2013 Landmark Key Largo - Thirty Day Review

[kakampers]

Well we've been in the new Key Largo for one month now, and have to say we are LOVING it!!

Likes:

1- the floorplan is awesome...really liked our 3600RL, but this has it beat hands down. The kitchen is amazing. Was concerned about an all in one bath, but now that we have it, won't go back to a suite layout. For one, you can get this bathroom nice and toasty warm...couldn't do that in a suite bath. The bedroom, with the new closet layout works beautifully...finally don't have to move things out of the way to get to anything. Really like the little dresser in the closet, works great for me, as that's on my side of the bed.

2 - The fit and finish on this unit is really good. Everything is tight and cleanly finished...the cabinets are beautiful, and the all the storage is well thought out. At first I thought we wouldn't have enough storage, but that's because we moved in ONE day...never will do that again. Once we were in and I could think things through, we have plenty of space, even in the pantry.

3 - The interior decor is gorgeous! I know dark cabinetry is not for everyone, but I find the interior to be very residential and elegant looking...JMHO, of course.

4 - The dual heat pumps and the better insulation, etc., make this a much more comfortable coach to live in...have been into the low teens so far, and stay toasty warm inside.

Things that could be improved upon:

1 - No "hall" closet space for light jackets, etc, other than the exposed hooks in the hall to the bedroom...solved that issue by installing a six-hook rack behind the bedroom door. When the door is held open by the magnet at the bottom, you basically have a hidden storage space for jackets behind the door. Works great!

2 - Really wish the side windows in the rear of the coach, on each side of the the couch, opened like they did in the Bighorn...but I can live with it.

3 - Needs a heat vent in the floor between the bed and the closet...gets a bit chilly in that area at times.

4 - The new min-mega shower has a leak issue...bad design. It appears that the older style had a "lip" that the shower door was installed behind which acted as a dam and kept water from coming out onto the floor. The new one has the shower door track installed on a flat ledge, and it leaked horribly until we did a better caulk job on the outside...might want to go back to the old design shower stall...

Problems discovered so far:

1 - Bedroom TV died the second week...not a Heartland issue...called Sony and they replaced it in a matter of days.

2 - Could not figure out why the water pump made so much noise...discovered there was NOT one screw securing it to the floor in the basement...luckily we discovered it before it vibrated itself apart and caused a flood.

3 - The biggest issue is that after a rain, and we raise the front of the coach, some water comes out of the cap area around the pinbox...apparently we have a seal issue in the marker lights or where the cap meets the roof...will be checking that this weekend.

So far, could not be much happier...love the fullbody paint, and the outside entertainment center is the bomb...hope it's warm enough to use next weekend for the Superbowl...our Ravens are playing...WOO HOO!!

 

[Cyberdave]

We love our Key Largo and have been in it a month tomorrow. We did the exact same thing for a coat rack handy and hidden.
The leak on our shower was at the joint where the front vertical and horizontal rails meet. There is about an inch gap and it was not caulked at all.
All of our issues are QA related. The shower leak, dining room light not assembled correctly, bedroom door not latching..etc. Yesterday we found a little leak under the sink in the kitchen, neither basin nut was even hand tight..

If Heartland would implement a quality insurance program similar to what Northwoods has it could be an absolute marketing bonanza.

We really enjoy our new rig with all the counter space, dark woods, full bath, leveling system and on and on.

 

[porthole]

2 - Could not figure out why the water pump made so much noise...discovered there was NOT one screw securing it to the floor in the basement...luckily we discovered it before it vibrated itself apart and caused a flood.

My water pump hasn't been screwed down since I replaced the first one 3 years ago.

 

[readytohitheroad]

surely Heartland has a quality control program????

 

[kakampers]

Yes they do...and trust me the QC has improved dramatically over what we went through with the 2008 Bighorn. The two items we found are very minute and could have easily been missed. Not the least bit unhappy with our new unit...in fact, the complete opposite is true...

