Torn - HELP!

[TxPatriot]

We have looked at so many fivers I am tired of looking! Our original plan was to go with a BigHorn. Then the wife saw a Crossroads Rushmore Franklin. We both loved the floor plan, but over on their forum I have seen numerous complaints about craftsmanship, and spotty work and customer service. It also appears that they do not have as large or as organized group as there is here. I am having a horrible time with the decision.

We are going to be full time in June. I have a fulltime job and we will have our TV and RV....that's it!
I don't need something that is going to cause me a million headaches. I understand that no RV is going
to be perfect and that there are going to be some problems. I just don't need them to be deal breakers where we
cannot live in the RV comfortably for what we are going to have to pay for it.
Can you guys give me ANYTHING that will help me on this decision?? This is a huge step for us, just need to make the right move. Thanks!

Mark

 

[TravelTiger]

Mark, I'm not retirement age, and I'm a woman, but I'm not afraid to tackle a home improvement project. In fact, I enjoy "getting my hands dirty". If you don't like doing that, don't buy an RV. You will need to trouble-shoot and deal with electricity, plumbing, HVAC, cable/satellite, and mechanical/automotive issues at one point or another, with ANY BRAND. What separates Heartland, in my opinion, is that early on they recognized the importance of connecting with their owners by hiring Jim Beletti to be a Director of Owner Interests, and directly supporting the Owners Forum and Owners Club. They ACTIVELY SPEND MONEY to do this. I'm not sure the other guys do this.

Through the forum, we've become a tight-knit group. We have a tremendous bond with each other, and owners help owners in times of need, all the time, practically 24-7. That's a HUGE selling point in my book.

I've had a HL owner help me with a low tire on the side of the road.... When a battery was dead and couldn't be jumped on a trip, a HL owner took us to get a new one..... When a suspension part broke and mobile tech was going to be the next day, a Heartland owner helped us repair it ourselves. This forum helped us with preventative maintenance, so we didn't have bad things happen. This forum taught us how to succeed at the RV lifestyle, so that when a sudden job change happened, we said "no sweat, we've got a place to live! Our Heartland!"

Hope this helps.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[TxPatriot]

The wife just saw a 2015 3755FL. Has anyone had any experiences with one of these yet?

 

[TxPatriot]

Mark, I'm not retirement age, and I'm a woman, but I'm not afraid to tackle a home improvement project. In fact, I enjoy "getting my hands dirty". If you don't like doing that, don't buy an RV. You will need to trouble-shoot and deal with electricity, plumbing, HVAC, cable/satellite, and mechanical/automotive issues at one point or another, with ANY BRAND. What separates Heartland, in my opinion, is that early on they recognized the importance of connecting with their owners by hiring Jim Beletti to be a Director of Owner Interests, and directly supporting the Owners Forum and Owners Club. They ACTIVELY SPEND MONEY to do this. I'm not sure the other guys do this.

Through the forum, we've become a tight-knit group. We have a tremendous bond with each other, and owners help owners in times of need, all the time, practically 24-7. That's a HUGE selling point in my book.

I've had a HL owner help me with a low tire on the side of the road.... When a battery was dead and couldn't be jumped on a trip, a HL owner took us to get a new one..... When a suspension part broke and mobile tech was going to be the next day, a Heartland owner helped us repair it ourselves. This forum helped us with preventative maintenance, so we didn't have bad things happen. This forum taught us how to succeed at the RV lifestyle, so that when a sudden job change happened, we said "no sweat, we've got a place to live! Our Heartland!"

Hope this helps.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Excellent advice. No, I don't mind getting my hands dirty, and neither does the wife. I love the fact that this forum is huge, and addresses many things. That's what I am looking for when we have issues or questions, some place we can go and see what others suggest or did. Thanks for the advice, I sure appreciate it!

Mark

 

[jimtoo]

Hi Mark,,

Travel Tiger could not have said it any better. The Heartland Owners Forum and Club is outstanding in helping with problems and support. The Heartland RV factory is behind us almost all the way. They are easy to contact and you can actually speak to a person most of the time. I'm sure we have a few things that need help or correction,,, but far less than a lot of the others.

Become a member of our family and you will make friends for a life time.

