Heartland Gateway...has anyone seen yet?

[monte0999]

We just purchased a Wildcat 344 QB 4-slide bunkhouse 5er. We love it. The ONLY gripe is that the kitchen area is a little tight. Forrest River doesn't make a 5 slide bunkhouse unit so I did some searching and came up with a couple good looking candidates.......Columbus 385 BH and the new Gateway 3600? bh. I have seen the columbus in person and was impressed and the dealer is waiting the arrival of the Gateway. From the website pics it looks like a pristine example of what a 5er should be. Anyone here spend any time in one that could give me a heads up as to build quality? etc?

 

[jimtoo]

Hi monte0999,

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.

I saw a Gateway at one of the RV shows, I know it had lots of space inside, and huge bunk room a nice outdoor kitchen. The quality is good, like all Heartland units with great customer service.

Enjoy the forum.

Jim M

 

[Eddhuy]

We have the Gateway 3200 RS. We've only had it for about a month, only camped in it once but will be heading out again shortly. The build quality is very good, no real problems with it yet, just a couple minor items that needed to be taken care of. I love the 2 A/Cs, in California 100+ degree camping days are pretty normal. I liked the 3650 bh model as well but it will be mostly my wife and I using it. We also looked at the Alpine, Columbus, BH and BC in that order. I liked each of them and found a floor plan we really liked in the BC and was ready to purchase it until we found the Gateway. IMO, the quality of the Gateway can't be beat for the price you pay.

It has everything we were looking for, at a great price to boot, and in our opinion, especially DWs opinion, a great floor plan. Two or more people can work in the kitchen with no problem and there is plenty of storage. The kitchen bathroom and bedroom combined to be the best floor plan for us and the seating is totally awesome. I don't think we could be happier. One other thing that made me quite happy is the support that Heartland gives to it's owners. I know that if I do need help, they will be there.

 

[monte0999]

Hi everyone! Thanks for welcoming a Wikdcat rv guy to your forum!!
this is a question aimed at Bryan. (Or anyone else who feels they can help)
my dealer carries the Columbus 385 bh and has a gateway on the way. I have been through the Columbus several times and rank it as my dream machine. The pics of the gateway on the website put it in a similar ballpark. In as many (or few) words as you want, sell me on the Gateway.
The dealer is fantastic and will take care of me on both, so that's out of the equation.

 

[Eddhuy]

I can't sell you on either product, we liked both as well and as mentioned before at one point, Columbus was our favorite. The floor plan on the bunk house models are very similar. The Columbus is 100" wide, that can be both a plus or a negative, depending on where you travel to and camp. You have to decide what is important to you and decide from there. Quietness of the A/C was important to me, or should I say I wanted to avoid a noisy one. If that is important, have them turn it on for you, I did. Basically what I am saying is that we all have our own likes and dislikes and the decision is yours. For us; that decision was easy to make after looking at both several times. I also spoke with factory reps from both manufacturers at an RV show and I asked a lot of questions that I knew the answer to and ones that I did not.

 

[ParkIt]

It really depends on how you will be using it, the Gateway is really nice and has interior upgrades compared to our BC. Couple of weeks ago there was an RV show up here and only one Gateway, it was getting a lot of attention and now I know why. Beautiful unit, not sure about full timing in one though its probably right on the mark for a couple who likes to move a few times a year or takes the winter off for warmer climates.
It would be ideal for that and the lighter weight means you need less truck to pull it with too.

 

[monte0999]

Excellent. We are new to camping. 2 kids 8 and 10 years old. Will try moving around all summer and fall with the camper. Maybe park it next year after we've tried all the local parks. I have an F250 diesel that will be stretching her legs so that's somethjng to consider. I guess it will all come down to having them parked side by side and goin through them as objectively as possible. Both look absolutely pristine. Hard to pick a loser in this one. The silent airconditioner is quite a draw, but I guess it will come down to just how happy the Chef is in the kitchen. Her 2 cents will outweigh my dollar by quite a bit.

 

[kernst]

This evening will be my "second interview" with a Gateway 3650BH at a local dealership. So far I'm impressed. We are trading up from a Coachman Catalina Deluxe 32TSBH bumper pull that is only 6 months old. In that six months we have quite a list of things we'd change, and the Gateway 3650BH hits almost every one of them. The main items are a larger shower/bathroom and more room around the bed. I'll update you all with my impressions and what we decide.

 

[danemayer]

Hi kernst,

Welcome to the Heartland Owners Forum. Look forward to hearing back from you.

 

[kernst]

Thanks dane.

