clear up any confusion and let you know what you can expect for any specific model.

I would take issue with the dealers statement that you are looking at 2013 models on the lot. Unless the build date says August 2012 or later, they are probably earlier year models. I've seen this a lot when researching online. The same unit from 2012, being listed as a 2013... But the 2013s have darker wood and countertops, so it can't be a 2013...


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Actually, we were ordering a new one. Its only now that I am starting to realize the newest 2013s are a stripped down version of the older 2013s.

Or perhaps we had been looking at 2012s that dealers were calling 2013s. I can live with that.

Either way, it appears the new ones from the factory are a cheaper version. Quite unhappy as I had my mind set upon a heartland. But these features obviously make a big difference. Taking out drawers, tubs and storage is heading the wrong direction in my humble opinion. I had been told the 26rlss is one of the hottest selling units.

I will make a call to the brand manager tomorrow just to confirm. Hoping I'm wrong!

Thanks for your replies.

I will make a call to the brand manager tomorrow just to confirm. Hoping I'm wrong!

Click to expand...

Let us know what you find out.

We have a 2012 26LRSS Caliber Edition. I just looked at the photos for the 2013 on Heartland's web site. I see that there are some changes, but they really look pretty minor.
- The 2013 kitchen storage looks the same as the 2012. I see a storage cubby below 2 drawers. I'm not sure mine has that cubby, so maybe the drawers are not quite as deep?
- The 2013 storage at the entertainment center looks shorter than the 2012. But I think I like it better. There's more room to put a larger TV above the storage.
- I'm going to say the 2013 bedroom storage has the same volume as the 2012. There's one drawer, but the cabinet above is taller.

I hope these aren't deal breakers for you. The 26LRSS really is a great TT, arguably the best at that length. After a year in it and after revisiting our choice at RV shows, I can honestly say that if I had it to do over again I would make the same purchase.

Thanks for your reply Berky!. Does your unit have storage under the sofa? I can't tell from any pics. Also, I can't tell if there is a cubby under the kitchen drawers but I will try to look closer.

I suppose a way to gauge how minor the changes are would be to take them away and see if it has an impact. Your DW might not be happy to part with almost half her drawers and lose her tub!

Part of the problem for us is that we had a list of shortcomings of our current trailer and were specifically looking for the features affected by the re-design.

We have no drawers anywhere in our current trailer so we were excited about the drawers. Also, we have no pantry other than overhead storage, so having the storage in the entertainment center was really appealing. Our current bathroom is abysmal so the tub/shower in the 2012 rlss was a big feature for my wife. Drawers in the bedroom were a huge hit with us as now we live out of wicker baskets. Losing almost half the drawers in the trailer when they were a big deal to us is dissapointing.

I suppose if worse comes to worst, we can hopefully get our deposit back and find a used 2012. Im just dissapointed because we were really pumped about the unit and to spend XXXX on something we perceive as being inferior is a bummer.

Sounds a lot different than my 2011 and you are right, I wouldn't like giving up the storage. On the bathtub deal, I really think they should make that an option because my wife and I would prefer the shower (our kids are long gone), but those with toddlers certainly need the bathtub. I actually like my model better than the 2012s and 13s . . . that being said, we are going to look at one of the new Sundance TTs tomorrow.

Is there storage over top of the wardrobe in the bedroom? I see a big blank space but not sure if it's useful. Thank you.

If you like the one on the lot, why not find one like it that would work for you. I am sure that Heartland can find one that is just like the one on the lot. Good luck. I am sure Heartland will do you right.

There wasn't one on the lot of the dealer we decided to go with. We felt he gave us a great price and was eager to win our business. We'll see what happens. I really like our dealer and heartland has a good rep. I did a lot of research before deciding but missed the re-design.

Maybe your dealer can find one from another dealer.

Thanks for the suggestion. I will talk with the brand manager tomorrow and go from there.

Personally, I have my heart set on a heartland and my dealer has worked hard for us so we'll see how it works out.

I'm still curious though. Does anyone know if there is storage under the couch or above the wardrobe in the bedroom?

Our North Trail has space under the sofa. We store three plastic totes, each about the size of a folded t-shirt, under the sofa. In our North Trail there are three doors above the bed for the storage area there. There is a shirt closet on either side of the bed. Hope this helps you.

Hi Nanc325,

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

Thanks for adding the information.

Please think of joining us at a rally when you can and joining the Heartland Owners Club.

Enjoy the forum and your North Trail.

Jim M

Thanks Nanc. I have now figured out that the space above the wardrobe is for a TV. Thats a good thing.

mjd2k said:

Thanks for your reply Berky!. Does your unit have storage under the sofa? I can't tell from any pics. Also, I can't tell if there is a cubby under the kitchen drawers but I will try to look closer.

I suppose a way to gauge how minor the changes are would be to take them away and see if it has an impact. Your DW might not be happy to part with almost half her drawers and lose her tub!

.

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There's not storage under the sofa, as such. By that I mean there are slideout drawers at the bottom front of the sofa. There is space underneath the sofa suitable for blankets and such, but you need to partially fold out the sofa to get to that space. FWIW, the inflatable mattress in the convertible sofa is verrry comfortable.

I understand the heartache over the loss of the tub, since you have children. If you ordered a unit I wonder if Heartland would put in the tub as a special order?

We use the cabinets above the sofa and above the back chairs as our pantry. The doors on those have some pretty firm closures and have not had any trouble with them popping open and things falling out.

mjd2k said:

Is there storage over top of the wardrobe in the bedroom? I see a big blank space but not sure if it's useful. Thank you.

Click to expand...

You're talking about the wardrobe at the foot of the bed? In the 2012 that wasn't really fit out as a wardrobe, but instead has a TV shelf in it. One of my projects for the coming year is to remove that and put in some wireframe shelving.

The wardrobes in the 26LRSS are to the left and right of the head of the bed. They're roomy enough to hang 8-12 items, though they're a bit on the short side.

Thanks Berky! Truth be told, our kids are growed up, but we anticipate grand-kids (hopefull) and occasionally have small kids around. I kinda have that cased in that we could manage with a big tupperware container for those occasions. Where do you keep your pots, pans, drying rack etc? With only 2 drawers, and a very restricted under sink cabinet, not sure how much would fit.

The product manager has not called me back. I'll try him again tomorrow. I want to ask their rationale about the tub and consult on options. You can shower in a tub but you can't bath in a shower so why not leave it in? In most cases, I like shelves more than drawers but having done a hundreds of closet organizers, I think you need two bedroom drawers. One for each person's socks and underwear. Maybe I'm more concerned than most about organizing because I did it for a living.

berky said:

You're talking about the wardrobe at the foot of the bed? In the 2012 that wasn't really fit out as a wardrobe, but instead has a TV shelf in it. One of my projects for the coming year is to remove that and put in some wireframe shelving.

The wardrobes in the 26LRSS are to the left and right of the head of the bed. They're roomy enough to hang 8-12 items, though they're a bit on the short side.

Click to expand...

My 2011 was the same a TV cabinet with two drawers underneath it. I removed the sliding TV platform and added two more shelves for a total of four including the bottom of the cabinet. A good portion of our clothes are folding rather than hanging so it works well. DW uses one shelf for extra towels and linens.

Regarding the short wardrobes. . . the first thing I did was raise the rods as high as possible where a coat hanger will still fit. Adds a few inches to the height so most shirts/jackets hang correctly.