New 2013 Landmark Key Largo

[Dfurnish]

I finally got my wife to go see the Landmark Key Largo, we looked at one that was made in early 2013 model year with 1/2 Paint but we wanted full body paint and then looked at one that had just arrived at the dealer with full body paint. Boy was it great looking unit on the out side and my wife was wife convinced to trade our current 5th wheel for this one.. Until we looked inside. Land mark has made numerous changes to the Key Largo interior and in our opinion most of them are not good.

After looking at this new unit we have decided that we will not be buying a Landmark Key Largo.

1. Landmark has removed the side cabinets around the TV and just hung a TV on the wall and it really looks cheap and out of place in this unit.
2. The Island with the Curved storage on both ends was a great selling point and increased storage. Oh well these are gone. NO end units on this new one just a rectangle Island sink like the competitors.
3. The Bath has changed also as there is now a door on the cabinet next to the stool that by the way can not be opened. What a dumb design. The Actual large shower has also changed. All of those earlier models had a handle built into the Shower. NOT the new ones. I guess it was another cost cutting measure that removed another nice feature.
4. Bed Room, some really dumb engineer thought they would fix the issue of not having night stands by putting an attached shelf sticking out from the outer frame of the bedroom slide on both sides. I would like to see this person get into and out of bed in this unit. It was questionable originally and this fix made it impossible. Some intelligent thought needs to go into this and is not this fix.

Over all the wife is not happy with the new units so we will not be ordering one. I know that this may sound petty but when you are spending this much money these are things that should not be issues in the middle of a model year.

Our dealer had not even been in this new unit yet and he was also suprised since he just finished selling us on the earlier features and functions only to find out that they are no longer in the Units.

Dave and Vonna

 

[Noobie]

Is that just one floor plan? Or are all floor plans changed?

 

[kakampers]

That's what is so interesting about individual taste...we absolutely LOVE the changes...except the silly nightstands on the bedroom facia. We solved that issue, we had them omitted on the order we just placed.


As for the barrel cabinets...we hated them and are glad they are gone. As far as we are concerned this is the most residential Landmark they've built to date, and cannot wait to get ours!!!

Hope you find what you are looking for...

 

[Camper51]

This is one of the issues we had with ordering our Key Largo. We thought we were ordering a 2012 and then found out that the 2013 models were already on the line. There were many changes that we and the dealer were not aware of. I'm not sure what the reasoning is in changing things in the middle of the model year. They cabinets over the TV were different as well as the fireplace surround and the backsplash behind the stove. We thought that by looking at the models and the books that we knew what we were getting. Not so much. We've ordered several other units and there were never any surprises as changes were not made until the next model year, and everyone was aware of it. There seems to be some poor communication between Heartland and the dealers. Maybe Heartland will get things right with the 2014 models.

I finally got my wife to go see the Landmark Key Largo, we looked at one that was made in early 2013 model year with 1/2 Paint but we wanted full body paint and then looked at one that had just arrived at the dealer with full body paint. Boy was it great looking unit on the out side and my wife was wife convinced to trade our current 5th wheel for this one.. Until we looked inside. Land mark has made numerous changes to the Key Largo interior and in our opinion most of them are not good.

After looking at this new unit we have decided that we will not be buying a Landmark Key Largo.

1. Landmark has removed the side cabinets around the TV and just hung a TV on the wall and it really looks cheap and out of place in this unit.
2. The Island with the Curved storage on both ends was a great selling point and increased storage. Oh well these are gone. NO end units on this new one just a rectangle Island sink like the competitors.
3. The Bath has changed also as there is now a door on the cabinet next to the stool that by the way can not be opened. What a dumb design. The Actual large shower has also changed. All of those earlier models had a handle built into the Shower. NOT the new ones. I guess it was another cost cutting measure that removed another nice feature.
4. Bed Room, some really dumb engineer thought they would fix the issue of not having night stands by putting an attached shelf sticking out from the outer frame of the bedroom slide on both sides. I would like to see this person get into and out of bed in this unit. It was questionable originally and this fix made it impossible. Some intelligent thought needs to go into this and is not this fix.

Over all the wife is not happy with the new units so we will not be ordering one. I know that this may sound petty but when you are spending this much money these are things that should not be issues in the middle of a model year.

Our dealer had not even been in this new unit yet and he was also suprised since he just finished selling us on the earlier features and functions only to find out that they are no longer in the Units.

Dave and Vonna

 

[mikeandconnie]

I think the Mega shower was changed to a mini mega shower in 2012 1/2 run. It was a suggestion from Key Largo owner that a cabinet would be better for that space for towel storage, I agree and love the mini shower with the storage. We have 2 doors and the top opens fully. One door would be dumb.

Nothing else changed with our 2013 model. We ordered a queen bed and got a normal night stand on one side.

