Closest competitors of 3400RL? - Montana Owners Club

David and Jo-Anna · 08-20-2006, 06:38 AM

We are focusing heavily on the 3400RL as the RV we will likely purchase next year for full timing. However, before taking the plunge, we'll do one last round of looking at competitors to see if we can confirm that the Monty 3400RL is the way to go. What models, by what manufacturers, do people consider to be the closest competitors to the 3400RL in terms of floor plan, quality, weight, and price?

David and Jo-Anna Kikel

Glenn and Lorraine · 08-20-2006, 07:11 AM

It may sound a bit trite but I don't believe the Montana's have any competion. When you look at the total picture and that includes the floor plans, the quality, weight, price and most important SERVICE after the sale. IMHO the Monty's can't be beat.

Glenn
Montana Owners Home Page
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Glenn and Lorraine

M O C - 4 2 0

We are using a 2005 White GMC Sierra SLE 2500HD Extended Cab, Short Bed, 4X4
with the Duramax/Allison Combo and Firestone Ride-Rite air bags
to drag around our 2004 Montana 2955RL 32'
using a PullRite 16K SuperGlide Automatic Sliding Hitch

"We must be willing to get rid of the life we've planned,
so as to have the life that is waiting for us!"
You know you are retired when you wake up in the morning with
nothing to do and go to bed at night with it only half done.
BUT, Keep in mind, doing nothing can be a very
tiresome job because you can't stop to rest

Click on the Flags for the Forecast

Glass Guy · 08-20-2006, 07:23 AM

The one that was a close second to the Montana was a Cedar Creek, it seamed to be about the closest to what we were looking for.For the value and floor plan we went with the 3295 rk and not sorry we did. Good luck, Roman

2004 3295 rk
1995 F-350
3"down pipe&4"exhaust
k&n air filter
1st Moc rally attendies
Roman & Pam Bialecki
Ottawa Lake, Mi.

richfaa · 08-20-2006, 07:29 AM

With our apologizes to all die hard Montana owners from ole Rich..(no brand loyalty at all) FAA.These where on our hot list
none of them have a floor plan (IMO) comparable to the 3400....Forest River Cardinal..The 34Qs model, Jayco Designer series 34RLqs.We toured both of these plants..You see the same old world craftsmen and the same manufacturing methods in all the plants and you will find the same quality and workmanship issues with all the brands. There were two primary and critical reasons we went with the Keystone /Montana over the others. Manufacturers Customer service and Reliable dealer to buy from..Again now..My opinion only...The quality of the Jayco and the Cardinal is comparable to the Montana. We would have felt very comfortable with either one of them. Again ..there are always trade offs. Manufactures Customer service and dealer
were 1 and 2 on our what brand to buy list and Keystone wins hands down..We are confident we made the right choice with the 3400.The scope of your research tells me you will also feel confident in your choice.

Oh one more thing...this forum.

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

Parrothead · 08-20-2006, 09:10 AM

David
The Montana is our 3rd fifth wheel. We first saw the Montana back in 99 or 2000. Fell in love, couldn't make a deal. Let it go and then tried one more time on a unit that had been badly abused at trade show and the dealer was reluctant to fix everything. Let that go. Then in 2004 when we were living in the 5th wheel full time while I was working 500+ miles from home, we started looking. The one we had at the time was horrible so we didn't want to get took again. We looked at every brand out there including the expensive ones. Every time we came back to the Montana. Right before we bought I found this forum from the listing on the brochure at the time. After reading all one weekend we became convinced that the Montana was the way to go. We have also seen and talked to a lot of people in campgrounds with other units. Go out and look and really compare features and workmanship as well as the structure. I think you will find Montana will come out ahead. JMHO
Happy trails.........................

Sue and Ed Rowe
Hemet California

2005 3400RL

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

sreigle · 08-20-2006, 09:27 AM

Everest, Cardinal, Cedar Creek, Sunnybrook are the ones that come to mind. I can't vouch for the quality but those are the ones I think are the closest competitors.

Since you are going to fulltime, moisture evacuation is a major consideration. The Montana has two attic vents that work great. Unless it's changed, the Everest does not. I don't know about the others. Look at their literature. Attic vent will be mentioned if they have it. Or crawl up on the roof and look. There should be the usual vent for each tank. Our Montana has two additional vents, the attic vents. They are a flatter and larger cap than the tank vents. On ours anyhow.

