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Old 11-06-2012, 01:29 AM   #1
gduff
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Initial Impressions

Well we have put our new Montana High Country through our “testing” and am happy to report a minimum amount of “needs to be fixed” items. We have a full hook-up at home so we were able to check everything out. Of course the road test will have to wait until spring. We had a 20 mile trip home from the dealer with no issues. I do think we will upgrade to the mor/ryde hitch though. It seems to be highly recommended. Items that need repair: Outside door needs to be adjusted. Hard to open and close. I tried to adjust the striker plate but one of the screws that hold it is stripped and it seems to be at the end of its adjustment moving out. The other item is that the fireplace remote is a little funky; I sometimes have to push the buttons two or three times to get it to work. We have stayed in it for 5 days so far and blew through a tank of propane in 4 days. We ran the fireplace some to help, so that seems like quite a bit to me. Air temp was upper 40’s in the daytime and upper 20’s at night. Thermostat set on 70. We used to get about a week from our similarly sized Cougar in colder weather running the furnace. Maybe the tank wasn’t quite full? We had the dealer install dual satellite feeds to the living area and single to the bedroom and that works fine. Love the 40” TV. (Yes we are spoiled!) Saw a portable unit at the dealer for about $450 that automatically locks in so we are thinking about that for the road. We have underground hook-up to our dish at home. It comes pre-wired for a second AC unit but we will have to wait for summer to see if that is going to be an issue when we travel south. Have a Honda 2000i for off the grid camping which should serve our needs as long as AC is not required. I suppose I could buy a second “sister” unit for that. It seems that the dealer did a pretty thorough job of testing things so we are happy overall. Now if spring would only get here!
 
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Old 11-06-2012, 01:56 AM   #2
DarMar
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Glad to hear that things have gone well for you with just a few small issues. As to the propane usage I would say that sounds fairly normal for those types of temps with your thermostat set on 70. In temps like that we now use two heaters to help supplement the furnace, one in the living area and a more compact for the bedroom. When comparing to your previous Cougar perhaps you have more slides now and the drafts are substantial from each and every one. We have found over the years as you add another slide you use more propane. Congrats, enjoy, and keep us posted!!!
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Old 11-06-2012, 02:03 AM   #3
gduff
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Thanks!
I am only going from memory on the propane usage so I could be off on that as we typically are not camping in this kind of weather. Although it has been quite windy we really haven't noticed any drafts.
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Old 11-06-2012, 03:07 AM   #4
DQDick
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I don't find ours is drafty even in most high winds, but the wind will affect your propane use greatly since the wind can attack all sides and the bottom of your rig at once. Just like your skin, the wind chill is a serious issue. If you go south in the summer it sort of depends on how far, but if you're going to be in the sun in 100 degree temps you'll need the second air. As far as the second Honda goes we found ours on Craigs list. It needed some TLC since the gas had sat in the carburetor for some time, but it was cheap and with the help of some Seafoam now works very well.
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Old 11-06-2012, 03:08 AM   #5
Ren
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Yeah... mine gulps through the propane as well, but Floridians and cold weather dont really mix. So the thermostat was set a little higher than 70 lol

Glad you like your new High Country! We had a laundry list of items to be fixed when we did our PDI. They got all fixed and we are happy campers!

And Yes on the Second AC! Do not wait until your down south to decide you need one. Go ahead and get a lo-profile unit upfront and call it a day. The darker colored units NEED a second AC.



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Old 11-06-2012, 07:30 AM   #6
richfaa
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My "warm and toasty" package did not work in our 06 3400 and it ate propane and was drafty in the winter in moderate winter temps.When in the high 20's low thirties we could use a tank every 3 days.Throw in some wind and less. This 13 3402 "seems " better insulated but we have seen no cold weather yet.
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Old 11-06-2012, 10:35 AM   #7
DonandBonnie
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Our two week old Big Sky goes through a tank in about 4 days. Day temps have been in the low to mid 40's and night in the mid 30's. We are comfortable with the thermostat set at 71. The fireplace adds a toasty atmosphere. It's not necessary for warming at these temps, but it is nice. I sense that if the temps drop another 10 degrees some type of supplemental heat will be necessary.

During Hurricane Sandy we did not have access to a hookup, so we had to rely on our generator. We learned quickly that running the generator and furnace at the same time sucks propane rapidly. Actually the flow is too great for the tanks causing the propane to freeze up and quit flowing even before the tank is empty.
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Old 11-06-2012, 11:26 AM   #8
richfaa
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Quote:
quote:Originally posted by DonandBonnie

Our two week old Big Sky goes through a tank in about 4 days. Day temps have been in the low to mid 40's and night in the mid 30's. We are comfortable with the thermostat set at 71. The fireplace adds a toasty atmosphere. It's not necessary for warming at these temps, but it is nice. I sense that if the temps drop another 10 degrees some type of supplemental heat will be necessary.


During Hurricane Sandy we did not have access to a hookup, so we had to rely on our generator. We learned quickly that running the generator and furnace at the same time sucks propane rapidly. Actually the flow is too great for the tanks causing the propane to freeze up and quit flowing even before the tank is empty.
That propane usage is no better than our 06 3400 under the same conditions.We expected better.We expected a lot of things to be better and they are not.
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