We Need Your Input

[Chester]

Glenda and I are in the short strokes of deciding between the new 3475RL and the 3500RL. Basically these two models are the same except the 3500 has the french doors between the kitchen and living room. The 3475 looks nice and open and the 3500 gives you the ability to close off the living room. That would be nice to help keep the dog confined to the kitchen area at night rather than having him make the couch his bed. On the other hand the 3475 allows for easy conversation between someone in the kitchen and living room.

We would really appreciate your input on this dividing wall. Is it just a fad that will pass or is this going to be a popular improvement?? Do you folks see advantages of one versus the other??

Thanks for your inputs....

[rames14]

Brad -

I didn't see the 3475 or 3500 in Montana's literature, so I don't know what the floor plans look like. But, I would say it would depend upon how you would use it. For us, it is either just Terrie and I (plus Magnum the Labrador) or lots of us (kids, grandson, and Magnum). We like the openness. And Magnum knows not to get on the furniture (we could tell if he had been there by the hair). We have the 3400 and like the open feeling. Again, they build lots of models because there are so many different tastes. If you think that you would like the privacy in your family area, go with the French doors.

[prariepoodle]

I think I would like the 3475RL because I like to visit and also like to watch TV while I am doing the cooking.

[Glenn and Lorraine]

If and when we decide to upgrade one thing our rig will not have is the French doors. Saw them in a number of different 5ers and didn't care for them. Like Rames14, we also like the openess.
Fade? Possibly. Popular improvement? I hope not.
I might be trying to read between the lines but your own words "dividing wall" gives me the impression that you yourself are actually leaning away from the idea of these doors.

[ken]

Chester
One other thing to look at when deciding on what coach to buy is the slides. Were going to the 3475 because it has larger slides combining the table and chairs along with the sofa. Our 3655FL was great but the table and chairs slide was too small. We wanted the openness too. Just remeber those french doors on the 3500 are behind the axles where the bounce is. Our sliding door was in that same area with the rear bedroom and it constantly came off the tracks untill I fixed it. But its your decision. In either case the Montanas are great. I can stand the small problems.
Ken and Velda Taylor
Dahlgren VA
2003 3655FL (2005 3475 on order)Ford F350 Diesel

[Montana_2694]

Didn't see the floor plans for either the 3475 or 3500 on the Keystone-Montana website. I did catch some pictures of a 3475 but they weren't good pics. Is there somewhere to view these bad boys? We saw the Everest (364Q) with the French doors and liked it. It was however, pretty pricy. You can check it out here along with other lines...just no 3475 or 3500....
http://keystone.rvweb.com/new_recrea...=1087411814680

[sreigle]

I agree that how you plan to use it is a major factor. We live in ours and don't do a lot of entertaining onboard so we prefer having some division of rooms, more like an apartment. I guess if we weren't fulltiming maybe it would be different for us. We like the French Doors although ours doesn't have them. I think you can see it's just a matter of personal preference and how you will use it. Whichever works better for you. If possible, spend some time in each floorplan, wandering around, sitting where you'd sit to watch tv. See if you can converse from where the other person is likely to be, etc. Haven't seen a 3475 yet but that 3500 is beautiful as I recall from the rally tour.

[ronstan]

Maybe another thing to think about is the weight of the trailers and will your TV handle that trailer.

[Chester]

Glenn, you're right. Glenda and I are leaning a little more to the 3475 since we think the openness is good. There are some features in the 3475 that are nicer, in our opinion, than the 3500. In the 3475 the washer dryer closet is right inside the entrance door. This puts a nice size closet right at the doorway to drop off the big coats etc. If we had a washer dryer I think the weight would be better in this location than at the front of the bedroom. Also the bedroom has the extra closet beside the bed and under the bedroom TV there are 4 huge drawers. This is the washer dryer closet in the 3500 and there is no closet beside the bed. The front clothes closet is the same in both units.

Ken, those are good points about the size of the slides and the location of the french doors.

Ronstan, the truck I have will handle any of the Montanas but that is a consideration that needs to be taken. Good point!

The major issue I had with the 3500 is that I thought it might have better resale value in 4 years. I wondered if the 4th slide and the French doors would add value but since it costs about $2000 more than the 3475 that is probably a mute point. When we sold our 2750 it hurt resale because it was a single slide. I'm an engineer and in my mind however I think the fewer slides there are the less to go wrong!

Steve, I test pulled a 3575 last spring and found it felt no different on my truck than my 2750. The only thing different was it was slower turning backing up and the truck took a bigger arc. We keep our trailer at a local Conservation area for most of the year. Our lot will be a little more difficult to get this unit into but I'm sure that will work out no problem. For 2 weeks each year we go to a Provincial Park. Some of the lots will take this size fiver but most will not so we will have to choose lots carefully. This 2 week period is really important to us as we meet up with a lot of "once a year" friends at this campground. So about 95% of the time the size of this unit should be no problem.

Thanks everyone for your input.

[BillyRay]

we always like the open feeling. don't like anything that feels confined.