HITCH FOR 5TH WHEEL MONTANA

[fasnaughjames]

I have a Montana 3500l and no rear bumper showing. Would like to add a hitch so I can pull my little car behind. Where can I order a
hitch to put under it on the frame, weld or bolt on? Any one of a
dealer that sells them. Thanks for replys

[dsprik]

James, Montana will not recommend you pulling anything behind a 3500RL. There are some who have fashioned receiver hitches on the back of their Montanas, but they were the shorter units I believe.

Some will be by shortly to give more input. Welcome to the MOC forum! You will love it here.

[fasnaughjames]

I knew Montana wouldn't give a go to do this, and don't know what the
over all limit is on the highway for three units together. Someone
said 74 feet ?? with todays fuel prices I hate not to have our little car with us. We are Volunteers with the Army Corps of Engrs.
at Dale Hollow Lake in Tenn and will be going to Falling Waters fla park for the Winter. I worked for Ford Motor in Michigan at the Wixom plant and retired to N.C. at Lake Lure for 9 1/2 years. Then up to Bristol Tn for four years. Sold our house and are now full timers in this Montana.

[Delaine and Lindy]

Unless you beef up the frame were you mount the hitch I don't think it would be safe. Montana's in most cases use a 10" main frame. I have seen several Tetons towing cars behind the 5er. And have seen Montana's towing boats etc. It can be done, but you also need to check each State for towing doubles and the over all length. There are some States who don't allow towing double unless you are a commerical carrier. There is a web site that will give you all this info, but I just haven't found it. Good Luck and keep us informed. GBY.....

[bsmeaton]

James - 75' length would be a liberal state. Some states don't even allow triple. Here is a link to some sites that have put together a spreadsheat on the laws in different states regarding towing. http://www.recvehicle.com/laws.html

As Delaine and Lindy say, it's a 10" I-Beam frame, however, that's 10" tall, and about 2-1/2" wide and about 1/4 - 3/8" thick steel. In other words, it does well supporting vertical weight over the top of the axles, but putting a side pull of about 4,000 lbs on the frame in a turn may result in unfavorable damage. In a tight turn, it also puts a heck of a strain on the Montana shackles which are not constructed very well. The trailer puts strain enough on those in a tight turn, but you can imagine the extra strain a third vehicle would add in an arc. We did have problems with our shackles. Not that they broke, but they did bend to one side causing the right side tires to rub on the shocks. We had to have them straightened at an alignment shop with a hydraulic ram.

I pulled a boat for several years behind our old Montana, but it was a smaller unit. Still didn't do it any good I'm sure. We had to have our hitch made, and it took a long neck to get out from under that rear clip. The frame stops short of that by about 1-1/2'.

[ken]

Another member of the MOC, who also has a 3500, added a third axle, carries a folded boat under his Montana, and added an extension off the rear to hold a generator, boat motor, and a tool box. Their names are Gibby and Betty King, email is bettyaking@gmail.com. They will know what you would need. I have seen a lot of Montanas that have 4 inch receivers that they have added to their RVs. Gibby did an excellent modification to his Montana. Check with the members listing or go to their email address. He will answer your questions.

[timandsusan]

We just returned from a wonderful time in South Fork, Colorado, and I have never seen so many 5th wheels with a boat or ATV trailer behind the 5th wheel. I was really amazed at the these rigs sped by us on the way up Wolf Creek Pass. Most of the 5th wheels were smaller(25-30 foot) trailers but some of the boats were large (21 to 26 feet) and some ATV trailers had 3 ATVs along with alot of other stuff. I did not see any Montana's in the the line-up of rigs.

[bsmeaton]

Ours getting ready to pull Wolf Creek from the Pagosa Springs side, still dripping wet from Navajo Reservoir.

Given the price of fuel now, I'm actually kind of sorry I quit doing that, and now the new 3400 is too long. Guess I'll have to feed two fuel tanks to get there.

[hazmic]

When I ordered my Montana they would not allow any hitch on the unit. Dealer would not allow any either. If you call Keystone you will find that any hitch will void the warranty on the camper and frame. The frame has more then one year on it. You can check with Lippert about this. Good luck and keep us informed on it please.

[bsmeaton]

quote:Originally posted by hazmic

When I ordered my Montana they would not allow any hitch on the unit. Dealer would not allow any either. If you call Keystone you will find that any hitch will void the warranty on the camper and frame. The frame has more then one year on it. You can check with Lippert about this. Good luck and keep us informed on it please.

This is one perspective. My Dealer actually put the hitch on mine through a subcontract as part of the sale. I've had several communications with Keystone reps and customer service, and Keystone's position on warranty is not quite as harsh as some make it sound.

Essentially you are free to add any accessory you choose, such as hitch, rooftop dish, electric awning, generator, etc. but if it is not installed at the factory, your warranty does not cover the install or damage/failure to other parts of the coach as a result of your installed item. That does not mean your warranty is void.

If the Montana Dealer installs an accessory, the Dealer warrants the install and any resultant damage/failure to the coach as a result of the installed item. Keystone may or may not elect to cover the claim, but the Dealer is obligated.

If a private vendor such as Camping World installs an accessory, Camping World warrants the install and any resulantant damage/failure to the coach as a result of installed item. Keystone may or may not elect to cover the claim, but Camping World is obligated.

Even tires - if you change out your Mission tires to another brand, you are no longer under the factory's warranty envelope when it comes to tires or the damage they may cause as a result of the install, however your coach is still under warranty for factory defect.

Keystone now installs an optional hitch (300lb), and as I understand it, Lippert's frame warranty still expressely prohibits installation of any hitch. Keystone's position is that they themselves are providing warranty to you for your purchase, not Lippert, and Keystone will deal with the suppliers as necessary - not our problem.

With that, it can be done but you assume a lot of costly risk. After understanding the side torque problem from the Lippert Rep, I elected to not do it anymore with such a heavy boat, but I wouldn't hesitate to try toys of the smaller variety (cycles, ATV, bikes, jet skis, Model A Ford)

[melnjoy]

Charles Wade told us at the Spring Rally that Keystone will be offering a factory installed hitch and it will be made to adapt to older rigs. The hitch will not be recomended for towing. As far as warranty they will not cover any damage caused by the hitch because of to much weight. I have seen lots of Montanas with hitches for all kinds of towing/hualing.
Mel

[dsprik]

That was a great explanation, Brad!

[fasnaughjames]

Thank you all for the quick replys. I think my wife Carol is just going to drive the little car behind me when we move
from Dale Hollow Lake down to Falling Waters state Park in Florida. It does good on gas (29 to 34) and if whe wants to
talk to me she can me on my cell phone or the little radios we have. If you ever make a wrong turn while pulling dubble it could really get nasty. Thanks again . . . JD

[William O. Phillips]

Double check this #:

Keystone now installs an optional hitch (300lb), and as I understand it, Lippert's frame warranty still expressely prohibits installation of any hitch.

I think the Montana rep told me the new hitch is a 1" and has a tongue weight limit of 200#. It is included in the 10th Anniversary package.

Thanks - Bill