Opinions on Heartland Bighorn - RV-Dreams Community Forum

contra · RV-Dreams Family Member

Opinions on Heartland Bighorn

Hogladyrider · RV-Dreams Family Member

We are the proud owners of a 2009 Bighorn 3600RL and though we are not full timers yet, it was purchased with that goal in mind and we LOVE our RV!

We attend the Tampa show and we seriously considered Carriage and NuWa as well along with Doubletree.

We are 100% satisfied with our choice of Heartland. We were fortunate to find a unit that had everything we were looking for dual pane windows, fireplace, washer/dryer prep, 4 slides oh and a great price as well.

Have you looked at the Heartland owners forum, lots of great info there as well.

I will send you a private message with additional details.

Good luck with your search, it can be overwhelming but it is worth all the effort.
Susan

JLitton65 · RV-Dreams Family Member

We have a Heartland Cyclone..we really like it. When we look at other 5th wheels that are similar, ours has lots of things theirs does not.

Gary · RV-Dreams Family Member

I'm still in the "research" phase but I have looked over the Heartlands. Nice rigs as far as I can tell.

There is an RV Show in Virginia Beach 22-24 January. I will be checking that out.

Terry and Jo · RV-Dreams Family Member

Connie and Tracy,

I have no experience with the Heartlands, but here are a couple of sources of information for you. Both involve forums where you can do some reading and get an idea from owners.

This one is for the forums pages:

http://www.heartlandowners.org/forum/index.php?

This is the Hearland Owners main page:

http://www.heartlandowners.org/

This site looks like it doesn't have as much activity as the owners forums, but it is another source:

http://www.5thwheelforums.com/forums/

With that last one, just scroll down to Heartland.

Good luck.

Terry

-- Edited by Terry and Jo on Saturday 16th of January 2010 10:03:34 AM

eagleshea · RV-Dreams Family Member

We also fell in love with the Heartlands at the Tampa RV Show last year and are looking forward to doing some more research on them this year at the show. Last year there was a lady in one that had a Heartland and she was very happy with it. Her's was one of the original and she has had it for 4 years and she says that they did alot of looking before buying. It was great to actually talk to someone that owned one and not just the manufactues rep at the show. She also agreeed with every thing the rep was explaining and said he was pulling no punches.

We hope to be full timers in a couple of years and right now are leaning on a Heartland in our future.

Racerguy · RV-Dreams Family Member

Connie and Tracy, when we bought our Cedar Creek it came down that and The Big Horn. We chose purely on floor plan but would have had no problem with the Big Horn had we found one to fit our taste. I have heard good things about them. Do as Terry suggests and go to the owners group and read. Just remember as with any products web forum you will get more comments from the few that have had trouble( unavoidable in any brand) than those many that have no trouble at all. Good luck on your search.

flyone · RV-Dreams Family Member

A close family member bought a Big Horn last year. I'm not sure what the model number is but it is nice. Over all the quality seems to be good, they have had a few small things that they needed to get taken care of at the dealer. But all were handled by the warrenty no questions ask. Also they have been real pleased with the manufactures response when they have a question about something. They could not be happier with the 5'er and they got it a t a great price. My opinon at this point would be go for it. I would have no problem with buying one for myself if I could find a suitable floorplan and price.

Flyone (Bob)

DagoRanch · RV-Dreams Family Member

Heartland was on my radar as well. I liked the "Big Country" line, and the price was very good. Unfortunately, not quite good enough for my budget. If my budget increases, they'd be on my shortlist.

-- Edited by DagoRanch on Friday 15th of January 2010 04:26:37 PM

contra · RV-Dreams Family Member

Thanks for all of your responses. As you've done in the past, you've helped give me the confidence to follow my gut. And my gut said to go for it....so we did! We signed the papers tonight! After a little more analyzing and looking at it again, we came to the same conclusion as we did yesterday, that it was just too good to pass up. There are other models we liked, but would have cost us more. And there were some manufacturers we never got to see, so I guess we won't know what we're missing there. But it really came down to the fact that we really liked this unit and the price was something that we were comfortable with. As with anything, I'm sure we could have found other good deals out there if we put forth the effort, but the convenience of buying it in our hometown and supporting our local community is worth a lot too. And ultimately, we're really happy with our decision and it feels right!

Now we just have to sell the house...and the people who viewed the house yesterday are coming tomorrow for a second look, so cross your fingers! Wouldn't it be something if we sold our old home and bought our new home all in the same weekend??

I'll post some pictures of our new home on my blog tomorrow, but it's been a really long, emotional couple of days so I'm going to say goodnight for now. Thanks again for being such a great family!

Gary · RV-Dreams Family Member

CONGRATS!! I hope you enjoy the new home!

eagleshea · RV-Dreams Family Member

Congratulations !!!! We hope that you have many wonderful years in your new home and may your S & B sell fast.

