Cyclone 4200 vs Jayco Seismic 4212

[norton0428]

I am a soon to be full timer. We have been evaluating the super C's (Seneca specifically) and I thought we were done. Then we started to evaluate the 5th wheel toy haulers. We are taking our 11 year old with us and I like the idea of having a more "home" feel plus a private room/bath for my daughter. We REALLY like the 4200. Then in research I found the Jayco copy of it. Not sure who was first, but the two layouts are almost identical. I am seeing frameless dual pane windows, larger tank sizes, etc, with the Jayco version, but I am also seeing about a 10k price difference. So, wanted to ask this forum if they have a list of reasons I should like the 4200 more. I don't know much about Heartland as a company, and am looking for all of the reasons (either feature functionality, or company) that I should save the 10k and go with the 4200.

I probably opened a can of worms, but any feedback is appreciated.

 

[jimtoo]

Hi norton0428,

Welcome to the Heartland Owners Forum and hopefully to the family. We have a great bunch of folks here with lots of information and all willing to share their knowledge when needed.

I'm sure you will get lots of info from our other members soon.

Enjoy the forum.

Jim M

 

[danemayer]

Hi norton0428,

You can get Dual Pane Windows as an option on the Cyclone. MSRP is $1949. So I guess the other $8,000 to Jayco would be for the larger fresh tank. Maybe you could put a 50 Gallon auxiliary water tank in your truck for $100.

 

[jbeletti]

norton - regarding both companies, Jayco and Heartland (a Thor brand) - both great companies and neither are going anywhere anytime soon. So - saftey there for buyers as both are in it for the long haul.

I am unfamiliar with the Jayco product so I can't speak to the $10k difference, but it sounds like 10k reasons to give Heartland a real hard look. Our sales team is real busy this week with Open House in Elkhart, but I invite you to call next week (574-262-5992) and ask for Toyhauler sales. The team can help you better understand the CY product.

Thanks for thinking about Heartland!

 

[avvidclif]

Unless you are full timing in the boonies I don't see where a larger water tank is needed. Cyclone has 110 gal.

 

[norton0428]

Thank you, I may just do that. Thanks for reaching out. I will ping you when we get deeper into this.

norton - regarding both companies, Jayco and Heartland (a Thor brand) - both great companies and neither are going anywhere anytime soon. So - saftey there for buyers as both are in it for the long haul.

I am unfamiliar with the Jayco product so I can't speak to the $10k difference, but it sounds like 10k reasons to give Heartland a real hard look. Our sales team is real busy this week with Open House in Elkhart, but I invite you to call next week (574-262-5992) and ask for Toyhauler sales. The team can help you better understand the CY product.

Thanks for thinking about Heartland!

- - - Updated - - -

Unless you are full timing in the boonies I don't see where a larger water tank is needed. Cyclone has 110 gal.

Thank you for that. Here is the problem. This will be the first RV/Trailer that I have owned. We have rented/borrowed, but never owned. I guess I am just not sure 100% what we need. 110 Gal is way bigger than we were going to get with the Seneca, but smaller than the 4212. I am just more wondering if anyone has any selling points either on the trailer itself that I am not thinking of, or on Heartland as a whole. I only know the 15-30 min walk through that we did and the research I have done on the web. I am making a huge jump and this is a lot of pressure on me to get it right. 110 gal might be fine, but then again, maybe not. I am very new at this, so just looking for the reasons for why Heartland. Also, assuming you have one, how do you like the water heater? I was mulling a on demand water heater, but not sure if the stock one is good enough or not. says 10 gal water heater on the trailer, but then says 20 gal or 20 gal/hr online. Is it good for a full shower for a wife who likes hot water?

 

[jam20ster]

I can tell you from experience that the water heater that comes in the 4200 is plenty. We have let the kids take a warm bath and then still have plenty hot water for a shower and do the dishes. Never been an issue for us. Also I looked at the 4212 Jayco and almost bought one about 6 months before I bought my 4200. Only reason I didn't was I couldn't make myself at the time spend the amount of money these TH's cost.

6 months later after paying a couple more things off I was in a better situation to buy. I called the Jayco salesman and their price was more than what we had agreed upon 6 months earlier. Then I found a killer deal on a 4200 and bought it. Other than the windows I didn't notice any difference. So for me it came down to best deal.

Just FYI Heartland had the floor plan out first.

 

[danemayer]

I was mulling a on demand water heater, but not sure if the stock one is good enough or not. says 10 gal water heater on the trailer, but then says 20 gal or 20 gal/hr online. Is it good for a full shower for a wife who likes hot water?

Norton,

The 20 gal/hr is marketing's way of describing a water heater with fast recovery. I think that's an Atwood attribute based on the way the heating coils are laid out inside the tank. It doesn't hold 20 gallons of water. On a standard 12 gallon Suburban or Atwood water heater, you can also turn on both electric and propane operation together to get fast recovery.

You need to consider how you really plan to use the trailer. If you are going out into remote areas where you won't have power or water or sewer hookup, you have to manage the water very carefully if staying for more than a day or two. When we run off the fresh tank (100 gallons on our RV), we usually fill the bathroom gray tank before running the fresh tank dry. Once full, you can't do any more until you find a dump station. It takes thoughtful use of water, and short showers to manage when boon docking. If you or your wife wants a "full shower" that's probably not realistic for any RV unless you're hooked up to campground water and sewer.

On the other hand, if you stay at campgrounds, or state/county parks with full hookups, tank capacities are not an issue because you have all the water you need along with a sewer connection.

If you're boon docking, whether using a conventional water heater or a tankless model, you'll also have to manage your propane very carefully, especially in cooler weather when you turn on the furnace.

