Extremely interested in the 4000 Elite

[Issaquahiker]

Love the floor plan (mainly the fact that the kitchen is separated from the living room, two people can sit or lay down and see the TV without neck strain, and the enclosed back deck for our two large dogs). However, I am concerned that the sheer size of it will restrict us so much in places we can stay. So for any Cyclone owners - how often do you find a camping space where you can actually utilize the back deck?

 

[jimtoo]

Hi Issaquahiker,

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

We have not heard of many complaints about parking for the Cyclones, but I'm sure some of out Cyclone owners will jump in soon.

Enjoy the forum.

Jim M

 

[For20hunter]

First off, I would like to say "Welcome to the Heartland Owners Forum" Issaquahiker and hopefully in the near future, to the Heartland Owners Club (HOC) Family as an owner. I love to see fellow Washingtonians here joining up and getting the great info this forum has to offer. There are so many great people that are a part of the HOC with a wealth of information that is/are at your fingertips here.

Heartland makes a great product that is recognized as some of the best RV's in the industry. The Cyclone is an awesome product and one of the best toy haulers built. My wife and I have owned 38-40 foot fifth wheels for the past 9 years and your concern regarding the size is warranted. The length is going to restrict you from some places in the country, however we have travelled extensively and never had issues finding places that will accommodate us. The other half of that is the luxury and amenities that these rigs bring with them is 2[SUP]nd[/SUP] to none. The saying “condo on wheels” is an apt and accurate description of the type of comfort you will experience with the 4000. There will not be any roughing it where the Cyclone is concerned.

When you do pull the trigger on that Cyclone, don't forget to join the Heartland Owners Club as an official member and join us at some of the upcoming Heartland Owners Club Rallies.

See you down the road.

Rod Ditrich

 

[porthole]

for any Cyclone owners - how often do you find a camping space where you can actually utilize the back deck?

In four years for us only twice.

 

[For20hunter]

We have found the ability to have sites where our Ramp would go down in our site on several more occasions that that. We try to book our reservations picking sites that will work (usually the back in sites on the outer edges of a park instead of any interior sites, which are going to be fixed sizes. Some parks can accommodate it, some can't. If that is something that is important to you, you will learn the areas and parks that can accommodate that and stick to those.

In four years for us only twice.

 

[TheLindsays]

We have a Torque Toy Hauler ... first we had an Apex that was 25 ft total.. the big difference in campground choice we noticed was we no longer fit in a lot of the State parks sites but it wasnt due to the back door having room it was in the total length of the unit... however...we have found lots of other places to camp and when I book I just explain the type unit we have and they are always very accomodating to find you a space that works ....one time when the escort took us to the site he actually found us a better one along the way... sometimes pull through sites are nice so you have access to both ends for viewing and visiting etc. we like to go visit the state parks so we just plan our trip in a campground we fit in and go out on day trips to visit the state parks and what they have to offer.. wildlife.. etc.

 

[Issaquahiker]

Thanks for the responses so far - keep them coming. I really an interested to know if the back deck is really utilized often enough to justify the purchase of it and the trade-off of sometimes not being able to fit where we want to be. If not, we can consider a 5th wheel without it as we dont intend to carry any toys other than maybe a couple of mountain bikes.

Just to let folks know a little bit about us. My husband and I are taking an early retirement, within the next couple of months. We are looking to purchase an RV and tow vehicle and travel for at least a couple of years in the US and Canada. We want to just wander, meet people, check out towns for potential relocation. We like to hike and take pictures, and we play a mean game of canasta. We are newbies to this ourselves but my husbands parents have been full-timers in a DP for a dozen years and we have spent time with them in their home. We are also renting a 30' RV in May and spending a couple of weeks doing the Utah grand circle (visiting national parks we cannot take the dogs to).

We went to an RV show and saw the Voltage and liked the concept of the back deck and the garage space as a mud room for our dirty, wet dogs, and for sitting out there with them having an adult beverage! Research led me away from the Voltage and to the Cyclone/Road Warrior. I really do want the kitchen separated and my husband is really wanting that back deck so we are strongly leaning towards the 4000 Elite or the RW 390. Porthole - do you predominately stay in national and state parks?? Or is it that you just sit outside by the campfire and so you dont really need it? Real world experience is much, much appreciated.

 

[remoandiris]

My wife and I are also looking at toyhaulers (THs). We spent a lot of time going thru as many models as we could find in the size I want. The list is now down to less than 5 models, all are Heartlands.

