Shake Down Cruise on 3250TS

CampinNow

Member
Dear All,

My wife and I finalized our first new RV purchase last Saturday with Eddie Holmberg of Holman RV in Batavia, OH. I thought I would share that experience as well as the results of our shakedown cruise this weekend.

We had reviewed every single fifth wheel brand on the market and narrowed our search to those that were around 32-34" that we could pull with our 2005 Dodge Ram 2500 Crew Cab diesel. Then, we visited Holman's who carried all the brands that met our criteria. We narrowed our search down a bit further, went home and talked about it and did price research. We found that Holman's consistently had the best price on every single model that interested us. We made a final trip to Holman's. They let us stay on their lot unattended for at least 3 hours while we narrowed our search down to two units. Then, we went to talk to Eddie about our choices, and his expertise led us to the Big Country 3250TS.

Last weekend, we went to do our PDI. A gentlemen named Roy was very thorough and took us through a comprehensive inspection. Then, they allowed us to take our time and do our own inspection. We found a few minor things that they fixed right away. We also found that the left exterior speaker was blown, and I had some serious concerns with the roof. I reported those to service who is making a claim with Heartland, but as of Friday, Holman's did not have a response from them. A bit disappointed in this. They could have shipped the speaker immediately.

As to the roof, there is clearly a flashing that comes over the edge onto the flat of the roof. It seems to be nailed or screwed down, but not well. In a number of locations, I can actually feel it go down when I push on it. Of even greater concern are areas where it appears this flashing has a seam or has been lapped, or folded, and there are sharp places that undoubtedly will penetrate the roof. I hope that Heartland is responsive to this concern and will take care of it before it inevitably leaks and causes damage to an otherwise well constructed unit. I will keep everyone posted on this.

I should also mention that Ron of Holman's helped us with our financing, insurance, and extended service plan. We found him to be very genuine and thorough. We left feeling comfortable and confident in our decisions, and that Ron had saved us money.

This weekend, we traveled about 75 miles to Lexington, Ky with the 3250TS to tailgate two nights before the big UK vs. South Carolina game. Go Cats! There were no hookups there, so we were dependant on our generator and holding tanks for the comfort of us and our two guests.

I have towed the unit over 200 miles now, and the 2500 handles it very well. Having the fresh water tank full takes some weight off the pin and makes it pull even better. Checked lug nuts, bearings, and all suspension closely on several occassions throughout, and everything is well.

Our 5,500 watt generator pulls the A/C plus the microwave and TV and lights without a single grunt. We had plenty of fresh water, with lots of pressure from the pump. The gray tanks and the wastewater tanks were only at 1/3 full after two days.

As to everything else, we couldn't have had a better experience. The coach is quiet, warm, cool, and comfortable. All the electronics worked well (except for the blown speaker). We have storage we will never ever use, and I can't begin to share all the compliments we got from fellow campers on how great the unit looks.

The jury is still out on the responsiveness of Heartland to my concerns, but thus far the coach seems to be trouble free except for the items I have highlighted.

I hope that others may benefit from my experience and will enjoy reading this thread. If I can help anyone with any questions about the 3250TS, please feel free to ask.
 

SJH

Past Washington Chapter Leaders
Congratulations on your new rig! No doubt, Heartland will stand by their products. We, like you, ended up purchasing our Big Country from Holman via Jamie Holberg. The entire experience went very well...even having it delivered nearly 3000 miles across the US to our home in WA state. We love our Big Country, it is a beautiful rig!

There is a recent post regarding the metal roof flashing you are describing. Read HERE

Best Wishes and Happy Camping!
 

CampinNow

Member
Thanks for your response and the tip on the roof thread. I too have posted there to express my concern.

Hope you enjoy your coach!

Regards!
 

Nabo

Southeast Region Director-Retired
Congratulations on your new 3250. Hope you will enjoy it as much as we have enjoyed ours. Since ours is a 08 model, built in 07, we haven't had any problems with the roof flashing. Hope yours will not be a major concern.
 

Elder1

Active Member
Congrats on your 3250ts. We love ours and like you we also had some issues but Heartland and our dealer took care of them fast so I'm well pleased.
 
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