Just bought a 2011 Elk Ridge

[olcoon]

We just bought an Elk Ridge, and waiting for it to be delivered. Been lurking on this & other forums and got some questions. This is our first RV, and both of us are about to retire. It sounds like for the most part everyone is "somewhat satisfied" with your RV's, but "somewhat dissatisfied" with Heartland. Kind of got me jumpy! I've been trying to do some research on Heartland-kind of shutting the gate after the cow got out! We went to an RV show not really intending on buying anything, and came home with a new toy. Talked to the factory rep, and liked what we were told. Anyway, it sounds like, for the most part, what he told us was true. In my surfing I read that Heartland is about to hire 200 new employees, and another 200 around March, 2010. We are hoping to tour the factory, and possibly see ours being built. Does anyone know if the Elk Ridge replaced the Eagle Ridge? I'll be pulling it with a 2003 6.0 Chevy HD 2500, I think I'll be right on the line, possibly will get another truck in the future though. Any tips, or advice for a newbe? One thing I'm having a hard time grasping is how we bought a 2011 model in Jan. of 2010!

Thanks!

 

[jimtoo]

Hi olcoon,

Welcome to the Heartland Owners Forum and Family. We have a great bunch of people here with lots of information and all willing to share and help if needed.

I think you will be very happy with your Elk Ridge and if you have been looking around, you have seen that Heartland does take care of their customers.

The waiting for the delivery is going to be hard, but hang in there, time will pass quickly. And when the time comes for pickup, do a really good PDI.

Meanwhile, enjoy the forum.

Jim M

 

[cookie]

olcoon, it seems that everyone has a different perception of what they read. I think that for the most part owners are "very satisfied" with their RV. And only a few are dissatisfied with Heartland. It seems that everyone reads and remembers the ones that have problems, but nobody, or so it seems to me, sees the good posts. Either that or when people have no problems they have nothing to say. Their are over 7,000 members of this forum and over 106,000 posts. Of those, how many have you read about that are dissatisfied.

I hope you will be more than satisfied with your new Elk Ridge, We are loving our Bighorn. Be sure to let us know how you like it.

Peace
Dave

 

[jmgratz]

The Elk Ridge did replace the Eagle Ridge in name only. It seems as though Jayco did not like Heartland RV using the Eagle name so to prevent litigation costs the Eagle Ridge (made by Heartland RV) name was changed to Elk Ridge. Hope this helps to clear this up some.

 

[jbeletti]

Hi olcoon,

Congrats on your order!

I'll try to address some of your concerns.

Yes, ElkRidge replaces the Eagle Ridge in name only. It is the same RV. Jayco took exception of Heartland using the word Eagle in the name of an RV. Go figure!

Regarding your truck, quick calculations will tell you if it's a go or no-go based strictly on numbers. Your truck's ratings may be obtained from Chevrolet. Use the GVWR of your ElkRidge in your calculations. This will give you a worst-case scenario. Figure 20-25% of the GVWR of the ElkRidge as being pin-weight which translates to Cargo weight in the truck.

Heartland is a very good manufacturer and we're improving all the time. We are NOT perfect however. I feel on a net basis, you will be pleased with your new unit and will not regret your purchase decision

So what about these "dissatisfied" threads?? As humans, we are all individuals. As individuals, we are all different. As such, when an issue crops up with our RV, we react differently to it. Some take it in stride and get it taken care of. Other come here to ask for advice. Still others come here and other places and handle it in a different manner. In no way am I trying to take away from the realness or seriousness of anyone's issue. Rather, I am just pointing out to you that we all react differently in similar situations and you can decide:
a) To ignore it all
b) To believe it all
c) To sift through it all to determine the level of seriousness and how it may relate to you
Most choose C. They try to sift through it all to determine what if any affect will it have on me - the owner of a Heartland RV.

I believe you will enjoy your ElkRidge and you will use the Heartland Owners Forum as you would any other user contributed resource: take what you can from it an apply it and ignore the rest. Life is too short to fret over everything

Jim

 

[Paul_in_MN]

Bought 2010 Eagle Ridge last July (09)

Olcoon,

I know all too well what that waiting and doubting thing is all about. We did it too, along with concern about the truck's ability to tow it safely. We had a couple of minor issues with the ER, first was the front jacks would not go up or down, after performing flawlessly many times. It turned out to be a loose spade connector at the backside of the raise-lower switch. I had been too "convinced" by others on this forum that it was motor or split gear in gearbox that I did not start my diagnostics with the simple "follow the wire" approach. But the solution was that simple.

