Why Big Horn and not Montana or Jayco Pinnacle?
- Thread starter Kiltedpig
- Start date
GOTTOYS
Well-known member
Not a lot of difference between the two except.....Big Horn comes with the best factory support of any brand, bar none. Did you notice how one of your other questions was answered by a Heartland General Manager? Would that happen if you asked that question on a Montana or Jayco forum??...Don
jimtoo
Moderator
And you get to visit and ask questions on the Heartland Owners Forum, where the best folks are... you can join the Heartland Owners Club where you can attend rallies and meet the best people there are and eat the best food. What more could you ask for,,, well maybe at some point you will even get to meet me. ... 
Have a great day.
Jim M
Have a great day.
Jim M
I looked at all three of the trailers you mentioned at the Tampa RV show. Was able to look closely at all three. There were quite a few items that I did not like about the Montana. The Pinnacle was a close first but our Bighorn had more standard equipment and at the show the regional sales manager for Pinnacle could not answer some of my questions that I had about options, upgrades, and how things worked.Don
EPaulikonis
Well-known member
I just recently purchased w/Heartland. I'd looked at the other units you mentioned as well. There are several differences in construction and materials you can pick out, but the key piece I focused on was the company's willingness to explicitly state "full-time living warranty."
Jayco did not offer to back the warranty if coach was used for full-time RVing; I don't believe Montana did either. Both the Big Horn and Landmark are marketed and supported from the factory as "full-time" coaches. If I spend the money to purchase a rig being marketed as "full-time" ready, I expect the company to support the 2 +5 warranty without me having to lie when I have to take it in for warranty service. Heartland will stand behind their product.
Jayco did not offer to back the warranty if coach was used for full-time RVing; I don't believe Montana did either. Both the Big Horn and Landmark are marketed and supported from the factory as "full-time" coaches. If I spend the money to purchase a rig being marketed as "full-time" ready, I expect the company to support the 2 +5 warranty without me having to lie when I have to take it in for warranty service. Heartland will stand behind their product.
Bob&Patty
Founders of SoCal Chapter
If you notice, I joined the HL forum in 2006 and did alot of reading.. At that time we were teetering between the Montana and Big Horn. Montana's seemed to be stuck in the 1980's with their interior designs. I could not walk to the BR closet without hitting my head on the ceiling and I'm 6'1". We would go look at Montana's then go back and look at the Big Horns. The factory support, and the forum made the decision for us and have never looked back. I would buy a HL again. Did we have some issues at 1st...yes, but HL stepped up and fixed them. Been 7 years now and have not had to fix anything. BTW, JIMTOO threated to have Vito break my knee caps if we did not buy a Big Horn. I like his new pix though.....looks like he has lost some weight.
If you buy a Horn, I would order it...not buy off the lot. That way you can get the GY G614 tires, 2 A/C's and so forth. Circle back here as to what to pay for it also. Just dont post prices, thats a forum NO-NO. You can PM people and ask those questions.
Good luck with your decision.
If you buy a Horn, I would order it...not buy off the lot. That way you can get the GY G614 tires, 2 A/C's and so forth. Circle back here as to what to pay for it also. Just dont post prices, thats a forum NO-NO. You can PM people and ask those questions.
Good luck with your decision.
RoadJunkie
Well-known member
Your first two words on the OP said it best, "Doing research". Brand loyalty will follow each of the rigs you mentioned in your title; there will also be brand disloyalty from dissatisfied customers, as well. It is cliche to say it, but pick the rig you feel best meets your needs, floorplan, etc. Go behind the scenes to determine your definition of quality. That is get your flashlight out and inspect beyond the obvious; behind bulkhead doors, underbelly, tank supports, wiring/outlet locations, furniture quality (turn the stuff upside down), frame and axle, brakes...self adjusting, tire rating and name brand, venting design for fridge, led lighting, thermostat locations (conflict if air blows on them), HVAC ducting (efficiency and balance), ...you get the picture. Good luck.
porthole
Retired
If you are really serious - get on a plane to South Bend, Indiana, rent a car and go to Elkhart and tour the factories.
