We are getting ready to retire in about a year. We have been looking a trailers for awhile now and I believe we have it narrowed down to 3 brands, Landmark, Traditions, and Redwood. All are full time units and well constructed. I am really impressed with Landmarks 8000# axels and 17.5 H rated tires. We are already committed to buying a 1Ton Dually to haul any of these trailers as we are thinking of being full timers for maybe 3 years and plan on spending a lot of time out west. First of all let me say that I have never hauled anything of this size before so it is all new to me. I'm hoping for some insight from this forum about the quality of Landmark and the service Heartland as a company has given you. I know most people who buy one of these rigs has to have some issues just be cause of what they are. All of the complex workings of these trailers going down the road will expose any issues fairly quickly. We are interested in the Orlando. Also I am curious about the actual hitch itself. Is a Moryde a good hitch and what about the truck side? Thanks in advance for your insight. Can't wait for 2017 to get here.
Considering a Landmark 5ver
- Thread starter LarryL
- Start date
jimtoo
Moderator
Hi LarryL,
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.
You will get lots of information and recommendations from our other members. Heartland has a great reputation for building a good unit and standing behind their product. You will hear the good and the bad, but mostly good.
Enjoy the forum and hope to see you in a Heartland on the road.
Jim M
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.
You will get lots of information and recommendations from our other members. Heartland has a great reputation for building a good unit and standing behind their product. You will hear the good and the bad, but mostly good.
Enjoy the forum and hope to see you in a Heartland on the road.
Jim M
Thanks Jim, We do not have a Landmark dealer near us so I think we will be going to Knoxville once they get the units in that their website says they have on order. I'm not against buying a used trailer but it seems from what I see online that in 2016 landmark went to the 8000# axels. That seems like a pretty big selling point to me if you are considering spending a lot of time on the road. I would be interested in hearing from some full timers on how much weight they wind up loading into the trailer for extended trips. Thanks again Larry
Larry - if you're serious about using RVsForLess, I'd suggest you call them to touch base with them. Often times units they have on order get sold before they come in. By working with them (or any dealer) up front, you'll likely get that call telling you to come in now to see that layout you wanted to see.
Landmark is a great full-timer product. We hope to see you in one this year
Hi Larry,My wife and I have been looking for a 5th wheel to retire in for 3 years. We have been to many rv shows and been very confuse.Last year we went to the Tampa supershow ,looked at all the 5th wheels and was really confused.We met Jim Beletti and picked his brain about everything.We went to the factories last summer to take tours.We decided on a Landmark Ashland ,got to the show in Jan. this year and saw the Orlando.Walked around to look at other 5th wheels that were priced the same.None of them compared to the Landmark.We met Andy and Ron at the show who spent time with us answering all our questions.Once again we peppered Jim with questions,meet other Landmark owners and met other HOC members.We spent hours inside the Orlando measuring and just sitting in it.We came back home ,put our house up for sale and we closed 2 weeks ago.We are ordering our truck on Thursday and Flying to RVS For Less int 2 weeks to order our Orlando.Being on this forum and meeting other HOC members and Jim convinced us that there is no better 5th wheel than a Landmark.In Sept. we will retire and cannot wait to become a HOC member. You won't go wrong getting a Landmark and becomming a member. Frank and Sharon Sandidge
Frank - sounds like you and I spent 2 weeks together
Seriously though, happy for you both.
EPaulikonis
Well-known member
If you're looking for consideration on hitches for the truck, consider investing in a Trailsaver TS3. I just upgraded my TV to include a TS3 and it, coupled with the factory installed MoRyde pinbox, greatly reduced the "chucking" with our Savannah. The TS3 is pricey, but I believe it dampens both vertical and horizontal loads on the trailer much better than a fixed TV hitch. I also run Firestone airbags at ~65psi on the truck to help stiffen up the rear suspension when towing. Easy to install and well worth the bucks to stabilize the ride. LM models have ~3,400lb. of pin weight, so they will squat a 3500.
