High Country 373RD

[Ram Montana High Country]

With the broad membership on MOC - does anyone have a 373RD?

Be interested what you like about it?

What changes have you made?

What did you have before?

Thx

[lightsout]

We do not have the HC373RD however we recently purchased a 3791RD Montana and looked very close at the 373RD as they are very similar.

We decided against the 373RD for two reasons:
1. the kitchen is on the passenger side which eliminates any sizable windows on that side of the couch whereas the Montana 3790/91RD has the Dinette there with lots of widows and light. We prefer most our windows on the passenger side as that is where the door is and the primary outdoor camping space is as well most views will be on the passenger side. We generally keep the driver side shades down anyway as there is usually another RV on the driver side, this makes passenger side windows important to us which the 373RD lacks

2. Windows again the 373RD only has two small windows on the back wall and the TV is fixed whereas the 3790/91RD has the a large rear window and a TV hides in the cabinet when not in use providing a lot of light and view when TV is not being used. We purchased the RD as most our camping the view is out the back of the RV so lots of large windows on the view sides are important the 373 lacked windows on the primary view side of the RV.

Also correct me if I am wrong the HC does not have the Heat Pump only gas heat

Note the HC is a foot longer than the Montana and weights in at 1000lbs less this is likely due to structural compromises, like frame size and others.

The High country is a great value though but there are structural and cosmetic shortcomings with high country compared to Montana. This does not make the HC bad just different. Has it had the windows we definitely would have taken a closer look.

Last Sept we ended up buying a (used 6 month old) 2019 Montana with Legacy and Full body paint for $58K which was actually about the same/lower cost than the HC 373RD.

Overall the lack of passenger side and rear windows and natural daylight was a deal breaker for us.

[Chad R]

I have one. It's my first RV. Last year I decided to sell my home and most of my things and move to Colorado. I looked for about a year between brands and floor plans.

The thing that sold me on the 372/373RD was that floor plan. I narrowed it down to A Montana due to the number of full timers living in them and a Grand Design. I had a few requirements that I wanted to make sure the RV had and the 372/373 was really the only one in my budget that gave me what I wanted.

Storage
Larger Bathroom
Pantry with good storage

The storage in this thing is just unreal.. That massive slide out and a kitchen that not only has a good size pantry and larger fridge it has tons of cabinets and still has a coffee side bar with more cabinets.

I loved the larger bathroom with the dual sinks. Even though I live alone I wanted the bit of extra room there.

To answer @lightsout question These do have a heat pump on the living room AC unit along with the furnace and fireplace.

I do agree with the lack of kitchen (passenger side) windows. It only has the thinner long window but they put a huge sky light in right above that space so if wanted there is tons of light that comes in.

The living room has 9 windows and Is super bright during the day. I usually keep some of them closed so its not to bright lol. I personally don't think its a problem there.

So far the only thing I've done to it was put in a combo washer/dryer, Added the vent fan covers and removed the factory toilet and installed an incinerator toilet.

Been living in mine full time about 8 months now on private land and it's been a really good experience so far!

[Chad R]

Ohh I also installed a sound bar with sub and surround speakers in the living room and I removed a couch to create an office space for myself

Here is a few pics

[lightsout]

Originally Posted by Chad R

Ohh I also installed a sound bar with sub and surround speakers in the living room and I removed a couch to create an office space for myself

Here is a few pics

I like what you have done with your desk, I am struggling with that now as I work from home which allows me to work while on the road so I need an desk office/space and do not need 3 couches.

is your office chair elevated since the desk is also elevated?

I contacted Keystone as they actually make a desk that would fit in this slide, it is from the 3650 model however Keystone will net sell it to me.

I am probably going to find a good used desk that is real wood sand it down and then match the stain.

[Chad R]

Originally Posted by lightsout

I like what you have done with your desk, I am struggling with that now as I work from home which allows me to work while on the road so I need an desk office/space and do not need 3 couches.

is your office chair elevated since the desk is also elevated?

I contacted Keystone as they actually make a desk that would fit in this slide, it is from the 3650 model however Keystone will net sell it to me.

I am probably going to find a good used desk that is real wood sand it down and then match the stain.

When I picked out my chair I made sure to get one that had a really high lift. I think its an Iserta 3000 or 5000 from Office Depot. It could stand to maybe be lifted another inch or the desk shortened an inch. But It works ok even with the slide height.

I work from home full time as well so I sit a lot in this area. I originally replaced the kitchen table with this desk and sat in the slide but I didn't like that and this works out much better in the living room. Plus on the cold mornings Im near the fireplace

[Ram Montana High Country]

Originally Posted by lightsout

We do not have the HC373RD however we recently purchased a 3791RD Montana and looked very close at the 373RD as they are very similar.

We decided against the 373RD for two reasons:
1. the kitchen is on the passenger side which eliminates any sizable windows on that side of the couch whereas the Montana 3790/91RD has the Dinette there with lots of widows and light. We prefer most our windows on the passenger side as that is where the door is and the primary outdoor camping space is as well most views will be on the passenger side. We generally keep the driver side shades down anyway as there is usually another RV on the driver side, this makes passenger side windows important to us which the 373RD lacks

2. Windows again the 373RD only has two small windows on the back wall and the TV is fixed whereas the 3790/91RD has the a large rear window and a TV hides in the cabinet when not in use providing a lot of light and view when TV is not being used. We purchased the RD as most our camping the view is out the back of the RV so lots of large windows on the view sides are important the 373 lacked windows on the primary view side of the RV.

