Storage wars!! Where has all the storage gone?

Cycloner3950 · Mar 18, 2013

OK Heartland, would you like some advice? As a current owner of a 2010 3950 and looking to but our second Cyclone, what have you done!!! With all due respect, please take what I am about to say seriously but from the perspective of a very frustrated "2nd time" Cyclone buyer.

My wife is blocking my every option, the 4100 King......no storage, the redesigned 3950.....absolutely no storage what so ever, anywhere in the kitchen. The new 4000 Elite......better storage but no 1/2 bath. There are really no options to replace our 3950 that has so much storage it is not funny. Now let me explain storage, I am not talking about storage of "stuff" outside or in the back, I am talking about groceries, plates, pans, supplies, toilet paper!!! You know, stuff we need to camp with or do what these trailers are designed for which is long haul or even full time in. Shelves that are open and not enclosed do not cut it, very poor taste, no functionality = bad idea. Nobody worries about displaying family photos or having a fake plant as staged in your brochures, come on this is real life. our 2010 3950 has storage everywhere, cupboards, pantries, storage over the u shaped dinette sofa, huge storage over the love seat (now both removed for the cheap chair option), storage under all of the sofas, slide out storage under the sofa dinette ends (amazing idea), storage up in the loft (now removed on the 2012 and up 3950's....cheap), full storage upright wardrobe and overhead shelf in the bedroom, now replaced with a cheap little 6 drawer chest. Don't even get us started on the absolutely useless center seat, split walk in closet design?? What a waste of all that room up front and now clothes storage has been reduced?

As my wife says, you obviously do not have a "woman" designer on staff anymore because I would have to agree with her that your choice of early 90's fabrics and vinyl couch materials has really gone downhill. The new Cyclones look like cheap Forrest River appointed toy haulers now, sad because Cyclones are still the #1 toyhauler in my opinion for quality. Just my 2 cents worth from a very happy current owner not having any luck convincing his wife on a replacement unit.

Please get back on your "A" game.......continue to lead and not follow. Set the standard, not just meet what the bean counters want which is "cost out" metrics.....

And by the way, my son and I have designed what we would consider to be the ultimate floor plan. We would love to share it with someone at Heartland. Feel free to contact me anytime.

Brad

BarneyFife · Mar 18, 2013

"The new Cyclones look like cheap Forrest River appointed toy haulers now, sad because Cyclones are still the #1 toyhauler in my opinion for quality."

Everyone's got their own opinion. I'd ten times rather have an XLR over my Cyclone. I do agree with you on one point. My Puma travel trailer from 2004 had twice as much storage space as my Cyclone.

AJJONES · Mar 18, 2013

The 4100 has just as much storage as the old 3950 it is just found in different places

Kitchen storage- The 4100 has every bit of storage that the old 3950 has. The old 3950 did not have the space for a 12 cu refer or any space for a pantry next to the refrigerator. If you were to go with the 8 cu. ft. refer in the 4100 you will have two separate pantries one on each side of the refrigerator. You have all of the same storage underneath the island that you had on the old 3950 as well. Underneath the sofa on the mega lounger is all storage under the L-shaped portion of the couch. The recliners were introduced because of popular requests. If you prefer not to have the Mega Lounger with the built in recliners, and want more storage you still have the option for the sofa / dinette combo which is all storage underneath each piece of furniture. You do loose the overheads in this floor plan to make room for the huge windows that are in the slide out. The 4100 does have a huge cabinet that is attached to the fascia of the kitchen slide out to add additional storage to make up for it. Even with the lack of over heads, the double pantries and fascia cabinet more than make up for that lost space.
Bathroom Storage – The 4100 also has 3x the storage in the bath area than the 3950 had. The 4100 has overhead cabinets and entire bank of drawers not found in the 3950. More counter top space and a HUGE sunken tub that is much more functional than the smaller neo-angle shower.

Bedroom – There is also more storage in the bedroom of the 4100 it is just found in different places, the closet now goes all the way across the front of the trailer now and the chair is gone(we have been building that way for 5-6 months) the new closet has more storage than previous 3950 closet. There is a separate closet on the door side that is set up for a washer / dryer if you choose that is now much easier to access. There are also two additional drawers added to the dresser for more storage (which are bigger drawers as well). We did lose the overhead TV cabinet that had no depth in it, to allow the room for the optional 32” flat screen TV which was also due to popular demand. Most importantly now there is a residential king size bed, which can be opened very easily and used for more storage, as opposed to the old 3950 which had no bed storage.
Pass through storage – The 4100 has a larger pass through storage area, as well as a separate outside refrigerator that is next to the pass-through that has more additional space.