Eric , Thanks for the info. My whole goal is to buy my last rv first, ditto for the hitch. did a little looking online and I have to say I was surprised at the price. But even with a 1 ton dually in the plans I know these rigs are at its limits. One thing I don't want to have happen is to find out that I could have bought a better hitch when we're out west climbing the Rockies. On that note I notice you have a 3.73 rear end on your Dodge. Do you find that good or do you think a 4.10 would be better considering the weight . I'm a GM guy and to my knowledge it isn't even a option. I plan on buying a 1 ton dually long bed GMC. Thanks Larry
Frank, It is our plan to go to the Tampa show in January if we haven't bought an rv by then. I have heard it is a massive show and that you can get a pretty good deal by placing a order at the show. This is an adventure that both my wife Sue and I can't wait to begin. The more we think about it the more we are convinced not settling is the way to go. Look forward to hearing how your delivery goes. Larry
EPaulikonis
Well-known member
I've owned an old Ford with 4.10 gears and I swore I'd never own another one like it. It's great for getting the load moving, but it's terrible on the highway end and a killer on fuel. I ran that truck out in Wyoming, so I'm well aware of altitude sickness for internal combustion motors.
I've done three long trips now with the 3.73, two through the hills of WV and MD on my way to Dover, DE, and runs through KY and TN on my way to Dayton Beach, FL and I haven't hit a hill yet where the truck struggled to pull the 16,700lb. Landmark. I focus on loading the turbo to about half as I approach the base of the hill. If I'm paying attention, I'll climb the hill at 65mph without downshifting on most hills. I'm very pleased with the setup I've chosen. It's never an issue getting it moving, it's always about the stopping power. I can't believe the size of the brakes they're putting on the 3500s these days. The bake calipers are huge! Couple that with the exhaust brake and it's an amazing TV. So much easier to control the load on downhill and highway exits.
I've done three long trips now with the 3.73, two through the hills of WV and MD on my way to Dover, DE, and runs through KY and TN on my way to Dayton Beach, FL and I haven't hit a hill yet where the truck struggled to pull the 16,700lb. Landmark. I focus on loading the turbo to about half as I approach the base of the hill. If I'm paying attention, I'll climb the hill at 65mph without downshifting on most hills. I'm very pleased with the setup I've chosen. It's never an issue getting it moving, it's always about the stopping power. I can't believe the size of the brakes they're putting on the 3500s these days. The bake calipers are huge! Couple that with the exhaust brake and it's an amazing TV. So much easier to control the load on downhill and highway exits.
jmgratz
Original Owners Club Member
We pull our 2013 Landmark (16500 lbs) with our 2012 Ford F350 dually 6.7L 3.73 rear end. We have travelled all over the place and have not had any issues other that the last time out the transmission downshifted in the tow haul mode when going downhill and momentarily over-reved the engine causing a PO219 fault. The engine went into a 'reduced engine power' mode. I stopped, turned off the engine for a couple of minutes and then restarted with everything ok. But as far as pulling it does great. I have got the Mor-Ryde IS with disc brakes and never lube bearings on the RV (after-market) and love the stopping power of the hydraulic/electric disc brakes on the trailer. We have the TS3 Trailer Saver hitch for the truck and love it. The truck also has Firestone Air Bags with the wireless Air-Lift compressor/controller. We run the air 35-45 psi depending on the road and with the wireless controller can change it 'on the fly' and can even put more air in one side than the other. That is why we went with that type of controller. Good luck in your search. BTW we average 10 mpg towing about 16-19 mpg not towing.
Wow Frank, that is good to know I have seen other good posts about this dealer. The more we think about it the more we are leaning towards doing just what you did. You might pay a little more for an ordered unit but at least you will have it the way you want it. I have always been looking for the DEAL in my searches. Now I think I just have to commit to a brand and reseach what we really need in a trailer. The industry just keeps getting more and more complex. I need to take a weekend and get down to RVS for less and do some serious talking wiyh them, have them educate me on th epros and cons of things like residential fridges vs norcold, inverters, do I want a generator( I think I do). I know so little about this stuff it's kind of overwhelming. One thing i do know is that my wife and I love to camp, we had a Jayco popup when the kids were little, and we always used to talk about doing this when we would see retired people just traveling seeing the USA. Looking forward to being one of those people. Good Luck with your purchase. By the way did you get disk brakes?
