What makes it a "classic" landmark?

[happyappy]

Just spent the first weekend in our new to us 2005 Landmark Grand Canyon. It was great! We're really excited about the fun times to come.
Silly question... But what makes it a " classic" Landmark? Is there something substantially different about heartland products of this era?

Thanks for any information. I want to know everything about our new "mobile condo"


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[Ray LeTourneau]

I'm sure you'll hear from other owners of the "Classics" but it's the early years of the Heartland Landmark. They had a few features such as the manifolded fresh water system that owners loved that aren't being used any more.

 

[jmgratz]

I'm sure you'll hear from other owners of the "Classics" but it's the early years of the Heartland Landmark. They had a few features such as the manifolded fresh water system that owners loved that aren't being used any more.

The 'Classic' Landmarks are the early versions such as our Golden Gate. The Classic Landmarks are those models that are no longer in production. Many of us who own those 'Classics' have experienced multiple issues with the coaches which have stemmed from the 'new company syndrome' ... meaning problems that occurred because they were built when the company was new and things were assembled which caused later issues. But on the other hand the 'classics' have some great things you do not get in the new models such as a dedicated UDC in it own compartment so you don't have to open a baggage compartment door to access it, and separate hot and cold water manifolds with the ability to turn off individual water lines, or an automatic awning with a wind sensor, and a sprayer on the toilet. We also have a single button to control the slides rather than several slide controls. How about the beautiful engraved "H" on the round shower door. These are the things that make them 'Classics'.

 

[trdeal]

Hi there happyappy. I see from your profile that we live about an hour from you in the NC foothills, near Hickory and Statesville. We own a 2005 "Classic" Landmark Mt. Rushmore (number 134) which we purchased in November of 2004. We have had a few minor problems but Heartland and our dealer worked together to get them fixed. We have looked,just looked, at the newer model Landmarks but if we traded, we would be giving up to many features that we love in our "Classic" Landmark that Heartland no longer includes in the newer models. We have installed an electric fireplace in ours and added a few other things just to make it ours. Anyway if you have questions about your Landmark maybe I can help. Just send me a private message and I will send you my phone number. Also Lance Duguay,the NC Heartland Owners Club Chapter Leader lives in the Charlotte area. I am sure he could help you as well. You really should consider joining the Heartland Owners Club. Lots of great benefits. Have a great day.

 

[davebennington]

I would like to add my 2 cents along with the others about a "classic" Landmark. We have a Golden Gate that has served us very well it has several features that the newer units do not have, it has been a great unit and at the present time it has about 65000 miles on it and still going strong.

dave

 

[jmgratz]

I forgot to add that our "Classic" Golden Gate Landmark came with Mor-Ryde RE suspension. We replaced the RE with the IS (independent suspension) by Mor-Ryde. Oh, and we also have real granite counter tops in the kitchen and bathroom. That is nice but really adds to the overall weight.

 

[arisce]

We have a Big Horn "classic". They are the first Heartland built in 2004 and 2005. We bought ours because of the king bed with a bedside table and you can make the bed on both sides with lots of room. Also we have a walk-in closet. I have never seen these items on any other SOB at the time. Would only trade ours if we could find the same size bedroom.

 

[happyappy]

Great information from everyone. The more time I spend in our classic the more I love it. I can see where you could go full time in it.

I've seen pictures of the fireplace... Definitely on my mod list. I'll look you up when I get closer to doing the project.

Thanks again for all the replies!

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[htneighbors]

Actually, I believe the origin of the term, 'Classic Landmark' began when some of the old Landmark owners were sitting around secretly wishing they had purchased a Cyclone instead. Once they shared their disappointment with another, they soon realized they were all in the same boat, so to speak. In an effort to comfort themselves, they decided to call their Landmarks 'Classic'!

Now the cat is out of the bag!


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[hoefler]

Actually, I believe the origin of the term, 'Classic Landmark' began when some of the old Landmark owners were sitting around secretly wishing they had purchased a Cyclone instead. Once they shared their disappointment with another, they soon realized they were all in the same boat, so to speak. In an effort to comfort themselves, they decided to call their Landmarks 'Classic'!

Now the cat is out of the bag!


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Now that is some funny sh**!!

 

[jmgratz]

Actually, I believe the origin of the term, 'Classic Landmark' began when some of the old Landmark owners were sitting around secretly wishing they had purchased a Cyclone instead. Once they shared their disappointment with another, they soon realized they were all in the same boat, so to speak. In an effort to comfort themselves, they decided to call their Landmarks 'Classic'!

Now the cat is out of the bag!


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I think the Cyclone owners were sitting around the campfire smoking something when they came up with that idea.

 

[davebennington]

Jim,

I agree with you. The "classic" Landmark were better built,IMHO. The only thing I would like to have is better insulation...ie foam instead of the bats.

dave

 

[trdeal]

I think the Cyclone owners were sitting around the campfire smoking something when they came up with that idea.

I am with you on that one Jim!

 

[jmgratz]

One other thing in the 'Classic' Landmark days. There was a definite hierarchy in brand. The Sundance was the entry level, Then you had the Big Country, Then the Big Horn, and finally the Landmark was at the top. At each level you had more standard equipment. The Sundance was really almost 'bare bones', and so on. Nowadays they are all so close there is hardly any difference. The Big Horn and Landmark are almost the same so why would you want to pay more for the Landmark? IMHO In the 'old days' the Landmark had the bigger, heavier frame.

 

[happyappy]

I hear the built-in sprayer with the toilet is unique to the "classics". When I first saw it, I asked the salesman if it was a redneck bidet.

Now that I've been in the coach for awhile...I see it's value for cleaning things a bit less personal.

