Looking at 2950RK

[jimmiemh]

It's been a while since I have been on the forum...looking at getting a Big Country so thought I would ask for a little advice from fellow owners. I'm looking at both a 2012 and 2013. For 2013 the fridge was moved to the slide which gives more counter space, but you loose a window to look out of from the dinette. Couple options the 2012 has are the central vacuum and 2nd A/C. we are not full timers so would like to know if these are really needed. We live in central Ca but normally dry camp on the coast or in the mountains. If we do camp in the valley and it's 100 degrees, would one a/c keep the unit cool.

On the 2012 it has the "High Gloss Metallic Sidewall" What's the differece between that and the "Gold Gloss" and the "High Gloss"? We don't have a local dealer to go check it out, but may head up north this weekend to check them out.

We prefer the two recliners to the sofa - what we're looking for are other opinions on likes and dislikes or what someone wishes they had. I have a 35' Sprinter bumper pull that, well let's say we just want to upgrade (should look for my dad's old '56 15 foot Shasta).

Any advice would be appreciated, We're looking at retireing in 5 years or so and do much more traveling then.

 

[Tanuki]

We have a 2012 2950rk. Bought in June off the lot. Believe the build date was February. It has the fridge in the slide. Apparently BC changed up the floor plan mid-model year. I know that for a while the Heartland website had both floorplans up; I think they designated the new one with an "F" for awhile. They made the slideout longer. It is flush with the cabinets in the rear kitchen as well as the front entertainment center.

There is no question that the dining room table seating is snug, but with the leaf in the table you gain both elbow room and are no longer up against the fridge and sofa. We are thinking of taking out two of the chairs and turning the table so you'd look out the window instead of at each other. I've seen that view for nearly 50 years. Carry a couple of nice folding chairs for company. I noticed that the 2013 includes an optional "versa table" that appears to swivel to allow just that configuration.

We love it. They also swapped the position of the range and the sink and centered the rear window over the sink. Seems much brighter than the old design (which we saw at another dealer) and it creates maybe 25-30% more cabinet, drawer and counter space. It was exactly what we were looking for. We wanted access to the fridge with the slides retracted and we wanted a rear kitchen because of the extra counter space that you usually see with that configuration. My DW didn't like designs with a center line island or peninsula; made her claustrophobic and was definitely not conducive to having more than one cook in the kitchen. We stop at a lot of farm stands and markets and like to be able to put things away or picnic on the road without having to put the slides out or plan ahead. This works perfect for us.

We would have preferred the recliners, but it came with the J-couch. Have to say that it has grown on us. Really very comfortable, seats 3--4 in a pinch. Big enough to nap on or a sleep a kid overnight. And there is storage underneath it. If you go to full-timing, I guess you could put your holiday decorations and Xmas tree under there? We haven't begun to fill up the drawers and cabinets that it has.

Ours has the central vac (including in the basement), but not the 2nd A/C. We, too, live in the Central Valley (Sacramento area) but will normally camp on coast or the Sierras when we aren't traveling farther afield. However, our "shakedown cruise" was just down the road in Plymouth when it was 106 degrees everyday (but it's a dry heat!). We were comfortable. The A/C kept it in the 70's, low 80's. Have to dampen the L/R vent to force more air to the B/R, but it was totally comfortable. Just glad it wasn't my electric meter spinning.

Not sure what the "Gloss" stuff is all about. Ours is a Gold Edition. A couple of the "swoop" decals on each side are metallic when the sun is just right. We love our rig and look forward to spending more time with it when I retire in 71 days, 19 hours (but who's counting?). We also upgraded from my parents' '59 16 foot Terry (Pinky).

John & Janet Gilstrap
2012 Big Country 2950RK (La Belle)
2007 GMC 2500 HD CC AD (La Bete)

 

[bwwalczak]

You may want to check out one of the new features in the Big Country - the new vacuum.

Check it out - perfect for customers who are not connected to shore power, and still want to use their vacuum.



View attachment Electrolux vacuum.pdf

 

[GOTTOYS]

We have the next size up from there 3250TS. It looks like that's now a discontinued model but there should be some left at a few dealers. It has both the recliners and sofa and a little more room. I would go for the Gold Edition on whatever you buy. There have been some problems with the front cap on the Gray models fading and the only real cure is to have it painted. Haven't heard of any similar issues with the Gold edition. Plus you will gain some other upgrades as they are a newer model. Given a choice I would opt for the second A/C. Ours has trouble keeping up when the temps get into the mid 80's and above. Overall we've been happy with ours...Don