Stuck between the brand I want and the trailer I want...

We have a Heartland Trail Runner 27RKS. We bought it in November of 2013 and we are happy with it overall. Of course after you buy a TT there is always something you wish it had that you didn't think about when you bought it. Over this past year, we had four problems, all covered under the warranty. The Hot Water ignition needed adjusting-5 minute fix, when the trailer was sold to us the dealer forgot to take out the tape and cardboard packaging on the air conditioning ducts which caused a cooling problem-1 hour fix, the slide out rubber gasket on the sides, ripped due to the screws on the slide out trim wearing and tearing them-2 hour fix, and the slide out makes quite the screeching noise when opened and closed-1 hour, Lubed but Not fixed, continues to screech and told it was normal by the dealer because the paint on the rails has worn off. Anyway, we aren't really sold on Heartland products and if we ever sell our current TT for a new one, we will look at all the brands but without a previous TT to compare our Heartland to, we are fairly happy.

Bumpyroad wrote:
which one has a rubber roof? get the other one.
bumpy

What types of roofs are there? Thought they were all rubber?

8iron wrote:
Read the fine print on the the 2 year warranty...it doesn't cover anything that Jayco didn't build. Fridge, micro, oven, furnace, jacks or any other component supplied by a 3rd party manufacturer. They all carry their own warranty and most are only 1 year. I wouldn't let that keep me from buying the floor plan I really preferred.

Good point...hadn't considered that.

By no means am I a spoil sport...but we had a Big Horn (Heartland) bought new. Fifth WHEEL, beautiful everything, but every weekend...another problem...Heartland Co. And the dealer were horrible to us..no help...we had even purchased an extended warranty...we finally took a loss on it(and we are not independently wealthy) ...fixed everything out of pocket and traded it in....we bought new Jayco this summer..left on a 4000 mile trip...not ane problem at all...much better experience. ( yes we did tell trade in dealer Why we were unloading it...no good memories in the year we had the Heartland)...this was just our experience...happy camping:)

Read the fine print on the the 2 year warranty...it doesn't cover anything that Jayco didn't build. Fridge, micro, oven, furnace, jacks or any other component supplied by a 3rd party manufacturer. They all carry their own warranty and most are only 1 year. I wouldn't let that keep me from buying the floor plan I really preferred.

which one has a rubber roof? get the other one.
bumpy

I would get the floor plan you like. The quality of the two is about the same. I suggest you go to the Heartland Owners forum and read about Heartlands.

The 2 year warranty is definitely a good thing to have. I had a Jayco prior to this and never needed the warranty as nothing ever broke. On this trailer, it took months to fix this or that during the first year - the most major item being the oven - so I'd want a second year, since I lost some camping time (during which other problems could manifest themselves) while the trailer was in the shop "because they were busy" or because the manufacturer was sluggish in responding to their requests for warranty approval. In other words, the 1 year could run out while the trailer is being fixed for one thing, so that by the time you resume camping and something else breaks, you could be out of warranty.

I got the FR 2nd year for $150 automatically and did not regret it. As for the brand of trailer being the deciding factor - Jayco is a good brand but fit and finish was no better than the FR I have now. Since most of the "problems" will come with the appliances and other components not made by the trailer manufacturer, then they are pretty much equal. Since QA is abysmal in this industry, warranty is important. It is not an issue of fixing the small things yourself - that is a given. Its the big things that cost big bucks that you would need the warranty for.

My advice - get the floorplan that you like, while focusing on the brands that offer a 2 year warranty.

On a separate issue, the rear living room is great to have on cold and/or rainy days. You have a big picture window and, if you have a site with a great rear view, the window is worth it. We have had a rear bath and a rear living; we really preferred the rear living if just for that window.

I will note, if only from experience, that the tv position in all the lay outs you mention is awkward. But, if you don't camp often in the rain, it shouldn't be much of a problem.

We have no experience with Heartland but we did have a Jayco and would recommend their tts to anyone.

cpap wrote:
Shopping for a new TT...currently own Jayco 264BH Swift. It has come down to a Jayco Whitehawk 27 rear living or rear bath. Or, a Heartland Wilderness 2775RB. My dilemma is I like the Wilderness' floorplan but have more faith in the Jayco brand because I have one and have had not problems worth mentioning and like the 2 year warranty...what to do?

Heartland owners...input? What has been your experience with their products?

Anyone else faced this problem? What did you do?

While the two year vs. the much more normal 1 year warranty might sound good, IMO isn't really that big of a plus in the grand scheme of owing an RV. The std 1 year should cover the vast majority of potential major and more expensive issues and even with a 2 year you will be faced with doing repairs, etc. on your own nickel very shortly and for a long time after that. All TT need a lot of attention and I don't even mess with ANY WARRANTY claims unless it's something really major. Loose screws, reattaching, strengthing, etc. is something I just do my self from the git-go.

Larry