Considering ordering 3055RL, Pros & Cons?

[Tom of Ypsi]

Congratulations Jim,

I am sure you will have plenty of enjoyment with our BH. In my opinion the dealer is what makes the sale final and you seem to have a good one. Now we hope to see you at the Heartland RV rally this coming June.

 

[jimtoo]

Have not taken delivery of our Bighorn 3055RL yet. Rescheduled for next Tuesday, partially my idea and partially dealer not being through with upgrades. Never the less looking forward to delivery date. (Got to go and watch one of the granddaughters play basketball, 7th grade, Monday. Her mom is coach of the 8th grade also. They come before new 5er, not much before, but before.)

Unloaded most of the stuff from old 5er, wow.. where did it all come from? Had no idea we had this much in the 5er. It will be thinned down.

More after we take delivery.

 

[jimtoo]

Took delivery today. Everything looks in order. Dealer did good job of preparing for delivery. Found 1 or 2 small items to be taken care of. Men did frt A/C install while we waited. All in all, very happy with delivery and unit. I am going to take it to scales tomorrow before we load it up and get empty weight. And then again after we load all of my good and necessary stuff and the wife's junk. More later. If she lets me....

 

[jimtoo]

Just an update. The 5er loading is going good so far. More storage in the kitchen than the old one, wife loves it. In going through and doing the loading, we have seen the quality of the construction and fit and it all looks good, very happy with most of the things. Did find some staples in the carpet that were not driven in all the way and were bent over. Made for sharp object when stepped on. Don't know why they would use staples in the carpet anyway.

One thing I am really disappointed in is the sewer hose holder. It is a total joke. I have no idea how you are supposed to put a normal good quality sewer hose in something that is 18" long and not supported in any way. If you use one of the cheap 8 or 10' ones, it might go in. But how many of you use the little one that they give you or can find campgrounds that have the sewer dump that close to the rig?

Enough for now, more as we progress.

Jim

 

[timk]

One thing I am really disappointed in is the sewer hose holder. It is a total joke. I have no idea how you are supposed to put a normal good quality sewer hose in something that is 18" long and not supported in any way. If you use one of the cheap 8 or 10' ones, it might go in. But how many of you use the little one that they give you or can find campgrounds that have the sewer dump that close to the rig?
Jim

Jim,
We have found that the sewer hose holder works good for sticking a can of disposable gloves in. We put our short hose 10' in the same compartment with the dump valves, and just slide it forward a bit. Fits just fine. We then bought one of the aftermarket hose holders and bolted it up under the frame, for the 20' hose.

TimK

 

[busted2341]

sewer hose storage problems

Well, I am glad I have kept up reading this before we make a $40,000.00 decision. Has the factory fixed the sewer hose storage problem or is that an added expense you find out about after you buy?

 

[Tom of Ypsi]

Hi Busted, I would not call the sewer hose holder a problem. The storage capacity is approximately 10' which is the same on my Landmark. I just put an extension on and add another 10' if needed, no big deal. Most of the time I have found the 10' length is adequate. You can buy a bigger sewer holder as mentioned but to me for the price you are paying for a BH or any other make for that matter is seems small in comparison. I bet the dealer would even throw in the bigger sewer holder for you just to make the deal.

 

[timk]

Busted,
Its a 30 dollar investment, wouldnt let it be a deal breaker. Get the dealer to throw it in.
TimK

 

[phranc]

solved my dilemma this way.....
//heartlandowners.org/showthread.php?t=656

 

[busted2341]

Thanx for the info ya'll, but as you said before for that cost you would think the design team would have thought about storage for the sewer hose that you can store outside and with the attachments on it....Well it won't be the deal breaker, just an annoyance.....

 

[jimtoo]

Now comes the test for the dealer and service. Tomorrow we take our 3055rl back for a few repairs. We have appointment for Monday morning, but want to get it in early so it will be there. One of main concerns is A/C not cooling good and not enough volume of air from ducts. Other things are mostly small things that should be taken care of very easily.

After a 130 mile journey on a very good interstate highway. I found our TV almost out of the cabinet. The screws that hold the straps had pulled out. Very poor design here I believe, a screw into 1/4" plywood panel to hold a large TV from bouncing around. I drilled holes through the shelf and used bolts to secure "D" rings to shelf. Bolts are not noticeable and they will not pull out.

Now we will see if the promise of service after the sale holds up.