 

[jbeletti]

Thank you, I may just do that. Thanks for reaching out. I will ping you when we get deeper into this.

Great - if you email (link) me your name/number, I can also have a Cyclone rep phone you to chat about the 4200 vs the 4212.

 

[TravelTiger]

I don't own a toyhauler, but I'll tell you that every time I go into a Jayco product at the RV show, they just don't seem as well made as Heartland products. The materials used in construction seem to be of lesser quality. JMHO.


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[jmgratz]

We don't have a Toyhauler but did look at the 4200 prior to buying our second Landmark. Again the size of the fresh water tank is not an issue if you use the 'city' water connections. The only time the size of fresh water tank is an issue is when you boondock (camp without hookups). Also keep in mind the same thing applies to the size of the holding tanks. I can speak from first hand experience that the real thing that differentiates the two are the customer service and Heartland stands far and above the rest of the manufacturers.

 

[kowAlski631]

In all the brands and floor plans we looked at over a 2 year period before our decision, we did what we called the walk test. That meant to us an evaluation of how much shaking/bounce/floor movement we felt in normal walking. We had a couple of our grandchildren accompany us for the active child testing during the process also. To us, that equated to a better frame (not scientific, but worked for us). We also toured the factories of our first and second contenders. Came down to Heartland products for us.

We ordered ours in order to get exactly what we wanted, and despite a few (very few since we did a thorough PDI) items needing addressing under warranty, we still love our Big Horn and would make the same choice again without hesitation. Customer service is stellar and this forum with its help from actual owners cannot be duplicated.

 

[norton0428]

I can tell you from experience that the water heater that comes in the 4200 is plenty. We have let the kids take a warm bath and then still have plenty hot water for a shower and do the dishes. Never been an issue for us. Also I looked at the 4212 Jayco and almost bought one about 6 months before I bought my 4200. Only reason I didn't was I couldn't make myself at the time spend the amount of money these TH's cost.

6 months later after paying a couple more things off I was in a better situation to buy. I called the Jayco salesman and their price was more than what we had agreed upon 6 months earlier. Then I found a killer deal on a 4200 and bought it. Other than the windows I didn't notice any difference. So for me it came down to best deal.

Just FYI Heartland had the floor plan out first.

Thank you, that is great feedback. When investing this much in our first RV, I am stressed over getting it right, and I feel I am getting analysis paralysis. Thanks for the response.

 

[Bob&Patty]

Norton, to add to what has already been said. HL has great customer service. BTW, just make sure you have enough truck to pull a 4200. Cannot be anything less than 1tn DRW.

 

[norton0428]

Norton, to add to what has already been said. HL has great customer service. BTW, just make sure you have enough truck to pull a 4200. Cannot be anything less than 1tn DRW.

Thank you. Yes, we are already looking at a Dodge 3500 DRW or the Ford F350/450 DRW. I am glad to hear about customer service, it seems to be an issue of either great or horrible service when you look on line at various reviews etc. I try to take the scholastic approach of throwing out the best and worst reviews and going with the middle, but I have to tell you, Heartland and Thor both get very mixed reviews. It's actually an issue that is weighing on me because we will be full time and not have easy access to our home dealer if you will. I need to know that if I have issues, they will get handled in a timely and accurate manner. When spending that much per sq foot, I just want to be sure we are getting what we pay for. Thanks for the reply.

 

[szewczyk_john]

I have been in my Road Warrior for a few years now and I was a Jayco dam before that. I can tell you that Jayco is a great company and they made great units. But when we thought about upgrading, it was obvious to us that Jayco base unit material just couldn't hold up to what Heartland was using in its base line. So we would have had to upgrade the Jayco which would have added to the costs and the Road Warrior just had more bang for the buck. We are very happy with our decision to switch manufacturers which is a big deal for me.

 

[norton0428]

I have been in my Road Warrior for a few years now and I was a Jayco dam before that. I can tell you that Jayco is a great company and they made great units. But when we thought about upgrading, it was obvious to us that Jayco base unit material just couldn't hold up to what Heartland was using in its base line. So we would have had to upgrade the Jayco which would have added to the costs and the Road Warrior just had more bang for the buck. We are very happy with our decision to switch manufacturers which is a big deal for me.

That is good feedback, thank you. I have been struggling with this decision, but this kind of reassurance helps. Now I just have to figure out how to get the warranty honored if I am on the road full time and not near my dealer.

 

[avvidclif]

That's dirt simple. Numerous threads on here where people traveling had a problem, called the factory and were referred to a close dealer for repairs. Or located a mobile tech and had the factory approve repairs by him. May not pay the trip charge to your site, don't know. Also Heartland has been known to ship warranty parts to the owner for self repair. I haven't had to use the warranty service (that in itself says something) but from reading on here Heartland is very easy to deal with.

 

[Bob&Patty]

To add to what Clif said. You can call HL service and they will find someone near you to do the repair. Many times its an non-sales independent repair shop. Need apart...call HL. always make sure you have your VIN# handy.

 

[Crumgater]

When we were looking to buy, 5 years ago this month, we also were scratching our heads trying to choose between different brands.
And add to that the Heartland dealer in our area gets poor marks for their service department. (we had good service from them for the small issues we had them fix)

But, we chose Heartland due to THIS FORUM! Just look at all the replies above with helpful information for if (when) you have issues and need help. The knowledge base here on the forum is AMAZING, and always here to help. There are also Heartland reps that troll here on the forum... it's happened more than once that someone posted a problem here, and the factory called THEM first (not all the time... but enough that it's been noted).

We love our Elkridge... now entering it's 6th football tailgate season - which is not "easy" service, if you know what I mean.