Was thinking of buying a Big Horn

wa2kbu

Member
I have heard quite a bit about Heartland and specifically the Big Horn line and decided to come to the forum here and find out for myself.
My wife and I are contemplating selling our TT and purchasing a fifth wheel so we are in the process of weighing manufacturers, types of units, features, quality and reliability of various fifth wheels.
Hearing that Heartland had an up and coming positive reputation I was a bit dismayed at some of the posts here regarding build quality, reliability and problems encountered with these units.
People complaining of buckling floors, slides not working, rubber seals on slides missing, leaks, slide bracket screws breaking or missing, saw dust in walls, holes not sealed in floors etc. whew, it's a bit overwhelming.
Is Heartland having so much success that their build quality is suffering? Is there a quality assurance program at the manufacturer? Are their employees on the line satisfied with their jobs?
With the possibility of investing 50K or more, I believe I need to have answers to these questions, not only from Heartland but from any manufacturer that is might be experiencing quality issues.

Any information from users, satisfied or dissatisfied would be helpful.
Thank you

Bob
 

billd

Well-known member
I have a 2007 BigHorn 3670RL. We like it a lot, we have had a few issues but nothing that would make me sell it. Had one water leak due to a loose fitting, scratch cabinet door replaced, bad celing fan (orginal mfg defect not heartlands, we saw it work at the PDI then it quit), missing lense that fell out somewhere.

Heartland has been suportive and has worked with my wife and I through everything.

Bill
 

madigand

Well-known member
I feel that on any forum you will see the problems that you mentioned. Are they a major problem at Heartland? I can only answer for myself and my 3670. Did I have any problems, yes, but very minor. They were corrected by the dealer before I picked up. (IE small leak from shower door, Sat cable having a splitter in it, drawer slide replaced) The shower door broke and was replaced by the factory sending one to me and I installed due to no close dealer to me. Am I happy with my Bighorn? A definite yes. I really feel that the forum and response from members and advice prior to my purchase was great. The fact that there is an "Ask the Factory section" that is actually answered in a timely matter was another plus point. In short,, I feel that most any RV you purchase will have some problems. The big key is doing a PDI at the dealer. I have been very satisfied with my unit and the support both from the dealer, factory and this forum. I hope I have answered your question as I am sure others will also chime in.
 

trdeal

Past North Carolina Chapter Leader
We own a Landmark and have been very satisfied with it. Problems, a few.Window treatments loose,shower door leaking,had extra bracing put under the fresh water tank ,all on Heartland. We did have a slide roller replaced under the off door side slide out. Roller bearings went out after my warranty expired. It was replaced under my extended warranty.We really can't complain. We would buy Heartland again. I have been around the forum for about a year now and have noticed that owners like myself that have hd few problems are not heard from that much. Usually the owners that are having problems are the ones that make the most posts,and that is fine ,that is what this forum is for. Problems and solutions.And you will find solutions. I am amazed sometimes to see some of the fixes. Read the forum. See the questions that you need to ask your dealer. Go over your unit closely before you leave the dealer with it. The fresh water tank issues and some of the other things you read about on this forum are all things that you might want your service department to look before you take your unit home. I believe you would be happy with a Heartland product.I would have like to have known about this forum before we bought our unit. We would still have purchased our unit, but we would have been more informed about what options we wanted. All brands of 5th wheels have problems. Just find one that meets all your needs and make the most informed decision that you can. Good luck in your decision.
 

Pulltab

Well-known member
Honestly, what you have seen are real problems but buying any rv you will encounter issues of the same type and possibly worse. What makes the difference is that the company has been real good about standing behind their product and using the information to make the next generation better. The nice thing about a forum is you get some real information by consumers, granted you will get some excessive complaining by the individual who can't be satisified by anyone. Take all the info you see with a grain of salt and use it wisely. We all tend to exazagerate (sp) issues. Heartland is a quickly growing company but they are trying to control as many issues as possible. Anytime you have such success is such a short time it will be difficult but they are doing a good job at it. I bought a Bighorn due to the info I had read and seeing some of the nice additions that they throw in as standard. Regardless of who's product you buy, don't be mislead into thinking it will be a perfect unit and never have to see a dealer again. We would ALL love that but it is unlikely. Goodluck with your decision
 

billyk21

Member
Considering a Big Horn 5th Wheel

We purchased a 2008 Big Horn 3370 back in April. We couldn't be any happier.:) I felt the same way you are thinking after we purchased our rig after reading all the posts on the forum, but like someone else wrote, you have to take them with a grain of salt. To date we have had no problems and this is one company that is customer friendly. I had a question on the sofa air bed and Hartland got back to me within a day. We traded in our Prowler Regal TT for the Bg Horn and what a difference in quality, I would never own a Prowler ever again due to problems. Just one thing to remember, this is a trailer and not a house, you will have some problems but hopefully not many. Good luck.

