Montana 3000 - Montana Owners Club

cindik · 02-11-2006, 11:28 AM

We went to a RV show last night. Really liked the new 3000 with the rear kitchen. Do any of you have one? What are your particular likes and dislikes of this model? We really liked the new front cap, and the slide-out TV in the bedroom. The new design for the dresser in the bedroom is nice, and the king sized bed. The cut-out for the garbage can in the kitchen counter was neat also. I didn't really like the light colored carpet all of the new ones have. Would be interested in anyone's comments that have one. Thanks!

Bill Frisbee · 02-11-2006, 01:07 PM

We have a 2005 3400RL so cannot comment specifically on the 3000RK. But we do have the King Size bed. Unless you really need the extra size or they have expanded the width of the opening for the bed, I would encourage you to consider the Queen Size. The King is really a tight fit, more difficult to make-up than normal, and reduces the already limited space available to get around the bed and access the closet. We also find that the King hangs over the furnace vent which obstructs the circulation of warm air when the furnace is operating ... especially if your bedspread hangs over the edge of the bed. Just something to consider when ordering your unit.

Bill

Montana Sky · 02-11-2006, 02:31 PM

I have the queen bed in my 3400RL and wish I had the king. Bill wanna trade??

jrgwdenner · 02-11-2006, 03:24 PM

There are several owners of the new 3000 on the forum and I'm sure that they will be along to share their comments. I'm curious about your comment regarding the new dresser design in the bedroom. Can you explain it in more detail, please? Are there more drawers? My concern is the empty space that the new models, before 2006, had between the sink and dresser as well as the dresser and the closet. Wasted space in my opinion. Have they changed this?

Welcome to the forum.

kwbosch · 02-11-2006, 03:52 PM

We have an '05 3400RL with the king bed and we love ours. We prefer our sleep space over floor space. I don't spend enough time in the bedroom to have a few less inches annoy me. I don't find making the king size bed difficult at all.
RV’s are all about compromise. What is important to one person is unimportant to another. Choose the model and floor plan that suits you, but keep in mind that there will always be a compromise of some sort.

Ken

Montana Sky · 02-11-2006, 04:51 PM

Judy,
I agree with you about the wasted space on the sides of the dresser on the 05 and 06 Montana's. My '04 has to the left of the dresser 3 cabinets, the tv in the upper cabinet along with two more cabinets below. I also have a full width closet with shelves on the right side of the closet. Sure is a great place to store some of the big objects I do not use on a daily basis. I sure like the layout in my bedroom better than the new one. Just my opinion...

dsprik · 02-11-2006, 05:24 PM

Quote:

quote:Originally posted by jrgwdenner

There are several owners of the new 3000 on the forum and I'm sure that they will be along to share their comments. I'm curious about your comment regarding the new dresser design in the bedroom. Can you explain it in more detail, please? Are there more drawers? My concern is the empty space that the new models, before 2006, had between the sink and dresser as well as the dresser and the closet. Wasted space in my opinion. Have they changed this?

Welcome to the forum.

Judy, I have a really good guess why they do this.

Have you ever been in a high end, full time rated, heavy 5ver? They have EVERY square inch of the bedroom walls covered with drawers and closet space. Montana cannot do that. It would add hundreds of extra pounds to the unit. I believe it is strictly a weight issue.

If questioned, I'm sure Montana would say, "Well, you know, it's NOT a full time rated fifth wheel. It will hold enough for a weekend or maybe an extended trip, but it's not DESIGNED to hold ALL of a couple's belongings".

Obviously, they within their rights to make that statement.

bobgay · 02-12-2006, 01:19 AM

Cindik, We've only had our 3000RK about a month, but we really like it. My biggest dislike is that it's hard to get to the fridge without opening the main slide a little. Jan loves the counter space and the garbage can cut-out. I like being able to close the slides without having to move furniture. In our previous fiver I was forever wrestling with those recliners to make room for the slide to close. We weren't sure about the fireplace at first, but have grown to love it. We couldn't live without the king-size bed. We haven't found any problems with the heat vent or making the bed. It does take up a little more space, but I figure I spend almost one third of my time there, so I'll live with a few less inches somewhere else. To each his own.

Bob

jrgwdenner · 02-12-2006, 02:16 AM

Montana Sky, you and I have the same bedroom layout which offers so much more storage than the new models. I will definitely be looking for a similar amount of storage space when we're shopping for a new model.

Dave, I don't think weight is an issue because Montana has used cabinets all along the curbside of the bedroom in the past. We have the same four drawer dresser with two cabinets overhead as well as the three 'corner cabinets next to the dresser. Then there are the shelves inside the closet as Montana Sky mentioned. The only space we have on that wall is between the dresser and the bathroom sink and it's just enough for the tiniest wastebasket. I'd say it's more cost effective for Keystone to remove the wall of cabinets that we have but it's a big mistake. Certainly it does add weight but our Montana is still not heavy.

adelmoll · 02-12-2006, 02:40 AM

That's why I love the 3475 layout. Instead of the corner dresser we have a straight dresser to the right of the closet with 4 large drawers. The TV above it swings out for viewing in bed. The dresser next to the sink has 6 drawers and goes right up to the sink. No overhead cabinets as the dresser is high and the window goes above that. The bigest difference to this design is that the queen size bed is a true queen instead of a short queen that was necessary in the corner dresser. We went through all of the 06 Montana's at the show in Quartzite and are still very happy with our '05. Again, as a full timer, this one is just right for us.
Helen

cindik · 02-12-2006, 05:04 AM

From reading the replies, I gather that the new dresser design was new on the 05 models, and didn't just come out in 06? I thought we looked at the 05 Montanas last year, but maybe we didn't. We try not to go to RV shows, it just makes us want to buy. For the amount of time we get to use our Montana{2001-3255RL}, I like the new dresser design. I can see, though, that if we were fulltiming, I might not like less storage. Our Montana has the cabinet all the way across with drawers underneath, and cabinets overhead. We never use all this storage. We only get to go a couple of weeks a year, and maybe one weekend a month. However, I really liked the 3000RK. It is new this year, correct? I noticed also that they have moved the furnace, the vent is now under the stairs. Does that help with the heat in the bedroom? Our bedroom gets really cold, and we have to use a ceramic heater.

