Buying Bighorn 3970RD

Good evening,

We are about to buy our first RV! So excited. I have lots of questions, so please do not be rude in your replies. I'm asking because you have a wealth of knowledge and experience that can help me. I'm going out of state to pick it up in the coming weeks. I know I need to stay in the area for a few days to get anything found wrong fixed. What should I bring with me? What generator should I buy? What sewer items will I need to purchase or can that wAit? What GPS is recommended? Please send all advice you have. I may be missing important questions! Thanks so much in advance😊

Hi roamfaraway,

Welcome to the Heartland Owners Forum. There's lots of useful information here along with a great bunch of friendly and helpful people who are quick to share what they've learned. We were all newbies once, so don't worry about asking questions. Just ask.

Most places will give you a starter kit, with poo hoses and basic hook up items. Might need a water hose or two. Its a learning curve, be ready to pay attention to everything you can. Be sure to look behind the basement wall for any leaks. Dont be in a hurry.

Congratulations on your new rig and welcome to the Heartland forum! There are a lot of helpful people here and don't be afraid to ask questions. Using the search function on key topics and subjects will help you find past posts that may answer your questions and provide guidance.

Congrats on your new BH and welcome to the Heartland forum and family. Enjoy the best part of owning a HL product and join the HOC and attend some rallies. Great group o people here with vast amounts of knowledge so feel free to ask away. Everyone here started new at one time so they expect some strange questions. I've asked my share and still do. Hope to meet you two down the road and safe travels.

Welcome! I would bet that you have all the same questions we have all had when we started. People around here are generally very friendly and helpful. We may tease each other, but that's just what family does. :0

Generators really depend on what kind of camping you plan to do. We bought an Onan5500 in 2007 with our first Big Horn. We moved it to our second Big Horn n 2011. When we bought our Landmark last April, we still had less than 20 hours on it. We didn't bother moving it again.


Ask away!

Kristy

What generator should I buy?

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There are various pros and cons on different generators. The on-board Onan 5500 for the Bighorn runs on propane and is integrated into the propane system for the coach. Propane is clean, so you won't have to worry about the fuel system getting gummed up. The on-board generator is connected to the main electrical panel through an automatic transfer switch and comes with a remote start button inside the coach. The 5500 supplies enough power to run most everything at the same time. All very convenient. The downside is that you won't have enough propane on board for more than short-term usage of the generator. You can burn up to 1 gallon per hour. A 40 lb propane tank contains about 9 gallons. So burn time with 2 tanks is somewhat limited if you plan on boon docking. Also, depending on where you camp, propane may not be as readily available as gasoline.

If you don't need as much power, and gasoline works for you, you might consider something like a Honda 3000 watt generator. With that you can run 1 air conditioner and if you manage carefully, a few other devices. But you'll probably end up with the generator in the truck bed and may have to get a 30 amp extension cord to reach that far forward with your main power cord.

Some people prefer the lighter Honda 2000 generators. You can get 2 of them and gang them together to provide 4000 watts.

Welcome to the Forum Roamfaraway

Just a few months back we were in your situation although not or first RV it was our first 5th Wheel. All I can say is this forum is AWESOME. We have learned so much from the wonderful members. I have a document that I put together for our PDI inspection. I is derived from many sources both on this forum and from other websites so I will not claim authorship. It has a section in it for what the dealer should provide and what equipment you should bring for the inspection along with the inspection section that takes you from the roof to the undercarriage and what to look for and check. It does take about 6 to 8 hours to complete based on your experience with RVs. It worked well for us when we picked up our 3970RD.

Buy the way you will love this unit. We have been out a few times in our now {PDI on 12/12/15} and have completely fallen in love with it. Yes their will be issues with a new unit but with the proper attitude and this forum you will make it.

I can't figure out how to attach a word document to post so if you PM me with an email address I will send it to you.

Sewer: Don't go cheep. Get the thick line and at lest two that couple together. There are a coupe of good ones out there. Also a universal rubber sewer connector for the parks that don't have the screw on fitting or are too low to screw the fitting on. We ran into several crossing the country. And a clear plastic pipe section to see when your tanks have drained and the black tank rinse has finally run clear. Empty the black tank first, then rinse it a few times until it runs clear, then finish with the gray tanks. Throwaway Rubber Gloves cheep at Harbor Freight.

GPS: We have the Good Sam made by Rand McNally. You put you RV information in including height, width, length, what to avoid like tunnels and tole roads, etc.. We like it, but would have gotten a Garmin at the time if Garmin made an RV GPS like they do now. We always used Garmin prior to this purchase. Ether one should work well for you. Make sure you get life time map updates.

We sat in the rear den model Big Horn at the Tucson rally. We really liked it, except we wouldn't need the extra bathroom.

I would stress that a very important part of the buying process is to have your PDI document when you go to pick up the trailer. This is a newer model and you want the make sure any issues are addressed to your satisfaction before you sign the papers. My wife and I spent 10 hours between us going over everything in the trailer (This was our first RV also). We spent 6 hours on our own and 4 hours with the dealer going over the PDI. We found some minor things which were taken care of before we signed the papers. In my opinion you shouldn't need to stay near the dealer to get anything fixed. You have the most influence with the dealer to get anything fixed before you sign the papers.

