First Post - Montana Owners Club

DMS · 01-15-2007, 03:09 PM

I've been reading the forum for awhile now and have really enjoyed all the info but this is my first post. We have been rving for years with our 29 foot trailer but semi-retirement is approaching and we've decided it's time to move up to a fifth wheel. The unit we want to buy is the 3400RL but it seems like quite a stretch to jump from 29 feet with no tipouts to 39 feet with four. How much trouble do you find maneuvering the unit through campgrounds and finding sites that are large enough? Is it a huge problem? Are there other problems I should consider? Thanks again for a great site. Just being on this site makes a person want to buy Montana.

Charlie · 01-15-2007, 03:26 PM

Doug-
Welcome to the forum. There is lots of valuable info here. This is not your first rodeo but there will be considerable adjustment going from a tag-a-long to a 3400. Most of it will be take some time to get the feel and the turning radius of the longer trailer. I went from a 28' Cardinal to the 3295RK, not a long as the 3400, but I did have 5th wheel experience and it took me several outings to get accustomed to the longer trailer. Some CG's do not handle the longer trailers well, you should research where you want to stay ahead of time. Until you get used to backing I suggest that you find CG's with pull throughs. It is not a huge problem, just takes a little time, you can do it!

Hemlockusa · 01-15-2007, 03:27 PM

Doug - Welcome to the forum, if you have been watching for awhile, you realize that the MONTANA 3400RL your looking at is probably one of the most popular units right now. I have not heard of one member with this floor plan that isn't happy. (you are making a great choice) If you have been RVing that many years you know that everything is a trade off. However going from a 29 foot Travel Trailer to a 39 foot 5th wheel and four slides your going to think to died and went to heaven!!!!!!! I am not an expert, just a member of the MOC family - again WELCOME your going to love the RIDE.... Safe Travels John

richfaa · 01-15-2007, 03:37 PM

At this time last year we owned a Fleetwood Terry 29R TT..Just a stright box, no slides and , by the way, 1 of the 2 best campers we have owned.We purchased The TV in our signature and the 3400RL, took delivery in May of 06 and have pulled it over 6500 miles through 15 states and 2 countries since then. There will be some C.G's you will not get into, and some fuel stations that you will wish you had not pulled into. The 3400 is a BIG camper ...but..nothing you can not handle..it is part of the Great RV adventure.

DMS · 01-15-2007, 03:37 PM

Thanks for the encouragement. I grew up on a family farm (which we still run) so I have had a little experience pulling 40 foot trailers and other things but usually my brothers prefer me to stay in the office. So hopefully I'll pick it up fairly fast without mauling any trees. My wife and I are really looking forward to getting out on the road again. Thanks again.

Doug

bsmeaton · 01-15-2007, 03:38 PM

Doug - Great selection, and welcome to the Forum!

The first thing you will notice is how nice it tows. The fifth wheel is far less reactive down the highway than the travel trailer. However, as stated above, they do take some practice to backup. It seems to me it takes more room to get put in an angle than a travel trailer, but it might just be me.

We went from a travel trailer to a 2955, and learned right away we had to be selective on the Campsite for the slides out one side. Alot of the older State Parks are too narrow. We are waiting for the 3400 which will be yet another 5' and slides out both sides, so we will have to be even more selective. As John said, it's a tradeoff, but once your parked and extended, you'll marvel at the room inside.

OntMont · 01-15-2007, 03:40 PM

If you have been reading the Forum for awhile, you will be aware that Tow vehicle selection is a big issue. There is enough posted on that already, so I will just say, "do your homework before you jump in with both feet".

dsprik · 01-15-2007, 03:52 PM

The parks that you will find the most restrictive are many national park CGs. If you plan on camping in the bigger, more modern CGs, then you will be fine.

You can still visit these places, but you may have to find a CGs near our great National Parks. As there are more and more big rigs on the road now-a-days, I believe that there are more and more CGs gearing up for this trend. And I think that includes National Parks and Corp of Engineer (COE) parks.

We absolutely love living FT in our 3400.

DMS · 01-15-2007, 04:12 PM

Weight-wise I realize I will be marginal but don't want to spend the money to upgrade pickup right away but will probably do so in the near future. Thanks again to everybody for the encouragement and hope to meet you down the road.

