Full Timing in a BC

[Hunter11]

I would like to hear from anyone full timing in your BC. We are considering selling our present 5th wheel and purchasing a BC to pretty much live in full time. Now we will not be staying in very much cold weather here in Texas and none to speak of after we retire. My first thought would be as soon as we got the trailer to drop the underbelly cover and insulate all the exposed water lines then add another 3" to 6" of batt insulation before re-installing the cover. We would be getting dual pane windows and the second AC unit in the bedroom. We have been RVing for quite some time so we understand the RV lifestyle but have kept our trips to about 2 weeks max in the past. Just wanting to get some input from the full time folks and how their BC's handle full timing.
Thanks for any input.

 

[rvn4fun]

We are doing it

I think you will be all right, we are here in Texas now and living in our new Big Horn and after a few things we are happy now. We did freeze up when it was 10 outside, even though I took all the precautions we could. The hose from the water tank to the pump froze up. We insulated the cold water drain ect. I think I have a remedy now buy modifiying a living room vent to shoot more hot air down there. I took part of the bottum off to try and insulate the hose better, but I found that Heartland had put some insulation on the underbelly, so I didn't get any farther then that. I found I has some big gaps, by the springs , where the belly material wasn't very close. I ducted taped these and I think it will help a lot. We were shopping for a Bighorn when we purchased this one. They have upgraded the Big Country a lot. We don't have central vacuming on this one and the slides all operate at once, but these haven't posed us a problem. Central vacum is a option on the Big Country and wife said she didn't need it, wish we would have had dual pane windows though. Wife fell in love with this one and that was that. We will live in it about 10 months of the year, as we work camp in Nebraska at a campground, and will travel to Arizona next winter. Too cold and damp in Texas, although the people are real nice down here.

 

[SouthernNights]

Hunter,

There is a guy on here that is fulltiming in his BC based out of AZ- I think. He has done some extensive traveling with it.
I just can't remember his name. I remember seeing pictures of his rig in several campgrounds including one with snow and another one in NC by the coast.

I am wish I could remember his forum name. I emailed him several times about his thoughts on full timing with the BC. He was very positive.

Maybe with this little bit of information, someone will know who I am talking about and you could PM him.

 

[caissiel]

We full time in our BC, but now the unit is in Florida and we are here back in Canada living at relatives in a suitcase. Sure miss the comfort of the BC.
Read our signiture.

 

[SouthernNights]

I just remembered the members name that was fulltiming in his 3250 BC. It was Matthias, but I looked and he hasn't been on since Oct. 5th, 2009.

 

[sdgrossman1994]

Full-Timing and Loving it!

Hello All,

I just bought my 2009 Big Country 3490 RB in the 3rd week of January. It has a bunk house and 1/2 bath in the back. The floorplan suits us perfectly. So here is where we are living and what's been happening.

Let me start by saying that living in Virginia Beach, VA is SUPPOSED to be not so bad in the winter, but that is not the case this year. It's been VERY cold for the majority of the winter, and with temps in the teens and 20's at night, extra precautions had to be made to make sure we were warm.

My upgrade from the Pilgrim Travel Trailer to the BC was like night and day. The only thing that I would do differntly, would be to upgrade the unit to dual pane windows. Single pane windows are not perfect in the winter, but with some humidty management with a dehumidifier, I have that under control. I just wipe down the window edges at lunchtime and they are dry the rest of the day.

I have taken a new RV water hose and insulated it with the foam rubber insulation and installed heat tape under that. I have had no freezing problems with the RV since I installed it. I had a $100 electric water hose that was supposed to prevent freezing, but that did not work for me. I will be returning that and getting my money back. Heat tape and insulation on the water hydraunt and heat tape and insulation on the hose are working well. I installed a concrete form and 5 gallon bucket lid on the water hydraunt and all is well. No freezing water lines at all. NOw...I did install a brass 90 degree elbow on the water inlet in the UDC to allow the water hose to not pull the inlet too much and that seems to help a lot. I keep a heatlamp running in the UDC all the time, but I just have a regular 60 watt light bulb in it. It is just perfect and does not freeze. I keep the elbow wrapped with the aluminum foam heat wrap and some electrical tape and it's perfect. You can pick up all the supplies you need at Lowes and Home Depot for under $50 dollars for everything, and not worry about freeze ups all winter long. Now...I don't use the electric plug in the UDC for the heat lamp...I ran an extention cord to the power supply in the campground and that way...does not take from my total power usage inside. With only 50 amps total, I did not want to take from that and have to start managing usage with the space heater, coffee maker, etc...

