The Swiss Army Knife of RVs

Entering the THOR display at Open House in Elkhart, Indiana, this past September, guests were immediately greeted with a view of the cool, rugged Heartland Cyclone’s Signature Series.

Described as a fifth wheel with toy hauler capacity, the Cyclone’s living space is as impressive as its size. With 6 feet, 4 inches of ceiling height in the bedrooms and floorplans up to 47 feet, 4 3/4 inches, this rig can haul it all.

The Cyclone was the second line introduced by Heartland, which was founded in 2003.

“We’ve got a lot of history with the products,” says Dustin Swindeman, general manager for Cyclone. “It’s been a Top 5 toy hauler for pretty much its whole career — we’ve never fell out of that spot.

“I would say it’s our flagship fifth wheel brand for the company right now. It’s the highest volume producing product we have … [and] typically the fastest retail sales.”

One of the reasons the Cyclone moves so well for dealers, Swindeman says, is the brand’s innovative floorplans.

“We’ve created floorplans that no other toy hauler brands configure — got a few tricks up our sleeves that we use that other guys don’t use,” Swindeman says. “What that does is give people more of a residential-feel living area.”

The front-end bedrooms give owners more space that isn’t typically found in toy haulers.

“A lot of customers say that it is the best bedroom they’ve ever seen in a toy hauler,” Swindeman says. “You’re taking an extra 14 feet of that unit that could be living or bedroom space, [and] you’re making it a garage to fit your toys or whatever purpose. So it cuts the space out of other areas. What we’ve learned to do is we’ve designed a cap and front end that allows us to have dual opposing slides in our bedroom, which gives you that traditional fifth wheel feel that you don’t get in a toy hauler.”

Focus on Features

Another focus for the Cyclone is the plethora of features. Swindeman says in the recent market with inflation and high interest rates, some manufacturers may have removed features from units to bring prices down. Heartland has worked to keep high-end, luxury features to meet the unit’s price (starting MSRP $165,190 for the 4118 floorplan, up to $172,630 for the 4008 floorplan).

The tilting king bed, which helps owners gain space in the bedroom when not sleeping, to the H-rated tires and a 25-inch, pullout grill are just some of the special features available (see sidebar for additional features and specifications).

It’s the multifunctional living and garage areas that are the major hits, Swindeman says. After 13 years in his role, he is used to people buying this type of fifth wheel to transport toys.

“Now the progression of the interiors have gotten nicer. They look better — they were very rugged and fit more of a racing scene. So we softened them up, added more luxuries, gave them that more home[-like], traditional fifth wheel look that appeals to all types of customers.”

Another point the team at Heartland considered was that as children grow, they want more space in their rooms. Instead of a tiny bunk space, the larger bedroom space in the back of the Cyclone has room for two queen beds. He has seen families customize the spaces with shelving, cabinets and more to make them work for their needs.

“This is almost a blank [slate] in the back for them to do what they want. We’ve got the customers that are doing it for the sleeping and the kids that are full-time or people that are taking these to dog shows and putting crates in the back. They’re using them for workout rooms or for secondary office space. So the versatility is kind of up to the imagination of the customer,” Swindeman says.

And don’t forget the “fenced in backyard,” as Swindeman calls it. The Cyclone has a deck surrounded with a waist-high screen that can be used as a “patio” — and where kids or pets can’t get loose.

“People don’t necessarily always want to be in the dirt when they are at a campground, right?” Swindeman says. “They can enjoy the back porch without being on the ground with the bugs, the moisture, the dirt, the sand. That makes sense to enjoy the camping experience other than being around a campfire.”

The storage on the Cyclone is plentiful and easy to access with the basement storage space accessible from three points.

“What that does is it gives the customer not trying [from] one spot, but they can reach all their stuff from three points of it. [No more of] that reaching in the one door and trying to have to get to the middle. It’s adding about 20 to 25 cubic feet more of space that’s under there,” Swindeman says.

“We’re looking at … the full-time people that are spending more time in it to make it as convenient as possible for them.”

The Newest Floorplan

The newest floorplan is the 4215, and the 4008 was also released in the last six months and, according to Swindeman, “we really nailed this floorplan. It really meets every need the customer has asked for. I think we did a great job.”

The exterior look of the Cyclone’s Signature Series is also an eye-catching offering. The custom paint job consists of four coats of clear and a full wet sand and buff, which produces a deeper gloss, Swindeman says.

“It’s going to stick out with just a little more time and effort put into it. Every unit is signed by the paint shop — the painter — and numbered. So they’re all individually numbered for the customer,” he says. “They feel like they’ve got their unique twist on that unit that no one else has, and I think that’s been a big deal to customers, realizing that every paint job’s got a little different twist on it.”

Swindeman says they work with Elkhart-based CB Custom Painting and have done so for about 10 years.

“We chose them because of the quality of work they do. They’re [one of the] only paint shops that actually clean the floors in between each paint job … [It’s] a really dust-free environment, the best lighting. In my eyes, they are ahead of the game in comparison to everybody else in the industry [when it] comes to painting.”

Another fun feature included on the Cyclone is called the Bazooka Tube — a Bluetooth speaker that is removable and can be moved around the campsite and will also do a light show.

Fun touches like this are what makes this fifth wheel/toy hauler crossover appealing to different demographics. There’s a lot of space if a couple has children and wants to travel with them, but they have a spacious living room and bedroom for themselves if it’s just two people. Then there’s the space for kayaks or a four-wheeler or motorcycles.

“It’s very versatile. It’s like the Swiss Army knife of RVs,” Swindeman says.

“It’s fun to watch the different things that people do with them,” he says. “I’ve seen everything from a guy putting a blow-up hot tub in the back to four or five kids sleeping in there.”

The Cyclone also touts a high fresh water carrying capacity at 150 gallons, allowing for longer excursions when needed.

“We’ve tried to lead the industry standard when it comes to capacities,” Swindeman says.

Future Cyclones

As for the future of the brand, Swindeman says that in the past, they’ve had to focus on accommodating the side-by-side world because it’s constantly changing. However, as the brand has grown, he believes they’ll move more into creating for full-timers, focusing on the living spaces.

“I would say that you’re going to see us crossing over some barriers into that side that we haven’t crossed before. I’m making it more of a family coach other than for toys. I think we’ll need to continually move that way to meet the needs of that customer because it has grown so much.”

Features & Specs

• Base MSRP: $148,698
• Starting length: 42 feet, 10 ½ inches
• Starting weight: 14,582 pounds
• Starting GVWR: 21,000
• Floorplans: 7
• Sleeps: 7-8
• Slides: 4
• Awning: 20 feet
• Garage length: 13 feet, 6 inches
• Three-sided basement storage access
• Grill & Go 25-inch pullout three-burner grill/griddle combo
• Step Caddy folding patio step holder
• MORryde CRE3000 suspension
• 80 am power converter
• Full height shaker cabinetry
• 24-inch stand-alone oven
• Tilting king bedroom suite
• 150-gallon fresh water tank
• 50-inch LCD HDTV
• Welded tubular aluminum construction
• 16-inch aluminum wheels with H-rated tires

Garage

• Steel D-ring tie downs
• 3,000-pound-rated weather-resistant ramp door
• 8-foot garage door ramp

Interior

• Teak-color upper cabinets
• Dark navy lower cabinets
• Clay-color leather fabrics
• White marble-style seamless cabinets
• European oak-color flooring