Cyclone vs. Road Warrior or Raptor

[backflipjohnny]

I have been to 4 different RV dealerships and I am wanting about a 40 ft toyhauler with a 12 ft garage. I am a rodeo clown that needs the garage for clown acts and I travel to different rodeos every weekend. Usually I will put about 20,000 miles on it a year. I want the best made coach possible but every dealership that I have been to claims that they have the best made coach. The Voltage guy thinks they are the best but I have pretty much eliminated them from my search. Then I went to a place that says Road Warrior is made better than Cyclone, then the next guy said Cyclone is Road Warriors big brother. I wouldnt think that Heartland would have two coaches that are the same but named differently. One would be made more heavy duty than the other right? On the Raptor side of the house I still havent looked at one but I am going this week. Thanks for the help in advance.

 

[jimtoo]

Hi backflipjohnny,

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.

Both, the Cyclone and Road Warriors are good toy haulers. The Cyclone seems to be the best unit in sales I think. Lots of folks using the Cyclone for different things other than just hauling toys. I'm sure some of our other members will jump in soon with more information. One more thing,,, Heartland Customer service is the best,,, second to none.

Enjoy the forum and hope you join our family.

Jim M

 

[boatto5er]

Cyclone and Road Warrior are both made by Heartland and many share common floor plans. The major difference between the two is level of fit/finish and quality of materials, with Cyclone being the step up brand. Think of it sort of like Chevrolet and Buick.

 

[FiremanBill]

I have not had my Cyclone 3110 for very long but can tell you this, when compared side by side to the rest of them it stood out head and shoulders above the rest. We have been looking for about 3 years and really did some serious looking into the different brands. Ultimately it was my DW's decision on the Cyclone, one of the many, many times she was dead on correct with her line of reasoning.

 

[robnmo]

We looked for several years before we decided on our Cyclone, was actually very close to buying a Raptor (both very comparable) each have pros and cons. Raptor you get ceiling fans and what we've seen the last year (ours is turning 4 yrs old), but in our opinion the Raptor has passed the Cyclone in color decor and we like the Raptor's wood finish better then the new Cyclones (that's strictly a personal choice), the Cyclone you get the electric fireplace, hidden control panel (to us that matters gives a cleaner homey look), you generally get more cabinet space..........a MUST for the DW. A person we know bought a new Raptor 2 yrs ago, we were in the same park in Jan, we visited alot and did a sorta side by side comparison. We have been nearly full time now for 2 yrs, we've put alot of miles on our Cyclone, fixed some minor issues that happen with ALL RV's, met people that have no toys, seen garages done into art rooms, sewing/craft rooms, wood working rooms, and even one we know of is a horseshoeing room complete with all types of animal pelts and animal mounts hanging on the walls, and he even added a zero clearance LP heater to the garage wall with rock facing. Now with all that said, when (not if) we buy another toyhauler it will be a Cyclone, I have no problem with a Raptor, but I KNOW first hand what to expect out of the Cyclone. Good luck with your choice.

 

[AJJONES]

Cyclone and Road Warrior are both built on the same production line and built to the same quality fit and finish. When Road Warrior was first introduced it was designed to be a price point under Cyclone with less features and amenities. However because of customer driven requests Road Warrior has continuously grown with more and more features which has pushed it up to about the same price point as Cyclone. They both have unique floor plans, looks, and features for each respective brand. The only real choice is which floor plan style, and look suits you best. You cannot go wrong with either choice and I can very confidently tell you that Heartland builds the best Toy Haulers in the industry! Please let me know if there are any other questions that I can answer, and I hope whichever way you go (Cyclone or Road Warrior) that we can very shortly welcome you to the Heartland family.

 

[backflipjohnny]

AJ, so the cyclone and road warrior without floor plans or color are the same trailer? Im talking about axles, frame, walls, insulation and the general integrity of the trailer itself. So one is not more heavy duty than the other? One more question, I am sure the president of the company or the vice president have a toy hauler. What does he or she have?? That will pretty much tell me which one I want. lol

 

[AJJONES]

Yes both brands are built to the same quality with the same axles, walls, frames, and ext. To answer your question about which one one the President and Vice president have we actually build a company demo unit each year for not only them to use, but also for some of the others. Last year our Demo was a decked out 4100 Cyclone, however this year it looks like we are going to use a decked out 390 Road Warrior for our demo because of the large living space. Not to make your decision any harder but they use both of them.

 

[ILH]

When I was doing my comparative shopping between Raptor and RW, I found that the finishes were better on the RW. For instance, the basement on the RW was fully wrapped in fabric (walls ans ceiling) whereas the Raptor was open studs. Small things perhaps, but it showed an overall level of quality.

 

[oscar]

Like AJ said, the difference between the units you mentioned is Ford, Chevy, Dodge. (And none of it is Benz, Beemer or Bentley) But, the price is according. So it's a matter of decor and small details.

If you're in it full time, you'll LOVE the space. But, you better know how to fix things, as these units need constant attention. That said, the problems we've faced have mostly been taken care of with a little talent and basic tools. Just put 3500 miles on ours and we had a ball.

 

[scottyb]

I looked at the Road Warrior. The only reason I chose the Cyclone 4100 was for the King Size bed. I even gave up the 14' garage for it. With that said, we found several floor plans we like in both CY and RW.

 

[mjohnson7633]

I've had my cyclone for a month now and I love it. I had been researching for almost 2yrs looking at different sizes, models, makes, floorplans. I ended up with a 3912 'cause of the quality and floorplan. having owned an Alfa I knew what I wanted and more importantly didn't want. dual a/c is a must in florida, generator, fuel station, and most important, "for me anyway," was the enclosed bathroom. love being able to go from living room to bedroom without interfering with someone in bathroom. already have one friend that bought a cyclone, and another is shopping for toyhauler and I can't stop bragging about mine. I bought mine 5yrs old but the quality shows. only thing I did upon purchase was replace the original tires with new 10plys. I was in love with the voltage when they came out but I've heard nothing but problems with them. Heartland and Cyclone is only way to go.

 

[benharrop]

Good morning everyone! I'm a new member to this site. I found it through searching for comparisons of Cyclone to Road Warrior to Raptor. I have found VERY interesting feedback on the Road Warrior. Apparently, there is a very large impression that the Cyclone is a step up. I'm sorry everyone, that isn't the case. I own a heartland product and I sell them as a career. The Road Warrior line was birthed in Louisiana over a dispute with Berryland Campers. Kent Mitchell RV in Hammond was the first to carry it. But that isn't the point. The Road Warrior and Cyclone price out THE SAME. That's right everyone. The benefit of both lines in existence allows the same manufacturer to provide a different look and different floorplans at the same price point. The two lines also give Heartland the ability to place two high end lines in the same area at competing dealerships without ruffling the feathers of either dealer. Go to a Cyclone dealer and the salesman will tell you the Cyclone is more expensive. Go to a Road Warrior dealer and the salesman will tell you the Road Warrior is better. Why? Commissions. Don't fool yourselves. They price the same, are both made the same, only their look and floorplans are different. I know, I have sold both, and have looked at the confidential pricing sheets of both.