Factory Tour of Heartland
- Thread starter Jpdkmd
- Start date
If you do go for the tour - the plants are actually in Elkhart, right off I-80.
MTPockets
Well-known member
Our tours were over 3 1/2 yrs ago, but the tour was how we made our final choice. Over the course of a week we toured four plants in Northern Indiana. The Big Horn Landmark plant was our third and were sold based on the tours and comparing brands. Once we decided on the Big Horn Model, we shopped dealers from IN to FL and factory ordered our unit from dealer with best deal.
i went to the tour of my Big Horn ….and was very disappointed …. the tour started at the end of the first shift , the main lights were turned off and we walked around with the aid of a few night lights and couldn't see crap….suprised it was even legal cause it wasn't safe….my advice is take a good flashlight along
kowAlski631
Well-known member
The factory tour was the culmination of looking at MANY tours of various RVs at dealer's and shows over the course of a couple of years. We made lots of notes on what we saw on each RV - not just layouts but what we call the "bounce factor". That's how solid the unit felt in normal walking through, with a group of adults inside, and the big test of our under age 10 grandchildren acting as they do in our home.
Heartland was the only manufacturer whose structure felt solid to us consistently, whose price point was where we wanted to be, and who had a layout that suited our desires. We toured the factory before ordering to see the trailers at each stage and were pleased with what we saw. Then, and only then, we sat down with our dealer to place our order.
Long answer, but we did a lot of preliminary work before going to the factory. What if the factory had looked like a jumbled mess? Back to square one. You can have the slickest appearing factory, but if the product is crap, we wouldn't buy it - especially something you'll be living in.
Leaving next week to drive up to Elkhart from Ft.Laud. and have a few factory tours scheduled. Looking forward to seeing the Big Horn line since that is what we are really interest in.Have reservation at Amish Acres also and looking forward to seeing the area. Will report on our trip after we return
Silverado23
Iowa Chapter Leaders
My factory tour of the North trail line was quite impressive. I cannot really compare it against tours of SOBs but. The overall construction of the North trail and other Heartland products compared to SOB was much better. Starting with a nearly continuous sheet of laminated OSB flooring to the thicker insulated walls and final details that seem to be somewhat better. Rounded corners near the bed where others were sharper corners etc.... Solid feeling floors and ductwork out of the path of main walkways.
The tour was definitely worth it considering I saw my new NT on the line in the middle of assembly. Walls and roof on but windows, slide-outs and cap not yet installed among other things.
North trails and Wildernesses were both on the line the day I took my tour in early April this year.
I look forward to taking a tour of a different Heartland brand in the near future.
The tour was definitely worth it considering I saw my new NT on the line in the middle of assembly. Walls and roof on but windows, slide-outs and cap not yet installed among other things.
North trails and Wildernesses were both on the line the day I took my tour in early April this year.
I look forward to taking a tour of a different Heartland brand in the near future.
Silverado23
Iowa Chapter Leaders
When I was on the tour, I thought the people hustled around but also seemed to take the time needed to complete the task. Two or three people I saw applying decals really seemed to be doing a good job even though they worked quickly, They stepped back and took a look every time and adjustment before making the decal position permanent. For the holes cut for various switches and such, templates were used and quickly cut-out not because they were being quick and careless but because the templates can speed up the time necessary for layout and precise placement of holes etc. making repetitive steps much faster and easier. Of course, You can always try to find a company that will slow down and take more time for building a custom RV but I am sure you will find the cost increases significantly but may not necessarily be of better quality.
A few years ago, I took a tour of a plant that builds manufactured/modular homes (full wood frame) They seemed to use similar general construction methods as those I saw at heartland. Even watching construction on stick built on-site homes using traditional construction, The workers seem to move pretty quickly around, too.
Even the whole promotion/idea of using Amish workers in factory built furniture/cabinets is pretty hokey considering that, Yes, they may beAmish, but they certainly not using traditional Amish construction techniques that one might find in a Amish workshop. The heat surge Amish cabinet scam comes to mind. http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2009/02/amish_heaters.html
Now, Real true Amish-built furniture in a true Amish furniture work shop really is usually really high quality, but when it comes to RVs or anything else mass-production built, you have to really question what are you buying when it says Amish-Built.
superduty08
Tennessee Chapter Leaders
Our tour at the 2013 national rally is the reason for our purchase of our 2015 Bighorn purchase in 2014 to replace our 2009 bighorn that we really loved. I was impressed at the quality and engineering involved.
If you are looking for a Landmark, then I would recommend RV's For Less (www.rvsforless.net) in Knoxville. We drove there from Panama City, Fl to buy buy our Landmark from them last year based on recommendations and research. Small family owned buisness, wonderful support, and the owner even gave us his cell number and said to call him at anytime if we had a problem or even a question about our rig. You can order a Landmark from them, if you want. When it is time for us to buy another Landmark, we will buy from them again.
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Piperflyer
Well-known member
Has anyone taken the Heartland Big Horn Factory Tour lately and how was it? Is it worth it?
We were there 3 weeks ago.The tour last about 2 hours. The line is not running and you would be able to understand by how close the units are together during construction.It was very informative.We drove from S. Florida. We took one other tour while we were there.You see from the frame coming in, to the completed unit.There were 4 couples there the day we were there. Watch your head because there are a lot of things to watch out for.Make sure you go to the RV Hall of Fame.There is a lot to see in the area. We stayed at the Comfort Suites,which was 10. min. from the factory,centrally located.There is plenty of resturants in the area.We stayed 5 days with 2 day at Amish Acres.If you have any questions please ask.It was worth it to go and made our mind up to get a Big Horn 3760EL.
Piperflyer
Well-known member
Thank You, my wife and I are going next week
travelin2
Pennsylvania Chapter Leaders-retired
We were there in April on our way out west. We made arrangements with Teddy in the HL offices. He took us over around 3 pm as most line employees were ended their shift and let us wander through each unit on the line from the blank frames to the completed units at the end. He seemed fairly knowledgeable about the components and options available and between him and I believe the line foreman they could answer to my satisfaction any question I had.
If you are considering a new unit I believe it helps seeing all the pieces in the unit as it's being assembled. Even though I have been through my unit quite extensively I was still able to see areas while in assembly I had not ventured into that was very enlightening.
IMO it's worth the 1-1 1/2 hr we took to tour the assembly line.
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