Do you like your Bighorn?

I`m impressed with the Heartland web sight! Do they do as good a job building the Bighorn 5`er? I was about ready to pull the trigger on a River Canyon by Travel Supreme, but now I think I`ll give your product a look see. I appreciate your comments.

Thanks
Ed

Download and review the pdf build write up from the Heartland website, if you haven't already done so. Lots of good information regarding the manufacturing process that will help you decided.

I've got the 3200 RL and am please with it so far. I researched all the different manufactures like most others on this forum before making my decision.


Gary F

We're half-way through our maiden voyage and just love the unit. Found a couple of minor things that I did not discover during the PDI. First, the three steps leading up to the bathroom and bedroom are not equally high. The second step is shorter leaving a higher than desired third step. Second, the slide-out pantry's door knob hits the fascia of the slide leaving a very tight opening.

The only other thing is that I wish the vent coverings in the bedroom and shower were dark-tint instead of opaque. I may put either a smokey Maxx-Airr vent covering over the bedroom vent.

I made the right choice in my books. The research paid off.

My wife and I are really pleased with our Bighorn 3600rl. From the sounds of the latest posts, it really sounds like the engineers are listening to the complaints that were posted earlier, for example, mine came with the remote air and heat and now they may be back to the wall mounted thermostat. Wish that was the case with ours but ours does work, we just have to play with it. I do wish that the owners manual was more specific to the Bighorn for some wiring items. As for the vent coverings that Chuck mentioned, I am thankful for the clear covering over the shower as I need the light to wake me up earlier anyway ! I would definately tell my friends to at least look at the Heartland products then make up their own minds about purchasing.

BobD
2006 Bighorn 3600RL

Found a couple of other minor (?) problems.

1. The left side door of the top cabinet (TV) in the bedroom does not open fully as it hits the top frame. It opens enough for the TV not to be obstructed, but is in the way if I have to get up for any reason (I sleep on the side next to the closet).

2. The black water and gray water 2 do not seem to close fully. I used them for the first time yesterday. Gray water 1 is fine.

Other than that, my coach is the envy of the family, neighborhood and campground.

Chuck

Chuck,

On your black and your gray water tank 2, are you saying that the valves do not fully close or that the handles do not seem to be as fully seated in the closed position?

Reason I ask is that my black tank valve handle when in the closed position, is not as far in as the 2 grays. Yet, it is fully closed.

Jim

Chuck, I have noticed the same things in our 3600RL as you have. The top door on the tv cabinet hits the trim over the closet door so it doesn't open as wide. I too have run into it a couple of times in the dark but am getting used to being more careful getting up. As for the black tank, mine is the same way. The last time I checked the level of the black tank after a week reveled that it had less in it then expected. It also wasn't opening as wide as it should have. Once I got down lower and checked it out, I found that if i wiggle it back and forth when opening and closing, it works much better. It is so far to the right that I think the threads on the shaft are working against us till we get used to it. I discovered today that my water heater is only working on electicity, not on gas. When we set the rig up, we dug down a couple of inches to level it and shortly after that, we had a lot of rain up here so I think the rig sank deeper and not quite as level as it should be. I am thinking that not being completely level might affect the gas operation of the heater.

BobD
Full timing in Roscommon, Michigan
2006 3600RL

Love it

We love our Bighorn3500, have had a few minor problems. The latest being, the weight of the clothes on the closet rod is pulling the shelf apart on the street side. Anyone have any issues with this yet? Maybe my lovely bride just packs too many clothes for us.

Dusty&Linda

Holding Tank Valve

When we first used our BW 3500, I thought the black tank valve was not shutting when I pushed in the handle. Well come to find out, on the black water valve handle they put a extender on the rod for the handle and when I pushed it shut, the extender was hanging up on the side of the hole drilled for the rod to go through. Now that I know, I make sure I move the handle around to go in the hole all the way. I hope I have explanned this clearly.
Still love the Big Horn.

We are happy with our Bighorn-no tank drainage problems-several annoying things-some more so than others. We are thankful for a good dealer as it has been there several times since early May and is facing a trip to the factory due to a large bubble in the skin on the doorside rear and a badly scratched kitchen counter when we took delivery. We also have had no end of frustration with the DVD/surround sound system.

Our monster is filling the drive right now, we are going out for the weekend. We finally hooked a hose up to test the city water connection last night as we usually go to a state or county park with no water hookup.

