Shopping for a New 5th Wheel

[Kevin 87]

Howdy - New to the forum and my first post. We are full timers. Have spent the last 6 years in our 1999 Dolphin motorhome. We have decided it it is time for a 5th wheel. We volunteer and work in various places throughout the year.

We really like the 3582RL. I have not been able to determine if this has a Lippert frame and slides. Does anyone know?

Also, I'm aware there have been some issues with the Lippert frames and welds and actual steel breaks. Given the number of Lippert frames out there, it is to be expected there will be some problems. I would like input from actual owners about frame specific issues - or lack there of. How did Keystone handle any problems?

Any and all info you can provide on the rig overall would greatly be appreciated - features to love, make sure we have and things to look for and try to avoid.

Thanks a lot - I'll keep you posted as we progress.

[leemedic]

We just purchased the 2013 3582RL and we love it! We have only owned it 1 1/2 months and have no issues with frame. Only issue have had with the unit is condensation build up from the 15,000 b.t.u. A/C. We changed out the vents to increase airflow. We love the layout. How can you tell if we have the Lippert frame?

[Kevin 87]

Congrats on your new rig, Lee. Condensation is interesting. Where were you located when this happened? You switched out vents - Did you talk to Keystone on this? Did they recommend the switch? How did you do it?

[K0LCB]

I had motor homes since 1979, I trade for a 3650FL in March. The Truck and trailer handle much better in a cross wind, and fuel mileage is better. No frame problems yet. I am sure any man made product can, and probably will have some sort or problems

[HOOK]

Sir, all of the Montana (not Mountaineer, not High Country) upper series do have 12" frames, built by Lippert. There has been some discussion about frames here on the MOC. The very great majority have no problems. Yet, for those few who have problems, it would and should be important. Montana remains #1 in sales now in its 11th year. Many here have owned several. I am a long time RVer and a sales associate at CW. There are two of us at our store that own 5ers, myself and the Ser. mgr., both Montanas. That should speak volumes to you. I enjoy selling Montanas simply because they rarely are any trouble. I feel very confident saying that they are the most trouble free coaches we sell.
If I can assist you, or give you a quote, please send a PM .
Larry (HOOK)

[HOOK]

When in heavy humidity, I would suggest to set fans on high instead of auto. The airflow increase will usually stop the condensation.

[DQDick]

As Larry said the service tech who did our PDI instructed us that during times of high humidity to set the fan on high and not auto. We've had our rig for a few years now with no frame problems. One of the other things you need to look at is how does the company react if you do have a problem. We had a couple of serious problems early on and Keystone went above and beyond to make it right. We have no reason to want to trade our rig at this time, but if we did it would be another Montana.

[ranch560]

Kevin, we purchased a new 3582 last May (seems so long ago) and just love the floorplan. The open feel the center island provides was the determining factor for us. We have had no problems to date except the normal things (screws falling out, some wood trim coming loose, and the infamous attachment pin falling out of the toilet seat) . We have put around 8000 miles on it this last year. I did upgrade my tires immediately to G614's. We have the 10" frame and there has been no indication of problems. I wouldn't hesitate in a minute to buy another Montana if something happened and we needed to replace ours.

[richfaa]

we are on our 2nd Montana.2006 3400 and now a 2013 3402 Big Sky not to say we did not have several problems with the 2006 and we are having 1st year problems with the 2013 Big sky. If we thought we could have got a better 5th wheel in the price range we would have it. I think that once we get all the crappy workmanship problems resolved this 13 will be a solid unit.

[sreigle]

As far as I know, all Montana frames and slide mechanisms are built by Lippert. We're on our third Montana since January 2001 and have been fulltiming since March 2003. Our 2nd Montana, a 2003 model, had the frame flex in the overhang area. Keystone fixed that at no charge by adding additional strengthening supports. We had no further problems with that. We've had no other frame or slide issues other than we broke a shear bolt once and we had a leak in the hydraulic control manifold in the front locker. That also was fixed at no charge. I replaced the shear bolt.

The biggest problem we've had is peeling graphics on our 2007 model. We did not have that problem with the 2001 nor the 2003. I'm hearing later models, after maybe 2008?, don't seem to have the peeling graphics problem.

My mileage log is out in the truck but I think this 2007 3400RL has about 45,000 miles on it, give or take a couple thousand.

One thing to keep in mind is that Montana has been the #1 seller in North America for something like 11 or 12 years, I forget which. Any brand can be number 1 for a year or two but to hold that lead for that many years... well, there has to be a reason for that.

That said, there are several other good brands out there, too.

Good luck, whatever you chose to do.

-- on edit -- I forgot to say that our 2007 came with 6,000 lb axles. We had problems with those bending so eventually we swapped them for the 7,000 lb axles, at our cost. Our 2007 is an early model. Three months after we took delivery (August, 2006) Keystone switched to 7,000 lb axles on this model and several other models. So they apparently recognized the problem. I thought they should have paid for swapping ours for the stronger ones but they left us hanging on that one.

[chieflawdawg]

On our second Montana, 2002 3280 & 2013 3100. Love Montanas because you get more for the money. More quality, more accessories. And you meet some of the best people in Montanas. Just look at this forum. We considered other brands while looking for the new one, but after looking at several, we kept coming back to the Montana. We have owned other Keystone products and had trouble, but none with the Montana. Unless something changes, we will remain in the Montana family for a long while.

[1retired06]

Three Montana fifthwheels, NO frame issues!