[David and Jo-Anna]

Summary--The dry/shipping weight figure posted in each Montana (e.g., 11,900# for 3400) includes virtually all optional equipment except dual pane windows, generator and washer/dryer. The GVWR figure is artificially low because government regulations require that it not exceed the sum of the axle load rating and the dry pin weight.

At the RV show in Hershey PA on Sept 15, I had a very long talk with Charles Wade, District Sales Manager for Montana's Western District. While Charles is in the sales department, he indicated that he is part of a group of seven people who do most of the design work on the Montanas, and he seemed very, very knowledgeable on a whole range of topics regarding engineering-type issues. One of them was the issue of the GVWR and net cargo carrying capacities of the Montanas.

Charles accepted authorship of the dry/shipping weight numbers posted inside the Montanas. He explained that the dry weight number (11,900# for the 3400) is 250# higher than the number in the brochure (11,650# for the 3400) because Charles wanted a "fudge factor" to make sure that a Montana's actual shipping weight would not exceed the number posted inside the RV. He chose the 250# figure to be sure he covered the weight of the Hi Gloss gel coat for those who select that option. The only options/equipment he identified that he did not include in the posted figure were, as noted above, the weight of dual pane windows, generator and washer/dryer.

For those who have weighed their rigs before they started adding their own gear, does this match up with your actual weights? FYI, Charles noted that the weight of the Hi Gloss option will vary among the various models of Montanas, but that the highest weight increase they saw when adding Hi Gloss to any model was 180#. He pegged the weight of the dual pane windows at about 150#. Speaking of dual panes, he had lots to say on them--maybe I'll put that in another post. But he did say that the R value of single pane was 0.8, for dual pane was 1.01.

Charles and I had a long talk about GVWRs and pin weights--I'd be glad to share more at the Rally with any who are interested--my fingers would wear out trying to type up a summary a 40 minute talk. Bottom line--federal regulations require that the GVWR be limited to the sum of axle load rating and dry pin weight, which means a GVWR for the 3400 of only 13,975#. Charles certainly thinks that the existing frame and axle could support a significantly higher weight rating, but he just can't put a higher number on the label because he can't justify moving the axle location rearward in order to increase the dry pin weight.

I was impressed with how Charles backed up his views on this, and I now feel much more comfortable about the actual cargo carrying capacity of models like the 3400. While I will try to avoid exceeding the GVWR (no need to carry extra weight), I'm not going to let it dominate my decisionmaking in selecting options, and I'm confident I could exceed the GVWR by 400#-600# from time to time (e.g., if I fill my fresh water tank for a brief period of dry camping) without putting any undue stress on the structure of the 3400.