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Old 07-26-2006, 01:44 PM   #1
bardave
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Truck purchase and possible RV purchase

almost ordered a 07 F350 SRW, Diesel today.... still thinking.. saw where a couple folks talk about 2 and 4 inch sag in their new dually with a 3400 model and a 35?? model.... any other New Ford owners out there with problems like that....should I plan on putting air bags on the new Ford....or go with another truck..

still looking at 3 floor plans in the Montana.... the 3400 (most popular I hear)...but I prefer having two windows at bedside, near the head board...another one we like is the rear kitchen 3650 RK (hear problems with brokden dishes in a rear kitchen) and the third one we are looking at is the 3600RL ...but like the others it too has carpeting around bathroom sink... I think Montana need a woman on their design staff... not sure a women would have done that.
AND....the shower in every unit looks like it came from a cheap plastic factory out of China... so cheap looking and flimsy ...also a mold producer around that gap near the bottom.... the salesman told me I could put caulking around that gap at the bottom... why cant he do it? cant figure why Montana builds what appears to be such a nice coach and puts a cheap piece of crap like that in for a shower stall....makes me wonder what other corners they have cut. the shower stall may be a dealbreaker for us... Salesman also says he THINKS they could put in a new shower stall... sure dont want to hear I THINK they can do it.... any body having problems with their shower, i.e. leaking, mold, cleaning, falling apart etc.....

like some of your posters have stated..the RV sales store will prob forget my name after they get my money.... so I wnat every thing right to start with...

BTW I full timed in a motor home for three years, but never have pulled a 5vr... just dont want the heartburn with 5vr that I had with my motor home.

Dave
 
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Old 07-26-2006, 02:09 PM   #2
borfaloo
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Hi there Dave,

We are also looking for a new TV.After reading all of the info here we are going for either an 05 F350 srw diesel ( have been using my father in laws 350 (Gasser))and found it to be a good vehicle or a GMC 3500. We have the 3000rk so not quite as heavy as any of your choices. Wehave never had the broken plate issue but we did have an issue with the drawer under the fridge coming open duing travel. Replaced the fittings and now all is good.

Did find the shower leak problem in ours. The first issue was the part where the shower hose meets the faucet assembly ..had bad leaks in that. Dealer replaced the seals on it and we were fine. A month later we had a leak coming out the front of the shower surround. I took everthing apart and replaced/repaired the plumbers putty around the drain.Reseated all of the pipes in the basement..some had either worked loose or were never tightened ..who knows???

We seem to be leak free now.

Sean
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Old 07-26-2006, 02:11 PM   #3
richfaa
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Well..get the biggest truck you can afford.The Long bed dually can be a bit of a pain in the butt if you drive it every day but it will handle the load with no worry.Everything is a trade off. The shower surround is tacky looking and we re caulked ours in our new 3400 all the way around. There is more to a camper than a shower stall. Fortunately the only time you can see it is when you are in it so that sort of eases the pain. Never heard of Montana putting in a different shower stall. Your salesmans 'I think" does not cut it. The mor-ryde suspension now standard on the Montana should have reduced the problems with the rear kitchen problems. We can leave a glass on the counter of our late 06 3400 and it will still be there 100 miles later. Look at other campers in that price range and check out the wormanship..they are all about the same. Every brand camper has its good and bad points.Do your camper shopping and research and you may find, like most of us who have done or are doing the same, That the Montana is a excellent bang for the buck/ Oh and you are the customer, you are spending the money, you control what you get .No check till satisfied..
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Old 07-26-2006, 02:28 PM   #4
Montana Sky
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Dave,
Only you can decide what tow vehicle is right for you. When it comes to trucks, I personally prefer GM products, and the Chevy dually is one nice truck.