Also, make sure the aluminum frame is a true cage, on all sides, roof, and floor. Some tout their aluminum frame but use wood rafters. The new Montanas have steel rafters in the roof. The older Montanas, like ours, have aluminum rafters.

Where the Montana shines is the structure beneath the skin. So look the others over very carefully and compare. Montana hasn't been the number one seller in North America for five years running without a reason...

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)

Cat320 · 08-20-2006, 09:58 AM

Our short list consisted of NuWa, Sunnybrook and Montana. Other's we liked that were comprable, but no close dealers, were Everest (identical to Montana) and Cedar Creek. Had we not gotten the 3400 it probably would have been the Sunnybrook...they are a bit heavier with pin weights up to 2600 and GVWRs of either 15000 or 16000. The SB would be a bit much if you are set on a 1 ton srw. I even joined their forum. This forum has more activity in a day then they have in two weeks.

IMHO, the biggest drawback to the Montana is that it is a huge rig, has lots of storage, but with a relatively small cargo capacity. SB's cargo capacity on the model we liked is nearly 4000 (from the brochure).

Montana Sky · 08-20-2006, 03:16 PM

David,
Here is my list of competitors,

Royals International
Carriage
Excel
Teton Homes
Cambridge

The benefit to the Montana is our 3/4 ton and 1 ton trucks can tow them. No need for a MDT.

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

boat391 · 08-20-2006, 03:33 PM

Now on our second 5'er we went with Montana because of the west coast rep for Keystone he has been very good to us even though our sal s dealer should be shot but thats a different rant the second reason for this choice was this forum I looked at it for several days before buying a got the feeling that if I needed help it was the place to be and has proven out to be true I have talked to many owners of the higher priced rigs as mentioned and have heard all the same stories about problems with workmenship but they clearly don't have this resorse to draw from so we are extremely happy with our 3400 even though I have had to make it better along the way good luck in your quest for the best 5'er for you

tim ford

virgil47 · 08-20-2006, 04:15 PM

Take a look at Doubletree Mobile Suites. The sticker price is ROUGHLY $20,000 higher but they have some very nice features.

Virgil & Jo Allmond

1998 Volvo 610, VED12-425hp, 14 speed tranny

STICK HOUSE IS IN Suches, GA

TODAY WE ARE IN A 3555RL IN Whitehorse, YT, Canada

See Our blog at...
Virgil47's Blog

David and Jo-Anna · 08-20-2006, 04:27 PM

Dave--Boy you are definitely a heavyweight!!! LOL!!!

I had previously ruled out Teton, Travel Supreme, New Horizons and several other top line manufacturers because IMHO their units were too heavy to be pulled by a one ton pickup, and Jo-Anna didn't want to go to an MDT. Just went thru my files after seeing your post and pulled up some 2005-2006 brochures on some of your other suggested competitors and they also seem too heavy for a one-ton pickup. The Carriage units look like they have a dry weight of 14,420-14,870# and carrying capacities of around 4,000#, which means their GVWR must be over 18,000#. Even the Carriage Lite models seem to be over 16,000#--too heavy IMHO to be considered competitors of the Montana. The Excel and NuWa units that I have old brochures for also seem to be heavier units except for the Hitchhiker II units, and those seem to be a bit smaller than the 3400RL. Are their any particular units that you think are comparable to the 3400RL in both layout and weight so that they are still in the range of an F350?

Cat, I agree with you that the Sunnybrook units also sound like they are heavier than I would want to be pulling with an F350 SRW. Of course, if Keystone were to raise the carrying capacities of the Montanas up to 4,000# like Sunnybrook (which I think the structures could probably handle if Keystone upgraded the axles), then I'd have the same argument about Montanas being too heavy for a F350. Soooooooo confusing. LOL!!!

David and Jo-Anna Kikel

virgil47 · 08-20-2006, 04:40 PM

David,
Before you absolutely make up your mind, go and read a little here.

http://escapees.infopop.cc/eve/forums/a/frm/f/700606661

You will enjoy the experience.

