Is a Montana Suitable For Long Term Living?

[oldudbob]

I (60) am retired and my wife (56) is retiring May of 2006. In June of 2006 we plan to take a three-month trip from North Carolina to Alaska and back. Then, starting the winter of 2006, we plan to travel and live in the 5th wheel for a period of five to seven months in the warm weather states staying primarily in Thousand Trails preserves.

Our TV is a 2004 Silverado, 2500HD (3/4 Ton), CC, LB, D/A, 4x4. I am planning to install A Reese 18k Signature hitch, Firestone air bags, a TrailAir pin box oin the 5th wheel and maybe an EDGE Juice & Attitude Monitor Kit. Is there anything else you would recommend that I add to my TV?

We are in the market for a 5th wheel suitable for extended living. One of the 5th wheel brands we are considering is the Montana, probably the 3400RL or 3500RL.

Are these suitable for extended living from a quality standpoint?

Does the manufacturer stand behind their warranty?

Is my TV adequate to pull these two models? If not, what model do you recommend?

What is the basic difference between the Montana and the Big Sky?

Is the higher cost of a Big Sky worth it?

Any and all related input will be greatly appreciated.

[stiles watson]

First, welcome to the MOC Forum. In my opinion, the Montana is adequate for extended living. If you go to certain rating groups, they will say that it is not rated for fulltiming. The reality is that there are numerous couples that are fulltiming in their Montanas quite successfully. As with anything man made the lifetime will be determined by the quality of care it receives. I take care of my vehicles so I get significantly longer life out of them than some others. No matter the price, a maintenance free RV unit does not exist. In general, they are more fragile than a stick house. I don't know about you, but my stick houses have never been maintenance free either.

The difference in a Montana and a Big Sky , in past models, has been more about upgrades as standard items in the Big Sky. In the last couple of years, so many of the Montanas have been ordered with those upgrades that the differences are a bit blurred. I have the Big Sky, and I like the subtle differences I find. If I were comparing the units, I would compare the standard and upgraded specifications on each unit for the same floor plans on the Keystone websites. As to the question about the viability of the higher cost, it will be a judgement call. I have no regrets.

I haven't had a need for the manufacturer to be involved in service. There have been a significant number of posters on both sides of that issue. It seems to me that the pleased outnumber the irate.

I will leave it to others to evaluate the serviceability of you Chevy since I am a Ford driver.

Whatever you decide, if you chose to enjoy the unit, you will. Have a great adventure....

[prariepoodle]

oldudbob, Most of your questions I cannot answer but I can tell you that we have been living in our Montana 3280RL for almost 2 years now and love it. We do most of the fixing things ourselves. We moved it from Nevada to Mississippi and back again with no problems with our 2004 GMC D/A serria 4x4 with the firestone air bags and I am not sure what else it has on it.LOL. What ever you choose I don't think you will have too many problems... Enjoy and Happy RVing.

[sreigle]

Welcome aboard, oldubob! You pose some very good questions. As Stiles said, RVCG probably would not say the Montana is a fulltimers' rig. But they list only a handful of high dollar rigs as fitting that category. However, there are many people fulltiming in brands not listed as fulltiming rigs by RVCG, including Montana. Including us. We're coming up on 26 months of fulltiming and have put on about 30k miles on our Montana. We have been very pleased with it.

This is our second Montana. When we traded the first we went for another Montana after looking at a number of other brands in the same and slightly higher price ranges. Our experience with our first Montana, our experience with the way Keystone stands behind the product, and the fact the Montana seems, to us, the best bang for the buck are the reasons. Ours is coming up on 3 years old and we still feel we made the right decision. You might note that Montana is the number one seller for the last four years in a row. That says a lot about the product and the manufacturer. Read through this forum and you'll see how Keystone stands behind the Montana. If we trade someday, most likely it will be a Montana, although we have no plans to trade at this time.

You asked if Keystone stands behind the warranty. I think if you read through this forum you'll discover they stand fully behind the warranty and have been known to go above and beyond when the situation warrants. They are an excellent company. By the way, they have zero control over this forum. This is totally a private forum. We have met the Keystone folks and know they read the forum. They have made a number of improvements based on what they've read here. But they have no control.

The Big Sky was an upgrade package that added some very nice upgrades. None of that was structural, however. All cosmetic. Nice, though. Over time, the Montana has assumed most of those upgrades, to the point the Big Sky is no longer being made. This is what we were told by Keystone excecutives when they were asked about this. So, if you buy a new Montana you pretty much have what the Big Sky used to have, other than the special paint scheme. That's my understanding, anyhow.

I'm also a Ford jockey but feel your Chevy will do just fine. I personally don't think you'll need the chip unless you just want more power. There are a number of people here towing the 3400 and 3500 with the same truck as you. We're towing a heavily loaded 3295RK, which is probably heavier than your 3400 or 3500 will be, with a bone-stock truck (except for the airbags) and see no need for aftermarket additions for additional power. This is just my opinion. If you're more comfortable with getting the chip, then by all means do it.