When it comes to rv's, you will know which one is for you when you walk in and get that feeling of "I'm home". There is no such thing as a perfect rv, one just has to decide what is more important to them when it comes to layouts and options. The only word of caution is on the 3600RE, it has one of the smallest carrying capacities in the fleet.
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Old 07-26-2006, 02:34 PM   #5
Cat320
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I'd like to take credit for this, but it was in response to a question on the RV Forum of which truck to buy in order to tow a heavy trailer:


"Buy yourself the biggest, Mac Daddiest, 1 ton dually, Chevy with the ground poundin, smoke belchin, sweet sound of music, pull a courthouse off it's foundation, only happy when she's pullin hard, knock down, drag out, earth shakin, stump pullin, hill levelin, head buttin, chest beatin, mule whippin, dog kickin, gut bustin, slap yer pappy, kiss yo momma, oil burnin, 360 horse power, 650 lbs of torque, Duramax diesel with the 6 speed Allison tranny. Boooyahhhhhh!!!!!! When you absolutely, positively, got to have the Mac Daddiest oil burner with the most HP & Torque on the market! Accept no substitute! She'll still be tuggin for ya 10 years from now and will tow anything ya can hang on behind 'er."
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Old 07-26-2006, 02:36 PM   #6
Montana Sky
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That just about sums it up!!!!!!!
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Old 07-26-2006, 02:51 PM   #7
CountryGuy
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Gotta say, even ole Carol agrees with that Cat320! That has to be a classic response! (that said, you will note we have the gasser for now, Al swears the next truck WILL BE a diesel!) But, ya gotta love that response! WHHAHOOOOOO!

Carol
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Old 07-26-2006, 02:57 PM   #8
Broome101
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Then is you really want to pull hard and even harder get yourself a F350, SRW, 6.0. Or just get what you like the best and get the best deal on. The deal Ford has right know 0% for 72 months plus, pay for your fuel till October 2007. I am sure they have a max allowance on that. just saw on TV that they are also kicking in 5 year extended warranty at no charge on power train.
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Old 07-26-2006, 03:17 PM   #9
t1mrtork
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I'll give 2 thumbs up also to Cat320's post. Not that it has anything to do with what we pull with They will all do the job, but when ya gotta have a GM, ya gotta have a GM.
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Old 07-26-2006, 03:43 PM   #10
richfaa
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They are all hurting and are attempting to get rid of their 06 models..Ford has a 3k rebate on the super duty trucks right now,I will bet the others are doing something similar.I think I heard GM is doing the Employee discount rate to all right now. Just for drill I checked out what I could get my same truck in a diesel on the Ford X plan with all the discounts..Great deal but not interested yet....
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Old 07-26-2006, 04:34 PM   #11
William H. Collier
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Ford is going to be selling the 07's real cheap real soon to. The 08's will be on display at the Texas State Fair in Sept. and at the dealers in Jan 07. It seems that all the changes that were supposed to be on the 07, new interior, new exterior and new 6.4 dual turbo diesel, will be on the 08. Looks like I'll be waiting a few more months before I get my new one.
Bill
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Old 07-26-2006, 05:52 PM   #12
Bob Pasternak
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When you wnat something to do what Cat320 says, you get a Cummins. It will do it for a million miles. Not many Rice Burners or Binders will be around that long. And my Dodge has a 7year/70,000 mile drive line warranty.
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Old 07-26-2006, 05:54 PM   #13
sreigle
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Dave, a couple of things... First, the 3400 has one of the lighter pinweights among Montanas. We're towing a 3295RK, with one of the heaviest pinweights, with a 2005 F250. It sagged about an inch below level until I added airbags. It did not sag at all (rode level) with our 2003 F350. You should have no problem with the F350, not even with the single rear wheel like we had and do have.

The shower stall walls are intentionally NOT caulked along the bottom to allow moisture to escape. Hot shower water and cooler outside walls causes condensation. It has to go somewhere. On our first Montana (a 2001 model) I had the dealer caulk those walls. Within a year we had delamination bubbles in the fibreglass on the exterior where the shower is located. The RV repair facility told me the cause was caulking those walls. Our 2003 model is four years old today. It has not been caulked and we've had no problems.

