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Old 06-06-2017, 07:04 PM   #21
ExPatNW
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@topjustice, honestly one reason is just my truck now has 100K miles and I really like the 2017 ones (I do love my truck though - very happy with it). But on a more serious note, the sticker on the inside of my door says my maximum cargo weight is 2932Lbs. When I first read this I was a little disappointed, but it is a crew cab, long bed, with 4 wheel drive, all things which I believe reduce your cargo capacity. Now factor in my weight, wife, kids, and stuff we carry in the truck, what is left for the pin weight of the 3791RD is probably around 2,200Lbs. Keystone lists the pin weight on a 3791RD as 2945, and I have to assume that is a dry weight pin weight in which case when loaded with your stuff its probably even higher. Best scenario possible (but unlikely) you are maxed out. Worst scenario is you are over your weight limit in the bed by perhaps as much as 1000Lbs.

Now I have towed our 3791RD with our truck, and it was fine. The bed did not seem to sink down much more than our previous and lighter Montana Mountaineer (its probably 2000lbs less than our new rig). I am concerned though that I may not be able to break as fast as I would like or control the weight of the unit as much as I would like. In a few weeks we have a trip over our mountains (US2 to Wenatchee) and it will be interested to see how the truck controls the Montana over Stevens pass.

So having a DRW should put the weight of the pin easily into the allowed range, giving me some piece of mind. Swapping your truck is not an option for everyone, I was surprised what the KBB value of my truck is, and if I can get a good interest rate on a new one, we can make the switch.

Hope this helps - I am sure others will weigh in on this. All good info for you to consider.
Chris
 
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Old 06-06-2017, 09:24 PM   #22
topjustice
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ExPatNW View Post
@topjustice, honestly one reason is just my truck now has 100K miles and I really like the 2017 ones (I do love my truck though - very happy with it). But on a more serious note, the sticker on the inside of my door says my maximum cargo weight is 2932Lbs. When I first read this I was a little disappointed, but it is a crew cab, long bed, with 4 wheel drive, all things which I believe reduce your cargo capacity. Now factor in my weight, wife, kids, and stuff we carry in the truck, what is left for the pin weight of the 3791RD is probably around 2,200Lbs. Keystone lists the pin weight on a 3791RD as 2945, and I have to assume that is a dry weight pin weight in which case when loaded with your stuff its probably even higher. Best scenario possible (but unlikely) you are maxed out. Worst scenario is you are over your weight limit in the bed by perhaps as much as 1000Lbs.

Now I have towed our 3791RD with our truck, and it was fine. The bed did not seem to sink down much more than our previous and lighter Montana Mountaineer (its probably 2000lbs less than our new rig). I am concerned though that I may not be able to break as fast as I would like or control the weight of the unit as much as I would like. In a few weeks we have a trip over our mountains (US2 to Wenatchee) and it will be interested to see how the truck controls the Montana over Stevens pass.

So having a DRW should put the weight of the pin easily into the allowed range, giving me some piece of mind. Swapping your truck is not an option for everyone, I was surprised what the KBB value of my truck is, and if I can get a good interest rate on a new one, we can make the switch.

Hope this helps - I am sure others will weigh in on this. All good info for you to consider.
Chris
Thanks for the detailed information. I see your concern and I've thought the same about my rig. My 2015 F350 can handle the combined weight easily but the pin weight is very close. My door sticker says 3,260 lbs. and everything you said about loaded truck and trailer would put the pin weight over. My Alpine is about 800 lbs less than the 3791RD but the pin weight is only about 2,300 lbs dry. We took it over Lookout Pass (twice) last year on a 2,500 mile round trip through Utah top to bottom and middle over several passes without any issues or fear. With the exhaust break, downhill control air bags and good breaks, we felt very safe. However we were within the weight limits. Our plan is to bring a 3791RD to Coeur D' Alene from Lakeshore RV in Muskegon, MI which is about 1,900 miles. Just to be safe we will bring it dry with little additional weight (necessities only). Any small additional weight will be placed in the rear storage areas. We keep our fiver at a recreational property we own that has an RV pad, septic connection, 50 amp, water, etc right there. It's our getaway weekend retreat and we do not need to go on the road that much. We also have an onsite 40X60 garage with 18 ft ceiling where we keep the coach during winter. The trip from MI will educate us about the need for a DRW which we really don't want unless necessary. Please let us know how you feel after you go over Stevens Pass. Can't wait to hear about your experience.
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Old 06-06-2017, 09:37 PM   #23
ExPatNW
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I did notice that the fresh water tank is at the rear of the rig - so if you carry some water it will balance against the weight on the pin. Not really a long term solution in my opinion, but thought I would mention it.

