hopefully soon to own a Montana

[Gertrude]

Hello All,
Thank you for letting me join your forum.

My name is Ron, I live in Mesa, Az, and I may be the new owner of a older (2007) Montana 3600RE soon.

I went to have a look at it today, and liked it very much. I will be talking with the seller again tomorrow, hopefully to work out the details to purchase it.

I joined your forum to see what I can learn about it, and to get your experienced advise on what particular things I might need to check for, look for, and/or be aware of.

The rig appears to be in pretty good shape and well taken care of. It has VERY Little road time/miles on it, as it was basically used as a winter home by the sellers parents who lived in Minnesota and wintered in Arizona.

I am not new to RV's by any means, but I am new to 5th wheels.
I will not be on the road with it anytime soon as I am still working. It will be getting parked in one of the local 55+ communities and I will be living in it full time.

I would greatly appreciate hearing from other owners that might be able to offer some advice on any issues or items that I should be aware of with this particular Model/Year.

I do know it will need new tires on it right away, as they are the original tires on it since it was new, so they are 13 years old !... and can you believe this, they only have about 200 miles on them ! (wow !)
I would like to know what your recommendations are for Brand/Size on replacing these tires. If I do make the purchase of the rig, it will be going directly to the tire shop just a few blocks down the street from the sellers house.

Cheers !

[AZ Traveler]

Ron,

Welcome to the forum! This is a great place to learn and share.

I would put Sailuns on the rig. They have a great rep and are dirt cheap. Replace with the size you have on it now. You will likely need to order them through Walmart or Simple Tire and then have them installed. I am not aware of a local dealer that stocks them.

Also get the wheel bearings, brakes and suspension inspected including repacking the bearings. Dig through the rig looking for water damage from internal or external leaks.

Hope this all works out for you.

[DQDick]

Welcome to the forum! Since you are planning to full time, in a park, for a period of time I would take it to that tire store and put on whatever their best trailer tire is. In general, trailer tires need to be replaced due to age damage at about the five year mark so I wouldn't trust those at all. Besides water damage, I would look at the seals for both the windows and the slides. The sun down there is very hard on seals and they also may need to be replaced.

[Mudchief]

Welcome to the forum.

[Twopetes]

I second the suggestion of Sailuns. Great tire and great cost. I had mine installed by my local National Tire and Battery (NTB) for about $170 per tire. They ordered them and installed. I suggest you have them balanced also. Some dealers will say you don’t need to balance but you do. Ditto on getting brakes and bearings inspected and serviced as needed.

welcome to the group - great info here.

[sourdough]

Where you are the VERY first thing I would do is look at the roof and all the sealing around the edges. Cracks, voids, splits etc. would indicate possible leakage somewhere inside. From there I would look over, under, around and through the cabinets, closets etc. for any sign at all of water leakage; wall coverings pulling/hanging loose, stains, soft floor/walls/shelves. Water damage and all the misery that can cause one is something to search for diligently before buying.

After that, tires, bearings, brakes, lighting, battery(s), furnace, AC, water system etc. You really should take an inspection list (don't know where one is on this forum) and use it to go over the unit with a fine tooth comb. At 13 years old and just sitting there is no telling what could be wrong unless you "dig into it". Good luck.

[BeagleMan]

I have not been here long myself, but long enough to give you a howdy!! And welcome to the best folks on the webs, This MOC is the place to be. Hang around, you will gain lots of knowledge.

[DutchmenSport]

I agree with the above poster, check the roof, seams for cracks and postential leaks. Then check the walls (everywhere for rot). Next step on every square inch of the floor and feel for soft spots. Soft is one thing, and usually not a problem, as floors do give and can appear to be squishy between the metal frame joists. But if the floor is rotten, due to water intrusion, you'll feel the difference under your feet immediately. There's a difference between springy and bouncy, and mush! If mush??? run from the trailer unless you are up to some extensive repairs, time, and money to fix the mess.

Don't be taken in by aesthetic details. If the bones and heart of the camper is good, then the facade and fluff is easy to customize for your personal taste. Check drawers and cabinet doors to make sure they open and close well.

[Gertrude]

Thanks for all the replies and suggestions.
I have checked everything as recommended and decided to make the purchase. Yesterday I gave the seller a deposit and had the tires replaced. since my cash is a bit tight at the moment, and this rig will be parked for at least a year in a 55+ community, I decided to just put a set of new same sized/rated tires.

I did inspect the roof and was pleasantly surprised to find all the perimeter seams/seals to be in quite EXCELLENT condition. This rig has always had a cover kept on it when it was not being used as a snow-birds winter home.

There is some beginning stages of sealant cracking around a few of the roof vents that I will reseal right away.
The rubber roof itself shows only very minor surface deterioration. it is actually in much better condition than I was expecting to find.
I will look into possibly doing some sort of roll-on elastomeric roof coating. Perhaps Herny's maybe ? ? ?

Ill look around on the forum for threads where others might have already done something like this.

I am looking forward to getting it into the 55+ community and living in it.
I have been basically "Couch-surfing" at a couple of friends homes for a little over a year now, and it will be nice to have this as my own place .