Displaced Texans

[Wayne and Carolyn Mathews]

We're new members from Horse Prairie, Montana (about 30 miles south of Dillon, which is our official address). I was a retired high school English teacher (Leander HS, Leander TX), but living in Montana means you work if you want to eat, so I'm working again, teaching Advanced Placement English/working as a school secretary/running the federal school lunch program at Beaverhead County High School in Dillon. My husband retired 10 years ago because of rheumatoid arthritis complications. We came to Montana from Austin (Lago Vista), Texas, in 2002; two of our children married into a ranching family out here. We have another married daughter in Bay City, Texas. I'm hoping to retire again in a year or two so that we can do what we originally planned to do--go back and forth between Texas and Montana as well as travel all over the United States. We will be buying our 1st Montana within the next 3 weeks. We thought we had decided on the 3585SA, because it has the private bath which we had in another 5th-wheeler and loved, but noticed tonight that the floor plan doesn't show a washer/dryer closet. Because we do hope to travel a lot in this Montana, we think we want a W/D rather than hunting laundry facilities everywhere we go. We've been there, done that, and sometimes had to use less than sanitary-looking places, not to mention waste time sitting around for laundry to finish. If the 3585SA can't have that "Stor-a-Lot drawer stack" in the bedroom modified to hold a W/D single unit, we may consider another floor plan. On the other hand, we surely do love that 3585 SA plan!

[stiles watson]

Welcome to the MOC and soon to the world of Montana Land. The forum is a great place to expand your Montana knowledge.

[Ozz]

It sounds like you have done your homework on the Montana, hope you get one that fills your needs, all of us really love ours. I like the W/D location in our 3400RL, my wife and I don't mind the bathroom location in it.
Good luck on your retirement.
Ozz

[ols1932]

Welcome! I believe you will really enjoy your Montana regardless of the floor plan you finally settle on. They all have their benefits. We love ours and it's seven years old! If you have any questions regarding anything about your Montana, feel free to ask those questions here.

Orv

[Wayne and Carolyn Mathews]

I agree--no matter what floor plan we settle on, I know we'll be happy. We'd lived in another brand and thought we wanted a new one just like it, but after walking into a Montana, we experienced that "Aha" feeling and knew we had found our home. The floor plan wasn't one we'd buy, but the overall feeling of the unit, even sitting on the dealer's lot, was one that instantly appealed to us. We're off to Idaho Falls today (our nearest Montana dealer) to "play house" in a couple of Montana floor plans. Maybe that private bathroom isn't as important as having a washer and dryer!

[Charlie]

Winters are great in SE Texas. I live 20 miles east of Bay City on Highway 35.

[RC and Samantha]

quote:Originally posted by Wayne and Carolyn Mathews

If the 3585SA can't have that "Stor-a-Lot drawer stack" in the bedroom modified to hold a W/D single unit, we may consider another floor plan. On the other hand, we surely do love that 3585 SA plan!

I love that floor plan! It has a short closet in place of the "Stor-a-Lot drawer stack" for a combo washer and dryer. So if you're cool with the combo that unit should work for you.

Congratulations on building a house in Montana. We're hoping to do just that too. We have property up in Eureka, which is about 6 and a half hours north of where you are. Our house in Michigan is up for sale right now, if it sells we will be doing exactly what you are in our 3295RK.

Which ever Montana you end up with, you'll love it.

Welcome to the forum and all the best with your upcoming adventures.

Patty

[Wayne and Carolyn Mathews]

We went back to Idaho Falls over the weekend to play house in a couple of floor plans, and our original choice, the 3585SA remained our favorite. It even had the interior color/fabrics we wanted. Best of all, unlike the 3585's we'd seen at other dealerships, it had already been modified for the combo W/D. (I guess we hadn't noticed that on our last 30 visits and were still thinking about the units we'd seen elsewhere that had the drawers instead of the W/D prep.) We sat down with the salesman to get a price, which turned out to be a bit below the price for the same unit at 2 other dealers, plus this one has many options that we'd have had to add on the others. Deal done--we bought it. Now we're working on getting power, water, and septic to our land ASAP. Even if we have to boondock for a bit, we've going straight to the rig, along with our 2 Australian shepherds and 1 prima donna cat (all from the Humane Society, and the best animals we've ever had). And now I've been instructed by my not-computer-literate husband to ask Montana owners if the rather expensive extended warranty is necessary or a good idea and if the high-dollar interior/exterior (can do one or both) finish protector package is worth the money. We weren't pressured into either--just told to go home and think about it and ask other Montana owners. So, what do you think? By the way, so many of the things I've read in the MOC forums came in handy when we were in the buying process. Now I'm going back to print out all the cold weather tips because we will be living in the Montana when the temps hit well-below zero, accompanied by winds from the lake and mountains.

[Ozz]

If you are handy, I would forgo the extended warranty, if not, well that's a coin toss. Many have it many don't.
The Gel coat exterior is very nice, but adds around 200 odd pounds, (maybe 300???) to the unit.
Congrats!
Ozz

[Wayne and Carolyn Mathews]

See, I'm learning already! I never thought about the weight of the gel-coat application. So far as the interior protection package, well, it is an RV, not a million dollar mansion made for show only. With dogs and kids and dirt, I know the interior will show some signs of use. However, I'm known as "She Who Can Get Any Spot or Stain Out," so springing for the $$$ interior protectorant package was already losing its appeal. Besides, for what that costs, I could put in new carpeting or recover the furniture if worse came to worse. Thanks!

[prariepoodle]

Welcome to the Moc we look forward to seeing your post and hearing all about all your great adventures... Happy RV'ing