New 3475 on order

[Montana_5138]

Hi there ... we're new members as of a few days ago -- the announcement says we're from "USA", but really, we're from Southern Ontario. We've just ordered our new 3475 from Outdoor Travel in Ontario. Will pick up in mid-March. We've been looking for a long time, but once we saw a Montana, there was no going back! Tough decision between the 2980 and the 3475, but we finally decided to just dive in to the larger trailer as we were thinking about comfort during longer holidays ...
This is our first trailer ... we're excited about planning our first trip next summer. We're glad we waited til now to order -- it will have the new cap and that was a concern, as we have a short-box Chevy 2500 HD duramax truck.
We want to carry two bicycles and are thinking about having a trailer hitch welded under the frame. Has anyone done this? Are we better to just attach the bikes to the ladder as we have seen on some trailers? (And how *are* they attached to that ladder????).

Len & Trudi Ostler
Guelph, Ontario
Canada

[fulltimedreamer]

Len & Trudi,

Welcome to the MOC and congratulations on your new coach. I hope you have many years of enjoyment form your new toy. Be sure to keep us updated on your maiden voyage and future adventures. I have not added a bike rack to our coach but some have. I'm sure somebody will be along soon to answer your questions.

[Emmel]

Hi Lenn, welcome to the club and good choice on the selection. We currently use a bike rack on the ladder and have had no problem with it. Check with your dealer on the warrenty for the welding on the frame. I have heard different reports of this welding hurting the warrenty. Don't worry about towing with the shortbox, the Montana is made to be pulled with both short and long boxes. Also, since you are from the Great Lakes Region, check out the Regional Rally and the fall National Rally, both are being held close to home for you. We would be glad to have you join us at either one or both. You will start getting anxious to get it soon if you're not yet.

[ken]

Congratulation on your choice. We have a 2005 3475 Montana and wouldn't trade it. It has all of the room that you need, we had 14 in it at a reunion in Kansas. You can use it on the road without opening the slides, and it tows great. We have added a few things for creature comfort such as a satellite dish, and upgraded the stereo system with a Sony entertainment center.

[Parrothead]

Welcome Len and Trudi,
Hope the wait isn't mind blowing, we only had to wait 2 weeks and were very anxious. Let us know how things go and share your adventures with us.
Happy trails........................

[Montana Sky]

Congrats on your new Montana and welcome to the MOC. We look forward to hearing all about your new coach once it arrives.

[Northstar]

Welcome Len and Trudi, Congrats on your new coach. Before you know it will be here.

[adelmoll]

Congratulations to you both. We hope you love your 3475 as much as we do ours. We did have the hitch welded underneath and it works great. We got rid of the bikes and haven't bought new ones yet so we are thinking of putting the generator back there.

Helen

[ken]

I forgot to mention that we also carry two bicycles on a rack attached to the Ladder. It works out very good. It was purchased thru Campers World. We used to carry them in the bed of our old truck as it was a full bed Ford. But the new one is the short bed so they had to go onto the Ladder. Be sure your new Montana has the extended pin on the front. That way you can make the turns most of the time without moving the slider back. We didn't have it on our 2003 Montana and it was very close when I made the turns. The 2005 Montana came in with the extension pin in front(special order). There has been some statements here in the MOC that some of the units are not coming with the extension automatically. Be sure yours comes from the factory with it. They can be very expensive to replace it later on.

[jrgwdenner]

Welcome to the forum. You've picked a very nice floorplan. There are warranty issues with welding a hitch on the frame and if you do a 'search' on bike racks, you'll probably find a lot of information. Enjoy the forum. It's a great group of people.

[Joyce H]

Len & Trudi, Welcome to the MOC and congrats on the new unit. As you can see from our signature we think you have chosen a great floorplan. We traded our 2003 3295RK for this unit on our way south this winter. Keep us posted on your adventures. You will find this forum a great source of information and there is always someone here who can answer your questions. Kinda like having a GREAT user manual at your finger tips. Enjoy!

[stiles watson]

Way to go! Start at the top. Welcome to the forum. This is a good place to get all the best and wisest counsel about Montanas . Fine folk too. Happy RVing...

[bobgay]

Len and Trudy, welcome to the forum and congrats on your new Monty. You are really going to enjoy it. We've used the ladder mounted bike rack for years with no problems. The bikes are attached to the rack with nylon straps. Another possibility is a hitch mounted on the front of your tow vehicle.
Bob

[sreigle]

Congratulations and welcome aboard! We had two bikes on a ladder rack for two years and probably 30,000 miles with no problem. Well, the only problem is having to remove the bikes to climb the ladder to the roof. The bikes mount on a ladder bike rack available at Camping World and many RV Dealer's stores. If I were to do it again I'd seriously consider a hitch in one location or another just to avoid making it a pain to climb the ladder. The ladder and its mounts are plenty strong. Just be sure you mount the lowest part of the bike so it is above the bottom of the ladder. Good luck and, again, congratulations.