Road Warrior 425 - Is it a Production or just a Concept model?

We purchased our 2014 Road Warrior 425 in September of 2013. Since then, I've noticed several items that make me think that we were sold a "concept" vehicle, kinda like you see at car shows. Things that look good, but are not ready for the real world. Here's a list of some of the things I've noticed. Some my be chalked up to manufacturer defects, but some are out and out design problems:

• In the Garage
  • There is absolutely no heat to the Garage. Since I have a 1/2 bath back there, I have to plug in an electric heater to keep the bathroom from freezing during cold weather.
  • As for the bathroom, there is no exhaust fan. It can get stinky back there.
  • The television in the garage is mounted too high. I get a sore neck trying to watch that television. It's pretty much useless
  • Oh, to get any cable or antenna signal to that TV, I had to install a jumper coax cable at the main living room television. So if I don't have a splitter, I get to watch one or the other TV, not both.
  • Where does the sink in the 1/2 bath drain to? Is it the aft grey water tank or does it contribute to the aft black water tank. No clue.
• "Optimal Thermal Protection" according to the sticker.
  • The sticker seems to imply that the trailer is suited for extreme cold and hot temperatures, but that's just not so.
  • If the outside temperature gets below freezing, the fresh water lines under the rig carrying the water from the fresh water holding tank freeze up. It doesn't take much, just an hour or so at 31 degrees and I have no water
  • There seems to be NO heat ducts providing heating to the utility area where the water pump and all the water lines converge. I have to take off a panel in the storage area and run an electric heater down there too.
  • The large windows on the door side slide are great solar heating magnifiers. If there's any sunshine at all the living area heats up quickly forcing me to run the air conditioners to help mitigate the heat. By the way, I don't think that the A/C is strong enough to actually cool off the interior.
• Oh yes, the Air Conditioners
  • Like I said, I don't think that the A/C units (there are 2) are powerful enough to keep up with the solar heating in the living area.
  • Also, they are LOUD! They are so loud that we can't hear the television above them, nor can we sleep when the bedroom A/C is running.
  • Oh, by the way, there are only 2 A/C vents in the living area. There's 2 in the garage, but I don't spend most of my time there.

I could go on and on, but it wears me out to think that we spend our hard-earned money on something that is so poorly engineered as this is. We sunk our nest-egg into this to be our full-timing home and there are times I regret doing so.

If someone could point me to someone at Heartland who could convince me not to tell people to avoid the Road Warrior and Heartland trailers in general, please give me their name. i would like to be an ambassador for the Heartland brand, but right now, that's not happening.

Thanks for listening.

Hi iam144,

Most of what you've described as "concept" issues are pretty common on RVs. Big windows = big thermal transfer. Areas furthest from the furnace get the least heat. When temps go below freezing, the water system has to be protected. Air conditioners are very loud. On larger trailers, many of these issues are magnified.

We have some owner-written user guides that might be of help. The Heating and Cooling Guide, the Water Systems Guide, and The Water Systems Winter Usage Guide might be of particular help. There are lots of practical tips on getting best performance out of your unit along with some simple things you can do to deal with sub-freezing temps. Here's a link to the user guide page.

All of your concerns are valid, but not unusual for many brands of RVs. Most of the time, people expect "sticks and bricks" quality construction, when most RVs are built for "weekend and holiday" use. Compared to conventional construction costs, an RV is made as cheaply as possible -- in order to hit a price-point and appeal to a particular user profile -- so to assume any RV will be perfect for full-timing is not realistic. There are some RVs geared and designed for full-time use -- but their price-tag is usually much higher...and they are not without their own issues.

That said, if you are within your 1-year warranty, I would contact your dealer with the heating and AC distribution issues. There may be some duct-work that has come loose.

Reference the user guides, they can help with some of the other issues you are having as well. Many of us do our own modifications to make our coaches perform in the environment we want them to. (in our case, we added heat pads/tape to our water system so we could camp in the winter.)

As far as the windows, maybe a darker window tint could be added to the windows? Just a thought.

I also think I read where someone added a vent to their garage bath. Try doing a search on the forum.