Make your arrangements in advance, bring a notebook and camera. Go to a few dealers too.
That is what I did before ordering our Cyclone. After crawling in, over and under it was clear to me which trailer I wanted to get.
Some things were just cosmetic. I really disliked the way the side of some brands looked with all the "stuff" sticking out.
And if your are full timing there may be some things that are specific to your needs. For us, I did not want the furnace to be near the door and access to the bathroom and fridge while closed up were a must.
A big RV show will help get you an idea of what you want. Factory tours will help you decide on the best value for your $$$
K
karykatz
Guest
Dear Kiltedpig, Heartland RV sets MSRP pricing. A copy of an MSRP is shipped to dealer with every unit. They should be able to provide you copy upon request. I hope this helps
Rottiesmom
New York Chapter Leader - retired
We to were torn with the three companies you mentioned. After having another brand for 5 years it was time to move up to a rear lounger from bunk beds we went to show after show going from Jayco to Montana forgive me but we knew nothing of Heartland at that time until we met members of this group at a local RV show who took the time, and I mean hours of us going back and forth from all three, answering our questions and bringing up good points to look for in all of them. Honestly what sold us to Heartland was the quality of the units, floor plans and the group. Thank you John & Debbie Bylinski for the time they spent with us that day and also allowing us to look at their new unit floor plan the following weekend when they took delivery at crossroads. That was the final decision for us which one to choose. When you have people you never knew before open their door to you that is a company I want to represent driving my unit around. Sure we had some issues but nothing we couldn't get worked out by Heartland. They stand behind their product and customers not many places do that today. Good luck in your search. Hope to see u down the road in a bighorn
olcoon
Well-known member
In 2010 we bought our Elk Ridge. The only thing we knew about a 5th wheel camper was that it was towed behind a truck & was supposed to be more stable going down the road. We jumped from a tent to a 5er, & had never heard about Heartland. We thank the Lord that we picked Heartland. We would like to upgrade (to a Big Horn) in the future, and we aren't even looking at any other brand. For us Heartland is the only option, the company is super, the forum/club are over & above, and the people we've met at the rallies are some of the best people we've ever met. We've made life long friends...even though we may only see them once a year!
Westwind
Well-known member
I had been watching the Original Heartland Company from it's inception. My cousin bought a Landmark in their 1st or 2nd year of production and had nothing but praise for the trailer and the company for the way it stood behind it's product. They had some problems, but the company stood behind the trailer and took good care of them. Then full timed in it for about 3 or 4 years until health problems changed things. I looked at Jayco and Heartland, I had to drop Montana because of the local dealer who was very difficult to deal with. My wife X-ed the Jayco, she said it was too dark and she didn't care for any of the fabric patterns. I didn't care for the limited storage in the compartment of the 34' fifth wheel, but I did like the quality and warranty. We stopped at a Heartland dealer to look at Bighorn which I felt was over my price limit. They didn't have the model we were interested in but my wife saw enough to know that's what she wanted. I found three online "Many miles from home" but the prices were right. We picked a dealer by gut feeling and made a deal. Haven't been sorry yet.
Rottiesmom
New York Chapter Leader - retired
In my Key Largo the window is an easy push out I would not see a problem if ever needed.
K
karykatz
Guest
Alethaj- congrats on your new Bighorn. you will love it. welcome to the Family!!!
SeattleLion
Well-known member
We didn't do the extensive research of some. In fact, we had a 2014 Dutchmen Kodiak TT which we were less-than-thrilled about. It had leaks, bad fit and finish, and generally poor assembly quality. A weld broke loose in a slide and it wouldn't come in. We went to the Seattle RV show with no intention to buy anything. My wife loves to tour floor plans. We had never heard of Heartland (out of honesty I have to say that Heartland is owned by Thor Industries which also owns Keystone and Dutchmen). We visited the exhibit hosted by our Kodiak dealer. By the way, the dealer has great service and we loved dealing with them (Fife RV, Fife WA). We saw two Bighorns. One was the 3160. When we saw it, there were no others in the Northwest. We were blown away by the floor plan and the huge rear and LR windows.