 

[goldenbetty]

We are pulling for the Ravens here in THE BIG EASY. The 49'ers must fall just like the DIRTY BIRDS. Sorry about your issues with your LM. We have discovered the same issue with the leak by pinbox. Pleas let me know what the fix is.

 

[Cyberdave]

surely Heartland has a quality control program????

They may well have but, it still needs a lot of improvement. If you want to see a real QA program go to the Northwoods plant.. Still, it is leaps and bounds better than Carriage's was and we never noticed any QA a Jayco tour. Like I said before can you imagine the marketing coup a great QA program would be?

 

[Raquel]

They may well have but, it still needs a lot of improvement. If you want to see a real QA program go to the Northwoods plant.. Still, it is leaps and bounds better than Carriage's was and we never noticed any QA a Jayco tour. Like I said before can you imagine the marketing coup a great QA program would be?

We feel very lucky to have had no real problems with our San Antonio. We had a jack with a leak when we picked it up because one of the techs kept pushing buttons. We got that replaced. The "troubles" we've had have been minor (pocket door damaged in transit, table too close to window, front stove burner not working right, etc). Our dealer has been really good about us parking in their lot (full hookups) while they fix the little things we've found. We've been really happy.

 

[travlingman]

They may well have but, it still needs a lot of improvement. If you want to see a real QA program go to the Northwoods plant.. Still, it is leaps and bounds better than Carriage's was and we never noticed any QA a Jayco tour. Like I said before can you imagine the marketing coup a great QA program would be?

Sounds like Northwood has a problem to me if they are trying to inspect quality into a RV instead of build it into. Auto manufactures discovered from Toyota that quality is built into and not inspected into as it was years ago. Go into any modern manufacturing plant and you have very few QA inspectors. Most QA's are used to inspect incoming parts and random samples of outgoing product.

To the OP, glad to hear of the few problems on your new rig, we are very interested in a Key Largo and your update was helpful. And I agree on the windows by couch, one detractor for us.

 

[kakampers]

Sounds like Northwood has a problem to me if they are trying to inspect quality into a RV instead of build it into. Auto manufactures discovered from Toyota that quality is built into and not inspected into as it was years ago. Go into any modern manufacturing plant and you have very few QA inspectors. Most QA's are used to inspect incoming parts and random samples of outgoing product.

To the OP, glad to hear of the few problems on your new rig, we are very interested in a Key Largo and your update was helpful. And I agree on the windows by couch, one detractor for us.

Don't let the windows steer you away...it is a very small issue...the other windows allow really good air flow when open. We could not be happier with our new Key Largo.!!

This was our dream coach and it has surpassed our expectations!! Thanks Heartland!!

 

[willie1019]

Good post after one month. We are going on three and have only very minor issues. Question: When you installed coat hooks, didn't you cover only full length mirror in the bedroom? The "do these jeans make me look fat" mirror....lol. Our closet doors have a very attractive striped design on the top mirror portion and only go half way with the bottom being wood. I solved jacket problem by putting a coat rack just outside front door which is a protected area. Works well when we are in one destination for long periods of time.

Another question: Do you have recliners or theater seating? We have disfunctional recliners which will not stay reclined. We have not received any response to our problem from either the factory or our dealer. If you have theater seating, do they stay reclined. Other people have told us they do but curious about your take. This sounds trivial but is a daily nuisance. A visitor just tried one and commented how terrible it was.

Thanks for sharing your experience. I sure agree with you, awesome kitchen/storage.

 

[jjriker]

Do you have recliners or theater seating? We have disfunctional recliners which will not stay reclined. We have not received any response to our problem from either the factory or our dealer.

We have a Landmark Rushmore which came with the recliners. We found the same thing - that they would not stay reclined unless we kept pushing back. We found them very uncomfortable. We sold them and bought some that were much more comfy.


Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2

 

[kakampers]

The coat hook/rack is installed on the wall that the door opens against, not on the back of the door. Not sure what you mean by "outside front door"...do you mean outside? If so, how is that a "protected area"??

