Montana High Counry 355RE vs Mountaineer 310ret

[getontheroad]

Hi all,

I have a situation. I recently made a deal on a 2014 Montana Mountaineer 310re. We made the deal online because we thought it was a fair deal. This weekend we drove down to take a look. I love the look and all the storage of the Montana Mountaineer, but the 2014 High country 355re feels so much more spacious, but does not have as much storage.

There is about a $5,000 price difference between the Mountaineer and the Montana High Country, high country is more expensive. The salesman was gracious and stated whatever you want we can swap out the deal. When I had talked to him earlier in the fall I had initially asked about both models and he specifically told me the Montana Mountaineer was a step up from the High Country, but from comments on here I would beg to differ.

What are your thoughts on the two... is one a better build or a better class of RV. The difference is 2feet but you can feel the two feet difference between the 2, especially in the rear living space.

Thanks in advance for the help in.

[twindman]

When the High Country came out a few years back, my local dealer had a few in stock. I thought they looked cheap inside. The flooring looked like cheap stuff that would scratch right off. The next year the dealer sold them but kept none in stock - said people didn't like the floor plans or something.
I do think the early models were not as good as Mountaineers. Maybe now they are - don't know. But they are definitely lighter weight. Maybe others will offer first hand knowledge.
Good luck.
p.s. I just bought a new 2013 model in July, so I could be biased.

[1retired06]

High Country is advertised as lighter weight, which generally means less quality when compared to other models.

[mlh]

I have a 2011 323 High Country. I couldn't be happier with it. It has been trouble free. My thoughts. If you full time or long time get the Montana. If you vacation get the High Country. The Montana is certainly nicer but much heavier. The High Country is as nice as you need. I don't care that my cabinets are made of a lighter weight wood. They work just as good. My slide outs work off a cable. That saves 500 pounds. If a cable breaks I can fix it in 30 minutes for $5. The Montana has a 12 frame. That adds a lot of weight.The High Country don't need a 12 inch frame.
I see no reason for me to pull an extra ton of weight around when comfort wise I would never notice the difference. If I were full timing I would get the Montana. They have more storage space. They are top of the line.
Lynwood

[HOOK]

Mountaineer is a discontinued line. When the ones out there are gone, that's it. Be careful!

[getontheroad]

Thank you again for your responses. I am not sure if we could ask this question on this forum, hope I am not out of line. We try to do what we can to be prepared especially when making large $$ purchases. The mountaineer 310 is 34,500 with 5th hitch installed and some LED light strips added to the awning. The dealer is sticking to the high country price at $39,995. I find it odd that the Mountaineer list according to dealer is higher than the high country but discounted way more, is this unusual? What do you all think of the prices. I tried to find some Mountaineer's online but there were only few and most were asking 40,000 to 42,000. The High Country price is comparable to other similar units.

[Recumbent]

Having owned a 2010 324RLQ Mountaineer we found it to be a good RV with no more or less issues than Montana, Big Sky, or High Country. The dollar discount is probably just simply the dealership trying to move the Mountaineer name off the lot to replace it with another unit in the continued lines. In other words, probably just sweetening up the deal (bang for the buck) for you to help then achieve that goal. The warranty and typical issues will be there which ever model you buy. I recommend not worrying about names or model numbers as sooner or later they all change. For us it has always been which features, floor plan, style, and color combination that gets closest to our wants. Hope you have many years of fun with which ever one you pick.

[Charli]

That sounds like a good price for the Mountaineer and I agree the dealer is probably trying to move a discontinued line off the lot. I wouldn't worry about it being discontinued as it is part of the montana family so servicing and parts, which are shared across all lines, should be easily available. We had a Cougar XLite before and based on our experience the Cougar was a nicer and more durable unit than our XLite. I expect that would also apply to the high country for the simple reason that something has to be sacrificed to get the unit to weigh less. That is often lighter, less durable materials.

[richfaa]

The high country has been re done. It is a wide Body unit which is why it looks bigger inside. The Mountaineer is no longer made. The high country is a good unit in its price and weight range. It is NOT a Montana and should not be compared.