 

[jbeletti]

Good morning everyone. Have we all had our coffee yet? Nice and calm? Having mine now

Seriously - this thread has been fun. It went a bit sideways in jest only and the mods have it back on track.

I am 99% sure I coined the phrase "Classic Landmark". I did this at the point when Landmark nearly went extinct. Most of us remember the downturn in the RV industry during the recession. We began feeling it in early 2008. The market for higher cost RVs really took a hit. In fact, we got to that point even prior to 2008 on Landmark. We got down to making something like maybe 100 a year. Really low! And the question Heartland asked itself and it's dealers was "is Landmark done?".

The dealer community told us there was still a need for a Landmark out there but the retail price had to come down. In order to do this, Heartland had to remove content and make other changes. The result was the "New Landmark" platform. My recollection is that it would be built on a Bighorn frame where previously, Landmark had it's own frame style.

Some content was removed, some was changed and at the end of the day, the cost came down about $10,000 at retail. This reinvigorated Landmark sales and saved Landmark from extinction. In a way to differentiate the original Landmark designs from the new, I began referring to the originals as Classics. Even Heartland asked me what a Classic meant. I think it rather grew on everyone and here we are today.

As the longtime forum members here know, my first Landmark was a 2005 Mount Rushmore. LOVED that coach. Serial number 378. Any of you own it now? I sold it in 2008 after using it for 3 seasons, to a couple from Florida. I heard later that they traded it for a motorhome.

The Classics did have a lot of content on them and many innovations/firsts for towables. Much of that is still seen in our products today and has been copied by other manufacturers.

Happy to see the owners of the Classic Landmarks here on this thread and equally happy to see owners of our other products, who are equally happy with theirs, to be here commenting as well.

Happy camping everyone!

Jim B
Resident historian I guess...

 

[arisce]

Good morning everyone. Have we all had our coffee yet? Nice and calm? Having mine now

Perhaps another coffee before you read the following.

I am 99% sure I coined the phrase "Classic Landmark".

I am glad that you put 99%. The real reason that the "Landmark" and the "Bighorn" are called "classic" is because my wife coined the phrase at the 2007 rally in Goshen. That was the second year of the rally. People who were at the first rally that kept their unit and did not trade them in Karen then christened these units "classics". Every time there was a rally in Goshen Karen would seek out the units that were at the first rally just to see how many classics were left. At the last rally in 2011 there was only 5 classics left. We will be in Goshen in 2013 with our classic. Perhaps the only classic left from the original rally.
Happy camping everyone.

 

[jbeletti]

I am glad that you put 99%. The real reason that the "Landmark" and the "Bighorn" are called "classic" is because my wife coined the phrase at the 2007 rally in Goshen. That was the second year of the rally. People who were at the first rally that kept their unit and did not trade them in Karen then christened these units "classics". Every time there was a rally in Goshen Karen would seek out the units that were at the first rally just to see how many classics were left. At the last rally in 2011 there was only 5 classics left. We will be in Goshen in 2013 with our classic. Perhaps the only classic left from the original rally.
Happy camping everyone.

Hi Bill - Great to hear from you friend!

Did Karen really coin the phrase? I'm okay with that. We were all really tight back then as the group was so small. Looking forward to seeing you and Karen and the kitty cat in Goshen this coming June. Trust me though - you won't be the only Classic there - not by a long stretch. It will all be a hoot.

Hey, let Karen know that as the "Classic" phrase owner, she now has to answer all the questions in this thread as they come up

Jim

 

[ihsolutions]

Interesting to get some of the history on the various product lines and reasons for why things changed.

I used to own Sunline products, three different models actually. They were fantastic. They were never feature-rich or leading-edge, but super well made and great attention to detail. PDI was a formality. Anyway, sadly they went out of business right before the downturn started, as did several other quality RV manufacturers. The market no longer rewards manufacturers with more sales for higher build quality. Anyway...

I've been thinking a lot recently about Heartland's three high-end brands, as we have been considering a new coach; specifically, Landmark, Big Horn, and Big Country.

They are also so similar from a construction standpoint, but slightly different on feature content. Then there are the various floorplans for each. So, I struggle to decide what to do. For instance, maybe I like a particular Big Horn floorplan the best, but like the Big Country color scheme, and the Landmark's larger fresh water tank (we dry camp a lot). While the factory is accommodating of many changes, sometimes you can't have it all, particularly where Big Country is concerned.

Big Country and Big Horn have very much a Chevy/GMC relationship if you ask me, with the Big Horn being the "Denali" trim level of the same truck. LED lights, slightly better cabinet construction, etc. When BC finally got Hydraulic landing gear is when I finally started to give it serious consideration.

My point is the lines are becoming more blurred and, while I understand the reason, it can be kind of frustrating to see features in each that you'd like... in other words, it would be cool to combine the best of all three. Call it a LandHorn Country or something!

Just dreaming..

 

[SouthernNights]

I agree with you Jeff.

I think the lines between the three move back and forth. When we bought our BC in early 09, there was a definite difference between it and the BH. Not really sure about the difference between the BH and LM back then. We never even considered a LM. We were only interested in a weekend trailer.

Seems over time, BC caught up with BH. I remember about a year ago or maybe a little more, some people were saying there was not much difference between the BH and LM.

I think maybe, after our trip to the factory this past OCT, the lines seem even more unclear at a fast glance. One thing did stand out though, BC is still using the old style camping lights for the interior. Until they get rid of them, there will always be a definite line, IMHO.

Funny you want to call a trailer a Landhorn Country. Sam and I used to joke about making a Big LandHorn.

I do get to go in two different LM classics from time to time. I will tell you they have some really neat features. I really like the sliding basement walls and water manifolds.
The interior slide fascia is also top notch. But I guess we will keep ours for a while. Maybe in 8 years I can call ours a classic too.