A new form for just Bighorn owners

Jeff & Jim,
I think it would be great to have a new form just for Bighorn coaches. This way there would not be any mistake as to which coach we are talking about. I do think it is just as impotant to be able to vist the Landmark form also to keep up to date as to what may be a great idea for the Bighorn coach also. We owners of the Bighorn would have a great deal of pride to have something of our own also!! GO FOR IT!! Thanks and a good job to both Jim & Jiff. Evans & Lana

Dittos on the thanks for a great job you guys have done.
Since I am still holding out on which of the two to buy, it is probably easier for me to compare the two on one forum until purchasing. Having said that, once I have bought one I probably would find the seperate forums more appropriate.
But I am only a very interested and serious shopper at this point and feel the actual current owner's vote counts the most.

Thanks again for everyone's input and effort,

Papaw (Jack)

PS: Received the caps and they are NICE!!

forum

I have already voiced my views via private reply..Like Jack I am still at the deciding and comparing stage so keeping it together would be my vote.. It's all one big family and lets face it the forum is not exactly large and with relatively few active members .. If you split it I would think there would see lest activity etc.... and lets face it we can learn from each others experiences, problems and comments....Anyways I enjoy the forum a lot ... I take a peek at it every day ... Whatever you all decide is fine by me.... have agreat evening

New Big Horn Forum!

Hello Folks:

Jim and I have decided to let the previous private mail that everyone should have received run for 1 week.

We will make some kind of decision after we see the results.

Of course Landmark Owners don't need to reply, since this Forum will be for Landmark owners.

Our goal is not to alienate anyone from either Forum or 5th Wheel. Whatever you choose to purchase is great. WE just hope it is a Heartland.

To answer roscos question on one big family. This is true! But, as time goes on, we will probably need to divide the Forums. As the Landmarks and Big Horns are very different coaches and will need to be represented in separate Forums and probably hosted by a Big Horn Owner, since Jim and I know very little about them.

We will work closely with Scott and Ray at Heartland to get the new Big Horn Forum up and running. Alot of good stuff is being planned for both Forums.

Jim and I are not sure how long it will take or when this change will take place.

I don't want to scare anyone away from this Forum or the Big Horn Forum, but we will most likely have to charge a small fee to offset the costs of running this board and another one. So far, all the expenses have come out of my pocket. Current members will continue as usual, but when we decide to turn it on, new members will have to pay the fee. The fee has not been decided, but it won't be very much and once paid, will be good for 1 year at a time. And it will include membership in both Forums, Landmarks and Big Horns.

I hope everyone will understand!

Thanks and keep the posts and information coming in.

Jeff

new forum

Hi Jeff... call me naive, but I never thought there was a cost involved with setting up and running the forum.. Boy, not too bright of me.... I know that you do not accept sponsors, but I see nothing wrong with Heartland supporting the basic cost of operating the forum.. It's to their benefit to have a strong forum as it promotes sales, customers services and awareness of the Brand ...and keeps the customer base informed and happy.... So please reconsider your position as I am sure it would not compromise your integrity and independence to operate the forum in a proper manner.... Thanks to both you and Jim, for doing such a great job ... Kindest regards

Hi Rosco:

The only reason Jim and I won't accept any support from Heartland (and they have offered) is to keep the Forum completely ours!

With the growth of Heartland and the popularity of their products, brings the possibility of compromise and a conflict of interest.

We the members will run and contribute to this Forum and not have to deal with a potential appearance of Heartland influencing our comments or decisions.

I hope that makes sense.

Thanks,

Jeff

Hi Again:

I know there will be some complaints and grumbling about having to pay a small fee and I do emphasize the word SMALL.

But, with 2 Forums running it will just be necessary!

Jim and I are not out to make a profit or anything like that.

All money that is collected will be put right back into the Forums and will only improve on the quality we already have.

We could probably get sponsors to advertise, but like most people, we don't like junk mail or ads popping up on the screen or in our mail boxes.

Please bear with us, as the change will have to take place in the near future.

Thanks for listening and Jim and I welcome all your comments.

Take Care,

Jeff

I agree the site should stay as one. We have been considering the Landmark as well as the Bighorn. While we are now closer to making the BIG decision it still would be heplfull to go to one site to gather info about the products. Altho made in different locations they both are still made by the same parent company aren't they? I would be willing to bet that some parts are interchangable between the units.


