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BurbMan's avatar
BurbMan
Explorer II
Jan 31, 2022

New Rig!

Well we sold the TC last week and started looking for a 5er. Didn't expect to find one so soon, but lo and behold we found just what we were looking for at a dealer about 45 mins from home.

It's a 2008 Heartland Big Country 3250TS. Got it at the right price. Showed the dealer a few damp spots with my moisture meter that they have agreed to repair before delivery. From what info I have found, the walls on this unit are welded aluminum tube, while the ceiling trusses and floor joists are wood. Unlike the Lance that I just rebuilt (link in sig) a leak in the wall won't disintegrate the framing. Dealer also agreed to reseal the roof. No delamination, which is a plus on a unit this old. Heck, after the last rebuild there literally is nothing that scares me about fixing.

Overall it's in good shape, but it's going to need a full cut & buff on the filon exterior, some interior freshening, and all new electronics. DW is already planning the interior updates.
Here's the floor plan:



Thinking of removing the recliners in the rear, installing a fireplace unit with one of those TV lifts, then replacing the table/chairs and entertainment in that slide with a second sleeper sofa.

Thanks to all on my pin box and hitch threads, I think I have decided to install hitch rails in the bed, get the Hensley BD3 Trailer Saver air hitch, and let the dealer install a standard Lippert 1621 pin box on the trailer. We had a Hensley Arrow for almost 20 years with our TT and expect a similar good towing experience with the TrailerSaver. As was pointed out, the TS hitch is about the same cost as a good hitch with air ride pin box.

DW and I really had a lot of fun rebuilding the Lance and we are looking forward to doing it again (but with less structural work) on this 5er. Dealer said it will be 4-6 weeks until he is done with repairs, and frankly it's been so &^$!# cold here I'm not in a hurry. Better that he is working on it indoors instead of me in my driveway...LOL
  • blofgren wrote:
    Congratulations! Agreed that you will love the rear living room layout with the chairs and rear window; we love ours too!

    You will love how your truck tows it too!


    He's exactly right about the extra room in LR portion. As our kids were getting bigger and 1 left the nest, the other wasn't far behind. We knew that we wanted a rear LR (and even now w/ DD/SIL/and g-son come we think" Would a TH be better"?), but we come back to "No" as this is for "Us" and guests will have to make do. So when looking, DW sat in theatre seats and saw they had everything, plus the FP, she yelled out "ThIs Is It!". Told her not to look at the bling. Course at that time she didn't know about the FP in BR. Anyways, we've been very happy w/ our Big Country and rear LR and slide in slide BR. ONLY downside, well ok 2, is 1 main slide blocks access to bathroom when in and 2nd is that we had to get a new truck (DRW) due to weight. Not that in itself is a bad thing, but I was really liking the SRW we just got couple years before thinking that would be our last truck. So enjoy it man!!
  • The weights on this aren't too bad....Brochure dry weights are 10,700 with 2,200 on the pin. If I use the 14,000 GVWR with 22% of that on the pin, that's 3,080 on the pin. Even though our truck is SRW, the yellow sticker says 4,292 cargo capacity, 7,000 RAWR and 17,000 tow rating. It handled the 3,500 lb truck camper with no issues, so I'm expecting a nice towing experience!
  • ACZL wrote:
    blofgren wrote:
    Congratulations! Agreed that you will love the rear living room layout with the chairs and rear window; we love ours too!

    You will love how your truck tows it too!


    He's exactly right about the extra room in LR portion. As our kids were getting bigger and 1 left the nest, the other wasn't far behind. We knew that we wanted a rear LR (and even now w/ DD/SIL/and g-son come we think" Would a TH be better"?), but we come back to "No" as this is for "Us" and guests will have to make do. So when looking, DW sat in theatre seats and saw they had everything, plus the FP, she yelled out "ThIs Is It!". Told her not to look at the bling. Course at that time she didn't know about the FP in BR. Anyways, we've been very happy w/ our Big Country and rear LR and slide in slide BR. ONLY downside, well ok 2, is 1 main slide blocks access to bathroom when in and 2nd is that we had to get a new truck (DRW) due to weight. Not that in itself is a bad thing, but I was really liking the SRW we just got couple years before thinking that would be our last truck. So enjoy it man!!


    How funny that she was so excited about the fireplace. When we were looking and comparing Bighorns to Montana's, we went with the Bighorm due to it have many more ammenities than the Montana, including the fireplace. I was not thrilled about it and figured it was useless and more a bling thing. Well, I sure did change my mind on our first trip to the Yellowstone area. We used that fireplace while enjoying our recliners and lo and behold - it warmed up our little area! How nice to use that heat rather than running the propane onboard heater.
  • ReneeG wrote:
    ACZL wrote:
    blofgren wrote:
    Congratulations! Agreed that you will love the rear living room layout with the chairs and rear window; we love ours too!

    You will love how your truck tows it too!


    He's exactly right about the extra room in LR portion. As our kids were getting bigger and 1 left the nest, the other wasn't far behind. We knew that we wanted a rear LR (and even now w/ DD/SIL/and g-son come we think" Would a TH be better"?), but we come back to "No" as this is for "Us" and guests will have to make do. So when looking, DW sat in theatre seats and saw they had everything, plus the FP, she yelled out "ThIs Is It!". Told her not to look at the bling. Course at that time she didn't know about the FP in BR. Anyways, we've been very happy w/ our Big Country and rear LR and slide in slide BR. ONLY downside, well ok 2, is 1 main slide blocks access to bathroom when in and 2nd is that we had to get a new truck (DRW) due to weight. Not that in itself is a bad thing, but I was really liking the SRW we just got couple years before thinking that would be our last truck. So enjoy it man!!


    How funny that she was so excited about the fireplace. When we were looking and comparing Bighorns to Montana's, we went with the Bighorm due to it have many more ammenities than the Montana, including the fireplace. I was not thrilled about it and figured it was useless and more a bling thing. Well, I sure did change my mind on our first trip to the Yellowstone area. We used that fireplace while enjoying our recliners and lo and behold - it warmed up our little area! How nice to use that heat rather than running the propane onboard heater.


    I agree, I thought those so called "fireplaces" were a waste of space but we are amazed at just how much heat they will produce in the liviing-room area of our 5er where the recliners are.