I have a space heater in the RV in the middle of the unit that is a quartz infared unit by Sun-Tech. It keeps the RV nice and warm and the furnace does not come on much at all . I keep the thermostat on 65 at night and it only runs a few times when it's in the 20's. It does not come on when it's in the 30's...so I am saving on propane .

My unit is still brand new so I have not experienced too many issues with the construction of the unit... I have been through two snows so far in the last two weeks and there are more on the way. I don't even know what color my awning is, as it's been too miserable to put it out.

The only thing left for me is to look into replacing the windows in the slide out's in the bedrooms with dual pane windows. Other than that, the BC is a great unit to full-time in. Sure, there will be people that say it's not set up for extended living, but with the right management of humidity and moisture you can enjoy many years of full-timing in your BC....

Good luck!

 

[caissiel]

We are back in Florida and moved our unit to an overflow site that has only electricity.
We filled our fresh water tank and emptied the holding tanks, since we can shower and do our washing at the clubhouse we are planning to stay here for at least 2 weeks till our site becomes available.
We were gone for 2 months and came back home here in our BC.
It feels like home in out unit.
We have everything stored in Rubbermaid tuff storage tubs that perfectly fits in the basement, and hardly need to use the inside storage like the other trailer.
Of course the everyday stuff is stored inside the unit and we so far have not used all the inside storage.
We do carry lots.
Like 2 Guitars and the associated music equipment. 1 desk PC, 2 Portable PC.
Kayaks and all the water sports safety equipment.
All my mechanics tools, and last summer all my carpenters tools, including portable bench saw, planner, 2 miter saws, 2 step ladders.
I still carry the one ladder and a small Kayak underneith, with the spare.
We do have a Splendide 2100 W/D unit and closets full of play and working cloths.
Big change in space compared to our previous 33ft, 1995, single slide, 5th wheel unit.
And it tows even better with less weight on the truck.

 

[chermanson]

We have been full timing in our BC3250TS for about 18 months now.
It really feels like home. We spent last winter in Florida and the summer in Montana and we are now in Texas and headed to Wisconsin for the
summer. No major problems with the unit. The triple slide really opens
up the living area. There is quite a bit of storage, but of course you can
always use more. We kept things from selling our house that we thought
we couldn't live without, anything we haven't used in 18 months is going
to have a new address. The BC actually pulls easier than the 25 ft. travel
trailer we had.

Happy Full Timing:angel:

 

[SouthernNights]

Laurent,

I sure would like to see your kayak mounts if you have pictures.

 

[caissiel]

The Kayak is a sit on and 8' 6" long so I just tied it behind the wheels, with hooks bolted on the frame and straps.

 

[out the car window]

hi
not sure if you have moved to a BC - you need to understand the limitations re the warranty and full time.
Heartland took ours to the factory to repair ours as we had major flexing issues - between questionable quality repairs (paint runs, bad sealer etc etc) we were out of it from Oct to Jan - and we had to find and pay for our own accom during this time. As we were told 3 weeks then it was extended and extended.... etc it was a very exp process. Full time rated units pay for the time you are out of them... but they are much dearer RV's.
We have dual pane glass - much better than single pane on last one. Also recommend you take a good look at the plumbing in the bin and check all connections, straighten kinked hoses, and check the pump connections. We also had to switch around the pipes coming from the furnace as the living area did not get enough warmth yet the toilet was like a Sauna. Totally changed the temperature of the RV once done.
all the best
le

 

[jmgratz]

If you have an extended warranty some will pay for living expenses when your rig is in the shop