Jim M

 

[TxPatriot]

Hi Mark,,

Travel Tiger could not have said it any better. The Heartland Owners Forum and Club is outstanding in helping with problems and support. The Heartland RV factory is behind us almost all the way. They are easy to contact and you can actually speak to a person most of the time. I'm sure we have a few things that need help or correction,,, but far less than a lot of the others.

Become a member of our family and you will make friends for a life time.

Jim M

Thanks Jim,

We may just do that

 

[kakampers]

We have spent the last 8 Years living full time in two different Heartland products...a 2008 Bighorn for six years and the last 2 in a 2013 Landmark. We had some issues in the Bighorn. Mostly minor but one major...Heartland was there every step of the way, they never let us down and we put over 80k miles on that rig. Today's Bighorn is head and shoulders above our old one.

Our Landmark has been almost flawless...bad ceiling fan, replaced. One door came loose from hinge...simple fix and few drawer bottoms that we repaired. We couldn't be happier that we chose Heartland...no RV will be perfect, but when the manufacturer is standing behind it...you can relax and enjoy your home. In addition, Heartland warranties the Landmark, Bighorn and Big Country for full time use, in writing...most do not.

 

[TxPatriot]

We have spent the last 8 Years living full time in two different Heartland products...a 2008 Bighorn for six years and the last 2 in a 2013 Landmark. We had some issues in the Bighorn. Mostly minor but one major...Heartland was there every step of the way, they never let us down and we put over 80k miles on that rig. Today's Bighorn is head and shoulders above our old one.

Our Landmark has been almost flawless...bad ceiling fan, replaced. One door came loose from hinge...simple fix and few drawer bottoms that we repaired. We couldn't be happier that we chose Heartland...no RV will be perfect, but when the manufacturer is standing behind it...you can relax and enjoy your home. In addition, Heartland warranties the Landmark, Bighorn and Big Country for full time use, in writing...most do not.

Thanks for that info! Very helpful!

 

[Wharton]

Between the Heartland Forum and the Escapees Forum you have a wealth of "earned" information. Floorplan is very important. If you are buying new, look at the floor plan and walk through it in your mind. Several scenarios, setup, take down, lunch(can you access the refrig and bath?), watching tv, making a meal. How will it be on a rainy day or several rainy days. .

I can't tell you which brand is better. I have been very happy with my BH, never had to go back to the dealer. My belief is that is the "norm". Things fall apart, you are really abusing the trailer as you go down the road so things rattle loose(especially water connections). We all manage to overcome these things to enjoy the good life.

 

[JanAndBill]

Number 1 for us was floorplan/space. If you're not 100% happy with it, walk away. Trust me it won't grow on you. Once you have that then look at the manufacturers. HL is not defect free, but they have a good CS department and this forum provides answers even the best CS rep can't.

 

[fredwrichardson]

We have looked at so many fivers I am tired of looking! Our original plan was to go with a BigHorn. Then the wife saw a Crossroads Rushmore Franklin. We both loved the floor plan, but over on their forum I have seen numerous complaints about craftsmanship, and spotty work and customer service. It also appears that they do not have as large or as organized group as there is here. I am having a horrible time with the decision.

We are going to be full time in June. I have a fulltime job and we will have our TV and RV....that's it!
I don't need something that is going to cause me a million headaches. I understand that no RV is going
to be perfect and that there are going to be some problems. I just don't need them to be deal breakers where we
cannot live in the RV comfortably for what we are going to have to pay for it.
Can you guys give me ANYTHING that will help me on this decision?? This is a huge step for us, just need to make the right move. Thanks!

Mark

We also looked at Crossroads and even Redwood (high-end Crossroads) and the one thing that always came up was lack of properly trained dealers. In New Mexico there are only a couple of dealers that handle Crossroads and they only handle a PART of the units. There is NO dealer that can service a Redwood and I also believe there is No Dealer that can handle a Rushmore. There are the two dealers that handle the lower end travel trailers. With Heartland you will find that their dealers cover most of the Heartland products but best they will let you use a third party service (with approval) if they do not have anyone local.

 

[MCTalley]

On your question about the 3755FL, here are some thoughts we had concerning it on a walk-through (seen through the eyes of full-timers):

The couches in the living room are built into the slides. Make sure you like them, as replacement is a construction project and not a simple trip to La-Z-Boy with tape measure in hand.