Jim

 

[Deb]

Looks like a lot of people are ordering the 3055. We are going to do the same thing. Will probably send the deposit check tomorrow. Has anyone felt the need to add a second AC unit? I tend to think that the dual pane windows would be good to have. My husband isn't quite so sure. I also wanted a microwave/convection oven, and it is available. If we order in a couple of days - it should be here for our wedding anniversary on May 8. Now isn't that a great gift to each other.

Thanks to all of you for your many posts. I have learned a lot over the last several months. Any comments on the above would be appreciated.

Deb

 

[Ken Washington]

Do yourself a favor and order the heat pump a/c and if you are going to camp in very hot weather get the second unit. Not sure how long the 3055 is but we had to get the second unit in our 37 ft. Landmark. The heat pump will save alot of propane. My wife loves the microwave/convection oven and thinks you will too.

 

[jpmorgan37]

Hi Deb;
I would definately recommend the dual pane windows for three reasons. 1: It is a lot easier to heat when it's cold outside. 2: It is a lot easier to cool when it's hot outside. 3: It is a lot quieter inside when it's noisy outside. We couldn't believe how much difference they made. Also, we have two AC/heat pump units and they are wonderful. So far, have lived in it with a low of 26 degrees and a high of ninety degrees. The heat pumps work at temperatures above 30 degrees. At thirty, the main one switches over to the propane furnace. The one in the bedroom shuts off. If you decide to go this route, I don't think you'll ever regret it.

 

[Deb]

Thanks for all the suggestions. I have a convection/microwave at home and love it - so was thrilled to know that I can have one while on the road as well.

Something that might be interesting to talk about for a while are neat tricks that you have learned along the way about your rv. Example - several years ago we bought an extra ref. shelf from Camping World for the freezer. So now we have a narrow shelf in the middle of the freezer that is great for 2 ice cube trays, and we also put a plastic (used lasagne dinner throw away plastic) container next to the trays that will hold two trays of ice cubes, and fits the space perfectly. No more spilled water because of trays being uneven or stuff on top of them.

What I would like to know is how you store your butcher knives. I won't have the wooden knife rack behind the stove when we take posession of our Bighorn.

Again, thanks for all the tips and suggestions from everyone.

Deb

 

[jpmorgan37]

We miss our knife rack that was behind the range top in our last fifth wheel but DW keeps them in the top drawer next to the silverware (otherwise known as stainless) eating utinsels. It works fine for her. Congratulations on your new unit.

 

[Tom of Ypsi]

I have not done it with our Landmark yet but on my last trailer we put a knife rack screwed into one of the cabinets. Worked great for us, kept the knifes sharper and out of the way thus leaving more space for something else. You can pick this knife rack up a Camping World.

 

[sonnybeech]

We purchased our 3055 RL in Nov and are using it as I speak.
Our experience with Heartland has been great. We have had to contact customer service a couple of times once we had a problem resolved from this forum. A “real live human being” has handled each issue and that’s important. I see where some people are recommending dealers for a lower price that’s great, but also keep in mind services and how are you going to get thing done…
We have had some problem with some of our appliances and the manufactures have handled them quickly, with no questions!
Sonny

 

[jimtoo]

Update on service of our Bighorn 3055RL by dealer. We were promised delivery of it last Friday, but we waited until today Tuesday, because of telephone conversation with service manager last Friday, they were not quite through with it. So we elected to wait until today, Tuesday.

When we arrived the unit was hooked up and a/c running. They did get more air flowing from the a/c vents and it was cool now, but it was not a hot day. Will see what happens when we get a warm day.

They installed the Mor-Ryde suppension, repainted the frame where welding was necessary. Looks like they did a good job. Coming home and crossing the bridges it sure made a big difference in the comfort in the tow vehicle. Very happy with it.

There were several other problems that the technicians corrected, loose screws, laundry lid not straight, leak in water line, lines hooked up back wards on sink faucets, leak at flush unit connector. Looks like they corrected them all and did a good job.

At this time we are very happy with the dealer and service that we have received. This dealer was also a lot cheaper on this unit than another one that had the same unit with less options. I would recommend this dealer to anyone. They greet you and treat you like family. Nothing but good things to say about them. I don't know if I should post their name, but if anyone wants to know, PM me or let me know and I will post name and location.

Also if I can help anyone with information or suggestions, let me know. I did spend 34 years in the automotive service business and can give some advice once in a while, may not be good and then again it might be.

If we run into more problems, I will post as needed.

Jim

 

[nscaler2]

Jim,
I'm confused. Don't all of the Bighorns come equipped with Mor-Ryde already installed from the factory. Why did your dealership have to install one after the fact?

Tom and Bobbi