Nan and Paul
Decatur, IL
3500RL Bighorn/Chevy 2500 Duramax

Just a minor problem with a kit drawer that slides out.Evidently the catch thats in back of the slide is not tight enough .I think Scott posted a fix for that .should only take a minuite or two..Dump valves work OK and TV in LR and DVD are fine .cable workes too.. I did take a few co-ax cables apart to hook up satilite in LR .Haven't bothered with BR yet.. Looks like lots of cables and an A_B switch and a splitter also.. BTW the left sat. connection feeds the LR ,not sure where the RH one goes ..
A more complete owners manual would be real plus !!

Problems With 06 3600 Bighorn

The Floorplan Is Great, Looks Impressive, However, We Are Finding Out That Looks Can Be Deceiving. When We Came Home From The Dealer, The Kitchen Slide Wouldn't Come Out. Another Vacation Day Lost With A Trip Back To The Dealer. In The Last Three Weeks I Have Spent Almost Every Evening Fixing Problems. I Thought The Ceiling Fan Needed Balancing, But After Looking Closer, I Found That The Screws That Weren't Missing Were Loose. The Dining Table Was So Slanted That Things Would Roll Off. It Turned Out That One Leg Was Shorter So I Had To Turn The Table Around To Allow For The Slope Of The Slide And Put A Quarter Inch Shim Under Two Legs. The Drawer Under The Refrigerator Dropped Down To The Floor If Pulled Out All The Way(mashed The Wife's Big Toe). I Had To Remount Guides. There Were Numerous Other Screws And Fittings,etc. That Had To Be Tightened, Straightened Or Replaced. We Are Leaving In A Few Hours To Take Our First Trip And Rather Than Being Excited, We Are Wondering What Else Can Go Wrong. I Am Carrying A Set Of Power Tools Just In Case. Not The Way I Wanted To Spend My Weekend. We Will Be Passing The Dealer Where Our Old Coachman TT Is And It's Looking Pretty Good To Us RIGHT NOW. MARK

We have a BH3400rl and we are very happy with it sure we had some small problems .But our dealer rvs for less and hartland have been great! at fixing them. We are workampers and we live in it fulltime we traded in a Montana for our Bighorn and have no regreats at all. Our BH has all the options and everything works great. I belive hartland is trying very hard to put out a quality product we have had the privledge to go to the factory and see them built and meet Tim, Scott,and Cooley. Yes we like our BIGHORN...

Jim, sorry for the late reply, but we are camping this week and I just walked into the city library and thought I'd catch up on my e-mail.

I do believe that the valves are closed as there is no water dripping from the outlet. Park has electric and water, but no sewage. Of course, when I dump on Sunday, I might get a surprise, but I hope not.

Every other towable that I have had in the past had the valve completely in, not partially. I can push it in further, but it pushes back, like a spring.

No other problems. Really like the unit.

My understanding is the black tank lever is sticking out further than the 2 gray tank handles by design. I was told this is to make sure people know that it is the black tank and the first to be dumped.

Tank Dump Valves

Here's some answers to some of your questions regarding dump valves:
The majority of Bighorns (and Landmark) floorplans feature cable-driven remote dump valves for the two gray tanks, and a direct style connection on the black tank.
One of you mentioned that your gray tank pull handle would "push back" when you tried to push it in further. That is good. It actually means it is working properly according to the specifications of that part's manufacturer.
They put that "play" in there to allow the valve to stay closed during any expansion/contraction of the plastic materials that make up the valve.

These remote cable-driven valves on the gray tanks are adjustable if they should ever need it in the future.

Something to consider: If I have seen or heard of any issues, it has been when a gate valves gets out of adjustment and needs to be adjusted a little to make sure it is closing properly.
However, in a lot of cases, when someone has thought their gate valves needed to be adjusted, they turned out to be fully closed. What was happening was that some folks had thought their valves were leaking because they had water come out when they took their sewage cap off. What it turned out to be was excess grey water still in the tube when they last dumped, because their coach was not angled down towards the dump station. Whenever you dump, it is always best to try to get the coach higher on the off dump side to make sure that all of the gray water is released when you dump. There is a long expanse of tubing there, and it always helps to have the coach on a slight angle towards the dump when possible. Otherwise, you can leave up to a gallon or more of water that still needs to come out and will head that way during travel - thus "splashing" some folks when they take the sewage cap off the next time. FYI

ST

Scott, thanks for the reply. I was ready to go to the forum and state that my dump valves leak, but not sure which ones. When I took the sewage cap off at the sanitation station, there was a lot of water that came out before I got the hose attached. I did not notice anything that looked like it would have come out from the black water tank, fortunately.

Now, a further question...

Gray tank #1 valve goes in completely. Black tank and gray tank #2 do not. Does the gray tank #1 valve need to get the cable adjusted so it acts like the other two, or is it fine the way it is?

Otherwise, everything works well and I am getting a lot of great comments from other campers in the park. I really like the unit.

Chuck