Bighorn questions and concerns

T

tomnpam

Guest
Yesterday we orderd a Bighorn 3670 after much looking and research. Since then we have found several folks who would not order from Heartland again. Obviously, we are nervous now about our big purchase. Your forum was recommended to us as the place to find help. We have 36 more hours before we can cancel our order so your input is appreciated. We are hoping they have "ironed" out all the wrinkles from their '06 and '07 models with the "new and improved" units in '08. Would you buy from Heartland again, I guess would be our ultimate question. Thanks for your help. T & P
 

DennisZ

Well-known member
Tom & Pam
I would buy again. We have a 3055RL and are very pleased with the unit.

Dennis
 

katkens

Founding Illinios Chapter Leader-retired
We brought our Bighorn in September it's an 07 we have not had any major trouble with it at all and we love it, the room, the storage. We had a SunnyBrook before this and we though we would not buy anything else till we found this one.Would we buy again yes we would our dealer is very good to us also. Good luck to you in making your decision. :)
 

Ron Schoner

Tin Star
Tom & Pam, we have a 3670 Bighorn and we love it. We had one problem. The front jack locking pin was bent and broke. The dealer replaced it. Thats it.

Becky loves the storage space, and the size of the kitchen. I would buy another tomorrow.

Ron
 

jimtoo

Moderator
We are the proud owners of an 08 3055RL. We owned an 06 3055 before and it had its share of problems. We worked with the dealer, Explore USA and Heartland and our problems were taken care of. That is the reason we now own an 08 model, our dealer and Heartland take care of their customers. The new models have much better quality control and materials put into them and I think you will be happy with your purchase.

Jim
 

trdeal

Past North Carolina Chapter Leader
We have a 2005 Landmark Mt Rushmore, and we love. We have had some problems, but YES we would buy again.If you will check with new owners of non Heartland products they will tell you that they have had problems also.If you like the unit , GO FOR IT! Find a good dealer with a Great service department just in case you need them.
 

phranc

Well-known member
We have a '06(built late in '05) and haven't needed that iron yet.A few small issues that were Dometics problem and my dealer and Heartland took care of all.. Very satisfied..
 

arisce

Well-known member
Hi tomnpan,
We have the 3600 RL. We would trade it in only for a 3670 RL. My wife loves the layout but we are committed to this one until we can afford a trade. The only thing I would not do is buy from our dealer. They were poor from the beginning. But they were the only ones that sold Heartland. Heart land has dropped them as a dealer. The new dealer is further away but has a good reputation. I would say buy the Big Horn if your dealer has a good reputation. This is as important as any other factor. You will have to deal with them for at least a year. BTW, if you search the internet for any make or model you will find someone that will never buy brand X again. But no matter what you buy you will not find a better owners group in the RV industry. This forum alone is worth the purchase of a Heartland product. If you do buy then sign up for the rally and see what I mean. Good luck.
 

sailorand

Past British Columbia Chapter Leader
We have a 2006 3555rl. Yes we would buy it again. Heartland stands behind thier product. Just hope your DEALER does not take 1 year to fix a small "problem"
 

madigand

Well-known member
I have an 08 3670. A couple of minor problems. Heartland has very graciously bailed me out of trouble (air bed had small leak, they contacted Flair and sent new and improved model. Pulled shower door by towel handle when stuck and it shattered into a zillion pieces. They are sending new door) Great support and rapport with Heartland. I would heartily recommend another unit.
 

billd

Well-known member
I have a 2007 3670RL, would I buy a Heartland again, yes, have I had any issues, a few. Mostly minor. Only outstanding issue is heater flow from all of the vents, will be taking it back in around October to be fixed, but it will not be at my purchasing dealer, they said it is normal, but it isnt and Heartland has directed me to an authorized independant to have them look at the heater.

Bill
 

mrcomer

Past Ohio Chapter Leaders (Founding)
Absolutely!!

