3100RL

[blondeegal]

Any feedback about the Montana 3100RL? Good, bad or otherwise!

Thanks!
Art

[cjohnson]

We received ours last February, Gray and Black tank handles labeled backward, easy fix. Took a 2 1/2 mo trip from Texas up to New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, Colorado, Kansas, Illinois and back, May thru July. Minor problems, . Gray cable to dump valve stuck, Camping World in Albuquerque fixed under Waranty, Toilet leak, could not get a Montana dealer in Colorado to fix, bought a new one from Camping World, Colorado Springs, replaced ourselfs, Keystone/Montana reimbursed us.
We love the floor plan, only one complaint, no desk, but knew that up front. At 35' perfect size for us.

[blondeegal]

Thank you for your reply! We really think the floor plan would work for us, our hesitation is whether or not we would be able to access any part of the inside when slide outs are in. (Something we need to figure out on the next trip to "look"!) Our other problem right now is our tow vehicle-2011 Chevy 2500 HD Duramax with extended cab, 2 wheel drive, 6.5' bed. Do you know what your hitch weight is with Montana loaded? We ask because we are trying to determine if hitch shown by Keystone is for trailer dry weight or trailer with max cargo weight.

[Art-n-Marge]

The hitch weight on any fifth wheel is just a dream! It will never be correct because everyone loads their trailer different and with different things. What is documented and what another's weighs will not ensure it's what yours will be.

The best thing to do if do some math. Take the gross vehicle and calculate a range for the pin weight of 15% to 25% as the best possibilities. You will be closer to 25% if you have a 2nd A/C, put all the heavy gear and tools in the front cargo bays, install a generator, or install a bank of heavy 6v batteries. There's also those few times that the black and gray tanks are full and you must drive to a dump station. Hopefully you get the idea.

I find with most 5ers that 18% to 22% is more accurate (I am at 19.5% and I don't go out much and don't carry much and a lot of the weight is on the pin). This is the case with residential fifth wheel since so much weight is at the front whereas with Horse trailers or utility trailer the storage areas are not as high because they don't need to be so most of the weight sits over the tires. They tend to be 15% to 22% versus residential trailer will start at 18% and go up as high as 25% because they can.

The hitch weight in the documentation from Keystone might be for an empty trailer weighed at the factory, or some other arbitrary number, but to get an idea use a range, and the best idea is to actually get it weighed at a scale. Hopefully the numbers will be good, otherwise you'll be shifting loads around or doing without to keep it lighter or you're gonna be towing overweight. Then when you break down because of it hope there is no one else is around or affected.

[cjohnson]

When the slides are in on the 3100RL access to kitchen and living room is not possible, unless you are real skinny. there is about 10"-12" between end of counter and the end of slide on door side. Bathroom is ok, bedroom - crawl across bed to closet

With our 2011 Dodge, 1 ton dually, 4WD, GVW 8900 lb, towing capacity total is 24000 total truck and trailer, when we started our trip weighted at Pilot we were 22560. (Steer axle 5180, drive axle 7040, trailer axle 10340)

Pull spec's on your vehicle to see GVW and towing capicity. If I am right we were about 2500 lb pin weight.

But like Art-N-Marge said, how you load can make a great difference.

[PackerFan]

We bought a 2012 - 3100RL this past summer and we just love it! Lots of room to move around in and our dog (Chocolate Lab, 105 lbs.) can stretch out and we can still walk around him. cjohnson is right about not being able to get to the kitchen or livingroom with the slides in. We love the separate contained bathroom, you don't have to take a shower in the bedroom anymore.

Overall we think it is a Great floor plan and plenty of storage!

Scott