New and Looking for a guiding hand!

[lookingfornewadventure]

Hi
My husband and I are in the process of purchasing an RV for the first time. Seven YEARS of daydreaming about it finally being realized! haha We have narrowed it down to the 3120 or 3230 Montana, or the Alliance 340RL. Test drove a Ram 2500 and loved it but realize we need to go one ton for these size rigs.

This will be our first RV, so LOTS of indecision Youtube and salesman all have an opinion, but I wanted to ask people who have done it/are doing it!

So, for my questions should you care to answer:

How hard is it to drive a one ton as your daily driver? Hubby works from home, so no commute, just local trips to store, and I don't work. Not scared of size, just rattling our brains I suppose.

Hubby might need to work sometimes while we are traveling. He is software engineer so he needs good, fast, reliable internet connection, and lots of data. If this a futile dream?

Is this a crazy setup for folks who are thinking a long weekend trip once a month, and a couple two week vacations a year? Possibly longer stretch of time if the working from RV goes well.

And lastly, we need someone to teach us how to drive this thing. Anyone have a recommendation in the Puget Sound area (washington state) for a driving instructor and/or rv inspector? We will be using both to make sure we know what we are doing and not going to crash into anything!

Thanks, and look forward to meeting some of you on the road! We will be the ones scratching our heads and saying "what did they say? do you remember cause I don't..."

[JDDilly]

If the one ton is a SRW, no difference is the overall size compared to a 3/4 ton. May ride a little harsher, but that depends. My Son-in-law has a 3/4 ton that is about 6 years old, my one ton is only 3 years old and rides better then his.

[jsb5717]

My one ton is my driver as well. It's a truck, not a car, but I enjoy driving it and have no trouble as my get-around vehicle.

Weekends and a couple longer trips a year is how we camped for nearly 40 years. We just enjoy getting away with our own bed and stuff. No regrets. Now retired so more camping...

Learning to drive can be tricky depending on your current experience with a trailer. A large empty parking lot is a good place to start to get comfy with how it handles and backs up.

You can't go wrong with either one of those floorplans. I really like the new 3230...but that's just me.

Good luck and welcome aboard!

[DQDick]

First of all welcome to the forum! We have a 3500 dually and frequently use it for daily driver chores. Takes a little getting used to, but after that no problem. The internet access can be a problem at times. Since we full time all over the country we've had good and bad experiences but things are definetly getting better. You didn't ask how we felt about the brand. We've owned three Montanas and wouldn't look for another brand.

[RMcNeal]

I have had my F350 1 ton since 2014 as my daily driver. I've always owned trucks, but this is my first super duty. The long bed took some getting used to, but I love my truck and wouldn't part with it.
I own my own software company and work from the road often. I have an unlimited plan from AT&T from many years ago when the iPhone first came out and they forced us on it. Now I use a NetGear router on AT&T and it works very well wherever we go. I hooked it up to the antenna prewire for the Furrion router so the external MIMO antenna gives me a better signal. I can usually get 30-40 MB download, even more if I'm close to a tower. We stream TV over Firesticks and Roku too. No problems with that. You can use a lot of data though. I regularly break 200 GB per month when travelling.

[NCFischers]

Google the NRVIA to have your RV inspected. They are a national RV inspection company. Contact the RV Driving School for driving instruction. It's a national company with independent contractors nationwide that can teach you all about handling your rig.

[L0veless]

I went from 3/4 ton to 1ton dually as my everyday grocery getter. no issues and I love it. this board is a great place for information. keep in mind though that no matter what brand you go with people mostly come on these boards to complain about their rig. very rarely is it just "i love my rig". We use ATT hot spot with a nighthawk router. Use T-moblie cell phones with unlimited. traveling the country there are spots where nothing works. one last thing Welcome to the community.

[L0veless]

and I forgot to mention RV parks that advertise WiFi usually it is very very slow and not geared for anything other then email.

[watsonjones]

Welcome to the Forums. We drive a RAM 3500 Dual Rear Wheel (DRW) that tows a 40' 2017 3721RL. Actually on travel days my wife who is 5' 0" drives it while I work from the passenger seat. She gets some surprised looks from people on the road and when she gets out of the truck.
We had looked at RV's for a couple of years before settling on a model that we wanted and then I went to the dealer and said "If we want to tow this anywhere in the US, what truck should I get.". They gave us the truck specs we should get and that is what we bought.
Yes, driving the DRW for errands can be a little daunting at first and you may want to pick a spot in the back of the lot rather than the one closest to the grocery door for a while, but it is definitely manageable. However, I believe having a DRW makes towing the 5er much easier and more enjoyable. I would echo the suggestion of finding an empty parking lot and using a couple of cones to get used to maneuvering the truck and trailer. And when camping maybe start by kicking in the few extra bucks for the pull-through sites, but you will quickly gain confidence with it.
With regards to working from the road, I too am in IT and we had the opportunity to leave our house in our daughters hands and go out and work from the road. We were out nine months last year and will be out ten months this year. We primarily use an ATT Netgear hotspot for service, and have only once needed to use our Verizon prepaid hotspot, but it is good to have that as an option if you find yourself in a dead zone. We do also have a cell booster that I will put up when needed, but have found that a window mounted antenna works well for me in most instances. We travelled through 22 states last year (mostly the middle 3rd of the country) and will be visiting another 22 states this year (mostly in the right 3rd of the country). I am careful when booking campgrounds to check for service and in general will err on sites closer to civilization since I need a reliable connection from 8:30am-6pm M-F. But I cannot emphasize enough what an amazing opportunity this has been for us. We have heard there is a window between when your kids are independent and when you get grandchildren, that is 'Your Time' and we plan to make the most of it.
I would be happy to share all the equipment we use and any other questions you may have. I know it is a bit of a leap of faith getting out and working from the road, but these last two years have been some of the best years of our lives.
- David & Jean Ann

