Tow Vehicle

[jwreed]

I am sold on Montana's. My wife and I will purchase one this spring. Likely a 32 to 34 foot rig. I am getting a lot of mixed advice about a tow vehicle. I will soon be purchasing a Dodge (I like the Cummins engine).

Do I need a 3500 dually or will a 2500 work well?

I travel for work and will drive through mountains occasionally. I generally will park the rig for 1 or 2 months, pack up, and drive to another location. My family will also camp locally during the summer.

[richfaa]

First you will need to take a tape measure with you when you visit the Montana models to see what the actual length is. Do not relay on the model numbers or the spec data. When you decide on a Model and know the specs(Weight, Pin weight) try us again for truck input.

[Clemson1881]

Many tow with a 2500. Even some of the largest rigs. For the difference in price I would go with the dually. That will give you the largest margin of safety and confidence. Even if you go with the smallest Montana it is still 34 feet and quite a load. It will also be possible to get a larger rig down the line if you so decide in the future.

[hookman]

I tow with a 1 ton SRW Dodge and would not feel comfortable pulling with less. All the major truck are good it is just personal preference. I preferred the Cummins engine.

[BB_TX]

As Rich mentioned model numbers don't mean much. The shortest 2011 Montana is 33'-3". Next is 34'-5" and they go up from there. But some of the longer ones have lower pin weights that some of the shorter one. Go figure.
You can see all the lengths here.
I would go with a 3500. DRW or SRW would be your choice. I don't have a Dodge, but my '07 F350 SRW pulls my '07 34'-4" Montana great and is within the trucks tow and payload ratings. Very stable and strong cross winds barely bother it. Considered a DRW, but an SRW works better for me as it is more a daily driver than a tow-er

[jmi]

For my choice it was a F-350 DRW. Reason was primarily safety, with the Monty on the SRW truck my concern was what happens if one of the rear wheels blow and DW is driving. A colleague explained this happened to a friend and the results were not pretty, a rollover was involved.. Never know all the circumstances were, excessive speed, corner or bad luck. Just made me look around at bit more and choose the DRW. Plenty of people pull with a SRW, it is a personal choice.

[mhs4771]

I agree with the others, 1 ton is the best, again SRW or DRW is a personal choice. I prefer the stability of the DRW, but mine is not a daily driver, used mainly as a TV only.

[bncinwv]

I don't think a Dodge will work, I think you will need a Chevy!! Ouch, Ouch, Ouch, okay sorry, everyone didn't have to hit me at once!!! Hee Hee!! (Disclaimer: the above is heavily laden with excessive amounts of sarcasm and tongue-in-cheek humor). Ohhhh Boy!!
Bingo

[Art-n-Marge]

1 ton gets my vote too. The cost difference between the 3/4 and the 1 ton versus the weight you can carry on the rear axle (which is the one that counts) isn't worth the nickel and diming. I already went through that and I should have just gotten a 1 ton. SRW versus DRW is your preference. Sometimes when you lose one wheel on a dually side, it can take out another, but at least the other side still has TWO tires left over.

Montys are not getting lighter - ALWAYS go by Gross weight and don't let a salesman tell you otherwise!!! The rig will NEVER weigh what it weighs at the lot, PERIOD! The better truck you get the better margin you have. Save the 3/4 ton trucks for the baby 5ers our there.

Of course, stick with diesel. I've towed with both gas and diesel and will never go away from diesel again (any brand you want - they are all great).

[Sierra 117]

I can't comment on GM or Ford, but we pull our Monty with Dodge 3500 DRW and are very satisfied with it.

[mainer]

We have the Dodge 3500, dually, diesel and we have not had one problem going up some mountains that have been extremely steep. On the highways you actually can forget that you are towing a 37 foot 5th wheel. A few times, Jim saw something very picturesque and was going to pull over for a closer look, and I had to remind him that we wouldn't fit, the Montana is behind us......

[7.3Ford]

If you are going to use the truck for mostly towing the Monty, I think I would go with the DRW, I think the Rear End Gear may be better suited. If you will be using the truck a lot otherwise, you may want to look at SRW. Either will work fine.

