First Time RV'ers

[IBankerFL]

My wife and I are very interested in becoming full-time RV'ers and attended the Florida RV Show in Tampa last week. We have narrowed our choice of fifth wheels down to either Keystone's Montana or Alpine (formerly Everest) models OR Heartland's Landmark Augusta or Grand Canyon models. While at the RV Show, we learned of this forum and Keystone's forum. I first went to Keystone's forum and reviewed comments from their owners on manufacturing defects, warranty issues and Keystone's response. Then, I came to this forum. Man, what a night and day experience. I was shocked at the number of Keystone owners who have had serious issues with their rigs and have received horrible responses from Keystone. Many had to call and call and call..... to attempt to find the "right person" at Keystone to help them. Many have had their rigs at Keystone authorized dealers for weeks and weeks with Keystone refusing to provide no further support or assistance. After hours of reviewing negative thread after negative thread, I was about to tell my wife forget it - we are not entering the world of RV Land.

Then, I came to the HL Forum and found a much different experience by its users. I have learned that, just like owning a boat, there WILL be problems but it is imperative to have a manufacturer with a good dealer network that will stand behind their product. By the numerous posts I have read on this forum, it clearly appears that Heartland is the place for us.

However, I am concerned from prior posts on this forum about wiring issues. I am a "corporate finance/restructuring guy" and not mechanically inclined. With regard to the wiring issues I read, one HL Owner made a fabulous suggestion that HL take an extra few minutes and spend a few extra bucks to have their assembly folks wire rigs in a more uniform and organized fashion. Has this occurred on the newer models (i.e., 2009 and 2010)?

Also, has anyone had experience with La Mesa RV in purchasing or having their fifth wheel serviced at their dealerships? Same question for Long View RV near Tampa?

Thank you for your time and kind reponses.

The IBankerFL

 

[Ray LeTourneau]

IBankerFL, First, good luck with a tough decision. We looked at the same 3 manufacturers you mentioned and chose Heartland mainly for the reason of "Bang for your Buck" I have not regretted our decision but I think it's important to understand no matter what you choose, it's good to be a bit of a "Handy Man".

A very large majority of Heartland owners voted in a poll on this forum that they would buy HL again if they were to shop for and buy another trailer. That says a lot. Heartlands Customer Service is great although we have needed very little help from our dealer.

I can't speak for the Everest owner but I think both Montana and Heartland have loyal followers. Another thing you've noticed is how the Heartland Factory monitors, responds to and uses this forum to improve the product.

I can't say weather or not Heartland has improved/organized their wire looms or plumbing behind the walls. I do know that the manufacturers that have picture perfect wiring organization sell for much more than Heartland. and oh by the way, they still have their issues as well.

Good luck with your venture and we hope you become a Heartland owner.

 

[buckeyebob]

i owned a keystone zeppelin for 2 years (07 model) i found the keystone site JUST after the purchase!after a year of troubles that went unanswered i toured a few sundances at cleveland rv show.found the heartland website and monitered it for a year.it was like night and day!i got so depressed that i removed keystone forum from my favorites.heartland sundance brand manager returned my call and answered my questions about 2900mk that was for sale at a dealers as a trade in this guy was honest and actually took the time to talk to me.i ended up bying new and all warranty issues were handled promptly heartland worked with dealer,keystone wouldnt even send my dealer a fender skirt that matched my camper,this was the same year as camper manufacture.never fixed roof leak,sat for weeks at dealer and lots of lost camping time.traded for the heartland and never looked back.

 

[cjbearden]

IBankerFL, best wishes in making a tough decision. When we first starting looking for an RV in 2006, we fell in love with the Bighorn 3400RL. It had its share of problems, but the forum and HL got us through them.

When we decided to become full-timers and sell the sticks and bricks house, we moved up to the Landmark Augusta. Love it!!! Yep, we still had some issues but HL has been there all the way. Kudos to Steve Kennel in Customer Service.

We have dealt directly with Dometic supplier, Flair, and others, and they have been wonderful as well. Best move we made was to change out the axles to MorRyde independent suspension and disc brakes (no lube hubs, too).

Buy a HL product, attend the National Rally when it is in Goshen, IN (2011) and you will see first hand how great HL and its suppliers can be.

C.J.

 

[TXBobcat]

Hi IBankerFL
Welcome to our forum. This is a great forum and there are a lot of good people here.