[DutchmenSport]

Driving a dually is no different than driving any other vehicle. You just have be more selective where you park, as they won't fit in the "compact car" slots at the airport.

If you are going to tow a fifth wheel, you will never be disappointed with a dually.

[Camp CA]

Originally Posted by lookingfornewadventure

...........How hard is it to drive a one ton as your daily driver?.............needs good, fast, reliable internet connection, and lots of data. If this a futile dream?.......Is this a crazy setup for folks who are thinking a long weekend trip once a month, and a couple two week vacations a year?..............we need someone to teach us how to drive this thing...........

How hard is it to drive a one ton as your daily driver? No big deal driving a 1 ton vs. 1/2 or 3/4 ton truck vs. Expedition or Excurion. I like the 1 ton crew cab dually.

needs good, fast, reliable internet connection, and lots of data. If this a futile dream? No.......for fast internet check with your cell phone provider. We have AT&T with a hot spot and unlimited data, which is really fast, or get a dedicated router. We had a router for while then upgraded our cell phone hot spot.

Is this a crazy setup for folks who are thinking a long weekend trip once a month, and a couple two week vacations a year? No, we did that for years now spend months vacationing with it.

We need someone to teach us how to drive this thing. Find a local RV school with fifth wheel experience like https://www.rvschool.com/ OR ask the trailer dealer to train you on your trailer and tow vehicle. When I picked up my first 38 ft fifth wheel trailer the dealer's rep rode with me around Sacramento before I towed it home 80 miles away but I already had experience towing a 25 ft rtandem trailer skiboat trailer. So purchase the truck and drive it around. The keys are WIDE TURNS, MAINTAIN CONSTANT VISIBILITY IN FRONT AND EACH SIDE CONSTANTLY AND learn how to back, offset parking and alley docking.

[lookingfornewadventure]

Thank you so much for the replies, everyone! You alleviated some fears and we are super excited to put all this in motion! ��

[SaraLouwho]

I love to cook, so I need good counter space for prep and like to leave my coffee pot and electric kettle on the counter. Husband likes TV and doesn't want me walking in front of him while cooking, and his recliner needs to face the TV. I use a CPAP so I need a shelf and an electric outlet on my side of the bed. Everyone has their own "Must Have". These were some of ours.

[rames14]

First off, welcome to the forum. It is a great place to get great information on Montana fifth wheels from the people that use them. As a first time RVer, there is a learning curve and the people here can help ease it for you. The first caution (you will definitely remember this in the future) is RV’s are not like cars. Choose your dealer wisely. The dealer will determine if you enjoy or regret your purchase.

We live in the mountains of Colorado and just got our fourth Montana, the 3230CK that you mentioned. For us, it is a perfect floor plan and is doing a great job. Both the 3120 and 3230 will fit within the parameters of a one ton SRW truck. We pull ours with a 2021 Ram 3500 SRW. The Ram 3500 drives great (as would the GM or Ford versions). Very few of us had lessons. Get the dealer to help you to learn how to drive it and I mean both of you. As for WiFi, if you are using campgrounds, you will most likely be in cell range and can use a Hotspot. We have the $50 T-Mobile 100gb plan. However, we were camped recently where it was a five mile ATV ride to get cell service. Our experience since getting our first Montana in 2004 and joining the MOC at the same time that we have been very happy. Again, that is partially because of the support of the MOC family and partially because of buying from good dealers that supported their customers. It is a shame you can’t participate in the upcoming rally in Goshen. It is the best learning experience a new owner could have. Best of luck with your decision.

[lookingfornewadventure]

Thanks again for the posts, this is a great forum! We pulled the trigger on a 2018 3120rl this weekend, and are super excited! Now waiting for Ram to build the truck, only slightly impatiently.....

Already realizing it probably has one air conditioner, and we want 2, it has a queen that we thought might be a king, and all kinds of other "do we really know what we are getting into" thoughts. Waiting on a call back to get it inspected, we really did do this the wrong way around .

Thanks again for all the input!

[watsonjones]

Don't discount the Queen before you have tried it. A lot more room around the edges to help when making the bed.

[lookingfornewadventure]

Wait, making the bed? Do I have to do that? Is my MIL coming over? :-)