[Rondo]

I tow with a 2007 1/2 SRW, 3/4 ton Chevy diesel with a Duramax/Allison conbination and that is my preference only. I'm having no problems with the 3/4 ton but if I ever step up with a bigger rig, I will probably go to the 1 ton but still stay with the SRW because I use it all the time and not just for towing the Monte. Any of the Big Three will work for you. It is all your own preference and the best thing to do is actually drive each and see which one feels best for you both in comfort and styling that you like! Let us know which Monte you go with and also the tow vehicle you choose! Hope to see you down the road at a Rally somewhere!

[kingdaddy]

I chose a 2500 Dodge SRW for a couple of reasons:
My daily driver...didn't want a 1 ton dually for that.
At least with the Dodge, the only difference between the 2500 and 3500 is the rear overload spring above the main leaf pack. Same drivetrain (trans, engine, axles etc.) same frame...everything (oh, except the "3500" badge too )
I have aftermarket springs and it rides very nice and added Airlift bags for when I have a load (i.e. the trailer).
For me, best of both worlds...heavy duty enough and then some, but still decent for all around driving.
BTW, you might check out the Montana High Country if you haven't already...quite a bit lighter but still a Montana!
Haven't seen one yet I didn't like...good luck with your decisions!

[DarMar]

We just ordered our 2nd 3500 dually (stability and payload factors), once we have had one I can't see us ever not having one when pulling the Monty and we both agree on that. The last one was a Dodge(DW likes) and this one will be a Chevy(My choice this time). Doesn't matter which one, when they make a Cummins/Allison combo we will be buying again I suppose.

[hikerdoc]

I pull with a 3/4 ton as well and have had no problems. I must say however that my trips with the Monty right now are purely one weekers and shorter travel distances. When Jen and I start full timing and travelling all over, I will indeed pony up for a duelly 1 ton. For my current usage and the fact that it is a daily driver (and without the duelly fits in my garage ) my F250 diesel is fine, and even the 3750FL that we have falls within specs of the truck fully loaded. (Currently max trailer wt for fiver 15,400 lbs.) Doing week trips or weekenders, we'll never put 2500 lbs of gear into it and we never drive with full or even partially full tanks. I am adding Airlifts this spring however to level the truck better under load. Good luck and happy travels.

[CamillaMichael]

Agree with Art (and others)...it is all about weight. Look very hard at what your fifth wheel weighs (in most cases you will have to rely on what the promotional material says...go with the heigher end, not the base weights) and then look at a potential tow vehicle. One of the common problems I have observed is dealing with the kingpin weight. The kingpin weight for our Montana (according to the promo material) is aroung 2200 pounds...the real numbers are closer to 2900. When we were shopping for a tow vehicle (after already deciding on our 3400), I almost settled on an F250...the payload capacity was something like 2400 pounds...with the stated pin weight of about 2200 pounds thought we were golden...right?? Wrong!!! In the end, I went with the F350 just for the added payload capacity...as it turns out, the right choice was made by luck. GET THE WEIGHTS FOR YOUR FIFTH WHEEL AND THEN GO SHOPPING FOR A TOW VEHICLE...NOT THE OTHER WAY AROUND.

[RickW]

As already pointed out, prepare for the trailers max weight. I know in at least our case each year we seem to add something else that adds weight to the trailer that we were able to live with out in previous years but must have now. Especially watch the pin weight, that gets you in trouble faster than the overall weight.

[snowhawk2]

My fiver is a Montana 3750FL and my old truck was an 06 F350 6.0 SRW short bed. The trailer weight loaded was about 14K and the Monty is 39'. The truck would handle the weight well and the length but it was not 100% right. Before I had the 3750 I towed a 36' Mountaineer and the truck handled it better then the new 3750. Hence, I traded my truck for a 2011 350 Dually with the new 6.7. My first tow with it is this Friday but for all of the reasons mentioned, buy as much truck as you can afford. Minimum a 1 ton, dually if possible. And by the way, our dually as a daily driver is no problem. It's my wife's truck during the week and she loves it!

[jwreed]

Thank you to all who replied. You had some great input and some gave me a laugh also. I guess Montana owners are simply some of the best people out there!