Potential owner looking for testimonies... of course!

[Fulltimecoastie]

Hello all! First post here!

Little background wife and I have been fulltiming essentially since I joined the CG and wouldn't have it any other way. We've had two trailers in the last 10 years the first a Keystone Sprinter, which was great to us. Once we had our daughter moved to Keystone Montana which has been less then a stellar performer.

Now we are looking into the Cyclone, Voltage and Raptor with similar floor plans we love the 4000.

There are things I do not like about the voltage (slide system, bare slide bottoms) and the Raptor (pinch rolled walls).

We have not found any specific dislikes with the Cyclone but the good ol interweb is flooded with Heartland bashing which is disconcerning to me.

I welcome any constructive pros, cons to others who are happy or for that matter unhappy with there Cyclone!! Sell me haha

To be clear I've been around long enough that I am fully aware no brand of trailer is perfect and no trailer is perfect I wholeheartedly expect there to be growing pains and things I'll need to fix, but over all quality and the ability to stay out of the shop is very important to me.

Thanks ahead of time and nice to meet all of you!!!

 

[BLR]

Although we are new to Cyclone(Oct 7th) that was our make of choice.. floorplan
We have had small issues with it but nothing horribly wrong we are just finishing up our 2nd long extended trip..
Our living room slide needs to be adjusted is probably the biggest issue so far..Otherwise everything is very minor..

 

[Fulltimecoastie]

Thanks for the reply BLR. Seems slide alignment has been a common issue as I have searched around, I think it's a pretty common issue though both of our Keystones have also required slide alignment when new.

 

[CountryMouse]

We have had three 5th Wheels; a three season Jayco Eagle (Lots of camping with great experiences), a four season Keystone Montana (Highly disappointed in quality), and currently a Heartland Landmark (Very happy overall). I understand our Landmark is not a Cyclone, but it is a Heartland and we are basing our opinion on other campers we have owned. The only problems we have had is with glue holding the plywood within the roof not adhering. However, Heartland stood behind their product and fixed it. Our only other issue, and still is, is we can not find anyone who is skilled in adjusting the dining room slide. Otherwise we are very happy with Heartland, especially after owning a Montana. We now camp or vacation throughout the year for weeks at a time and our Heartland Landmark has been dependable and virtually repair free. Hope this helps with your confidence.

 

[Jv75353]

We have a 2015 4000 Cyclone which we are very happy with. When we did our initial inspection we found a number a small problems that were relatively easy repairs unfortunately the dealer took a long time to get them all corrected. The biggest problems we had was the wall tile behind the stove top would not stay adhered to the wall. After a couple of failed dealer repairs we just fixed it ourselves, it hasn't been any problem since then. The other problem was the lack fasteners and/or brackets to hold down the loveseat and couch down onto the slide outs. We also gave up on the dealers attempted repairs and did this one too.

Everything else has worked as expected. There is a lot to learn, but there are always great people on this forum ready to help if you have a problem. I believe the 4000 model has been discontinued for 2018 so you will only find what dealers have on their lots. A key thing to check out is to make sure that the tires are G rated and either Goodyear or Sailun, there have been many blowouts with the E rated Towmax tires.

 

[Fulltimecoastie]

Thanks for all the replies so far and things to watch for. I have seen where the 4000 has been discontinued I'm hoping to find a deal on a left over 15/16 when we buy this summer.

Sounds like like with the exception of the roof decking glue everyone's issues are either "superficial" or relatively minor which is great to hear.

We we really like the 4000 the best so far.

 

[MikeandDar]

We ordered a 4250 HD a year ago this weekend and took delivery in early April. Besides the hours of adjustments that I had to make, so far the only regret we have is not getting the third ac.

 

[thibideau]

Our first rv was a2011 Cyclone 3010 which we had for 3 camping seasons. Our 2nd and current unit is a 2012 Cyclone 3612 which is discontinued. We love this unit. Storage like no other. We dry camp twice a year for 4-5 weeks at a time. This unit serves us well. We had one issue with it and our dealer made it right. Good luck with your choice and have fun

 

[alwaysbusy]

Another here, small issues at best. Heartland was great to work with through the ordering process and have been great on the small warranty repairs. Would do again.

