The way plumbing should look

We have all had the experiance of looking behind the wall in the basements of our trailers and finding a rat's nest of PEX tubing running to our fixtures. To say that Heartland's work behind there has a lot to be desired. So recently while at a regional RV show I had the chance to climb into the basements of a couple of 5th wheels and each had a little different way of routing thier plumbing, wiring and accessories (Vac systems, inverters, etc). The winner of the squared away plumbing (workmanship wise) goes to the now defunct NuWa. Now, I don't really like the idea of a low pressure, hose bib type, connection, but the idea of a monifold makes a huge amount of sense.

FJ

Nice!!

Boy....Now that looks Good!!
Nice Craftsmanship!!
Better Than The "Bird Nest"

The "Classic" Landmarks (2005-2008?) had a manifold system in the UDC, and it is nice. Now, behind it, in the crawlspace....

It sure looks better than my Sundance, I have to stand on my head and spit jelly beans to get to the water pump, no way to reach the winteriz valve to put in antifreeze.. as soon as it warms up I plan to move the pump to a better location. Wish me luck

I thought about installing a maniflod in our Landmark, but it is a little too pricey for not being a must-have. Maybe in the future I will fix the rats-nest under there. Here are some liks if anyone wants to take on the project for their trailer.

http://www.wscdirect.net/servlet/the-279/VANGUARD-MXBD6-1-fdsh-2"--fdsh-/Detail

http://www.pexsupply.com/pex-manabloc.asp

Our 2007 Landmark has 2 manifolds...one for hot water and one for cold water. It is in the UDC.

Our 05 Landmark has the hot & cold manifolds and it is a nice feature that has been used. We have had two minor water leaks and instead of shutting the water off to the whole coach we just shut the water off to where the leak was. This is one of the reasons we bought a Landmark in the first place instead of SOB.

Our 08 Landmark Mt. Rushmore also had the hot and cold water manifold in the docking station. Like Tom said that is one of the reasons we we jumped and bought our Classic Landmark before they all disappeared. We like this feature very much and don't understand why it was dropped other than maybe a few dollars less in building cost. The benefits to us outweigh the cost.

Don

All but two of our 5th wheels have had the water manifold and for us its a must. The 2009 Landmark we had didn't have the Manifold and I was very disappointed to say the least. We had a water leak behind the wall and when I went to repair it I also discovered the basement wall wouldn't slide and had to remove wood screws, and water lines and other lines looked like a rats nest. For those who have the water Manifold you know how important they are when you have water leaks. I really Heartland should go back to the Landmark, and also add the whole house water filter system. Also with the Water Manifold the water pressure is much better, we never have slow running water at any faust. GBY....

The Classic Landmarks are awesome units without a doubt. For those of you who have them - hang onto them.

To reiterate for those who have not heard or do not recall the story, at the price point of the Classic Landmark after the pent up demand was satisfied over the course of 4 model years, we could no longer hold the minimums we needed to keep the product online.

Rather than extincting the product that we built the company on, we went to dealers and asked them what they could sell them for. The end result was "about" $10k less MSRP. We retooled it and came out with the 2009 all-new Landmark. Yes it was different and yes, some items went away. That combined with a margin hit and Landmark was relaunched.

And while it was not the Classic Landmark, the all-new Landmark had some new features, new floor-plans and started showing well. Sales really took off and the rest is history. It's a hit at it's current price point and feature set.

Don't get me wrong, I am not taking anything away from the Classic or new Landmarks. Both are awesome products, yet different. Still Heartland's top of the line

That all said, we're not everyone's cup-of-tea to be certain. But enough people like us and our product to put Heartland firmly on the RV map - with LM/BH/BC finishing 2008 as the #3 5th wheel for 2008. An awesome feat.

They are not Tetons - they're what more people want today. A decent product with a rich feature-set for a decent price. There is still higher end product out there being made by other manufacturers. We all have different needs and budgets. So there's something out there in RV Land for everyone - even if it's not a Heartland.

Please don't take this as a rant - just giving some facts as I have come to understand them.

Thanks,

Jim

By the way, for those that knew/know them, Mel and Nina Harrison, HappyRover just traded their Classic Landmark and Dodge RAM on a Newmar Class A. If anyone wants a Classic, they traded it in Tuscon two weeks ago.

Jim

The actual reason for posting the photos was not so much to discuss the Landmarks as much as it was to bring the issue of "attention to detail" that costs minimal amounts and speaks volumes about workmanship. The manifold is just one of the items shown in this picture. The fact that the lines are marked and properly secured to a side wall are also the items that I was trying to bring people's attention to. If it takes a guy an extra 30 minutes to place the tubing in brackets or wire tie it in place so it does not look like a rat's nest then spend the extra couple of dollars on labor and do it. Attention to detail is what was very evident in my two Sunnybrooks.

fjspinelli said:

..... Attention to detail is what was very evident in my two Sunnybrooks.

Click to expand...

Apparantly too many $$$ were spent on details which did not convert to sales. Just try to buy a new Sunnybrook today!