The bathroom is not accessible without opening the kitchen slide (think bathroom breaks on the road).

The dresser in the bedroom has to be pulled out to make it accessible. It is about five feet wide and really needs two people to pull it out efficiently.

The bedroom ceiling is about 6' 3" (I'm 6' 2", not sure how that might affect you, though).

if I remember correctly, the basement storage in front was about half the size of other units. They made up for it to some extent by building more storage in under the bedroom. I saw an early unit about a year ago and I think they were looking at a few changes in that area.

 

[TxPatriot]

On your question about the 3755FL, here are some thoughts we had concerning it on a walk-through (seen through the eyes of full-timers):

The couches in the living room are built into the slides. Make sure you like them, as replacement is a construction project and not a simple trip to La-Z-Boy with tape measure in hand.

The bathroom is not accessible without opening the kitchen slide (think bathroom breaks on the road).

The dresser in the bedroom has to be pulled out to make it accessible. It is about five feet wide and really needs two people to pull it out efficiently.

The bedroom ceiling is about 6' 3" (I'm 6' 2", not sure how that might affect you, though).

if I remember correctly, the basement storage in front was about half the size of other units. They made up for it to some extent by building more storage in under the bedroom. I saw an early unit about a year ago and I think they were looking at a few changes in that area.

Thanks McTalley, those are all great things to take into account. Appreciate it.

 

[TxPatriot]

We also looked at Crossroads and even Redwood (high-end Crossroads) and the one thing that always came up was lack of properly trained dealers. In New Mexico there are only a couple of dealers that handle Crossroads and they only handle a PART of the units. There is NO dealer that can service a Redwood and I also believe there is No Dealer that can handle a Rushmore. There are the two dealers that handle the lower end travel trailers. With Heartland you will find that their dealers cover most of the Heartland products but best they will let you use a third party service (with approval) if they do not have anyone local.

Thanks fredwrichardson, that is very good information. The Heartland Forums are by far the best I have seen so far. Appreciate the advice!

 

[TxPatriot]

Number 1 for us was floorplan/space. If you're not 100% happy with it, walk away. Trust me it won't grow on you. Once you have that then look at the manufacturers. HL is not defect free, but they have a good CS department and this forum provides answers even the best CS rep can't.

Thanks for the reply JanAndBill. We have really been looking at the floor plans to see what will work for us.

 

[TxPatriot]

Between the Heartland Forum and the Escapees Forum you have a wealth of "earned" information. Floorplan is very important. If you are buying new, look at the floor plan and walk through it in your mind. Several scenarios, setup, take down, lunch(can you access the refrig and bath?), watching tv, making a meal. How will it be on a rainy day or several rainy days. .

I can't tell you which brand is better. I have been very happy with my BH, never had to go back to the dealer. My belief is that is the "norm". Things fall apart, you are really abusing the trailer as you go down the road so things rattle loose(especially water connections). We all manage to overcome these things to enjoy the good life.

Thanks for the reply Wharton. You are correct.

 

[Geodude]

We're transitioning from a bunkhouse 5er to a couple's 5er and spent the last year going inside every brand imaginable, looking at every floor plan available. At the end of the day we came to the conclusion that Heartland quality is really up there. Is it perfect? Not at all. Our Greystone has been super, but you need to be handy to keep these critters working properly. We did have one major issue but it was handled so well by Heartland that we remain impressed with the support they gave us and are now awaiting delivery of our new Bighorn.

 

[TxPatriot]

We're transitioning from a bunkhouse 5er to a couple's 5er and spent the last year going inside every brand imaginable, looking at every floor plan available. At the end of the day we came to the conclusion that Heartland quality is really up there. Is it perfect? Not at all. Our Greystone has been super, but you need to be handy to keep these critters working properly. We did have one major issue but it was handled so well by Heartland that we remain impressed with the support they gave us and are now awaiting delivery of our new Bighorn.

Great news! Glad to hear that!

 

[Wharton]

On item with Heartland that I like is that you don't need to go back to your dealer for anything. If you have a problem, call Heartland and they will approve an independent repair person. Makes life so much simpler.

 

[Westwind]

Especially if your on the road, living in it and every dealer around or nearby has trailers waiting to be repaired and no time to work on yours.