Rear stabiliziers - Montana Owners Club

Bill DeMeulle · 04-27-2006, 05:21 PM

Just had a stabilizier kit put on today, you can have 2-200# men jump up and down in the rear of the rig and there is no movement throughout. This is really solid and will be seen at the rally at Lake Siskiyou next month. The installer commented" I don't know why Montana installed the cheapest stabiliziers in the rear, it could have been upgraded for $60.00, but don't change them now wait until these bend a little". Needless to say this is an honest installer and I will return to "Cal-Western" in Santa Fe Springs.

steves · 04-27-2006, 10:25 PM

What is the manufacture of the rear stabilizer? Is it a complete replacement of our current rear stabilizer unit? I would be interested in your opinion after using it..does it remove the sometime wiggle?

Emmel · 04-28-2006, 03:20 AM

Pics would be nice too. Keep us all posted, please.

Bill DeMeulle · 04-29-2006, 07:09 AM

The JT strong-Arm Jack stabilizer does not replace anything, they go on the front downriggers and the rear stabilizers. They remove "ALL" of the wiggle,Carol puts the washer on and the Rig does not shimmy at all. Check out www.jtrv.com

steves · 04-29-2006, 07:46 AM

Bill, thanks for the update. I saw these at the Rally in Daytona and was talking with the factory rep. I was impressed with their design but never had the chance to speak with someone that actually had them installed. Sound like these are doing what they promised!

kwbosch · 04-29-2006, 08:50 AM

We saw the Strong-Arm system at the Pomona RV Show last Sunday. It is pretty incredible how solid that demo trailer was. It was sold by the same guys Bill DeMeulle bought from, Cal-WesernRV.
We don't mind the movement so I won't be getting their system but it really does work.

Ken

scrowba · 05-04-2006, 03:42 PM

Hey Bill,
Around how much do those things cost?
Thanks

Parrothead · 05-04-2006, 03:57 PM

Ken
We were there on Sunday also! Should have gotten together. We were quite disappointed in the show. Seems they were catering to the "Toy Hauler" crowd.
Happy trails..........................

kwbosch · 05-05-2006, 01:32 PM

Sue and Ed,

Sorry we missed you. We were going to go Saturday, but we had 2 house hunters scheduled to look at our house. Neither showed up.

Tina and I thought the same thing about the show. We were there year before last (2004) and it was at least 2-3 times the size of this show. That's where we stumbled onto the Montana's.
We were looking seriously at either a 33' Teton or a Hitchhiker and somewhere in between those two we stumbled into the Montana section.
The only Keystone 5er we saw at this show was the Everest.
This show was definitely targeting the toy hauler crowd.

Ken

Bill DeMeulle · 05-08-2006, 09:34 AM

With regards to price, they were $700 installed or $475 w/o installation. We used them for the first time last week at Flying Flags, there is a slight movement when you are on soft soil as opposed to a concrete slab. On the slab there is no movement, but even on grass it is a great improvement.

Montana_1240 · 06-05-2006, 04:57 PM

Bill,

I’m guessing that, (like any mass-produced product,) Keystone opted for the standard rear stabilizers because if they went with the expensive ones, the cost of every rig would have to reflect it. And Keystone could have done worse, if some of the strange looking affairs I’ve seen that pass for “stabilizers” on some brands are any indication!

I can remember a few decades ago, when some car company refused to add just the screw threads for seat belts in their cars, because it’d cost about $4 per car! While that seems ludicrous, one must realize that that’d mean $4 times several million cars. (And, somewhat thankfully, the fed required seatbelts after that, so the matter became moot.)

It would be nice if such a feature were an option, though. Maybe even electric or hydraulic stabilizers.

I’d also like an option of a set of stabilizers for between the wheels, so almost all motion would be killed.

Then there’d be a call by not a few folks for ice-makers.

Maybe an outside 60’ plasma TV. I’ve already heard inside plasma/LCD TVs mentioned. (And have seen them offered up, typically as an option, in expensive Class-A RVs.)

You get my drift, I hope. There are just way too many things that are offered by after-market manufacturers, and just so many possibilities that can be offered by an RV maker. Thankfully, the capitalist system makes it lucrative enough for those after-marketers to offer their products to the folks who will want to pay for them.

Anyone seen a price on a nice big flat-screen TV that can be seen from outside the Monty and makes ice cubes, yet? I’m guessing mid-section stabilizers would have to come with one of those!

Steve

sreigle · 06-07-2006, 01:31 PM

Steve, I read where even a nickel per car/truck is subject to serious consideration before approval. If you think about it, if you sell 500,000 trucks in one year (as the big boys do), one nickel per vehicle is $25,000 for the model year.

Montana_1240 · 06-07-2006, 02:22 PM

Steve,

Sure makes it expensive when you have to think on that scale!

It would be nice if Keystone teamed up with some after-market folks, though. I don't know if it's be economically feasible. I have no brain for money. But if they could, so owners of Keystone product get a percentage break on prices, it would maybe bring in a few customers who might just walk on by regular price stickers.

And, if those items were optional, it'd be so much easier to talk buyers into financing the added costs when they're buying, as opposed to after they're making payments.

Steve

richfaa · 06-08-2006, 02:16 AM

We tested out the "stability" of the 3400 now that it is in the driveway. King pin stabilizer, Bal wheel chocks, Rear stabilizers down, and 2 of those auto wind up jacks just behind the wheels, there is a lot of overhang back there on a 3400. Now if you want the stability of your stick house you need a foundation under the camper like the stick house, Remember the only thing that touches the ground on a camper are the tires.Now Helen and I are maybe 315lbs combined and we and we try not to jump up and down anywhere in the camper..We find stability to be OK. Helen's test was to have me enter the camper and walk around the galley and living room area while she was on the bed up stairs. No problem said she..now everyone to there own standards but we are OK with what we have..Now being work challenged I would like to have a set of those electric rear stabilizer jacks and that could happen.....

Fordzilla · 06-08-2006, 01:43 PM

Rich I was thinking about those as well. Dale was saying Lippert makes them and he was talking about them in a post long ago. I'll see if I can find the post. I know I was going to talk to him about possibly setting something up for when we are there for the fall rally.

richfaa · 06-09-2006, 12:48 PM

Ron..That sounds like it could be a expensive fall rally..I know that
if I see them I will be helpless to pass them up/// That is why I wanted a class A Motorhome.. The one where you pull into a campsite..mash a button and the camper levels, the awning comes out, the steps come down and a beer ejects from the fridge..

Broome101 · 06-09-2006, 01:42 PM

Now that's my kind of set up process, where can I get that button.

Parrothead · 06-09-2006, 07:44 PM

Hey Rich, could that be a Long Island Ice Tea instead of beer?
Happy trails.......................

richfaa · 06-10-2006, 07:35 AM

We are very partial to long island ice tea's.

Fordzilla · 06-11-2006, 08:59 AM

Sorry, been away from the computer all weekend, but I think I may wait for Rich's version to make it into production! No, I have bent the support bars for the back stabilizers once and took them apart and straightened them out. So far so good, but, I don't apply much pressure any more.

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