Newbie Montana Owner Questions

[BirdingRVer]

As I have now owned my 3075RL for 4 days and have it safely at the storage yard I have newbie owner questions:

1. What is the best way to remove the round “30% more turning radius” sticker from the front of the unit?

2. I have a drawer full of manuals but, they all seem to be the operating manuals for the various appliances. Is there or should there be a Montana Owners manual? I was thinking of something like the owners manual that comes with a new car or truck. It has the recommended maintenance schedule, and “your upholstery should only be cleaned with XYZ or washed with soft non-abrasive detergent” kind of information. I am looking for a Montana equivalent that says the roof is made out of QRX and should be cleaned with ABC at a certain interval or the end caps should only be cleaned with DEF cleanser.

3. I think, I want to move my dinner table 90 degrees for travel. Anyone see any obvious problem we unscrewing the table and turning it?

4. Why don’t the doors to the propane bottles lock?

5. Since, I have to keep my Montana at a storage yard. Any suggestions on how to secure the spare tire?

6. Should I keep the day\night curtains up or down while in transit and during storage? I was thinking that by keeping them down it would protect the interior from UV rays but, with the windows so dark I am not sure that is needed.

[mtkrumm]

I have a couple of answers.

First, we leave our dinner table unscrewed, always. No problems.

Second, propane doors don't lock for safety reasons, IE: in case of fire they can be shut off by anyone.

[Montana Sky]

1. You could try Goo be gone or Awesome cleaner to remove the glue left behind from the sticker

2. Keystone does not use a specific manual for each floorplan, just a general manual. Each vendor/supplier of appliances each have their specific manual that should have been included in your packet.

3. I never strap down the chairs or the table, no problems so far.

4. Steve covered this one.... "dont lock for safety reasons"

5. Do a search on this, has been talked about in a few different threads

6. I keep mine down. I usually overnight in a rest area or Wal*Mart and cannot get to each window to close the shades with the slides in. Would rather have the privacy and in my opinion, it helps keeping the coach cooler during the daytime.

[dsprik]

The last one is your preference. I, like Dave, keep mine down. Last thing I want the driver behind me to be doing is trying to see what's inside my 5ver when he should be paying attention to other things while he right on my bumper... Some like them up as they feel up is less bouncing around while on the road. I don't feel mine are all that loose, and they seem to ride fine all the way down. I wouldn't leave either shade halfway down, though... That could flop around a little more than what I would be comfortable.

We had a long thread on this a while back. Don't think there is a right or wrong on this issue.

On my "30%" sticker, I just peeled it off. I did study it for a while debating the pros and cons. Seems it is plastic and won't rip. Mine surprisingly came right off without leaving a mark.

Montana/Keystone does have a manual - included with all the individual manuals of everything in the Montana. However, the Montana manual is very general and frankly, not to helpful. Need to dig into the individual manuals for trouble shooting of specific appliances...

Many unscrew their tables. None have reported any problems at all in doing so. They ride fine without being anchored.

[campbud]

On the 30% decal our dealer took ours off. I have seen numerous units with these on and could not figure out why you would want that left on. We didnt even ask the dealer to take it off they just did. You might want to use a hair dryer on it to release it off. I dont really know what our dealer used but other people have told me they used a hair dryer to remove decals.
Day/Night shades we keep ours down when moving and up for winter storage...wife puts sheets up to protect the inside.

[Cat320]

1. Mine peeled off.
2. As noted, you should have a generic, rather worthless, manual from Keystone. As for the other manuals (appliances, etc), I put all mine in a 4" binder in alphabetical order by appliance.
3. No problem in moving it, but no real need either.
4. Safety...also, the basement key will open any basement of any RV.
5. Although we keep the RV in covered storage, I cannot get it into the driveway (to load/unload) with the spare in its normal place. Therefore, I keep it in the garage and carry it in the bed of the truck when travelling. If I was going to leave it on the Montana, I'd put a chain and lock on it.
6. We usually keep the curtains up when travelling...the windows are so darkly tinted, it is nearly impossible for somebody to see in...check it out. Been keeping them up in storage, too...it's locked with limited access.

[Parrothead]

Grant,
I think you have the answers to most of your questions. We unscrewed our table the first day and have never put the screws back in. Been over a lot of rough roads and not problem. Where is it going? I do put a cloth at the end just in case it bangs into the island. We traveled in both our previous rigs without screwing down or bungee cording the tables and chairs and have never had a problem.
We don't do anything special with the shades and have not had a problem. Most are usually down when we take off because they were down the night before. You should have received a separate manual for the roof. It would be in that large envelope of material you received when you purchased the rig.
Happy trails....................

[stiles watson]

Your best manual will be the one you build yourself by printing and cataloging pertinant information gathered fron this forum. So, if you don't find it, ask.

[exav8tr]

Grant, I had to download my manual from the net. As stated above it IS very generic but somewhat helpful. I am a newbie also.

Phil P.

[The Oldguard]

I think everyone else has answered you questions. But to remove any decal, or tape residue just spray “WD-40” on it and rub it in let set for a minute or two then wipe off. Repeat as necessary, this will work and not harm finish.

[sreigle]

1. Our dealer removed the decal at our request. I wonder if there is any sticky residue or is this a cling type decal that just peels off? Goo Gone works great on the sticky stuff. We keep some on hand at all times. Available at grocery stores and walmarts, etc.

2. There should be a manual although it's not as comprehensive as those with your truck/car.

3. No problem. Screw it back down if it's the pedestal type unless it will ride ok unscrewed. We removed the screws when we had the trestle type table and never bothered to screw it back down. No problem.

4. The propane lockers cannot be locked, is my understanding, and still meet safety requirements. About all you could do is remove the bottles or find some way to chain them to the locker. Since there are openings (for venting) in that locker you probably could use a chain/padlock.

5. Chain and padlock or bicycle cable lock is probably what I'd use.

6. We leave the shades in whatever position they were in when we got ready to leave. Usually that's down. We've had no ill effects on the pleats despite reading numerous posts that they would lose their pleats if we didn't leave the shades fully up. During storage I would keep them down for the reasons others mentioned.

[ols1932]

quote:Originally posted by BirdingRVer


5. Since, I have to keep my Montana at a storage yard. Any suggestions on how to secure the spare tire?

6. Should I keep the day\night curtains up or down while in transit and during storage? I was thinking that by keeping them down it would protect the interior from UV rays but, with the windows so dark I am not sure that is needed.

I have my spare tire strapped up to the carrier with web straps (purchased at Wal-Mart, the cheap ones) then ran a bicycle cable over and under the tire and the brackets welded to the frame, then padlocked it.
We've traveled with the shades both up and down. We don't pay any attention to them except for the one on the big window. Most of the time I keep that one down while traveling just to keep people from looking in when we've stopped somewhere.

Orv