New Big Horn 3010RE Owner

[BigGuy82]

That anti-gooseneck policy is probably older than the invention of the Anderson Ultimate Hitch, and I believe that Heartland and Lipert are in bed together. If I had a brand new trailer, I wouldn't violate the policy... BUT, when the dealership I bought my 2013 BH from sells and installs the Anderson in my truck, I'm good. They sold me a Route 66 inspected and warrantied unit (4yrs).

The old style of gooseneck attachments are fixed to the trailer and go down into the bed of the truck, which may cause stress to trailer. The Anderson raises the goose-ball up to the level of the trailer kingpin. TOTALLY different physics. It's 2016...

Have I mentioned how much I love joining this Heartland blog?!?! I have learned a ton in the 10 days I have owned this new brand (old fiver is an Alpenlite).

Since the 2017 manual says it, I've got to go with it. I've sued over a motorhome problem many years back and even though i won, it was not fun. jnbhobe suggested that I call Heartland, but in my experience, those verbal things always seem to get forgotten. I might consider a gooseneck if Heartland put that approval in writing, but my guess is that by the time the lawyers finished vetting it, I'd be dead.

Since you are a Ford guy, you might find this interesting. It's the 2017 Super Duty web page:

http://www.ford.com/trucks/superdut...uty&cks=58458468021&emailid=ford_hxxc_hrt1_on

Personally, I think my new F250 is going to kick *** hauling this fiver. If I'm wrong - eh, I'll trade it in.

 

[JohnD]

Thanks for the tank location info. Nope - I wasn't even dreaming about changing anything on this coach, especially tank location. I just figured if the water tank was already behind the axle i might be able to relieve a little pin weight by filling the water tank a bit more.

As it stands, I think I'm going to be good on both pin weight and towed weight. I'll probably lament not getting a diesel when I'm climbing the Rockies, but I'll be fine with this combo that I've put together. If it proves out that I'm wrong, as I mentioned to jrdelung, I'll just trade in the truck and move on. If buying another new truck in 2-3 years is my biggest problem in life, I'll consider myself a lucky man! (besides, in 2-3 years, the inside of the windshield gets really scummy, so it's time to trade anyway !)

I typically only travel with enough water in the fresh water tank to use the bathroom a few times and maybe a small pot of coffee, a little cooking and hand washing while on the road.

As for the gas engine . . . had I known we were going to upgrade to a 5th-wheeler when we bought our truck (two years ago this August 29th. and 42,000 miles ago) I probably would have bought a 3500 diesel dually.

I had my chance . . . and I even test drove a couple of them!

But at the time that was way more overkill for our 2013 Heartland Trail Runner bumper-pull that we thought we would have for the next 10-15 years.

As it stands right now, the only thing I wish I had that a diesel would give me is the exhaust brake, since we live in Colorado and travel the Rocky Mountains every time we go camping!

But, having lived in Colorado for 24 of my 56 years and four days on this planet, I do know how to drive in the mountains and don't find not having an exhaust brake a real issue.

However, every time I hear about a diesel going into the shop for non-warranty service I cringe when told how much the repair bill will be!

I just don't want to take out a second mortgage on my house to pay for that . . .

Now, as I mentioned earlier in this topic thread, since we did decide to upgrade to a 5th-wheeler (due to some mechanical issues with our previous trailer that soured us and made us decide to move on), we did choose a trailer to fit the truck that we already had instead of buying the trailer of our dreams and trying to pull it with the truck we already had.

I'm not sorry that I chose the gasser . . . or our lighter weight Heartland Prowler!

This truck is my daily driver . . . thus the 42,000 miles in less that two years.

I have a 2015 Chevy Silverado 2500HD 4x4 SRW 6.0L gasser with the 4.10 rear end, and so far it has proved to be a trailer hauling beast in the Rocky Mountains!

Granted, our Prowler is nowhere near as heavy as your 5-ver!





But I am not sorry I chose this truck . . . I love it!

I was a Dodge man before this (five Dodge and three Ford trucks before this) . . . this is the first Chevy truck I've ever owned!

 

[BigGuy82]

Well, just thought I'd revisit this thread I started with an update. After deciding that waiting until the middle of October wasn't going to work for me, I cancelled my 2017 Ford F350 gasser SRW order. Replacement? 2016 Ford F350 diesel dually. Why? Lower price than a '17, the dually/diesel upgrade was less than 10,000, no wait and no need to lose sleep over pin weight, tow weight, balance , etc. I've got 8,000 lbs to spare over the fiver 15,500 max, about 2,000 to spare in pin weight and even though side to side balance is important, the dual wheels should handle all but the most egregious imbalance.

Looking forward to getting out on the road.

 

[jrdelung]

Well, just thought I'd revisit this thread I started with an update. After deciding that waiting until the middle of October wasn't going to work for me, I cancelled my 2017 Ford F350 gasser SRW order. Replacement? 2016 Ford F350 diesel dually. Why? Lower price than a '17, the dually/diesel upgrade was less than 10,000, no wait and no need to lose sleep over pin weight, tow weight, balance , etc. I've got 8,000 lbs to spare over the fiver 15,500 max, about 2,000 to spare in pin weight and even though side to side balance is important, the dual wheels should handle all but the most egregious imbalance.

Looking forward to getting out on tbhe road.

Thanks BigGuy! I'm gonna tell my wife that I can know upgrade to a 350/450 Dually and say you said so!!!