Bill & Renee' Kaufman
2008 Big Horn 3370 Fifth Wheel
 

Tom of Ypsi

Well-known member
No matter what you buy, RV, plane, car, boat, appliances etc. you will have problems. The only diffference is this forum is a great place to read all of the good, bad and ugly. Unfortunately like most things the bad and ugly stand out more than the good. There is no interest in posts on any forum about good quality. Those threads get a few posts and are gone but bad quality will go on forever. A Heartland product is a good product. The factory stands by what they sell, they interact with this forum and this is a very open forum. I have read other forums and if you start making comments on the poor quality you are asked to keep your comments to yourself. RV.net has or had a thread going about another RV line where this happens on its forum. Bottom line is I own a Heartland Landmark and yes I have had problems. Would I buy again, YES. The reason I would buy again is the factory support, quality, this forums openmindinesss and I would have a prooblem dragging my wife out of it.
 

sailorand

Past British Columbia Chapter Leader
wa2kbu
I have to echo everybody here. We have had problem with our 3055rl. Most minor and only a couple of non minor, but not life shattering. Heartland has stood behind the unit, no problem.
It all comes down to your dealer. Is he a good one? Will they do the work to your unit in a reasonable time? and do it well.
Good luck, maybe we will meet at Quarzsite ham fest in January
Rand
 

katkens

Founding Illinios Chapter Leader-retired
It's been quite nice reading all these comments and would have to agree with all the above. I'm in the same boat as Tom would have to sell the house before the trailer, I have a hard time getting the DW out to leave for home. We would buy again , so good luck in your decision. ---Ken
 

Uncle Rog

Well-known member
wa2kbu, go with the "Horn", it is of better quality than others in the same price range. The QC and assembly issues are the same as most others, as I have read on RV.net. Now that we have smoothed out the rough edges we are looking forward to many great trips....good luck....
 

jpmorgan37

Well-known member
Well, we sold the house and kept the trailer and have not regretted it for one minute. This is our third fifth wheel and we have enjoyed our association with everyone on the forum and the support that we have received from the factory. As Rog so delicately put it, "go with the " 'Horn' ".

John
 

Ray LeTourneau

Senior Member - Past Moderator
I have to agree with all of the other posts. We've had our Bighorn for 11 momnths and we live in it full time. I don't know percentages of full timers vs. weekenders but 11 months full time is a bunch of weekends. We've had a couple minor issues and had them resolved without issue. I also had an interesting talk with our dealer last week. I was telling him of all the factory support at the rally. He confided that he just hired a new sales guy that quit the dealer down the road. He had sold Montanas and Open Roads. He thought the Horn was best for the money.
 

Pulltab

Well-known member
We are also fulltimers in our rig. If there is anyone that would experience problems it would be us (fulltimers). It is like an accelerated program for weekend trips! You just have to rememeber that because we live in ours there are going to be more items than usual for a weekender that will appear, some of these are normal things and others are just from consistent use. Either way it is a good proving ground for the unit.
 

randes

Active Member
After reading this forum for about a year, we decided to buy. Took delivery of a 3055RL on May 8th. Towed it 1200 miles to our home and now are on our way to Alaska and a 10,000 mile trip. We had very few problems to begin with, all of which were taken care of by Lakeshore Rv.

We love our new home and would buy again in a heartbeat. It's the factory customer service and this forum that convinced us.
 

trdeal

Past North Carolina Chapter Leader
randes said:
After reading this forum for about a year, we decided to buy. Took delivery of a 3055RL on May 8th. Towed it 1200 miles to our home and now are on our way to Alaska and a 10,000 mile trip. We had very few problems to begin with, all of which were taken care of by Lakeshore Rv.

We love our new home and would buy again in a heartbeat. It's the factory customer service and this forum that convinced us.
Roy good to see you on the forum again. Drive safe and email us again when you can.Glad the truck and camper are doing well.
 

timk

Well-known member
Bob, perhaps the reason you see the negative is the willingness of the group to share their dirty laundry in public. It would be interesting to hear if any other mfg. participates in a open forum such as this. Plus, people tend to complain about the negative, rather than state the positive. I'm pretty happy with my rig, and we made the decision after a year of research, more bang for the buck, is what we found.
 
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