The wife and I are thinking about dumping our Cyclone 3950 for an XLR Thunderbolt. The floorplan of the unit we have now has started to show some inconveniences, essentially around the entrance. It seems anytime I desire to enter the unit the area is always packed bull of my kids and dogs. Gridlock at the door. Drives me effin nuts. Anyway...We looked at what Heartland has to offer and couldn't find something that pleased the wife completely so started looking elsewhere and the XLR 415 seems to fit the bill. Our absolute favorite is the 380 model, but it has a single door fridge and queen bed. If we could have that floorplan, with enough length added to accommodate those two additions, we'd be on it like white on rice.Anyone have any experience with their newer units, such as slide systems, electrical/hydraulic components, etc? Without pulling down basement walls and what-not build quality seemed to be on a par, maybe a tad above industry norms, so I'm curious what problems folks may have had with systems in general.To me leakage is a huge concern. A burned out failed do-dad might be irritating to replace, but leaks can be one of the most frustrating and damaging issues to rectify.

tgreening wrote:The wife and I are thinking about dumping our Cyclone 3950 for an XLR Thunderbolt. The floorplan of the unit we have now has started to show some inconveniences, essentially around the entrance. It seems anytime I desire to enter the unit the area is always packed bull of my kids and dogs. Gridlock at the door. Drives me effin nuts. That is a lot of money to spend because you cannot just chill out over the congestion at the door.

Especially when there's two doors...just sayin'...Cyclone construction is one of the best if you dig into the details or visit the plant, but do-dads fail on all of them. In the end, they're all put together with glue and staples.

gpshemi wrote:Especially when there's two doors...just sayin'...Cyclone construction is one of the best if you dig into the details or visit the plant, but do-dads fail on all of them. In the end, they're all put together with glue and staples.I am glad to hear about Cyclone's construction, one of the units on our final list.Wish there was one in SoCal to go look at, but the West Coast sales Mgr says not until around Sept.

Here I am again.The initial quality of my Cyclone has been the sorriest camper I've ever had. Brakes, water pumps, ACs, landing gear motor, wallpaper, door jambs, and trimwork. Not to mention incorrectly assembled plumbing which wreaked havoc involving the black tank. Don't forget the famous Tow Max tires tearing the side of my camper up. This all happened between month 2 and month 18 of ownership. Customer service from Heartland was poor to say the least.Irony of this thread? We had a Sabre and a Puma before this. They were fantastic Forest River products. I'd go with an XLR in a heartbeat if I could afford it.

Well I'm sounding like a salesman for sure anymore, but Lawnspecialties seems to be the exception for sure, and has had his fair share of issues for whatever reasons, but let's look at his list of complaints for a second.Brakes - Dexter or Lippert issue. Same used in all rigs.Water Pumps - (mine too failed) is a Shur-Flo. Same used in all rigs.AC - Dometic. Same used in all rigs.Landing Gear - Lippert most likely. Same used in many rigs.Tow Max tires - Lot one of mine in the first 600 miles. They suck, but so does every ST tire on every unit out there unless you upgrade them right from the start...and Heartland will do that. They're no better or worse.I can't speak to a black tank issue. I'm not sure how you could screw that up. It's just a tank...Wall paper, door jam, and trim work - I'm stunned that a dealer isn't capable of fixing at PDI, and I refuse to believe that Heartland refused to fix themselve if it came to that to make him happy. Heartland seems to go out of their way to make customers happy. They have the largest RV owners group in the world, and they have several number one and top 5 brands (full time rigs & toyhaulers). They're growing like a weed.Regardless, I was actually refering to the details of the construction, not misc common items. The frames are built and designed better, the wood flooring materials are better and thicker, the slides use tried and true hydraulic or cables versus some that use the newer troubled rack and pinion setup, ect ect...the list goes on and on, but again if you visit the plant you'll see the superior construction materials. For grins sign up on the Heartland forum and see what they're all about. Not that I think you can't find another brand that'll make a good unit for you. I'm sure they're out there, I just don't follow them ALL.

Dump Cyclone for XLR? Experienced commenters please.

