Bighorn...your thoughts/opinions - Montana Owners Club

binkyk · 02-13-2012, 07:05 AM

Hope I don't upset too many people with this question, but, although we have TT'd a little, we are new to the 5th wheel game. We have decided to go the 5th wheel route, and have looked at many at several shows. Two models have caught our eye. The Montana 3150rl and the Bighorn 3055rl. Almost the exact same layout. The Montana was our pick for a long time, until I saw the Bighorn. I'm not sure what the tipping point was, but I shifted my thoughts to the Bighorn. Maybe it was the lighter color interior? I think I could live with either one since they are so similar. I have noticed seeing more Bighorns than Montana's lately.

My question to MOC members, did you consider the Bighorns, and if so, what made you decide on the Montana instead.

camper4 · 02-13-2012, 08:38 AM

We considered the Bighorn and other similar 5ers before buying this Montana and the one before.
Our decision was based on perceived quality, floor plan, price, and dealer. The two big winners for Montana ended up being floor plan and the dealership. Unfortunately, my floor plan is no longer offered. Guess I will have to keep this one.
Good luck with whatever you choose!

sreigle · 02-13-2012, 08:40 AM

If you look closely at the Bighorn and its history you'll see they have copied the Montana, very closely. And why not? Montana is the number one seller in North America for each of the past ten years. Any brand can be on top for a year or even two but to make it ten in a row says a lot.

In my opinion, Heartland saw the success of the Montana and decided to copy it. I'm sure they've done some things to distinguish their brand from others, but generally it's very close. The only negative I've really heard has to do with whether Heartland stands behind the Bighorn as well as Keystone does the Montana. I've heard a few negatives about that, but not a lot. But, then, I've heard a few complaints about that on the Montana, too. The few Bighorn owners I've talked to seem to be generally pleased with their rigs, on a par with Montana owners. I think that for me the negatives about Heartland as far as backing the product would be my one concern. Maybe in the long run that won't be reason for concern. Having had three Montanas we know how well Keystone stands behind the product. Bottom line I think the Bighorn is a decent product. You probably wouldn't be making a bad decision if you went that route. But also in my opinion is that proven customer service is in Keystone's favor. Otherwise it's a tossup.

Keep in mind this is just my opinion.

CamillaMichael · 02-13-2012, 09:27 AM

We looked at all the brands available before making our choice...in the end, Montana gave us what we wanted in a quality package.

mhs4771 · 02-13-2012, 09:44 AM

We looked at both also, two dealers only a few miles apart. Looked at the Montana's first then the Heartlands, Sundance, Elkridge and Bighorn. When we left that dealer we looked at each other and agreed we liked the Montana better. For us the Montana had a floor plan we liked and we also felt that the Montana offered more storage inside. Our Montana has been great for us, but now becoming long timers we looking for a little more room and a higher end unit (darn that Montana Rally and the Tiara Dinner). Don't forget that both Keystone and Heartland are now part of the Thor Empire. Good luck

binkyk · 02-13-2012, 10:27 AM

Thanx for the replies. You mentioned better floorplans as a reason, but in this case they are the same. In fact, the BH 3055 was available several years before the 3150. They are probably copying each other. As I read through the Bighorn forums, the owners actually seem to have less complaints about service than Montana people do. Now I'm not trying to stir up a big argument here and I really haven't already made up my mind. I'm just checking with you guys to see if there is some "big" reason or feature that I'm not considering. If there isn't an "ah ha" thing that I've missed, I'll assume they are both great trailers and I'll just have to flip a coin. I just want to make sure I'm not forgetting something substantial.

MIMF · 02-13-2012, 10:49 AM

Steve, (and, everybody else) take a look at who now owns Heartland. That might explain why some copying may have been done.

binkyk, only you can make the complete comparison between the 2 brands and decide which would be best for you and the type of RV'ing you want to do. As I have stated several times before, when it comes time for DW and I to upgrade, with all of the different units and manufacturers out there and, techniques used, we will have a very hard decision to make.

denandannie · 02-13-2012, 12:32 PM

We have a 2011 3051RL and couldn't be happier. Its really a dream. We love the floor plan and except for making a few changes, its all we could ever want. We did take the coat closet at the entrance and made it into a pantry. The closet is wasted space and having additional grocery storage is much better, now. Since there is only two of us, we removed two dinnette chairs. That makes it easier to slip into the back when the slides are in. Good luck on your choice.

DarMar · 02-13-2012, 12:32 PM

Binkyk, we have looked at the Heartland models and believe that most things are equal or close to equal between these two brands. For us in that case the "big" reason and perhaps the "ah ha" thing that you have missed is simply this MOC forum. Our membership here goes back to Feb/2004 and each time we trade we add the value of our active participation on this forum into our buying decision. We simply can't put a price on the value of information and friendship found here, it Priceless!!! To us the level of knowledge and support we have received here is far greater that what we can expect from any dealer. Good luck with your decision.

oldelmer1 · 02-13-2012, 12:41 PM

We too looked at the Bighorn and really liked it too. But the Montana gave us the best price, so it was a no brainer.

richfaa · 02-13-2012, 01:11 PM

Like Steve said..Heartland /Montana same unit.Some heartland exec's once worked for Montana.In our case it was dealer and bang for the buck.

