3500 Montana

[Drakhorn]

My wife and I are considering the purchase of a 3500.
If anyone outt here owns a 3500, we would like to know your likes and dislikes. What problems you have found?

[stiles watson]

As is easily discerned from my signature, I don't have the 3500. However, I would like to welcome you to the forum and say this is a great place to discover Montana lore.

When posters begin to respond to your post, you will find some, like me, who are very satisfied with their Monty and you will find others that are ready to mount an assault on Keystone headquarters. We plan on using our Montana for a fulltime experience. I wasn't born yesterday and I didn't fall of the turnip truck dispite contrary rumors. Watson is a Scot name and carries with it inborn fiscal austerity. With that foundation, I declare that from my perspective, the Montana gives me the greatest comfort, reliability, and economy for the dollars invested. Besides that, I just plain like the thing.

[Montana_3032]

We've had our 3500 2 months and have camped in it 3 times to date...and I'm sorry to report that IF you GET the 3500....you will be cursed with RAIN...RAIN...RAIN....havn't been out in ours YET that it has not rained...

but the GOOD NEWS is....that despite the RAIN CURSE of the 3500...we LOVE it!!!

Now we only have one child...so the closed off living room is his 'bunkhouse' with surround sound and a big ole TV when it is bedtime..now could a kid ask for more??

The layout has worked great for us, we even became the Montana Refugee Site this weekend for 4 kids 'tent' camping in the rain so that made (with my niece)...8 people in our 5er (a new record for us)...and it 'worked'...

Now the negatives I've found so far...(but I don't think any of them are specific to the 3500 just to Montana for the most part)..

1. Hate the light switch being on the outside of the bathroom (but I think all 5ers like that)

2. Not enough linoleum outside the shower....

3. A real door would be nice rather than the 'curtain' thing between the shower and the 'bed'..(another all 5er thing I think)..

4. During your PDI work those 'day' night shades...my hubby has been fixing those things left and right that worked 'right' the few 1/2 dozen times...

5. Our 'surround' sound hisses and will require a 'trip' back

6. I hate that STUPID remote for the ac/heat..

7. I hate the 'carpet' surrounding the 'front' entry step...that's where all the ends of the 'shoes' hit and get the carpet 'muddy' (remember we havn't camped yet without rain LOL)..

[DL N K]

We've also had our 3500RL for about 2 months and just got home from our 3rd trip to the lake. We really like the floorplan and so far are really happy with the Montana.

I agree, the remote theromostat is pretty much useless. We finally got ours replaced with the Comfort Control Center last Thursday. The CCC works great.

With only the 2 of us and our 2 small dogs, the lack of the sliding privacy doors between bath and bedroom is not an issue. The folding door works just fine for us.

The light switch outside the bathroom is a touch inconvenient. I added a tap light inside the potty room for those late night trips. A switch could be added to the inside wall without much difficulty.

We had the original Quest DVD replaced under warranty, the one we have now works fine.

I thinking of covering the carpet on the wall of the step with a peice of plexiglass to prevent the problem of shoes soiling the carpet.

Maybe there is something about the 3500 being a rain attractor. Out of our 3 trips, we've had rain on 2.

Overall, we are very happy with the Montana having moved up from a Four Winds that we had for 3 years. It pulls fine with our 2500HD Silverado.

Would we buy the 3500RL again? YES, POSITIVELY.....

[Montana_3577]

We are upcoming Perspective Monty owners, looking for information. What exactly was the issue with the Remote Thermostat? Also what is a Comfort Control Center and where did you purchase? Any information you could give us would be appreciated.

Charlie & Jennie Stackpole

[Montana_3577]

We are upcoming Perspective Monty owners, looking for information. What exactly was the issue with the Remote Thermostat? Also what is a Comfort Control Center and where did you purchase? Any information you could give us would be appreciated.

Charlie & Jennie Stackpole

[sreigle]

Welcome, Charlie & Jennie! I'll let someone else who actually has dealt with the remote explain that situation to you. I wanted to jump in and tell you that we recently took the Montana factory tour and were told they are moving away from this remote. If you order a new Montana, it may not have the remote. If you buy off the lot you may want to find out if it has the remote and insist it be changed to the CCC before you sign the paperwork. I would, anyhow. Now, hopefully someone will come along shortly with info.