 

[avvidclif]

I've had mine listed in the signature for 2 years in Feb. I had a problem with the Nevercold Fridge, The Onan Generator, the slideout system, and the Rear ramp (Lippert). All of those are problems with the mfg of each part not Heartland. The only Heartland caused problem has been the TV(television) wiring. They used cable tv splitters good to 900 MHz on the satellite lines (2150 MHz). DUH...... And they don't have a clue how to crimp connectors on RG6.

The fridge fixed itself ??? Still wondering,
The Onan was in warranty (3 yr) and still having problems
The slideout was taken care of by the mfg, great people.
The rear ramp (delamination), Lippert gave me the ramp(???) BUT it cost $1k for shipping... Which I paid.

Bottom line is Heartland caused a minor problem. The rest were the other mfgs which Heartland has no control over. BUT they will TRY to help.

Overall, like all RV's it's had it's problems, but I would buy another Cyclone.

Every time I start looking at another RV I compare it to what I have and the others come up short.

YMMV

 

[chiefneon]

Howdy!

We have a 2014 Cyclone 4000 We fulltime in. Our previous 5er was a Carriage and loved it but they're out of business like many others in the RV industry. Like you I did research before buying and we order ours with all the whistles and bells excluding full body paint. If I had it do due over today I would chose to go with a DRV Fullhouse or custom build by New Horizon. The quality and control on the Cyclone from the factory has been to say the least bad. All most all the water connection were only hand tight and leaked. The over flow to the great water tank was never routed out of the bottom the RV. Hot water heat had to be replaced the next day after we took delivery, neither the electric or gas worked. Livingroom entry door locked us out first day out, and the lock had to be replaced. No help from Camping World the don't carry the part and told me to go to a Heartland dealer (Camping World is a Heartland dealer that we purchased it from). The wiring to satellite was a problem from the gitgo getting it to work with our portable satellite which I gave up on and had them retire it which caused problems with the TV in the toy room. That took a weeks stay at Camping World just to get worked out. Then the problems started with the tub/shower having hairline cracks. Heartland wanted Camping World the fix it. We wanted it replaced as we fulltime. Heartland advised it could not be replaced as the put the tub in and built the walls around it. We took it back three times and the cracks only worsen, at which time Camping World advised us "we don't think we can fix it to your satisfaction, call Heartland". I will say Heartland did fix the problem with the tub but we towed it to Elkhart. I looked at a DRV Fullhouse this last year in Hershey and it was like night and day in the quality of the Cyclone. Hope this helps we you research.

"Happy Trails"
Chiefneon

 

[Sarge]

The Road Warrior line is virtually identical to the Cyclones with minor cosmetic differences.

Even people who don't need a "garage" like the idea of the second bathroom and enclosed patio on our unit.

Plus I like a "head on" view of the 55" tv.

Check out a 362RW - The double slide-in-a-slide sold us on the huge interior room...

 

[acro2eaa]

Run away from Heartland. That's my advice. I bought a brand new cyclone last may. It has been in the shop for warranty work for 5 of the last 7 months i've owned it. we made two short trips. First one was cut short because refrigerator quit working and had a leak from gray water tank somewhere. Since we were taking it back anyway, we went ahead and had them fix about 10 other small items that i normally wouldn't have worried about. Screws missing, window trim falling off, wiring bundles for slides not routed properly, overhead fan screens not attached properly. So on and so forth. The first time in the shop, it took 8 weeks from calling to bring it in, till it came out.

Took it out on a second trip. The refrigerator quit working after two days again. Took it back. While it was in, had them work on about 5 or six other small items. Bad seal on one of the toilets, another gray water leak, more trim falling off.