Garage – 4100 has more storage in the garage with the large overhead cabinets. It also has the loft that is reduced to a twin bed so that can fit lifted side by sides and golf carts without hitting the bottom of the loft area on the roof. This is why we cut the cabinetry out of the loft area to add the additional clearance for the roof lines of taller toys. Now because the loft is reduced to a twin bed it is much easier to reach things in the loft and also makes great storage for tote’s and other items.

I hope I helped answer any questions you might have or informed you of storage that you might of not been aware of. We would love to earn your buisness and keep you in the Heartland family. I would be very interested to see your floorplan design, if you would like you can send it to my email aj.jones@heartlandrvs.com . When designing our floorplans we must stay under 430 sq ft. This does not sound like much but when you have almost 100 sq ft of it in garage space it can get difficult to make everyone happy. I would love see your floor plan and any future ideas.

thanks,
AJ

TandT · Mar 18, 2013

Cycloner3950,
Sounds like you have the perfect rig. Why after only 3 years, are you even considering a new one? Just curious. Trace

Cycloner3950 · Mar 18, 2013

I want the hydraulic front jacks and I like the new darker cabinetry, along with the king bed option. No other reason, love our 3950!

TandT said:
Cycloner3950,
Sounds like you have the perfect rig. Why after only 3 years, are you even considering a new one? Just curious. Trace

Cycloner3950 · Mar 18, 2013

AJ, wow, thanks for the detailed response and I will take you up on that offer to discuss. While I don't agree with all the changes, it is what it is. I did not realize there were options for the dinette vs couch etc. Might need to discuss with my dealer who did not mention this to us. Please take what I pointed out as constructive criticism. Unfortunately because the 4100 loses the extra fridge in the back, you need the double door fridge in the kitchen, thus losing the 2nd pantry. Not sure how useful the garage upper cabinets are because you would need a stool to get to anything. Glad to here that the closet has been changed however most units out at the lots are still the older designs.

AJJONES said:
The 4100 has just as much storage as the old 3950 it is just found in different places

Kitchen storage- The 4100 has every bit of storage that the old 3950 has. The old 3950 did not have the space for a 12 cu refer or any space for a pantry next to the refrigerator. If you were to go with the 8 cu. ft. refer in the 4100 you will have two separate pantries one on each side of the refrigerator. You have all of the same storage underneath the island that you had on the old 3950 as well. Underneath the sofa on the mega lounger is all storage under the L-shaped portion of the couch. The recliners were introduced because of popular requests. If you prefer not to have the Mega Lounger with the built in recliners, and want more storage you still have the option for the sofa / dinette combo which is all storage underneath each piece of furniture. You do loose the overheads in this floor plan to make room for the huge windows that are in the slide out. The 4100 does have a huge cabinet that is attached to the fascia of the kitchen slide out to add additional storage to make up for it. Even with the lack of over heads, the double pantries and fascia cabinet more than make up for that lost space.
Bathroom Storage – The 4100 also has 3x the storage in the bath area than the 3950 had. The 4100 has overhead cabinets and entire bank of drawers not found in the 3950. More counter top space and a HUGE sunken tub that is much more functional than the smaller neo-angle shower.

Bedroom – There is also more storage in the bedroom of the 4100 it is just found in different places, the closet now goes all the way across the front of the trailer now and the chair is gone(we have been building that way for 5-6 months) the new closet has more storage than previous 3950 closet. There is a separate closet on the door side that is set up for a washer / dryer if you choose that is now much easier to access. There are also two additional drawers added to the dresser for more storage (which are bigger drawers as well). We did lose the overhead TV cabinet that had no depth in it, to allow the room for the optional 32” flat screen TV which was also due to popular demand. Most importantly now there is a residential king size bed, which can be opened very easily and used for more storage, as opposed to the old 3950 which had no bed storage.
Pass through storage – The 4100 has a larger pass through storage area, as well as a separate outside refrigerator that is next to the pass-through that has more additional space.

Garage – 4100 has more storage in the garage with the large overhead cabinets. It also has the loft that is reduced to a twin bed so that can fit lifted side by sides and golf carts without hitting the bottom of the loft area on the roof. This is why we cut the cabinetry out of the loft area to add the additional clearance for the roof lines of taller toys. Now because the loft is reduced to a twin bed it is much easier to reach things in the loft and also makes great storage for tote’s and other items.

I hope I helped answer any questions you might have or informed you of storage that you might of not been aware of. We would love to earn your buisness and keep you in the Heartland family. I would be very interested to see your floorplan design, if you would like you can send it to my email aj.jones@heartlandrvs.com . When designing our floorplans we must stay under 430 sq ft. This does not sound like much but when you have almost 100 sq ft of it in garage space it can get difficult to make everyone happy. I would love see your floor plan and any future ideas.

thanks,
AJ

oscar · Mar 18, 2013

I'll add my $.03

Initially I agreed with your sentiments. That said, we try not too carry too much stuff, and we DO have nick nacks to display and REALLY like the lit shelves for same....see pic.

