Height Questions - Montana Owners Club

Bulldog · 10-04-2019, 06:54 AM

Those of you have 3400RL and have bedroom a/c have you had problems of not fitting under bridges and over passes. I have RV Garman, but it has not warned me of low bridge because of height of my current rig which is much lower. I don't know if the GPS will warn me soon enough so I can avoid bridge. Input greatly appreciated. I won't add the second a/c if it's going to be a big problem.

twindman · 10-04-2019, 07:14 AM

I don't have a 3400, but the specs for almost all the new models list height at around 13' 6" I think. They made a big jump from a few years ago when they were 12' 3-6". My 2006 was 12'5" and my 2012 Mountaineer is 13'5".

I stick to US highways when possible (or state highways - stay off local roads). Interstates must be 13'6" I believe. Most state roads also. I haven't left any roof parts on the road so far!!!!

MidMOTraveler · 10-04-2019, 07:47 AM

We have a 3731 FL had Morryde IS and disc brakes installed. They measured and front AC ic 13’4”.
We have been using Garmin for over a year and it routes around low bridges.
We did get a warning once on I-55 in Memphis it gave us about 3 exits notice. But semis we’re passing us and we kept following, Never saw what the issue might have been.

richfaa · 10-04-2019, 08:01 AM

Our Garmin alerts us to low bridges 13 years and many miles no issues.

rslopez65 · 10-04-2019, 08:35 AM

Our garmin once routed us under a bridge that was a little over 12'. Needless to say we don't trust it. Had the campground owner not warned us not to go that way we would have been in some serious trouble. That being said, we have been to almost every state and not had a problem but we are careful and double check everything.

**DQDick** · 10-04-2019, 08:50 AM

We don't have a Garmin, we use a Rand McNally, but we still check new routes with a recent truckers atlas. It's a cheap way to make sure you're safe. Of course with three AC's and a Winegard Traveler up there we can't afford to be scraping stuff off.

Daryles · 10-04-2019, 12:36 PM

2019 Montana 3130re. Specs say 13'5". Connected it actually measures 13'4" on our 2016 f350 dually. You can see it settles when you hitch it.
We stay on Interstate, and US routes as much as possible. We use Google maps (satellite view on exits and around truck stops for diesel) RV Parky and follow up with trucker's atlas. So far so good. However sometimes they ALL miss. Once in Tulsa Ok near the Fairgrounds. Low overhead near an on ramp. Well sign posted. But NOT on any map.
One in Westplains Mo. Behind the Ford dealer.
You should be ok adding the front AC, just be sensitive to the fact you will be going from 12'4" to 13'5".
We had to trim a lot of trees/bushes on our street and in our driveway when we brought this home.

Bulldog · 10-04-2019, 07:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Daryles

2019 Montana 3130re. Specs say 13'5". Connected it actually measures 13'4" on our 2016 f350 dually. You can see it settles when you hitch it.
We stay on Interstate, and US routes as much as possible. We use Google maps (satellite view on exits and around truck stops for diesel) RV Parky and follow up with trucker's atlas. So far so good. However sometimes they ALL miss. Once in Tulsa Ok near the Fairgrounds. Low overhead near an on ramp. Well sign posted. But NOT on any map.
One in Westplains Mo. Behind the Ford dealer.
You should be ok adding the front AC, just be sensitive to the fact you will be going from 12'4" to 13'5".
We had to trim a lot of trees/bushes on our street and in our driveway when we brought this home.

How far did you have to back up.

Daryles · 10-04-2019, 08:19 PM

Oh none. This is one we know about behind the ford dealer in Westplains we bought our TV. It is not on any map, rv parky or trucker's atlas.

Mudchief · 10-05-2019, 03:28 AM

I had a 2007 3400 and it was 12'5" high.

Margie · 10-09-2019, 01:26 PM

We have a 3400RL and have not had any issues with AC over the front bedroom.
MargieR

GBliss · 10-09-2019, 01:31 PM

I have a 2006 3400RL that I had a Dometic Penguin II low profile A/C installed over the bedroom last year. The original specs. list height at 12' 9". The Penguin II is a smidge lower than the Fantastic Fan shroud so original heights are still good. That being said, measure and do your pucker muscles a favor.

laverdur · 10-09-2019, 01:45 PM

My Monty is 13' 4" at the top of the front A/C. With the profile of the Monty in the Garmin RV660, it keeps me out of trouble by routing around low overpasses. I tested this one day while driving solo by taking a road with a low overpass that would have shaved the roof off my Monty, and it works. Still no substitute for vigilance.

StageCoachDriver · 10-09-2019, 01:50 PM

We got the garmin RV GPS - we tell it our weight, height and length and it picks the routes. Our unit is an 18 HC 305RB. We also use RVTripWizard which shows all clearances on and around our route at or below our unit height.

Dave W · 10-09-2019, 01:52 PM

Your Garmin GPS may warn you but it isn't 100% fool proof. I've set the height of our HC at 13'8" since the front a/c is at 13'4" and 4 additional inches may keep it in place tho have yet had a surprise in 26K miles with this 5er even on Upstate NY and New England's back roads. Now, has that GPS taken me down a 2 track dirt road? Oh yes!

HITodd · 10-09-2019, 03:28 PM

I have a 3400RL with a bedroom air conditioner, and the living room AC. I’ve not had a problem with bridges or Chesapeake Bay Bridge & Tunnel. We’ve traveled to Arkansas, Texas, Louisiana, and others without a problem. Good luck.

phillyg · 10-09-2019, 04:04 PM

The Park Advisor App will show low bridges, although I don't trust it explicitly. I consider my 3711FL to be 13'6" as I've never measured it.

TK1 · 10-09-2019, 05:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bulldog

Those of you have 3400RL and have bedroom a/c have you had problems of not fitting under bridges and over passes. I have RV Garman, but it has not warned me of low bridge because of height of my current rig which is much lower. I don't know if the GPS will warn me soon enough so I can avoid bridge. Input greatly appreciated. I won't add the second a/c if it's going to be a big problem.

We have a 2008 3400RL and the factory listed height is 12ft. 9in.

drog55chev · 10-09-2019, 05:39 PM

When we got our new Montana I had the same concerns. Ours is right at 13'5" with the air bags fully inflated but I can go down to around 13'3" if I let the air out. Haven't had a problem yet. Did download a low clearance app that works with Google maps and it gets most of them but I still don't rely on anything except my own perception and low clearance signs or truck routes. I make sure that I can clear up to 13'9" because a 13'6" overpass may have been paved once or twice and they don't redo the signs. As long as your aware of your height I think we're all fine but check this link out:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yk-MJjYXVLw

vipermanden · 10-09-2019, 07:26 PM

Bulldog, We have been to 125 RV parks and 40 states and two provinces of Canada, and we don't rely on RV GPS software. We use our GPS in our truck, and our phones, and Google maps to decide which way we are going to go, and then we double check with our Rand McNally Large Scale Motor Carriers Road Atlas. It gives you "ALL" the low clearance bridges you need to know about, because this is the Trucker's Bible. It is not that expensive? I think around $30 Now if you want to measure your rig, get a 2 x 4" x 8' piece of wood, that is straight and tape a 3-4 foot level on the top of it, and then screw into the end on the bottom surface your tape measure, and go up and hold it so the level is reading level, and have the wife get the reading on the tape measure, and do all sides and use the highest reading as your safety height. We were 13' 5" with our 2017 3820 FK Monty

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