Got it back from the dealer just yesterday. Time in the shop. over 8 weeks. This morning, beautiful day, decided i would go out and install the furion camera that i purchased a long time ago but never got around to installing because the trailer was sitting broke at the dealer. In theory, it's a remove four small screws, take the blank plate off the mounting bracket, plug in the camera, screw it back on. But, No- No power at the plug. Apparently it's not actually connected to a power source. I did all the things, truck hooked up, off, on, running, all lights on, no lights on, in reverse, doesn't matter--- no power. So- now i'm going to have to figure out which one of the running lights or at least which side the camera power is supposed to be tapped into so i can only have to pull a minimum of lights down to fish out the wire and connect it myself.

I had a buddy who has a heartland big horn he bought a couple years ago. I should have listened to him. He told me he had more problems with that unit then he did with his previous one- a Keystone. I've been in and Avion trailer for the last 21 years and it had none of these types of problems. I never had to do anything with it maintenance wise till it was almost 8 years old, then started having converter and third party manufacturer issues.

This Cyclone- I knew going in the qualify of materials was going to be marginal at best, and i would have issues with cheap hardware, drawers, mattresses, things like that. But the thing that really irritates me is the lack of quality control in manufacturing/assembly and the lack of interest in Heartland of making sure things that are wrong are corrected in a TIMELY manner.

Sorry- but I'm in this trailer, have to much invested. But anybody that asks me for a recommendation- Holy cow, half of my switches arent' even labeled. It's a crapshoot trying to figure out which switch is going to turn on an outside light, or step light or cargo door light.. The toy room has 5 unlabeled rocker switches on it. What's up with that. I still haven't figure out what they are all for.

My rant for today
Sam

 

[LBR]

After you installed the camera, did you install a fuse in the front compartment for that circuit? Several here have posted the factory doesn't install a fuse for it.

 

[TravelTiger]

Run away from Heartland. That's my advice. I bought a brand new cyclone last may. It has been in the shop for warranty work for 5 of the last 7 months i've owned it. we made two short trips. First one was cut short because refrigerator quit working and had a leak from gray water tank somewhere. Since we were taking it back anyway, we went ahead and had them fix about 10 other small items that i normally wouldn't have worried about. Screws missing, window trim falling off, wiring bundles for slides not routed properly, overhead fan screens not attached properly. So on and so forth. The first time in the shop, it took 8 weeks from calling to bring it in, till it came out.

Took it out on a second trip. The refrigerator quit working after two days again. Took it back. While it was in, had them work on about 5 or six other small items. Bad seal on one of the toilets, another gray water leak, more trim falling off.

Got it back from the dealer just yesterday. Time in the shop. over 8 weeks. This morning, beautiful day, decided i would go out and install the furion camera that i purchased a long time ago but never got around to installing because the trailer was sitting broke at the dealer. In theory, it's a remove four small screws, take the blank plate off the mounting bracket, plug in the camera, screw it back on. But, No- No power at the plug. Apparently it's not actually connected to a power source. I did all the things, truck hooked up, off, on, running, all lights on, no lights on, in reverse, doesn't matter--- no power. So- now i'm going to have to figure out which one of the running lights or at least which side the camera power is supposed to be tapped into so i can only have to pull a minimum of lights down to fish out the wire and connect it myself.

I had a buddy who has a heartland big horn he bought a couple years ago. I should have listened to him. He told me he had more problems with that unit then he did with his previous one- a Keystone. I've been in and Avion trailer for the last 21 years and it had none of these types of problems. I never had to do anything with it maintenance wise till it was almost 8 years old, then started having converter and third party manufacturer issues.

This Cyclone- I knew going in the qualify of materials was going to be marginal at best, and i would have issues with cheap hardware, drawers, mattresses, things like that. But the thing that really irritates me is the lack of quality control in manufacturing/assembly and the lack of interest in Heartland of making sure things that are wrong are corrected in a TIMELY manner.

Sorry- but I'm in this trailer, have to much invested. But anybody that asks me for a recommendation- Holy cow, half of my switches arent' even labeled. It's a crapshoot trying to figure out which switch is going to turn on an outside light, or step light or cargo door light.. The toy room has 5 unlabeled rocker switches on it. What's up with that. I still haven't figure out what they are all for.