Larry: I had an older Ford F350 dually and went with a 2015 F450 (deal was so good I couldn't pass it up ( LOL ).) Found out later that insurance was double for it as it is considered a Medium Duty PU and treated like a Chassis Cab even though the VIN shows otherwise. Oh well. In any case, the reason I bring this up is that the old ford had 4:10 and I loved it. It got roughly 16 on the highway at 75/80 and pulling at 65 I'd get 9 to 10. Seems I got better at higher altitudes than I do here at 1100 ft MSL in Kansas. My F450 gets about 14 at those highway speeds but I'm also getting 9 to 10 pulling. That said, I'm not comparing apples to apples - the F350 pulled a Forest River product that I weighed at 12000 (gross by its sticker was 13400); my Landmark is just shy of 15500 as we recently traveled, and has a GW of 17500. If we get a head wind - well those mileages go WAY down - that big front end on the coach really creates a wind dam. I have the Ford hitch (a Reese 24K model) and had the dealer change my kingpin from the MorRyde to the Trailair. I had that on the coach we traded and really liked it. I do notice a bit more chucking than I remember with the other coach but it was also a lot shorter and lighter.
You can't go wrong with a LandMark - on a couple of issues we initially had while away from home the factory approved a mobile tech to come out and do the work - took a phone call and then finding a mobile tech.
Hope some of this helps.
You can't go wrong with a LandMark - on a couple of issues we initially had while away from home the factory approved a mobile tech to come out and do the work - took a phone call and then finding a mobile tech.
Hope some of this helps.
I love all 3 of those items. I had MORryde install all 3 on my current Landmark.
Chippendale
Well-known member
[FONT="]Larry, you are making a great decision, you won’t meet nicer people than those who tow a Heartland. I was at a rally last weekend and some friends showed up towing a new Orlando, their first time out with it. It is a beautiful rig that convinced me I am not getting any younger and if I want to fulltime, I need to do it now. I made my “first phone call” to RV’s for Less last Tuesday morning, Butch answered the phone and spent a full hour visiting with me. My guess is I will place my order for a new Arlington loaded exactly how I want it in the next couple of weeks.[/FONT]
[FONT="]As for trucks, I have a 2015 F350 DRW with a 3.73 rear end and towed my Heartland Gateway all over south Colorado last summer, no problem. I used the exhaust brake on the Ford for the first time towing the Million Dollar Highway both directions from Durango to Silverton and it was great. I have always driven Chevrolets, but am very pleased with my current Ford. My understanding is that Ford is coming out with some major improvements on their 2017 models, so you might want to wait and see them before purchasing a truck. [/FONT]
[FONT="]Will be following your journey with interest, and hope to meet you down the road sometime.[/FONT]
[FONT="]As for trucks, I have a 2015 F350 DRW with a 3.73 rear end and towed my Heartland Gateway all over south Colorado last summer, no problem. I used the exhaust brake on the Ford for the first time towing the Million Dollar Highway both directions from Durango to Silverton and it was great. I have always driven Chevrolets, but am very pleased with my current Ford. My understanding is that Ford is coming out with some major improvements on their 2017 models, so you might want to wait and see them before purchasing a truck. [/FONT]
[FONT="]Will be following your journey with interest, and hope to meet you down the road sometime.[/FONT]
Chippendale, Thanks for the post we have always felt that camping people are the best. While we haven't been campers in a while we can't wait to get "On The Road Again" to quote Willie . We have always met the nicest people while camping. Hopefully we will run into some time down the road. Land mark is certainly number one on the list right now with Redwood still a possibility. As we plan to be full timers the running gear on the landmarks is a plus to me. The wife however really likes Redwoods Urban Clay interior in the 38RL or GK Model. I am hearing they are going to offer 8000# axels and H rated tires. That would help a lot for me. But I really am getting stuck on Landmark the more I read.
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