Ruined the cylinder on our 2008 Big Horn....accidentally, on purpose..need to find parts.

SueJean

Active Member
:eek: Okay....it's been a while.....uh, years, in fact, but today we managed to drag our 2008 Big Horn through the mud back onto the road for the first time in.....5 years. It was exhilarating to drive down the Alaskan Highway and watch it heading on down the road in front of me. My cowboy was even happier as he sat behind the wheel of our 2001 Ford F250 with our "home away from home" following along behind him. (I was relegated to the "other truck" in case anything went awry. :confused:)

Bit of background: bought our rig in '09 in Texas and spent the next two years driving it all over the lower '48. Spring '11 headed north to Alaska from Georgia on a crazy, wild adventure following the music. (My cowboy is a Johnny Cash tribute artist/singer/etc.) We fled to Homer, AK at the end of that summer and spent the next two winters enjoying the worst winters in 50 years of recorded weather history.

Headed for the Interior the Spring of '13 thinking to go south. Made it as far as Tok where we spent the summer. Come fall knew we couldn't survive winter in the Interior in the rig. Bought a homestead and parked the rig next to the garage. It became an Airbnb hideaway one summer and spent the rest of its time as an extension of our home space.

Three winters ago, we were closing it up for the winter trying to beat the first snowfall when "somebody"
:confused: was looking "down" instead of "up" and jammed a cabinet door into the large slider bending the cylinder into a nice C shape. Frantic to beat the snow, and living in the middle of nowhere, we were forced to cut the shaft in order to manually close the slider.

'nuff said.

We've taken it to a repair place in Tok hoping to get back on the road this summer. I need to order parts. Can anyone recommend the best way or "a way" for me to find out exactly what part I need. I've been all over the forum and done some searches for manuals, but I'm kinda working blindly. Any help, assistance, advice, directions would be carefully considered, appreciated, and used appropriately.

Final thought: After all these years, our Big Horn still looks great and feels like home. I can hear that old song echoing in my head......on the road....ah, you know what I mean!
:rolleyes:

SueJean (and DannyLee)
 

rhodies1

Well-known member
:eek: Okay....it's been a while.....uh, years, in fact, but today we managed to drag our 2008 Big Horn through the mud back onto the road for the first time in.....5 years. It was exhilarating to drive down the Alaskan Highway and watch it heading on down the road in front of me. My cowboy was even happier as he sat behind the wheel of our 2001 Ford F250 with our "home away from home" following along behind him. (I was relegated to the "other truck" in case anything went awry. :confused:)

Bit of background: bought our rig in '09 in Texas and spent the next two years driving it all over the lower '48. Spring '11 headed north to Alaska from Georgia on a crazy, wild adventure following the music. (My cowboy is a Johnny Cash tribute artist/singer/etc.) We fled to Homer, AK at the end of that summer and spent the next two winters enjoying the worst winters in 50 years of recorded weather history.

Headed for the Interior the Spring of '13 thinking to go south. Made it as far as Tok where we spent the summer. Come fall knew we couldn't survive winter in the Interior in the rig. Bought a homestead and parked the rig next to the garage. It became an Airbnb hideaway one summer and spent the rest of its time as an extension of our home space.

Three winters ago, we were closing it up for the winter trying to beat the first snowfall when "somebody"
:confused: was looking "down" instead of "up" and jammed a cabinet door into the large slider bending the cylinder into a nice C shape. Frantic to beat the snow, and living in the middle of nowhere, we were forced to cut the shaft in order to manually close the slider.

'nuff said.

We've taken it to a repair place in Tok hoping to get back on the road this summer. I need to order parts. Can anyone recommend the best way or "a way" for me to find out exactly what part I need. I've been all over the forum and done some searches for manuals, but I'm kinda working blindly. Any help, assistance, advice, directions would be carefully considered, appreciated, and used appropriately.