But, for our first trip when we started putting stuff in, the kitchen swallowed an AMAZING amount of stuff. So did the closet in the bedroom. (Post bench era), and the entertainment wall, and the MBR. There is a lot of storage, just in different places than you're used to.

BUT, with the amount of weight that the options are adding to the base model, you don't really want to have a boatload of cubbies and stuff them with crap. Weight is becoming of the essence on these monsters.....

That said, we LOVE ours.

Herbie · Apr 3, 2013

AJ, we have a 2012 3950. We were recently looking at the new units and came up with the same conclusion as (cyclone 3950). So we are not upgrading this year. Here are some observations and thoughts.

It would be nice to have all layouts "per model" available to see (in photos) on your web site.
Show,
a, kitchen layout with or without double fridge, cabinets instead of display shelves, amount of closed storage in sq Ft.
b, couch vs dinette layout with detailed info on the storage capabilities.

We noticed that on the new 39500 in order to access the bathroom from the bedroom, you have to come down at least one step to open the bathroom door. That is dangerous, you need a sliding door.
Also rear bath sink has lost counter space, have you tried to wash your face in that sink yet? looks tight.

Glad to see that you went back to a full front closet.

IMOP the new interiors look great, but they need to be useful. Storage in the kitchen/dining area was a deal breaker for my wife. So maybe give a few options for design in that area.

rgwilliams69 · Apr 3, 2013

We unfortunately bought ours in the "bench" era. AJ is there any way to retrofit (our dealer is pretty responsive to things like this if there is a way) the full closet? I ask because this is really the only thing my wife hates about the 4100. We love everything else so far (I love everything, as I don't need to take a lot of clothes), but the bedroom closets are driving her nuts.

Any way to do that?

Thanks!

oscar · Apr 3, 2013

rgwilliams69 said:
We unfortunately bought ours in the "bench" era. AJ is there any way to retrofit (our dealer is pretty responsive to things like this if there is a way) the full closet? I ask because this is really the only thing my wife hates about the 4100. We love everything else so far (I love everything, as I don't need to take a lot of clothes), but the bedroom closets are driving her nuts.

Any way to do that?

Thanks!

I would go the finish carpenter route here. The interior trim is, at it's heart, carpentry. Why pay an RV place 100+ an hour if you can find a skilled finish carpenter for half that. It's all wood, staples and screws...... OK, go crazy and find yourself a cabinet maker. I can guarantee you that anyone who knows how to make a good joint and uses glue will make you something that will outlast the camper.

AJJONES · Apr 3, 2013

Let me know what dealer you are working with (pm if you would like). It would take alot to convert it over, and you will also need to have a newer front cap (different profile angles) the wood color must also be in boardaux cherry (wood we currently have in stock). But I will do every thing i can do to help, if you want you can also email me at Aj.jones@heartlandrvs.com.

alaska dodge · May 2, 2013

I also have an early 4100 with the bench in the room and wife hats it. No room for hanging cloths, is it possible to get that changed? We have to hang our cloths in the garage on store purchased devices instead of hauling a toy.

oscar · May 2, 2013

alaska dodge said:
I also have an early 4100 with the bench in the room and wife hats it. No room for hanging cloths, is it possible to get that changed? We have to hang our cloths in the garage on store purchased devices instead of hauling a toy.

Yes, that can be changed. Anyone with reasonable finish carpentry skills can build a closet wall there. There is nothing structural going on there. I would have no problem doing that.

alaska dodge · May 3, 2013

AJ posted that the front cap is different, so is this something heartland will or can change

rgwilliams69 · May 4, 2013

AJ and I had a PM conversation on this. Basically because of the angles the front caps couldn't be changed out to allow for the new closet configuration. As such he recommended that we look into having a carpenter try and do something for us. We have settled in a little better and are making better use of the under bed storage, so as things go this year my wife is feeling better about storage overall. Sure do wish we had the full closet instead of the bench though... I'm glad they have fixed it on the newer units.

alaska dodge · May 4, 2013

I'm glade they changed it also, just wish they did that from the beginning. I purchased stackable drawers that we put on the dresser to hold more cloths and I have a hanging system in the garage. We tried to us the hang rod that was in the closet but once we put our cloths on it the rod came crashing down. Found that it wasn't screwed into anything other than the ceiling material. Haven't found a good way to hang cloths in there yet.

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Storage wars!! Where has all the storage gone?

Cycloner3950

Crazy for Camping!

BarneyFife

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AJJONES

Senior GM for Cyclone, Torque, Gateway & Sundance

TandT

Founding Utah Chapter Leaders-Retired

Cycloner3950

Crazy for Camping!

Cycloner3950

Crazy for Camping!

oscar

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