Stressed and unsure after reading forum

[mbopp]

Our local dealer didn't have the model we wanted so we bought from another dealer 80 miles away.
Problems? A few but nothing worth taking it back to the dealer for. I fixed a leak in the outside shower (loose hose leaking inside.) The shower door is mis-aligned, SEA sent me a new seal but I haven't re-adjusted the door yet.

My brother waited 6 months for his dealer to fix a leaking window on another brand.

Buy another Heartland? Yes, I would. Ours had all the basics my wife & I wanted, the rest I customized to fit our camping style.

 

[Hbushey]

Just called Heartland, very impressed. I was surprised that they would be willing to talk with a customer directly instead of forcing the buffer of a dealer. Very nice and professional, looked up my order for me and confirmed times and specs. So excited to be getting my North Trail! Can't wait.

 

[Cjackg]

Just have to add a couple of comments to this thread as we are the new owners of a HL Cyclone 3110 we special ordered in April and took delivery recently from BigDaddy RVs in KY.

We have been following this site for months reading everything we could find about Cyclones and related problems and yes there were plenty!

After 2 trips we have found that our Cycone is happily missing most of the problems we read about. I have to say that HL seems to have stepped up and resolved many documented problems. We did have a few startup glitches but resolved every one (so far) without a trip in for service.

We did decide early on to replace the TowMax 16" tires without delay and after delivery immediately headed up to Trailer Tires and Wheels in Ohio to upgrade to their 17.5 pkg.
The total cost of doing that was less than it would have cost to have HL include the GY614 tires and the 17.5s provide a huge margin of safety that you will never get with 16s.

Overall we are a very satisfied Heartland Cyclone customer and even think our dealer should be highly recommended.

There are some features we think could be better designed and We may encounter some problems over time but for now believe we have a very solid and quality built RV for our recreational travels.

 

[SeattleLion]

Our Bighorn is our largest single purchase. I was disappointed to discover a number of issues after our walkthrough. The simple fact is that Heartland has never made a trailer that was defect free. Neither has any other RV company. In my opinion it's a disease the industry suffers. They don't spend enough on QC, pay their workers for each unit they build instead of hourly, and have poor inspectors. It's not just Heartland. They're all the same.

The good news is that there were no major problems with our trailer. Just fit and finish. We took it out for the first time this past weekend. On that trip we really appreciated the quality of the components that Heartland used in our coach. The design is thoughtful and very nice to live with. Bottom line is that you will need to get a bunch of minor things fixed. It's important to pick a good dealer who will do the work correctly. Once the small issues are fixed, you should be fine. We are really delighted with the trailer. More importantly, every contact (except one) with Heartland customer service has been great. Once you buy your trailer, you can post in "Ask The Factory" under your brand here in the forum. I posted about a problem with our convection/microwave a few days ago. I didn't even have to call customer service. They read the post and contacted their distributor who called me and is now arranging a replacement (Heartland will ship it to me). Can't beat that!

One thing to be aware of: the quality of the components in each model varies by price point. The luxury units have higher quality stuff. That doesn't mean a less expensive trailer has junk in it, but it is helpful to look at a Landmark or Bighorn as well as the trailer you want. It will give you a way to compare the good and bad. I wish I did that before my first purchase (a Kodiak). If I did, we would have found a way to move up in the world. In any case, as far as I'm concerned Heartland is a great company to work with.

 

[TandT]

Hbushey,
Welcome to the forum and congrats on your new rig. A lot of good info has been imparted here.
One thing that I haven't seen while skimming this thread is the fact that you CAN take your rig to many independent repair shops for warranty work, if it becomes necessary.
Dealers SELL rigs and do repairs as a requirement. If you read through many of the threads here, most repair frustration is with the dealer, not Heartland. Heartland's customer service is second to none in the RV industry.
If you were to need any repair done, my advice is to find a good independent RV repair shop in your area. Check their service reviews on Yelp, or another site. Be sure to check with Heartland FIRST to make sure any work would be approved by them. IMHO, this will save you a lot of frustration.

Consider coming to a HL rally, or joining the owners club. Most of all, get out and enjoy your rig.

See you down the road. Trace

 

[Jim.Allison]

Dear Stressed and Unsure....Take the leap. Be sure to upgrade the tires to the goodyear G614 or you will be sorry. Otherwise my Big Country is a great coach. You cannot build something like that an have it be perfect, there is going to be something that need adjusting or refinishing. But I like mine and feel I got a good buy, except for the cheap Towmax tires that came on it. My fault, I was not paying attention to that detail. Good luck.

 

[Shortest Straw]

Thanks so much for all the encouraging words. I think part of my anxiety is from deciding to buy sight unseen so we could get the exact model we wanted. I owned a class A in a previous life and had to take out a loan to finally be rid of it. It was a big step to commit again. Luckily my husband is super handy.

Maybe I just an inflated sense of buyers remorse. I'm anticipating small issues we can fix ourselves. Just praying we don't end up with bad axles or slides that don't work like others have.

Ghettomedic, does your name relate to your profession? I'm a flight paramedic, great job!

I'm looking forward to sharing experiences and seeking support from everyone on the forum.

Thanks

Nice!! Thank you for all you do! I used to work for AirLife Denver but they are dual nurses now.