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[TexAndLinda]

Hello people,

Tex and Linda here. We reside in Fort Worth, Texas in a Stick&Brick. We our joining forums to see what we need to know to make a life change. Some 25 years ago Linda said she would like to move around the US camping and working. Well that didn't happen, but we are in the process of selling our house and purchase a rig & 5th wheel to make this happen in the near future. We are doing a lot of reading on what to buy 5th wheel vs pull-a-long, Ford vs GMC, what type of work vs laziness, how to survive vs go broke, you know the nuts and bolts of what makes this a paradise.
So far from what we can tell Heartland products have been placed on a pedestal, so we are here to see why and what we should look for. We have many questions, but we will not ask them all at once.

Nice to Meet ya'll.
Daryl "Tex" & Linda Nolan
in Texas, but from Delaware

 

[jimtoo]

Hi Tex and Linda,

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

I'm not sure Heartland is on a "pedestal", but Heartland is way up the ladder. The folks at the plants and home offices do their best to help out when they can with great customer service. The quality of the units is great, not perfect in some cases, but if a problem occurs, someone is usually here to help.

If your going to be a full timer, I would recommend you go with a Landmark, Bighorn, or Big Country. All have different floor plans, some really close to the others. Just a matter of choice.

Which ever you choose, I'm sure you will make it your own home with your own special accents like so many of us have done.

Please ask any questions and I'm sure someone will help with an answer.

Jim M

 

[ParkIt]

Tex & Linda,
Pretty sure you've seen ExploreUSA in your neck of the woods, go hit their lot and throw as many questions at them as you can. They know the difference of each manufacture, options, what your primary use will be and anything else you can think of. They aren't pushy and know the builds on each unit, ask for Robert Roe if you need a full day to check out different models and what the difference is in each one.

I will say Heart Land is probably the best out there, we just had an incident where an authorized tow company dropped our Big Country into the bed of their truck yet the damage was minimal and the unit could still be towed. There are few (if any) other builds out there that can withstand that kind of punishment.

Check the forum specific parts here (Landmark, Big Horn, Big Country, Gateway, Cyclone etc) and you will see pictures of how they are built at the factory as many Heart Land owners have watched their unit being built and took pictures along the way. Not sure you are going to find that with other manufactures, good luck on your research.

 

[TexAndLinda]

jimtoo & ParkIt, thanks.
We have already been to "ExploreUSA" here in south Fort Worth. Brandon Murphy there was most helpful, he understood we should read up and pick up on what each manufacture does to make a trailer. Brandon was the one that referred us to these forums to get info and talk to actual owners.

Question:
does Landmark, Bighorn, or Big Country, limited warranty still apply for full timers (residential)?

 

[ParkIt]

Brandon is good too though I think Robert has been to a couple of plants to see how they are built.

Anyway, are you referring to the standard 1 year warranty? That covers the trailer itself and just about everything in it though some of the appliances (stove, Television, stereo, fireplace etc) have an additional warranty of their own. Can't remember but I think some appliances had up to three years and were limited in what they covered. Heart Land will take care of you the first year and do a bang up job of it too, if you just want the standard warranty you are covered.

Just a personal thing for me I've always purchased a separate 7 year everything warranty. It pays for itself most of the time if one thing goes wrong and is out of warranty though you do have to read those closely as to what they cover and the process for making a claim.

Any thought yet as to which way you are leaning???? (everyone wants to know)

 

[TXBobcat]

Tex and Linda
There are a number of fulltimers on this forum. DW and I have been fulltimers since 2007. Not as long as some but longer than others. I agree that the Landmark or Bighorn would be a good fulltime trailer. I don't know that much about the Big Country but it should fit the bill if you decide on it. If you really plan to go fulltime I would go for the best one you can afford, that way you won't wish you had bought the bigger one or the one that had whatever. All RV's will have problems but I believe that Heartland will support you better than most. The dealer is another story. I bought my trailer from ExploreUSA in Seguin TX. They have done me well so I have no complaints. If you are going to be fulltime don't worry about which dealer because you never have a problem when you're in town. I don't think we have been to Seguin TX more than two or three times. However ExploreUSA is a good company, so is Ron Hoover which is a family owned Texas company. You might contact Joe French at Ron Hoover and see what he can do for you.

Another thing you might look into is where you want to establish your residence. We are Escapees out of Livingston TX. They handle all our mail and a number of other things. South Dakota is another but while you are Texas Residences you would have less problems.

Find the trailer you are interested in before you purchase a Tow Vehicle. Look for a 1 ton or better, ie.. F350 or F450. We are Ford people but any of the three American trucks will do the job for you.

Stay with this forum and you will learn a lot and if you have any questions you will most likely find an answer.

Welcome to the forum and travel safe.

BC

 

[danemayer]

jimtoo & ParkIt, thanks.

Question:
does Landmark, Bighorn, or Big Country, limited warranty still apply for full timers (residential)?

Hi TexAndLinda,

Here's the quote from the Trailer Manual currently available on the Heartland site: "Any product used for a commercial or business purpose, including, not limited to, rental, charter, or for other fees for service, or as a residence is excluded from this Limited Warranty. (This residential limitation shall not apply to Land Mark, Big Horn and Big Country brands.)" - emphasis added.

