Heartland's Milestone fifth wheel is getting an all-new floorplan.This is the final online installment of RV PRO’s 2021 model year preview. For the entire special preview section, see the September issue.
THOR Industries
THOR Industries is giving dealers plenty to be excited about across its comprehensive product line – from small, lightweight towables to beefy toy haulers and the largest diesel pushers. The same goes for the company’s Jayco operation.
Heartland RV
“This is the year of Heartland,” says Lesley Melvin, the brand’s director of marketing. “And for Heartland, this is the year of the product.”
With a revamped logo, brand story and website, as well as an expanded parts warehouse and new online catalog, Melvin says the RV maker is “establishing a new way for dealers and customers to do business.”
Central to this year’s product lineup, Heartland will debut an all-new extension of the full-profile Milestone fifth wheel, named M-One. Although most details remain under wraps, Melvin says the unit is 32 feet, 11 inches in length and targets entry-level buyers at an aggressive price point while still offering high-end amenities usually found in more expensive products.
Dealers can expect two or three new floorplans, such as bunkhouse and couples’ coach designs.
Meanwhile, Heartland’s flagship fifth wheel, Bighorn, has undergone “an overhaul” that includes a fresh, impactful look on both the interior and exterior, according to Melvin. “We are focusing on shorter-length units with a better utilization of slide-outs to maximize space,” she adds.
Dealers can expect “the 35BK Traveler and 3502 Bighorn to surprise and impress with fresh takes on famous floorplans from the past,” says Melvin. The 35BK Bighorn Traveler, for example, is a 38-foot unit with an L-shaped kitchen that has an extra TV for direct viewing from newly-added barstools. A walk-through bath will debut as well, which Melvin says offers an extra sink in the bedroom for additional convenience.
Of Heartland’s 60 “unique, market-driven” floorplans in 2021, Melvin points to the North Trail 24DBS as the industry’s first-ever 30-foot bunk model, featuring a privacy bunk room and an all-new folding, sliding-door design.
Meanwhile, the Landmark Tucson now includes a windshield in its new front-kitchen layout and, like Bighorn, features an exclusive two-tone interior that “is truly something that has not yet been offered in any RV, towable or motorized unit currently on the market,” Melvin says.
The focus of Cyclone – a top-selling toy hauler – is “a true master suite,” with multiple new floorplans, spacious bedrooms and walk-in closets, says Melvin. Although details are limited for the Road Warrior, “this product will have a reinvention of the features and options based on direct customer feedback, which the market has been demanding from a toy hauler,” she adds.
Creating a more residential feel is a top priority for all product lines in 2021, including popular farmhouse designs now available for select models. Overall, Melvin says, the units are designed to feel lighter and brighter, featuring modern décor and fixtures, updated cabinetry with a variety of lighter and mixed wood tones, as well as woven flooring and Azdel composite walls as standard in all units.
“The composite panels are half the weight of wood material, increasing the durability while lightening the load,” explains Melvin. “They are weather- and temperature-resistant, odorless, and environmentally-friendly, which will increase the life of the RV.”
Additionally, Heartland is redesigning stick-and-tin unit profiles to accommodate more storage, larger bedrooms and larger mattresses.
Keystone RV
Keystone’s 2021 model year products address the influx of new buyers who want an RV they feel comfortable towing.
The new Montana High Country HM281CK delivers a premium full-profile fifth wheel that is 24 inches shorter than any other Montana High Country model.
“When the RVIA removed the maximum square footage limitation for fifth wheels, the temptation was to go bigger – but our sales data said something else,” says Product Manager Sam Lengerich. “We are seeing strong consumer demand for smaller, lighter models, so we pushed in the opposite direction.”
Shorter units often require trimming kitchen counter space and locating the TV on the back wall at an angle that makes it difficult to see. But Lengerich says, “Our goal was to blow up those design limitations to deliver something that is compact but doesn’t feel that way.”
Two opposing slide-outs open up the unit to provide an “amount of countertop space and storage that is off the charts for a unit of this size and sacrificed nothing in livability,” says Josh Miller, vice president of sales for Keystone.