The wife really likes the RW390. Only drawback is the kitchen. There is not enough storage space and only 1 electrical outlet...adjacent to the cooktop. Ridiculous placement. They need to put a few GFCI outlets up by the sink. A factory rep told me the 2014 RW390 will have more storage space above the sink. That will cut the open feel of the unit somewhat, but I think the payback in storage will be worth it. The countertops in the bath and bedroom look cheap. That also is a negative. But you can't beat the openness of the living area! Another big plus is you can order a Heartland without livingroom furniture, meaning you can buy your own if you prefer.

On the patio option, my Jayco 5er has a big window at the rear of the livingroom. The blinds are always down and it is like a wall anyway. I have been to several CGs with enough room to drop a patio deck and plenty without. If I had the deck, I would use it as much as possible. It wouldn't be a deciding factor on where to park, but when a spot allowed it to be used, it would be used. The 3 season wall is a plus for me. I don't care for the pulldown screen many THs come with.

 

[rgwilliams69]

We have a Cyclone 4100 King and at least here in the Midwest, along with treks to Florida down through Alabama and back up through Tennessee, have only run into one constraint. That was at a KOA near Orlando that advertised 60 foot spots that were certainly not 60 feet. We do a lot of race track camping and have been able to use the patio, and the parks we frequent along the way have plenty of spaces for us as well. I think that when they estimate the length they always go shorter or as if you are going to keep your TV hooked up. Of course we always put the truck to the side. One think I really like about the patio at the state parks is that generally you are in the woods or over the prairie with the patio - none of the camp hosts have ever said anything about it. We have learned in our trade-ups that you maximize the interior space and the exterior will take care of itself. The patio option rocks, we use it all the time. Here is a pic of our patio out over unusable camp spot space looking out over the Ohio River - awesome!



Good luck with your choice - you cannot go wrong with one of these Heartland products!

 

[oscar]

We LOVE our back deck. OK, it's the first week (out of three) that we have had our 4100 out on the road, but the deck is AWESEOME. The grill is on there, some chairs, a drying rack during the day. It adds a LOT of utility space. The campground we're in right now has plenty of space (a woodsy loose setting). Fort Wilderness is next. We'll report back.

 

[rgwilliams69]

Hey Oscar - have fun at Disney (I assume that is Fort Wilderness). Out of curiosity, what kind of MGP did you get towing the King from PA to FL with your SuperMax? We just made that length of a trip fro IL to FL and back last month and I'm curious on the comparison to our Super Duty...

 

[oscar]

8 mpg in the hills, 9-10 on the flats.

That said, the truck is still fairly new and bobtail I'm getting 15-16, whereas my old truck, same engine, was getting 17 to 18. So I am hopeful it will increase somewhat. That said, you gotta pay to play.

 

[rgwilliams69]

Thanks for sharing Oscar - I had very similar results with the 2012 F350 6.7 DRW with a 3.73 rear end. Lowest we got was into a nasty headwind in Alabama where I was averaging 7.5mpg, best was going South in Florida on I75 (at about 68 mph) getting 9.8mpg. Total trip of 2100 miles had me at about 9.2mpg. My last rig (2011 F250 6.7 with 3.55 and 2011 Keystone Alpine 3640) got much better, around 10 at worst and 13 best. I still have less than 7000 miles on this new truck so like yourself I am hopeful that it will improve, at least a bit. On our trip average price of diesel was $4.00+ mostly so it was an expensive run.

We do indeed pay to play, in many ways.

 

[scottyb]

Add me to the list of "loves the patio". Like RGWilliams said, the patio can hang over unusable space. I also camp at race venues around the country and the garage becomes a buffet serving room while the grill (full sized Weber) sits on the patio. In planning my upcoming trip to Big Bend, I looked for the biggest spaces available. There is a pretty nice website Campsite Photos.com, where you can see a photo of many campsite around the country, both public and private. My 1st trip was to a race in MO, and we had to endure the remnants of hurricane Isaac. The garage is indeed an excellent mud room, for taking off muddy boots, wet clothing, and for wet dogs.

 

[oscar]

Lowest we got was into a nasty headwind in Alabama where I was averaging 7.5mpg

Yes, winds make a HUGE difference.

 

[porthole]

Since the question was:

So for any Cyclone owners - how often do you find a camping space where you can actually utilize the back deck?

And my answer was - maybe a little vague:

In four years for us only twice.

And after reading this:

We have found the ability to have sites where our Ramp would go down in our site on several more occasions that that. We try to book our reservations picking sites that will work (usually the back in sites on the outer edges of a park instead of any interior sites, which are going to be fixed sizes. Some parks can accommodate it, some can't. If that is something that is important to you, you will learn the areas and parks that can accommodate that and stick to those.

I will amend my reply to: In four years since making the necessary mods to use the ramp as a back deck, and having plenty of opportunities to use it as a deck, we only ended up using it as such twice. Just not our thing. I'd rather sit out by the side.