WE DID IT! - Montana Owners Club

simonsrf · 01-19-2006, 01:14 PM

On Jan. 15, purchased a 2006 Dodge 3500 SWB Laramie 4X4, and on the 16th, purchased a 2006 2980RL Monty that will be delivered sometime in April. Now the tough part, we are planning to fulltime starting in September of '06. This is where I need your help! Besides the pullrite hitch, what is necessary to get 'outta town'? The truck has everyting, except mudflaps, step bar, engine brake, bed liner, and what else do I need? My thought was to get on the road and find out what others think about the best gear to buy. Suggestions are welcomed!

We are looking at solar power, we need fulltime internet network connectivity (satelite)...we're computer nerds)....suggestions and types of equipment suggestions would really be appreciated?

In advance, I would like to tell all members that this forum has been an invaluable resource to get us started.

Thanks, everyone.

Alice and Robbie Simons

JH Sechelt · 01-19-2006, 02:05 PM

Congrats Alice & Robbie

We picked up our 2006 2980RL in December. Wife loves all the counter space in the kitchen. We pull ours with a 2005 F350 4&4 crewcab shortbox Lariet w/powerstroke. No problem. In fact pulls nicer than our 2004 2555RL Wilderness Advantage. the longer wheel base on the monty seems to make it smoother. I installed a 1000 watt inverter in the basement right beside the laundry basket.( easy to run the heavy battery cables to the battery compartment). ran a surge protector power bar right into the entertainment center. works great for one night stops on the road without hook ups.

Hope you enjoy
John & Dawn

trukdoc · 01-19-2006, 02:13 PM

My suggestion is to driveway camp to see what you need. Then all you have to do is go into the stick house to get what is needed. Not to mention the fun of staying in your new trailer.
Have fun and congratulations.

CountryGuy · 01-19-2006, 02:14 PM

simonsrf

Welcome to the forum, congrats on the new truck, rig and lifestyle.

Suggest reading the archives and old posts, using the search engine. Can learn a lot from those old posts!!!

Have fun!

Parrothead · 01-19-2006, 05:21 PM

I'll second Carol's suggestion. Read all the past posts and you'll get an idea of what to do and not to do (we share the boo-boos also). Congrats on your new TV and Monty. Share your adventures. Ask questions.
Happy trails...........................

stiles watson · 01-19-2006, 09:05 PM

Checklists, checklists, checklists! It is easy for you computer literates to make checklists. Next, USE them. Any mistakes we made was when we didn't follow the procedures because we thought we would remember. We even have a small washer/dryer checklist stuck to the front of the dryer. It says, "Make sure the gray water discharge valve is open." You may hear the voice of a negative experience echoing in that line. Several checklist models can be found on the forum and in RVing magazines.

What tools do or have you been using in the stick house? Take tools that have combined functions to reduce the number needed. Take the tools you are familiar with and feel comfortable using. Invariably, when you need to use a tool, you don't have time to learn how.

You understand that everything in an RV is a space trade-off, so be as frugal with your electronic toy's space requirements as with other items. My wife uses a 17" decktop replacement and I use a Fujitsu 12" Tablet with handwriting translation capabilities. I can do my thing with the mouse pen and digital ink sitting on the couch or recliner. It also travels well in the TV cab to support my GPS.

If it were me, I might consider NOT trying to buy all this stuff at once, rather spend some time living with your Montana and determning what would really work best for you. Example: When we bought the desktop replacement, I thought that would be THE machine for us. As it turned out, it doesn't work well in the cab because it is too large and at 10# it is too heavy for your lap after a bit. It also doesn't easily toss into a backpack for a day-trip or meeting. It will still work for us, but not in the way we originally intended.

Both the computers have built-in wi-fi and bluetooth, so connectivity is realitively easy with our Linksys wireless router or at any "hotspot" location. For us, the jury is still out on satellite connectivity. My Scot blood makes me wait for the prices to come down a bit more.

Well, enough of my ramblings. Others will address you inquiries with greater expertise than I have to offer. By-the-Way, welcome to the Montana family.

Northstar · 01-20-2006, 09:28 AM

Welcome Alice and Robbie, congratulations on your choice of lifestyle. And on your choice of rv. You have lots of time before you go fulltime. A couple of short trips will help you plan your full time. And you will learn real quick what you need. Good luck and keep us posted.

prariepoodle · 01-20-2006, 12:44 PM

Congratulations on your new truck and Mountianeer, We are so glad that you joined and look forware to seeing your post and hear about all your great adventures.

sreigle · 01-24-2006, 03:06 PM

Congratulations and welcome! There are members using satellite for internet connection and I'm sure some of them will help you out. Meanwhile, some of us use wi-fi, which is becoming more and more common at rv parks. The Trailer Life directory identifies many of them, but not all. We also have a dialup isp but have not dialed into their servers in the past 14 months. We've had wi-fi just about everywhere we've gone. But satellite is the way to make sure.

Good luck. Don't hesitate to ask questions. As others said, look through the forum and you'll find a myriad of information. Then ask any other questions you have.

Most of all, enjoy!

Trailer Trash 2 · 01-24-2006, 04:21 PM

Congradulations on the 2980RL, and the Dodge too. it seem that there are more and more of 2980RL being purchased, the floor plan is great. I agree on a coupe of short trips to do a shake down and bring out any unwanted problems, hopefully none serous. that way you can get them fixed at your dealer before the big trip. go to arkives lots of realy good information there.

TT2

HamRad · 01-25-2006, 05:26 AM

simonsrf,
Welcome to the MOC.

We have a DirecWay system and are satisfied with it. We use the tripod setup. If you are needing a system for business purposes then I believe you can purchase a highspeed package. We just have the standard speed package. It is much faster than dialup but not as fast a cable. We are relatively happy with all the equipment and the support. We've not needed support much and we just called the dealer (NOT DirecWay) and in minutes we were fixed and ready to go. We used a dealer called DustyFoot.com but there are lots of dealers out there. I recommend this guy because of the good service we've had from him.

Good luck and enjoy.

HamRad

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