New here and had some questions!

[haase]

So I'm new here and not sure if this is the perfect place for my blog, after browsing a while I had a few questions that fall under a few areas. We'll here goes, our family of four + dog started our full time living in our 2007 Heartland Cyclone 3795 just after thanksgiving 2013 after the sale of our house and my husband's job relocation (groundman, powerlines). We only had a week to find our trailer and baught private party for the great deal and the only floor plan and price me and my husband could agree on. After loading it up we ended up in Greensburg Kansas and after a nasty winter realized that even though we had the "all seasons" package and skirting our pipes still froze, had issues with our propane regulators, fridge and generator. Suggestions for not freezing out this winter would be greatly appreciated, moving to warmer weather is not an option, thanks. On another note, after browsing a few floor plans from multiple years I was wondering why they got rid of the 2008 4012? I loved it! After a few months of full time living I got caught up in design flaws of my own trailer and what I would fix, change, move or make bigger! I took what I liked from the 2008 4012 and 2015 4200 and started designing. I am an aspiring artist and after showing a select few my drawings I got reoccurring suggestions of pitching my ideas to the right person, manufacturer or company. But after some research and a few failed attempts I have yet to figure out if the manufacturers even except or listen to suggestions from their consumers. Even after talking to numerous salesmen from California to Kansas and Kansas to Idaho, Oregon and Washington I get the feeling that the "designers" either don't camp or don't want to sell their trailers. Has anyone had any luck getting a hold of someone about their suggestions? Will they listen? Will 2016 see some floorplans that actually make sense for the full timers and seasonal campers? Seems the buyers either compromise or think they can change/ upgrade it later, or get swept up in all the bling and miss the design flaws all together, or even get a sales person unwilling to listen to their buyer and just sell them anything! Would love to share my drawings but a friend jokingly suggested that I might see it on the 2016/2017 line up. I also see that some people on here suggest taking ideas from other brands and incorporate it into Heartland's designs which I think would be a good idea too, such as lighting, sometimes it would be nice to have more lighting, dimmer lighting and all lights on an easy to reach switch for kids, reaching the cealing for an eight year old just doesn't work. The "dark decore" fad needs to end, it closes in the trailer something awful! Storage, storage and more storage, I don't know why they don't get this, after talking to my husband's old boss who baught his 2014 for over $100,000 in cash he realized how lacking it was in storage options. The end to "what were they thinking?" "Why did they put that there?" And similar phrases for design flaws including the placement of the septic tank outlet under the slide out (akward when you need it pumped and you have to tell the guy he has to crawl under your slideout In the mudd to hook up!), kitchen island in the middle of the kitchen/living room (when living full time where is your entertainment space, move around space, kids space?), and having to buy "special" plates just to fit the cabnet? Really. What about fixing the power issues, making the panel a little bigger so you don't flip the breaker just because you want to make toast and dry your hair at the same time? Solar panels standard, when you are traveling and need to spend the night at a trailer friendly Walmart and running the generator all night to charge is not an option. Double water tanks so you can go a little farther if water hookups are not an option (job 2, Oregon mountains near Roseburg, trucked in water for 50+ trailers, updating powerlines). Ok so I might have been ranting a little there, sorry, but a girl can dream. Thanks for the read, maybe see you out there on the open road! Cheers!

2014 Chevrolet Silverado.
2007 Heartland cyclone toy hauler 3795.

 

[danemayer]

Hi haase,

You've covered quite a lot of ground in your post.

For help on how to get better results from your water systems in extreme cold, take a look at our owner-written Water Systems Winter Usage Guide.

2016 models have been on sale since this past spring, so it's too late to influence them with your design ideas. The turnaround time on many design changes, like decor choices, and storage locations, etc. can be lengthy, so it's hard to say whether you could even influence 2017 models very much.

But AJ Jones, the Toy Hauler General Manager may see your post. He monitors several areas of the forum, including this one I think. Unfortunately, he may not actually get to read every post. But AJ is very interested in ideas from the people who actually use the product and I'm sure he'd love to hear your ideas. You might call Heartland Customer Service at 877-262-8032 / 574-262-8030 and ask to speak with AJ.

Of course, different people use their trailers differently. Family sizes vary. Toys vary. Camping locations vary. So not everyone has the same needs. For example, someone who is always hooked up to shore power might not agree that Solar Panels should be standard.

My wife an I really love our Landmark Rushmore layout. Unfortunately for us, we seem to be in the minority. Most buyers prefer to sit directly across from the television. In a Rushmore, that's not possible. So while Rushmore sales were probably respectable, when it came time to add new floor plans to the Landmark lineup, the Rushmore was left behind. The 2008 4012 may have been discontinued because Heartland believed they could do better with a different design. Nevertheless, if you share what you loved about the 4012, maybe that will be incorporated into a future offering.

