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Old 12-04-2018, 09:04 AM   #1
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Heartland Mallard vs. Keystone Passport

Hi All!

We are purchasing our new travel trailer, an upgrade from a pop up, and have been looking at the Heartland Mallard M185 and the Keystone Passport 175BH. They look exactly the same to me. Are there any significant differences I should be aware of?


Additionally, if there are any other travel trailers we should know about, our must haves are a bunk bed, a bigger fridge or outdoor kitchen, a sizable water tank (30-35 gallons or more) and a shorter length (preferably under 22ft.


Other campers we have considered are:
RPod 182G
Minnie Drop 170K (although this might be out of our price range)


Thanks for the help!!
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Old 12-05-2018, 04:05 AM   #2
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We purchased our Mallard M185 last June and have been out 6 times since then (weekend warriors).

Some of the trim seemed a bit cheaply made, but I've learned from here that that is one of the ways to make it an ultralite!.

Other than that, we have been very pleased. Been able to stay quite comfortable in hot or cold weather. The fridge was a must for us as well. We can easily keep a week's worth of groceries with room for an ice bin. Water heater is robust and warms up VERY quickly with propane. We turn it on when we arrive for about 10 to 15 minutes when we arrive and then only turn it back on when we need significant amounts like showers or just leave electric on. Have had no problems running all th electric we need. The a/c keeps it cool although quite loud.

Didn't come with a TV, but we didn't want one. Also love the black tank washout feature.

My own customizations:
1. Put hinges and lifters on under bed bins
2. Mounted power strip on wall underneath table.
3. Added storage boxes to rear bumper for water/power and black tank supplies. First, reinforces bumper. Boxes are lightweight and small truck tool boxes.
4. Added hinges to under-bench bins.
5. New shower head.
6. Electric cut off switch at battery.
7. Numerous Command hooks as needed.

Problems:
1. Bad check valve on pump (apparently common issue across brands).
2. Pinched wire on left brake.
3. A couple of trim items.

All problems were fixed under warranty.

Bottom line is that we're happy with our choice and the size is perfect for weekend warriors that go often for short trips.

Good luck and happy trails!
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Old 12-05-2018, 08:09 AM   #3
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Nice to hear about a positive experience for a change!
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Old 12-06-2018, 03:02 PM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Persistent View Post
Nice to hear about a positive experience for a change!
Keep in mind that people have a tendency to post only when something is/goes wrong. FAR fewer post to just say all is well.

I saw so many bad reviews for Campimg World. I'm not saying they are not valid. But if you judged CW by the number of negative reviews only, you might get a skewed view of their organization. They may have 90% plus of satisfied customers but you only see the negative reviews of the 10%. I've had very good sales and service from them.

Just my 2-cents. Happy RVing!
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Old 12-06-2018, 05:15 PM   #5
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Mallard, Passport and Bullet are all Thor products and as you've seen are very similar - you're not going crazy. Main differences are appearance/trim. We have a Bullet and while it's bigger than yours (220RBI) the construction is generally the same. Some is pretty decent, some is like a 3 year old picked up a beer off the table. We've pulled ours cross country and then south to FL this year alone, and short of things that we have been able to fix ourselves it's been a solid camper.

It's the stupid stuff that makes you shake your head, like who in their right mind mounts a TV 2" off level that can make you question the workmanship but really that stuff is endemic to the industry as a whole.
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Old 12-07-2018, 08:35 AM   #6
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Thank you!

Thanks so much for your feedback everyone! I'm starting to feel like anything will be an upgrade to the pop up, so I don't think I can lose.
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