However, I am concerned from prior posts on this forum about wiring issues. I am a "corporate finance/restructuring guy" and not mechanically inclined. With regard to the wiring issues I read, one HL Owner made a fabulous suggestion that HL take an extra few minutes and spend a few extra bucks to have their assembly folks wire rigs in a more uniform and organized fashion. Has this occurred on the newer models (i.e., 2009 and 2010)?

You're concerned about the wiring issues. What I think they were talking about was the wiring, water lines and such under the trailer are a rats nest. At this time I don't think HL is going to take the time to route all the wiring, cable and water lines in a neat manner. It is cheaper for them to just run them from point to point as quickly as possible. It would be nice if they would provide a wire tray and water tray to keep them fairly neat.
This is not a big concern to many of us that are not neat nicks.

If you would read this forum you will find that the bigger concerns that we are discussing is tires, axles, springs, landing gear. Now there have been problems in these areas and some have had bad experiences and others, such as myself have been taken care of very well even though I have had some of the problems.

No matter what you purchase the biggest thing you can do is read, read, read and read more. You will normally have a 1 year warranty and maybe more on some items. Whatever you buy be sure to do a very good PDI.

We all are here to assist you if needed, so be active here an see what you come up with. I like the Landmark but I did not have a big enough TV (tow vehicle) to pull one. I am happy with my Bighorn.

Good luck and may God Bless.
BC

 

[smday]

We had a 2008 Keystone Raptor bought from a dealer in Calgary and had nothing but issues with getting warranty work done. I did learn alot from that experience and the dealers won't pull the wool over my eyes again. I even drove back the 3 hours for them to fix the problem because no other Keystone dealer in my city would touch it because i didn't buy it from them. First issue was the electric awning sitting on the door when it was open and they claimed it was normal. My wife is 5'3 and almost could hit her head and I could hit it. So I called BS on it and after a year fighting with the dealer I got the extensions put in. When i picked it up from the dealer another customer had the same Raptor with the wheels hitting the floor when they flexed up and down. He came over to me and told me i had the same issue with mine and to get it fixed thru warranty. I wasn't even out of the lot from getting the awning fixed and now i had to get a 3" lift put in that the factory forgot to put in from day 1. It took 4 months to get that fixed and i had to make calls to Keystone many times because the crappy dealer i bought it from seemed not to care because i lived out of town and they were the one's doing the servicing. I also had to fix alot of holes where the mice were coming in on my own. There was 5'' holes for 3 wires and a 2'X2' hole for the drain in the shower and there wasn't just one hole either. I eventually hired a company and they spray foamed 2-1/2'' under the trailer to fix that problem. 1500 bucks out of my pocket gone. So after fixing evrything the wife and i decided to start looking for another trailer and after 6 long months of searching all brands of Toy Haulers, flying to the HL plant, meeting the dealer, and driving to Michigan to pick it up we finally have our new Cyclone. And the best thing is a new RV service center open up here in our city and he does nothing but services trailers and he loves the Heartland products because their so much easier to work with when it comes to warranty and getting the parts he needs so he can get his customers back on the road.

 

[ziggy]

Our first RV is our BH3670. My brother-in-law has owned several and now has an Everest. After he looked at our 3670, he wishes he had ours instead of his Everest! We both use the same dealer. He had problems with work getting done, ours has been done quickly and correctly the first time. Since its the same repair people, that leads me to believe that the manufacturer might have something to do with his problems.

Good luck with your decision. Don't worry that you feel you don't know much about making minor repairs. You will learn quickly and there is no shortage of people who will help you through whatever happens whether its people in a campground, on the forum, at a dealer, or at HL itself.

Kristy

 

[caissiel]

We are also new HL owners for the past 6 months. I had issues from the start with the dealer I bought my unit from. One message to the HL service reps on this site and in no time I had my issues addressed and solved.
As a supervisor I always told my men that we need to learn all the time. If we don't we will not be ready for the moment we are in trouble. What a nice place to learn the RV industry, like here on this forum.
There are many opinions here and its a free world, the nice thing is that we are in communication with the HL reps. I have seen changes on the new BC line of trailers that reflects some of our discussions on here.
The happy family is growing and we hope others will keep joining in.

 

[Kevin_Finn]

Thank you for your interest in the Heartland product!!!

Heartland strives itself on maintaining close relations with our retail customers, the forum is a perfect way to understand the usage and suggestions that you the end users are looking for. I have worked for other manufacturers and none of them listened and took care of their customers the way Heartland does. I am sure you will be very proud to own a Heartland product!!