As for the rear kitchen, you do have to take some simple and easy precautions but it's not a big deal. This rear kitchen model has 50,000 miles on it. We broke one dish before we learned about the precautions. We recently broke the second dish after arriving at our destination. We opened a cupboard door and a bowl fell out and smasked against the edge of the counter. We carry glass mixing bowls, three of them stacked one inside the other, in the very rear cupboard over the peninsula in ours. That's about as far to the rear as you can get. They have ridden back there for the 40 months we've been fulltiming.

As for what truck, they all do a good job. It's more important to get the truck you like otherwise. I'm partial to Fords because they've treated me well and tow this 14,360 lb Montana with aplomb. Besides, my 2005 F250 has higher ratings than most of the 1 ton single rear wheel trucks out there and more than most duallies (except GVWR). So get the truck you like best, knowing they all can do the job.

Good luck on your decision.
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Old 07-26-2006, 07:25 PM   #14
Fordzilla
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I am the one proposing the question about more sag in my DRW than in the SRW. I know the Dually sit's lower than the SRW empty and I thnk my biggest concern is the headlights pointing to the sky when hooked up and traveling at night. A lot of tow vehicles have air bags and many people have told me once I get them I will never have another vehicle without them. And I am sure you can tell by my username what I am a fan of. Alhough I would drive any of the other big three trucks if I got as good as service as I do from the ford dealer.
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Old 07-26-2006, 08:31 PM   #15
Montana Sky
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Ron,
I noticed the squat in your picture. I am amazed that even w/ the dually you are getting that much squat. While our trucks are different, I have noticed approx. 1.5" - 2" of squat in my truck when hooked and rolling. The only problem I have had is that squat kicks up my headlights as well. I do not have airbags on my truck, and had not planned on getting them. Maybe this upcoming trip east may prove otherwise. Let us know if you end up making changes, I am curious to see how things will work out for you.
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Old 07-27-2006, 02:16 AM   #16
Broome101
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Would it be nice if the big three did like most over the road truck makers do. Let you choose the engine brand, transmission and rear end that you want. I think if that were true I would have Ford F350 KR, SRW, 4x4, Cummings, 6-speed Allison, and Dana lockers, now that is a tow vehicle.
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Old 07-27-2006, 02:41 AM   #17
richfaa
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Quote:
quote:Originally posted by William H. Collier

Ford is going to be selling the 07's real cheap real soon to. The 08's will be on display at the Texas State Fair in Sept. and at the dealers in Jan 07. It seems that all the changes that were supposed to be on the 07, new interior, new exterior and new 6.4 dual turbo diesel, will be on the 08. Looks like I'll be waiting a few more months before I get my new one.
Bill
This mornings paper said that GM lost 3.2 Billion in the 2nd quarter.None of them did any good. Meanwhile Honda can not build cars fast enough to meet the demand. Sad...Had a long conversation with my local Ford Dealer (owner and friend)He has mixed feelings about the 08 Super Duty Trucks.He feels that the new Diesel will cost about 6K to 6.5K Sticker, at least he hopes it is not more than that..we shall see.I will have top prioroty to test drive one when he gets one in. I have this bad feeling about the 08's..all of them???
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Old 07-27-2006, 03:04 AM   #18
Broome101
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I do business with three Freightliner plants on east coast here in NC. They cannot build the 06-07' fast enough. I was told by them they got huge orders to beat the EPA deadline from LTL carriers and lots of others. The plant that builds the over road tractors are building 220 trucks per day, going 7 days week 24 hours mandatory OT for everyone. Friend of mine works there he has not had day off since Thanksgiving of 05. All just o get better engines than what the 08's will be.
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Old 07-27-2006, 04:28 AM   #19
richfaa
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Several school bus districts here are doing the same thing. Ordering now rather than 08 MY.
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Old 07-27-2006, 07:34 AM   #20
Montana Sky
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Crazy to think that folks are putting their hard earned money in auto companies that are not AMERICAN companies. There are more and more companies going abroad, downsizing, or just closing up shop. Hate to think where we will be as an economy in a few years if folks do not start supporting their own country.

I guess for anyone thinking of buying a new truck, now would be the time to do it. With the top 3 offering low APR's and rebates, now is the time to pick up an 07 diesel before the EPA mandates the change. So glad the EPA got involved and screwed things up. =)
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