You didn't say whether your truck is 3/4 ton or 1 ton. If 3/4 ton you may or may not need airbags. I have airbags on ours because of a very slight rearend sag when hitched up but our pinweight is several hundred pounds more than you should see on yours. the 3400 and 3500 have the lightest pinweight of all the Montanas. May I recommend you hold off on the airbags until you see if you need them? If you have a 1 ton truck, then it's very doubtful you'll need the airbags.

Sorry this is so long, I got on a roll. I'm sure there will be numerous others come along to give you their own experiences and impressions. What is above is mine, for whatever it's worth.

Good luck. Don't hesitate to ask any questions at all. There are no dumb questions here.

[Montana Sky]

I am opposite most folks as I live in my 3400RL during the months of May - mid October. I keep the coach down on the river and drive back and forth to work during the summer months. Since I am nowhere near retirement I store the coach during the winter and move back into town. The 3400RL is my second Montana and have not found any reason to be trading in soon. Since the coach is mainly my lake cabin and the weekend retreat for the rest of the family and friends we have really packed them in and we had more than enough room. Slept 8 folks last summer. As far as your question about the truck, in my opinion it is more than enough to tow either the 3400RL or the 3500RL. The only thing I have added to my truck is a Pyro and Boost gauge, and the custom flow tailgate for fifth wheels. This truck just seems to beg for more and I could not be happier with it. Best of luck on your decision.

[Northstar]

As you will learn from this forum there are many of us living full time in our Montanas. And we are having a great time.

[oldudbob]

I did forget to mention that our truck is a 2500HD (3/4 ton). I really appreciate all of the feedback received to date.

[Montana_2779]

Agree with all above. We fulltime (no stickhouse) in our Mountaineer. Granted, our fulltiming is all in Texas, so we won't see any horrendous winters. We've found the Mountaineer (the "base" model of the Montana line) to be wonderfully suitable to fulltiming. As a rule, your TV should do very nicely. Be sure to check all appropriate weight ratings from the factory (especially the pin weight/rear axle ratings). Our Chevy 2500HD gasser is comfortably within all of the tow and cargo limits with our 5er.

[sreigle]

Oldudbob, here's the specs for the 2005 Montanas. Note that GVWR, the max the rig should be loaded to, is the UVW + Carrying Capacity. UVW is the shipping weight from the factory of a "normally equipped" unit, which means including the options all of them get or nearly all. It EXCLUDES a battery and propane bottles, so add a couple hundred pounds for those (the dealer installs those). Pinweight (hitchweight) is notoriously low on these specs. Ours, for example, is the 3295RK, which shows pinweight of 2,300 here. Our actual pinweight is 3,120. That's for a very heavily loaded rig (13,980 lbs last weighing). When we were vacationers/weekenders, it came out right around 2,700 on the pinweight and 12,500 total weight.

A couple of folks have reported the pinweight on their 3400RL to be very close to the advertised 1770 lbs. I'm not sure about the 3500 but in either case those two models have about the lightest pinweights so that's to your advantage.

Those are both beautiful models. Vicki's favorite is the 3400. Mine is the 3500. And we both still like our 3295RK!

Bob, you'll find your truck in a lot of signatures here. That will show you what's being towed with that truck. I think you could handle any of the Montanas with it.

[Bill Hill]

Oldudbob,
I can't comment about the full-timing except that we feel we could live in ours as long as we'd ever need to if necessary. We have an almost identical tow vehicle as yours, and it is more than sufficient as it is. You'll also notice from Steve's listing of the specs, that ours has one of the highest pin weights, so we do get a little sag, which I'll remedy later this year with air bags. Other than that, the only suggestion I have is to ABSOLUTELY get a pyrometer and boost gauge (you already have the tranny temp). I used to drive by the tachometer in my gassers, but I drive by the pyrometer in the diesel. Good Luck with your choice. There are lots of great brands out there, but I'll echo the others that you get an awful lot of bang for the buck with a Monty!

[bob n pam]

Oldudbob, welcome. We have been fulltiming in our 2001 2955RL for 4 years and have towed it around 15,000 miles. All the wiggling and jiggling have caused a few things to loosen up, but nothing a screw driver couldn't fix.

[oldudbob]

Thanks one and all for all of the great feedback. We are leaning toward the 3400RL and based on the input I have received here I feel that my truck will be more that adequate to pull it. You all have made me feel very welcome here and I hope to be able to meet some of you on the road in the near future. Do we have any Thousand Trails members here?

[Montana_2753]

I belong to TT and have been for about 4 years. Recently upgraded from Western States (currently based in San Diego area)to Nationwide and RPI Preferred. Now if I can just find the time to use it more!!