Chief's RV - Heartland RV How It All Began

For a number of years, John Rhymer, Tim Hoffman and myself worked together in the RV industry for a major manufacturer. During those years, we became close friends and each of us happened to represent a different area of expertise. John was the head of Engineering, Tim the head of sales and myself over the marketing and advertising. After more than a decade of working together, some of us moved on to different companies, but remained in contact. John joined Newmar, and later Forest River, while I had my own advertising firm that worked with five different RV manufacturers. When we would get together, outside of the workplace, we discovered a shared confidence that we could build, market and sell recreational vehicles as well or better than many of the companies that we had experienced first hand.

In the Fall of 2003, we began to get serious about forming a start up RV manufacturing company, and after partnering with Brian Brady, former President and partner at Damon Corporation, we started Heartland Recreational Vehicles. After a tremendous amount of time doing market research and product studies, it was decided that Heartland's first product would be a high end 5th wheel. This was unique, because just about every RV manufacturer that we had ever heard of had started at the bottom of the towable ladder and worked their way up in price point. Heartland started at the top, and introduced a number of exclusive and unique features into the towable market with the release of our first product line, LANDMARK.

Incorporating a Patent-Pending improved turning radius design, Heartland offered a 5th wheel that could be easily towed by the popular short-bed, extended-cab truck. This was significant, because while these trucks were very popular (allowing the owner to park in the garage or at any restaurant), they caused big problems when cornering with a 5th wheel attached to them. See it in action for yourself!

People pulling fifth wheels with these types of short-bed trucks were often hitting the cab of the truck against the corner of the fiberglass front cap - resulting in expensive damage to both. A new product came out on the market, in the form an expensive "slider hitch" which could be engaged when turning corners, but it was both expensive and user "unfriendly". So, immediately, the new Landmark 5th wheel began to draw a lot of attention with it's revolutionary front design which eliminated the need for expensive slider hitches on short-bed, extended-cab trucks.

UDC

Another Heartland innovation was the Universal Docking Center - a compartment that held all of the major hook-ups for the 5th wheel (from water to tv, phone, satellite, etc.) including the pull handles for the holding tanks, which up until the Heartland design often were located under slide outs and in other hard to access points on the coach. What were in fact doing with the UDC design, was bringing a very popular motorized selling feature to the towable market. The concept for a centralized docking center had been around for awhile, but only on expensive motorhomes and buses.

Heartland decided that towable owners deserved the same type of treatment and since we were starting from the ground up in our design of a new fifth wheel, we were able to design each of the coach's systems to terminate in one centralized area. I have to say, this feature was stated the most often as the number one reason why customers chose Heartland products, even though we were such a young company. The customers really appreciated our attention to detail and the fact that we actually listened to what they consumers where asking for when we designed our 5th wheel.

Another great feature that Heartland has become known for is our large, drop-frame exterior storage compartment that was completely free of plumbing and/or heating tubes and runs. Heartland's storage was not only big - but it was completely free of systems running through it - again, unique to the industry.

Going one step further, we put a rubber flooring in that large exterior storage compartment - instead of the traditional gray felt. This meant that items in that storage area would stay put; spills could be easily cleaned up (without leaving stains); and it just gave the are a very high-end look and feel. Inside the Landmark, we decided to go with the best of everything we could find. We used real Armstrong flooring (not the knockoff); real Corian countertops (not a knockoff or fiberglass); real maple hardwoods (no veneers or vinyl wraps); sturdy, one-piece furniture (vs. the traditional RV two piece design); steel ball bearing drawer guides (not the cheap plastic); a one piece fiberglass shower with monogrammed glass door (vs. a multi-piece plastic design); we offered king beds in our bedroom slide outs (vs. queen); we designed a unique front wardrobe with custom cabinetry and built-in storage unlike anything that had ever been seen in a fifth wheel; we featured a soft touch vinyl ceiling (instead of a hard board); and we took our time choosing quality lighting and plumbing fixtures; we designed a front closet to not only hold jackets and vacuums, but to hide away the coaches system controls which are typically out in the open on the wall. These and many more unique features made the first Heartland 5th wheel design stand out from the crowd.

Within a few short months, major towable manufacturers were already doing their best to copy Heartland innovations. That's when we knew that we were going to be successful in this business. When you're the smallest guy on the block and the biggest companies in the world are copying your designs, you know you must be doing something right. From the success of the Landmark, came the very popular BIGHORN 5th wheel, debuting in December of 2004 and offering all of Heartlands main innovations, along with a number of the luxurious appointments - but for considerably less money. At a much more mainstream price point, the BIGHORN quickly became the flagship of the Heartland company - expanding our dealer base by 300% in only a few months.

In 2005, with demand for Heartland's innovative product at an all-time high, we began plans to expand our product offerings. Work began on a mid-profile 5th wheel, which would become the SUNDANCE; as well as an entry level towable line, TRAIL RUNNER, and a toy hauler, CYCLONE. All three of these products were introduced to the market in late 2005, launching Heartland on the towable scene as a formidable manufacturer. With more products came the need for more production facilities and more employees, and Heartland responded by acquiring new buildings and expanding our number of employees to over 400.

In 2006, Heartland broke ground on a new 110,000 sq. ft. production facility with a new corporate office structure attached. By spring of 2006, Heartland had moved into the Top Ten of all 5th wheel manufacturers, and by the end of 2006, we were solidly in the #8 spot with eyes toward #5. With newly expanded production facilities, Heartland was once again poised for growth and launched the BIG COUNTRY 5th wheel and RAZOR toy hauler, hitting price points previously not in our product lineup. Throughout 2006, Statistical Surveys shows that Heartlands growth is unprecedented as we continue to grow at a rate of over 225%, while the rest of the market either stagnates or shows little to no growth.

As we enter 2007, we feel like our quality if better than it has ever been, and the product line up is poised for even more significant market share gains. Dealers with early retail shows are already reporting that the Heartland products are hitting the mark with the retail buyers and sales are very strong.

The latest Stat Surveys are out and Heartland has risen to the #6 Fifth Wheel manufacturer in the country and are breathing down the necks of #5. (Statistical Surveys, Inc.)

Out of the Top 45 5th wheel brand names, 30 of them are down in market share this year. Of the 15 brand names who are “Up” in market share, 9 of those gains are in the single digits (i.e. up 3.2%) ; 3 are “Up” double digits in market share (i.e. 17%) and THREE ARE UP TRIPLE DIGITS IN MARKET SHARE. THOSE THREE??? BIGHORN (+147%) BY HEARTLAND; CYCLONE (+328%) BY HEARTLAND; AND SUNDANCE (+640%) BY HEARTLAND!