dsprik · 02-12-2006, 05:41 AM

Judy, you're right on the cost. Obviously, the more cabinents, the more money. I was was looking at it from the weight standpoint only.

jrgwdenner · 02-12-2006, 09:47 AM

The 3000 is a new model this year and is selling very well, as rumor has it. You may have been correct about seeing something different in some of the 2005 models and not in others. I don't think that the RV designers necessarily wait for a new year to incorporate different designs. As least that's been my impression.

harleyrider · 02-12-2006, 10:23 AM

I was just at a RV show in the Philadelphia area yesterday.The treat of a major snow storm kept quite a few people away.Was relly nice going into all the trailers with little or no people in them.I really like the front cap design on the new Montanas.The one thing I noticed going in different 5th wheels was the LACK of cabinet space in most of the models.The Montanas hands down had more cabinet space then any other I looked at.

There was one 5th wheel that really caught my eye.It was made by K-Z I believe the model was a escalade.It had disc brakes-a fully automatic leveling system-the biggest fridge I have ever seen-a electric awning that was HUGE.Central vaccum system.A very very large outside storage bay with a sliding tray.The show price was 84 thousand-WOW.And the dry weight was close to 14,000 pounds.It was 37 feet long.You could just tell by the fit and finish that this 5th wheel was built to last.The sales guy was telling a perspective buyer that a 1 ton truck would pull it just fine-I DON~T THINK SO!!!!

Dustytuu · 02-12-2006, 02:43 PM

We looked at the 3000 at last RV show. We didn't like the place where they had for a washer/dryer. Only a Splendid would fit in there. Everything else looked very nice. I noticed a lot of the new Montana had the washer dryers in the main closet. Not all of them did that. Others had them in closet beside the door. I personally didn't like the hole in counter top for the trash to drop. I could see myself accidently droping things down there and having to go outside to retrive it. I didn't see any access to it inside. Only place I saw was the little door outside.

dsprik · 02-12-2006, 05:54 PM

Saw a Dutchman (Thor) Grand Junction on Friday when I went to the N. MI Montana Dealer. It was impressive. about $7k-$8K more than a Montana. Just like a Montana PLUS:

Mor/Ryde suspension AND Mor/Ryde pin box (bragged in the literature that they are the only mfr in the industry to do BOTH). Basement was insulated w/ foam AND covered with 3/8" plywood. Gave me a great idea for my Montana when I get it. Also had a SEPERATE bathroom - stool/vanity/shower ALL in a seperate room. TWO fireplaces - one in the bedroom (a selector switch. Guessing they can't have both running at the same time). Bedroom also had a seperate easy chair and footstool. Soft vinyl padded ceiling. Dry weight on website for the 35 MTS model posted at ~11,200 #, Actual of this one on sticker inside cupboard was 12,100 #. CC of 4,203#. Most of the construction materials were the same as Montana uses. 2, 40# LPG tanks, and a 40K BTU furnace. The one I looked at had a 2nd A/C - probably reason for higher "sticker" weight.

OK, Montana - let's take some notes here.

jrgwdenner · 02-13-2006, 01:02 AM

Dutchmen used to be the one brand that we would never consider. Poor workmanship. Maybe they're improving.

Wrenchtraveller · 02-13-2006, 01:38 AM

As was mentioned earlier, everything in an RV is compromise. When Montana decided to put the washer/dryer closet in smaller models than any of the competition, they had to allow for that cabinet door to swing open so they needed the space for that to happen.

The TV door that swings out and gives you different viewing angles is a feature my wife likes.
She is a TV nut that likes to glance over when she is putting her make up on and she can do this with the new TV arrangement.

We are not real big people and a queen size is fine in our stick house so we would never want to squeeze by the closet and struggle to make the bed just for the extra mattress size.

If we were buying a fifth wheel to put on a summer vacation spot, we would have a rear kitchen model but we bought this unit to travel in and our last rear kitchen model was a joy to live in and terrible to travel with. Because the rear end of a trailer get's bounced the most a rear fridge and cupbourds are a real challange to pack up and opening your fridge door is always a new adventure.

Bottom line, everbody has features they deem essential and these same features some people don't even want. My wife wanted a washer/dryer combination unit. The same size model in a Cardinal we almost bought did not have it, so that scratched that brand. Yet many people don't want a W/D in their unit. Choices..........life is all about choices. Good Luck in your RV quest.

Montana_5036 · 02-13-2006, 05:21 AM

We have the 3000 and really like it. My wife is staying in it 3-4 days per week while she works in another town - probably have about 25-30 days in it now. The king size bed works out great for us, the lost space on the sides is not an issue. The biggest draw for us was that this unit has been rated to 0 degrees - and its gotten that cold a few days in Spokane WA. Dresser space in the bedroom is nice. We do not use a washer/dryer in the unit so use that space for storage. The kitchen works out great for us, lots of counter space though the wife would like a little more storage space there. You do have to put the slide out for access to the refrig. but thats not a big issue for us.

Montana Sky · 02-13-2006, 11:43 AM

Badgoat,
It is nice to see another MOC member from the area. Welcome aboard!! Hope that your new 3000RK works out well for you.

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