Heartland rigs

Well here's a real owners experience for you...

As some of you may know, we seriously looked at several different manufacturers when we were looking to upgrade from the Bighorn...we finally narrowed it down to the Landmark and a Mobile Suite. Obviously we choose the Landmark, but sometimes, as we all do, we spent the last year occasionally second guessing that decision. Should we spend the extra money or not?? Well today, we had that decision validated!!

We are in a small campground in Rock Island, TN, and the only other people here are a working couple with a year old Mobile Suite. Last night the temps dropped below zero (-6 degrees to be exact)...we had no issues. Woke up this morning and everything was fine and working. This afternoon we got a knock on the door and discovered that our neighbor's husband is away for several days and that she had been without water since early morning...we were, to say the least, shocked. Even the pump would not come on and draw water from the on board tank, which did have water.

DH and I investigated and discovered, that even though their furnace was running and cycling as it should, the much touted water manifold that DRV puts in their units had...wait for it...frozen SOLID!! Even with their 0 degree guarantee and supposed superior insulation...yep...frozen. It is in the bay behind the wall and the UDC, and you could even see some insulation underneath in the belly.

Needless to say we were stunned...we got a heater, thawed it out and took some insulation and wrapped the manifold...they should be OK tonight....hopefully.

So VERY happy we chose the Landmark...

I recently bought a new 2013 bighorn. It has had a leaky hydraulic line that has been to the dealer a couple times. Been a pain in the behind. The bigger complaint is just how the dealer takes their sweet time to address the issue...this same dealer carries other brands too. So in a way, it is more the dealer just taking to long to fix during the precious summer camping months. Hopefully fixed now. Other than that, it has been pretty good rig.
Personally, I think quality, in general is getting worse and worse in this country every year. Not sure why, but JMHO. So IMO, expect similar quality concerns on any 5th brand you buy (except maybe the ultra high priced ones?). I did a lot of research on trying to find the "best quality" mid priced 5th wheel. Kind of like looking for the Holy Grail in Monty Python movies. Not sure there is such a thing anymore. Every brand seems to have a few lemons shipped out, and if you happen to get one of those lemons, good luck.


P.S. My service manager, who is from a dealer that sells 60-100 units a month, of various brands...they told me they have a couple new units each month (from various vendors) with bad axles, units with bad frames, units with delaming fiberglass, bad suspensions, bad brakes, hydraulic issues, etc etc.

jaycocamper62301 wrote:
I knew this would turn into a "my camper is better than your camper" thing...some things never change on this site

Maybe all brands should be allowed their own thread like "Jayco talk, thanks Frank" Keep us all separated.

Looks like brand loyalty is most important to some :-)

I knew this would turn into a "my camper is better than your camper" thing...some things never change on this site

Snowbird67 wrote:
Again ty for the comments.. travelingman.. you have the rig that we have fallen in love with, ty for being honest with me on your experience of it..Please everyone we all have our own opinions, and all are worth reading. I am glad to have heard all sides from each ones knowledge.
Snowbird

We really like the floorplan. It works very well for us. I highly reccommend the residential refidgerator. You can set the temp of the fridge and freezer on the front and it stays there unlike the normal rv fridge. This package also gives you stainless for the micro/convection, range and stove if you choose to order it. The fridge comes with locks for each door to keep from opening down the road.

If you have some questions specific to the Savannah, just PM me.

justme wrote:
Well looks like the Heartland crowd is in force. I still stand behind my comments--- sorry about that. I was not bashing Heartland but it seems the owners think I was-- so beit. If you like your 5th wheel then great.
Oh I double checked my facts and guess what I was not wrong. The roof is like I said and have the Heartland drawing proving it(it is copy righted so I cant provide it on line). If any one wants it I can supply in PDF format. Also marine grade plywood is much better that particle board if one gets a plumbing leak in the basement. Not to mention a stronger roof for mounting satellite dish and so-forth. Also the frame is speced out by Redwood and is sturdier than the one Heartland uses. Here is a link to Redwood describing how it is built-- http://www.redwood-rv.com/construction Heartland does not seem to publish much on how they are built. If someone could supply a link it would be helpful.
Providing facts is not bashing-- however attacking the messenger is not mature and very defensive.

well...you were right about the 1/8th luan being used on the roof...but you kind of left out the rest of the story...The Landmark roof is a 5 inch laminated construction using high tech materials and production practices.Within this lamination are three layers of luan plywood, Whether it is better than your Redwood, I am not going to go there. But your inference of a single layer of 1/8 luan for roof construction was disingenuous at best.

The floor system is also a laminated construction that is engineered to a very high standard and load capacity.

Regards

I was looking at a Landmark, but now I have reservations..... :-)

Again ty for the comments.. travelingman.. you have the rig that we have fallen in love with, ty for being honest with me on your experience of it..Please everyone we all have our own opinions, and all are worth reading. I am glad to have heard all sides from each ones knowledge.
Snowbird

Well looks like the Heartland crowd is in force. I still stand behind my comments--- sorry about that. I was not bashing Heartland but it seems the owners think I was-- so beit. If you like your 5th wheel then great.
Oh I double checked my facts and guess what I was not wrong. The roof is like I said and have the Heartland drawing proving it(it is copy righted so I cant provide it on line). If any one wants it I can supply in PDF format. Also marine grade plywood is much better that particle board if one gets a plumbing leak in the basement. Not to mention a stronger roof for mounting satellite dish and so-forth. Also the frame is speced out by Redwood and is sturdier than the one Heartland uses. Here is a link to Redwood describing how it is built-- http://www.redwood-rv.com/construction Heartland does not seem to publish much on how they are built. If someone could supply a link it would be helpful.
Providing facts is not bashing-- however attacking the messenger is not mature and very defensive.