ricepaulette
Member
Can you pull this trailer with a dodge 150 Hemi 8-cylinder truck
Choosing an RV
- Thread starter Ann_Mayer
- Start date
Since we stepped up and bought our Gateway i have not been able to get into the mountain state parks around home to escape the heat and do some fishing so i started looking for another trailer. I have a small pop up tent trailer but after all the creature comforts it just dosn't cut it any more.
I looked at Heartlands trail runners because of the quality we have with our Gateway and hoped the smaller units were going to be as nice. We went to the same dealership we bought our fw from and got to look at several units. Man i was disapointed to say the least. One unit had wall panneling coming off, another had the shower surround buckled along the outer edges and one had the front outside corner coming off and looked like the shell was coming apart. Our salesman said that is what to expect for the price range of trailers we were looking at.......same thing i have heard with our last 3 trailers before the Gateway, "normal to have issues", man does that irritate me!!!
Spending 10-16k on a small trailer isn't a little thing to me and having things falling apart before leaving the lot is not acceptable. We found the same thing with other manufacture trailers as well so it may be the norm, i just have a hard time accepting that.
I hate to say it but i ended up buying another brand, we got an 18 footer with a small slide, 8 foot wide, makes quite a bit of difference compared to 7 and 7 1/2 feet. Has a queen bed, couch, and bathroom, stove top oven and microwave, basic kitchen, small tv and stereo, outdoor gas grill, nothing to write home about but after looking at new units from several companies, not one of the units we bought had anything out of sorts inside or out and we went to 4 different dealers before buying one for the best price i could get, so we looked at 7 of the same model unit before buying one. Time will tell if i made the right choice for a second rv.
Not sure how many people do what i did but i can't use the Gateway for a hunting camp trailer, the wife would not be happy!! As i said, the pop up served its purpose but after all the comfort the Gateway has it just wouldn't cut it anymore and i miss being in the woods and fishing on small streams so had to do something. We did go fishing in Montana last summer but had to stay in an rv park with the fw and drive to the rivers, now we can camp where we fish in comfort.
Not sure what my point was now except i was pretty disapointed with the trail runners we looked at. I guess the dealership dosn't do any repairs until a unit sells first is all i can think of, but if they had not had issues i would probably ended up with a second Heartland for my camp trailer........
I looked at Heartlands trail runners because of the quality we have with our Gateway and hoped the smaller units were going to be as nice. We went to the same dealership we bought our fw from and got to look at several units. Man i was disapointed to say the least. One unit had wall panneling coming off, another had the shower surround buckled along the outer edges and one had the front outside corner coming off and looked like the shell was coming apart. Our salesman said that is what to expect for the price range of trailers we were looking at.......same thing i have heard with our last 3 trailers before the Gateway, "normal to have issues", man does that irritate me!!!
Spending 10-16k on a small trailer isn't a little thing to me and having things falling apart before leaving the lot is not acceptable. We found the same thing with other manufacture trailers as well so it may be the norm, i just have a hard time accepting that.
I hate to say it but i ended up buying another brand, we got an 18 footer with a small slide, 8 foot wide, makes quite a bit of difference compared to 7 and 7 1/2 feet. Has a queen bed, couch, and bathroom, stove top oven and microwave, basic kitchen, small tv and stereo, outdoor gas grill, nothing to write home about but after looking at new units from several companies, not one of the units we bought had anything out of sorts inside or out and we went to 4 different dealers before buying one for the best price i could get, so we looked at 7 of the same model unit before buying one. Time will tell if i made the right choice for a second rv.
Not sure how many people do what i did but i can't use the Gateway for a hunting camp trailer, the wife would not be happy!! As i said, the pop up served its purpose but after all the comfort the Gateway has it just wouldn't cut it anymore and i miss being in the woods and fishing on small streams so had to do something. We did go fishing in Montana last summer but had to stay in an rv park with the fw and drive to the rivers, now we can camp where we fish in comfort.
Not sure what my point was now except i was pretty disapointed with the trail runners we looked at. I guess the dealership dosn't do any repairs until a unit sells first is all i can think of, but if they had not had issues i would probably ended up with a second Heartland for my camp trailer........
That Prowler is a great looking rv, i wish they made a smaller tow behind, the smallest we could find was 24 feet i think, otherwise that would be the one for a second rv. Quality was much better than the trail runners by far, at least from what i could see.
The trail runner may be a great rig, it was just hard to buy one when falling apart on the lot. I couldn't find any other Heartland models in the size we were looking for, not sure if they even have any. I think we will be happy with what we bought, and if we have trouble the dealer is close by for repairs.
Speaking of, the Gateway goes in the end of the month for the last of warrenty, dealer has had parts for a while but to busy to get us in so couldn't have worked out better actually, drop it off and take off with the little trailer fishing for a week, if any trouble i can drop it off when i pick the fw back up.
The trail runner may be a great rig, it was just hard to buy one when falling apart on the lot. I couldn't find any other Heartland models in the size we were looking for, not sure if they even have any. I think we will be happy with what we bought, and if we have trouble the dealer is close by for repairs.
Speaking of, the Gateway goes in the end of the month for the last of warrenty, dealer has had parts for a while but to busy to get us in so couldn't have worked out better actually, drop it off and take off with the little trailer fishing for a week, if any trouble i can drop it off when i pick the fw back up.
Bob, yes, keeping the Gateway we will use it for any trips more than a couple hundrex miles from home or any trips we plan on staying gone for more than a couple of days. I just wanted another small trailer for camping in state parks or anywhere i can't get the fw. No dirt roads for the Gateway either, getting into a lot of state parks the roads are in bad shape and sites are set up for 28 feet max length on rv's.
I have a small pop up trailer i have had for 10 years now, but haven't used it much, kind of a pain to set up, have to pack everything away and carry ice chests for food, just thought i would get more use from a regular trailer than i have with the tent trailer. I'll get more time on the water as well now we can camp along small rivers and streams instead of driving from the rv parks to them. It will be nice to have a few more creature comforts as well.
I have a small pop up trailer i have had for 10 years now, but haven't used it much, kind of a pain to set up, have to pack everything away and carry ice chests for food, just thought i would get more use from a regular trailer than i have with the tent trailer. I'll get more time on the water as well now we can camp along small rivers and streams instead of driving from the rv parks to them. It will be nice to have a few more creature comforts as well.
