Big Country Vs Big Horn

Is the Big Country and Big Horn comparable, in other words are they the same from a build, specs, features and quality perspective, or is one higher end than the other?

Appreciate your feedback.

Regards,

David

I have never owned a Big Horn but the Big Horn is looked upon as the next step up from a BC.

Specs, features, etc can be found on the company website. I think what would drive my decision would be bugdet, amount of usage, and a few options that may be available on one and not the other.

Quailty, for what ever that word truly means, I think is very comparable. Our BC has more than met our requirements for interior fit and finish and construction. With that said, we have our BC for sale to upgrade. Not because of any dissapointment in the unit but there are some factory options we would like that are not offered on the BC.

Which factory options are not available on the Big Country? I want to make sure that everyone knows there are several options that are now available.

Bryan, the big one for me that drove me to the Big Horn over the BC, was the hydraulic front landing gear. I got tired of all that waiting with the slow electric jack. Ridiculous, I know... we're camping, right? I was told it was not available on the BC at the time I placed my order (about 5 weeks ago).

The other standard BH upgrades over BC are not what sold me (solid wood cabinet stiles, etc). It was mostly about the landing gear!

ihsolutions said:

Bryan, the big one for me that drove me to the Big Horn over the BC, was the hydraulic front landing gear. I got tired of all that waiting with the slow electric jack. Ridiculous, I know... we're camping, right? I was told it was not available on the BC at the time I placed my order (about 5 weeks ago).

The other standard BH upgrades over BC are not what sold me (solid wood cabinet stiles, etc). It was mostly about the landing gear!

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That would be the big one!!

We went to the dealer looking to buy a Bighorn but we liked the new 2011 3450TS so much we ended up buying it. So far we are happy. We work camp and snow bird so we are in the rv about 10 months of the year. The only thing that I would like to have now would be the front hydraulic legs and on our model when you open the slides the bedroom slide is on one switch and the other two slides are on another switch. I believe on the Bighorn each slide has it's own switch. So far this hasn't caused any problems for us so far. If I was to do it over today, after the winter we have had here in Texas, I would have ordered our Big Country with dual pane windows, we have been fighting condensation on our windows all winter from all the cold and rain.

We almost went with the 3450 but ended up with a '10 3410 that was on the dealers lot. Size was the main issue as I can just get the 3410 on the driveway which has made things very convenient here as we're still moving in! I can't imagine what a hassle it would be to run back and forth to the storage lot!! I really liked the 3450 but it didn't have the dual pane windows that the 3410 had and so we would have to order. I was not about to get another trailer with single pane windows, dual panes are a must! Another factor was the 3410 is an Nov '08 build so we got a bit of a discount. I found the BH had a few extra things that the BC didn't have like more light fixtures, better wood finish, an extra outlet w/switch by the awning, a better stereo and speakers, plus the BH's comes with dual battery boxes, and with the '11, a battery shutoff switch. Basically it's just small things, stuff you really don't need or could easily add later. If size wasn't a factor I would have ordered the 3450 instead.

One thing that I didn't realize until PDI was that this '10 3410 has electric landing gear! Had hydraulic on the previous so that didn't go over well but I think I'm over it now! What I do like is that even though there is just one switch for the slides there are valves that can be used to control the slides individually. I'm not 100% the BC has that but it's a very handy feature!

Unless something's changed recently, the slides on the BH all work from a single switch inside the coach. If you want to run them separately, you have to do it from the hydraulic manifold on the side of the rig by opening/closing the appropriate valve. That is handy, at times.

The hydraulic vs. electric landing gear question is what is keeping me awake trying to decide what line to go with. On another thread on this forum I wrote that I was heading over to the BC dealer to view in person the deployment of the landing gear and slides on a 3650 with the new remote. My big hangup is the speed or lack there of the electrics. Now the dealer is saying that the amount of time to raise and lower the trailer is not a big deal. They do it all the time in the lot and it takes only a minute to complete. In fact I stood in the 9 degree sun with -16 wind chill to witness myself a complete attach and detach in order to be part of it. I will say that it really didn't take take long 45 to 60 seconds to raise or lower the electric gear. But when I watch the Heartland video showing a Cyclone and a Big Horn equipped with hydraulic landing gear against "Brand X" the difference is huge!

Please chime in and help me over the fence. My wife really wants the 3650 for it's perfect layout and size but I keep shooting it down because it will be harder/slower to setup, and setup is the big thing with me because I'll be doing most of it. Coming from a popup camper I'm tired of spending hours setting up the trailer to go camping.

