leveling & battery care - Montana Owners Club

drjjj · 08-26-2006, 06:41 AM

We are the proud owners of a new 3400. I have two questions that I have not been able to get a satisfactory answer from the selling dealer.
1) After reading all of the documents that came with the trailer, it appears the most critical reason for leveling the unit has to do with proper refrigerator operation. We have leveled the unit using the kitchen island, and everything appears to be working fine. When I place a level in various places in the refrigerator itself, including the freezer, on some shelves it is level, and on some it is not. What is the best "yardstick" to use for leveling. Also, I have looked at the various levels that are available at retail outlets, e.g. CW, that can be mounted on the outside of the rig to speed/ease the leveling process. Any recommendations as to what truly works the best?
2) We are going to be hooked up to shore power almost continuously. How long should I wait before I cut off the battery (the unit comes prewired with a battery bypass located in the hose/tv connection cabinet)? I don't want to prematurely "fry" the battery.
Thanks to all the members of the list for all of their help for "newbies" like us!

Montana Sky · 08-26-2006, 06:49 AM

I bought 2 small levels that are mounted on the front right and front left side corner of the coach. Having these levels tells me if I am level from side to side, as well as front to back. I have been to some campground where my coach might be an inch or two out of level from side to side. After 3 years with this coach, I have not experienced any trouble from not being "perfectly" level.

It is my suggest that you do not cut off your battery while plugged into shore power. If you have a power failure and your battery is off or disconnected, your fridge will not switch over to propane. Your coach has a trickle charger that charges your battery while plugged in. I check my battery once a month to make sure the water level is correct. I leave my coach plugged in from April - October every year, this is my 3rd year in this coach and I just had to replace the battery due to a bad cell. The battery shop said the cell going bad had nothing to do with my coach being plugged in for 6 months at a time. Just my experience...

2004 Chevy Silverado LT 2500HD CrewCab Duramax
2004 Montana 3400RL

ken · 08-26-2006, 09:59 AM

We agree with Montana Sky. Leave your battery turned on if you leave the 120v hooked up. But be sure to check the battery water level at least every three months. If you want to turn off the battery or batteries, purchase a four way switch. That way you turn everything off and not run down your battery. we added a second battery and with our switch, we always have a fresh battery for power

Ken and Velda
Mindy (Our spoiled cocker spaniel)
Dahlgren Va
2005 3475 Montana w/automatic satellite dome/dish
2005 2500HD GMC 4x4 Crewcab with Duramax/Allison and edge/attitude, 45 gal transfer flo tank, Air Lift air springs, and Doran tire pressure alert system.

Parrothead · 08-26-2006, 11:58 AM

We have never disconnected the batteries when hooked up. And we've been hooked up in the same place for as long as a year. Never had any problems. Any level that you buy at a RV store will work. Whatever suits your fancy. The one that has a marker for where you were when you unhooked from the TV is a nice feature. Saves some time when you are ready to hook up again. Enjoy your new 3400 - you made a good choice.
Happy trails............................

Sue and Ed Rowe
Hemet California

2005 3400RL

2006 GMC 3500 Dually, D/A, Crew Cab, Long Bed

Ozz · 08-26-2006, 12:41 PM

It is better to have the Three stage 'Smart' charging system, as the battery charge has a bulk, absorption, and a method of hard charging for a bit to loosen any debris that has accumulated on the plates, this mode is desulfation, or absorption, this is the very best battery care, in addition to keeping water in it. With this system it doesn't matter if it's in storage, or in use, it maintains the battery.
I'm horrible about explaining this, go to www.iotaengineering.com they are better at it.
We can order the device from Iota, and plug them in on most of our chargers.
We just ordered ours yesterday.
Ozz

'07 3400RL 2nd RTU
2 Golf Cart batteries 3,000 watt inverter, automatic transfer switch
Honda 2000 Generator, Maytag's with 220 Dryer
Stationary domed Sat. dish, LCD 12 Volt Amp gauge, LCD Tank Monitor
3 added 120 volt outlets, On Board Air; 12 Volt Viair 450C compressor
2006 Ford PSD 4x4 Off Road Lariat, Hadley Air Horns, Truck inverter with 110 volts: laptop, Color Backup camera, Firestone air bags,Husky air ride roller hitch, Awning lock

Cat320 · 08-26-2006, 02:01 PM

Does the IQ Smart Controller require AC power, or does it just plug into the converter?

sreigle · 08-26-2006, 05:12 PM

I don't believe you want to shut off the battery unless you are storing the rig with fridge off. The fridge requires 12 volts to run the system. My understanding is that comes directly from the battery. The converter uses shore power to keep the battery charged up but the converter does not directly feed the fridge. The battery does. Cut it off and your fridge will not work. Sometimes folks have fridge problems and find out the cause was a bad battery.

Level. Modern refrigerators don't have to be exactly level as did old ones years ago. They do need to be reasonably level, however. An oldtimer once told me "If you are comfortable in the coach, so is the refrigerator." I personally find my tolerance for being off level is probably lower than is the refrigerator's.