The second issue we had was failure of the airbed to hold air for a full night. Something was wrong in the metal folding bedframe and it pinched the bladder when the bed was folded. I completed a few more days of camping by using gorrilla tape to stop the air leak (it works real good), and then HL and Flair (interior company) fixed and replaced necessary parts under warantee.

The 3rd issue was the design of the refrig door opening. HL designed it to be most convenient for when the trailer was fully setup. But we could not open the refrig door when the left slide was closed. So stopping for lunch or just a quick cold drink was difficult and a needless hassle. I requested the L-R conversion kit from Dometic (free!!) and had my dealer install it while the trailer was there for warantee service on the airbed.

We may have some problem with the blackwater tank fully draining, but that seems to be intermittant. We will figure that out when the weather gets above freezing.

Overall, our experience has been good, and I have recommended HeartLand products to others including my son's family who will be buying a 5er in the next few weeks. Our dealer and salesman have been excellent to work with, no jerking around, no bad suprises. I think a good knowledgable and honest dealer is the real ticket to a satisfied purchase. When we were trailer shopping, I met some of the "used car salesmen" at other trailer dealerships. No thank you!!

I think your Chev truck will work just fine, but you may want to add Timbren overloads or Firestone Ride Rite airbags to level the truck out when loaded. I will soon be adding the Ride Rites to my 02 F350. A friend has the Chev similar to yours, and it is sprung a bit softer than the Ford, so he added the Timbrens almost immediately (his SOB trailer has more hitch weight than the Elk Ridge).

Good Luck, and I'm 99% sure you will really like (or maybe LOVE) your new Elk Ridge.

Paul_in_MN

 

[Nabo]

Congratulations on your new Elk Ridge. We have had 2 HL products and have been very satified. We are lucky in that we have a very good HL dealer near us who has gone out of his way to make things right. Hopefully you have the same near you. Enjoy and travel safely.

 

[scotty]

We just bought an Elk Ridge, and waiting for it to be delivered. Been lurking on this & other forums and got some questions. This is our first RV, and both of us are about to retire. It sounds like for the most part everyone is "somewhat satisfied" with your RV's, but "somewhat dissatisfied" with Heartland. Kind of got me jumpy! I've been trying to do some research on Heartland-kind of shutting the gate after the cow got out! We went to an RV show not really intending on buying anything, and came home with a new toy. Talked to the factory rep, and liked what we were told. Anyway, it sounds like, for the most part, what he told us was true. In my surfing I read that Heartland is about to hire 200 new employees, and another 200 around March, 2010. We are hoping to tour the factory, and possibly see ours being built. Does anyone know if the Elk Ridge replaced the Eagle Ridge? I'll be pulling it with a 2003 6.0 Chevy HD 2500, I think I'll be right on the line, possibly will get another truck in the future though. Any tips, or advice for a newbe? One thing I'm having a hard time grasping is how we bought a 2011 model in Jan. of 2010!

Thanks!

Welcome to the Heartland Family. We on our 6th RV, first Heartland, but best customer service and support of all. Remember on most of these type sites you only hear of problems, Most won't take time to comment on the good.:angel:

 

[CRLYHDS]

We bought our Elk Ridge in November and love the Heartland product and customer support. Our main challenge was the dealer we bought it from in Southern California. We have found a RV repair shop that does Heartland warranty work. They are taking care of us and we are the fast track for learning all about our new 5th wheeler.

Good luck and welcome to the forum.
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[olcoon]

Thanks for all the great responses! I've been trying to sort through all the negitive things knowing that not everything is bad, and that we don't live in a perfect world. In my research it seems like Heartland is a solid company, even though it is a relitive new company. We are getting pretty exicited! I talked to the factory today, and our trailer is going to start being made on 02-22, and we are going to tour the factory on 02-23 to see it being made!