Your F350 is newer than mine - but I am seriously considering an F450. Being a DRW it will solve the pin weight issue, but it will also give me upgraded brakes and a tighter turning circle (which might be helpful especially when parking the rig).
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Old 06-07-2017, 04:45 AM   #24
MAwolcott
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Originally Posted by topjustice View Post
Nice post. Lots of helpful information. I am committed to getting a new 3791RD in the next few months. You mentioned that you towed yours with a 2011 F350 SRW but a DRW may be in order. Can you expand on the reason? I have an F350 SRW crew cab long bed, so I am interested in your experience and why you might go with the DRW. Thank you.
We have the 3791RD and absolutely love it. We too used to have the F350 SRW. We upgraded to the DRW because of the pin weight of the rig. If you take a really good look at your numbers, you'll see that you'll only have a couple hundred pounds left over and that's not including any tools you might carry in a truck box. I've seen lots of SRW pulling these big rigs and I'm sure we wouldn't have an issue, but we decided to play it safe and go big.
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Old 06-18-2017, 09:29 AM   #25
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Any Issues with drafts and insullation?

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Originally Posted by ExPatNW View Post
So if you have a 3790/91RD then you needn’t bother reading this post.

I have received so much useful help and information from this forum I thought I should try and provide some value back.

If you are considering a 2017 3790/91RD then here are some thoughts for you to consider.

Its based off our first trip to the Oregon coast, where we stayed for 8 nights in Lincoln City. Weather was mild, some dry days and lot of rain, hail and wind.

If it matters, our previous rig was a Montana Mountaineer 2010 345DBQ. We switched to the 3790RD because our kids are older now and we felt we did not need the bunk room which was great when the kids were younger.
We are not full-timers, and keep our rig in a storage facility when we are working.

First let me say my wife and I love our new Montana. We really love the layout of this unit, with what we feel are very distinct living areas, the bedroom, the kitchen and dinette and the living room.

Our opinion is the materials used are higher grade than we had in our Mountaineer. It’s also a heavier unit (and higher) for that I guess.

We love the size of the fridge, I love the gas oven with digital temperature display and the sink in the island. There are way more draws than we had before and storage in the kitchen is great (at least for us).

The space above our heads in the bedroom slide is more than we had before and the king-sized bed (an option we selected) is great.

The recliners and sofa’s in the living room are comfortable and I am surprised how much we did use the fireplace.

I love how many windows and the natural light this lets into the rig.

Outside storage is simply great on this unit – I have very little in the main storage area because all my chairs and mats and stuff are in the rear holds.
Its worth calling out that although you go up some steps to get into the living area, the roof is still high enough for me at 6’ 2” to stand straight up.

We have the newer MORryde Step. I do love the strength of this step. Its certainly a more positive step into the unit that the older fold out steps – but it is very large, and we are concerned that depending on how our neighbors in storage park, we may be able to get into the unit as we won’t be able to get the steps down. You also must adjust the feet sometimes depending on the surface where the feet will land, and this is not entirely easy.

Sorry – should have mentioned we had the legacy package. This provides us with the In-Command system, upgraded MORryde Suspension, a bike hitch point on the rear, the rear camera system and day night shades in the living area (not the bedroom). Honestly hard to say if the upgraded suspension is worth it or not – we are clearly never in the unit as we drive along. We like the IN-Command, although I do feel they could and should do more with it. The day/night shades are good. We have not had a rear camera before, and it works well, I think it will prove to be useful.