24 Replies

IOWASTROKER
Explorer
Aug 26, 2013
Never sure how to reply to these kind of posts...BUT..have had 3 TH past 5 years, RVs the past 40 years..and learned : regardless of how much $$$ you spend, the basic components are the same. I carry an extra water pump, got rid of the tires the first week, furnace and frig "board", thermostat, Happijac limit switches. You name it, you better own an extra:))) Nothing like trying to put the garage beds "up" to load toys AND the darn things won't go cuz of a switch. As for leaks, Cyclone's system is probably the best in the last two years. Should always go to the plant to really "study" the construction ...IF...you can afford the time. Currently own 2012 3950, modified a lot..but retired and love doing that kind of thing.
tgreening
Explorer
Aug 21, 2013
porknbeanr wrote:
Drives me effin nuts.

Uhmm....huh?
porknbeanr
Explorer
Aug 20, 2013
Drives me effin nuts.
Leroy2u
Explorer
Aug 10, 2013
tgreening wrote:
Leroy2u wrote:
Forgot to mention that the 2 big slides are hydraulic and the small forward bedroom slide is electric. I don't mind the small being electric but the others had to be hydraulic, glad I did it that way.

Do you remember what type of electric it is? Is it that rack and pinion thing, cable, or screw type?

Its the rack and pinion.
tgreening
Explorer
Aug 09, 2013
Leroy2u wrote:
Forgot to mention that the 2 big slides are hydraulic and the small forward bedroom slide is electric. I don't mind the small being electric but the others had to be hydraulic, glad I did it that way.

Do you remember what type of electric it is? Is it that rack and pinion thing, cable, or screw type?
Leroy2u
Explorer
Aug 09, 2013
Forgot to mention that the 2 big slides are hydraulic and the small forward bedroom slide is electric. I don't mind the small being electric but the others had to be hydraulic, glad I did it that way.
Rotzilla
Explorer
Aug 06, 2013
We have had our 2013 XLR27hfs out on 3 trips this summer, other than a fresh water tank siphoning problem and the toilet seat falling off due to rough roads, we have not had a single issue. This is my first real camper and I would do it again. Happy so far.
tgreening
Explorer
Aug 04, 2013
Leroy2u wrote:
tgreening wrote:
Well so far this has been a complete waste of topic space. I asked for experienced opinions on the XLR line and so far have been basically told to quit my cryin and live with what I've got and gotten lectured on the virture and quality of the unit I have now. For the record, my original post made no comments, good or bad, about the quality of the Heartland. I no longer like the floor plan, plain and simple, and more importantly neither does my wife.

I didn't realize I was going to have to defend and justify our decision to move on to something else.

Now if we could PLEASE get back to the question, and leave out the brand loyalty nonsense, along with the opinions that have no bearing on said question, I would sincerely appreciate it.

I can only offer my thoughts on my XLR having owned it for 9 months I have spent about 30 nights in it at this point. My wife and I chose our unit based on the layout that we thought was the best for us. I have had 2 issues up to date, 1 being a furnace switch and the other a brake. I don't consider either one manufacturer defects just product flaws. I will tell you the arctic package is for real, I spent 6 days in the trailer in temps from 14f to a high of 34f. We were VERY warm with the exception of the garage and I just threw a small space in there and it was perfect (42' is just too much trailer to heat IMO).

All said its been a good trailer for us and I would buy it again, I think buy the trailer that has the best layout for your needs.

Good luck.

Mark

Now there is the type of useful info I'm looking for. Thanks.
IOWASTROKER
Explorer
Aug 04, 2013
Often times, it all boils down to the $$$$$$, the wife, personal preferences...but we couldn't find a better unit for the $$$ than our new 3950 Cyclone. Yes..the XLR is nice...but WTH (heck)..it should for the difference in price:)))) All of the components in the entire industry are often poor quality and IF you can't fix them yourselves, hang onto your wallet.
gpshemi
Explorer
Aug 03, 2013
I reaearched the xlr's a little last night. They sound like a good unit that people have had few iasues with. I'd suggest you check them out To see how they compare.