Clone II - 2016 Cyclone 4100

[PALTeam]

Looooong story short, we've ordered a 2016 Cyclone 4100, and it should be ready tomorrow, Aug 4, 2015. We currently own a 2013 Cyclone 4100, and had pretty much figured it would be 'number last'. However, during the Rally, we visited the factory and really liked some of the changes; we cussed and discussed, listed pros and cons, and said "Yeah."

I thought I'd document the process, reasons, changes, experiences, lessons learned, etc. It'll help me remember, and maybe others will benefit. The primary inspiration for this thread is Porthole's masterful 'And so it begins'; I learned a lot! Dane Mayer, Jim Biletti, Julie Hancock and many others also taught me a lot.

BTW, "Clone" is Pam's name for the current unit, because she 'cloned' her bricks & sticks kitchen/bathroom (after selling our second, small house) into the Cyclone, and is an obvious abbreviation. So it's only logical the new unit be "Clone II".

We ordered our unit via Tiara RV in Elkhart, IN. Tiara has been a Heartland rep, I think, since sometime in 2014 (after the demise of Great Lakes RV). Having visited the factory twice now, and having peppered Heartland's AJ Jones (Toyhauler GM), Dustin Swindeman (Cyclone Brand Mgr) and Spencer Brotherson (Sales Trainee) with many questions, it was pretty obvious we knew more about Cyclones than did Stacy Carter at Tiara. No complaints - Tiara hasn't had the time to come up to speed. Stacy has been great, communicates well, and we're looking forward to a long term relationship.

AJ, Dustin and Spencer have been great, too. Only issue we've had so far is that the unit was supposed to have been done Jul 30 or 31, but Heartland closed down production on the 30th and 31st due to fiscal year end.

So why did we decide to replace a perfectly good and fairly young unit? In no particular order: beefed up frame, 7,000 axles, G rated tires, MorRyde king pin, residential fridge, Canadian Arctic Package, dual pane windows, three season doors in the garage, sprayer hookup for the rear black tank, improved spare tire carrier, 4 steps, more closet space, window in the back bathroom, cool couch, under counter sink in the master bath, cool cabinets in the salon slide out corners, better placement of the DVD player, wainscot in the garage, convection microwave, cabinet door over the control panel, LED lighting, camera ready, just to name a few.

Planned changes: stuff we already have on hand are vent covers, motion detecting porch light, Waste Master, door bars and Rear View camera.

Maybe it's obvious, but all the changes are with a view towards increased usage, including colder camping. We really enjoy our current Clone, and are excited big time to use the new one even more!

Guess I should add a few notes about the TV: it's a 2012 Ram 3500 DRW, 6.7 Cummins, 50 gal aux tank, TS3 hitch.

 

[Sniper]

Sounds fantastic! Hope you have many great years of enjoyment with Clone II. Safe travels.

 

[PALTeam]

Thanks much, Sniper!

 

[scottyb]

Congratulations. You did everything we would have done on a 2nd one. Sounds like a really nice rig. There were not many things we didn't like with our 4100, just needed a few upgrades like yours. Although, I have to say that we really liked the vessel sink.

 

[PALTeam]

Congratulations. You did everything we would have done on a 2nd one. Sounds like a really nice rig. There were not many things we didn't like with our 4100, just needed a few upgrades like yours. Although, I have to say that we really liked the vessel sink.

Thanks, ScottyB. Interesting, if I'm reading correctly, you went from Cylcone to a Class A? Care to share why?

BTW, we like the looks of the vessel sink, but it works better in a stable situation, like a bricks and sticks house, not a vibrating, shaking house on wheels. It shakes loose and leaks, that was our sole consideration.

 

[scottyb]

Thanks, ScottyB. Interesting, if I'm reading correctly, you went from Cylcone to a Class A? Care to share why?

BTW, we like the looks of the vessel sink, but it works better in a stable situation, like a bricks and sticks house, not a vibrating, shaking house on wheels. It shakes loose and leaks, that was our sole consideration.

Just another new chapter. We loved our 4100. We really miss the patio, and so do our dogs.

 

[BLHFUN]

Crazy how much changed even between the 15's and 16's. Guess I should have waited for the 16.

Post a few pics of Clone II when you have time. Congrats!

 

[jayc]

Bart and Lory, we'd love to meet you and see your Cyclone at the Missouri chapter rally at the Big Red Barn RV Park in Carthage next month.

 

[BLHFUN]

We would love to be there, however we will be in Heber City, Utah for that same week. - ( 9/11 - 9/22 ) - If anything changes, we will most certainly make the trip over. I've heard great reviews for the Red Barn - And it's really Close. Thanks for the invite!

 

[PALTeam]

We took possession of Clone II on Aug 6, and are so far really happy with it! All the 'want list' items were filled. We keep discovering more features/learning how things work and are looking forward to our first trip.