Designers eliminated the dinette in favor of a U-shaped kitchen with oversized countertop and bar stools and created an L-shaped seating collection with a chaise lounge that sits across from the entertainment center.
The unit creates a feel of spaciousness with a bed/bath deck lifted from the Montana High Country 294/295 layout, which features an amply-sized bathroom and combination wardrobe/ bed slide.
Other notable features include a layout that maximizes window size and placement, including cross-coach windows for optimal natural lighting, an expanded kitchen storage and food prep area, a trifold sleeper sofa, and an expanded outdoor living area with 16-foot and 11-foot awnings.
Keystone also introduced a new Cougar fifth wheel for active campers: the Cougar 345UMR.
The 38-foot, 5-inch fifth wheel offers a full-sized utility/mud room in the rear. The unit’s walk-in dog shower allows campers and their four-legged companions to rinse off the adventure of the day without tracking dirt or debris into the main living area. An extra-large storage cabinet with washer/dryer hookups can also stow fishing poles, rifles, or beach gear.
0The back of the unit provides plenty of countertop space and storage, making it a great location to do crafts or conduct business. The 2021 Outback 342CG makes camping more accessible to those with physical limitations.
“More customers asked for a unit that was accessible to people in wheelchairs,” Miller says. “We revamped the Outback to create a model that accommodates those with disabilities.”
The company reviewed guidelines in the Americans with Disabilities Act to gain a sense of the dimensions required for wheelchairs to enter and exit and move throughout the coach.
Designers then altered the floorplan to make it more wheelchair friendly. The model’s 56-inch extended ramp door offers an easy ingress and egress for campers in a wheelchair.
“We also took the basic footprint and reconfigured the kitchen counter, slimmed down the wall for the entertainment center, and replaced a hinged door with a sliding bar to create an easy transition for a wheelchair into the living area,” says Product Manager Nick Ebenroth.
Designers widened the main door to 30 inches to enable it to work with an aftermarket wheelchair lift. A wider and shallower pantry allowed designers to install sliding doors in the bedroom and bathroom. The team replaced door and drawer pulls with handles to make them easier to open.
The floorplan also offers a cargo garage with flip-down bunks, a king-size bed with built-in pet kennel, two pantries, a 48-inch fireplace, and a sofa sleeper.
“With COVID-19, families are trying to get out to experience the outdoors together,” Miller says. “Many people have someone in their family in a wheelchair that they would love to take camping, but until this point they haven’t had a good means of doing that.”
To see the Heartland and Keystone previews in RV PRO online, start here.
Previously:
DRV / Cruiser RV and KZ / Venture RV previews here
Airstream and CrossRoads / Redwood previews here
Thor Motor Coach’s Class B Motorhomes, RUVs, Class C Motorhomes, Class A Gas Motorhomes and Class A Diesels previews here
Jayco’s Seismic, North Point, Pinnacle, Starcraft, Class A Motorhomes, Entegra Gas Products and Entegra Coach Luxury Diesel Products previews here
Forest River’s East to West, XLR and Columbus previews here
Forest River’s Sabre, Salem | Wildwood, Surveyor, Shasta, Berkshire previews here
Forest River’s Cardinal | Wildcat, Cherokee Wolf Pack, Cherokee Wolf Pup | Grey Wolf, and Sandpiper | Sierra | Cedar Creek | Riverstone previews here
Forest River’s Sunseeker | Forester, Dynamax, R-Pod, IBEX and NOBO previews here
Coachmen’s Class A’s, B’s and C’s previews here
Coachmen’s Spirit | Apex, Clipper | Viking, Catalina, and Fifth Wheels previews here
Renegade RV and REV RV Group previews here
Lance Camper and Midwest Automotive Designs previews here
Winnebago’s Travato, Revel and Solis previews here
Grand Design preview here
Newmar and Winnebago Towables preview here
inTech RV and Riverside RV previews here
Chinook RV and Gulf Stream Coach previews here
Roadtrek and Xtreme Outdoors previews here
TAXA Outdoors and the Vanleigh previews here
Alliance RV and Nexus previews here
nuCamp and Leisure Travel Vans previews here