Dave

Paying for the Forum

Jeff and Jim, dont take this wrong but even a small fee is not right for letting people input in to this forum. I am in the Web Design and hosting business and all of our customers look foward to feed back from the customers when they use there forum. If any cost are involved in this forum it would be your time. If the cost of hosting it is a issue then charge it back to Heartland. You should pay no more than $10.00 a month for hosting this small forum. If you need help with the administration part just let me know.

salmon919,

Thank you for your input. Allow me to update you on this thread as the previous posts to it thread are nearly a year old.

A year ago, Heartland had 2 products (Landmark and Bighorn). It was suggested that we consider creating a separate forum altogether for the Bighorn line. In the end, we decided to just split the current forum and run Landmark and Bighorn sub-forums.

By doing so, we incurred no additional costs, allowed Bighorn owners their own space and created an all Heartland space that allowed owners of other models to learn and share with owners of other products in an easy fashion.

Since that time, Heartland has added even more products. At last count, I count 7 separate products. As these product are about to roll-out, I add sub-forums for them.

So far, the model we have adopted for the forum seems to be working so for now, I'll stick with it.

As for costs, I agree with you - they are not large. A couple hundred dollars annually for hosting, domain registration and forum license support. So long as I don't run over my storage or bandwidth allotments, I have no plans to charge a fee for using the forum.

Not sure if you know, but this forum is not owned or run by Heartland. So there is no charging back to anyone but me.

Thanks again for your feedback and it is my hope that you and others find the forum of value.

Take care,

Jim Beletti

Hi Jim and All:
IMHO, If WE can afford to put 80K+ in a 5ver, and 40K+ in a truck, we surely should offer up a small user fee. For as much as this site gives US, we should give back a portion for our use. Remember there is no such thing as a free lunch.

Thanks for the kind words Denny. But lunch is still on me.

Jim

Jim Beletti said:

Thanks for the kind words Denny. But lunch is still on me.

Jim

Click to expand...

Well than i'll have a BIG MAC
Just joking. I like the forum just as it is as i like to know about all of the heartland products
I am still undecided on my next 5th wheel.

The nice thing about this set up is the coaches are different but very similar so alot of things can be crossed over ie hard lessons learned, advice about washing your roof with petroleum products for example. I think it works just fine.

I would like to see the forum stay a Heartland Owner's forum. Even though I can not financially afford a Landmark or Big Horn, (and the larger towing vehicle) I am considering the Sundance or Trail Runner. Since they are all manufactured by Heartland, I enjoy reading about all the models as some issues may apply across the line.

firebug,

I hope you are able to join the Heartland family of owners one day - no matter the model. Until then, please stay involved with the forum, learning and sharing all that you can.

I have no current plans to change the forum format by splitting the various products out into separate forums. That would cost lots of cash and take a lot more time to manage. Like you and others have stated, the present format allows us to surf across models and learn even more from each other without having to become a user of 6 product forums.

Later on, accepting limited advertising is the only change of significance that I am eyeing.

Take care,

Jim

Jim, will you accept donations from members that are willing to do so? I have gained a lot from the Forum, both Landmark and Bighorn. I read both because of the similarities, and have no problem donating to help offset your expense. I agree with your policy of no support from the factory, and some advertisers would certainly help, but would you like some contributors?

Hi Clark,

Thank you for your kind offer, but at this time, I am not willing to accept any donations from the userbase. I am pleased that you have gained much from the forum. That shows it's working as planned.

Thanks again, take care and think about joining us as the 2006 rally - we have two spots left.

Jim

I'm putting my Tallahassee home on the market this week, moving the rest of my household stuff up to NC the next 3 weeks or so, have a cruise to go on, vacation to central Michigan to visit distant relatives before they pass on (in our Landmark), back thru WI, IL. And, summer is a busy time in the mountains for log home sales! Maybe next year we can, but this summer is full.

I hear ya Clark. Busy-Busy. If you'll be in NC around the 4th of July time frame, that's when we'll be in TN. Let's PM/EM later to make plans to get together on that other matter if we can.

Take care and safe travels.

Jim