Advice for first time Montana Owner

[BusyCarol]

quote:Originally posted by CATCRAW

Patience! That is the best advice I have for you.

I think that is GREAT advice for everything! Today was a trying day. They were installing the FW hitch in the back of our truck and they called to tell me it won't fit with the auxiliary fuel tank. They had seen our truck a week before and told us it would work fine so I guess they didn't really look all that close. Oh well! Your advice was definitely needed for that situation. They are removing a fuel tank that has 55 gallons of fuel in it. UGH!

As for the galley dump I have added it to my checklist and I am taking a pad of paper down to the dealership to make sure we cover everything on it!

Thanks again! It was a little surprising to see our unit with all of the slides in...no way to access the kitchen/living area but I figured I could use a little battery power to open the slides on one side. I love this unit though!

[Hooker]

When towing, the 5th wheel trailer will cut the corner when making a turn...the TT will follow the truck. So make wide turns and you'll be okay.

[CATCRAW]

If your camera has a video feature, you might want to record the important parts of the PDI......The how to's.....

[travelinsparky]

We just finished a 5000 mile trip accross country. We usually stop at road side rest for lunch we would put the things we needed for lunch in the frig side that we could open without puting the slide out. We have a 3400RL. You can set the slide control so you can select which slide you want to open. We just got ours in Feb. and have travel about 10,000mi. The level system took awhile to figure out but really works well once you get the hang of it. Best of luck. this site has really been great refrence. Ron and Diane

[davidfrafaly]

Verify the height of your unit. We have a 2012 3100RL with the second ac unit. I was surprised to find out it is 13' 4" when hitched, not the 12' 9" listed in specs. Auto level system will become your friend. Many great upgrades, bells and whistles. Many happy adventures for you. Be safe.

[BusyCarol]

Thanks everyone! Keep the great advice coming! We had our PDI last night! I always find that he PDI's are done by guys who cover 20 different models and know them kind of sort of. So we came home and read the manuals (THERE ARE SO MANY!) and gleaned more information that way. The auto-leveling system has NOT become my friend yet but I think that is because we haven't got the hang of it yet. We originally thought the UP and DOWN arrow were for, well...UP and DOWN of the jacks! NOT! Then we kind of got it figured out. I love how quickly it levels are unit though! No more dinking around for 20 minutes on an unlevel site.

The height was a bit of a surprise too. Ours is 12'9" but until you get it home in your driveway you don't really get how much higher it is. When we put the other AC unit on they said we would be 13'4" (not sure if that is low profile or not). I just got the thorough cleaning done on it. Found some gaping holes where the pipe goes through the pass-through from the bathroom. With the pass through open I can see daylight so I will have to seal those before mice get in. We live near several farm fields so mice can be a problem here. Even if you don't have food in your unit. So we are off to Lowe's to buy some low expansion foam.

We really appreciate all of the information. It has already helped us tremendously and we haven't even left our driveway! So thanks to all of you!

[Sharhu]

Carol, thanks for starting this thread. We leave Friday for our first weekend trip with our new 2012 3455SA and I was just sitting here starting a "Moving out" check list (we don't have cats, dogs or kids}and stopped to check in on the forum. Found some things to add to my list. We don't have an automatic leveling system so guess we wll spend a bit of time trying to level. We are also planning on stopping at an empty parking lot near us Friday morning before we really hit the road to practice some backing up and turning. I am also a bit nervous about backing up and lining everything up to hitch up and get out of our driveway. I like the ocmment about taking it easy, and it being a learning experience. Hopefully my husband will keep that in mind when he gets frustrated with my directions. Want to make sure the marriage makes it to our 39th on Saturday:-)

We are a bit nervous about the height of these rigs, much higher than the TT we pulled 12 years ago. What is the best way to measure to make sure you have accurate height to go by. We only have one air conditioner and in the specs we are supposed to be 12' 9" also. Everywhere we go now we are watching for clearance's on overpasses and bridges. While a lot on main highways are not labeled since large trucks are on these roads all the time I am not as concerned, but we have noticed a few on off roads that look high but the clearance isn't labeled and others that are labeled. Are there any regulations that below a certain height is has to be labeled? I have found an ap for my phone that lists some low clearances but wouldn't want to count on whether that includes all of them.

