How did the Saturday trip go?
x2 on the Elkhart trip. For the amount of money you spend on these campers, why not invest a couple days?
We traveled out of town to see the camper we chose before we placed our order because it was not available where we live.
I would still go into this purchase with the expectation that some problems will come up. No matter who makes the camper, problems can be the nature of the industry. Hopefully the warranty period helps iron out some of the issues.
In my opinion, in some ways these campers are all alike. Many have the same floor plans. They seem to get parts from the same suppliers, etc... I've owned a few campers by a couple different manufacturers. In some ways it's a "what you see is what you get" product. And in some ways you just don't know what you got till it's yours. Talking to a guy who delivers new campers, he says some tow great, some tow lousy (this is one of those where you don't know what ya got till it's yours). I have never read where a heartland camper towed lousy, but he did state his opinion on who does tow lousy.
I would suggest being very diligent on the PDI and be ready to walk away if there are issues that do not meet your expectations. For some reason the industry has made the PDI with the consumer a quick and dirty walk through. The dealer has a long list of quality control stuff to go through. Unfortunately the consumer is expecting the dealer to have an expert doing this work when sometimes is a rookie. Also, do not plan a big trip the weekend you expect to take delivery on the camper. I've seen those trips blow up when the camper doesn't arrive or the PDI goes south...
Good luck!
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PS... Shop your price! The dealer in Lexington may be most proximate, but it could be very worth driving through a couple states. Don't settle on the best price from dealer A without shopping!