 

[TexAndLinda]

Any thought yet as to which way you are leaning???? (everyone wants to know)

Thanks for the info, we have not seen enough to make our decision yet. We are leaning toward a Landmark, we would like to look at the "Mesa" floorplan.
There are several things to finish before we do this.
Quick history:
Linda- works in retail - Dillards presently 10+ yrs.
Tex- works in utilities - at&t & Comcast 25+ yrs (unemployed right now). However I am in school getting my CCNA certification.
We are selling our house and investing the money from that to help buy the trailer and trade in our Nissan (2010 Titan & 2011 Maxima) on the F350 or F450
We have not camped in 20 years, so when we say we are new..... we just got our bottoms spanked .... we are new.

Ron Hoover which is a family owned Texas company. You might contact Joe French at Ron Hoover and see what he can do for you.

Find the trailer you are interested in before you purchase a Tow Vehicle. Look for a 1 ton or better, ie.. F350 or F450. We are Ford people but any of the three American trucks will do the job for you.

TxBobcat, Thanks
When it gets down to the time to buy we will look into Ron Hoover.
and like Papaw use to say "If you are going to pull something pull it with a Ford and if you were going to haul it, buy a trailer - pulled by a Ford"

 

[ParkIt]

and like Papaw use to say "If you are going to pull something pull it with a Ford and if you were going to haul it, buy a trailer - pulled by a Ford"

Oh no, I just snorked reading that
We went cheap so to speak, picked up a Ford F350 (there was debate on that) diesel that is a converted ambulance. We had our Big Country almost a year before we had anything to tow it with, our neighbors thought we were nuts.
Well, they still think we are nuts but we are about to leave them with stories for the new owners of this house

 

[TravelTiger]

Welcome to the Forum! One thing about Heartland owners, they are a great bunch of folks and this forum has brought them together an made a great family, always willing to lend a hand and bring a potluck dish to a rally!

There is a 2+5 year warranty on Landmark. Check out the Heartland website for all the details.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[TexAndLinda]

There are so many decisions out there. I refer back to basics.... and if I make a wrong decision I have the ability to change it....

 

[aatauses]

Welcome to the forum----ask and ask some more--this group is great about sharing information. You will enjoy the full time life and meet new friends along the way. search the internet for some good books about the life, and information about questions to ask. HL is by far the best customer service org we have dealt with, however dealers are so/so in my opinion, but dealing with factory have been great.
al
currently in Kenai, AK

 

[brw549]

Hello All, my wife and I are awaiting the arrival of our new 2014 BC 3650RL. This will be our first fifth wheel. We have owned a FR product Flagstaff 30WRKSS prior to this and we have been enjoying the camping community for approx. 3 years. We travel mainly in the south, Georgia, Alabama, Florida and are avid outdoor photographers. We've been married 35 years (she's so lucky) and have two grown ( thank goodness) daughters. My wife (Cathy) is a RN and I (Billy) am a Paramedic. We've both been in our professions for over 35 years. We are looking forward to sharing our adventures and comments with you as we have on other forums. Now, for my main question to you...being I have had a 38 foot TT what will be the learning curve for backing and pulling the fifth wheel.

Thanks

 

[jimtoo]

Hi Billy and Cathy,

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

I am sure you will find that pulling and backing your Big Country will be a lot easier for you. I'm sure you will get some more comments and suggestions from our other members.

Welcome to the forum and join us at a rally when you can. You will meet and make friends for a life time and of,, eat the best food there is.

Jim M

 

[TexAndLinda]

Thank you for all the reply's.
We have only done tent camping and that was 15+/- years ago. The first task is to go stay in some 5th wheels and see what we like vs not like. She don't like spiders, boy am I in for the biggest issue yet.


The hard part is that my wife looks at Cosmetic/Storage/Price and I look at Structure and Manufacturer Service/Warranty. This becomes difficult because she sees what is nice and I read all the things people have had to say (forums).


There are three locations in our house that count, kitchen 18X31 (gourmet), Office 17X19, Family room 20X20. Then we have the formal dinning (dust collector), and formal sitting room (will become the new out doors), and three bedrooms (yard selling every thing and will be empty). So in the trailer we need storage for the kitchen and bedroom. The rest of the trailer we want as open as possible with windows.

She "REALLY" likes:
Pinnacle 36KPTS for kitchen storage ... (there is 9 full size wall cabinet 14" depth on a wall +more)
Infinity Model 3750FL Kitchen storage is nice (no WoW factor) - Bedroom great - Price, high side of OK
Wants to see:
Cedar Creek 38FL for storage/cosmetic/price
HL BH 3855 FL for storage/cosmetic/price
HL BH 3875 FB for storage/cosmetic/price
HL LM Mesa for storage/cosmetic/price

I Like HeartLand for the positive things heard about service and owner ship of there product.
And I like that the Cedar Creek has a rear door also, have not seen that any where else.

I will be asking for help/suggestions/explanations over the next year to get a good understanding of what we are getting into.


Really thanks for the invites in to this life style.