If money isn't the object the go with the Big Horn. There are many other features you didn't mention as well that you will get with the Horn.

Here is another option for the Big Country, I had the Lippert 6 leg auto level up system installed in ours. Now I have an all hydraulic Big Country, and it was wayyyyyyy lower than a comparable Big Horn, that had hydraulic front legs, but no level up. It all boils down to personal choices. I am very happy with mine.

JohnDar said:

Unless something's changed recently, the slides on the BH all work from a single switch inside the coach. If you want to run them separately, you have to do it from the hydraulic manifold on the side of the rig by opening/closing the appropriate valve. That is handy, at times.

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Our Bighorn has two inside switches. One is for the bedroom slide, and the other is for the opposing slides. You can close a valve to operate only one of the opposing slides.

Flying Dutchman said:

Here is another option for the Big Country, I had the Lippert 6 leg auto level up system installed in ours. Now I have an all hydraulic Big Country, and it was wayyyyyyy lower than a comparable Big Horn, that had hydraulic front legs, but no level up. It all boils down to personal choices. I am very happy with mine.

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That is what I really wanted when we found the Cedar Creek but after touring the BC 3650 my wife and I feel it is the best floorplan for us but I really didn't want to compromise on auto leveling or hydraulic landing gear. Since my last post the dealer has called me back and said Heartland would install the hydraulic landing gear at the factory. I may now ask if I could have the Lippert 6 Leg System instead because the rear electric jacks were also painfully slow.

We have the BC and there was immediate requirements to have individual slide controls that has been obsoleted on the BC before we bought ours. I installed 4 individual 90 deg ball valves and just love my setup compared to the tinny little controls on the BH.

I have no confidence in the Hydraulic landing gear, and with proper maintenance to the electric units they a sure dependable unit being used for the past 20 years. Until there is better safety ideas being used on these 1/2 designed and rush systems I will stay with the proven system.

For us it was a no brainer to get the BC instead of the BH. We can afford the unit and after living in it full time for 1 1/2 years we are very satisfied with the storage and space in our unit.

We went to the Tampa RV show and walked in every other units about and above ours and came home very satisfied with our unit. We listened to so many lies by salemen advising such things as storage space, convenience, luxeries on the inside of the units. No one other then me ever looked at the basements, frames, axles, tires and other main items that makes the units so durable.

JohnDar said:

Unless something's changed recently, the slides on the BH all work from a single switch inside the coach. If you want to run them separately, you have to do it from the hydraulic manifold on the side of the rig by opening/closing the appropriate valve. That is handy, at times.

Click to expand...

The bedroom slide is now on it's own switch (at least on the BH3670). The others have the hydraulic, lock out selector feature on the same switch.

TANDT said:

The bedroom slide is now on it's own switch (at least on the BH3670). The others have the hydraulic, lock out selector feature on the same switch.

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Convenient for overnight's on the road, I guess. About the only times I use the selector manifold is if I'm doing some work at the storage yard and need to get in the rear of the coach. At the CG, when ready, we just use the single switch inside and they extend/retract in sequence.

I guess I will share some of our thoughts...Money was a big reason we purchased the Big Country. We could have bought a Big Horn but we got a much larger rig for the price of a smaller BH. Secondly, we much preferred the esthetics of both the interior and exterior of the Big Country (just a personal thing). The BH upgrades such as the hydraulic landing gear, solid wood cabinet stiles, slam baggage doors, pillow top mattress, fabric backed dinette chairs, to name just a few, were not incentive enough for us part-time campers to negate the option of a larger floorplan and the size/comfort of a Big Country. Many of the amenities are the same. Construction is basically the same. Both are excellent rigs and I can't think of anything negative to say about either model. If you can, go see both and ultimately, let your wife decide!

Best Wishes!

Caissiel & SJH you both make very good points regarding the landing gear and overall value of the BC. The wife and I have purchased our tickets for the Minneapolis RV show and plan on detailed inspections, discussions and role playing for a typical arrival and departure from the campground. I’m taking a paid day off from work so that we can go when the crowds are lighter.
I’m a detail guy; processes, procedures and checklists weather it is purchasing the new trailer or setting up camp. I don’t want anything to spoil the precious time I spend with my wife in the great outdoors. So is it really important to lower the landing gear in 6 seconds or 30 seconds? No. With that said I have to say that I’m this close (holding thumb and index finger 1 inch apart) to going with the Big Country 3650. The show will push me off the fence.
Thanks for all your help!

for what I see they are about the same!

Gene, didn't you also say this "(I will die with this baby)" about the 2d Big Horn?