 

[Rainbowillie]

Olcoon - wow, in looking at your profile I believe we both purchased our new Elkridge 5'ers at the same KC RV show! You might look at my post from a couple of weeks ago regarding the purchase. Your build start is 2/22 - maybe ours is either right in front or back of yours! I can't say anymore than what Jim and the others have said below. We both made the right decision in the Elkridge, let's not fret - our order is the 34QSRL, what was yours?

 

[olcoon]

Yep, might have even seen each other! We went the first weekend, we were planning on buying a used one in the future. We were just kicking tires with some friends. We saw another 5r, a (new) 2008 model which was just above our top price for used. Plus we saw the Elk Ridge. We really didn't pay too much attention to either, but about Wed. got to talking & went back the following Fri. Spent a lot of time talking to the other guy & finally decided to look at the Elk Ridge again. The other RV appeared to have had stuff "borrowed" from it-no TV, no stereo, and it had a little wear & tear from sitting on the lot for about 3 yrs. Talked to Keith about the Elk Ridge, talked to the factory rep., and walked away with a new rig! We bought the 27RLSS. It was the one on the end of the line close to where you came upstairs. Wife was wanting a bedroom slide, but after talking & wheeling & dealing, she decided she could do without the big closet.

 

[goodtruck]

You should love it,we got the 2010 eagle ridge 34QRSL last june and we full time and love it.I spent 10 months reserching different units and companys and knew when Heartland came out with this unit they had a winner.we also had the same problems with the air bed and after they put a new mattress in it found that if you fold the outside 4 inches in toward the center it gets the mattress away from the moving parts of the frame.As far as your truck I pull ours with a 2005 Dodge 2500 quad cab and have no problems at all.Welcome to the family and hope to see you someday.

 

[Cimriver]

Kinda funny how different folks have different reactions to what they read on forums. We went to the Denver RV show in January. I almost hate to admit it, but we weren't planning on upgrading our fifth-wheel until we walked into the ER 34QSRL. After spending sometime talking to the salesman and the factory rep, we went home to think it through a bit and to research what others are saying about the Elk Ridge line. The factory rep gave me the URL for the owners forum. I spent quite awhile that night pouring over the posts and came away with the feeling that for the most part Heartland RV owners are pretty satisified and loyal customers.

Went back and negotiated the deal the following day.

 

[slick42]

Congrats on the new 5er. I did the same thing in 2008 I ordered a new coach and it was a 2009 model and I too thought it was strange. I agree with Jim though on the way people look at things. You cant make everyone happy all the time. I bought a 28ft North Trail tongue pull and yes there were a few things that Q&A missed but everything was resolved very quickly. I still beleive that HL makes a better coach with quality material and good craftmanship. If they didn't they wouldn't be moving ahead of all the other guys. Right? Enjoy your new rig
Tom

 

[dynaguy]

Welcome to the Heartland family, the Elk Ridge is a real nice product, hope you enjoy it and travel safe!

 

[LilGTO71]

Isn't it amazing how everyone seems to go to the "show" to kick the tires and look inside the new rigs, and end up buying one. My wife and I did the same thing about three weeks ago in Pleasonton, CA and ended up buying a 2011 Sundance 3300QS. What an amazing rig. Absolutely love it.

 

[cswarts]

Funny to hear all this. We also went to the KC Rv show and walked away with a new BC 3500 RL 2011. We are full times in the military and just wanted to look to see what we wanted to get in the fall. I tell you that we had never really heard of the Heartlands but when we walked in it just felt like home. So we walked away for about 2 minutes and came back and bought it. I have absolutely no regrets. So glad to get out of the Camper like not home like Keystones. Looking to start going to Rallys and joining the club.

C and C Swarts
2010 Ford F250
2011 BC 3500RL

 

[mntnman]

We also went to look at the show just to look. Then we seen that we liked we work out a deal with the dealer that we bougth the cyclone form and worked out a deal on a ER 35QSQB.They are installing the 2nd air in the bedroom. We will pick it up in a few weeks.

 

[Saildogs]

I have to laugh about going to the RV show to kick tires and buying a new one. That is exactly what we did one week ago today. We went to the Timonium, MD. show and ordered the North Trail 24RBS.