Also correct me if I am wrong the HC does not have the Heat Pump only gas heat

Note the HC is a foot longer than the Montana and weights in at 1000lbs less this is likely due to structural compromises, like frame size and others.

The High country is a great value though but there are structural and cosmetic shortcomings with high country compared to Montana. This does not make the HC bad just different. Has it had the windows we definitely would have taken a closer look.

Last Sept we ended up buying a (used 6 month old) 2019 Montana with Legacy and Full body paint for $58K which was actually about the same/lower cost than the HC 373RD.

Overall the lack of passenger side and rear windows and natural daylight was a deal breaker for us.

Thank you for input - we are upgrading from the 305RL - kitchen is on the same side 373. We will miss the large rear window. DW does not like the kitchen on the slide of necessarily the island. Might have to have her walk the 3791

[lightsout]

Originally Posted by Ram Montana High Country

Thank you for input - we are upgrading from the 305RL - kitchen is on the same side 373. We will miss the large rear window. DW does not like the kitchen on the slide of necessarily the island. Might have to have her walk the 3791

For us we own at a private RV resort that is where we spend most of our time in the summer. The Campsites are right on Lake Chelan literally 30' from the shore with full views of the lake. This is why we sold our Class A as Motorhomes never have windows on the passenger side and the bedrooms is in the back.

Since we back in we have a full lake view from the back and passenger side.

Here is a short video of our campsite as you can see floorplan with a view is everything, That was our Class A with no pass windows. Our new 3791RD will be perfect fr us there.

https://vimeo.com/385421247/0d456900dc

[Ram Montana High Country]

Originally Posted by lightsout

For us we own at a private RV resort that is where we spend most of our time in the summer. The Campsites are right on Lake Chelan literally 30' from the shore with full views of the lake. This is why we sold our Class A as Motorhomes never have windows on the passenger side and the bedrooms is in the back.

Since we back in we have a full lake view from the back and passenger side.

Here is a short video of our campsite as you can see floorplan with a view is everything, That was our Class A with no pass windows. Our new 3791RD will be perfect fr us there.

https://vimeo.com/385421247/0d456900dc

Yep - see why you did it. Nice area. Thanks for the input.

Just a thought, could you build a floor extension from the slide for the chair to roll on? Could hinge up when it is closed.

[Ohioken7]

We have the 372RD, same model, RV fridge instead of residential. We have been fulltiming since May 2019. Sold on the model due to tons of storage and we can access full kitchen, bath, and bed without moving any slides (good for traveling). We hardwired a progressive surge protector, combo washer/dryer, and a couple small tweaks, rest is all as Keystone built it. We really like our model.

[jsuter55]

Purchased 373RD last May 2019. Love the floor plan with ample storage, open kitchen area, great rear den living space, and much larger bathroom, and one less slide. Yes it has same ac/heat pump as Montana. We really enjoy ours. Thanks

[donchip]

So I retired in September from Boeing and we have owned about 7 RVs over the years the last one being a Keystone Fuzion Toy Hauler. We are not going to full time but intend to take 2 to 3 month long trips a year sprinkled in with some 3 day trips. We searched for a balance between cost and livability and decided on the 373RD our first trip was last week to Branson with no problems. We pulled the hills out of Springfield setting the cruise control at 65 and never dropped below 57 MPH. We are pulling with 2018 Ram 2500 diesel 4x4 and got 8.9 mph going down and 10.2 coming home. The real test will be in June when we Leave Kansas for a Month in Maine. We will keep in touch. Don

[lightsout]

Originally Posted by donchip

So I retired in September from Boeing and we have owned about 7 RVs over the years the last one being a Keystone Fuzion Toy Hauler. We are not going to full time but intend to take 2 to 3 month long trips a year sprinkled in with some 3 day trips. We searched for a balance between cost and livability and decided on the 373RD our first trip was last week to Branson with no problems. We pulled the hills out of Springfield setting the cruise control at 65 and never dropped below 57 MPH. We are pulling with 2018 Ram 2500 diesel 4x4 and got 8.9 mph going down and 10.2 coming home. The real test will be in June when we Leave Kansas for a Month in Maine. We will keep in touch. Don

Was the Ram 2500 a Typo? if not you are pulling way out of the class of that truck, you are way over payload. It does not matter how many years or RV's you have been towing it only takes one mistake and you have not only impacted your life but potentially others as well. Please be responsible get the proper truck to tow your load... You would think someone that retired from Boeing would understand size matters.

[rvman]

Hi Don, I took a 3731FL on a 2500+ mile trip to Traverse City 2 summers ago and had no problem towing it or feeling safe. I keep my speed at 65mph or less and run in 5th gear. Average mpg hand calculated is 11.5mpg. Others may disagree but the frame and parts are the same on the 2500 and 3500. I won a bet recently from a friend with an older diesel who scaled his truck at 7400lbs. Mine is just over 8500lbs. Same model but the newer ones have a 50,000 psi frame under them. That's the extra weight. I service my own truck and if you get underneath it on a creeper you will know what I mean. The only real difference is the rear suspension. A quality set of air bags solves this. The Michelin LTX tires I run at 80PSI support 3640lbs per tire. The average late model 2500 with a full tank of fuel and def, hitch plus you and a passenger and the dog will have 3500lb on the rear axle. Really unlikely that your pin weight on your 5th wheel is going to exceed 3500lbs especially with the rear storage area as a counter balance. I would never exceed the max towing capacity of 17,000lbs as the 68RFE transmission is definitely not an Aisin. Would a dually be better? Sure would. My truck is not a daily driver so it spends most days sitting in a regular residential garage. Truck is a 2016 Ram 2500 6.7TD 4WD quad cab regular bed.