We bought the trailer out of state too. We did not bring very much with us in case we had problems (I did not have any trailer items with me before the purchase) and wanted to walk away from the deal (don't get married to the trailer before you look it over ). Everything went well, but I would still not change our approach. The dealer should either throw in some basic necessitates or will be very happy to sell you some. Just remember that there are other sources like CW and Wally world that carry items and may save you some cash.

Unless you are starting right off with dry camping, you may have time to research the generators. Adding to what Dan mentioned, I would consider using a generator that has dual fuel intake (gas and propane) - it might give you options.

Enjoy your new trailer.

Thanks for the feedback.

It might be optimistic to assume you will find all the issues that need correction in just a day or two. It is also unusual for dealers to fix all issues right away. Even if they have free techs, parts need to be ordered. We have a 2,000 watt generator we have used just once. We don't dry camp and we only need the power when the camp power fails. We have two sewer systems: the Sewer Solution which uses just 1 inch hose. We need this at a few places where the campsite sewer connection is too high and the run turns out to be uphill. Otherwise, we just got the Lippert Wastemaster system that is very heavy duty. However, it needs a modification of your sewer outlet (easy to do).

Take your time. Also be sure you get a good walkthrough so that the dealer can teach you what you need to know. Have fun!

SeattleLion said:

It might be optimistic to assume you will find all the issues that need correction in just a day or two. It is also unusual for dealers to fix all issues right away. Even if they have free techs, parts need to be ordered.

Take your time. Also be sure you get a good walkthrough so that the dealer can teach you what you need to know. Have fun!

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You may not find all the issues, we have had issues come up that were not caught up front (nothing big). A good PDI should help drive what needs to be looked at and a good check off of what you need to learn from the dealer. If you have not done this before, how do you know if you are getting a thorough walk through? I think it may also be wishful thinking that you rely on a dealer to fix your issues after the sale. I haven't seen many posts from fellow RVers where a dealer dropped everything to help a new RV owner after the sale. The forum is littered with issues on dealers lack of following up after the sale. I can also tell you that if there were issues that required so much attention after the sale, then I believe the dealer did not do their own walk through and I would consider walking away from the deal. You have the most influence with a dealer before the deal rather than after it. I think you will be a better prepared RVer and have more satisfaction if you drive the sale rather than be driven.

Sent you via email what we used as a PDI checklist. Use it as you see fit.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Chuck, Victoria, and Miss Callie

Aandaar said:

Welcome to the Forum Roamfaraway

Just a few months back we were in your situation although not or first RV it was our first 5th Wheel. All I can say is this forum is AWESOME. We have learned so much from the wonderful members. I have a document that I put together for our PDI inspection. I is derived from many sources both on this forum and from other websites so I will not claim authorship. It has a section in it for what the dealer should provide and what equipment you should bring for the inspection along with the inspection section that takes you from the roof to the undercarriage and what to look for and check. It does take about 6 to 8 hours to complete based on your experience with RVs. It worked well for us when we picked up our 3970RD.

Buy the way you will love this unit. We have been out a few times in our now {PDI on 12/12/15} and have completely fallen in love with it. Yes their will be issues with a new unit but with the proper attitude and this forum you will make it.

I can't figure out how to attach a word document to post so if you PM me with an email address I will send it to you.

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hello
we are getting ready to buy a 3970 RD which should come in from the factory next week and I would love a copy of your PDF to take to the dealer with me my email is fdhier09@gmail.com

thanks

MGOBLUE67 said:

hello
we are getting ready to buy a 3970 RD which should come in from the factory next week and I would love a copy of your PDF to take to the dealer with me my email is fdhier09@gmail.com

thanks

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Here's a link to the folder that has Oregon Camper's Checklist. 5th item down.

danemayer said:

Here's a link to the folder that has Oregon Camper's Checklist. 5th item down.

Click to expand...

Very good! Thanks
Our '17 Bighorn 3970RD is due for delivery next week
This will be very helpful!

MGOBLUE67 said:

Very good! Thanks
Our '17 Bighorn 3970RD is due for delivery next week
This will be very helpful!

Click to expand...

I recommend sending a copy of the document to your dealer ahead of time. This way they know what you will be looking for, and they might do a better job of doing their initial PDI.

Let them know you will need 4-5 hours...power (30am and 50 amp)...water...sewer connection...cable TV...propane tanks filled.

Oh..I need to update the document, to include bringing a DVD/Blu-ray disk to check the audio/video setup.

Best case...they allows you to spend the night in the trailer (in their lot).

Once you have completed the PDI, and you have their written approval to fix all the issues....then you pay them. Not before.

Thank you for the great PDI checklist. We are picking up a 2017 3970RD next week and the list will ensure we check everything out!

We have had great time with our Cyclone 3010 but it is time to move up to more living space. The Cyclone was trouble free for the past 4 years. Hope we are as lucky with the new rig!

olivertucker said:

Thank you for the great PDI checklist. We are picking up a 2017 3970RD next week and the list will ensure we check everything out!

We have had great time with our Cyclone 3010 but it is time to move up to more living space. The Cyclone was trouble free for the past 4 years. Hope we are as lucky with the new rig!

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Cant help but ask how you like your new Bighorn? We love ours!!!