Luxury
fifth wheels have grown increasingly popular in recent years,
particularly among serious RVers who will spend a significant
amount of time on the road. One of the latest models is the
Bighorn 3200RL, by the newly-formed Heartland RV company, headquartered
in Elkhart, Indiana.
 That
this is an RV for people who will be on the road for a longer
than just weekends is evident by the attention to residential-type
features, such as the walk-in wardrobe in the front bedroom.
Behind its mirrored sliding glass doors you’ll find other
niceties including a shoe storage cabinet and a large shelf
for hats, blankets and such. To the right is an area prepared
for the installation of a washer/dryer combination, while to
the left sits a set of drawers. This bedroom has a king bed
in a slide-out that lifts up to reveal ample storage and a Brinks
safe. Below the emergency exit window are six 20-inch wide drawers
for keeping clothing neatly stored, and above the window are
two cabinets with etched glass doors.
The bathroom is split into three sections, with the sink and
vanity cabinet and mirror at the entry to the bedroom from the
hallway. The glass enclosed corner shower stall is trimmed with
brushed bronze accents and the shower head is a handheld unit
with on/off controls so that you don’t have to re-adjust
the water temperature before rinsing off. The single pedal-type
Thetford flush toilet is in its own private room at the head
of the stairs. A pocket door here separates the living area
from the bedroom. If you are travelling with another couple,
there is a bi-fold type privacy curtain that can close off the
bedroom while still allowing access to the complete bathroom.
A nice feature that we appreciated was the laundry basket hidden
under the top step as you enter the bedroom. This basket could
be retrieved from the lower storage area or by lifting the lid
when the time came to use the optional washer/dryer.
Just down the three stairs to the spacious living room and kitchen
area, we found the Hide-A-Bed Sofa and the free standing dinette
in the large street side slide-out. This sofa was a comfortable
place for conversations or watching TV. There is a small table
between these chairs for your coffee that can be extended for
snack plates by lifting the lid and pulling the top out. The
dinette had a nice feature that allowed to top to open and reveal
space to store cards or writing materials. Unexpected extra
storage was found under the seats of the four upholstered dinette
chairs.
The entertainment centre at the front of the living room had
a large 27-inch Toshiba television, with RCA Dolby 200 watt
surround sound system and many speakers near the ceiling. Above
the TV was another storage area that will require the use of
a step stool. A neat feature that you don’t see in many
RVs is the Optiflame electric fireplace below the TV screen.
The flames look real and you can adjust the amount of heat to
take the chill off the air with a thermostat.
The kitchen area has a large area for meal preparation on the
Corian counter tops. The double sink is residential size with
a plastic cutting board cover. The three burner Magic Chef range
has a high output front burner for boiling water at high altitudes,
and a propane oven. An 1,800 watt Apollo convection microwave
oven with turntable has a stainless steel interior for easy
cleaning. Under the Corian counter are several 22-inch deep
drawers that come all the way out on roller-bearing drawer glides,
and a roll out pantry below the counter glides out easily with
several deep shelves to accommodate cans of different sizes.
On the face of the lower cabinet under the sink are two condiment
trays that hinge out for access. The floor in the kitchen and
bath areas are Armstrong no-wax coverings, and the living room
and bedroom have carpet with underlay.
On the ceiling towards the rear of the living room is a Fantastic
fan that you can set for automatic or manual operation to either
bring cool air in or to exhaust hot air from the coach. The
control allows you to set the speed of the fan and the temperature
that it will automatically turn on. Also installed is a large
bladed ceiling 120-volt fan with three lights that can be controlled
with pull chain switches.
Since this is a basement-style fifth wheel, there are full pass-through
storage areas below the floor level. The storage compartment
doors have been fully insulated and heat from the furnace can
be distributed here. On the street side of the unit, one compartment
holds the connections for the water inlet, telephone, cable,
and satellite systems. Also in the section is a stainless-steel
clean up station with sani-flush system to clear the holding
tanks after dumping, and a spray hose to flush away dirt from
your hands, wash your pet or clean fish. This spray hose can
also be moved to the curb side with a quick disconnect fitting.
A porthole in the bottom of this compartment allows all hoses
and cables to exit the RV with the compartment doors closed.
When you are hooking up to the utilities in the campground,
you might need a 20-foot sewer hose as the dump valves are just
in front of the tandem wheels. One nice touch is the diamond
plate box on this side to store any tools you might need during
hooking up or leaving the campsite.
The exterior is smooth fibreglass with one piece molded front
and rear caps. On the rear, there is a ladder to the roof that
includes an extra step fro those of us with short legs. The
walls, roof, and slideouts are constructed with double-welded
aircraft aluminum for strength, with studs on 16-inch centres
and insulated with R-16 formaldehyde free material. The front
cap has been engineered for short bed trucks allowing for more
than 30 percent increased turning radius, and there are security
lights on each side near the top of the wall that come in handy
when setting up camp at night. Our test unit came with the 22-foot
A&E awning for protection from the sun and rain.
The trailer rides on 16-inch E-rated tires with the optional
aluminum rims mounted on the multi-leaf suspension system with
hydraulic shock absorbers. The Ultra-Lube hubs where rated at
6,000 pounds each with 12-inch brakes for sure stops. Some of
the other options on our test unit were the double glazed windows
for all season use, topper awnings on the slideouts, electric
front and rear stabilizer jacks, an electric furnace, and a
central vacuum system. One option that would be good to order
would be the Trail-Air hitch that helps cushion the ride over
bumpy roads.
All in all, the Bighorn 3200RL is very well equipped and very
nicely finished. I would not be surprised to see more of these
units on the roads before long.
SPECIFICATIONS
Length: 34’7”
Dry Weight: 10,500 lbs
GVWR: 13,257 lbs
Pin Weight: 2,290 lbs
Cargo Capacity: 2,836 pounds
Refrigerator: Dometic Americana RM2862
Hot Water Heater: SW100E 10 gal DSI
Fresh Water: 72 gal
Gray Tank: 90 gal
Black Tank: 45 gal
LP Gas: 60 lbs (2x30)
Range: Magic Chef
Microwave: Apollo AC10B1B
Furnace: Suburban SF35
Roof Air: Duotherm 13,500 BTU
Price as tested: $58,900.
Price provided by Globetrotter RV. (Page Top)
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