My rant for today
Sam

Wow, sounds like you have a terrible dealer! Yes some problems are because they rush things through the factory. But most manufacturers have these issues. Your dealer is supposed to do a thorough PDI before you get it to catch most of this. They get paid to do it. Some chose to let the customer discover it all.

There's no reason a rig should be in the shop that long. We full time, and I contacted Heartland so they had all the info for our warranty items, and approved all the repairs. We waited until the dealer had all the parts they needed. Went in at 8, out by 12, to fix nearly everything on our list. (Front cap paint was not fixed, because paint guy was not called.)

Oh, and dealers are not subsidiaries of Heartland, they are independently owned. They are Heartland's customers. So not sure they can ever dictate business practices of the dealership.


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[acro2eaa]

It wasn't the dealer that built an RV with poor quality controls. The reason it takes so long at the dealer is because they are so backed up fixing warranty work. When the refrigerator was obviously broke, they had sent the request to Heartland to replace it. Heartland took two weeks to "authorize" the local dealer to get a replacement locally. There was no refrigerator "locally" that would fit. Eventually Heartland sent one to the dealer. Don't get me wrong, i'm not excited about the dealer either. But they can only work with what they are given.

Some people are lucky and don't have any major problems, or many as I've found out, just fix the problems themselves or live with them.

Wow, sounds like you have a terrible dealer! Yes some problems are because they rush things through the factory. But most manufacturers have these issues. Your dealer is supposed to do a thorough PDI before you get it to catch most of this. They get paid to do it. Some chose to let the customer discover it all.

There's no reason a rig should be in the shop that long. We full time, and I contacted Heartland so they had all the info for our warranty items, and approved all the repairs. We waited until the dealer had all the parts they needed. Went in at 8, out by 12, to fix nearly everything on our list. (Front cap paint was not fixed, because paint guy was not called.)

Oh, and dealers are not subsidiaries of Heartland, they are independently owned. They are Heartland's customers. So not sure they can ever dictate business practices of the dealership.


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[TravelTiger]

It wasn't the dealer that built an RV with poor quality controls. The reason it takes so long at the dealer is because they are so backed up fixing warranty work. When the refrigerator was obviously broke, they had sent the request to Heartland to replace it. Heartland took two weeks to "authorize" the local dealer to get a replacement locally. There was no refrigerator "locally" that would fit. Eventually Heartland sent one to the dealer. Don't get me wrong, i'm not excited about the dealer either. But they can only work with what they are given.

Some people are lucky and don't have any major problems, or many as I've found out, just fix the problems themselves or live with them.

I understand it takes time for the dealer to wade through all the issues for all the rigs they sell-- I asked my dealer and he said Heartland was the easiest to deal with for warranty work! Regardless, that should not hold your rig hostage.

Any owner can call and talk to Heartland customer service to find out the status of their warranty claims. Lots of times, dealers sit on the job and don't call Heartland in a timely manner, then blame Heartland for it.

It does also take time to get items from suppliers shipped, especially large items. We had a loveseat replaced. It took a month to get it to the dealer from Lippert. But no way was my rig at the dealer waiting!

I guess it depends on how you want to spend your time. Waiting and being PO'd or work with Heartland direct, fix it or work with a dedicated service center (someone who's livelihood depends on getting rigs fixed and out the door) and go camping.


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[beasleyrl]

We are on our second Cyclone and can't say enough about both Heartland and our dealer. Both were purchased new from our dealer. Our first Cyclone was a 2009 3912 (purchased Feb 2008). Our current Cyclone was purchased in December 2015 and is a 2016 4250. We absolutely loved our 3912. It treated us well over the years and certainly had its share of issues. However, when you take into account the general quality controls of the industry, I certainly think it is above most (based on our prior 2 - trailer and 5er). To us, the key is how the company and the dealer have stood behind the product. On our 3912, we had a leak issue with one of the slides. The dealer tried numerous times to resolve it but could never make it happen. We attended a rally shortly after one of our visits to the dealer (but after the warranty expired) and someone from Heartland asked why we didn't have a slide out opened. Our response of course was it leaked.

