Montana Owners Club - Keystone Montana 5th Wheel Forum - View Single Post

David and Jo-Anna · 07-18-2006, 05:06 PM

I see two issues here, and they seem to be getting blended together in some of the posts. One issue revolves around the GVWR for the 3400--what do the rig and its various options really weigh, what axle and pin weights can the rig safely handle, and what if anything can be done to get Montana to raise its GVWR to reflect its true capability so that the risk of legal liability doesn't unnecessarily interfere with decisionmaking regarding the selection of options and the loading of personal cargo. The second issue deals with what kind of tow vehicle is needed to handle the weight of the 3400. My focus was to answer the GVWR question as best it can be answered before going on to the tow vehicle question.

On the GVWR issue, Rich it's encouraging to hear that there are engineering people at Montana who know their product and can be talked to. For the reasons I set forth in an earlier post above, I think there are good reasons why the engineering folks ought to be able to persuade the marketing folks to bump up the GVWR for the 3400 at least another 1000#. If they can do that, then we can make rational decisions on options and cargo rather than having those decisions constricted by concerns about legal liability or loss of insurance coverage in an accident. I look forward to working with you to see what can be done to nudge Montana along in this effort.

For those who have their rigs already, I agree with Rich and Rick that "they weigh what they weigh" and one needs to deal with that in selecting a tow vehicle. I suspect the tow vehicle question is distorted by many factors. One factor I see is that people have different levels of risk they are willing to take. Some are clearly willing to go with a tow vehicle that others feel is inadequate for the job. As I lack personal experience with the safety hazards of hauling a 3400, I'm not going to attempt to offer any opinions on this issue to a group that has much more experience then I have. I'll simply learn what I can from this forum and then make my own decision based on my own comfort level with risks.

07-18-2006, 05:06 PM	#57
David and Jo-Anna Montana Master Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Green Valley Posts: 1,618 M.O.C. #6022	I see two issues here, and they seem to be getting blended together in some of the posts. One issue revolves around the GVWR for the 3400--what do the rig and its various options really weigh, what axle and pin weights can the rig safely handle, and what if anything can be done to get Montana to raise its GVWR to reflect its true capability so that the risk of legal liability doesn't unnecessarily interfere with decisionmaking regarding the selection of options and the loading of personal cargo. The second issue deals with what kind of tow vehicle is needed to handle the weight of the 3400. My focus was to answer the GVWR question as best it can be answered before going on to the tow vehicle question. On the GVWR issue, Rich it's encouraging to hear that there are engineering people at Montana who know their product and can be talked to. For the reasons I set forth in an earlier post above, I think there are good reasons why the engineering folks ought to be able to persuade the marketing folks to bump up the GVWR for the 3400 at least another 1000#. If they can do that, then we can make rational decisions on options and cargo rather than having those decisions constricted by concerns about legal liability or loss of insurance coverage in an accident. I look forward to working with you to see what can be done to nudge Montana along in this effort. For those who have their rigs already, I agree with Rich and Rick that "they weigh what they weigh" and one needs to deal with that in selecting a tow vehicle. I suspect the tow vehicle question is distorted by many factors. One factor I see is that people have different levels of risk they are willing to take. Some are clearly willing to go with a tow vehicle that others feel is inadequate for the job. As I lack personal experience with the safety hazards of hauling a 3400, I'm not going to attempt to offer any opinions on this issue to a group that has much more experience then I have. I'll simply learn what I can from this forum and then make my own decision based on my own comfort level with risks.