We too would buy another Heartland product. We have a 2006 3500RL and had some initial problems but our dealer was absolutely fantastic with getting them resolved along with Heartland who did everything they could to make sure we were satisfied. Without a doubt, the best experience with an RV dealer and manufacturer we've had. This being our 5th camper in 8 years of camping.

Good luck,

Mark
 

DougLynne

retired Alberta Chapter Leaders
We haven't used our 07 3055 much as yet but we would buy another. When I was looking around the other brands I was sold on the quality and design of the Heartland. What finally sold me was I contacted Scott at Heartland with questions and he was back to me promptly with answers. I doubt theres another manufacturer that has an owner online with the user forum answering customer and potential customer questions. Outstanding..../Doug
 

ChopperBill

Well-known member
Tom and Pam asked the same question on RV.net and got mostly negative responses. I am staying out of it myself, due to mixed emotions. But how about some of you folks go over to RV.net and help shore things a bit. I am sure Tom and Pam will be able to sort out all the responses but Heartland could sure use some help over there.
 

jbeletti

Well-known member
Bill,

Thanks for your post. I agree, it would be nice for Tom and Pat's post on RV.net to receive a bit of balance. The replies there so far would imply that the ownerbase is largely unsatisfied when I am confident that the oppostite is true.

I have discussed the RV.net replies with Heartland RVs, and Scott Tuttle at the factory did respond to me with regard to the tank issue. I'll paraphrase it below, then I'll post it on RV.net:

(from Heartland RVs) ...it’s not true that we (Heartland RVs) only support the fresh water tank with a piece of plywood. The plywood is an extra support that sits between the tank and the two angle irons that support the main weight of the tank. The tank phenomenon usually occurs when someone overfills their tank, or travels with it full, which “can” cause, in some instances, the tank to swell out of shape and actually bend the plywood down with it – sometimes (again not all the time) causing the plywood to slip out of its place between the two angle irons, thus, allowing the mis-shapen tank to slip down on one end or the other. This was not some huge engineering or design flaw – because this very same, exact design (with the two angle irons and plywood) has been used in this industry for decades – and still is being used. The problem seems to be that the tanks just keep getting bigger and bigger and more and more “safetys” need to be put in place to protect RVers from some of their own actions. The FACT is, we (Heartland RVs) have thousands of fifth wheels on the road with absolutely NO problems with their fresh water tanks and they are same exact design. For the record, the main “safety” that we added to our system was yet another steel bar that goes below the tank in the middle. This is a removeable steel bar – and yes, some owners have filled up their tanks so full - that they have even bent or destroyed this bar as well.
 

RickNB

Well-known member
Jim
You stated that you paraphrased Scotts reply so I thought you might be able to eloborate on 2 statements that are in it that I copied below. Maybe someone else can help but I am kind of in the dark.

(from Heartland RVs) . "The tank phenomenon usually occurs when someone overfills their tank, or travels with it full", "and yes, some owners have filled up their tanks so full - that they have even bent or destroyed this bar as well."

Are the tanks not made to be filled to the top?
Are the tanks not to be traveled full?
How do you over fill a tank to the so full amount?
How do you get more than 45 gals in a 45 gal Tank?

In my case I had never needed to carry a full tank of water as I only need enough to look after on the road usage of the facilities and then use direct shore supply at the campground and didnt see the need to haul extra weight if not needed. The past weekend I was going to be boondocking so I filled up the tank I put in as much water as it would hold till it run back the fill pipe. That is when I seen the bulging tank. I then proceeded to drain it untill it did not bulge.

Am I doing something wrong here in that we should only put a limited amount of water in the tank and if so how much would that be and how do we measure it ?

I dont want this to sound like a complaint post but just find out what we need to do to prevent this from happening from Scotts reply it sounds like we are putting in more water than the tank will hold .

Have Fun
Rick
 

jbeletti

Well-known member
Hi Rick,

Your questions are good - but I cannot answer them. I will see that Scott gets them and hope he stops by to add to it.

Thanks,

Jim
 
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