Thanks for all the great information.

[Champ_49]

Sharhu

The best way to check your height is to be hooked up to your tow vehicle and get on the roof with a long level or a straight edge that a level can be put on and then level the straight edge and measure from that straight edge to the ground on a level surface. That is the only way you will get an exact measurement as each tow vehicle is different along with type of hitch etc. With that being said I would bet your close to the 12'9" level if you have just one AC. If you have a taller TV then that adds also.

Dave

[steelpony5555]

Even though the Montana is fairly tall you really don't got to worry to death about it. The legal minimum height for roads is 14 ft. Most newer gas stations keep their canopys at 14 ft or higher. Now that's not to say there are not some older places out there that are lower. I also know of at least 2 railroad culverts on back roads of Pa. that are very very low, they were only 12 ft. Trees are probably the main thing you will need to watch for as they do not adhere to the governments 14 ft minimum height. Also don't try to go thru any MacDonalds drive-thrus or do any banking hooked to your rig, you'll end up on you tube.

[BusyCarol]

Sharhu - Glad to hear the info is helping you too. I have learned a lot. We are on tge road right now to Yellowstone via Lovell Wyoming. So our first back up/hook up went fine, and my husband says it tows nice BUT definitely different from TT. He really apprecuated the heads up on how the fifth wheel doesn't follow as quickly as the TT. We had our first issue when we are all hooked up and ready to pull out...the refrigerator started beeping at us. Evidently with the slide pulled in the LP line was kinked so there was no flow. Good thing we caught it before we got to Yellowstone. Dealership fixed it and got us on our way. So before you leave on a trip test LP with slides in.

Please keep the advice coming so Sharhu and I can continue to learn. We have our checklist and we already have some things to add...like 'Check to make sure refrigerator is HAPPY and not beeping!

[navybanker]

The trees in places like Cracker Barrel, side streets and going into and out of campgrounds are you major concern on height.

[exav8tr]

I would not take for granted the statement that "The legal minimum height for roads is 14 ft." as many states do not adhere to that. The best thing you can get is a "Rand McNally Truckers Atlas". This book shows all the states clearance requirements and where there are exceptions to the minimum. THERE ARE MANY OVERPASSES, TRAIN TRACKS, BRIDGES, LOWER THAN 13'6" and you need to know where they are to avoid them. For example: In Casa Grande, where we live, there is an underpass for a set of train tracks. Going out of town the clearance is 14', BUT coming back in the clearance is 13'3". We have to go out one way and come back in another. Be especially careful around tunnels also.

[mhs4771]

And I can tell you for a fact that the Rand McNally Atlas and even the Truckers on-line data base does not cover everything. They cover the major truck routes and major highways, but if you start getting off the beaten path, you are on your own. There is an overpass on NY96 near Sampson State Park that has a clearance of 12' 6" and doesn't show up on any data base I could find. Luckly we saw the sign and had a place to turn around before we got to it.

[simonsrf]

quote:Originally posted by navybanker

The trees in places like Cracker Barrel, side streets and going into and out of campgrounds are you major concern on height.

I agree, always be on the alert for trees, the swing of your rig...and always turn wide.

We had been on the road for 5 years before we had any problems with low clearance.....that one was 12'4"....we ducked in an alley.

The other good advice is to buy a truckers laminated map....they are about $30 at most of the big truck stops (a lot more elsewhere). Every road that has an orange line is a truck route. If it is not a truck route, do more research to decide if you can clear the underpasses.

Good luck.

[BusyCarol]

As always GREAT INFO about clearances. We are going to stop at a truck stop near our house on the way home. Always good to be prepared.