JIMNLIN
Big Cabin, OK
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Joined: 09/14/2003
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Can't help on the length as weight will determine how big of a 5er your F350 SRW will handle. Some 34' 5ers can overload a F350 SRW just as some 38' 5ers fit in the trucks weight capacities. Its all about weights.
The truck has a 7000 RAWR that will carry just about all the pin weight. Many F350 SRW 4x4 trucks have a 3200 lb rear unladin weight which leaves approx 3800 lb for a max payload. Figure the weight of a hitch plus occupants and gear and your left with approx 3000-3200 lbs for a pin weight. Thats hauling by the max tire/axle numbers.
"good judgment comes from experience, and a lot of that comes from bad judgment" Will Rogers
'03 2500 QC Dodge/Cummins HO 3.73 6 speed manual Jacobs Westach Linex
'97 Park Avanue 28' 5er with two slides 16" BFG Commercial LTs
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jwb187
Southeast Missouri
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Joined: 01/20/2005
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Hey Yellowrose,
Geeksrus, the poster that slammed the Heartland Bighorn must have really got a hold of a lemon. I have owned a Bighorn 3055rl since January 2008 and had a few minor problems with it but once the bugs were worked out I found out that it is a great unit. Don't let one poster's comments sway your search for a quality fifth wheel. Go take a look at Bighorn's and also Big Country's. I found both of them to be superior to Jayco's, Challengers and Everest's. JWB
2005 GMC CC SLT 4x4 D/A
2008 Big Horn 3055RL 5'ver
Kipor 3500ti Genny
2005 Yamaha Rhino 660
2002 Suzuki 250 Ozark
60gal toolbox/fueltank combo
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dezolen
Ontario
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Joined: 01/01/2008
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Got to check out Cardinal and Cameo. Quality units with Cameo a step above.
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GeeksRUs
Sundre Alberta
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Joined: 06/17/2003
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jwb187 wrote:Hey Yellowrose,
Geeksrus, the poster that slammed the Heartland Bighorn must have really got a hold of a lemon. I have owned a Bighorn 3055rl since January 2008 and had a few minor problems with it but once the bugs were worked out I found out that it is a great unit. Don't let one poster's comments sway your search for a quality fifth wheel. Go take a look at Bighorn's and also Big Country's. I found both of them to be superior to Jayco's, Challengers and Everest's. JWB
I didn't 'slam' Heartland... I just expressed an opinion. BTW: if you read the Heartland forum you'll see MANY owners that have had problems with their units, especially Lippert components.
Eh!
GeeksRUs
2008 Big Horn 3400RL
2008 Dodge RAM3500, Quad, Cummins, 4x4, Dually, LongBox
RV Home Base @ Coyote Creek Golf & RV Resort, Sundre Alberta
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Denny & Jami
Home Base Nebraska Avon Park Fl for the winter
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Joined: 08/05/2004
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When looking put on your blinders so you can look past the smoke and mirrors. Instead look at the livability of the floor plan both with the slides in and out, the general quality of the unit, check and make sure the frame, suspension and tires are heavy enough to stand up to fulltime use, will the fixtures last or are they just cheap plastic that look nice. From my observation Keystone can be very light on the suspension, frame, tires and general quality on there units. Remember you will be living in it so it has to be built to last past the warranty period.
Denny
2000 F350 SC DRW V10 4.30 gears, Banks Cat Back, BrakeSmart, Air Lifts
2003 HitchHiker Premier 35FKTG
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RRinNFla
Northeast Florida
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Joined: 07/11/2008
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Now that you have decided on a FW, go to some RV shows, and look only at the FW's. (Even though it is fun to look at the fully loaded coaches). Try everything. Sit in the chairs, lie on the bed,open the cabinets, visualize yourself cooking a meal or taking a shower, etc. You will begin to narrow down your choices, and focus more closely on only those units that meet your preferences. You will also start to get a feel for the quality of workmanship of the different manufacturers.
Richard
2007 Keystone Cougar 291RLS
2008 Ford F250 V10 (Gas), EC, SB, 4X4
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Ford Man
Tennessee
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Joined: 04/30/2005
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I have owned 3 Montana's the most recent being a 2010 3150RL and they are great fifth wheels. We have only had a few minor problems with ours that you would have with any of them. The dealer has been able to fix the small problems while it was still hooked to the truck. We looked at the Big Horn when we bought the 2010 and it had alot of rough edges on the constuction. The dealer sold both and recommended the Montana over the Big Horn as well.
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Ram4Sam
Redlands, Calif
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Joined: 09/28/2001
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Since your new ride is a 4x4 and probably sits high, make sure you buy a unit that has sufficient trailer to bed clearance.
Sam
2001.5 Dodge QC2500 coal burner, 6spd,BD brake,a pile of other stuff!
Chipped, K&N'd, and loving it!
2008 Thor Jazz 2870UK 5er
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LittleJimmy
Rogersville, AL
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Joined: 04/29/2006
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Our friends have a Heartland that they bought about 8 mo ago new and have had nothing but trouble, even down to a connection breaking and flooding the fiver. My sister and BIL just bought a new cardinal 36 ft fiver and love it. They tow with a Ford 250 diesel The workmanship looks much better than the Heartland.
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dale51
Florida
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Joined: 10/17/2009
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All the recommendations are great, but have you looked into having your unit custom built? We did about 2 years of research and ended up with a custom built 5er by New Horizons. Very good use of storage space and they build them very small through very large. We did go to quite a few RV shows as well to see what we did and didn't like and that helped a lot in the design of our current home. BTW, be careful of the warranty. With some manufacturers if you live in the 5er full time, their warranty is voided. There are several companies, besides New Horizons, where full time does not void the warranty. Good luck.
Dale 
2008 39' New Horizons Fifth Wheel
2005 Freightliner Sportchassis M2
www.marnin.edublogs.org
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