Bighorn Trailers

jayc · 07-10-2005, 07:29 PM

I guess I'll be the first to post here on the Big Horn forum.

I have been watching with great interest the Heartland Landmark trailers and had just about decided to buy one. I really like the rear den design, in the Landmark Monticello, but it's just too heavy! With an 18,000# GCWR I know I would have to get at least a 450/4500 series of truck to safely pull this thing, and my wife doesn't want a truck that big.

This weekend, we went to our local dealer and showed some of our friends what we had been looking at, including the lower priced Big Horns. They still don't have the floorplan in stock that I want, but I think that I may be changing my mind about what to buy.

MDTdriver · 07-31-2005, 07:17 PM

Nice trailers good luck on your choice.

Dusty · 08-27-2005, 10:56 AM

I have a Bighorn3500 and am fairly happy with it. There have been some minor probles that one always expects with a new product, but over all it is a good trailer, I tow it just fine with my F250D, my 5ver I traded in was a 32 ft Terry and it didnt tow nearly as nice as this one. It helps to have a good dealer too, and I do.

Dusty

jayc · 08-28-2005, 03:04 PM

Yesterday we went to look at the Bighorn 3655 which is the rear den floorplan. Frankly, we were very disappointed. There is not much storage space in the kitchen, no storage around the bed and a big blank space next to the refrigerator that something needs to fill up.

I know they lowered the GCWR of this trailer from 18,000# to 14,000# but apparently it was done by eliminating a lot of storage.

cdbMidland · 08-28-2005, 09:39 PM

We own a Bighorn 3655RD as of 2 1/2 weeks ago and have taken two trips in it already - camping a total of 9 nights so far.

Is it perfect - no, but as close to what I wanted as possible. We have nearly every option offered by Heartland and our scale ticket shows a weight of 12,800# with tanks (except for propane) empty, which is the way we prefer to travel.

This is the fourth unit we have owned since 1975, starting with a 1975 Coachmen Cadet TT, then a 1992 Fleetwood Prowler Regal TT, a 2001 Carriage Cameo LXI FW and now the 2006 Big Horn FW. The first three were on dealer lots and we bought without researching them prior to purchase. Maybe it was "dumb luck" or whatever, but we have never had a bad unit.

Before we purchased the Big Horn, we visited seven factories in the Elkhart, Goshen, Middlebury areas and looked close into the engineering and construction of the units. We wanted a rear den, fireplace, king bed and something that we could tow with the present TV. Bighorn was one of the three finalists and the dealer lined up all three so we could look at them side-by-side. I thought the Big Horn had more advanced engineering than the other two.

We managed to put everything that we carried in the Cameo into the Big Horn and still have plenty of space left over. Pots and pans do not fit in the drawer under the stove, but do nicely in the drawer under the refrigerator. The slide out pantry is a bit smaller in the Big Horn, but there still was room for everything we normally carry.

Don't give up on Big Horn. I think it is a remarkable unit. Our serial number is 794, so a lot of features have been improved upon since the first Landmarks and Big Horns have been produced.

Chuck

dieselengineer · 11-29-2005, 06:28 PM

Chuck
I am in the market and just about placed the order for a 3655RD unit myself. I see that from your signature that you have a Dodge CTD. My question is how does the dodge tow the unit? Do you have a slider hitch? If so, do you really need one as the ad says or is it a clearance problem without one. What is the clearance at the bed rail? Any info would be great, thanks