We really like the Gateway 3650BH, it fits our family very well. One of my main concerns is the hydraulic slides, and them all being on one switch. I'm used to individual switches and being able to slide out the living room slide while in storage so I can work on something or load cargo. With the Gateway it's all or nothing, sort of. Does anyone familiar with the all-or-nothing hydraulic slides have an opinion one way or the other about it? What about longevity and possible hydraulic leaks?

I also questioned the split tanks, with 40gal gray and 40gal black for the front bathroom (with the shower) and another set of 40gal gray and 40gal black for the rear bathroom (no shower here). I'm concerned we'd fill the 40gal gray that the shower feeds into pretty quick. And why a 40gal gray in the rear, just for a bathroom sink? Some sort of combined gray or a 60gal/20gal split would be a better solution I'd think. A 40gal gary tank is what we have today, so no real harm there, I just assumed with the bigger unit we'd have more room for shower water.

One thing I noticed about the Gateway that I really liked is that it's about the same fit/finish on the interior compared to some of the higher end Heartland units. I'm sure Heartland cut corners other places to get it in this price point, but I have to say we are very impressed with the look and feel of the interior. It even feels sturdy like the higher end models, not "flimsy" like we're used to in the low/mid range bumper pull units we looked at last year. Every one of them, including the one we bought, said "be careful with me, I'm fragile." Not so much with the Gateway. And the porcelain toilets, I don't know why that impresses me so much in a trailer, but it does.

It's negotiation time now. It was late when we left last night so I asked the salesman to just text me the numbers. We've gone back and forth a few times today. There's still a little more I need out of them, and we're in no hurry to buy, so we have time. I'll check back in and let you all know how it goes.

 

[Ray LeTourneau]

Hello kernst. Welcome to the heartland Forum. Regarding the gray for the rear bath. It more than likely receives the drainage from the kitchen. At least that makes the most sense to me.
We have an early Bighorn 3400. When I saw a Gateway in Tampa over the winter, It reminded me a lot of the early Bighorns prior to 2008. They had the straight frame like the Gateway. The 2008 and newer Bighorns have a drop front frame. I'm not sure why they made that change but I'm OK with the straight/flat frame. It may have a bit more flex but I added a set of scissor jacks just in front of the wheels and that really helps make for a solid feeling in the rig when parked. The Gateway probably has the laminated floor and roof system which is a huge improvement over the older Biighorn.
I'm sure you'll enjoy it if you decide to buy. This is a great forum and there are many great folks here willing to help if needed. Not to mention, the greatest Customer Service from Heartland. (Sorry, had to say it I'm a fan)

 

[kernst]

Thanks Ray. I appreciate the insight. You're probably right, I didn't even think of the kitchen sink draining into the rear gray tank. Makes perfect sense now.

Hello kernst. Welcome to the heartland Forum. Regarding the gray for the rear bath. It more than likely receives the drainage from the kitchen. At least that makes the most sense to me.
We have an early Bighorn 3400. When I saw a Gateway in Tampa over the winter, It reminded me a lot of the early Bighorns prior to 2008. They had the straight frame like the Gateway. The 2008 and newer Bighorns have a drop front frame. I'm not sure why they made that change but I'm OK with the straight/flat frame. It may have a bit more flex but I added a set of scissor jacks just in front of the wheels and that really helps make for a solid feeling in the rig when parked. The Gateway probably has the laminated floor and roof system which is a huge improvement over the older Biighorn.
I'm sure you'll enjoy it if you decide to buy. This is a great forum and there are many great folks here willing to help if needed. Not to mention, the greatest Customer Service from Heartland. (Sorry, had to say it I'm a fan)

 

[kernst]

After a rocky week dealing with our local dealer, we did the final walk-through last night, making a list of a hand full of minor fixes that the dealer needs to address. We will be doing the PDI and taking possession of a Heartland Gateway 3650BH tomorrow morning. After looking at numerous other models from other manufactures, the layout of the Gateway 3650 is the main factor that steered us in that direction. My wife and I have also made numerous comments about how sturdy and well built the Gateway unit feels. Maybe it's just what we are comparing it to (Coachmen Catalina), but I am very impressed by the build quality. Some of the trim work is a little to be desired, but unfortunately we found that in a lot of other models, not just Heartland units. Nothing that the dealer can't fix, but still, a little discouraging when buying a new unit in this class.

I will start a new thread in the Gateway Community soon with my initial thoughts. We're planning on taking the new unit out next weekend, so I should be able to get a good impression of her then. Thank you all that replied and answered my previous questions.

 

[mzcummins]

If its like the sundance 3400qb, the front bathroom is black 1 and grey 1, kitchen, outdoor sink, and back bath is grey 2, back toilet is black 2

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