Hogladyrider · RV-Dreams Family Member

Congratulations! Hoping your current home sells quickly so you can start enjoying your new Big Horn!

Susan

Linda · Hostess

Hey congrats you two!!!!! We are so excited for you. All of your puzzle pieces seem to be falling into place!

We toured several Big Horns and other Heartland models this past Thursday at the Tampa RV show. Very nice units. We also met the president of the Heartland Owner's Club. He has been a long time reader of our website and very nice. His name is Jim Beletti. I am sure he will gladly answer any questions you have.

So I will be waiting for the news of the biggest puzzle piece to fall with the selling of the house!

The Dream is alive!

Terry and Jo · RV-Dreams Family Member

Connie and Tracy,

Congratulations on the new home. From what I have been able to glean from the RV forums that I follow, the Bighorn seems to have a pretty good reputation. The main thing is that you are happy with what you have purchased.

We are hoping that your experience with selling your house is better than ours. At any rate, we hope to meet you down the road somewhere.

Now, I'll bet you are wishing for better weather so you can go "break it in".

Terry

-- Edited by Terry and Jo on Saturday 16th of January 2010 10:03:14 AM

Cindy T · RV-Dreams Family Member

BIG CONGRATULATIONS on your new home!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Can't wait to see the pics!

Cindy T

leno · RV-Dreams Family Member

Congratulations! We too bought a Heartland Big Horn in Sept. We have been very happy so far with our unit. I did alot of research before buying and one of the things that stood out to me was the customer service from Heartland. Follow the advice of others and check out the Heartland Owners Club and Join, you will not regret it. If possible try to make the Heartland Rally in July in Nashville. It will be our first and really looking forward to it.
Good Luck!!

Racerguy · RV-Dreams Family Member

Congratulations on your purchase. Hope your stix and brix sale is more successful than ours so you can head on out. We did a 30 day trial run and really enjoyed our selves and felt we made the right choice on our 5ver. It just felt like HOME. I'm positive you will feel the same way with that Bighorn. You are one step closer. Don't know about you but we've had enough of this Colorado cold.

contra · RV-Dreams Family Member

Thanks for all of the congraulations. We are really excited and can hardly wait to move in!

I posted some pics on my blog - use the link in the signature line

Terry and Jo · RV-Dreams Family Member

Connie and Tracy,

Now, you need to change your signature lines.

Just to add a confidence factor for you, Jo and I went to a used RV dealer in Elk City, Oklahoma today to look at used DRV units. While we were talking to the young lady helping us (its hers and her husband's business) she asked what we had to pull a fifth wheel with.

We told her it was a Ford F450 and she then told us that they had been going to auctions to buy repossessed DRV units with a Ford F350. Then they traded up to a F450. She said that we would hardly even know the DRV was behind us when we were pulling it. She said they would never go back to an F350.

So, I would guess that you can be real confidant with your towing vehicle. Considering the GVWR of the Bighorn, you'll be glad you have the F450. Just get comfortable with the two units. I suggest finding an large, empty parking lot and get used to turning and backing with it.

Enjoy the new life.

Terry

dream reachers · RV-Dreams Family Member

Congratulations on finding a trailer you are happy with. It is good that you were able to buy one without going into debt. It will make you feel so free not to have to carry debt into your new fulltime lifestyle. Wishing you the best on the sale of your house.

Gary · RV-Dreams Family Member

I looked at the Big Horns a couple of weeks ago. Real nice units. I think you'll be pleased. The pics are nice and I hope you home sells "on time" so you're not going crazy and the pieces fall into place!

hasanchez · RV-Dreams Family Member

Now that it's been 5 years since the last Post on this Thread.........what are Dreamers opinions of Bighorn now? Same positive comments? We are still two years away from pulling the trigger and loads and loads of research is being had. I would just like to hear from you fine people regarding the Bighorn (2015/16 models)..

Thank you.

jrzygrl64 · RV-Dreams Family Member

We own a 2014 Heartland Landmark, been full-time for a year and we love it! We also know people who have Big Horn's and they love them too!

Heartland is a great company to deal with!

Good luck in your research and decision!

hasanchez · RV-Dreams Family Member

That's good to know. Thank you very much for the input. Very much appreciated!

Henry

Sacramento, CA

MikenRobin · RV-Dreams Family Member

We have a Heartland Big Country. Bought it last December. We have it set up on a seasonal site for now, our FT launch date is August 2016.

We absolutely love it.

Mike

Hogladyrider · RV-Dreams Family Member

We had a 2009 Big Horn 3600RL and traded it this past May for a 2016 Big Horn 3875FB and we love Heartland products!