[Eagleback]

So if the High Country and the mountaineer are NOT a Montana, then what dose the moving to Montana Package mean, because I have that upgrade on my moutaineer. Is that not available on the high country?. I thought the difference between the two was my dealer sold Montana mountaineer and the guy across the street sold the Montana high country. due to eliminating the dealer conflict. between the two brands. Is that puzzling?

[jlb27537]

I would want to get the price of a 2015 model as compared to what the 2014's are priced at.

A example is my '14 was mfg. April 9, '13. I bought it May 9, '13. I used it all of '13 and bought it for the same money a '13 was priced to me. Now going into my 2nd year of ownership it is a year old model.

The '15 units are out and in 3 months the '16 units will be available, making the '14's 2 years old. Thus you will have to eat the depreciation.

I had to drive about 600 miles, saved a bit on freight, but feel the trip was worth it.

[richfaa]

The Mountaineer is not made anymore. There are some out on the lots but there are NONE coming off the line.
Again the line is Montana, Montana Legacy, Montana Big Sky. The High Country is a separate line.

[Eagleback]

So if the High Country and the mountaineer are NOT a Montana, then what dose the moving to Montana Package mean, because I have that upgrade on my moutaineer. Is that not available on the high country?. I thought the difference between the two was my dealer sold Montana mountaineer and the guy across the street sold the Montana high country. due to eliminating the dealer conflict. between the two brands. Is that puzzling?

Also I just seen a few weeks ago a high country with a fiberglass back end. so please kind of explain that one too. if anyone can.

[jlb27537]

quote:Originally posted by Eagleback

So if the High Country and the mountaineer are NOT a Montana, then what dose the moving to Montana Package mean, because I have that upgrade on my moutaineer. Is that not available on the high country?. I thought the difference between the two was my dealer sold Montana mountaineer and the guy across the street sold the Montana high country. due to eliminating the dealer conflict. between the two brands. Is that puzzling?

The "Moving to Montana" package is just the name of a group of items that are forced options. Same thought as the "Fulltiming" package. We all know you can not fulltime in a Montana.

The pic's are from my '14 Montana brochure. On my price sheet they are shown as forced options and the package price is added to the base price.

[Eagleback]

Everything is the same as your moving to Montana package except I do not have the wet bolts and the 5.1 surround system but I do have a king bed.

[greenmachine]

We have the 2015 HC 305RL and love it, bought it in Aug 2014, have pulled over 3000 miles, only a couple of minor problems, fixed. We love the layout and the design and quality seems to be excellent.

[getontheroad]

A picture of the front of the unit we purchased says Montana in the back it says Mountaineer, the same for the High Country, and is also the same for the Montana (all the front caps have the same picture). So yes these three units I know for sure are Montana Brand RV, there may be others.

Thank you to everyone about the pricing and to "jlb27537" I took your advice and called a couple other dealers on the price of the 2015 model and the difference is $9,000-$14,000. So yes I think this is a decent deal. Especially since it has every extra option available...except for the 4-door refrigerator which I think is so odd. Why would you include all the extra options including LED lights on front cap and under awning and not the upgraded fridge.

I really love this forum! You all are the greatest!

[richard66]

The HC is a Montana even though the Big Sky etc. owners don't seem to want to own up to it. As expressed by another HC owner, if I were to full time then I might consider the additional expense and weight of the Luxury models. Keystone has built a unit for the person that does not need a battle ship, just a very nice trailer to vacation and week end trips. The Mountaineer used to be the stepchild and looked down upon by ( THE REAL MONTANA ) owners. Now the HC has come along and the same folks are looking down there noses at them. I personally haven't given up a thing with my HC. I have pulled my unit over 40k in the last 3yr's with no real problems. This is my third ( MONTANA )one was even a Mountaineer and I have not had any tremendous problems because of the unit being a light weight. Buy what fits your needs and enjoy it.

[Chip]

I looked at all the Montanas at the RV show and I like the HC the best.

[MHC305RL]

We have a 2016 Montana High Country 305RL on order right now. Should come off the line in Mid March. The Keystone rep I talked with said the new model year is going back to 96" wide. He said it is on the same line as the Big Sky. I don't know why, but that is what he said.