Ordering a North Trail 26lrss

[Tmichaels]

I put a down payment on a north trail 26lrss caliber with a fiberglass front cap last month at the Dallas rv show. The dealership doesnt have this model in stock so they have to order a 2013 model. I'm replacing a good trailer with what I think is a better trailer (including lots of new goodies on the north trail). I have a 09 dodge hemi and a 08 kz spree 280rls (5500#). The wife and I love the inside of our kz but, I cant stand pulling it. It's shaped like a box and gets the worse gas mileage. 6 to 7 in the wind (50-55 mph) and 8 to 9.5 (55-65 mph) under normal conditions. A little better mpg with a tail wind. My truck gets great mileage not towing, 19 - 22 hwy and 14 to 15 around town. I have towed the kz around 11,500 miles the last 2 1/2 years and looking for a gas station (way to often) around 150-175 miles (with 32 gallon gas tank) is getting old. 1 to 2 mpg's better would make our 200 mile one way trips all year long and our vacation trips so much better. I know diesels get great mpg's towing but, I dont want to spend that much on the truck and the higher cost of diesel fuel. I've researched mpg's on the north trails and seen alot of post saying 9-11 mpg with gas motors. That would be sweet. I'm posting here hoping to hear from some north trail owners and also from a heartland rep. I need help finding interior pictures of 2013 models so the wife can pick a colors, fabrics, etc. The small color tabs and select pictures on the heartland web site, looking at last years north trails on line and what few our left on the lot isn't working.

thank you for your time

 

[CliffP]

Congratulations on your new purchase and welcome to the forum. There's a good group here and lots of good info! We're bringing our camper home from the dealer, I'll let you know what our MPG we get afterwards. Sorry can't help you out with 2013 color options but don't hesitate to call your Heartland rep. Ours answered a bunch of questions and emailed color options before we ordered. Good luck with things!
Cliff

 

[jimtoo]

Hi Tmichaels,

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 their knowledge.

The waiting will be the hard part, but when it comes in and you go for PDI.. do a really good slow inspection, front to back,,, top to bottom.

If you have questions,, the Heartland family is here to help.

Jim M

 

[PeternLiane]

Congratulations, I hope that it goes well.

 

[PeternLiane]

I haven't seen any color choices for 2013 models. From what I see I'm assuming that the 2012 colors are the same as 2013. It would be nice to know. On the RV Wholesales website you can see a bigger picture of the colors.

I can tell you that we pull our NT 22FBS with our 07 Tacoma. The NT is a dream to pull. We absolutely love how it pulls I can't say enough about it. The combo works great for flat lands. We will need to up grade the TV if we want to go up into the mountains. Some day we'll upgrade the TV but money is money. Our MPG is at 11-12 when pulling and 17-19 when we're just driving. We love our NT.

 

[Mcreech]

The decor for 2013 are the same as the 2012 decors. We have Truffle, Pebble, Cafe Mocha and Bistro.... All these colors should be on our web site. If you goto our floorplan section and when you see a camera icon, click on it. That means there are pictures and between them all you should be able to see all 4 decors. Thanks Mike

 

[CliffP]

We have the Cafe Mocha which comes with leather couches. I think the Bistro does as well. The Pebble and Truffle both come with cloth couches. Mike Creech would you please verify? We went through last year dogless but we are dog people and will get another soon. When we bought home furniture we were told leather holds up to dog claws better than cloth and it is easier to clean. That was a big part of our decision to go with the Cafe Mocha. We liked the Pebble fabric more but...... Hope this helps!
Cliff and Mindy

 

[Mcreech]

We have the Cafe Mocha which comes with leather couches. I think the Bistro does as well. The Pebble and Truffle both come with cloth couches. Mike Creech would you please verify? We went through last year dogless but we are dog people and will get another soon. When we bought home furniture we were told leather holds up to dog claws better than cloth and it is easier to clean. That was a big part of our decision to go with the Cafe Mocha. We liked the Pebble fabric more but...... Hope this helps!
Cliff and Mindy

Everything you said is correct.....

 

[OBX-GL]

//heartlandowners.org/member.php/15539-Tmichaels Tmichaels. Welcome and can say as a Caliber 26rlss owner you will love your purchase.

As for the mileage, sorry but i try not to keep track as ignorance is bliss sometimes. I will say your 9-11mpg estimate seems fair though. There must be some gain to the mpg's for trailers with caps but not sure they are substantial so don't get your hopes to high. 09' Rams had MDS i think, i believe your savings are coming when in 4 mode. i'd assume 4 mode doesn't really come into play with a trailer behind you, this is why you see such a change while towing. I have the Cafe Moca interior feeling it was the more conservative/timeless interior option.