Within a few days, we got a call from the dealer asking us to bring it back because Heartland wanted to work with them on the issue. I'll never forget thinking I don't want to give the rig up for the rest of the season so I didn't want to take it to them. A few weeks later, we got another call from the dealer. They said Heartland was all over them to get this resolved. We then scheduled a time to take it back and within a few weeks, the problem was resolved and never had another issue with it.

When it came time to look again, we went back to our dealer which also carries several of the other brands you mentioned. While they were nice, we just couldn't go with anything except another Cyclone. It has now been a year with that unit and I'm proud to say, I didn't have to take it back for anything significant during the first year (in fact, it hasn't been back to the dealer since we took possession). We did make an appointment to have a few "minor" things resolved while it was still under warrantee but none are impacting our use - mostly simply cosmetic.

Fortunately, I'm not in the shopping mode right now but based on the prior 2 experiences, if we were, I'd seriously consider another Cyclone!

Roger

 

[cnuss]

We purchased our first 3010 fifth wheel in 2014. I found some minor quality control issues at first... Like interior wood molding, a sliding door off alignment, labeled tank issue and an occasional missing screw. (Items mention were repairable by my personal handy skill level).With recommended maintenance and routine checks after long adventures we have not experienced any dealerships. As seasonal travelers,this coach has served us well.

 

[acro2eaa]

I did talk to Heartland customer service on several occasions. After multiple calls to them, they eventually shipped a new refrigerator. My point is I shouldn't have to make multiple calls. I'm blaming Heartland in great part because they sat on it. They kept telling me they had to give the manufacturer of the refrigerator time to have an opportunity to fix or replace it. I'd rather spend my time in a coach that works and if something doesn't work, the dealer/manufacturer takes care of it in a timely fashion. spending a week short of 7 months either in the shop or waiting to get in is just unacceptable.

And- It's not over. the wiring for the rear mounted camera is not installed properly. They (Heartland) are still working on that. And this is after knowing for over a year prior to my coach build that it was an issue- Poor quality control--- Heartland told me it was the responsibility of the dealer to make sure everything was working properly before it went out. What a cop-out that is. It's the responsibility of the manufacturer to make sure it is manufactured properly. Most consumers and manufactures try to avoid warranty work like the plague. Cheaper to make sure thing are done right in the first place. I'm told by others that had the same problem (Humm- why so many with same problem) that i should check for a missing fuse up in the front of the electrical compartment. There is indeed an unknown circuit with a missing fuse. But Heartland said that wasn't it and they are researching as we speak what that was even supposed to be for. If i put a fuse in there (I actually did put a 10 amp fuse in thinking because of other posters it would work but it blew right away). Even if that turns out to be how the person doing the wiring that day wired it, it would be improper as that circuit is always hot.

Anyway- I was just responding to a request for testimonies on my Heartland experience. As soon as it's actually working properly and I can actually use it, I'll update this maybe. I do like the floorplan and the auto-leveling feature.

Sam

I understand it takes time for the dealer to wade through all the issues for all the rigs they sell-- I asked my dealer and he said Heartland was the easiest to deal with for warranty work! Regardless, that should not hold your rig hostage.

Any owner can call and talk to Heartland customer service to find out the status of their warranty claims. Lots of times, dealers sit on the job and don't call Heartland in a timely manner, then blame Heartland for it.

It does also take time to get items from suppliers shipped, especially large items. We had a loveseat replaced. It took a month to get it to the dealer from Lippert. But no way was my rig at the dealer waiting!

I guess it depends on how you want to spend your time. Waiting and being PO'd or work with Heartland direct, fix it or work with a dedicated service center (someone who's livelihood depends on getting rigs fixed and out the door) and go camping.


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