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Old 03-13-2017, 03:09 PM   #1
Karen Whitney
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Montana pros and cons

We have been looking for almost a year for an RV to go full time in this year . . hopefully by July 23rd. After all that time, we have FINALLY narrowed it down to 6 5th Wheels. One of them being the 3791RD. We are hoping to finalize our choice within the next week or two. We got a contract on the house, option period is up on the 19th and we're putting a deposit on an apartment to be held until the 1st of April. BUT, if we can make our decision before that and get it purchased (hopefully not having to order one), then we'll get it and move straight in the RV even tho we have commitments here until July.

If you have . . . or have had . . . this model, can you tell me some pros and cons about it? Any information you'd like to share would be greatly appreciated. Here are a few questions that I do have some concern about:

1) the back storage under the Den . . . because it's not very tall, do you find it really hard to get to things? What do you store back there? I'm thinking tables/chairs, fishing poles, brooms/mops and narrow plastic bins. Can't think of much else that would fit there.

2) Is the bathroom too small to manauver around when you are a little 'fluffy'?

3) Are the bedrooms drawers barely worthless?

4) Is the living room furniture comfortable or really hard?

5) Do you have the new stove/oven combo? If so, how do you like it?

As I said . . . if there is anything you LOVE or HATE about it, please share.

Thank you so much!
 
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Old 03-13-2017, 04:17 PM   #2
wal_mart
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Manufacturers taken over by Thor appear to go downhill on quality. We have had 3 Heartlands and two Keystone. We will be looking elsewhere if any manufactures are left.
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Old 03-13-2017, 04:48 PM   #3
lundwc16
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Don't know very much about the unit you are looking at as we have a 2010, 3075RL. We are in it four months a year & it has served us well. A few issues, but nothing major. I suggest you attend an RV show, or find a dealer who has your unit in stock, & you will be able to answer many of your own questions. The biggest ugly we have encountered is Keystone, & total lack of customer support. The selling dealer is their customer, not you or I. Problems, or questions with the unit, or if you need parts their answer is contact the dealer. My winter neighbor has a 5th wheel made by a company that once made 5th wheels & motor homes, they stopped production of their fivers over five years ago. He can still call direct & get a question answered, or get a part direct from them if they still have it in stock. Keystones' answer is "call the dealer". As we travel & need something, when we contact the local dealer, the first question is "did you buy it here'
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Old 03-13-2017, 05:10 PM   #4
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My dealer sells several brands of campers and has a saying about them "they are all junk. Our neighbor just bought a new 5er retail price $125000, nice camper but it is in the shop being fixed. If you are looking for a camper you aren't going to have any trouble with, better not get a camper.
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Old 03-13-2017, 06:08 PM   #5
JABURKHOLDER
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Potential 3791RD owner...


We currently have a 2016 3791RD and love it. The raised den and raised bedroom give defined room separation. It feels more homey as opposed to the open, one room kitchen, dining, living area of some floor plans.


Question 1. In the very rear storage I keep camp chairs, flea market cart, chocks and shore power cable. The next one forward I keep my grille, fishing gear, broom and wash brush. I have no problem accessing any of that gear.


Question 2. Fluffy (Gabriel Iglesias) has lost a lot of weight. Most RV bathrooms are not roomy. Definitely not a two person room. The pivoting door on the new models might present a problem. Depends on how fluffy Fluffy is.


Question 3. We are not fulltimers so can't speak to how much clothes storage would be needed for that. We keep two weeks worth of clothes in the RV at all times and the dresser and closet works fine for us. I'm just glad to have a dresser as my previous RV's had none.


Question 4. The sofas and recliners are comfortable. The new recliners are power and have remote controls. Seems neat but I see potential issues. Something that can fail and you need to power back to the upright position to get up. Mine are manual. When sitting on the sofas, be sure to lean forward before getting up. If you don't, you WILL hit your head. Do not sleep on the sofa beds. There is a design flaw, unless they addressed it, that when open, the "leather" material will rub against internal frame work and rip.


Question 5. The new model has a new cook top and new self igniting oven. Wish mine had that. The new cook top gives you a bit more counter space there.