Warranty issues. 2 ceiling panels in the roof had been cracked around the air conditioning outlets. The cracks are 1-2 inches long, it’s not a major issue, but when you spend this kind of money I expect it to be perfect. Our door to area where the washer dryer would go does not latch, a simple fix, but one they can take care of. The finish of the wood trim annoys me a little, the pressure on the nail guns clearly not enough to embed the heads into the wood so several of those need to be hammered under and filled. Overall though its pretty good.

The 6 points leveling system was not set to proper level, at least according to my spirit level, so I reset that, will check on our next trip if its better now.

Dometic Thermostats. Disappointed Keystone don’t fit a programmable thermostat, given the price of these rigs. I will likely replace their thermostat with a programmable one. Also found it odd that the front A/C unit is unrelated to the rear system. Finally, if we set the living area to 72, the bedroom does not get close (may be 64), and that’s when using the furnace. We will likely use a small electric heater to boost the temperature in the bedroom.

Remote control madness! There is a remote for the TV, the stereo system, the fireplace and the sound bar. So that’s 4 by fault. We added one more as we like to have SiriusXM radio (we listen to music more than watch TV generally). This is way too many remotes, so I will likely replace them all with a Logitech Harmony.

Love the kitchen. The stove is nice, lights very easily, as does the oven. The light on the stove from the Microwave oven is way better than what we had before.

Not sure we will use the built-in vacuum system much (we have a small Dyson from our previous rig anyway). The built-in vacuum is not bag less and it’s a very small bag. I know SOB just comes with a Dyson.
In our previous Montana, we had three speakers sets, bedroom, living area and outside. In our unit, this is not the same. We have bedroom and outside, but in the living area and kitchen the only speaker for the stereo system is the sound bar. Not sure I like this – would have preferred at least a 3rd set of speakers in the kitchen. The TV is wired direct to the sound bar, so you need to use the Sound Bar remote to select the right input if you switch from one to the other. For many this may not sound like a big deal, but I would rather the TV sound went through the Stereo system – then I could leave the sound bar on and not have to bother with it much. I may do something about this – not decided yet. Have been surprised by just how many digital TV stations I can pick up over the air with the roof top antenna.

Towing. So our older Mountaineer was a little lighter and a little shorter (36’). Can’t say I noticed too much the extra length. My F350 2011 6.7PS SRW pulled it fine, but I do think a DRW may be in order.

It’s a beautiful looking 5th wheel, and we are super happy with it. A few niggles, and I think it’s true to say that any RV is a trade-off between different things (our old Mountaineer had 2 toilets which was great for 4 of us). But overall, and keep in mind we have only had one trip so far, so far so good.

