New member and new to us 2017 Montana 3820FK

[Ntense0911]

Good afternoon all,
Just got our first Montana and am hoping for the best. Any "known issues" with this model year I would like to hear about. I have been perusing the forums and it looks like a lot of good peeps and info!!!

Ronny

[DQDick]

Welcome to the forum! May your new rig bring you many years of wonderful memories.

[DutchmenSport]

Welcome, and congrats on your new camper!

Considering your camper is 4 years old, most of the manufacturing defects and bugs have probably already been worked out. So you probably have nothing to concern yourself with there.


On the other hand, considering it is 4 years old, you have no clue how the previous owner actually used the camper. Or should I say, "abused" the camper! What you will unearth will no longer be manufacturing defects, it will be wear and abuse issues from the previous owner. Those items could be anything.

Things to double check though and gain a starting baseline for your camper are: Repacking the wheel bearings. Inspect your brakes. Checking the roof for separation cracks in the roof caulking along the seams and around your vents and such. If you need to reseal the caulking with new caulking, check for cracks, and make sure the roof is truly sealed tight from water. And, if there are any soft spots on the floor, take a second look at everything and make sure there are no leaks anywhere. If it does have soft spots, take a physical note of how springy the floor is, and fix that permanently in your memory. So if it get's worse, you will know something is wrong.

Of course, you should check the health of your battery, which is critical for so many systems and appliances in your camper. Run some preliminary tests on your furnace, refrigerator, air conditioners, water heater gas and electric, television, stove, oven, water system, fresh water tank, black and grey holding tank, dump valves. Document everything by video and photos so you have a baseline of where things are .... where everything is. Take photos of every detail in your camper. Take a thousand photos if you have to and tuck those photos away. They will become vital in the future to track how much and how fast things are wearing and tearing and give you a time line how things are holding up, which should give you an indication of how soon or how long it will be, before things need to be replaced or fixed BEFORE they break down and then cause a horrible inconvenience when you are a thousand miles from home.

You purchased a previously used camper. You really do not know how the prior owner used it. Everything is suspect. Take nothing for granted. Assume everything is broken, and take the time to prove to yourself it is not. And then ... you'll be doing JUST fine!

So, there it is ... you have your assignment! Good luck! Enjoy your search with this new project. In your searching, you'll learn a lot about your camper. So really, this is not time lost. But you'll be gaining a lot of valuable information about your camper that will be priceless information in the future.

In your search, if anything comes up "suspect"... feel free to post your concerns and questions on these forums. Or, check with your favorite RV repair shop. But don't sit back and just assume or try to convince yourself the suspect item will be OK. If it looks suspect, it probably is. Get answers, get it fixed if it needs it, because prior prevention makes for a happy camping experience. We, on these forums are here to share from our own experiences. Please be free to ask away.

[Ntense0911]

Thank you, I'll be working out of it for a couple more years, then FULL retirement and Salmon fishing galore

[Ntense0911]

Originally Posted by DutchmenSport

Welcome, and congrats on your new camper!

Considering your camper is 4 years old, most of the manufacturing defects and bugs have probably already been worked out. So you probably have nothing to concern yourself with there.


On the other hand, considering it is 4 years old, you have no clue how the previous owner actually used the camper. Or should I say, "abused" the camper! What you will unearth will no longer be manufacturing defects, it will be wear and abuse issues from the previous owner. Those items could be anything.

Things to double check though and gain a starting baseline for your camper are: Repacking the wheel bearings. Inspect your brakes. Checking the roof for separation cracks in the roof caulking along the seams and around your vents and such. If you need to reseal the caulking with new caulking, check for cracks, and make sure the roof is truly sealed tight from water. And, if there are any soft spots on the floor, take a second look at everything and make sure there are no leaks anywhere. If it does have soft spots, take a physical note of how springy the floor is, and fix that permanently in your memory. So if it get's worse, you will know something is wrong.

Of course, you should check the health of your battery, which is critical for so many systems and appliances in your camper. Run some preliminary tests on your furnace, refrigerator, air conditioners, water heater gas and electric, television, stove, oven, water system, fresh water tank, black and grey holding tank, dump valves. Document everything by video and photos so you have a baseline of where things are .... where everything is. Take photos of every detail in your camper. Take a thousand photos if you have to and tuck those photos away. They will become vital in the future to track how much and how fast things are wearing and tearing and give you a time line how things are holding up, which should give you an indication of how soon or how long it will be, before things need to be replaced or fixed BEFORE they break down and then cause a horrible inconvenience when you are a thousand miles from home.

You purchased a previously used camper. You really do not know how the prior owner used it. Everything is suspect. Take nothing for granted. Assume everything is broken, and take the time to prove to yourself it is not. And then ... you'll be doing JUST fine!

So, there it is ... you have your assignment! Good luck! Enjoy your search with this new project. In your searching, you'll learn a lot about your camper. So really, this is not time lost. But you'll be gaining a lot of valuable information about your camper that will be priceless information in the future.

In your search, if anything comes up "suspect"... feel free to post your concerns and questions on these forums. Or, check with your favorite RV repair shop. But don't sit back and just assume or try to convince yourself the suspect item will be OK. If it looks suspect, it probably is. Get answers, get it fixed if it needs it, because prior prevention makes for a happy camping experience. We, on these forums are here to share from our own experiences. Please be free to ask away.

Excellent advice I think!!!! Photos are cheap so that'll definitely happen! Thank you!