Montana 3500RL - Montana Owners Club

Jerzy54 · 08-19-2005, 07:16 AM

Hi everybody. I am new to Montana owners web site. Also english is my second laungage that why please forgive me my mistakes. We are stepping up from 27TT to 2005 Montana 3500RL in couple weeks, I am just wondering if there anobody who has trailer like that to share opinion
about it.

Thanks Jerzy54

dsprik · 08-19-2005, 03:14 PM

Hi Jerzy! Welcome! I don't know much about the 3500RL. I am planning on picking up a 3400 RL shortly. I believe you are going to get alot of help on this forum. Most of us are on the road tonight, so have patience.

Just148 · 08-19-2005, 03:23 PM

Welcome and Congratulations on your new purchase. There will be sonmeone along to help with your concern. Happy camping.

RC and Samantha · 08-19-2005, 04:28 PM

I think Country Folks have that model now. I'll be they pop up soon to help you out.

Patty

Northstar · 08-19-2005, 05:02 PM

Welcome and you will enjoy that model a great deal.

sreigle · 08-20-2005, 06:52 AM

Welcome aboard! We don't have that model, either, but the 3500RL is one of my very favorite models. There are others here with the 3500RL and some of them will likely be along before long. Feel free to ask questions. There are no dumb questions here.

Jerzy54 · 08-21-2005, 01:43 AM

Thanks Everybody for answering and for your good luck wishes. This is the first forum I am attending. That is why I have to learn how to use it. It Will take some time to get the hang of it. Of course I have lots of questions about towing my new Montana. First- I have a 2005 Ford F250 ,6.0 power stroke engine short bed is this enough truck to pull the 3500RL Montana and maybe someone has hitch recommendation for it.
Right now I am pulling my trailer mainly on the east cost with lots of beach towing.
Thanks again Jerzy

Countryfolks · 08-29-2005, 07:48 AM

We Like ours. When you open the slides, only open them enough to open the living room door on the left, Then check to ensure nothing is behind the slide side walls. The worst offenders are the recliner lever catching on the edge of the slide and the bottom door on the pantry being open. The only other problem is the remote for the AC/heater, it has to be on the diningroom table, aimed at the receiver, to operate properly. They pull good but the pin weight may overload the carry capacity of your tow vehicle (TV). You may want to invest in an auto-sliding hitch to prevent damage to the cab of the TV in sharp turns. There are several threads about them, or one of the folks here can tell you more. The livingroom turns into a great 2nd bedroom and as a separate conversation area from the kitchen, if/when needed. I wouldn't recommend taking in onto a sandy beach. Been there, done that with a Montana 3280. Got stuck by accident in soft sand in GA, was a real pain to get out, almost had to call a wrecker.

Skip

sreigle · 08-29-2005, 03:13 PM

Jerzy54, look at my signature and you'll see we tow our Montana with a similar truck to yours. You have more than enough truck. That 6.0 power stroke is a truly excellent towing engine. Also, the Montana is a very good towing fifthwheel.

With the shortbed you will need a slider hitch. The reason is that with a shortbed truck if you turn very sharply the front of the Montana will crash into the cab of the truck. There are two kinds of slider hitches. One, like mine, is a manual slider hitch. When I need to make a very sharp turn with the Montana behind us I have to manually move the slider hitch. This works ok for me because I have only had to use the slider four times in ten years.

If you can spend another two thousand dollars or so for a hitch, I would highly recommend the Pullrite SuperGlide. This hitch AUTOMATICALLY slides when you turn. You don't have to even think about it. If we ever need to buy a new hitch, it will be a superglide.

Although I have only need to slide our hitch four times, I would not be without a slider hitch if towing with a shortbed truck.

Good luck. Be sure to let us know how you enjoy your Montana. You also made an excellent choice in trucks with which to tow that Montana.

Jerzy54 · 09-07-2005, 01:55 PM

Thanks to all for those important advices. I am still waiting
to pick my Montana from the dealer. I should be on the road by
october. As I said before I will be pulling rv with 2005 Ford F250
Lariat short bed, I recently installed fifth wheel hitch - Reese
16k signature series with slider, also I have lube plate for the hitch and 7 ft. extension for connection between truck and the trailer.
Thanks again Jerzy54