Other issues. Do not store anything fragile in the cabinets in the den. Things bounce around back there while traveling and will break. Secure the sound bar as it will bounce off it's mounts. Love the residential fridge. If you boondock much you may want to upgrade the batteries, add solar/generator or consider model 3790RD with the RV fridge.


Any other specifics, just PM me.
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Old 03-13-2017, 06:23 PM   #6
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Quality, or lack of, is not limited to Thor. If you read the RV.net Open Roads forum you probably already know that there does not seem to be any brand that does not get postings about quality issues.
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Old 03-13-2017, 08:55 PM   #7
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There ya Go Karen and there is your answer,like I said on RV.net when ya asked a Question about a Montana come here and you will get a Honest informative answer
Quote:
Originally Posted by JABURKHOLDER View Post
Potential 3791RD owner...


We currently have a 2016 3791RD and love it. The raised den and raised bedroom give defined room separation. It feels more homey as opposed to the open, one room kitchen, dining, living area of some floor plans.


Question 1. In the very rear storage I keep camp chairs, flea market cart, chocks and shore power cable. The next one forward I keep my grille, fishing gear, broom and wash brush. I have no problem accessing any of that gear.


Question 2. Fluffy (Gabriel Iglesias) has lost a lot of weight. Most RV bathrooms are not roomy. Definitely not a two person room. The pivoting door on the new models might present a problem. Depends on how fluffy Fluffy is.


Question 3. We are not fulltimers so can't speak to how much clothes storage would be needed for that. We keep two weeks worth of clothes in the RV at all times and the dresser and closet works fine for us. I'm just glad to have a dresser as my previous RV's had none.


Question 4. The sofas and recliners are comfortable. The new recliners are power and have remote controls. Seems neat but I see potential issues. Something that can fail and you need to power back to the upright position to get up. Mine are manual. When sitting on the sofas, be sure to lean forward before getting up. If you don't, you WILL hit your head. Do not sleep on the sofa beds. There is a design flaw, unless they addressed it, that when open, the "leather" material will rub against internal frame work and rip.


Question 5. The new model has a new cook top and new self igniting oven. Wish mine had that. The new cook top gives you a bit more counter space there.


Other issues. Do not store anything fragile in the cabinets in the den. Things bounce around back there while traveling and will break. Secure the sound bar as it will bounce off it's mounts. Love the residential fridge. If you boondock much you may want to upgrade the batteries, add solar/generator or consider model 3790RD with the RV fridge.


Any other specifics, just PM me.
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Old 03-13-2017, 09:01 PM   #8
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We've full timed in a Montana for the last 6 years now and love it. Our storage is completely containerized with containers purchased from Walmart and big box stores. The have a wide variety of hights and widths so you can maximise the use of your available storage. Works for us.
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Old 03-13-2017, 09:28 PM   #9
Karen Whitney
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Quote:
Originally Posted by lundwc16 View Post
Don't know very much about the unit you are looking at as we have a 2010, 3075RL. We are in it four months a year & it has served us well. A few issues, but nothing major. I suggest you attend an RV show, or find a dealer who has your unit in stock, & you will be able to answer many of your own questions. The biggest ugly we have encountered is Keystone, & total lack of customer support. The selling dealer is their customer, not you or I. Problems, or questions with the unit, or if you need parts their answer is contact the dealer. My winter neighbor has a 5th wheel made by a company that once made 5th wheels & motor homes, they stopped production of their fivers over five years ago. He can still call direct & get a question answered, or get a part direct from them if they still have it in stock. Keystones' answer is "call the dealer". As we travel & need something, when we contact the local dealer, the first question is "did you buy it here'
John
We have attended 2 shows . . . at the time we had so many RVs on our 'wish list' they didn't do us a lot of good. Well, that's not entirely true. They did help us eliminate ones for various reasons and like others for different reasons. So I guess they did help up. But what I want to know isn't what I can get from a REP . . . they are going to tell you what they think you want to hear. I want to know from those of you that actually use them and don't make anything for telling me what you think.
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Old 03-13-2017, 09:30 PM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BB_TX View Post
Quality, or lack of, is not limited to Thor. If you read the RV.net Open Roads forum you probably already know that there does not seem to be any brand that does not get postings about quality issues.
I have done enough research that I do know there will be problems. I'm trying to find out about the comfort of living in them now. This is a lot of money to put down that will depreciate the second we drive off the lot. Trying to make the best decision possible with all the info I can gather from those of you who have "been there done that".
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Old 03-13-2017, 09:31 PM   #11
Karen Whitney
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Originally Posted by bigskyjimmy View Post
There ya Go Karen and there is your answer,like I said on RV.net when ya asked a Question about a Montana come here and you will get a Honest informative answer
LOL!! I see you found me! Thanks for the tip.
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Old 03-13-2017, 09:32 PM   #12
Karen Whitney
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Originally Posted by DQDick View Post
We've full timed in a Montana for the last 6 years now and love it. Our storage is completely containerized with containers purchased from Walmart and big box stores. The have a wide variety of hights and widths so you can maximise the use of your available storage. Works for us.
I am a BIG container user in our S&B home and I will be the same in the RV. I already have many totes in various sizes that I will not sell. They are coming with me.
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Old 03-13-2017, 09:40 PM   #13
Karen Whitney
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JABURKHOLDER View Post
Potential 3791RD owner...