Doug

stiles watson · 01-15-2007, 05:20 PM

Hey, welcome to the MOC. Yeah, there are differences, but they are the kind of differences you like. That 39' versus 29' is not as severe as you think because the 29' measurement started about 2' or 3' behind your bumper while the about 5' or 6' of the 39' rides over the bed of your TV. My total rig measures 55' with the long box crew cab. The previous owner said, "Learn to take what you need and let everybody work around you." Happy RVing......

Parrothead · 01-15-2007, 05:33 PM

We hope you enjoy the 3400 as much as we do. We have really not had trouble finding CGs that we will fit in. We have a 32' before this and we love our 3400. We will begin fulltiming in it soon. A lot of the CG have spots for the big motor homes and that is what they give us sometimes. The Montana pulls like a dream and you will find that at on the first outing. Keep us posted.
Happy trails...................

Montana Sky · 01-15-2007, 08:34 PM

When you change RV's there are going to be things that will have to be learned. For instance, backing up a 5th wheel is different than backing a Travel Trailer. Can you do it? You bet! It is just going to take practice. You already have experience in towing, and the functions of how an RV operates overall on your side. If the 3400RL is calling your name, I say go for it.

Glenn and Lorraine · 01-15-2007, 11:43 PM

We are getting a new Monty which, by the book, is supposedly 6 feet longer than our current Monty. Are we worried? Not a bit. We realize we will have a bit greater turning radius and some sites we squeezed into in the past will be impossible with the new rig. As Rich alluded to "it is part of the Great RV adventure"
That experience you had with the farm trailers will all return to you and you'll find that you worried needlessly. I know of many of the larger Monty owners that never pulled any trailer prior to their purchase and are doing just fine today.

Cat320 · 01-16-2007, 07:25 AM

Another consideration I have not seen mentioned is that the 3400 has slides on both sides. Therefore, your 8' trailer goes to 15' wide when set up.

ggranch · 01-16-2007, 08:11 AM

I too am moving up to a larger trailer in the spring. At this time we are pulling a 26' TT and will be getting a 33'9" unit. After doing the math and checking all of the measurements, I will only be gaining 17" in overall length and losing 6" in wheel base (Front 5er axel to rear bumber of truck). I am sure that with the pivot point moved 4'8" forward that my total turning radius will be less than with my TT. This is a practical application of what Stiles said in his post. We are happy for you and know that you will be just fine. Now, go find a great TV.

bw2 · 01-16-2007, 08:12 AM

DMS,

I did the same as you are planning. I had a 29' Wildcat, one slide, and in one year graduated to the Montana 3400. As I have a short bed truck, I purchased the Superslide hitch from Pull-Rite. I found the experience moving from the trailer to the 5th wheel wonderful. More secure feel, less problems in the wind, and I found it easier to place the 5th wheel where I wanted it to go!

Go for it! Enjoy!

indy roadrunner · 01-16-2007, 10:56 AM

I carry 4 red plastic drinking cups. (Disposable) When I have a site that is questionable, I take a 36 inch ruler (I carry a tape measure in door pocket of truck) and measure over 36 inches from post, trees, water spicket or what ever may be an obsticle and put a red cup down. Then when I back in I make sure the monty is within the red cups, that way I know I have slide clearance. So what if you back over one of the red cups which I have done - no big loss. Learned my lesson after getting backed in, leveled up, disconnected and come to find out I didn't have slide clearance on entertainment slide - to close to electrical post.

bsmeaton · 01-16-2007, 11:17 AM

Phil,

For me - that's would be a great help. Is 36" the width of the slide? or is there a little fluff there?

More than once I end up with the slide running up against the pedestal.

txkrumm · 01-16-2007, 12:40 PM

Go for it! You won't regret it...we love living in ours; three pets and all.
Life in our Montana is very comfortable; suprising but we don't miss our stick house at all. We have everything for our comfort right inside our Montana.
Welcome to the MOC!
t

Craig A · 01-16-2007, 12:52 PM

Welcome to the forum. There are a lot of nice, helpful folx on here and you want get flamed like you do on other forums. I went from a 21 foot hybrid to a 32 foot fifth wheel and now to a 36 foot fiver. Each time it has gotten easier to back because it's slower to respond. Just take your time and you'll do fine. There has been some mention of width, but remeber a fiver is approaching 13 feet high. Lots of limbs are lower than that and rubber rooks are expensive to repair.

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