Mallard M33

[CGranger]

Evening Folks,

I'm in the Market for a Bunkhouse camper and i have narrowed my Choices down to the Mallard M33. I like the Heartland Brand a lot and more so the M33. I'm interested in knowing what you folks opinions are of the heartland brand as a whole and those of you who have the Mallard as well. I like the Heartland because it has the wider spacing between the axles allowing it to pull better along with the updated interiors and options. I have a '16 F-250 so i'm not worried about pulling it but i would like your suggestions of anti-sway bars to get for it.

Anyway Thank you for your help in advance

CGranger

 

[danemayer]

Hi CGranger,

Welcome to the Heartland Owners Forum.

We've got a lot of Mallard owners on the forum, so I expect you'll probably get some feedback shortly.

 

[RossRagan]

I recently purchased the M245 and am pretty happy with it so far. I've had no major issues to deal with, though the motor on one of the stabilizer jacks failed and was replaced under warranty. I think it has a lot of nice features for the money. Things I did right away included getting a 3" memory foam topper for the front bed, putting on a Bulldog power tongue jack, and I went around the unit checking the exterior caulking and extending the window caulk to the bottom of the windows since the factory just caulks across the top of them.

I am pulling it with a '15 F-150 3.5 EcoBoost using a Curt Manufacturing 17500 TruTrack Trunnion Bar Weight Distribution Hitch. After spending quite a bit of time getting it set up, I think it is pretty easy to hook up and the truck manages the travel trailer load quite nicely with it. My mileage with the trailer is 10-1/2 mpg so it means that I stop pretty frequently for gas with only a 24 gallon tank capacity on the truck (I purchased it used so I didn't have the choice of going with the 36 gallon option).

 

[sckarlhoff]

Evening Folks,

I'm in the Market for a Bunkhouse camper and i have narrowed my Choices down to the Mallard M33. I like the Heartland Brand a lot and more so the M33. I'm interested in knowing what you folks opinions are of the heartland brand as a whole and those of you who have the Mallard as well. I like the Heartland because it has the wider spacing between the axles allowing it to pull better along with the updated interiors and options. I have a '16 F-250 so i'm not worried about pulling it but i would like your suggestions of anti-sway bars to get for it.

Anyway Thank you for your help in advance

CGranger

Welcome to the Forum,

We own a 2018 (bought 2017) M33. We also learned that Heartland not necessary stand behind their Products (De-lamination, Water leaks.....). But I guess you can get that with any Brand, it's still a Travel Trailer. Bought the Trailer with a Equalizer Hitch, but replaced it with a Anderson. I believe it's the better Hitch.

Have fun and happy camping......

 

[Silverado23]

Welcome to the Forum,

We own a 2018 (bought 2017) M33. We also learned that Heartland not necessary stand behind their Products (De-lamination, Water leaks.....). But I guess you can get that with any Brand, it's still a Travel Trailer. Bought the Trailer with a Equalizer Hitch, but replaced it with a Anderson. I believe it's the better Hitch.

Have fun and happy camping......

Why do you find the Anderson Hitch to be better than the Equal-I-zer?

 

[sckarlhoff]

Why do you find the Anderson Hitch to be better than the Equal-I-zer?

First let me tell you that both Hitches are great (don’t want to start a war.......). I just like the Andersen better and here is why. The Equalizer is very noisy when going into turns or backing up. The hitch is very heavy and so are the spring bars. I also found it to be a pain to hook and Unhook the trailer.
Now keep in mind that this is all compared to the Andersen hitch.
The Andersen a lot lighter, adjustable to your weight requirements and I never had even the slightest hint of sway. Just my opinion.

 

[Silverado23]

First let me tell you that both Hitches are great (don’t want to start a war.......). I just like the Andersen better and here is why. The Equalizer is very noisy when going into turns or backing up. The hitch is very heavy and so are the spring bars. I also found it to be a pain to hook and Unhook the trailer.
Now keep in mind that this is all compared to the Andersen hitch.
The Andersen a lot lighter, adjustable to your weight requirements and I never had even the slightest hint of sway. Just my opinion.

I found that the plastic pads or a very light smear of grease address the noise issue. I agree with the weight of the hitch head but then I again I have a very heavy 2 1/2" shank that is solid but otherwise I have been very happy with the equal-i-zer. Never any sway. I got a routine down that makes it easy to hook and unhook the trailer.

 

[F_Goose]

Regarding buying a Mallard, I would look at the +30' North Trail bunkhouse models. I only say that if you are buying a Mallard then you are purchasing a Camping World model. They do not have a good record of the PDI and service after the purchase.

We have a NT and have had minimal issues if you can do your own maintenance.