Why Montana?

[ep4me]

Why did you buy a Montana over sob?

For me we only have two small dealers where I live one is keystone brands and is very price competitive, the other is sob but focuses on lighter and smaller tt and fifth wheels.

Plus the Montana have heavier frames and axles than the lesser keystones and the sobs we looked at. it was the only one that had g rated tires

[Lee-CI]

Why you ask? Because we had a SOB on order that was months out for delivery, it was a rainy, cold day and I was surfing the internet. Found an authorized Keystone dealer a couple of hours from us that had a MHC with a floor plan that peaked my interest. I asked the wife if she wanted to go for a road trip to check out the unit that I had found. When the DW saw the floor plan and took a tour, that was a wrap. We canceled the SOB order and made the arrangements to bring home our MHC. Happy wife - happy life.....

[BB_TX]

Been a lot of years since we bought our 2007 Montana new. We visited a number of different dealers of multiple brands. And attended large RV shows in Dallas and Ft Worth. And kept circling back to Montana. Some others were nice, but none really grabbed us like Montana.

[DutchmenSport]

We ended up with the Montana High Country (in the signature below) because of the unique floor plan. Namely.... rear door on the opposite side, NO kitchen island, and everything accessible (including the refrigerator and stove) when all the slides are retracted. And the open concept between the upper level and the lower level with that front living room. We also looked for something like this for over 10 years. If it would have been manufactured by a different brand sooner, we probably would have bought the different brand first.

[1retired06]

We bought our first Montana because we liked it better than SOB we had on order. Bought the second and third because they were good bang for the buck. Our fourth Montana clearly reflected a step down in quality and we have had more problems with the fourth than the first three combined. Our current Montana is in great shape, but took time and money to make it so. We looked at Montana for a fifth purchase, did not see anything we wanted. Looked at SOBs and did not see anything we would buy. between that and the change in Keystone Corporate as far as customer service goes (in my opinion), we decided to keep what we got.

[mlh]

I bought a 2955 because I just liked the floor plan. I wish I could buy a small Montana now. It would fit my needs as our travel changes. Say about a 26 foot 5er that weighs 7000 pounds. Not going to happen.
Lynwood

[432bartman]

We were looking at Solitudes, Big Horns, Vanleigh and stumbled across our Montana.......It was too good of a deal to pass up........fully loaded with washer & dryer, and was only used for two weeks.

[jsb5717]

I think Montana's reputation gives the brand a leg up in the search process...it did for us. Even with the decline in quality over the past few years, and especially through Covid, their overall reputation is good...or better than most. You can find negative commentary on every trailer made...including Montana. When we bought ours 4 years ago it seemed to me that Montana had a little less complaining than the other major brands.

However, if people are honest, most probably wouldn't claim brand loyalty is the deciding factor. Reputation, maybe, but not brand loyalty. Most will likely select their rig by starting in a category that works with their budget, then allowing floorplan, features, and price be the key drivers.

That's how we found our Monty. Research and reputation then made the decision easier. We haven't regretted our decision at all.

[glkids2]

Our first fifth wheel was a Keystone Cougar. We were very pleased with it, so much so that when looking for the upgrade we went with a Montana HC. Once again we were extremely happy with this rig. We now have a 3811MS and so far the satisfaction continues to grow

[Skw774]

The 340 bh checked all the boxes. Love our 2018

[Foldbak]

It's a Montana! Any manufacture that made units that are 20 years old and still being used speaks for itself. The dealership was also a big factor in my decision.

[AZ Traveler]

A good deal - a new rig under $60K. Have been very happy so far, very few issues with it.

[MandK]

Long story short, because of this forum.
We had a less than desirable experience with the Montana dealer close to us so we were looking at sob’s. Then I found the MOC family here and figured the Group could help with the things I don’t know and lessen my dependence on a nearby service center. We found our Montana at a small dealership about 120 miles away. As it turned out, so far we have had our trailer back to them only once for a warranty item, and the few other minor issues I just took care of myself after Keystone sent me the parts.
Very pleased so far with our Montana, our dealer and Keystone.

[wed]

It’s been for the service after the sale from the factory

[payneo]

We bought a 2022 MHC 295RL as our 1st 5th wheel and our 2nd trailer overall. It was the floorplan that did it for me. Having said that, I'm so so very glad this is my 2nd trailer and learned some ins and outs of RV maintenance, expectations and confidence in dealing with my own repairs. I've done lots of little "fixes" so far but all in all we love it!

[DadsHemi]

We bought our because it was a demo model for 2017 3160RL, had a bunch of the new upgrades and Add ons. Price was a big favor being a demo for 2017 so it was. Technically a use but new RV. We paid 45,000 cash out the door from Camping World, I even got them to put a hitch in the truck for that price. I replace the lousy Curt hitch a year later with the BW Companion slide. Yeah we had a few issue that we fixed but it’s been a fantastic 5th with no issues the last 5 years Knock on wood lol.

[Camp CA]

Originally Posted by ep4me

Why did you buy a Montana over sob? For me we only have two small dealers where I live one is keystone brands and is very price competitive, the other is sob but focuses on lighter and smaller tt and fifth wheels. Plus the Montana have heavier frames and axles than the lesser keystones and the sobs we looked at. it was the only one that had g rated tires

Same reasons............plus lots of standard features (centeral vacuum cleaner, 6 point hydraulic jacks, solar flex, etc.), very good quality and very price, dealer was 250 miles from my home.

[scattershot]

We ordered ours from the factory in 2006. A 2955 RL. We were impressed with the quality of construction and the general floorplan. It’s been a great rig for us, but we’re hanging it up because at my age it’s a hassle to load, unload, and maintain it properly.

[dadnjesse]

I ended up with SOB. I had a 2004 Montana that was a solid camper. Never leaked had nice hard wood through out. On my way to Maine I saw my tire pass me down the Highway. Turned out to be a broken Axle. I traded it for a 2020 Cougar that was sold as is by a dealer. My first trip it rained and that thing leaked like a sieve. I was pissed, the SOB dealer agreed to let me trade it for another Fifth wheel but didn't sell Montana's any more so I was stuck either keeping that POS trailer or buying what he had. I ended up with a 40 foot Big Country.

[jdarwin]

We looked at a Montana back in 2014 but were not ready to buy. Years later we rented RVs to try out and we knew we wanted a 1 1/2 bath unit. We first started looking at DRV and Landmark 365. I really liked DRV but the DW didn't like the price. We then found a Redwood 3901MB. I was taken in by the luxury but the DW still didn't like the price. She convinced me to go back and look at Montana. IMHO the Montana was more utilitarian. However, it won me over with the amount of storage. I didn't find another RV with more places to stick stuff than the 3931FB. What finally convinced me was a youtube video of a guy showing that the only difference in price is design and luxury addons. The frame, axles, HWH, HVAC, etc. were all off the shelf. That sold me on Montana. We were getting the most bang for our buck. I'm glad I did. We bought new and it took me about 18 mos. full timing to work out all the bugs. It became very livable and easy to use with the mods I installed. If I did all over again (now) the only other manufacturer I'd look at is Grand Design. However, I don't think they engineer storage as good as Montana does. This forum has also been a lifesaver. The people here are friendly and want to help. They've made FTing a lot easier. Just my $0.02 worth.