Virgil & Jo Allmond

1998 Volvo 610, VED12-425hp, 14 speed tranny

STICK HOUSE IS IN Suches, GA

TODAY WE ARE IN A 3555RL IN Whitehorse, YT, Canada

See Our blog at...
Virgil47's Blog

FulltimeFollies · 08-20-2006, 04:43 PM

Before we bought ours, we lived in 7 other fivers. Jayco, Thor, Jayco, Terry, Hitchiker and we looked hard and long. The Jaycos were hard to top. We liked the 3400rl very much, but we found one we even liked better. It is a super fiver for the same exact money, has everything we wanted, does everything we want it to do (so far), looks great, pulls with a dually.

Oh, its a 3500rl Montana.

Montana Sky · 08-20-2006, 04:49 PM

David.
I forgot to mention Travel Supreme, another nice unit.

You are correct, I do have an eye on the heavyweights. Depending on which road I head down once I get back from the rally, a MDT and different coach might just be in my future. Dont get me wrong, I love my Montana, already on my 2nd one since 2002. We'll see... I guess that goes to show you what I think of the Montana, to put them into the same bracket as my previous posted list.

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

Driftwoodgal · 08-20-2006, 05:08 PM

I think we looked at just about every brand and floor plan that was out there. There was a Hitchhiker II that was very close to the Montana 3400 floor plan but I just couldn't make myself buy their color schemes.

We loved the Mobile Suites, but we didn't want that much weight to pull behind a truck.

The Montego Bays are also very nice Fifth Wheels that has a little higer weight than the Montana does. If we were pulling with a 1 ton dually the Montego Bay might have been something we would have gone back to look at before buying the 3400.

I feel like I am Goldielocks and the three bears..... I found the FW that was just right..... that being a 3400RL. It only took us a little over 2 years to come to that conclusion. We say our first 3400 in 2004 and almost bought one then.

Good luck with your search for the perfect FW.

Colleen

Parrothead · 08-20-2006, 06:13 PM

Colleen
I so agree with you on color schemes in some of the other brands. And I thought some of them were downright gaudy. One of the things I like about the Montana vs other brands is the wood trim around the slide outs especially the mountain medallion.
Happy trails.....................................

Sue and Ed Rowe
Hemet California

2005 3400RL

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

2007dura · 08-20-2006, 07:26 PM

Some others you might want to look at are the Heartland Bighorn, Open Roads, Alumascapes and Grand Junctions. We have been looking for a few months now, and have narrowed our choices down to the Montana 3400 and the Jayco Designer 34RLQS.

2004 Montana 2955RL
2002 Silverado 2500HD Duramax/Allison LT

Fordzilla · 08-20-2006, 09:26 PM

I am not puting down the Jayco units but I am 6'2" and I didn't find one I could stand up in the front bedroom area. So we ruled them out right away. We ended up with a cheaper branded sportsmen by KZ, until we found the front living room Monty and We both just had to have it. The reputable dealer and others on this forum gave me the push to buy my first Montana. I think there is a better knowledge base here on this forum than any dealer person around. There are not many questions go unanswered here. Most often someone has a solution for you or knows who to call to get results. This forum is why I would continue to look at Montana if I was ready to upgrade.

Ron & Melinda Rosewall
Marcus, Iowa
'06 F350 DRW King Ranch 4x4, diesel pulling machine.
'04 3685FL, Fireplace, Cent Vac, Fantastic Fan, Safety Glass, 2nd A/C, Slide out awnings.

http://www.picturetrail.com/fordzilla

315RLS · 08-21-2006, 02:16 AM

Check into the KZ Escalade http://www.kz-rv.com/escalade/index.html or KZ's Montego Bay http://www.kz-rv.com/montego_bay/index.html

adelmoll · 08-21-2006, 03:17 AM

We went back and forth between the Montana 3475rl and the Jayco Designer right up til the day that we bought the Montana. We had had 2 Jayco's before and they were very nice rigs and of course we did not know for sure if the Montana was as good. We were at the RV Show in Minneapolis. The final decision was made when Jayco would not allow us the option of a queen size bed. We are not tall people and I did not want the king size because I wanted more walk around space in the bedroom. That was the deal breaker with Jayco and the deal maker with Montana. We have never been sorry.

Helen

To follow our journey please click: Bill and Helen's Journey
2005 Montana 3475 pulled by our 2005 Ford 350 Power Stroke Diesel

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