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

lawnspecialties
Explorer
Aug 02, 2013
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.
BobWanderer
Explorer
Aug 02, 2013
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.
gpshemi
Explorer
Aug 02, 2013
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_still_wayn
Explorer
Aug 02, 2013
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.

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Dump Cyclone for XLR? Experienced commenters please.

24 Replies

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