Montana_3359 · 09-08-2005, 04:02 AM

Welcome to the forum. You will enjoy your new 3500, we got ours last april and have used it 8 times this summer. I have not had any problems. like one of the other posts, before you slide out the kitchen make sure the cabinet doors are shut, as it could hang on the slind very easily. I also have a 2005 F250 short bed, It pulls the 3500 without any problems. Sometimes I have to look back to make sure it is still behind me. I have taken it to the mountains of north carolina without any tow problems. The tow command will act as if you do not have brakes, but with the ford brake controller it will activate if you go above 15mph, it will not hold the camper while standing still, which makes it a little harder when trying to slide the hitch.

sreigle · 09-08-2005, 06:02 AM

Willyj is correct about the manual slide on the brake controller not holding the Montana still below 15 mph. However, I thought I should clarify that this was changed in the brake controllers built after 3/23/05. Those do apply full brakes at idle. I've been trying to get Ford to swap my brake controller for the newer one to make it easier for me to slide our slider but they're only willing to do so at my cost. So I'll have to block the trailer wheels.

Jerzy, it sounds like you are set to go. What is a 7 foot extension for connection between truck and trailer? Either I'm not familiar with that or maybe I'm just not quite awake yet this morning. Thanks.

Garin1 · 09-08-2005, 06:30 AM

Hello Jerzy and welcome aboard. Congrats on the Monty and don't worry about the language thing. I was raised and you tipe better'n me.

God Bless and Happy Travels

Jerzy54 · 09-08-2005, 10:47 AM

Thanks again. Sreigle I am talking about cord which is connecting trailer to the truck lights and break system. I do not know how other wise I could connect trailer. Another question is for Willyj-
do you have air bags installed in your truck to help the suspension in towing Montana.

Happy Rving to all Jerzy54

Parrothead · 09-08-2005, 02:13 PM

Jerzy54
I think why Steve is confused about the cord is all 5th wheels come with a cord to plug into the truck. However, we just had our hitch, brake controller and plug installed to day on our new truck. Our RV mechanic who has been doing this for years and years plugged into the trailer connection under the tail gate and ran an extension cord up to the plug in the trailer bed. He said it keeps truck dealers from blaming the hookup if there is an electrical problem that they should cover.
Happy trails.....................

Montana_3359 · 09-09-2005, 04:14 AM

Jerzy, My truck is stock just the way I got it from the dealer, I have the FX4 package which gives better shocks and a little stiffer suspension, when I attach the trailer it only lowers my truck a couple of inches. In fact I am hooked up getting ready to take it out for a nice weekend of camping.

Jerzy54 · 09-09-2005, 06:21 AM

Hi Willyj, thanks for prompt response I also have FX4 than I guess
I do not have to have air shocks. Have a great trip.
Jerzy

sreigle · 09-11-2005, 07:29 AM

Thanks, Jerzy54 and Parrothead (who was correct about why I was confused).

Jerzy54, the 3500RL has a relatively light pinweight. You will not likely need airbags. Our pinweight is considerably heavier so we went with the airbags. Ours is also the FX4.

Also, there is an option for the F250 called the "Camper Package". This is separate from the Tow Package. The Camper Package adds an extra leaf on the rear springs so it is the same as the F350. If we had that extra spring we would not need the airbags for ours. We towed this same Montana with a 2003 F350 with the heavier springs and did not need airbags.

Jerzy54 · 09-11-2005, 11:02 AM

Hi Sreigle, I think I will be ok with my setup for now.
All I want now is to get my Montana and hit the road.
Sreigle you have the same truck like I have I am just wondering what
is the milege you are getting pulling your Montana. Right now I am pulling 27' TT weigthing about 6500 lb. and I am getting about 12.8 mpg. My truck have only 2200 miles on it. I was hearing that people are getting as much as 17 mpg while pulling 5th wheel.
Thanks Jerzy54

sreigle · 09-12-2005, 07:08 AM

I don't know who is getting 17 mpg pulling a Montana, we sure don't. We average overall towing about 11.5 to 12.5. In ideal conditions we'll get 12.5 to 13.5 on the day but that's rare. In serious mountains it will drop to 10.0 to 11.5, depending on speed and wind as well as the grades. That's towing a Montana at 14,360 pounds, total rig at 22,920. Reduce the weight by 2000 to 3000 lbs and mileage likely would go up somewhat.

With 2200 miles you'll likely get a bit less than that. Mileage improved with miles on ours. At 30k miles it improved quite a bit, same as our prior two Fords. Both towing and solo.

If I get up to highway speed and reset the computer while driving a steady speed on flat highways then it will show a whole lot better mileage. If I just did that then I could say sometimes we get 17 mpg towing. But that would be misleading. The numbers I gave you are from start of trip to end of trip, including idling while hitching up, speeding up, slowing down, stops, starts, etc.

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