First long road trip with the Montana

[Sunshine]

Just returned from our first real road trip with the previously enjoyed Montana we acquired last fall. We couldn't be happier with the way the Montana handled and the beauty and comfort of our accommodations. Our travels took us to Reno, then south through the rest of Nevada, with southern Utah as our final destination. Weather was great and Zion and Bryce Canyon National Parks were magnificent. We spent 3 wonderful days "camping" in Zion Canyon. A King of the Road 5th wheel was in the site next to us and had a retractable deck -anyone seen one of those? Looked like a neat feature, but we didn't have a chance to visit with the owners about it. The Centennial Parkway north of Las Vegas is a good route to avoid the crowd if you are traveling east/west. We did have an unfortunate problem north of Tonopah, NV on the way down. The tires on the Monty are Uniroyals and they looked to be in good shape, hubby was checking periodically to make sure they were running cool, etc., but we heard a thump, thump, looked at each other, then in the rearview mirror and saw the entire tread of the right rear tire disappearing behind us. Sure messed up the right rear of the trailer, but luckily didn't damage anything vital. Thank goodness Montanas have the closed underbody! We contacted Uniroyal and to their credit, they indicated they would cover the repairs. Sure hope they follow through, since it was clearly a manufacturer's defect, and we discovered one of the other tires had steel coming through, so we changed that out before our return trip. We missed the once in a lifetime wildflower display in Death Valley - the delay due to the tire probem put us into Beatty, NV for the night too late to make the side trip. Safe journeys to all of you.

[stiles watson]

Great report!! Thanks for sharing your adventure. Your report just points up the need to watch the tires like a hawk. Even when you do, expect the unexpected. Very glad you are safe and sound. Happy RVing...

[Wordsmith]

Glad you are safe and sound! Thanks for the report; we are taking our Montana out tomorrow dor the first time and will give a report of our own upon returning.

[BillyRay]

it's nice to hear that the tire didn't cause any problem with the handling while pulling over! you were very fortunate nothing bad happened. glad to hear it turned out good. your lucky it wasn't alot worse!

[campbud]

Your trip sounded very nice! Sorry to hear about your tire,and glad to hear everything is ok.

[Sunshine]

Thanks for all the good thoughts. As we sat next to the highway we were very thankful that the incident wasn't a lot worse. Even though that tire lost all its tread, it didn't lose air, so there weren't any handling problems. In the process of flying off, the tread didn't hit anyone else's vehicle - we were apparently alone on that stretch of highway at that particular moment in time. And of course, it gave us time to have lunch and enjoy the beauty of the Nevada desert - no matter how many times we pass through the area, it is never boring for us. We look forward to reading about your adventures and safe journey to all.