Cyclone 4200 ideas

[Dauvensh]

First of all, I love my Cyclone 4200! Yes, be ready to let people come in and view... everytime we go camping there are strangers that walk up and want to come in! But I do have a few suggestions:

• In the hauler move the sink to the left 6" then the wall in the bathroom could move 6". That would be a very easy fix and would really add some extra comfort!
• What is keeping the pantry from coming all the way to the floor? We thought plumbing but when we had a plumbing issue, we were told there is nothing there.
• Storage in the bathrooms for towels.. really... do these people not camp that design these things? We need a linen closet!
• I had rather not have the small refrigerator on the deck. I would rather use the space for cabinet space. When the door is open for the TV it is a pain to get to the refrigerator!
• The cabinet door under the TV in the living room, is it just me or does it seem to be backward? Lifting it up to get things out is a pain! It would be a lot more convenient if it opened from the top.
• Easy fix for the awning not covering the entry door is move the door toward the steps 2" and it will give you room to put the awning over the door. I don't care if my awning goes all the way to the end, but I do care about my family getting soaked... this design is ridiculous!
• A roll up power cord mounted in the storage box like some of the competitors would be nice.
• A Ztrak tie down system is needed for tying down stuff in the hauler. There is nothing to tie stuff up against the walls to prevent things from sliding around.

 

[jimtoo]

Hi Dauvensh,

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

Thanks for your suggestions, I'm sure that management will see these and hopefully take some into consideration when they can.

Enjoy the forum.

Jim M

 

[Jim-Lynn]

Dauvensh- we have just picked up our 4200 10 days ago & love it, but have not used it as yet. But I must say your suggestions are great. There were just a few things I believe are missing
--- how about a vent in the hauler washroom.
--- how about a toilet paper dispenser in hawler washroom -- really. If there is supposed to be one, nice check list.
--- how about some lighting in hauler, top bunk up & lower used as a table, top bunk blocks light.
---there are also many products on the market that can be used, or to be put on the hauler floor so it would not be slippery wher wet, or just damp. Very dangerous,

 

[kirkules]

Hello Jim-lynn
My name is kirk .
Where in Ontario are you located ??
And are you planning a trip south this winter ?
Im located near Kincardine Ontario and going to Yuma Arizona soon .
I have the 4200 and have the new 2015 f350 platinum dually

 

[Jim-Lynn]

Kirk:
Sorry missed you reply. We are in Barrie, but unable to head south in the winter. You have pick a great spot to go. How do you like the new 350? I am currently waiting for the new 450 to be released and take a look at them. Apparently they will not be out till the spring.

 

[kirkules]

Thank for the reply ,.
I love the new f350 , its great on fuel it have loads of power at 440 hp and 860 torque .
Do you have a class A license ??
I have a friend who has the 450 and he now has to pull into every scale and his sticker is costly . and get pulled over from DOT .
You might want to check into it ,.
I bought my 350 in collingwood from john lesley iF you have any questions you can txt/call me at 519 955-1401

 

[Jim-Lynn]

Kirk, thanks for the reply. I have a 2011 F350 DRW now, just looking at updating, but if I have to pull in the weigh stations, I will stay with the 350, don't need Johnny Law on me. I do not have an A license. I just got rid of a 2013 LEMON Class A and was told by MTO, not required. Now with this monster weight trailer, I guess I should look into it. DO I NEED AN "A" license to pull that weight?

I am in Collingwood a few times per week & will check out the 2015 350, none in Barrie. Did find one in Orillia though. But I want the same color as I have- BLACK.

QUESTION for you - as we have just had our 4200 a few weeks ago & not used it, does you frig run on propane as well? We were told by the dealer it does, but in reading some of these posts & am not sure. OH buy the way our 4200 is the same color as yours. You have GREAT taste.
Jim

 

[Dryer]

I guess it depends how how you truck is licensed. I pull our 4200 with a crew cab 09 f450 and never stop at weigh stations. Blow right on by them and never had any troubles.

 

[happycamper26]

Hello all. We have been living FT in our 4200 since August. Here are my suggestions for improvement..... (some have been stated by others)

A vent in the rear bathroom is a must. What were they thinking? Also a toilet paper holder.

Storage in the kitchen is crazy. You need a step stool to reach most of your cabinets. The cabinet over the fridge needs a latch to hold it up. Cabinet under the sink needs to open opposite and needs to be larger.
Glass top over stove would help with counter space. I currently use a cutting board. Pantry should go to floor since we lost space due to the bigger (wonderful) fridge.

Something a little more classy than a curtain over the sliding doors.

Glass inserts in the 3 season door. Screens are not secure enough for my daughter's bedroom. Can cut right through.

Shelves on the side of the master bed. Individual overhead light switches for husband and wife.

