Hello

[Jim_Hull]

I just wanted to take a moment and introduce myself. My wife and I just placed our order for a 2016 BC 4010RD and are very excited to take delivery. We are moving up from a 2002 TT bunkhouse that we purchased new when our kids were young. We are now nearing retirement and are taking grandkids camping with us. We have talked about a 5th wheel for the past few years and finally decided to pull the trigger. The information I gleaned from this forum helped us make a final decision as we were researching Heartland, Keyston, Jayco and Forest River. I am excited to keep learning more as we wait on delivery.

 

[danemayer]

Hi Jim_Hull,

Congratulations on ordering the new Big Country and welcome to the Heartland Owners Forum. This is a great place to get your questions answered, so feel free to ask away. Let me also point you to a collection of owner-written user guides that you may find helpful. Here's a link. You can also get to them from the TOOLS tab at top of page by selecting HUG - Heartland User Guides.

And be sure to check out the Owners Club. It's a great way to get to know other Heartland owners and have a great time at rallies.

 

[For20hunter]

Congratulations on your purchase of your new BC! Exciting times! Don't forget that as soon as you get your VIN to join the Heartland Owners Club and as soon as you take delivery, please post some pics!

Rod

 

[MCTalley]

Welcome aboard!

 

[billyjoeraybob]

Congrats on the new Big Country!

Safe travels

 

[jimtoo]

Hi Jim_Hull,

Welcome to the Heartland Owners Forum and to the family. We have a great bunch of folks here with lots of information and all willing to share their knowledge when needed.

Be sure and check out our Heartland Owners Club. Join us at a rally when you can and meet lots of the great folks here and make friends for a lifetime.

Enjoy the forum and your new unit.

Jim M

 

['Lil Guy']

Congrats on your new BC and welcome to the Heartland family. Don't forget that the beswt part of owning a HL rig is the privilege of joining the HOC. Attend a rally to show off that new rig and meet some great people with vast amounts of knowledge. Hope to see you down the road. Enjoy that new toy.

 

[REDDOG7571]

Jim,
I'm brand new to the 5th wheel idea, and I've researched this brand very intently. What made you choose this brand over any of teh others that you looked at?

 

[Jim_Hull]

REDDOG,

There were several reasons we chose this brand. Let me say up front that we looked at Montana and Avalanche from Keystone and Cardinal by Forest River in addition to Big Country and Elkridge by Heartland. The first reason we went with the Big Country was the floor plan. We fell in love with the floor plan and went from there. However, we also did our research. Everything I read told me the Heartland customer service is much better than the other brands we were looking at. Finally, we have a great dealer that we had used for service on our travel trailer. They have been great to work with on a rig they did not sell. That says a great deal to me about care after the fact. All of that combined to make our decision very easy.

 

[REDDOG7571]

Jim,
I find that very interesting, because those are both of the same units we've been looking at from the side lines! We love the layout! Now I'm looking for a deal!! It seems it depends on the dealer. the first unit that I really talked price on was the Elkridge, and i was able to get the dealer to drop his price equal to an out of state dealers price in only minutes! That made me wonder if I should have offered less. Now with the BC, I've recieved pricing $12,000.00 to $15,000.00 apart??? Its very confusing.

 

[Jim_Hull]

REDDOG,

Pricing in the rv industry is very confusing. It seems that the dealers have a great deal of leeway in setting their prices. As we were researching the Big Country offerings, we looked at a lot of units on RV Trader just to see pictures of the various models. As we looked at prices, my wife and I told each other there was no way we would be buying a 4010 because it was more than we wanted to spend. However, as we talked to our dealer, his price was $15,000 to $20,000 less than we were seeing on RV Trader. There is no rhyme or reason to it. But, we were pleasantly surprised.

 

[jbeletti]

Welcome Jim and Mari Beth!

 

[jmgratz]

There is a large price differentiation between dealers. Years ago when we were shopping for a new 5er we found a $10000 difference in the retail price and a 10000 difference in our trade for a $20,000 difference. Same model, same floorplan, same color. The only difference is the less expensive unit had a security camera that the other one did not. Bet you can guess who got the sale.

 

[Jim_Hull]

Well, Saturday is the day. We were contacted by the dealer yesterday and told that our 4010RD arrived yesterday and asked if we could come in Saturday morning to pick it up. We are excited, and hopeful there are no issues that need addressed that prevent us from taking it home on Saturday. Pictures to follow after we get it.

 

[jbeletti]

Hi Jim,

Exciting times for you! Do a great PDI before you pay for your RV and take it home. Ask the dealer to have it connected to AC power and to water. Try EVERY system out. Take notes and video if you're into that. Make sure Mari Beth is there with you so you have two sets of ears listening to everything the PDI tech shows you. Run the TV antenna up and check reception on all TV as well.

Have a great time and if you're not already signed up for it, join us at the North Central Region Rally to be held near Springfield, IL.

See you down the road!

 

[Jim_Hull]

Jim,

Thank you for the great advice. I already downloaded a great PDI checklist from this site and am planning on taking our time and making sure everything is "right". We are working with a great dealer that has treated us very well in the past, so I expect no issues with getting things addressed that need it.