Montana Owners Club - Keystone Montana 5th Wheel Forum - View Single Post

KiwiRVer · 11-13-2009, 09:37 AM

Hi All. My wife and I own a small business Auckland, New Zealand with a sales office in Atlanta, GA and had been thinking about spending more time in the US to promote our business and see more of the country. We have decided to spend at least 6 months touring the US on a semi-business, semi-holiday trip in an RV, mainly over the warmer northern months. On a trip to the US in July we started to look at RVs and were originally thinking about getting a Class A or C. We hadn't even considered a fifth wheel but out of curiousity had a look at some while we at a dealer in Pasco, WA. We were very pleasantly surprised at the room and facilities of the fifths we saw and liked the idea of only having one powered vehicle.

I spent a considerable amount of time online looking at as many fifths as I could but really had to see them in person so I travelled to the CA RV show in October and spent 4 days there going through all the fifths in detail. By about day three it was down to 3 that seemed to fit our requirements and which fitted our budget. (There were several that were fantastic but were way beyond what I could justify pricewise.)

The three short listed were the Open Range 337RLS, Montana Mountaineer 326RLT and Coachmen Northridge 322RLT. I must admit that prior to arriving at the show I was almost convinced that the Open Range would be the one we would buy. By day 4 it was down to the Open Range and the Mountaineer. (The Coachmen was almost identical to the Mountaineer but did not seem to have quite the quality of fittings for a similar price.)

I really liked the OR, it is much lighter than the Mountaineer and has some great features like the full 4 point levelling system but in the end the thing that really sold me on the Mountaineer was the desk area where I would be able to work from. It also had more storage space in the basement and the interior fitout had a nice homey feeling to it. I can't say we are particular enarmoured with the somewhat dated interior decors that were on offer with most fifths but we can live with that and will be making some changes fairly swiftly. The first things to go will be the rocker recliners that come standard from the factory. They are ugly, uncomfortable and heavy so we will replace these with euro style recliners. We will be on the road a lot and the idea of manouevering heavy recliners into the travel position every time we move does not thrill me. I think we will also end up replacing the standard free standing dining table. The table is fine but it's legs are badly designed making getting into the chairs closest to the window difficult.

We bought the Mountaineer from a CA dealer at the show but will be picking it up in March from an RV service centre close to the factory in Indiana which has been arranged by the CA dealer and the Keystone district sales manager. We plan on spending a week familiarising ourselves with it (hopefully most of the snow will be gone by then) before returning to NZ to await the warmer weather in about May. We decided to pick it up in Indiana as we are planning on spending the first 6 months touring the North East and possibly East coast and didn't really want to drive it all the way from Los Angeles.

We haven't bought a truck yet and again I have spent a considerable amount of time online reading about what I need. Originally I was thinking of getting a 3/4 ton short bed diesel which the RV dealer said would be fine, however after reading what other people are saying about weights etc I have changed my mind and am now looking for a suitable 1 ton. I don't want a dually as I will be driving on the wrong side of the road and whilst I have considerable experience driving in the US, the idea of driving something that wide around the city when not towing doesn't thrill me. I am told I should not buy a Ford older than 08 as the 6.0l turbo had problems with turbo lag. I don't want a long bed unless it is matched with a short cab as I don't want too long a wheel base. I will probably go for a 4WD as even though we are not planning on going off road it is nice to be able to pull out of mud on a wet day if we get into some of the less developed camp grounds.

Buying a vehicle online sight unseen is a little risky, I know, but I will probably have little choice as we are going to need the truck almost as soon as we arrive in March to pick up the Mountaineer. I guess buying from a dealer with good feedback will be my best bet and it does not seem too expensive having it shipped across country if we end up buying out of state. The larger choice of trucks on eBay seems to be in Texas.

Well that's our story to-date. We are really looking forward to our coming adventure and hope to see a few MOC members on the road next year.

11-13-2009, 09:37 AM	#1
KiwiRVer Montana Fan Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Auckland Posts: 100 M.O.C. #9832	New Montana Mountaineer Owner Hi All. My wife and I own a small business Auckland, New Zealand with a sales office in Atlanta, GA and had been thinking about spending more time in the US to promote our business and see more of the country. We have decided to spend at least 6 months touring the US on a semi-business, semi-holiday trip in an RV, mainly over the warmer northern months. On a trip to the US in July we started to look at RVs and were originally thinking about getting a Class A or C. We hadn't even considered a fifth wheel but out of curiousity had a look at some while we at a dealer in Pasco, WA. We were very pleasantly surprised at the room and facilities of the fifths we saw and liked the idea of only having one powered vehicle. I spent a considerable amount of time online looking at as many fifths as I could but really had to see them in person so I travelled to the CA RV show in October and spent 4 days there going through all the fifths in detail. By about day three it was down to 3 that seemed to fit our requirements and which fitted our budget. (There were several that were fantastic but were way beyond what I could justify pricewise.) The three short listed were the Open Range 337RLS, Montana Mountaineer 326RLT and Coachmen Northridge 322RLT. I must admit that prior to arriving at the show I was almost convinced that the Open Range would be the one we would buy. By day 4 it was down to the Open Range and the Mountaineer. (The Coachmen was almost identical to the Mountaineer but did not seem to have quite the quality of fittings for a similar price.) I really liked the OR, it is much lighter than the Mountaineer and has some great features like the full 4 point levelling system but in the end the thing that really sold me on the Mountaineer was the desk area where I would be able to work from. It also had more storage space in the basement and the interior fitout had a nice homey feeling to it. I can't say we are particular enarmoured with the somewhat dated interior decors that were on offer with most fifths but we can live with that and will be making some changes fairly swiftly. The first things to go will be the rocker recliners that come standard from the factory. They are ugly, uncomfortable and heavy so we will replace these with euro style recliners. We will be on the road a lot and the idea of manouevering heavy recliners into the travel position every time we move does not thrill me. I think we will also end up replacing the standard free standing dining table. The table is fine but it's legs are badly designed making getting into the chairs closest to the window difficult. We bought the Mountaineer from a CA dealer at the show but will be picking it up in March from an RV service centre close to the factory in Indiana which has been arranged by the CA dealer and the Keystone district sales manager. We plan on spending a week familiarising ourselves with it (hopefully most of the snow will be gone by then) before returning to NZ to await the warmer weather in about May. We decided to pick it up in Indiana as we are planning on spending the first 6 months touring the North East and possibly East coast and didn't really want to drive it all the way from Los Angeles. We haven't bought a truck yet and again I have spent a considerable amount of time online reading about what I need. Originally I was thinking of getting a 3/4 ton short bed diesel which the RV dealer said would be fine, however after reading what other people are saying about weights etc I have changed my mind and am now looking for a suitable 1 ton. I don't want a dually as I will be driving on the wrong side of the road and whilst I have considerable experience driving in the US, the idea of driving something that wide around the city when not towing doesn't thrill me. I am told I should not buy a Ford older than 08 as the 6.0l turbo had problems with turbo lag. I don't want a long bed unless it is matched with a short cab as I don't want too long a wheel base. I will probably go for a 4WD as even though we are not planning on going off road it is nice to be able to pull out of mud on a wet day if we get into some of the less developed camp grounds. Buying a vehicle online sight unseen is a little risky, I know, but I will probably have little choice as we are going to need the truck almost as soon as we arrive in March to pick up the Mountaineer. I guess buying from a dealer with good feedback will be my best bet and it does not seem too expensive having it shipped across country if we end up buying out of state. The larger choice of trucks on eBay seems to be in Texas. Well that's our story to-date. We are really looking forward to our coming adventure and hope to see a few MOC members on the road next year.