We currently have a 2016 3791RD and love it. The raised den and raised bedroom give defined room separation. It feels more homey as opposed to the open, one room kitchen, dining, living area of some floor plans.


Question 1. In the very rear storage I keep camp chairs, flea market cart, chocks and shore power cable. The next one forward I keep my grille, fishing gear, broom and wash brush. I have no problem accessing any of that gear.


Question 2. Fluffy (Gabriel Iglesias) has lost a lot of weight. Most RV bathrooms are not roomy. Definitely not a two person room. The pivoting door on the new models might present a problem. Depends on how fluffy Fluffy is.


Question 3. We are not fulltimers so can't speak to how much clothes storage would be needed for that. We keep two weeks worth of clothes in the RV at all times and the dresser and closet works fine for us. I'm just glad to have a dresser as my previous RV's had none.


Question 4. The sofas and recliners are comfortable. The new recliners are power and have remote controls. Seems neat but I see potential issues. Something that can fail and you need to power back to the upright position to get up. Mine are manual. When sitting on the sofas, be sure to lean forward before getting up. If you don't, you WILL hit your head. Do not sleep on the sofa beds. There is a design flaw, unless they addressed it, that when open, the "leather" material will rub against internal frame work and rip.


Question 5. The new model has a new cook top and new self igniting oven. Wish mine had that. The new cook top gives you a bit more counter space there.


Other issues. Do not store anything fragile in the cabinets in the den. Things bounce around back there while traveling and will break. Secure the sound bar as it will bounce off it's mounts. Love the residential fridge. If you boondock much you may want to upgrade the batteries, add solar/generator or consider model 3790RD with the RV fridge.


Any other specifics, just PM me.
Thank you!! Your answer was very helpful. I am not too fluffy to not fit into the pivot doors. I like them MUCH better than the full swing doors!

I will have a ton of clothes cuz we are going to be FT . . I've already gone thru them a couple of times and will have to go thru the again when it gets closer to move into the RV.

Hubby will have to worry about the "hitting head" issue. He's 6'5" . . I'm short so I should be okay.

I'm kinda like you about the electric recliners. BUT, we may love them cuz we always have a hard time "kicking" the foot part back into place. We're getting old!!! ;/

We won't be doing much boon docking . . . so the refrig will be great for us. Oh . . . thanks for the tip on the den cabinets and sound bar. Those cabs will be mostly for movies, pictures and genealogy stuff.