A quick word about Tiara RV Sales in Elkhart; they've been great to work with, are friendly folks and are not afraid to say "I don't know, but will find out." They let us put the new/old units back to back, patios down, and we just hauled stuff from old to new - saved a ton of packing, unpacking and steps. It took about 4 hours; amazing how much stuff you can put in one of these!

We've hosted a couple of 'open houses', once in Elkhart for friends and family, and once in Fort Wayne for neighbors - everyone was impressed. While the kitchen counter is shorter by 10" (to make room for the residential fridge), the extra space between the counter top and the front wall in the 'salon' is really nice. It's easier getting around even with 8 - 10 people in the same area. In Elkhart we also set up the rear patio and that was a popular place for congregating. The additional mood lighting (soft LEDs in the salon and under the awnings is effective and attractive).

We opted for the third AC in the garage, and it's nice to be able to run the bedroom and garage AC at the same time; that means the salon stays cool and quiet.

Changes to date:
- Went to the Wastemaster sewer hose, and added gate valves at the outlets (I was so tired of leakage when opening the outer caps). Pictures below.
- Vent covers were next.
- Added a Rear View camera (hard wired). I really like to be able to see what's behind me when backing as well as what's going on behind me when on the road. The camera is mounted to the rear ladder hold; it was easy to run the cable, I wire tied it to the ramp clamps in back, and underneath to the outside of the PVC pipe that carries the fuel lines.
- There's a wireless outdoor temp/humidity sensor next to the front door; we like being able to monitor and compare indoor vs outdoor conditions.

I went around the coach, inside and out, taking pictures to document everything from the running gear (axles, tires, equalizers, etc) to the dimensions of interior open spaces and cabinets.

Planned changes are adding water filter system (two filters, one for sediment and one for odor), shelves in the bedroom next to the head board, more shelves in the kitchen cabinets, slide out shelves for the deep cabinets next to the fridge, flat steps for the loft ladder, additional shelves in the garage cabinets, and, possibly, a floor cabinet in the garage (since the kitchen counter is shorter, under the sink storage is also smaller, hope to add a cabinet that will hold the crock pot, blender, et al). Maybe the garage floor cabinet can also be used as a desk. Last year we cut down a black walnut tree and some of that stock will become shelves/steps/cabinets; should go nicely with the walnut decor in the coach.

Oh, yeah; last is a picture of the coach.

 

[PALTeam]

Water filters are in place. There's a sediment filter followed by a carbon filter for taste and odor. I learned a lot after installing the system in our first Cyclone, so this set of filters is further back in the basement, the lines run up and out of the way, and the UDC is a lot more open.

The bracket is made from scrap oak, and I drilled out several holes to reduce the weight.

It's still nervous making drilling that first hole in a brand new unit ...

 

[jbeletti]

Pam and Lyle - nice mods! I especially like that you went to Cam Lock on the sewer and you added a gate valve there. I did the same thing.

Just a note, in case you want to pickup room in the storage bay, you could consider moving the filters to behind the UDC - if there's room for them. I insert my filters inline like you did but connect them to the city water inlet behind the UDC - keeping the UDC free of the in/out lines. You could leave your filters in place and move your lines to the back if you ever desire to do so.

Have fun!

 

[AJJONES]

Very nice mods to your 4100!!! Hope you enjoy your Cyclone

 

[oscar]

Whaddayaknow! The water heater bypass valve is now in an accessible location!

 

[PALTeam]

Pam and Lyle - nice mods! I especially like that you went to Cam Lock on the sewer and you added a gate valve there. I did the same thing.

Just a note, in case you want to pickup room in the storage bay, you could consider moving the filters to behind the UDC - if there's room for them. I insert my filters inline like you did but connect them to the city water inlet behind the UDC - keeping the UDC free of the in/out lines. You could leave your filters in place and move your lines to the back if you ever desire to do so.

Have fun!

Thanks, Jim. Good idea on the filter placement. Love this forum for all the good info!

We do hereby solemnly promise to enjoy Clone II ;-)

 

[PALTeam]

Thanks, AJ.

 

[PALTeam]

Got a little woodworking in; using walnut from a tree we took down and had milled last year, added some corner shelves by the bed head board (handy for pretties, reading glasses and Pam's ear plugs [she's a light sleeper and I am a loud one]), a key holder next to the big TV (television, not tow vehicle ;-), and a place next to the back door to put all that stuff that used to 'hang' on the floor behind the cooler and/or trash can. BTW, I used lacquer as a finish; the color match to the paneling is OK, don't you think? I left the sapwood on as I like the dark/light contrast.

 

[PALTeam]

The new couch design in the garage is great, much more comfortable. But it does add depth to the back when folded up into a bench, and makes it pretty narrow between the seat and the table. So, using wood from the walnut tree mentioned earlier, I made a 'half table' that gives enough space for two or three people to have a meal, or several people for just cocktails and munchies. Plus, we can now walk from the garage to the patio and still have a table.

 

[BLHFUN]

Nice!

 

[cookie]

Nice work Lyle.
I like the cocktail idea, just give us a date and time and we can test that.

Peace
Dave