Montana's not for full time living???

[Tom - Shannon]

Hi All,
Been having some opportunities with Monty, and just got off the phone with Keystone Customer Service and was told that Keystone Montana's are for recreational use only and not for full time living. My wife and I are just starting out with the workamping lifestyle and are shocked to hear we can't live in our Monty full time....per the manufacturer..Keystone. Any one else heard that we can't live in our Monty full time????

Tom - Shannon

[bncinwv]

That kind of contradicts their web-site which flashes Up-Scale Full Time Living on the top of the home page. In addition, they offer a full-time living package as an upgrade to their units. Sounds like the Customer Service rep has no idea what they are providing. Wonder if Montana is out-sourcing customer service reps via the Amish Country in India??

[1retired06]

We lived full-time in a Montana for six years. We live six months of the year in Florida which is sort of half-fulltime in a Montana. In our travels we see lots of folks fulltiming with Montana units.

[richfaa]

The newer Montana's are according to Keystone, suitable for full time living. years before I think early 2013 were not certified as full time use .Only a few of the higher end brands certified their brand for full time use. Folks full time is all brands all price ranges. Call again and tell them what year Montana you have or look at the Keystone web site. It is true these are recreational vehicles and IMO are not suitable for full time use any brand, any price range. We live most of the year in ours and for 6 months in Florida.

[pineranch]

I've heard this before from an "old time RV salesperson". It is my understanding the newer RV's are built better and will accomodate the full time lifestyle provided the owner understands there are limitations to wear and tear on dynamic components. IN other words, you ride it hard, get ready to pay the piper.
Mike

[richfaa]

We live in Northern Ohio. The summers can be hot and the winters are always bitter. If the manufacturer said you can live in these things full time then someone would be living in one in Northern, Ohio or Minnesota or Wisconsin then be complaining that they are freezing to death. These things are not meant to be a residence but folks will do it. We move to remain in Moderate weather year round .

[steves]

Post is in 7 different topics?

[Art-n-Marge]

Maybe your particular unit did not have the "right stuff" to be declared a Full time Unit.

I recall when I bought my Montana in '06 it was described as a non-full time unit, but I don't remember where this was written, who told me that or what about the unit made it not so. The BigSky as its own line was lauded as the full-time unit and it was too heavy and pricier than what we wanted (and we had no intention of full-timing). But now the BigSky is just a model of the Montana and therefore there is now a Montana full-time unit and others might need the "full-time option package" like someone described in order to be called a full time unit.

That said, it seems you can make a full-time unit of pretty much anything as long as you are willing to invest the time, equipment and money to make it so. In our travels we'd all be surprised that owners have turned everything into their full-time units to whatever their need is - preference, pleasure, economics, etc. I've seen families of kids living with their parents in all kinds of rigs. Sure one can argue they are probably recreational, but when you see some of these rigs, with permanent fixtures attached to them and looking like it would take days for the unit to be made ready for travel, one can easily determine, they're probably full timers. You can always argue that if you are using your recreational RV every day all year, then what's the harm other than things might wear down quicker with more frequent use, just like a stickhouse.

[bigskyjimmy]

so Rich you do not think New Horizons,Excel and DRV are NOT suitable for Fulltime use? IYO, these units are built like brick poop houses ,I have been in all these units ,I LOVE my Montana but dang have you read the spec sheets and materials and attention to detail they use on these things Pretty impressive,You need to go in one and talk to the people and they will gladly show you the difference and it is humbling, but you gotta have 100k plus to buy one and have a BIG TV because they are freak'in Heavy and yes they will say they have their little quality glitches like everybody else but Man their is a difference in materials and build quality between Montana and Upper end Units and they are not mass produced ginally posted by richfaa[/i]

The newer Montana's are according to Keystone, suitable for full time living. years before I think early 2013 were not certified as full time use .Only a few of the higher end brands certified their brand for full time use. Folks full time is all brands all price ranges. Call again and tell them what year Montana you have or look at the Keystone web site. It is true these are recreational vehicles and IMO are not suitable for full time use any brand, any price range. We live most of the year in ours and for 6 months in Florida.
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[NCFischers]

You need to talk to Icehouse or Bob&pam

[richfaa]

I am well aware of the differences in quality and build in the brands mentioned. One of those brands in a Northern Ohio winter, Blizzard conditions temps in the low teens and below zero you are not going to be comfortable. You may freeze quicker in a Montana but you will freeze in the other brands as well. I would not be in a Rv any brand in bitter winter conditions. Iceman here on the forum did it in Alaska in a Montana. He can tell us how to survive.

My point is if you tell folks they can live in a RV fulltime year around anywhere there will be some that will park it and live in them. There are laws in most if not all States that state a recreational vehicle can not be lived in full time.

