Assistance with a decision

[nhrangerjoe]

I am new to the rv world and looking to buy one in the near future. I am in the military and have a special needs child. My wife and I have decided to homestead the family for continuity of care, since the DOD schools are terrible for proper care and instruction. With this we have decided it would be best if I bought an RV to live in rather than pay all the fees associated with renting an apartment and the high cost of rent around military bases. My issue is I know very little about the rv world. I know I am looking for a toy hauler so I can keep my bikes with me. At the end of day I am trying to find that fine line of comfort, utility and durability. I need a separate garage so my bike can stay out of the weather,other than that I would like something comfortable enough to full time it for the next 6 years. I have a dodge 3500 drw so size is not an issue, but I would like to keep my payments less than $400 any suggestion would be greatly appreciated.

 

[jbeletti]

nhrangerjoe,

Thank you for your service.

I have met countless families on the road over the years that have also chosen the toyhauler platform as their home on the road, suitable for living and homeschooling. So I think you're on the right track.

Maybe the next step for you is to determine the size of the garage that gives you the layout you want/need for school, sleeping and bike storage. Also, do you need a half bath back there too? Those exist.

Once you have your layout determined, then you'll know what length garage you need and can start really narrowing down the field of availabe toyhauler floorplans.

 

[jimtoo]

Hi nhrangerjoe,

Welcome to the Heartland Owners Forum and hopefully to the family. We have a great bunch of folks here with lots of information and all willing to share their knowledge when needed.

I'm sure you will get more opinions soon from our other members as to what they have and how they use it. It might be good if you would post your bike size and breed. We have a lot of folks that are full timing in a toy hauler.

Again, thanks for your service and hope you find what you need in a Heartland product.

Jim M

 

[TXTiger]

I just moved from San Diego where I met a military family living in a Cyclone doing what you have described. The wife often is on this forum. Hopefully she will see your post and chime in. I believe her forum name is Mz Mary. And as others have said, thank you for your service.

 

[ketah777]

Hello, we are looking into purchasing a Cyclone for full timing and homeschooling. We need to sell our house first, but hope to be full time by the first of the year. I would like to suggest you also look at fulltimefamilies.com and their Facebook page too. In researching this lifestyle for our family I came across Full Time Families and found there are lots of families out there currently doing this while also homeschooling (or "roadschooling"). They have lots of people that can also give you advice on RV types that work well for families on the road. I hope this helps!

 

[nhrangerjoe]

Thank you all for your input. My family will be homesteaded so that my special needs child will not be moved around. I will be the only one full timing it due to the military lifestyle and my ever changing duty stations. I have 4 motorcycles that travel with me, and have given myself a budget of about $55k. I am currently deployed so at the time of purchase I will not be able to purchase/order it in person, Unfortunately I will need to have the unit ready as soon as I get home. Are there any things you all feel are must haves? I am currently leaning towards a torque with a 12' garage. Can you order one with a larger garage 14' or 18'?
Thank you for your assistance.

 

[recumbent615]

Thank you all for your input. My family will be homesteaded so that my special needs child will not be moved around. I will be the only one full timing it due to the military lifestyle and my ever changing duty stations. I have 4 motorcycles that travel with me, and have given myself a budget of about $55k. I am currently deployed so at the time of purchase I will not be able to purchase/order it in person, Unfortunately I will need to have the unit ready as soon as I get home. Are there any things you all feel are must haves? I am currently leaning towards a torque with a 12' garage. Can you order one with a larger garage 14' or 18'?
Thank you for your assistance.

NH Ranger Joe,

Thank you for your clarification, That helps us understand the use model. I believe that the largest garage currently available is 12 foot and I do not believe that Heartland is in a position to special order a larger garage. I am going to assume, but ask you to clarify the types of Bikes the 4 bikes you want to carry are, that these are either sport or dirt bikes and not Harley dressers... Knowing what the make and model of the four bikes will help us understand both the space requirements and weight of the cargo.

as far as must haves - if you are going to be stationed in the Deep south, I would highly recommend the second AC unit, There is an option for a third but since you will be the only one living in the unit and the garage will be used for storage of the bikes not as living space - you could get by without the third. I would also opt for the Generator, and have a progressive EMS 50A Surge Protector ( hard wired ) as an absolute must. The EMS would need to be installed as an after market part as I do not believe that are an option from Heartland. Also as a great option, depending on the model you order - a fireplace heater is a great addition and saves on propane usage for taking the chill off the air.

I would also get the ARCTIC package, but as a minimum order the dual pane windows. Both will help with the extreme temps and internal comfort and heating/cooling costs.

I hope this helps, we are here to offer what ever advice and knowledge we can.

Are you originally from New Hampshire or does the NH stand for something else?


Thank you for your service

Kevin

 

[sbuckman]

Just looked on the Heartland site and the Torque garage sizes are 10' and 12', Road Warrior have 10', 12', 14' and 17.5' garages and the Cyclone is available in 10', 12', 14', 17.5', and 18' garages. As you can see there are lots of choices out there! To be able to keep your payments in the range you are looking for you may have to look at used units, or look for any holdover 2013 or catch a good deal on a 2014 since the 2015 models are rolling out. Too bad you are not in our area (ND) as we just traded in a pristine 2011 Cyclone 3812 with a 12' garage that should fall close to that.

 

[recumbent615]

Just looked on the Heartland site and the Torque garage sizes are 10' and 12', Road Warrior have 10', 12', 14' and 17.5' garages and the Cyclone is available in 10', 12', 14', 17.5', and 18' garages. As you can see there are lots of choices out there! To be able to keep your payments in the range you are looking for you may have to look at used units, or look for any holdover 2013 or catch a good deal on a 2014 since the 2015 models are rolling out. Too bad you are not in our area (ND) as we just traded in a pristine 2011 Cyclone 3812 with a 12' garage that should fall close to that.

OK so now I just feel Dumb - When did Heartland add such large Garages to the mix. But I agree, to keep it in budget, especially for these larger units Used is an option.

Kevin

 

[nhrangerjoe]

I have two dirt bikes a super moto bike and a triumph sports bike and use pit bull strapless trailer restraints so I can pack them in very tight, someday I'll have an street glide. And the NH stands for New Hampshire.

 

[Scohad]

I am new to the rv world and looking to buy one in the near future. I am in the military and have a special needs child. My wife and I have decided to homestead the family for continuity of care, since the DOD schools are terrible for proper care and instruction. With this we have decided it would be best if I bought an RV to live in rather than pay all the fees associated with renting an apartment and the high cost of rent around military bases. My issue is I know very little about the rv world. I know I am looking for a toy hauler so I can keep my bikes with me. At the end of day I am trying to find that fine line of comfort, utility and durability. I need a separate garage so my bike can stay out of the weather,other than that I would like something comfortable enough to full time it for the next 6 years. I have a dodge 3500 drw so size is not an issue, but I would like to keep my payments less than $400 any suggestion would be greatly appreciated.

If you order from the factory, you better be there while its being built, quality really sucks even in the supposed "Luxury" models.

 

[cookie]

If you order from the factory, you better be there while its being built, quality really sucks even in the supposed "Luxury" models.

And you base your comment on??????????

Peace
Dave

 

[dave10a]

One thing I have learned over the past with RV's. You had better be handy at maintenance. If you are not, either it will slowly deteriate before your eyes or cost a lot of money to keep up on the repairs. If you are not handy, good insurance might help, but can be costly.