Final thought: After all these years, our Big Horn still looks great and feels like home. I can hear that old song echoing in my head......on the road....ah, you know what I mean!
:rolleyes:

SueJean (and DannyLee)

I would give Heartland a call and ask them for info on your hydraulics,they will need your VIN number,they should be able to steer you in the right direction for a replacement.
 

cookie

Administrator
Staff member
If Heartland cannot provide you with the info you need, drop the coroplast and take a look at the cylinder. I believe that they are color coded. Green, red, etc.
Then call Lippert to place your order.
You should find information on changing the cylinder HERE.

Peace
Dave
 

jbeletti

Well-known member
Lippert’s Customer Service should be able get you fixed up with a replacement part. Give them a call today - 574-537-8900


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

SueJean

Active Member
Thanks Ya'll!!

I slept in this morning and missed the "east coast" window of opportunity so I'll have to make those calls tomorrow.

I can't wait to get my "baby" back on the road!

SueJean
 

jbeletti

Well-known member
SueJean,

When I first read your post and replied to it, I have to admit your username sounded a bit familiar. About one minute of research and bingo - I remember you both!

I met you at a Heartland rally in Conroe, TX in 2009. I think Danny had just installed a solar, inverter, battery system in the coach. I recall his electric piano in the coach too.

Great to hear from you and perhaps we will meet again one day. If you're headed back to the lower 48, there is a rally in Lake Conroe at the KOA around November 1 - just in case you want to check-in with the Heartlanders. I may even be there.

Wishing you and Danny both, the best in resolving your boo-boo. Safe travels as well.
 

SueJean

Active Member
Hey Jim,

We both remember you too, but the details are a bit different. We met you at a Rally in Spring, TX where DannyLee put on a short program one evening of his favorite Johnny Cash songs for your enjoyment. It was probably in '10 and we do have a solar array with batteries that was installed in Oregon. I'm sure we were still showing it off. The system is still in working order despite almost 7 years in AK.

No electric piano back then, but we had a big karaoke system that a bunch of ya'll helped us haul back to our rig afterwards. Our dog took exception to the happy crowd and caused a bit of a stir trying to "defend" me. Funny memory. She turned into a full-on show dog during our performances at the campground in Tok. I think she was as big a draw as DannyLee's voice!

Can't say what our plans are yet, but if we make it back south, we'll keep our eyes out for you.

Blessings,
SueJean (and DannyLee)
 

jbeletti

Well-known member
Hi SueJean,

Your recollection is much better than mine :)

Safe travels and hope to run into you down they road.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 

SueJean

Active Member
Hey Ya'll!

Just wanted to post a closing update on this thread. We did get our replacement cylinder from Heartland for our 2008 Big Horn's largest slider. No one was able to help us with the VIN # -- we had to drop the "bottom" and do a visual inspection to find the color code on the cylinder.

We had the cylinder replaced at Willards Auto/RV repair in Tok, AK after printing off the info for installing the thing. The cylinder cost 1/2 as much as the shipping so it cost me about $300, but it works perfectly. The repair was just shy of $800 on top of the part cost.
:(

There's only one small glitch. I just finished replacing the flooring (carpeting) with vinyl planks. The dining room slider left an ugly scratch across the floor nearest the door when we pulled in the sliders to move the rig. Don't know what's up with that, but it will have to wait. Hoping to get on the road by the end of Aug. and I've still got way too much to do.

Thanks so much to all of you that helped us out here. I don't know what I'd do without this forum!!
:rolleyes:
 

jbeletti

Well-known member
Good to hear back from you guys! Happy to hear you got it fixed. Bummer about your flooring.

Use a flashlight to look under the slide to see what caused the scratch/gouge. Maybe a fastener. Or maybe you'll need to adjust your slide.
 

SueJean

Active Member
Thanks Jim!

I'm sure it's an adjustment issue. The slider has a serious problem on the underside and it's coming apart in bits. I think it's the result of water damage and Alaska's winters have taken their toll on our rig.

I ordered one of those slippy/slide plastic floor runners to minimize the damage until we get back down to the lower '48. We'll find someone more experienced to deal with it there.

Happy Travels!!
 
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