We move about and stay in Moderate climates. Our 06v 3400 served us well but it never saw a bitter winter. This 13 3402 will never see one either.

[Bigboomer]

We live in ours FT and went thru bitter conditions last winter with a week or two near zero. We burned propane out the wazoo but were comfortable. That being said, is it worth paying 100 to 150K plus for the bells and whistles, nope. It is still an RV rolling down the road and being subjected to an earthquake every time. Having granite counter tops, solid hardwood cabinets, solid hardwood flooring, etc. are nice to haves but in an RV? For my money Montana still meets our needs and is above average on all counts.

One man's home is another man's castle and vise-a-versa!

[K0LCB]

I think just about any RV can be lived in full time, FEMA never had any specifications on the travel trailers they used. I knew folks in Florida who lived in travel trailers for several years. I guess some LA folks had problems with formalhyde, but they may have been ther fault

[richfaa]

Right.. I said IMO none of them are suitable for full timing. I also said that folks full time in all brands all price ranges. Again IMO the term, certified for full time is no more than clever marketing. As stated one can purchased a far less expensive Montana or other brand and with a few mods full time without spending a ton of $$ on a high end brand. We had a cold winter in Florida about 3 years ago and we burned a tank of propane about every 3 days, So did everyone else all our tanks were lined up at the fill station at the same interval.

[DQDick]

We'll we've full timed in ours for a few years now and I can tell you that in my opinion this is recreational living at it's finest. And that's from someone who's S&B was on a lake.

[HOOK]

Lots of people living full time in them. Value per dollar it has no competition. I love to sell them because there are so few issues. Rarely do they return for service. They will perform alongside much more expensive coaches and out perform them in most cases. IMHO as an RV professional

[Icehouse]

This is Tammy (Icehouse). Yes, we live in our Montana full time in Alaska. We are currently doing it for the second time. The first time was about 2 years. We all have nice RVs. Montana is a good product and thankfully we have had very few problems. Yes, we did add to the arctic package, but not excessively. No, we have not frozen to -35 degrees. Yes, we have a 100 gallon LP tank sitting outside that is filled every 3 weeks. It's around $300 a month, give or take, for LP. $300 is not near as much as my car payment and not even close to putting diesel in Bernie's truck every month... It's a decision we made to spend the money on LP. Life goes on. Carolyn and Wayne Matthews are another who live in their Monty in very cold temps. It is very doable. But if you don't like the cold, you'll be miserable whether you're in an RV or a house. We LOVE the cold weather. If we didn't love it we'd still be living in Georgia. It's our choice and it suits us just fine! So, yes, it can be done. You won't have an easy go of it if you roll off the lot with a new Monty thinking that you don't have to put forth effort. Just about everyone here has made modifications of some sort to their rigs. So did we. And what a lot don't see are the numerous PMs we get asking for help and guidance from folks on this very forum who are cold weather camping. We will gladly answer any questions or help anyone we can. For us, it's not a chore. It's fun. And I will stand by my statement that it can be done!

Besides, if I'm going to spend the money to buy one of these I'll use it however I want, whether it be full time or 1 night a year.

[bigskyjimmy]

I agree Montana's are the best bang for the buck that is why I bought one and love it and they do hold their own to a Alpine or Redwood etc.IMO I agree but Sorry I am just not buying they can compare to New Horizons or Excel or DRV they are at a whole different level,Hook being a RV professional I am sure you have experienced and looked over these High end brands first hand Right????I do not sell RV's but I have been inside all these big boys and talked and spent time with the people that own them and Live in them and they are just built better and they cheap out on NOTHING I could go on for a while on what Montana and other SOB's cut corners on inside and out and under, just being honest]Originally posted by HOOK

Lots of people living full time in them. Value per dollar it has no competition. I love to sell them because there are so few issues. Rarely do they return for service. They will perform alongside much more expensive coaches and out perform them in most cases. IMHO as an RV professional
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[bobcat92]

Our dealer ship made us sign a waiver that our Montana was not designed to be lived in full time. DW and I laughed when we signed. We have no plans at the moment to live in it full time but I really doubt the dealer ship would be able to deny any claims arising in the first year anyways. Doesn't matter we have already gone past the one year mark. In our area the oil workers are buying them and parking them to live in so they are trying to find an out to have to cover issues with these in the first year. I honestly don't know what would fail using it on a daily basis? It is like owning a car you can put 100,000 miles on it in the first year or 1,000 miles. Which car is going to have to have some work done during the time period? If we wanted to live in it full time I wouldn't have any hesitation doing it.

[8.1al]

There are many of us in the MOC that live or lived in our Montana fulltime with Montana's knowledge and they haven't used that as an excuse to deny repairs. We lived in ours for 9 years and travelled the country and some of Mexico and it has held up very well. As far as service after the goes we couldn't be happier, Montana has helped us out years after the sale.