 

[Dfurnish]

Is that just one floor plan? Or are all floor plans changed?

I am not sure as we only looked at the Key Largo so you would have to check with your dealer or Landmark on this issue. Again we picked up a brochure and the Key Largo is pictured with the features we wanted but the newest unit in inventory is not the same as pictured in the brochure.


Dave

 

[karykatz]

Dave and Vonna,

Sorry to hear you didnt like some of the changes we made on the new Landmark. The reason we eliminated the side TV cabinets is sop that we could go from a 40" TV to the new 46" Sony TV with Sony surround sound system. We also had complaints about the 40" TV being mounted on stationary mount so we also added a full swing arm mount so now the TV can be viewed from anywhere in the coach. As far as eliminating the barrell cabinets on island, we chose to make island larger with more usable stoage space including the ability to have large tall garbage can stored under the sink. The shower was changed so that owners would hve storage shelves molded into the shower. the old shower didnt have any where to hold shampoo, razors or soap. We added the shelves on the bedroom fascia so that owners had somewhere to sit a book, glasses or drink.

I understand your feelings, but in no way did we look for ways to cut costs. We listened to many of our owners and made changes that they were requesting. We went to hard wood slide room fascia, LED recessed lighting, the Dyson cordless vaccuum cleaner, more storage in the bedroom closet, higher end window valances, and optional MCD roller shades.

Respectfully,

 

[Ray LeTourneau]

Dave & Vonna, If you come back to check this thread, please note that you have received a response from Kary, the Brand Manufacturer for Heartland Landmarks. I know you have found that the newest Landmarks have changed since you initially found the one you like. I wonder though, where else would you receive a response from any other manufacturer through a Forum such as ours. This just shows the kind of support Heartland is known for.
We hope you revisit the Landmark and maybe find one that would work for you.
Consider coming to the Tampa RV show in January and you can meet other Heartland Owners and Kary.

 

[Dfurnish]

Dave and Vonna,

Sorry to hear you didnt like some of the changes we made on the new Landmark. The reason we eliminated the side TV cabinets is sop that we could go from a 40" TV to the new 46" Sony TV with Sony surround sound system. We also had complaints about the 40" TV being mounted on stationary mount so we also added a full swing arm mount so now the TV can be viewed from anywhere in the coach. As far as eliminating the barrell cabinets on island, we chose to make island larger with more usable stoage space including the ability to have large tall garbage can stored under the sink. The shower was changed so that owners would hve storage shelves molded into the shower. the old shower didnt have any where to hold shampoo, razors or soap. We added the shelves on the bedroom fascia so that owners had somewhere to sit a book, glasses or drink.

I understand your feelings, but in no way did we look for ways to cut costs. We listened to many of our owners and made changes that they were requesting. We went to hard wood slide room fascia, LED recessed lighting, the Dyson cordless vaccuum cleaner, more storage in the bedroom closet, higher end window valances, and optional MCD roller shades.

Respectfully,

Kary,

Thank you for your response, wish we would have known some of these things when we were at the Dealership. We specifically went to this dealer as they had the exact unit specs we were looking for coming into their inventory. Apparently they were as surprised as us and had no explanation for the changes. With this information we may go back and take another look at the unit. Part of the buying process is expectations. After 6 months of research of various 5th Wheels had picked a Manufacture, Heartland and Model Landmark, Key Largo. Every thing we had read, looked at on the Heartland web site prepared us for the early 2013 model and we really liked the design. Wish we had moved earlier and order the unit we wanted with the early 2013 design.

Thank you again for your response.

 

[MWB]

Speaking of the new 2013 Key Largo that we just picked up, we love it!! But, does it have low point drains? I can not seem to find where they are located, the winterizing instructions located in the UDC talk about draining them.

 

[danemayer]

Hi MWB,

Congratulations on your new Key Largo and welcome to the Heartland Owners Forum. You'll find lots of helpful information here along with a bunch of friendly people who are always quick to jump in with help.

We have a 2011 Landmark which has a fresh tank drain on the Off-Door-Side, just in front of the axles. You may also have a hose on the doorside, just in front of the steps, which would be connected to the washer overflow pan, if you have a washing machine. In the past there used to be additional low-point drains, but I think they were eliminated several years ago.

If you have an icemaker and/or water dispenser in the refrigerator, when winterizing, make sure you evacuate the water from the feed line, the solenoid, and the internal lines in the refrigerator. There should be instructions in the refrigerator manual.

 

[travlingman]

Dave and Vonna,

Sorry to hear you didnt like some of the changes we made on the new Landmark. The reason we eliminated the side TV cabinets is sop that we could go from a 40" TV to the new 46" Sony TV with Sony surround sound system. We also had complaints about the 40" TV being mounted on stationary mount so we also added a full swing arm mount so now the TV can be viewed from anywhere in the coach. As far as eliminating the barrell cabinets on island, we chose to make island larger with more usable stoage space including the ability to have large tall garbage can stored under the sink. The shower was changed so that owners would hve storage shelves molded into the shower. the old shower didnt have any where to hold shampoo, razors or soap. We added the shelves on the bedroom fascia so that owners had somewhere to sit a book, glasses or drink.

