Fulltiming in a Big Horn

Hi there DW and I Love the Big horn 3055 floor plan. We're wondering if there are any of you out there that are fulltiming in any Big Horn model? We like the 3055 because of its features, storage and weight considerations. We'd like to know if you find that the unit is durable enough for 'Fulltiming'. I know that Heartland wont the warrant the units as such, but as someone wrote on another forum, most of us 5er jockies are pretty good at doing our own repairs if need be. Also, if you stay on top of your 'PM', you can really make a rig last. We doubt that we will own this next rig that we buy until the end of our days, but we would hope to get a number of years out of it.

If you could share your expectations and experiences with us, we would love to hear them. Thanks! Happy Camping!

We have had our '06 BH 3500RL since August of '05 and until Nov. of '07 only spent 4 to 5 months a year in our BH. However, Nov. 1, 2007 we went fulltime and have not looked back. Spent 10 weeks in Florida, 1 month in LA and now on our way to Kansas for a month to visit with family before going on to the Northwest for the summer. This after attending the rally in Branson. Have had only minor problems that DH has been able to fix. Only thing we would do is have a product that we can carry the motorcycle in. Right now we pull a small trailer behind the BH with the HD on.

Sharmulst
What kind of trailer do you pull the bike on and how long are you, when hitched behind the Bighorn. We're in the same boat, however I'm not sure I'm real happy pulling doubles, a lot of gray (no just plain black really) area in many states.

Niles
It is a single rail motorcycle trailer with torsion axle and diamond deck. We purchased it from Oldenkamp, Inc out of Hull, Iowa. They have a web site but don't remember it for sure. However, their phone number is 800-397-3819.
We are 65' long and know that you can't pull in some state. So when we went to Florida we left it in storage in Louisiana. Most states on the eastern coast you are not suppose to pull behind the 5er. We did see some in Florida that had a trailer of some kind behind the 5er.
The trailer pulls very nice and don't even know it is there. We do have a Swift Hitch camera that we monitor it with.

Admin Note: Here's the Link

We've been full time in our 3400RL since August 06. No issues yet but we have a Select Comfort mattress ready to install next week. The factory mattress is OK but we want a bit more support. All of the fixtures and appliances are fine. We have to vacuum quite often because the carpet is not what I would call the best. We hope to stay full time with no plan in the near future for any changes.

We took delivery of our 3400 RL in October of 06'.

We've been living full time in our Fifth wheel ever since.

Couldn't have ask for a better home.

We've been ft'ing in our 3600RL since Apr 06. We're also workamping so we only move by the season. After the initial problem areas were fixed by the dealer, we've been pretty lucky. (We even survived a winter of snow and ice in Texas.) We've swapped out most of the furniture, actually everything except the kitchen chairs, for more comfortable stuff - Lazy Boy recliners, futon, smaller dinette table. It took about 2 months of sleeping on the factory mattress before we tossed it and put in a queen size memory foam mattress from Wally World. DW also hated the valances over all the windows so we removed those and she made all new curtains.
I've had to work on drain valves a couple of times and replace the propane detector. We ordered the half time convection oven. It lasted almost 2 years before the convection and half time parts went on the fritz. Still have microwave so we'll survive until we can get it repaired or replaced.
Ray and Lin are absolutely correct about the carpet. In addition, we have a cat who likes clawing the steps sometimes. We're going to try a carpet cleaner this month to see if there's much improvement. Otherwise, we'll probably look at floor covering replacement next year.

Why don't you guys put in some Pergo, and let me know what happens when you put the slides in. I've been wanting to get rid of our orig. carpet for quite a while now. I think a Pergo like product would be nice, but I think there would be a couple of issues with the slides.
TimK

I'll let you know...the carpet is the first thing coming out of my 3055. Being in a chair...rolling will be easier and the floor a whole lot cleaner.

Has anyone taken the steps to scotchguard or protect the interior and if so, what were the results. We picked up our 3400RE on Valentines Day and the carpet is already starting to show wear. Also I am very leery of drinking red wine or grape juice, or any staining type of product. We are very open to suggestions as I am really digging this RV lifestyle.

Elizabeth and I have been fulltiming in our Bighorn since last Sept. We had a 36' Coachmen, before that, that we bought used. The first thing we noticed about the Coachmen is that the carpets were toast. The first thing we did when we bought the Bighorn was go out and buy area carpets to lay down over the existing carpet. You can buy 5x8 carpet that fits great in the living area and we have runners in the dining and bedroom area. We plan on upgrading to a Landmark just before I retire and wanted to keep the value of the Bighorn up, as much as possible. The rugs also are a great way to preserve the carpet from spills, junk on the bottom of shoes, etc. They are relatively cheap and a lot cheaper to replace than the carpet.
Fred

Larry, how could you? Don't even think about EVER spilliing a single drop of that J Lohr!! Just plain shameful, if you ask me - I LOVE that stuff!

I'm like Lizzy...I use area rugs to protect my carpet. Work great! I even attached a small rug to the steps using carpet tacks...rug looks like new under there.

If you can keep the track areas covered, and vacuum under them on a regular basis, the carpet, even this cheap stuff will last a long time.

Hey HT, I guess you have been reading about my wine adventures. That JLohr winery in Paso Robles was the best in the area. Their Caroline wine was superb and if u make it out here we will be glad to share a toast with you. Unfortunately spills do occur, so we are deciding what action to take for future protection of the interior, thus the scotchguarding comment. I still would like recommendations, as the DW gets bored with me sometimes and downs an occaisional bottle LOL! and I want to be prepared.

We have been fulltiming for 5 years and started with a cardinal 5er. June 07 we purchased our BH 3670 and just love it, except for the furniture. It's not comfortable and takes up too much room. We are looking into replacement furniture. We had lots of problems with the colby sound system and replaced that. We too would love to replace the carpet but are leary of how the pergo flooring would hold up.