Buying this year, Questions (Montana vs. Bighorn)

Charles · May 9, 2010

We will be buying a Heartland Bighorn or a Keystone Montana this year. After doing our research these two manufactures have rigs and floorplans that best fit our travel plans. Question. The Bighorn is much pricier than the Montana. What did the extra $$ buy you and was it worth it.

Also, because we are newbies, any recommendations on RV blogs or websites would be appreciated.

Charles & Karen

regan · May 9, 2010

We looked at both the Montana and the Bighorn. We thought the Bighorn was a better deal, I also liked the capacities of the Bighorn, It seemed that the Bighorn had larger tanks all around than Montana. I dealt with a local RV repair shop, they do not sell RV's they only work on them. I went down and asked them how they felt about quality of both rigs, as they work on both. They told me in their opinion the Bighorn was of better quality than the Montana. I also have to say our rig was not perfect when bought, but we really felt like Heartland supported us on any warranty issue. We were very happy how we were treated and now that we have had our rig going into the third year, we are glad we have our Bighorn. Wish you well on your decision making process...

branson4020 · May 9, 2010

Surprised to hear you found a large price difference. In 2008, when we got quotes from the big internet discount delears on comparably equipped units, the prices were within 2%.

Cletus · May 9, 2010

I have owned both Keystone and Heartland products. We have a Big Country ( 2011 ) and just returned from a 7,000 mile trip. As with any rv u will incurr issues; some structure and others appliances. I must say we did have more issues than ever experienced in prior units. Heartland has stood behind everything so far and most of the issues r with the suppliers of the components which could be on any unit. In my opinion Heartland has a better responce than Keystone did for the most part. If the unit has what u want in layout etc and the price isn't way out of line get the one u like better or u will never be happy; but I don't think u will ever find one that gives u everything. Good luck in your decision making.

jimtoo · May 9, 2010

Hi Charles and Karen,

Welcome to the Heartland Owners Forum and hopefully the family. We have a great bunch of people here with lots of information and all willing to share their knowledge when needed.

I don't think you will find any other RV manufacture that monitors an owners forum and responds to problems as well as the Heartland Factory group. They are always open to suggestions for improvements and changes and they have made a lot just from suggestions from here. If you have any questions, just ask and someone on the forum will give you an answer. We have lots of experienced owners. (I did not say OLD experienced owners!)

Enjoy the forum and join us as a family member. We also have some really great rallies.

Jim M

jimtoo · May 9, 2010

Hi Cletus,

You posted while I was welcoming Charles and Karen. Welcome to you also. Glad you had a favorable report to give and good recommendation about your Heartland Big country.

Enjoy the forum and your new unit.

Check out the forum for a rally in your area and think of joining the Heartland Owners Club...check it out from the "Portal Page" link.

Jim M

tcbrady · May 10, 2010

Charles and Karen - I'm also surprised that you found a large price discrepancy between the Bighorn and the Montana. You might want to double check the options on each quote because the prices should be similar. Bighorn has some standard key features not found on the Montana such as laminated floor and laminated roof giving you better insulation and stronger construction. In addition, the Bighorn has aluminum frame "bus style" slam baggage doors along with hydraulic front landing gear (15x faster than electric). Another key standard is our new "Country Rest" pillow top mattress.

http://www.heartlandrvs.com/product.html?id=2&name=Bighorn&type=Luxury+Fifth+Wheels
you will also see a product video walk around of the interior of the Bighorn by clicking on the above link. Please feel free to call us at Heartland if you have any questions.
Good luck in your decision making process!

Ray LeTourneau · May 10, 2010

It was a few years ago but when we were shopping, the Montana we looked at was a "leftover" 2006. The best deal we could get was within a few dollars of the Bighorn we special ordered and the options on the Bighorn far exceeded what the Montana had. Both manufacturers have come a long way in 4 years but I feel Heartland is still a better choice. But then what would you expect to hear from an owner? I would guess you would receive responses in favor of Montana's on their forum. For us, it's Heartland all the way. Unparalleled Customer Service!

rumaco · May 10, 2010

We also looked at the Montana, simply because there were so many out there. We almost bought it until my better half took a drive to the next town to see where our friends bought thier Bighorn. We looked and were so impressed with the product that we bought it (3580RL) and at about $8000 less than the Montana. Doing some research I also found that the Montana was the most worked on 5er on the market, in other words it was in the shop for repairs more than usual, and maybe this is because there are so many of them. I for one am very glad I bought Heartland..............look at all the great friends I now have! Kind of like a giant family.

skyguy · May 10, 2010

We are one of the many on this forum that switched from Montana to Bighorn. Floor plan, quality of construction, this forum, and the comments on this forum about customer service did it for us. You have a comment from Coley Brady - I doubt any Montana officials monitor their forum - at least they didn't while we were active there. Prior to our delivery, I posted a question about our new 3670. Coley saw my comment, I talked to him over the phone, and a pre-delivery issue was solved to our immense satisfaction!!! There was customer service BEFORE the sale! Our 3670 is a year old now, and we are very satisfied Heartland customers!