 

[BigGuy82]

Yes sir. Absolutely - you have my strongest personal endorsement. Also, upgrading is good for your health, combined with exercise and a healthy diet.

 

[jrdelung]

Yes sir. Absolutely - you have my strongest personal endorsement. Also, upgrading is good for your health, combined with exercise and a healthy diet.

Added bonus, thanks!

 

[Mrsfish]

Added bonus, thanks!

White Mountains?

 

[TravelTiger]

Well, just thought I'd revisit this thread I started with an update. After deciding that waiting until the middle of October wasn't going to work for me, I cancelled my 2017 Ford F350 gasser SRW order. Replacement? 2016 Ford F350 diesel dually. Why? Lower price than a '17, the dually/diesel upgrade was less than 10,000, no wait and no need to lose sleep over pin weight, tow weight, balance , etc. I've got 8,000 lbs to spare over the fiver 15,500 max, about 2,000 to spare in pin weight and even though side to side balance is important, the dual wheels should handle all but the most egregious imbalance.

Looking forward to getting out on the road.

Yay! So happy to hear. You won't be disappointed!!


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[jrdelung]

White Mountains?

Air Force Academy Fam Camp

 

[BigGuy82]

Yay! So happy to hear. You won't be disappointed!!


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Thanks. We're pumped!

 

[Mrsfish]

Air Force Academy Fam Camp

my second choice

 

[BigGuy82]

Picked up my new 2106 Super Duty F350 diesel dually today - absolutely could not be happier. Wow! There are only two problems that must be cured immediately - the little sissy horn (time for a train horn) and the tiny little 37 gallon tank - soon to be remedied. Yes - i knew about these horrible shortcomings before purchasing and it's lots of fun to have these problems! Pix to follow once I have the whole rig together.

 

[jrdelung]

Picked up my new 2106 Super Duty F350 diesel dually today - absolutely could not be happier. Wow! There are only two problems that must be cured immediately - the little sissy horn (time for a train horn) and the tiny little 37 gallon tank - soon to be remedied. Yes - i knew about these horrible shortcomings before purchasing and it's lots of fun to have these problems! Pix to follow once I have the whole rig together.

Sweeeeeeeeet! I'm still leaning toward the 2012 F350 Dually King Ranch Fx4. I REALLY want to see yours and get feedback from you after you use it around town as a commuter.

 

[BigGuy82]

So, I took my new truck and picked up my new Bighorn 3010RE today. After a pull down the NY State Thruway that involved a little evasive work and quick braking when somebody who seemed to be sleeping flipped over his SUV about 10 cars ahead of me, it's apparent that I bought the correct tow vehicle. Great accelleration, great control in an adverse situation (plus it was a bit windy) and overall a great ride (considering it is a one ton). As I got close to home, I decided to try a steep hill close by and I chugged up it without any problem - again, the right truck for the job. Overall, I couldn't be happier with my choice of truck and fiver. As for that fiver, it was the hit of the party tonight as all the neighbors came out for the grand tour. I gotta say, we really love this coach.

Now, if I could only figure out how to park it in a standard two car driveway on a narrow residential street, I'd be in fat city. At least my efforts entertained the neighbors. Oh well, practice, practice, practice. Maybe I could build a pull through in the front yard ...

 

[TravelTiger]

So, I took my new truck and picked up my new Bighorn 3010RE today. After a pull down the NY State Thruway that involved a little evasive work and quick braking when somebody who seemed to be sleeping flipped over his SUV about 10 cars ahead of me, it's apparent that I bought the correct tow vehicle. Great accelleration, great control in an adverse situation (plus it was a bit windy) and overall a great ride (considering it is a one ton). As I got close to home, I decided to try a steep hill close by and I chugged up it without any problem - again, the right truck for the job. Overall, I couldn't be happier with my choice of truck and fiver. As for that fiver, it was the hit of the party tonight as all the neighbors came out for the grand tour. I gotta say, we really love this coach.

Now, if I could only figure out how to park it in a standard two car driveway on a narrow residential street, I'd be in fat city. At least my efforts entertained the neighbors. Oh well, practice, practice, practice. Maybe I could build a pull through in the front yard ...

Great to hear!!! So glad you got the right matchup.

We know your pain for getting in the driveway. We used to live in a nice HOA neighborhood that would not let us store our rig at home, but we had to bring it home to work on it or stock it for trips. We lived on a cul de sac, but we were the first house on the curve so our one lane driveway was not a 90* turn from the road... more like 75*. The cul de sac helped, but I think it took an hour and a half the first time, to get it into the driveway between the curb on one side and brick mailbox on the other, and not enough room to swing the truck around to straighten the rig.

After a few years, we got it down, but I know we made more than a few neighbors frustrated when we were attempting this fun maneuver! Our rig was 37'. I don't think we could do it now with our 41'.


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[Capt7383]

I got my 3070re backed in rather quickly. Just took 500 pounds of topsoil and 30 dollars in grass seed to fix the damage, great neighbors

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[BigGuy82]

I got my 3070re backed in rather quickly. Just took 500 pounds of topsoil and 30 dollars in grass seed to fix the damage, great neighbors

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Yeah, I took several short cuts over the lawn myself. The good news is that we're in the middle of a drought here (not the norm for upstate NY), so the lawns are now like concrete. In fact, I should have parked the coach on the lawn - then I wouldn't need to worry about people hitting the slide outs in the driveway!

I can't wait to pull this thing into a tight campsite ...