I understand your feelings, but in no way did we look for ways to cut costs. We listened to many of our owners and made changes that they were requesting. We went to hard wood slide room fascia, LED recessed lighting, the Dyson cordless vaccuum cleaner, more storage in the bedroom closet, higher end window valances, and optional MCD roller shades.

Respectfully,

I am excited to hear these changes. We had eliminated the Landmark from our list, but after the changes you have done, it could be added back. We are trying to locate one with the new changes to see. Hopefully we can find one soon, as we are trying to make a decision shortly. We have tried dealers in a 150 mile radius to no avail.

 

[MWB]

Thanks for the info, this Forum has been so helpful, before and after the purchase!

 

[2psnapod2]

Dave and Vonna, if you liked the other one so much with the full body paint, I would give Heartland a call and see if they know of one that fits your needs. They have them all over. I just meet a couple that had just bought one off a lot in Oklahoma. So they are out there. You might have to travel for it. But it might just pay off.

 

[NittyGritty]

http://nittygrittycamp.blogspot.com/2012/11/2013-heartland-landmark-key-largo.html


We really love our 2013 Landmark Key Largo. We are the Oklahomans who bought one off the lot. Unfortunately we have not seen any LED lighting in any recessed lights or otherwise. We do have cabinets around fireplace with doors looks very nice, and the barrel cabinets on center island are cute, I think they could use some redesigning for better structure. I am lucky to be married to a man who owns a cabinet shop ao not going to be a problem here. The roomy area under kitchen sink will be great for when I find that perfect sized trash can to go there. I foresee a couple of little things to do, like I would have preferred the window fabric covered frames rather than wood trim for better privacy, and I never liked metal blinds, they will be tossed soon in the kitchen area when I replace with some I have seen in a friends motor home. I will be doing some customization on my newly purchased 5th Wheel to make it my own style. We didn't custom order ours, but if I had I may have added some of the wall paper border, and our friends have a Landmark San Antonio a year older than ours I like their diamond tile looking back splash over back of stove and they have a better looking waterfall edging on their counter tops not the cut off flat side like I have. But I have learned there is always something that isn't going to be just right until they get more women designing the interiors or we just settle and make it our own.

 

[travlingman]

We were able to see a 2013 Key Largo today with all the updates. All I can say is that the Landmark is now on top of our list. The DW and I were very happy to see the upgrades. We really liked the new cherry wood, counters, bedroom closet, dyson stick and the Sony electronics. The unit we saw was sold, going back tomorrow to look more in depth. Also saw a Seqouia with changes, like Largo floor plan better. Would like to see a Mesa but can't find one close.

 

[willie1019]

We too special ordered for queen bed. We were very upset by changes in mid-stream. And since we were almost ready to leave our home for the winter, we were pretty much hostage to the 2013 changes. Took our maiden voyage 1,200 miles to Mexico and have lived in our unit for over a month without any problems. It goes like this:

1. After having technician get us connected to Direct TV, I can see why they took our the sides of the entertainment center. There was a lot of work needed behind the TV and we had seen posts about that process being a nightmare when enclosed. Does it look as nice...NO! But more servicable, yes.

2. Shower still a nice size and really like the storage in bath. The lower cabinet is not easy to access because of door but put extra TP and small waste basket in it. Would rather have door because of dust where we are.

3. Barrel cabinets ends looked really nice but read about many problems with hinges and staying shut during travel or even when at destination. And storage in kitchen is to die for anyway and they made the counter biggrer so great counter space.

4. "dressing room" in bedroom is a bit funky and not much help. But they did away with central vac because people were complaining about hose marking up wood. Needed the space in the bedroom to mount a Dyson stick vac. It's good EXCEPT battery life is 6 minutes on max speed, 13 otherwise. Then it takes 3 1/2 hours to fully charge again. So you must vac really fast or do it at different times. Drawers they put in that dressing room area are very shallow and not good for much. So are other drawers in bedroom. We have been forced to use underbed for many of our clothes since we have three seasons we pack for, including 4 wheeling clothes, etc. We did not get washer/dryer option so that helps. Also, bed spread on queen bed looks like it came from Motel 8. I've dressed it up with a throw, etc., so is growing on me.

5. Did away with Keyless entry which I was really looking forward to because of many problems with it.

6. Not really a change, but reclines are not the quality of our Alpenlite we sold. If you like to go "way back." they don't stay and start a gradual creep forward again. Also very stiff leg rest, hard to get back in when you arise.