I love the look of the new stove/oven. What I don't like that you can barely get 2 pots/pans on there. I thought the 3 burners on the old stove were going to be bad . . . these look like they might be worse. They are so close together. I finally got to see one in person the other day. Was kind of disappointed cuz we cook at home a lot. We usually do not use more than 2 burners at a time but we may not be able to have 2 at a time on these.
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Old 03-13-2017, 10:24 PM   #14
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Karen, something I forgot to mention...
If I read your post correctly, you plan to full time immediately upon purchase of an RV. I recommend you take a few trips first to break it in. You will find some issues. Better to have warranty work done while you still have a stick and brick instead of having to take your "home" in for repairs and having to find a place to stay.
JMHO
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Old 03-14-2017, 05:13 AM   #15
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We recently bought the 2017 3791. Although we've only had it out a couple of times, we love it! We too looked around for quite a while for the "right" full time rig. We still have a couple of years to go before that happens though. One thing we are planning on doing in the den is removing one of the sofas. Since it will just be the wife and I, we don't need that much seating; I am going to build a shelving unit in place for pictures and the wife's Christmas village and what not.
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Old 03-14-2017, 08:16 AM   #16
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JABURKHOLDER View Post
Karen, something I forgot to mention...
If I read your post correctly, you plan to full time immediately upon purchase of an RV. I recommend you take a few trips first to break it in. You will find some issues. Better to have warranty work done while you still have a stick and brick instead of having to take your "home" in for repairs and having to find a place to stay.
JMHO
Excellent advice
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Old 03-14-2017, 08:29 AM   #17
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Do NOT compare ANY RV with the S&B . They are completely different. One has to learn how to live in a RV.
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Old 03-14-2017, 09:38 AM   #18
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We have a 2017 3790 which is the same unit with the rv refrigerator. We purchased it last September and just got home from a 7 week snow bird trip. We really like the trailer.
Q1. We store chairs, golf clubs, folding bikes, extensive set of tools, fan,etc. The doors will accept any container that is approx 13" tall. We have several containers with spare bedding, table cloths, picnic table accessories etc stored underneath.
Q2. The bathroom is plenty big. I didn't know of I would like the door assembly but it seems to work really well and saves a lot of room.
Q3. We purchased fabric covered drawer cubes for the dresser. That way you can separate and store various articles in the large drawers. We also found the same type of cubes that fit in the shelves on the left of the closet. You can store a lot of stuff using those cubes.
Q4. We find the furniture to be fairly comfortable. We generally sit in the theatre seats but I have used the couch. Our adult children slept on the pill put couches and said they were fairly comfortable. I am 6'2" and find that any rv reclining furniture is too short for me. If I was full timing I would probably look to replace the theatre seating with a couple of recliners that would fit each individual. it may be a challenge to find a larger recliner that would fit in the recessed area without interfering with the slide.
Q5. We do not have the new style stove.

If you do purchase the Montana I would recommend doing something with the bedroom closet clothes rod. Ours came loose from the wall when we had it filled for the extended stay. I replaced ours with a home type rod and hangers and placed 1x6x7 inch pieces of wood on each side of the wall to put the screws into.
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Old 03-14-2017, 10:14 AM   #19
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We had a Forest River for one year till we traded the POS for a Montana. We think MT is better built, however, we have to say that FR offered to take the unit back to the factory for repair. I don't get all warm and fuzzy about Keystone as the two times I've had to call them they didn't resolve my issues and I've heard this typical of them after delivery. Bottom line is they're all made as cheaply as they can get away with and I dont think any mfgr. cares much about us at all.
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Old 03-14-2017, 10:35 AM   #20
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I have to agree with some of the negative comments about dealers and Keystone, BUT there are some good dealers out there. We have had good luck with the CWs that we have tried; Charleston, SC; Winchester, VA; Tucson, AZ and a few others. Also, there are far too many dealers whose first question is "did you buy it here?" There are also far too many who are nothing more than used car salesmen who know next to nothing about their product. We are not full-timers; last two years we have been on the road about half of the time. So I guess we are "half-timers". We looked for over two years before we bought our Montana and were looking for a dealer; had already decided on which model. We found only one dealer West of the Rockies we would consider doing business with and we looked in CA, AZ, NM, CO and Texas. A good way to sort them is to call first asking about having work done on a rig. If you get the "did you buy it here" question, keep looking.
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