It is amazing the differences in the coaches from 2009 until now. We close on our home 9/18 and will be fulltime in our RV, something we have been planning since 2009!

Can't wait to spend our first summer OUT OF STEAMY FLORIDA! Of course we will winter here in Silver Springs on our RV lot.

Susan

NurseJudy · RV-Dreams Family Member

We have a 2015 Bighorn 3010. We ordered it custom to our spec and have had it for just over 1 year. We absolutely love it! We are not full time yet (hopefully in late 2016 :) but we have used it frequently over last year, including at least 3, 2 week outings. We have had some problems (leaky rear window, kinking LP hose to refrigerator, broken shower door latch), but the dealership we are using (Harold's RV in Bath PA) has been excellent at repairing these items completely. Also, Heartland has stood behind their product and made good on every repair. We are now out of warranty, so we will see how that goes as we move along. Overall however, we are very happy with quality and layout. We did "exhaustive" research for over 18 months before we made this final decision. We went to Hershey RV show in September "just to look" and there was nothing else out there that would even want to make us change our mind (except maybe another Heartland). Good luck with whatever you choose and enjoy the life!

Judy

Jim Fitz · RV-Dreams Community Member

Judy. My wife and I are looking at going full time, and really like the Bighorn 3010, and would like to get a 2016 after the first of the year, when the 2017s come out and the price drops on the 2016. Even though we have camped in almost everything over the years, we have never "full timed" it, so not sure where to really start. My wife says "Where are we going?" I say "Heck, I don't know." So we really don't have a plan, other than to likely stay west of the Mississippi, or maybe the South. What do you pull your 3010 with?? Your recommendations and inputs would be appreciated. Jim and Phyllis

jayc · RV-Dreams Family Member

We have been living full time in our 2011 Heartland Landmark and have had very few issues and they were handled by our dealer without problem. We started our full timing adventures in a Bighorn (our second one) and even though we had some issues with it, they were handled by the factory very satisfactorily. Heartland has been known for a long time for their outstanding customer service.

LoverMusic2416 · RV-Dreams Community Member

We have a 2011 Heartland Bighorn 3800BH and the previous owners of two Keystone Montana Mountaineers. Our Bighorn has 1.5 baths, a bunk house with two slides, booth dinette and sofa bed in living room, kitchen island, and five slides total. Overall, it's been a good RV though we've had some trouble with broken hinges on cupboard doors and the bunkhouse doesn't heat well. An ongoing problem is the refrigerator doesn't switch automatically from electric to gas and vice versa. Also found out recently from our service manager, the furnace was wired incorrectly, maybe that contributes to the BH not heating well. Other minor issues are related to the wear and tear from four grandchildren and their parents. These issues aren't necessarily a deal killer for buying another Heartland fifth wheel.

Because our extended family often camps with us, in our search for a new FW, we are interested in finding a floor plan which includes a bunk house yet we also want a floor plan that can accommodate our extended stay trips for my husband and I when I retire in the next two years. The Bighorn is considered a luxury model in the Heartland FW choices though currently they do not offer a bunk house floor plan in this model.

At this year's PA RV Show in Hershey, we found two Heartland models which had nice BH floor plans, the Gateway 3800RLB and the Oakmont OM 390MBL. I liked the Gateway BH floor plan better and my husband liked the Oakmont BH better though neither of us is keen on downgrading from a luxury to a full profile model. The Oakmont is not as well insulated though the specifications indicate the Gateway has the same insulation as the current Bighorn models.

Our search for a new FW will include looking at Heartland as well as other brands and models, touring the factories in the Spring, reading lots of RV manufacturer and FW model reviews, and participating in multiple RV forums. Ultimately, I think we will end up with a floor plan where the bunk house is in the middle. Hopefully RV manufacturers will realize there is a market for baby boomers like us who want to purchase a BH in a luxury model. The Keystone Montana already has a floor plan with the BH in the middle and Augusta RV is nearly ready to start production of a middle BH in their Luxe model.

Good luck with your search for a new fifth wheel.

kb0zke · RV-Dreams Family Member

A Bighorn was a big factor in our decision to go full-time, and we even bought a Heartland mpg as our "learner" trailer with the idea that trading in a Heartland product on a (used) larger Heartland product might get us a bit more of a price break. As it turned out, our research led us away from a towable and toward a MH, but Heartland didn't have anything to do with that.

As others have said, Heartland takes good care of their customers. Be sure to join their owners' club when you buy. Before you buy, join the Heartland Owners' forum www.heartlandowners.org/forum.php and ask your questions. There are line-specific sub-forums, so you can ask Bighorn-specific questions on that forum and general Heartland questions on the general part.

Jim Fitz · RV-Dreams Community Member

Thank you all for your insights. Much appreciated.