01 What Heartland publishes for the Trail Runner
Heartland Recreational Vehicles, a Thor Industries company, of Elkhart, Indiana, lists 11 Trail Runner trailers in its 2025 Trail Runner brochure. Heartland prints a dry weight for every one profiled here, and each has a page of its own. It prints a GVWR for every one too. Heartland prints no cargo carrying capacity for any Trail Runner floorplan, and this site does not compute one. (How the data is verified.)
02 Heartland Trail Runner models
Heartland Trail Runner · 11 models
| Model | Dry weight | Cargo (CCC) | GVWR | Tongue | Length | Sleeps | On this site |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Trail Runner 171BH | 3,016 lb | Not published by Heartland | 3,886 lb | 386 lb | 20' 1 1/4" | 5-6 | Profiled |
| Trail Runner 117R | 3,032 lb | Not published by Heartland | 3,900 lb | 400 lb | 20' 10 3/4" | 3-4 | Profiled |
| Trail Runner 211RD | 4,420 lb | Not published by Heartland | 7,616 lb | 616 lb | 25' 8 1/2" | 3-4 | Profiled |
| Trail Runner 258BH | 4,800 lb | Not published by Heartland | 7,418 lb | 418 lb | 30' 1 1/2" | 7-8 | Profiled |
| Trail Runner 251BH | 5,288 lb | Not published by Heartland | 7,596 lb | 596 lb | 29' 6 1/2" | 7-8 | Profiled |
| Trail Runner 261BHS | 5,876 lb | Not published by Heartland | 7,766 lb | 766 lb | 30' 5" | 7-8 | Profiled |
| Trail Runner 255RL | 5,914 lb | Not published by Heartland | 7,672 lb | 672 lb | 29' 9" | 5-6 | Profiled |
| Trail Runner 270BH | 6,086 lb | Not published by Heartland | 7,748 lb | 748 lb | 31' 11 1/2" | 9+ | Profiled |
| Trail Runner 27RKS | 6,170 lb | Not published by Heartland | 9,632 lb | 832 lb | 33' 9 1/2" | 5-6 | Profiled |
| Trail Runner 30RBK | 6,960 lb | Not published by Heartland | 9,538 lb | 738 lb | 35' 4" | 7-8 | Profiled |
| Trail Runner 31DB | 6,980 lb | Not published by Heartland | 9,608 lb | 808 lb | 36' 11" | 7-8 | Profiled |
Read from Heartland’s 2025 Trail Runner brochure, 5 Nov 2026. “Not published” means the maker prints no figure; nothing is filled from another model, year or dealer.
03 Reading Heartland’s figures
A maker’s published weight is for a base trailer; options and dealer-installed equipment add weight to any particular unit. The federal weight label inside the trailer carries its own unloaded weight, cargo carrying capacity and GVWR (49 CFR 567 and 571.120): read it on the unit itself before any towing decision.
05 Recalls
NHTSA lists 16 recall campaigns affecting this line. The earliest was reported 1 Aug 2008 and the most recent 27 Mar 2024.
| Reported | Campaign | Component | What can go wrong |
|---|---|---|---|
| 27 Mar 2024 | 24V236000 | Equipment | A circuit board that overheats increases the risk of a fire. |
| 8 Aug 2022 | 22V591000 | Equipment | An awning that drops or extends beyond normal operation can increase the risk of injury. |
| 17 Jun 2022 | 22V432000 | Equipment | A gas leak in the presence of an ignition source can increase the risk of a fire. |
| 21 Mar 2022 | 22V170000 | Electrical system | Loose wiring can cause an electrical arc or short, increasing the risk of a fire. |
| 17 Jun 2021 | 21V453000 | Equipment | A gas leak can increase the risk of a fire. |
| 4 Jun 2021 | 21V428000 | Equipment | Increased propane pressure can enlarge the flames in gas appliances, increasing the risk of a fire. |
| 14 May 2020 | 20V275000 | Equipment | If both U-bolts break, the carrier and spare tire can detach from the unit, resulting in an increased risk of injury and increase the risk of a crash. |
| 18 Jan 2019 | 19V043000 | Equipment | Tires with an incorrect pressure may affect handling or may fail, increasing the risk of crash. |
| 17 Jan 2019 | 19V041000 | Tires | Tires with an insufficient Load Range may fail, increasing the risk of crash. |
| 21 Sep 2018 | 18V634000 | Suspension | The missing bearing race may cause premature hub bearing failure, possibly resulting in a separation of the hub from the axle, thereby increasing the risk of a… |
| 22 Nov 2017 | 17V750000 | Equipment | In the event of a fire, if the fire extinguisher does not function properly, it can increase the risk of injury. |
| 1 Nov 2017 | 17V689000 | Service brakes, electric | A severed brake wire would reduce braking capability, increasing the risk of a crash. |
| 30 Jul 2015 | 15V482000 | Equipment | An owner or operator could rely on the inaccurate information in inflating the tires which could cause under or over inflation which, in turn, could lead to a tire… |
| 1 Dec 2010 | 10V607000 | Wheels | There could be a potential wheel failure and wheel loss increasing the risk of a crash, or personal injury. |
| 30 Mar 2010 | 10V124000 | Equipment | Towing a vehicle with the axles loaded beyond the specified weight rating may result in axle failure leading to poor vehicle handling and increasing the risk of a… |
| 1 Aug 2008 | 08V380000 | Equipment | If this solution is exposed to an ignition source under certain specific circumstances, it can result in a vehicle fire. |
Coverage is not complete: this list is a starting point, not a clearance (how it is built), so check a specific VIN at NHTSA before you buy and again before you tow.