No awning over main door is terrible.

Otherwise... love my Cyclone.

 

[Mizmary]

I think a lot of these ideas work for all cyclones- shelves and light switches in the bedroom.

We don't use our loft for anything other than storage- so we installed a residential ac vent fan/light combo in the bathroom - and then vented it up through the loft and out of the camper similar to the way you would vent a dryer. There is a post somewhere about it.

 

[oneder]

I have my eye on the 4200 also. Could someone comment on towing something as large as this. My biggest trailer to date is a 27' travel trailer and the thought of towing one of these is intimidating though we are fulltimers and would like to make the move. How about RV parks accommodating a beast such as this? Thanks for any help and encouragemnent!

 

[jimtoo]

Hi oneder,

Welcome to the posting side of the Heartland Owners Forum and hopefully to the family.

Personally I think if you can pull a 27' TT without problems then you should be able to pull a 40' 5er. It will seem a little larger and the pivot point is closer to you because it is, but turning radius will be aprox the same since the axles on the 5er will be close to the same distance behind you as the TT. Find a empty parking lot and practice.. maybe have someone ride with you the first time that has experience. Also make sure you have the vehicle that can handle the difference in load.

Jim M

 

[apc427]

I had to laugh at your comment to be prepared to let people come in because that has been the case with us as well. We have a 2015 HD 4200 and everyone wants to take a look, lol. It's a great way to meet people.

Regarding the pantry not going to the floor, there are pipes behind the panel. However, we did modify it to add shelves. We removed the panel to get to the screws behind the little wall; took the wall and pushed it back as far as we could, put the screws back and put the panel back in; and then added 1 x 4's to make shelves for canned goods. It's not a lot of space but perfect for cans. I've attached a pic. We plan on staining the shelves to match but just haven't done it yet.

 

[apc427]

We have a 4200 HD which is 44 feet long, and we tow it with a 1 ton F350 with a 20k hitch. It pulls great with wider turns. We are fairly new RVers and haven't had any trouble so far. When booking sites we find that getting a pull through is the easiest. We have not had any parks that can't accommodate our rig so far.

 

[apc427]

We have been living Full time in our 4200 HD since September 2014. I agree and have been verbal about every single one of your comments, vent in bathroom, shelves in on each side of the bed in the master with his and her light switches, cabinet under sink opening the opposite way, etc.

We do love our 4200 despite these issues and are slowly but surely working to correct these things to our satisfaction. We recently were able to add pantry shelves to the pantry in the dead space at the bottom. We've also installed wine glass racks and created an interesting way to display my many spices.

 

[apc427]

Hey Jim,

We have a 4200 HD and our fridge is electric only, no propane.

 

[danemayer]

Hey Jim,

We have a 4200 HD and our fridge is electric only, no propane.

The electric only refrigerator is the Residential Refrigerator Option that comes at extra cost. It runs on shore power or on batteries. The standard offering is a smaller traditional RV refrigerator that operates on either shore power or propane.

 

[blong]

Kirk, thanks for the reply. I have a 2011 F350 DRW now, just looking at updating, but if I have to pull in the weigh stations, I will stay with the 350, don't need Johnny Law on me. I do not have an A license. I just got rid of a 2013 LEMON Class A and was told by MTO, not required. Now with this monster weight trailer, I guess I should look into it. DO I NEED AN "A" license to pull that weight?

I am in Collingwood a few times per week & will check out the 2015 350, none in Barrie. Did find one in Orillia though. But I want the same color as I have- BLACK.

QUESTION for you - as we have just had our 4200 a few weeks ago & not used it, does you frig run on propane as well? We were told by the dealer it does, but in reading some of these posts & am not sure. OH buy the way our 4200 is the same color as yours. You have GREAT taste.
Jim

Re The Licence questions and weigh scale comments, let me clarify as checked with the DOT when we got ours a few years back. In Ontario, if you are driving any rig with a 5th wheel camping trailer over 23,000 lbs combined weight (truck and trailer), YES, you need an AR (R=Restricted) licence to be legal. Your truck must also be licenced to carry the full weight of everything combined (a 30K annual sticker is over $800/year). And I did talk to a ministry agent and was told NO, they do not want to see you entering the scales with your fiver. I was told Scales are only for commercial trucks so I only go in when towing my bobcat or excavator. I have never been pulled over and checked while towing the fiver, but have been stopped a few times while towing my mini excavator by both the ministry and the local police just to check my papers. F350 or F450 is not the deciding factor, its all about trailer and combined weight.

 

[caissiel]

I have to stop at the scales if towing my industrial trailer while driving my F250.

 

[OEFVET]

Anyone know how long the batteries last without shore power for the electric only residential refrigerator?