7. We like the little shelves by the bed, especially the side without a night stand. Good place to put glasses, books, etc.

So that's our take after living in latest 2013 Key Largo. Many good things, others not so much.

We are pretty happy. But would we have bought Key Largo considering all the changes. Not sure, probably would have shopped more if we had had the time. Felt a little like "bait and switch" because all of these things were surprises and that is NOT right. Nothing posted on internet nor any brochures. If you want to see our actual rig, there is a video on Rocky Mountain RV in Butte, Montana. The dealer did the video before we picked it up. We were only told of wood changes and color of leather and were fine with those.

 

[jbeletti]

http://nittygrittycamp.blogspot.com/2012/11/2013-heartland-landmark-key-largo.html


We really love our 2013 Landmark Key Largo. We are the Oklahomans who bought one off the lot. Unfortunately we have not seen any LED lighting in any recessed lights or otherwise. ...

I believe units built after some date in August 2012 have the LED lighting. Yours was likely built prior to that. Pretty easy retrofit if you're interested. Probably cost you about $300 in lights to do it. I've changed mine and like the LEDs.

 

[jbeletti]

We too special ordered for queen bed. We were very upset by changes in mid-stream. And since we were almost ready to leave our home for the winter, we were pretty much hostage to the 2013 changes....

willie,

Sorry to hear that you were upset by the mid-year changes. I do appreciate your review of the changes. Some of which seemed to have grown on you and others that you're still not happy about. I think you were fair about that.

For everyone,

Running Line Changes and Mid-Year Changes can be confusing to understand, but more importantly, not always a welcomed surprise. For that, we apologize. However, this is norm. Heartland reserves the right to make changes to product. Sometimes changes are made for product improvement reasons. Same item/feature - but tweaked work better. Sometimes changes are made to add a new feature or to add more value to an existing one.

I think the most consternation in all of this is "the surprise". In most cases, it's impractical to make printed material changes mid-year. Certainly its fair to say that our website should be updated immediately. And we try hard to do that. It's a massive job to keep the site current to each floor plan of each brand. We strive each year to improve in this area.

For those ordering a coach, I would suggest that you develop a relationship with your Heartland brand rep. That's the rep that calls on your dealer for the brand you're ordering. I'd suggest you make it clear to the rep that you MUST be informed of changes to the product you're going to get versus what was current for the product when you ordered it. I understand this adds an additional step for you. In a world where the product will continue to evolve, it's in your best interest to be involved.

Of course, as product owners, we all have our take on product changes. That said, most changes are made based on customer feedback - so most people like the changes.

With regard to the mid-year Landmark changes, my personal opinion only, I love all of them but one. And the one I did not care for was something I asked the company to try. I just didn't feel the implementation was done the way I would have done it. In fact, it's one of the items that willie likes. It's the shelves on the bedroom slide fascia. They do serve the purpose as intended. I just wanted them to be stowable in a down position. I love the new island. I love the little end-tables next to the sofa. I also really like the reconfigured storage space outside. It was reconfigured to accommodate the optional outdoor refer/freezer. When you don't order that option, you end up with even more storage space.

My 2 cents

 

[willie1019]

This is "Willie". The earlier post was by my wife, Judy. We have at least some minor difference of opinion on the changes to the Key Largo although we agree on the majority.

Most of the mods, I think, make sense. The shower is still plenty large and the extra storage in the bathroom is a plus. I'm not sure what change Jim is alluding to regarding the outside storage, but the belly storage area is tremendous. The"dressing area", or whatever it is, in the bedroom closet is a bit silly, but I don't see it as a real negative. The Dyson vac is a good idea, it's just too bad it doesn't have a bit more battery life. We were surprised by the deletion of the half barrel ends part of the kitchen island, but the island was enlarged, there is now room for a good-sized trash can under the counter (which we understand was an issue with the prior design), and there is still plenty of storage in the kitchen. We were disappointed in deletion of keyless entry, but the dealer advised us there had been problems with this and that's the reason it was done away with. The mod to the TV cabinet was the one that initially bothered both my wife and myself most, but we appreciate the larger TV and see that this may be a change for function over form.

Overall, we're very satisfied with the Key Largo. The new wood is beautiful. The darker color makes for a richer look. The color of the leather furniture makes a great match to the wood and, in our opinion, is an improvement on the colors available previously. After living in the Key Largo for a month, I can say I wouldn't trade for the prior version. Taking everything into consideration, I'm also unware of any competitor I'd prefer. I guess my only real gripe would be that Heartland apparently didn't inform dealers of all the changes. I understand, as Jim states, Heartland reserves the right to make modifications at any time and that it may not be practical to update all the printed material mid-year, but at the very least, Heartland should send dealers a detailed list of mods so dealers can inform serious shoppers of the changes - and thus avoid surprises. Seems like it would also be fairly simple to post these changes on the Heartland website.