 

[haase]

Thank you so much! ^^^
I didn't think I would get a response back so quickly! ;D
I definitely will look up the winterizing posts, any suggestions would help!
Yeah I understand that, just like cars, you have to cover a wide range of tastes, needs, likes/dislikes, changes in style, technology upgrades, family sizes, age groups, etc, etc, my likes might not be for everyone, but what I loved about the 2008 4012 is it had an actual living room and kitchen was separate. With kids it's nice because they can watch TV while you cook, in the floor plan I have now I'm always tripping over them because mine is one big room and the tv placement, we'll that's another "issue"...even though the couch doesn't "face the tv" there is still ample space to seat guests if you want to do a movie night. I did check out the 2015 4200 as well as some other models where the couch faces the tv but it either took up too much floor space in the family room to do that or just still didn't seem quet right. Room for improvement I guess.
Yeah I know, my rantings about solar, extra water tank and dimmer lights everywhere is not for everyone, not the average camper will find themselves without water and electricity hookups and have eight year olds trying to turn on a light in their room (garage), because let's face it they're in it for the vacation luxury not the die hard, full time live-ins following the job. ;D
Thank so much for your time, knowledge, suggestions, really appreciated! *Cheers!*


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[haase]

So I'm new here and not sure if this is the perfect place for my blog, after browsing a while I had a few questions that fall under a few areas. We'll here goes, our family of four + dog started our full time living in our 2007 Heartland Cyclone 3795 just after thanksgiving 2013 after the sale of our house and my husband's job relocation (groundman, powerlines). We only had a week to find our trailer and baught private party for the great deal and the only floor plan and price me and my husband could agree on. After loading it up we ended up in Greensburg Kansas and after a nasty winter realized that even though we had the "all seasons" package and skirting our pipes still froze, had issues with our propane regulators, fridge and generator. Suggestions for not freezing out this winter would be greatly appreciated, moving to warmer weather is not an option, thanks. On another note, after browsing a few floor plans from multiple years I was wondering why they got rid of the 2008 4012? I loved it! After a few months of full time living I got caught up in design flaws of my own trailer and what I would fix, change, move or make bigger! I took what I liked from the 2008 4012 and 2015 4200 and started designing. I am an aspiring artist and after showing a select few my drawings I got reoccurring suggestions of pitching my ideas to the right person, manufacturer or company. But after some research and a few failed attempts I have yet to figure out if the manufacturers even except or listen to suggestions from their consumers. Even after talking to numerous salesmen from California to Kansas and Kansas to Idaho, Oregon and Washington I get the feeling that the "designers" either don't camp or don't want to sell their trailers. Has anyone had any luck getting a hold of someone about their suggestions? Will they listen? Will 2016 see some floorplans that actually make sense for the full timers and seasonal campers? Seems the buyers either compromise or think they can change/ upgrade it later, or get swept up in all the bling and miss the design flaws all together, or even get a sales person unwilling to listen to their buyer and just sell them anything! Would love to share my drawings but a friend jokingly suggested that I might see it on the 2016/2017 line up. I also see that some people on here suggest taking ideas from other brands and incorporate it into Heartland's designs which I think would be a good idea too, such as lighting, sometimes it would be nice to have more lighting, dimmer lighting and all lights on an easy to reach switch for kids, reaching the cealing for an eight year old just doesn't work. The "dark decore" fad needs to end, it closes in the trailer something awful! Storage, storage and more storage, I don't know why they don't get this, after talking to my husband's old boss who baught his 2014 for over $100,000 in cash he realized how lacking it was in storage options. The end to "what were they thinking?" "Why did they put that there?" And similar phrases for design flaws including the placement of the septic tank outlet under the slide out (akward when you need it pumped and you have to tell the guy he has to crawl under your slideout In the mudd to hook up!), kitchen island in the middle of the kitchen/living room (when living full time where is your entertainment space, move around space, kids space?), and having to buy "special" plates just to fit the cabnet? Really. What about fixing the power issues, making the panel a little bigger so you don't flip the breaker just because you want to make toast and dry your hair at the same time? Solar panels standard, when you are traveling and need to spend the night at a trailer friendly Walmart and running the generator all night to charge is not an option. Double water tanks so you can go a little farther if water hookups are not an option (job 2, Oregon mountains near Roseburg, trucked in water for 50+ trailers, updating powerlines). Ok so I might have been ranting a little there, sorry, but a girl can dream. Thanks for the read, maybe see you out there on the open road! Cheers!

2014 Chevrolet Silverado.
2007 Heartland cyclone toy hauler 3795.

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk

 

[AJJONES]

I would love to hear your suggestions and review what floor plans you have designed please call or email at Aj.jones@heartlandrvs.com. The 4012 was a great floorplan but when RVIA loosened there belts and allowed us to maximize living space to 430 sq. ft. Over the old regulation of 400 sq. ft. the 4012 sales fell and we had to discontinue it. I do suggest you look at the cyclone 4000, cyclone 4150, and the 2 axle 355 Road Warrior. All of these floorplan have separated kitchens from the living area's and a lot of other bonus features over the 4012 (just because we had more room to work with). I may be letting the cat out of the bag a little early on this one but we have a new floor plan that is being launched next month that will suit all of the needs you are requesting. The new 427RW. We will be showing the floorplan in a few weeks and VERY excited for it to hit dealers lots. Even though I'm sworn to secressy lol, I can fill you in on some of the new features that it will offer.