 

[TravelTiger]

Welcome to the Forum! Another Texas HL Owner! Be sure to look in to coming to the South Texas Chapter Rally or the Oklahoma Rally.

E

 

[Tmichaels]

Thank you all for the warm welcome.
I've been hanging out and reading on the forum for months. Lots of good people here that are enjoying the rv lifestyle. There is nothing like taking a trip for the weekend or even better, your vacation in a rv. Having your second home on wheels is great. I talked to a heartland rep today and he found a few more pictures online of the 26lrss for me to show the wife. Waiting on her to pick the colors of the interior without having good pictures and none in stock at the local dealerships is killing me. Times a wasting... Need to get my order in fast (4 to 5 weeks) to get the trailer. It's spring time already down here in Texas and vacation is right around the corner ...

 

[Tmichaels]

I finally got the trailer ordered today... Now the waiting game starts, 4-5 weeks to get it.

 

[CliffP]

Alright! What colors did you go with and did you order with any options? Please post some pics for us when you get it!

Congrats again,

Cliff and Mindy

 

[pegmikef]

I have got the 2011 model of the 26LRSS and pulled it for a while with an F150 Super Crew 4.6 3v gasser and the mpg was poor 8 to 11 dependent on the wind. I run at 60 MPH. I got tired of watching the tach go up to 4k plus on moderate grades so I bit the bullet and traded for an F250 Crew Cab 6.7 diesel and I gained three to four MPG dependent on the wind. I figure the difference in fuel costs is quickly paid for with the improved mileage because now I only have to buy ten gallons of fuel where I would have had to buy thirteen gallons of gasoline. That difference really adds up.

Regarding the trailer, we could not be happier with ours. We are somewhere around 10 k miles so far with no real problems. Being from Texas I highly recommend upgrading the A/C to 15,000 btu. Good luck. Check some of the dealer web sites (i.e., exploreusa) because a lot of times they have pictures of various interiors. PM me with an email address and I can send you the ones they sent me, but I think they are all the same color, but there are a lot of angles.

 

[Tmichaels]

2013 North Trail 26lrss
Wife picked (Truffle) which wasn't my first choice but, its growing on me
North Trail lightweight pkg
Caliber Edition- which has bike rack, solid surface kitchen, slam baggage doors, hidden hinges, porcelain toilet, power awning, ss sink, power jacks and night shades
options- aluminum wheels, fiberglass front end cap, black refrig panals, pillow top mattress and 15k a/c upgrade
extra add ons that were not listed as options were nearly impossible to get. I did manage to get a cabinet door for the bathroom sink base cabinet that trailer didn't come with and a drawer face for the spice rack on the kitchen sink base cabinet ( for a extra charge that I'm happy to pay for ) that the dealership will install.

 

[CliffP]

Sounds very nice! What did you order for a door in the bathroom? Is that the same size as the one directly under the sink?

 

[Tmichaels]

It must be the same size as that bottom door under the sink. I'm sure thats the reason I got a yes on that add on. I really like having a door on all cabinets.

 

[RuralPastor]

Welcome to the NT Heartland family!! We need more North Trailers' on this forum! We purchased a 2011 Caliber 265rls (same as yours) a year ago. Slept 100 nights, and pulled it around 10,000 miles--from Texas to Manitoba, and everywhere in between. We love it. I trust you'll like it as much as we do ours! Any questions, just ask. These folks here are an amazing group of people. I've learned a ton just hanging around the forum...and got a long ways to go.

Mark

 

[caissiel]

The mpg towing a tt trailer is very dependent on the air dinamics.
A friend asked me to tow his trailer to storage and on take off his tt trailer felt realy light but once I hit 40 mph I realy felt the tt holding the truck back. Instant mpg and load was much higher then I get towing the BC in the signiture. They are not efficient unless the truck has a cap that may prevent additional drag by the hugh front exposed panel that is the size of 2 sheets of plywood. I towed a 5500 lbs 5th wheel and got over 12mpg at highway speed. I always kept the gas engine at 3000rpm because its the most efficient RPM for gas.
Even now with the diesel I only shift to overdrive when over 2000rpm and get instant mpg rating on flat roads and constant speed of 35 to 40 mpg. In town unloaded.
If you are concerned about mpgs you need the scangauge that was developped for mpg compititions.

 

[CliffP]

It must be the same size as that bottom door under the sink. I'm sure thats the reason I got a yes on that add on. I really like having a door on all cabinets.

Nice. The opening on our 32BUDS is bigger than our cabinet doors in the bathroom so I wasn't sure. Its got me thinking though. I'm planning on adding some drawers and was thinking I'd have to make the drawer fronts but maybe not. I'm going out with the tape measure right now.