1st real trip

[S&VALLAN]

This is an update for Impulse and Dusters and anyone else who has a Montana 3820FK. We took our first actual trip in it this last weekend to a Corp of Engineers campground to se the wife's Aunt at Clarksville Ar, we really enjoyed the experience. the 5er pulled great, and everything worked as it should. the rear rollup blind was up when we got home but that's no big deal. We have a Andersen ultimate gooseneck hitch adapter and a '06 F350 Drw diesel, like I said everything went well. we stayed at Spadra park which is a Corp campground, it was a good thing that I have spent a hugh amount of time reading new, old, and very old threads. because the the camp spots werent very level and the auto level wouldn't level the unit had to do it manually. No problem.

[DQDick]

Glad it worked for you! May your new rig bring you many years of wonderful memories.

[Todd727]

My dealer didn't have the level system set quite right.

Once you get your camper on level ground, manually level it and verify with a bubble level on the floor or counter-top. Then reset your auto level system so that it now uses this as the reference for level.

With the auto level system off, press the up arrow 10 times and then the down arrow 10 times. Hit Enter for the next few questions and it will register.

[Dusters]

Glad to hear the trailer worked out fine. I tend to worry about the front legs getting to extended in the auto leveling process and prefer a few blocks/pads for the first 6 inches or so especially in a sloped back in site.

[Overlord]

Probably should talk to Keystone and Lippert(anonymously) about using gooseneck adapter hitch. Both will say not to use it, and it will void your warranty if you have any kind of frame damage up front. These frames were not designed for such torsion stress that the increased moment of lateral force the adapter loads on the frame.

[dieselguy]

Assuming you bought your fiver at Dean's RV ... now Camping World, do you have any sense of what the service department is currently like? When it was Dean's ... they took pretty good care of their customers and had techs that for the most part could fix something without tearing up something else. A rarity at many CW's.

[S&VALLAN]

The leveling system works fine the campground spot was way out of level had to put the system in manual mode and no I haven't used the service department at CW.

[Todd727]

Originally Posted by Overlord

Probably should talk to Keystone and Lippert(anonymously) about using gooseneck adapter hitch. Both will say not to use it, and it will void your warranty if you have any kind of frame damage up front. These frames were not designed for such torsion stress that the increased moment of lateral force the adapter loads on the frame.

I believe he meant Anderson Ultimate Hitch, which is not an adapter in the sense that the ball isn't in the bed of the truck, but on the top of the pyramid. This means the leverage point is the same as a normal fifth wheel.

[Dusters]

I am using the Pull-Rite version of the adapted Ball to the Hitch. The Ball is fitted onto the pyramid or pancake with a locking adapter onto the frame. This version has a bowl on the hitch and the ball needs to be in the general area of the bowl when lowered and it slides in. The assembly in the truck weighs 50 pounds to remove the top section of the framework, in order to use the bed of the truck for other purposes when not towing.

[The Impulse]

Originally Posted by S&VALLAN

This is an update for Impulse and Dusters and anyone else who has a Montana 3820FK. We took our first actual trip in it this last weekend to a Corp of Engineers campground to se the wife's Aunt at Clarksville Ar, we really enjoyed the experience. the 5er pulled great, and everything worked as it should. the rear rollup blind was up when we got home but that's no big deal. We have a Andersen ultimate gooseneck hitch adapter and a '06 F350 Drw diesel, like I said everything went well. we stayed at Spadra park which is a Corp campground, it was a good thing that I have spent a hugh amount of time reading new, old, and very old threads. because the the camp spots werent very level and the auto level wouldn't level the unit had to do it manually. No problem.

Thanks for the update. It's refreshing to actually hear a positive experience. I seem to read about more warranty issues and things going wrong with the units than anything positive.
We might have to read up on the manual leveling.... not sure we know how to do that knows this unit.... lol
Thanks again