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

embraceatrend · 09-24-2008, 10:55 AM

We have been members for 2 years to the day, and we would like to whole heartily thank all the MOC members who assisted us in both the purchase of a TV and a Montana in 2007. On Sept 24th 2006 we had neither, but the concept of retirement and the RV lifestyle appealed to us. I can tell you that we went to all the RV shows in our area, and spent many many hours on the MOC site. We took the plunge in Aug 07 on the TV, a 2007 Dodge Laramie 1 ton diesel with a short box with all the options they offer, the penalty for a short box was a Pull Rite superglide hitch,in the interest of keeping this a short as possible, nothing we did was not without much discussion and the opinion of others, but i digress, we are now on the hunt for our fifth wheel, the 3400 is a popular model and we can see why,we also liked it, but after much discussion surrounding weights from the varied opinions from this site, including the much revered "Weight Police" we decided on the 3485 SA which served to accommodate both the floor plan we liked and to stay within the weight tolerances of our TV, although the true test will be when we actually scale it. We added the Moreryde pin box, EMS surge protector, 50 amp autoformer, Carefree Toppers, JT Leveling System to the coach and air bags to the TV. The learning curve was fairly high for us and the process is ongoing, we have made numerous short trips and each trip we feel more comfortable in the driving and operation of our rig. on our third anniversary of our membership to the MOC site, Sept 24/2009 we will be ready for the trek to the golden globe in the sky that a lot of you are enjoying right now, our working life will be over and we both look forward to the RV life. Now that we have got the warm and fuzzy stuff over with, we love our Montana, we love the finish and we dont regret our choices, but i have a concern, not about the many things i can change, like the tires if it makes you feel safer, my concern is the frame. I have no mechanical or engineering experience, no antidotal evidence, just a visual concern and some MOC postings. During our quest for a fifth wheel, some of the SOBs have a box frame, approx 2x12" with the slide out mechanisms on top of the frame, the Montana has an I beam frame with the slides mechanisms running through the frame further weakening the frame and leaving the coach to be susceptible to frame flex. My concerns have been lessened by adding an articulating hitch, a MoreRyde pin box, and air bags to try to lessen the shock to the unit. How you drive and where you go all are added to the mix, but i think Keystone should investigate the rips and tears that people are reporting. Thanks again to the MOC community, your efforts have made our transition a lot easier. Gloria and Larry.

09-24-2008, 10:55 AM	#1
embraceatrend Established Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Chilliwack Posts: 48 M.O.C. #6316	Debt of Gratitude to the MOC community We have been members for 2 years to the day, and we would like to whole heartily thank all the MOC members who assisted us in both the purchase of a TV and a Montana in 2007. On Sept 24th 2006 we had neither, but the concept of retirement and the RV lifestyle appealed to us. I can tell you that we went to all the RV shows in our area, and spent many many hours on the MOC site. We took the plunge in Aug 07 on the TV, a 2007 Dodge Laramie 1 ton diesel with a short box with all the options they offer, the penalty for a short box was a Pull Rite superglide hitch,in the interest of keeping this a short as possible, nothing we did was not without much discussion and the opinion of others, but i digress, we are now on the hunt for our fifth wheel, the 3400 is a popular model and we can see why,we also liked it, but after much discussion surrounding weights from the varied opinions from this site, including the much revered "Weight Police" we decided on the 3485 SA which served to accommodate both the floor plan we liked and to stay within the weight tolerances of our TV, although the true test will be when we actually scale it. We added the Moreryde pin box, EMS surge protector, 50 amp autoformer, Carefree Toppers, JT Leveling System to the coach and air bags to the TV. The learning curve was fairly high for us and the process is ongoing, we have made numerous short trips and each trip we feel more comfortable in the driving and operation of our rig. on our third anniversary of our membership to the MOC site, Sept 24/2009 we will be ready for the trek to the golden globe in the sky that a lot of you are enjoying right now, our working life will be over and we both look forward to the RV life. Now that we have got the warm and fuzzy stuff over with, we love our Montana, we love the finish and we dont regret our choices, but i have a concern, not about the many things i can change, like the tires if it makes you feel safer, my concern is the frame. I have no mechanical or engineering experience, no antidotal evidence, just a visual concern and some MOC postings. During our quest for a fifth wheel, some of the SOBs have a box frame, approx 2x12" with the slide out mechanisms on top of the frame, the Montana has an I beam frame with the slides mechanisms running through the frame further weakening the frame and leaving the coach to be susceptible to frame flex. My concerns have been lessened by adding an articulating hitch, a MoreRyde pin box, and air bags to try to lessen the shock to the unit. How you drive and where you go all are added to the mix, but i think Keystone should investigate the rips and tears that people are reporting. Thanks again to the MOC community, your efforts have made our transition a lot easier. Gloria and Larry.