We spent almost two hours going over the coach. We were assisted by Heartland's Northwest regional sales manager who answered all of our questions. When I stumped him with a couple, he got on his cell phone and called a Bighorn engineer and got the answers. I doubt a factory visit could have gotten us more information. We fell in love with the coach. Everything we hated about the Kodiak was not a problem in the Bighorn. We bought that camper at the show.
Yes, when we took delivery there were a bunch of problems. None of them are big enough to interfere with enjoying the RV. Some bother me a lot. Two of the doors (bedroom and pantry) wouldn't latch closed. How can an inspector miss that? There are sharp sheetrock screws sticking out into the UDC from the basement wall. Well, I could see missing that. The convection oven won't heat properly. That's not Heartland's issue and they have a replacement on the way. We went on our first trip last weekend. We had Camping World install a Winegard Trav'ler and a backup camera. We loved every minute of our trip. By the way, Kary Katzenberger, the Bighorn GM has personally answered all of my questions. Customer service has also been very responsive as well.
In my opinion there are two main things to consider when selecting a brand: First and foremost, will the manufacturer stand behind their products? Heartland is the absolute champ in customer service. It's hard to care if there are small quality problems if you know the manufacturer will help without any hassle. Second, can you live happily inside your coach? The Kodiak was our first RV. We learned that there were many things that got in the way of really enjoying our trips. We replaced the uncomfortable, cheap couch with two chairs from IKEA. We suffered through a poorly designed kitchen and a bed that was so short my feet hung off the end. We learned an expensive lesson.
Now that we are wiser, we made sure the Bighorn would work for us before we decided to buy it. Even though it is a lot more expensive than our TT, we are so much happier traveling in it that we would never go back. By the way, Keystone took over the Dutchmen brand and I did have some dealings with customer service. They were nice but very hard to get any serious help from.
If everything else is equal, I would go with Heartland because of the wonderful way they treat customers.
Bob
We spent almost two hours going over the coach. We were assisted by Heartland's Northwest regional sales manager who answered all of our questions. When I stumped him with a couple, he got on his cell phone and called a Bighorn engineer and got the answers. I doubt a factory visit could have gotten us more information. We fell in love with the coach. Everything we hated about the Kodiak was not a problem in the Bighorn. We bought that camper at the show.
Yes, when we took delivery there were a bunch of problems. None of them are big enough to interfere with enjoying the RV. Some bother me a lot. Two of the doors (bedroom and pantry) wouldn't latch closed. How can an inspector miss that? There are sharp sheetrock screws sticking out into the UDC from the basement wall. Well, I could see missing that. The convection oven won't heat properly. That's not Heartland's issue and they have a replacement on the way. We went on our first trip last weekend. We had Camping World install a Winegard Trav'ler and a backup camera. We loved every minute of our trip. By the way, Kary Katzenberger, the Bighorn GM has personally answered all of my questions. Customer service has also been very responsive as well.
In my opinion there are two main things to consider when selecting a brand: First and foremost, will the manufacturer stand behind their products? Heartland is the absolute champ in customer service. It's hard to care if there are small quality problems if you know the manufacturer will help without any hassle. Second, can you live happily inside your coach? The Kodiak was our first RV. We learned that there were many things that got in the way of really enjoying our trips. We replaced the uncomfortable, cheap couch with two chairs from IKEA. We suffered through a poorly designed kitchen and a bed that was so short my feet hung off the end. We learned an expensive lesson.
Now that we are wiser, we made sure the Bighorn would work for us before we decided to buy it. Even though it is a lot more expensive than our TT, we are so much happier traveling in it that we would never go back. By the way, Keystone took over the Dutchmen brand and I did have some dealings with customer service. They were nice but very hard to get any serious help from.
If everything else is equal, I would go with Heartland because of the wonderful way they treat customers.
Bob