Hope this helps someone.
I see you are from Everett, we are from Mount Vernon and just purchased our 3790RD this year to go full time. I noticed that you mentioned using the fireplace more then you thought you would. We have been in our rig for the past month and my only complaint is that there are cold drafts in the kitchen area. So we run a dyson heater to keep the chill off and it seems to help with the condensation as well. Has anyone found any way to make these units less drafty? Are there any problem areas that people have found that would address this issue or any suggestions? By the way, I really wish our summer would start.... Rain Rain go Away!
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Old 06-18-2017, 10:06 AM   #26
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Not sure if this would help or not but I put a heater in the basement on top my beer fridge so that it heats the bedroom floor but also comes through the fresh air vents on the stairs and into the kitchen. Then it seems the drafts are at least warm.
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Old 06-18-2017, 11:01 AM   #27
ExPatNW
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Quote:
Originally Posted by DoWeRVandHow View Post
I see you are from Everett, we are from Mount Vernon and just purchased our 3790RD this year to go full time. I noticed that you mentioned using the fireplace more then you thought you would. We have been in our rig for the past month and my only complaint is that there are cold drafts in the kitchen area. So we run a dyson heater to keep the chill off and it seems to help with the condensation as well. Has anyone found any way to make these units less drafty? Are there any problem areas that people have found that would address this issue or any suggestions? By the way, I really wish our summer would start.... Rain Rain go Away!
Hi Mount Vernon. Are you going to full-time in Washington or travel around? I can't say we have noticed any drafts, but we have only been away once so far (and the weather was not good so we may have noticed). I did not expect the fire to look as realistic as it does - given its all electric. So we use it more than I thought we would. Best of luck.
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Old 06-18-2017, 02:10 PM   #28
richfaa
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It will be good to have a new truck and one that is within all spec,s.
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Old 06-18-2017, 05:23 PM   #29
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We are on our first trip as well this weekend! I have a question regarding the Furrion oven. Does your oven have a stone in the bottom of the oven? We tried cooking our dinner on Friday night and the oven would not maintain temperature. I found it is missing the bottom portion of the rubber seal. When looking at the parts list, it says there is a stone located right above the burner. All I see is a metal plate, no stone.
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Old 06-18-2017, 05:37 PM   #30
DoWeRVandHow
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We are on our first trip as well this weekend! I have a question regarding the Furrion oven. Does your oven have a stone in the bottom of the oven? We tried cooking our dinner on Friday night and the oven would not maintain temperature. I found it is missing the bottom portion of the rubber seal. When looking at the parts list, it says there is a stone located right above the burner. All I see is a metal plate, no stone.
Our furion stove did come with a stone and it was in a box in the drawer under the stove. We are just about to make strawberry shortcake and will put the stone in the oven. Wow what timing. I will let you know how that works, but you should have a stone with your stove.
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Old 06-18-2017, 07:28 PM   #31
topjustice
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I just saw a video about the new 2018 3790/3791 that now has a rear end sliding tray that they say will accommodate a kayak or bicycles etc. It is rated to handle 800 lbs. What a great new addition to an already great unit! Does anyone know how long this tray is? Here's the video. It's a bit long but the tray is shown about 20% into the video.
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Old 06-18-2017, 07:54 PM   #32
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I will measure mine in the morning and let you know.
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Old 06-18-2017, 08:28 PM   #33
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I really like the tray thats a great addition, the tv on the dining room slide not so much. I put my 40" in the basement with the beer fridge, they kinda go together heheh
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Old 06-19-2017, 09:06 AM   #34
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Ok, The measurements are as follows, measured to the inside of the tray:
9' 5" (just short of 6") long
44" (short of 45) wide
3 1/2" deep
These are pretty close but should be close enough for planning purposes.
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Old 06-19-2017, 04:28 PM   #35
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Ok, The measurements are as follows, measured to the inside of the tray:
9' 5" (just short of 6") long
44" (short of 45) wide
3 1/2" deep
These are pretty close but should be close enough for planning purposes.
Thank you for taking the time to measure the tray. That's quite deep inside - lots of storage. Much appreciated!
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Old 06-25-2017, 12:39 PM   #36
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I have a question regarding the dining table. Does yours sit level or have a slope to it? Ours has a definite slope towards the island. I didn't know if this is normal or we need to include this on the list of things which need repaired when we take it back to the dealer next week. Thanks!
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Old 06-25-2017, 01:28 PM   #37
oceandansar
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I have a friend that just purchased a 2016 cougar with the tray on the back. It is definetly awesome. I plan on seeing if I can copy it on mine as he stores it at my storage facility. It is very sturdy
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Old 06-25-2017, 03:31 PM   #38
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Very interesting differences in the '18 model. I like the rear storage, however there are lots of campsites that would be very difficult to use effectively. I would miss the drawers underneath the love seat, but overall, still a very functional unit. Even with my differences with Montana after our fiasco, well done Montana.
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Old 06-25-2017, 08:04 PM   #39
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I have a question regarding the dining table. Does yours sit level or have a slope to it? Ours has a definite slope towards the island. I didn't know if this is normal or we need to include this on the list of things which need repaired when we take it back to the dealer next week. Thanks!
It sure wouldn't make sense to have a table that slants. Definitely have them fix it while you have the chance.
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Old 05-26-2018, 12:03 PM   #40
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Worst camper I have ever owned. Problem after problem and camping world is a disaster to work with. If something could have gone wrong with our $ 90,000 unit it did. Walls falling in, molding falling down, glass doors falling off, a defective washer that was improperly installed, a failing wall behind the theatre seating...should I continue?
Warning, think twice, I’d return this in a heartbeat if I could. It is our 7th unit...NOT so lucky #7!
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