This count covers every model year NHTSA files under the Heartland Trail Runner name.
06 Owner-reported problems
Owners have filed 8 complaints with NHTSA about this line for model years 2005 on. The earliest was filed 30 Aug 2010 and the most recent 21 May 2023. The breakdown below is what those owners actually reported, grouped by the component NHTSA assigned.
Safety outcomes in this set: 2 reports describing a fire. These are the owner’s own account of what happened and have not been verified by NHTSA.
What gets reported
| Component group | Reports | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Electrical system | 2 | 25% |
| Equipment | 2 | 25% |
| Structure | 2 | 25% |
| Suspension | 1 | 12% |
| Tires | 1 | 12% |
Most recent reports
The 8 owner reports filed on this line, newest first. Wording is NHTSA’s summary of what the owner described.
| Filed | Component | Miles | What the owner reported |
|---|---|---|---|
| 21 May 2023 | Electrical system | — | In January 2023 the 26th breaker panel sparked and started smoking no breakers flipped and at 3am my roommate who works nights started pulling anything that could produce power or consume it. After almost two weeks of fighting manufacturer we were sent a converter and a licensed technician… |
| 1 Feb 2023 | Electrical system | — | Converter overheated or failed to work as intended resulting in smoke leading up to an electrical fire. Component was in a small space with no adequate air flow and breakerâs remained in place not flipping as they should have to stop power from flowing. There were no warning signs as we were all… |
| 13 Dec 2021 | Equipment › Recreational vehicle/trailer | — | 2020 Heartland recreational trailer. Consumer writes in regards to NHTSA safety recall 21V-428. The consumer stated the manufacturer exceeded a reasonable amount of time completing the recall repair. |
| 2 Sep 2021 | Structure › Body | — | The contact owns a 2019 Heartland Sundance. The contact stated that when inspecting the vehicle, the furnace was not anchored securely. The contact stated that the vehicle was taken to the dealer who confirmed that the furnace and toilet had been incorrectly installed by the manufacturer. The areas… |
| 6 Aug 2021 | Equipment | — | The contact owns a 2019 Heartland Trail Runner. The contact received a recall notification for NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V428000 (Equipment) however, the part to do the recall repair was not available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall… |
| 3 Aug 2020 | Suspension | 4,000 | One of the spring shackles has ripped away from the frame. In fact, the frame tore, the weld is intact. I am attempting to include photos. Thank you for your kind attention to this matter.*dt*jb |
| 9 Jun 2019 | Structure › Body | 16 | The roof on the vehicle started to peel off the roof. It is like a thick fabric cover that began to tear off the top. We had to stop and tape it with gorilla tape. I belong to a terry classic group on facebook after posting what happened, I learned that this has happened to over 100 units that… |
| 30 Aug 2010 | Tires | 0 | Tl*the contact owns a 2010 Heartland North Trail runner trailer equipped with duro bias ST205/75/14 (n/a). The contact detected that all four trailer tires tread belt exhibited severe cracks and dry rotted. Additionally, the spare tire exhibited the identical defect. The tires defect occurred… |
How this count is drawn. A report is counted here only when NHTSA’s own model field names this line. What the owner typed in the description is never used to attribute a report: our line names are ordinary English words, and an owner writing “imagine my surprise when the axle went” or naming the state of Montana is not reporting a Grand Design Imagine or a Keystone Montana.
Read these as reports, not as findings. Complaints are submitted by owners and NHTSA does not verify them; no complaint here has been confirmed as a defect, and none of them is a recall. The sample is also self-selected — only owners motivated to file appear in it — so a high count tracks how many units a line sold at least as much as how well it was built. Use the pattern, not the total: a component that keeps recurring is worth inspecting on any used unit. File or search complaints at NHTSA.