3400RL Towablilty

[Team Daybreak]

Thanks Rick. That makes a lot of sense. I can understand them being very cautious and conservative when it comes to overloading, and yes I believe you're right about them figuring weight with full liquids.

I would never make a decision based on any single source. I've been looking and investigating for over a year now and have a spreadsheet in progress that will show all the important facts of several different brands and models. I also place a lot of importance on opinions and information from folks like members of MOC. In fact, since we are having a beautiful sunny day today, we're going to go to the Montana dealer and get some measurements and info that I don't have.

Thanks again for everyone's input. I appreciate it.

John

[bsmeaton]

Rick,

That answers my question - they have no qualitative criteria and thier conclusions are strictly subjective. They are guessing that the trailer will be overloaded, and guessing that it will handle poorly. They should be sued by the manufacturer for slander.

Not sure where you are getting your numbers, but I'm showing a net carrying capacity of greater than 3,200 lbs with a full fresh water tank and propane.

[Cat320]

quote:Originally posted by JimF

Not so sure about the TV, if it's rated correctly, making a big difference in how the 3400 pulls. You have a Chevy, I have a Dodge, a friend of mine has a Ford. You and I have the 5th Airbourne and all three of use say the same thing about towing. It does very well. The rating folks are nuts..

Wasn't talking about the Chevy vs Dodge vs Ford debate. As noted above, the cargo capacity of the truck, drw vs srw, hitch placement, and wheelbase length all contribute to a good/bad towing experience.

Okay Brad...you just opened another can of worms...where are you getting 3200 while the rest of us just barely get 2000? Even Montana's brochure, which we know is optimistic, gives the 3400 only 2325 of cargo.

[bsmeaton]

Uh-oh, looks like I did -

Brochure -
shipping weight - 11,650
Carrying capacity - 2,325
Pin - 1,975

Website Specifications -
shipping weight - 11,800
Carrying capacity - 3,940
Pin - 2,000

Wonder if they changed axles mid year? Dry weights about the same, but that's almost 2,000 lbs difference in GVWR between the two resources.

[sreigle]

Bert, good point that some have towed only Montanas so cannot really compare...

Our fifthwheels...

1985 Wilderness 245something (used)

1999 Jayco Eagle 255BH (new)

2001 Montana 2880RL (new)

2003 Montana 3295RK (new)

2007 Montana 3400RL (new)

I've not towed a lot of different brands, just those above. But, the Montanas feel far better back there than those others we towed. Maybe we were just lucky, but I doubt it. We have not had any (that I recall) handling problems reported in the four years I've been on this forum. Not that I recall, anyhow.

Wrenchtraveler, sometimes the extra bad chucking seems to be worse on certain wheelbases, between truck rear wheels and trailer wheels. That may be why the difference in the two tows you mentioned. I've had dealers tell me that and suggest the only way to know for sure how your combination will work is to tow test it on concrete interstates. I always said I am going to do that but never did.

Team Daybreak, we've had discussions here about carrying capacity. I emailed Keystone and got a reply from one of their engineers and posted that reply in this forum somewhere. They use the RVIA method of caculating GVWR. That is axle capacity (rating) plus estimated pinweight. Montana uses their estimated unloaded pinweight in that calculation. That pinweight number is notoriously low. Add that low pinweight to the axle rating to get the gvwr, then deduct the unloaded weight, estimated propane and water weight, and you get carrying capacity. For example, estimated pinweight on mine is 2000 lbs. Actual scaled weight is 2860. We run heavier than most, though. Our gvwr is 13,975 and our actual weight is 14,620. Keystone told me not to worry about it when I asked. I see the newest Montanas have considerably higher carrying capacity. I'm not sure whether they upgraded the axles or adjusted the pinweight or how they came up with higher numbers.

[Native Tex]

We just have the pin box that came with our, standard suspension on the trailer, nothing special. We have been pulling ours for almost two years and all I can say is....."it handles great". We have pulled this rig with our 2000 model year Ford diesel and of course with the current truck. Both pulled it very well, not problems with any unusual towing problems. If I was buying a new rig tomorrow, I would have to start with another Monty.

[Cat320]

I hereby give up trying to figure out how anybody at Keystone computes any weight, for any configuration, of any Montana...none of it's the same and none of it makes much sense.

[WildBigBill]

Tows just fine, that rating system must be faulty! Never had any problem except you do have to check to see if it is still there, ha ha.

[lwcdg]

Ours' (3295RK) pulls better than the Coachman we had. It only had 2 slides was smaller and lighter. Love this about the Montana, pulls great like it's not even there.
Chuck