Almost there - Montana Owners Club

sambam · 02-23-2013, 02:54 PM

I posted about a month ago about possibly buying a 2010 3455SA, and was wringing my hands about the pros and cons. I posted here in order to get some input from the folks who use these units in the real world. Everyone who responded had something to share and had a hand in my final decision.
I'm thrilled (psyched actually!) to say that we made a deal today and I should soon have this beautiful 5er sitting in the yard awaiting spring.
THANK YOU to all that helped by sharing your thoughts. I'm so glad to become a part of this forum and continue learning from the experts. This is just the beginning for me and I look forward to becoming as knowledgeable about these rigs as all of you. Thank you again. You have been more a part of this than you know.

H. John Kohl · 02-23-2013, 03:10 PM

Congratulations. Don't forget to use the PDI when you take delivery. I like this one.

sambam · 02-23-2013, 03:27 PM

Hey that's pretty intensive, but necessary. No way anything gets by after that. I'll print it and use it come judgement day. Thank you.

**DQDick** · 02-23-2013, 05:08 PM

Welcome to the forum! John has it right. If you find a problem and have it fixed when you pick the unit up it saves many problems down the road. Worth the time to make them show you everything works. As and example, we found a crack in the landing gear on our brand new rig during the PDI. Wouldn't expect that on a brand new rig.

Art-n-Marge · 02-23-2013, 08:19 PM

Don't take it until everything is fixed, too. You'll have more leverage if you make them fix everything before you let them give it to you and it's costing them money to keep it in the lot. If you take it prior to that it now becomes your dime and they'll not mind taking their time addressing your concerns if it's no longer costing them any money.

There have been stories of dealers making new customers wait weeks and months to get things done. Remember, they'll promise to fix everything, but they can't promise when!

The PDI doesn't guarantee the quality of the rig either. Things will break early. I had a few things break and getting this resolved took weeks. I hope you fare better.

Congrats on the new rig!!! I'm talking very negative right now, but the positives will far outweigh the negatives. It did for us and many others.

NCFischers · 02-24-2013, 01:44 AM

Take pictures and/or record the PDI. You won't remember all that went on. It's a lot of info.

Steve and Susie · 02-25-2013, 02:01 AM

Congrats and welcome. By buying used you have one advantage of the initial oop's have been taken care of. We bought ours used, had been used 3 months, just long enough for all the bugs to be taken care of and we have not had one problem. Well, other than when we went to winterize. The unit had never left Florida, so winterizing had never been done. When I went to winterize, the pump would not suck the antifreeze, after pulling a lot of hair, I figured out the water system pump had been installed back wards. Had I ever dry camped I would no doubt figured it out, but didn't make any difference being hooked up to camp water. After some looking here and there and a bit of common sense, the winterizing process was completed. Enjoy your unit and hope to see ya on the road somewhere. Happy Trails, Steve and Susie

bigskyjimmy · 02-25-2013, 08:13 AM

Great idea by NCFischers I wish I would of remembered 1/4 of what they showed me of all the features and how things work,video or notes would have been the way to go ....I just said yeah..yeah...yeah.. let me get outta here....ROAD TRIP!!!!!!

sambam · 02-26-2013, 02:33 AM

This is the first time I've bought a used RV. I'm hoping it's old enough that the new camper bugs are worked out and new enough that the old camper bugs haven't yet begun. The PDI will hopefully reveal all. We've scoured the thing 3 times and found a couple of very minor things. It'll be interesting when it's plugged in and put through the paces. Having dealt with RV dealers before, and reading forums like this, as well as the Action Line in TL magazine, I realize the importance of getting everything done before taking delivery. I'm in no rush. There's time to get it all done. Camping season doesn't begin up here for a couple more months anyway.
Dave

Art-n-Marge · 02-27-2013, 07:54 AM

Great attitude and with your experience you should do very well. And with that TV you should have no tow weight problems!

Let the camping season begin!

sambam · 02-28-2013, 07:18 PM

Thank you. I actually bought the truck in Aug.'07 in anticipation of getting a fifth wheel. I traded an '04 D/A 3/4 ton Chevy for it because I wanted plenty of payload so I wouldn't be too limited in my choices. But with the economy taking a dive, the 5er had to wait. Well, here we are, finally and I cannot tell you how glad I am to reach this point. This has been a long time coming and once again, this forum has convinced me that the Montana is the right choice.

NCFischers · 03-01-2013, 12:01 AM

See if you can make some regional rallys and you will get to put faces with names. We are having one at Mt. Airy, NC in August. Sign up for it and you'll meet some really great people and have a lot of fun.
Jim

sambam · 03-01-2013, 03:05 PM

Sounds like a good time. I'd like an opportunity to meet some of the folks on this site. I live in the Northeast (Mass). Debbie has a son in Charleston, SC. So a trip down to that area is always a possibility. Of course, I'm still a working stiff, so time off is at a premium.

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