Contact
FLOOR-PLAN RECORD · 2026

Bighorn 31RL

The one Bighorn that fits inside a 40-foot pad: 36 ft 0 in long, 4 ft to spare, and the lightest of the seven at 13,060 lb unloaded.

Source checked
Bighorn 31RL scale drawing: 36 ft long, 13 ft 3 in tall Side elevation drawn to scale from the published exterior length of 36 ft and exterior height of 13 ft 3 in. The outline is a generic fifth-wheel shape, not a profile of this unit. Roof sits 3 in under a 13 ft 6 in limit. Overall length is 4 ft shorter than a 40 ft pad. 13 FT 6 IN CLEARANCE 13 ft 3 in 36 ft overall 40 FT PAD Roof: 3 in under a 13 ft 6 in limit Length: 4 ft shorter than a 40 ft pad SCALE DRAWING FROM PUBLISHED DIMENSIONS

Drawn to scale from the published 36 ft length and 13 ft 3 in height, on a generic outline: 3 in under a 13 ft 6 in roof limit and 4 ft shorter than a 40 ft pad.

31RL: the only Bighorn shorter than 40 feet

Every other 2026 Bighorn runs from 40 ft 5 in to 43 ft 10 in. The 31RL stops at 36 ft 0 in, and the next plan up, the 36RK, is 4 ft 5 in longer. It also sits at the bottom of every weight column in Heartland's spec table: 13,060 lb unloaded, 16,000 lb GVWR, and 2,405 lb on the hitch. For a buyer who sizes the truck around pin weight, that last figure is the case for starting here. The heaviest pin in the lineup, the 39FL's 3,090 lb, is 685 lb more.

Short does not mean thin on margin. GVWR minus unloaded weight comes to 2,940 lb, second only to the 39RK's 3,000 lb, and Heartland prints the same 2,940 lb as the plan's cargo carrying capacity.

Heartland's 2026 Bighorn brochure, spec table and equipment list →

Where 36 ft 0 in puts the 31RL among seven Bighorns

Length1 of 7 shortest36 ft 0 in; the 36RK is 4 ft 5 in longer
Unloaded weight1 of 7 lightest13,060 lb
GVWR1 of 7 lowest16,000 lb
Hitch weight1 of 7 lightest2,405 lb, yet 18.4% of unloaded weight puts its pin share only 4 of 7 by lowest
GVWR minus unloaded2 of 7 largest2,940 lb
Tanks212 gal combined75 fresh, 87 gray, 50 black, the same set as the 37MD and 39RK

What fits in the 31RL's 36 feet is a question for the lot

Heartland's 2026 brochure prints the 31RL's floor plan too small for any label to be read, and Heartland has no current page for the plan, so this record makes no claim about where its rooms sit. The spec table settles the outline: three slides, per RVUSA's 2026 guide, a rating of up to 4, 8 ft 6 in of main interior height, and 13 ft 3 in with the air conditioner, 3 in under a 13 ft 6 in limit. The brochure's family-wide equipment list adds a residential king mattress listed at 72 by 80 inches, a roll top table with two free-standing and two folding chairs, and washer and dryer prep.

The tradeoff to settle is what the shorter length costs. The RL in the code reads like Heartland's shorthand for a rear living room, and the 37MD, which Heartland's current drawing shows with a 78-inch hide-a-bed sofa across the rear wall and a theater seat in a slide, is 6 ft 10 in longer with one more slide. Does the 31RL fit a comparable living room into 36 ft 0 in, and if so, which room gives up the space? The drawing that would answer it is too small to read, so stand in the unit and find out.

Three things to settle in a 31RL before signing

  • Close all three slides and walk from the entry to the bed. On the shortest Bighorn, confirm that the kitchen, the bath, and the bed can all still be reached with everything retracted.
  • Find where the rating of 4 sleeps. The king mattress accounts for two; the brochure lists a trifold hide-a-bed sofa on select models, so confirm whether this unit has one and where it sits.
  • If the 31RL is on your list because of its 2,405 lb pin, read the hitch weight on the unit's own label. Heartland's footnote says the brochure table may include estimates, and a truck chosen around the lightest pin in the family has the least room for a different number.

What three Bighorns longer than the 31RL do with the extra feet

Each is chosen for a different use of the added length. Differences are computed from Heartland's spec table; the room details come from Heartland's current drawings of those plans.

Kitchen across the rear wallBighorn 36RK

4 ft 5 in longer, 1,405 lb heavier, and 195 lb more on the hitch, with the same three slides. Heartland draws its kitchen across the rear with a 100-inch L-shaped sofa in the slide ahead of it, and the rating drops to 2 sleepers from 4.

Open record →If the gray tank is the limitBighorn 38RE

6 ft 6 in longer and 2,215 lb heavier, with 565 lb more hitch weight and one more slide. It carries 137 gal of gray tank, 50 gal more than the 31RL, puts a TV lift and fireplace on the rear wall, and still sleeps 4.

Open record →If you need beds for 8Bighorn 37MD

6 ft 10 in longer and 2,590 lb heavier but only 300 lb heavier on the hitch. Its extra slide belongs to a mid-coach room with a Murphy bed, and its 17.3% pin share is the lowest in the family.

Open record →
View every Bighorn floor plan →

31RL figures as Heartland prints them

Length36 ft 0 in
Dry weight13,060 lb
GVWR16,000 lb
Hitch / pin weight2,405 lb
Sleeping capacityUp to 4
Slides3
Fresh water75 gal
Gray water87 gal
Black water50 gal
Interior height8 ft 6 in
Exterior height159 in with A/C
Sources and model year

31RL: brochure Rev. 2/26, read again 2026-09-26

Weights, length, heights, tanks, and sleeping capacity come from the spec table in Heartland's 2026 Bighorn brochure (Rev. 2/26), last checked here on 2026-08-15. The equipment items quoted above are the brochure's family-wide list, read again on 2026-09-26, and apply to every Bighorn rather than to this plan alone. The slide count is from RVUSA's 2026 spec guide. Heartland footnotes the table: some specs at the time of print may include estimates. The label on the unit governs.