Shake down trip - Montana Owners Club

Wordsmith · 03-20-2005, 10:27 AM

We took the Montana out on its maiden run—at least for us!

First, it was an absolutely beautiful weekend, made even more so after the dismal Wednesday and Thursday we had here in northern Georgia. Friday evening was clear and dry and the rest of the weekend was the same, with outstanding blue skies. Both Friday and Saturday evenings, I was able to show John, our son, the big and little dippers for the first time, and he got a kick out of that. The campground to which we went has always had an abundance of deer, but they were out in force in some of the nearby fields. In fact, late yesterday afternoon we counted seven in one field togther.

But to the Montana…we really like the unit, though there were some problems. Friday night was cold, probably upper 30s and we were running the furnace, but I woke up in the morning and it was cold inside. Turns out, the two fuses for the converter were blown, hence the furnace had drained the battery pretty well—a new one I might add. There had been 25 amp fuses in there, but I replaced them with 30 amps on Saturday, as the instructions on the converter said I could. We had no problems last night. We wound up using the electric fireplace to get some warmth in the camper when the furnace was out.

Another problem cropped up yesterday, however. The TV had worked well Friday night and Saturday morning, but when we attempted to turn it on yesterday evening, it just made clicking noise like it was attempting to come on, but did not. Anyone have any ideas on this? The owner’s manual was no help. Would this have anything to do with the booster button in the bedroom?

Speaking of the bedroom…it is a wonderful space! The bed was quite comfortable, something we NEVER enjoyed in our Prowler. Since our Montana still has the step up in the bedroom, I cannot quite stand straight, but it is nonetheless a great space. We truly enjoyed the laundry shute, though I will say that when you have two laundry baskets and three lounge chairs in the basement, it fills up fast.

Backing was still my nemesis Friday evening. I was backing to the right into what was a very wide space, but we still struggled as I was cutting too deeply. On the way home today, we went by the deserted parking lot at the old Wal-Mart here and did some practicing. Using the new walkie talkies and some bright orange levelers as visual cues, it went much better. I discovered that small increments of turn worked much better than what I had been doing, and the walkie talkies helped tremendously when we backed to the passenger side, into my blind zone. Backing to the left went very smoothly. I am beginning to be optimistic about backing as this trip helped both of us learn a lot about the differences between a 5er and a TT. You know, you can read about it or talk to someone, but until you do it yourself, it is just not the same!

jrgwdenner · 03-20-2005, 10:39 AM

A great report, J.D. Sounds like you had a good maiden voyage. We sat home this weekend, in middle Alabama (north of Montgomery) but I was sure thinking of all the fortunate folks who were camping on this beautiful weekend. Our time will come......Glen retires in two weeks and we'll be heading for Savannah. We're hoping that this long, cool winter will have lots of plants and trees showing their colors a little late this year, just in time for our trip. J.

stiles watson · 03-20-2005, 11:31 AM

I am so glad you had a great experience with the Montana. As you must know from your TT days, every trip is a learning experience.

Your TV issue confuses me from afar. "They" say that if electrical devices are going to fail, it is usually in the beginning of use while they are "burning in". It could be the on/off switch. I think most new devices have a "soft" switch as opposed to a hardware disconnect.

The weather was beautiful in Houston also, but alas, recovery takes precedence over adventure.

Montana_2785 · 03-20-2005, 12:22 PM

Quote:

quote:Originally posted by Wordsmith

We took the Montana out on its maiden run—at least for us!

[...]Friday night was cold, probably upper 30s and we were running the furnace, but I woke up in the morning and it was cold inside. Turns out, the two fuses for the converter were blown, hence the furnace had drained the battery pretty well—a new one I might add. There had been 25 amp fuses in there, but I replaced them with 30 amps on Saturday, as the instructions on the converter said I could. We had no problems last night. [...]

J.D. Always good to hear of a successful first outing!

I have an intermittent issue with my converter. My (also previously loved) rig has been doing this ever since I got my meat hooks on it last November. As a result, I keep a battery charger in the front compartment at all times until I have a chance to really do some trouble shooting.

At times, the charger is providing all my DC power. At other times, the charger shows almost no charge current and behold, the converter is working full bore again.

It's driving me crazy...

I'm sure it will drive me crazier when I actually start looking into the problem. It will get solved... But for now the work-around gets us by until we get better situated inside.

On the subject of "camping", the closest I got this weekend was on Saturday when I took my Honda EU3000 with me and spent the day doing small improvements (shelving in the W/D closet, hang a clock to cover the holes left by the previous owners, try to fix a vent so it would open/close, etc...) While not a day out camping, it was enjoyable non the less.

I'm still amazed everytime I open that thing up. I have a BALL ROOM inside there. We are both chomping at the bit to get out on the road again. And next time, we will have time to enjoy ourselves instead of working on the toy all weekend

Eric

PackerFan · 03-20-2005, 02:02 PM

Congrats on your first trip. Hope you have many more good ones to come. As for the TV problem, our TV did the same thing after we opened it up last spring. It would only click when you hit the on button or with the remote. Contacted the dealer and he replaced the whole TV with a new one. Repair costs are probably higher then replacing it. Give them a call and stand by your guns on getting it replaced.

Scott

fulltimedreamer · 03-20-2005, 03:12 PM

Congrtats on your maiden voyage. Glad to hear you're getting the backing up worked out. The walkie talkies sure give peace of mind. Hope you have many memorable trips.

DHenry · 03-20-2005, 04:36 PM

Great post. It only gets better with experience. I thought I had backing down pretty good as I had owned a travel trailer for about 30 years, then I got the Montana, it is a different experience, but it does get better each time we go out. Do not know what to tell you about the TV as I have not had or heard of anyone having that problem. Let us know what it is when you find out.

Sunshine · 03-21-2005, 04:03 AM

Thanks for sharing your adventure. Glad you had a good trip. I get the same feeling whenever I enter our Montana - there's so much space!! If I don't have chores to do out there, I just go in to visit!

Wordsmith · 03-21-2005, 06:43 AM

Thanks for the thoughts and suggestions. It was a good trip overall, and as I said I am feeling better about backing the Montana.

Eric, I did buy a charger and used it to charge up the battery anyway Saturday night. I figured it was an all around good investment that I could also use with our trucks or Marsha’s Durango. I figure if I leave it in the Montana, it will cover most of the times I need it.

Packerfan, it sounds like your TV did the same as ours. Sadly, the dealer won’t do me too much good as we bought the Montana used. Now I might mention it to the unit’s previous owners. They did pay to replace the kitchen faucet that was leaking.

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