[Kathi]

We purchased the 3400RL and not the 3500RL because of the doors that made the livingroom into another room. I didn't like the way it cut off the rest of the 5ver. There are only 2 of us but still we liked the more open floorplan. I did like the kitchen setup because of the counter space. But again that is just what I liked. If you lay the two floorplans out and look at them you can see what I mean. Oh and then the washer/dryer is right inside the door when you walk in not in the bedroom. I can't get up those stairs that much to do the laundry so it was just easier for me to have it down stairs. We are having a problem with the remote ac/heat but we haven't really had to deal with it. We did stay at the Colorado River in 113 degree heat. But we never turned the a/c down or off.....It was just to hot. Maybe that is the difference between the 3500 and the 3400. The 3500 brings rain and the 3400 brings heat..... Which ever you choose you will love it cuz it is yours.

[Countryfolks]

We've had ours about 2 months. Out twice, rained the last time for 7 of the 8 days.

Pro-- Mary likes it more than the other floor plans. More like a small
apartment than a camper/trailer.
More room at the dining table.
Fireplace/heater
Pretty good desk setup for the computer.
BIG rear window, although the screen is still at the bottom and
in way when sitting in the recliners.
More room around the bed, more access to the headboard area.
TV viewable from the couch and recliners.
Can seperate, close off, the activities of the livingroom area
and kitchen/diningroom when desired.

Con-- The heat/AC remote is useless in this layout regardless of it
working or not.
Our sound system has to be adjusted to max settings. It is also
difficult, if not impossible, to setup the surround sound
correctly due to room layout. Wireless speakers would be
the answer except they would interfere with wifi. They both use
the same operating frequencies, I think.
The window in the dining room and the refrigerator should be
switched, it looks out on the side of the livingroom slide.
The table top could be 2" or so shorter, and the leaf the same
amount longer, to allow a bit more space between the dining
table and the sink.
TV in the bedroom, will be removed in the future.
The antenna amplifier switch is in the front closet.

We both like it very much so far.

Skip

[Sunshine]

Welcome to MOC. Whatever floor plan you choose has to be the right one for you. We like our 3255RL because it is open and has enough storage and living space for our needs. Have fun looking and good luck with your decision.

[Chester]

Regarding the remote thermostat. What we found on the new 3475 we got in April, was that the remote thermostat was not calibrated correctly. It was out about 6 deg on the set (ie set it to 79 if wanted trailer to be at 73) and there was a 5 degree swing from furnace off to furnace on again (ie once at 73 the trailer cooled to 68 before the furnace would cycle back on). We found that too much of a swing. We called Dometic and they shipped the CCC as a replacement. This is an upgraded thermostat and is not remote controlled. Being from the male side of the equation I couldn't figure out why a person would need a remote for a thermostat anyway. It's not like changing channels on the TV!!!

There are many posts on the process of changing the thermostat. Do a search and take a look at what others have said. It was very easy to make the change. It took me slightly over half an hour to do.

We looked at both the 3500 and the 3475 before we made our purchase. We went with the 3475 because we preferred the openness without the glass doors. Also we liked the washer/dryer closet at the entrance door rather than in the bedroom. This arrangement suited us but you have to determine what suits you. That's why they make so many floorplans.

Good luck.

[sreigle]

Summer, we don't have the 3500 but I can relate to some of your complaints. But wanted to share with you a couple of our workarounds. We have a throw rug by the entry door to catch whatever is brought in on the shoes. Likewise, we have a small bathmat we step onto when getting out of the shower.

[Montana_3032]

quote:Originally posted by sreigle

Summer, we don't have the 3500 but I can relate to some of your complaints. But wanted to share with you a couple of our workarounds. We have a throw rug by the entry door to catch whatever is brought in on the shoes. Likewise, we have a small bathmat we step onto when getting out of the shower.

Thanks sreigle..for the suggested 'workarounds'..

My sad but 'true' shall we say situation ...involves an eleven year old going on 30

The entry rug is there....and he ain't too bad considering but he and his friends do 'forget' from time to time...and I do get the ole 'boot' out

Same with the shower....have a bathmat outside...they can't seem to get their feet placed on it when 'exiting' the shower...that problem has been solved...anyone NOT FEMALE...pr anyone NOT over the age of 30...doesn't get to 'shower' in the Monty...NO EXCEPTIONS ...it's campground showers for the less fortunate

I have 'learned' to overcome ...

[vickir]

Summer ... another "workaround" ... for the stuff-getting-tracked-in-the-door issue, you might think about putting those cover thingys on your steps. They are easily installed and they catch LOTS of stuff that's sticking to the shoes.

Good idea on the showers ... solves a lot of other cleaning the shower issues too!