TAKPAK · 02-13-2012, 01:13 PM

Well, Binkyk, we looked VERY strongly at the Bighorns too. Very, very close in style, features, etc, as you say. The end result was, we bought another Montana. To us, the quality was just a bit better, the reputation was just a bit better, among other things. And, the dealer did enter into it too, although the SAME dealer sells both Montanas and Bighorns, so it was easy comparing, just walk from one to the other. And, the Montana was a bit better in price. Not much, but enough that we could buy some extra "necessary" accessories, if yah know what I mean!!! All in all, we are very happy with our Montana 3400 floor plan and features, that we've never looked back. And, it must count for something that we traded our 2007 3400 for another 3400, the 2011 we now have.

But, in the end, as they say, it is YOUR choice. It is whatever makes YOU happy and comfortable.

CORattler · 02-13-2012, 01:47 PM

As you can see in my signature we have a 3150RL Montana. After 2 years of looking and comparison it came down to a choice between the Bighorn and the Montana> We went for the Montana because it had more WOW factor and I liked the cabinetry better. They are both VERY similar. We actually paid more for the Montana than the price we were quoted for the Bighorn.
As others have said, this forum has certainly provided added value to our experience with our rig.
Good luck with your choice of rigs. It's a wonderful conundrum to be in!

RonD · 02-13-2012, 02:02 PM

My understanding is that the Bighorn folks once worked for Keystone, left and formed there own company, I don't have all the facts, this is what I was told from my Dealer who sells both Brands. Now back up a little, we looked at 5th wheels starting in winter 2007, we attended over 5 large RV shows, went to many Dealers, and spent 2 years doing the homework, after every show, we still found the Montana to be the Brand we liked, there not perfect, ours is close to it, but overall I think they build the best unit for the money out there, and you get the MOC to boot.

CmdrDewey · 02-13-2012, 03:24 PM

Just remember to take the Heartland forum with a grain of salt. Unlike this forum, that one appears to be run by Heartland which means they control the content.

richfaa · 02-13-2012, 03:44 PM

Thor industries purchased Heartland about one year ago. Thor is also the parent company of Keystone as well as many other brands. The heartland owners forum is run by heartland and very well organized.We toured their plant a couple of years ago and if we did not know where we were I would have said we were in the Montana plant.We have looked at some Heartland units recently as we are in the market and I can not tell the dfference between them. They re nice units tho.

Recumbent · 02-13-2012, 04:35 PM

In our search we looked at many different brands. As I remember we decided not to buy used as many brands that had quality features were then out of business and several that we looked at then have since gone away. We wanted a brand that would have the best chance of staying around. Then we found this forum and after reading all posts extensively on a daily basis knew we could get solutions here. At that time we liked the Bighorns and Montanas about the same. I believe we found the Bighorns to be heavier for similar equiped models. At that time we had an F250 and needed to stay within our towing specs. We bought a Montana Mountaineer that had most of the features of the Montana for about say 12K less about about say 2000 lbs less weight. We tried not to make an emotional decision as life is already cramed with that stuff. Hope this helps.

Art-n-Marge · 02-13-2012, 05:58 PM

We looked at many fifth wheels when we were ready to buy. Finally at a local RV show we finally found one we like because we liked what we got for the dollar. It wasn't the lightest nor the heaviest, nor the most luxuriest or cheap looking, nor necessarily the best looking but we loved the floor plan. I think the deal we were offered was fabulous and I think the price was low because of the volume of Montanas sold. Everyone else kinda said, this is the lowest I can go. In the Montana's case the price was low enough for what we got, we didn't argue, then they did NOT have the one in stock we wanted and we decided to wait.

In a month we went back to the same dealer and the prices were higher (not a show at the time). When we showed them the price we were offered weeks back, the gave us the same model we wanted and it even had more options than the original we picked for the same price. We were quite happy with our selection. We went with Montana because their salesmen knew how to sell the most popular Fifth wheel out there.

There are a lot of nice rigs out there, like Big Horn and Cedar Creek, but with Montana at #1, I feel like the others are just playing catch up. I hope you get a great deal!

BrokenElbow · 02-13-2012, 06:01 PM

We looked at the Montana and Bighorns and liked the Montana better. Both decent units, but we thought fit and finish and storage was better on the Montana. There are also other good units out there. We wanted a company that would be in business through all of our recent and current economic travails. Heartland hadn't been purchased when we made our decision for Montana, but I'm extremely happy with our "Monty". We love our floorplan. Personally, I think you will be happy with either one. I don't know the Heartland forum, but this one has pretty knowlegable folks who will help. That's a nice plus. I'm sure you would enjoy either. I chose Montana and I'm very happy with our choice.

sreigle · 02-14-2012, 08:39 AM

I didn't mean for my "copying" comments to be construed as negative. Rather, I was trying to point out that Heartland saw the success in the Montana and copied that formula as close as they could do without any legal issues. And thus they came up with a good rig.

As noted above, Thor bought Heartland not too long ago, after the Bighorn was already established.

If my comments came across as negative, I'm sorry, that was not the intent.

Good luck to you, whichever brand you chose to go with.

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