ChopperBill · May 10, 2010

We looked at the all too. Didn't really think there was a comparison. Last time we were in AZ we were parked next to couple that just bought a used $200,000 motor home. Traded in their Montana. They came over for a visit and said "WOW! If our Montana was like this we would have kept it".

Charles · May 10, 2010

Hi all,

WOW - We never expected this many responses and information.
They were particularly helpful, because this is our one shot to do this retirement and travel thing,
and we do want to start out with quality equipment.

Thanks for the info and what a great forum.

Charles and Karen

jmgratz · May 10, 2010

Charles said:
Hi all,

WOW - We never expected this many responses and information.
They were particularly helpful, because this is our one shot to do this retirement and travel thing,
and we do want to start out with quality equipment.

Thanks for the info and what a great forum.

Charles and Karen

Just a suggestion - Look at the Landmark as it is one step above the Big Horn. I am not knocking the Big Horn but there are features on the Landmark not available on the Big Horn such as the soft touch ceiling. The price difference is not that much more either. Check it out and you might be pleasantly surprised.

happy_camper · May 10, 2010

We did what Charles and Karen are talking about. We made the compares between the Big Horn and then Montana. The price between the two was very close, item by item. But the Big Horn ended up with some added perks and we went with the 3670RL. I think there was some talk of waranty and twice the Big Horn sounded like less waranty and better support. Only time will tell. Whatever you decide, enjoy your retirement!

aatauses · May 10, 2010

Charles/Karen---good luck on your search. We did extensive searching for over 2 years (prior to retirement) and wanted a Montana, however the more we looked the more we liked the BH and really liked the layout on the 3670 as Montana did not have a floorplan quite like the 3670. We have had ours for about 15 months and have had a few issues, but the customer focus from HL has been just great. I learn something everyday about the differance and just this past week I was chatting with a Montana full timer who had an issue with his holding tank and said Montana would not send him the part directly, only to a dealer which was a major pain sometimes for full timers. I recently had an issue with a table and HL shipped the parts directly to me (at an rv park) and I fixed the problem---so again can only speak from my own experience, but the customer service is exceptional.
al

Bobby A · May 10, 2010

skyguy said:
We are one of the many on this forum that switched from Montana to Bighorn. Floor plan, quality of construction, this forum, and the comments on this forum about customer service did it for us. You have a comment from Coley Brady - I doubt any Montana officials monitor their forum - at least they didn't while we were active there. Prior to our delivery, I posted a question about our new 3670. Coley saw my comment, I talked to him over the phone, and a pre-delivery issue was solved to our immense satisfaction!!! There was customer service BEFORE the sale! Our 3670 is a year old now, and we are very satisfied Heartland customers!

this post says it all, my experiance exactly !! Heartlands Customer service is second to NONE !!

sdgirl · May 23, 2010

Charles and Karen, Welcome to the Heartland owners forum. My hubby and I looked for two years before we bought (we were newbies too!). The Montana was one of the tops on our list, until we found Heartland. We ended up buying a Big Country two years ago and have been super happy with our rig. Great service, but we have very few issues with our BC. Took a 5,000 mile trip just 6 months after we purchased it and it performed great! Good luck and hope you stick with Heartland! Also have had a GREAT mentor from this group who is always willing to answer questions.

karykatz · May 24, 2010

Thanks Everyone for your great support. We appreciate all of you!!!

soon2B · Jun 5, 2010

When we began looking for a full time coach, we looked at many units until we saw a BH. Thouight there were many areas where BH outdistanced the Montana. Slam baggage doors, laminate floors and roof, etc... It came down to 3670 and 3585, our dealer had one of each and put them side by side and 3585 came out the winner it just seemed more open to us. The last new RV we had came with a lot of problems, so when our unit came in this week we expected some problems, we looked at it before they detailed it and to our surprise we couldn't find anything wrong with it, very pleased. For the money no FT unit could compete with the BH ! JMO

KENNY COCHRAN · Jun 15, 2010

We decided on the 3670rl because of the kitchen layout, lots of cabinets, extra large ref./freezer and ice maker. It also has the best insulation of any of the other rv's we looked at. We did not find a montana at the time with the same floor plan. I think they have now copied the 3670rl. We have friends that have a montana & they both have said they would trade us in an instant for our bighorn. Slam doors with a different lock than all the other rv's in the park is also a big feature to me. With the insulation, you don't have to have 2 ac units if you live above the mason/dixon line.

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