As far as Landmark versus the brands you mentioned, Landmark is far superior of a product with many additional features than the other brands. The Bighorn has more features for less money than the brands you mentioned and is a step below the Landmark.

To answer your question concerning the wires hidden in the basement, we have done a better job than in the past however we do not have a clean organized area. All the connections and wires are assessable for any service needs that may be needed.

I hope to see you as a new owner in the forum and look forward to earning your business!!

Thank you!

 

[Tom of Ypsi]

IBankerFL,

There you have it right from the factory and this thread is not even under Ask The Factory. My question to you is, where else will you get such up front info right from the proverbial Horses Mouth? I do not think you can go wrong with buying a HL product JMHO. Good Luck on your search.

 

[htneighbors]

Thank you for your interest in the Heartland product!!!

Heartland strives itself on maintaining close relations with our retail customers, the forum is a perfect way to understand the usage and suggestions that you the end users are looking for. I have worked for other manufacturers and none of them listened and took care of their customers the way Heartland does. I am sure you will be very proud to own a Heartland product!!

As far as Landmark versus the brands you mentioned, Landmark is far superior of a product with many additional features than the other brands. The Bighorn has more features for less money than the brands you mentioned and is a step below the Landmark.

To answer your question concerning the wires hidden in the basement, we have done a better job than in the past however we do not have a clean organized area. All the connections and wires are assessable for any service needs that may be needed.

I hope to see you as a new owner in the forum and look forward to earning your business!!

Thank you!

Kevin,

I can't believe that you had the opportunity and didn't take it. You failed to point out the fact that the CYCLONE is the best RV on the market...a Landmark with a garage!

 

[IBankerFL]

THANK YOU to all of you who took time out of your busy schedules to wish us well with our difficult decision and to provide such wonderful responses. Clearly, this is where we want to be AND the quality of people (owners as well as manufacturer) we want to be associated with. "SMDay's" comments are a perfect example of the frightening comments I read on the Keystone Owners Forum and we want no part of that. Also, thank you to Kevin Finn at HL for your candor. SO, Heartland it is!!

Now for the choice of Landmark versus Big Horn and the dealer to use. Any recommendations of dealers in Florida. We have been to La Mesa RV in Sanford and only met (at the Florida RV Show) the folks from Long View RV who are east of Tampa. Recommendations are greatly appreciated.

The IBankerFL

 

[Ray LeTourneau]

Kevin,

I can't believe that you had the opportunity and didn't take it. You failed to point out the fact that the CYCLONE is the best RV on the market...a Landmark with a garage!

HT, For some reason, I get the feeling you like your Cyclone. Funny thing is... It's in almost every one of your posts!

 

[htneighbors]

HT, For some reason, I get the feeling you like your Cyclone. Funny thing is... It's in almost every one of your posts!

Yeah...I can't compain! Too blessed!

 

[Nabo]

IBankerFL - it's a little out of your way (like alot) but try calling Butch @ RVs for Less out of Knoxville, TN. Their pricing is great!!! They have a web site - www.rvsforless.net - which also have their current inventory so if you have a chance, check them out. Good luck and welcome to the group.

 

[Lisa013143]

I just purchased a 39 ft. Elk Ridge 5th wheel. I too was going to purchase the Cougar by Keystone but I felt that Heartland put more effort into their campers. Not only was the inside of the cabinets 100% finished, but the basement was completely finished (no exposed wires or wood). It was helpful to speak with Heartland owners at the Tampa RV show too. My husband and I don't plan to full time RV but do spend 1 or 2 months in the camper.
I previously owned a Jayco and was disappointed with their authorized service. Although the company always responded to my problems by phone, the dealer took weeks to get parts.

 

[patsak]

I am very excited, I just placed my order for my Bighorn 3185. Can't wait! We decided to go with RV Outlet and we are saving a lot with them. Also, we will be traveling a lot so it wasn't as important to us to buy local. They gave us a great deal and gave us what we wanted on our trade. We went to the RV Show but they couldn't match the orice. This dealership has been terrific. I bet I have called them almost every day for the past two weeks and they have been very accommodating and patient with me.

Before you buy, check around.

 

[wesley1963]

IBankerFL, we purchased our Landmark from Long View RV, Tampa. Our salesman was Scott Smith, he was very knowledgeable and easy to work with as was most everyone else there. I would definitely recommend them as a dealer and service center.

Good luck!