I have a level on the pinbox that I can see from the truck. I use that to get as close to level as I can when parking the rig. Sometimes when you're off level you'll notice how the site is tilted and can move the rig over a foot or two and achieve level. Otherwise it's time to dig out the boards for under the wheel. A note - putting a board under each wheel on a side will lift the rig the height of one of those boards. Put a board under only one of those wheels and it lifts it half the height of the board. Knowing that you don't need to carry boards of different thicknesses unless you just want to.

I have a smaller level in the basement area next to the dump valve handles. Once we have unhitch we can watch this level while raising or lowering the rig.

You will find you'll not be exactly level in all parts of the rig. So long as the refrigerator is close to level it will be fine. I like to have the main coach level for our comfort and so long as the refrigerator is close, I'm happy.

I've never had a problem with the converter cooking the batteries on this rig, even when we had a stick home and I left the Montana connected to shore power all winter. I'm not sure if the newer ones do as well. In any case, it is a good idea to check the battery water level occasionally.

Congratulations on the new 3400!

See another Montana or Mountaineer on the road? Flash lights twice, it might be one of us!
Steve Reigle (pronounced Regal)
Fulltiming since 3/21/03
'03 3295RK
'05 Ford F250 SD Lariat CC SB 6.0L PSD/TS FX4 4x4

Our RV Travels (now Firefox-compatible)

Ozz · 08-26-2006, 05:15 PM

Quote:

quote:Originally posted by Cat320

Does the IQ Smart Controller require AC power, or does it just plug into the converter?

It's pretty slick, it just plugs in with a telephone-like jack.
Ozz

'07 3400RL 2nd RTU
2 Golf Cart batteries 3,000 watt inverter, automatic transfer switch
Honda 2000 Generator, Maytag's with 220 Dryer
Stationary domed Sat. dish, LCD 12 Volt Amp gauge, LCD Tank Monitor
3 added 120 volt outlets, On Board Air; 12 Volt Viair 450C compressor
2006 Ford PSD 4x4 Off Road Lariat, Hadley Air Horns, Truck inverter with 110 volts: laptop, Color Backup camera, Firestone air bags,Husky air ride roller hitch, Awning lock

gitrdun · 08-27-2006, 01:28 PM

I use two yellow top optioma deep cycle batteries. Never have to worry about water or running out of juice.

MuddyPaws · 08-28-2006, 06:48 PM

I may be wrong but for us it was the refer bottom. On our unit we found that if that's dead level so is everything else.

When the doors don't swing on their own it's level.

2005 2955 'with everything', towed by a 2001 F250 7.3 TDI.

Driftwoodgal · 08-29-2006, 03:08 AM

drjj,

Our problems that we have had on our new 3400 have been to a battery with low water in the cells. We had our convertor breaker flip twice, once cutting off the AC and the second time the refrigerator. We don't keep our frig set on Auto so it didn't kick over to propane.

We had another battery when we bought our Montana in June. We had it installed to work in tandem with the new battery. We always have our Montana hooked up to shore power. We did not check the water level in the batteries, thus we had a problem. Because the batteries were hooked up in tandem we may have harmed the brand new battery because the second battery was trying to make up for the bad battery.

We took the Montana in for service and they apparently didn't check the water level in the battery. The service person working on our Monty left the dealership and was only there two weeks.

We aren't sure our problem was with the battery but have found out that you should check you water level in the battery every month. This will be something that we check once a month now. We will buy a battery checker this week to see if the battery is dead because the water got below the plates.

Colleen

richfaa · 08-29-2006, 03:21 AM

I think that you got the msg about not tunning off the battery.The level is another story.You can set the level all over the camper and you will see slightly to greatly different readings. (we have the 3400 also) the counter top may be level, the counter by stove may be off, the floor may be something else. We used the front lip of the pin box for level.It is connected to the frame and it had better be level. Also as others have mentioned small levels in the side compartment are a help. I for one would not trust any area inside the camper to be level..ask Dave (dsprik) about that. A wee bit off level will not hurt..but...always get it as level as you can..

Rich& Helen N.Ridgeville,Ohio.

F-350SD, Lariat, V-10,4:30 Diff, tow command Long bed, Crew Cab Dually, 06 3400RL
Mor-Ryde Pin Box

sreigle · 09-04-2006, 06:13 PM

Until I got my levels in place yesterday I used a two foot level against the cross frame member just below the front locker. That has worked on all our rigs. For fore-aft I used a joist in the top of the basement storage area above the dump handles. Inside, I found our stove top is level when the outside areas are level. Also, when we are level, both the water closet door and the shower door will stay where we put them. That's been true on all three of our Montanas.

Rich, I have not yet checked level of the pinbox on this Montana but on our prior one the pinbox was slightly off. The extension is bolted to the main box and the holes apparently were not a super tight fit.. I haven't checked this one yet.

on edit -- that sounds like i'm saying the pin extension was loose. It was tight, just not perfectly centered/leveled.

See another Montana or Mountaineer on the road? Flash lights twice, it might be one of us!
Steve Reigle (pronounced Regal)
Fulltiming since 3/21/03
'07 3400RL
'05 Ford F250 SD Lariat CC SB 6.0L PSD/TS FX4 4x4

Our RV Travels (now Firefox-compatible)

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