Heartland Bighorn questions - RV-Dreams Community Forum

tatkinson · RV-Dreams Community Member

Heartland Bighorn questions

RVDude · RV-Dreams Family Member

I don't have a Bighorn but will offer my observations of what you perceive. All rigs, from a pop-up to a Prevost, are going to have some "issues." It's a complex machine with a lot of parts. My observation is that in many other forum posts about "quality" or "issues" quite literally one person (irate, irrational, or otherwise) can make a product appear to be downright awful - “more than the average” like you said. These “flamers” and the flaming topics exist in spades on other forums and can lead to a possibly incorrect perception. Now, take a step back from that. You can not in any way scientifically or realistically gauge the quality of a product from random, subjective web postings. So, what really matters?

With that said, look deeply at HOW those issues were HANDLED by both the dealer and the manufacturer. You can glean some insight of that from the web postings and PM'ing or emailing the individuals with specific, quantitative questions to cut through the opinion and see how they and the problem were treated and judge how those owners approached their problems. You can not escape the existence of some issues, but the way they are handled will tell you everything. Dealer problems can be fixed by going to another dealer, manufacturer problems are another story.

Signing that order is the first of many nail-biters on the road to the Dream. Look at how you and the inevitable problems are treated, that's where the silver lining is. I hope all works out for you!

-- Edited by RVDude at 22:20, 2007-04-24

blijil · RV-Dreams Family Member

I agree with the RV Dude. We have a Cedar Creek which has a very active forum. A few people seemed to have problems that they just couldn't let go even though most of their issues were with the dealer. Most of us have had the same kind of problems with a car dealer or an appliance but we aren't quite so emotional about them. Were the problems real? Yes. Were they over-reacting? Who knows?

All RV owners have to deal with annoying stuff. Dometic Refrigerator recall being a recent one. Substandard Tires are occasionally installed. Other mechanical and electrical (battery) maintenance and appliance behavior can get frustrating and in the way of living the good life. But to tell you the truth I have more frustration with my cell phone. No coverage, flaky extended coverage, plan changed, etc.

Is there a lemon or two out there? Of course but in general it doesn't follow a brand. Heavy use of a week end trailer will increase maintenance but that doesn't mean you can't make it work or that it is defective. It just means that there are trade offs we all choose to make when buying anything.

I am a negative thinker among the multitudes of optimist out there and even I seem to be more positive about RV manufactures than some on the forums. Go figure.

Good luck with your new rig.
Larry

Luvglass · RV-Dreams Family Member

I would suggest backing out of it and revisiting the selection process. There's a lot of information available and owners discussion groups to monitor.

That's a big financial commitment to make. I wouldn't go into it with doubts. You can always reorder it later.

Good luck,

tatkinson · RV-Dreams Community Member

We appreciate the help! We probably will cancel with the thought that we might reorder if we get all our questions answered adequately. We thought we had researched this enough before putting in an order....it was amazing how everyone came out of the woodwork when they found out what we had ordered. Again, we appreciate yeveryone's help.

Niles and Deb · RV-Dreams Family Member

I'm sorry to hear that you might cancel your order, we just ordered ours Monday, it will be here in 4 to 6 weeks. We too have done a lot of homework and if you find a prefect manufacturer please let us know. I guess what we have found is that the issues that are arising for a Heartland have been handled and they seem like they are willing to go the extra mile to make it right. Heartland is a fairly new RV manufacturer and they have had a big company just come into play with an investment to help them grow. I feel they put out a quality Trailer for the buck and am happy with our decision. We did a lot of looking, Escalades, Moblie Suities, Montana's, Cameo's, and so on, believe me when I say that our friends thought we would never make up our mind. Just my opinion, soon to be proud owner of a 3670 Bighorn.

Tmcblane · RV-Dreams Family Member

We just recently purchased a Bighorn (RK2925) it is an already outdated early 07 model. In general we are extremely pleased with it. There are some standard items that make it attractive such as all wood fronts and doors compared to the wrapped particle board, full extension drawers and Mor Ryde suspension. Now I am not saying we have not had issues but as Rv dude said you will always have things that need repaired. I am a tinker guy so soon as I got it home I started to tear it apart. There are certainly some issues that should be addressed by the factory and when I listed them on their site they have not responded. That's not to say they are not looking into it though.

In general I will give a run down of issues, and remember these are not all specific to this model but RV's in general. Never assume your unit is perfect because you have not seen anything. For the average Rv'er that uses his unit a couple times a month, a water leak for instance may never rear it's ugly head till long after you are out of warranty. So ALWAYS check the RV over on a regular basis:

Shower Faucet not sealed to prevent flow of water behind it, which leaks to floor behind surround.

Access panel not sealed to surround, see above results. Not all showers have this but some do depending on if the faucet is accessable from an outer wall. Ours is about a 6" diameter plug that screws out.

Glass in shower enclosure not sealed well.

Satellite and cable connections Horribly wrong or missing. Ours, there were no cables connected to the satellite connection at the entertainment center and the antenna wire was also not connected but had the satellite wire connected to it instead. The antenna wire was just left dangling inside the wall. Fortunately I found it.

Water tank connections on back of heater loose, resulting in dripping water and accumulation in underbelly.

Wire nuts off or missing in concealed places.

Blinds not mounted straight. This is certainly a factory messup. How much more time does it take to mount it straight?

Typical sawdust and wood cutouts left in unseen areas.

This is what I have found in the last week. But remember I am LOOKING for items now so they don't become issues later. I pull covers and such off just to see what makes it tick.

As an additional preventive issue I wrap ALL water connections with Rescue tape to help prevent water leaks in the future and wrap all terminated wires with the same tape. Same applies to gas connections. Why not protect yourself now and not have to worry later.

Like I said this is normal stuff for ALL RV"s not just some. If you live fulltime in your unit you had better make a habit of checking connections and plumbing hookups or it WILL come back to bite you. smile

-- Edited by Tmcblane at 07:05, 2007-05-18

jayc · RV-Dreams Family Member

After much research, we bought a Bighorn mod. 3055 a few months ago. We had a problem, but it was more a dealer problem than anything, and in fact, the factory stepped up and took care of everything for us. Then they offered to reimburse a local rv repair shop-not a Heartland dealer-for any future repairs. I don't know of any other manufacturer that offer the customer service that I've seen and now personally experienced with my Bighorn.