We have recliners, and yes, they do not stay fully reclined. Not sure why....don't know if they are made that way or if they are not functioning properly. Doesn't really bother us...DH usually never puts the foot rest up, and I find I do not need it completely laid back.

 

[danemayer]

The recliners in our 2011 Rushmore recline fully and stay reclined - IF I scoot back all the way to the back of the chair. And of course, I have to pull the recliner away from the wall.

 

[willie1019]

The coat hook/rack is installed on the wall that the door opens against, not on the back of the door. Not sure what you mean by "outside front door"...do you mean outside? If so, how is that a "protected area"??

We have recliners, and yes, they do not stay fully reclined. Not sure why....don't know if they are made that way or if they are not functioning properly. Doesn't really bother us...DH usually never puts the foot rest up, and I find I do not need it completely laid back.

Oh, duh, thanks for clarification. I thought you meant on the door itself. Good idea. By protected area, I meant the space between the door and the slide, away from wind so doesn't blow over. And we have a "ramada" over our RV so that also helps.

We enjoy a little napping from time to time and impossible if you are holding your arms stiff to keep recliner in place. It is very annoying to us and I've read same complaints in other blogs. We want to switch them out for theater seating and believe Landmark should do that for us. A recliner is just that, a recliner....not a chair that goes back and then slowly creeps up right again. The person who posted above should not have had to purchase new ones to replace defective chairs in a high-end 5th wheel like the 2013 Key Largo we have with all the bells and whistles. We are lacking one of the bells! I'm sorry I sound irritated but sitting in my "recliner" right now and would love to push back a little; not possible.

 

[jbeletti]

Don't mean to take over Kathy's thread - but has anyone contact Heartland Customer Service or the chair maker (Flair?) about the recliners not staying reclined? Is there an adjustment/tension knob underneath?

 

[Bobby A]

The coat hook/rack is installed on the wall that the door opens against, not on the back of the door. Not sure what you mean by "outside front door"...do you mean outside? If so, how is that a "protected area"??

We have recliners, and yes, they do not stay fully reclined. Not sure why....don't know if they are made that way or if they are not functioning properly. Doesn't really bother us...DH usually never puts the foot rest up, and I find I do not need it completely laid back.

When we got our rig, I noticed that also on the recliners and I called Flair and they told me that is the way they are designed. The only way to keep them in the reclining position is to move your lower back up in the chair and it will stay reclined. It does work. We have since got rid of the chair and got Lazy Boy recliner.

 

[kakampers]

When we got our rig, I noticed that also on the recliners and I called Flair and they told me that is the way they are designed. The only way to keep them in the reclining position is to move your lower back up in the chair and it will stay reclined. It does work. We have since got rid of the chair and got Lazy Boy recliner.

That does work!! Just tried it...scooted up in the chair slightly while it is reclined...stays put!! COOL!!

 

[willie1019]

That does work!! Just tried it...scooted up in the chair slightly while it is reclined...stays put!! COOL!!

We have tried all kinds of positions and even damaged the wall behind one of the recliners by pushing back too hard. Jim, when I first posted this problem in a different thread, someone I assumed was from the factory, asked for our VIN so they could check it out. That was about two months ago. I sent it and heard nothing. Sent the person a follow up inquiry and still nothing. So almost one one month ago, I contacted our dealer who said he would get right on it and back to us soon. That was on Jan 5. Thought I would wait until Feb 5 and then contact him again. We do not want to shell out $800 or more for new chairs and are just asking them to switch them out to the theater seating which many people say do stay reclined. That does not seem unreasonable considering the many complaints in various places on this web site. I am assuming the factory does not want to do this so we are just being ignored, hoping we'll go away. This does not fit with all the kudos I read about Heartland service. We had terrific recliners in our Alpenlite we sold to buy our Key Largo and have discussed them fondly many times. Darn, how such a relatively small issue can grow into such a thorn.

 

[jbeletti]

willie - who was this someone you sent your VIN to? Email that name to me and I will do my best to remind them of their promise to look into this for you.