Artic Package - Page 2 - Montana Owners Club

washley1 · 01-13-2010, 01:40 PM

Not to burst too many bubbles, but the Arctic package has worked great for us. We spent last week. Jan 3 through 10, at Hunting Island State Park in Beaufort, SC. The highs all week rarely got above 40. The lows were from the high teens to low 20's. We had a site on the beach, with little shelter from the wind. We used the stock furnace in our 09 Big Sky 365 REQ, kept it at 70 all during the day and turned it down to 65 for sleeping, and had no problem staying warm. Used the fireplace some, but mostly for ambiance. I realize it will not be enough in the arctic, but we were toasty.

JimF · 01-13-2010, 03:15 PM

We spent a week at below freezing and never got cold. We use a bottle of propane a month at this temp, we use 2 electric heaters, one in the LR and one in the BR, keep the BR one on low heat, set the t'stat at 67. The furnace doesn't run much and never seems to during the day. I did stuff up the holes at the ends of the slides under the carpet, used a paper insulation. Our unit stays quite nice, each air leak I find and fix, has helped a LOT.. Don't want to do in the minus degrees but we do well at 10.

Farmhawk · 01-13-2010, 04:18 PM

The specified minimum temp specified for my 2008 2955RL is 0 deg. I have had it out at 2 deg and frequently dry camp in the fall with overnight temps in the 20's and 30's without a problem. I think the package could be improved for those of us that like to boondock in the cooler temps. I also haven't noticed much of a draft around the slides, maybe mine is sealing better, I don't know. by the way we are located in NW Montana so we probably have more months of the cooler temps than needing the AC.

Hooker · 01-14-2010, 11:37 AM

I think the conversation is really about two different things. IMHO, the Arctic package is a joke, my Montana is very cold when it's cold outside and especially if it's windy. However, having said that, I can keep it warm and comfortable, just have to run the furnace a lot and run my two aux heaters.

When I compare the stick house to the RV, the RV is like a sieve.

mazboy · 01-15-2010, 02:21 PM

i'm glad all of you have talked about your experiences.... in our 2010 3150 the furnance keeps kicking on and off alllllll night long when it gets below 50 degrees. this artic package thing is a joke. and, the furance is exteremly loud (louder than our 2000 terry was).
i don't even mind the lp usage it is the on and off of the furnace that drives me half crazy when i'm trying to sleep.

Red939 · 01-16-2010, 03:53 AM

Quote:

quote:Originally posted by mazboy

i'm glad all of you have talked about your experiences.... in our 2010 3150 the furnance keeps kicking on and off alllllll night long when it gets below 50 degrees. this artic package thing is a joke. and, the furance is exteremly loud (louder than our 2000 terry was).
i don't even mind the lp usage it is the on and off of the furnace that drives me half crazy when i'm trying to sleep.

We have had the same experience.

washley1 · 01-16-2010, 05:14 PM

My experience is that while the furnace IS loud, it also worked real well. We did not need any other heat source to keep us toasty with lows in the teens and twenties, highs up to about 40, for a solid week. Did not consume an overly large amount of propane, either. Suitable for the Arctic...no. Arctic package suitable for cold weather...yes.

richfaa · 01-17-2010, 02:49 AM

The slides are not protected by any Arctic package. So how does that work????

washley1 · 01-17-2010, 05:17 PM

Richfaa, good point. There is very little if any insulation on the slides. All I know is in our week of 17 to 40 degrees we were warm and cozy and did not run the tanks dry.

richfaa · 01-18-2010, 08:37 AM

They are doing some upgrading on then insulation on the new units. We saw a demonstration of that at the factory at the fall rally. The Arctic package should be better now. However. The slides still hang out there and they do not have the same insulation as the main body. We had some winds in the 15/25 mph area around here yesterdsay and we could feel the draft at the floor level around the slides. We never ran out of propaner just used 1 30 lb bottle in 4 days or less as most everyone did regardless of Rv brand.

travelRN · 01-19-2010, 01:54 PM

Hi We bought a 2010 3665 Moving to Montana pkg. We stayed in it over Christmas. We did not use the stove or hot water heater as it is parked next to our house. We turned the heat on and the fireplace and it was very toasty. We heated it day and night during the 6 degree blizzard in Oklahoma. 16 inches of blowing snow. It was our Christmas present so spent a lot of time enjoying it. We used one tank in a week and had to turn the fireplace off as it got hot. We did turn the over head fan to blow upwards and it circulated the air nicely. It was much warmer than our 30 year old drafty house.

richfaa · 02-28-2010, 03:52 AM

This is the coldest temps we have been in unfortunately they are in South Central Florida.. 5th Coldest winter in history so they say. We are so excited to be part of this record....not. We have dispelled any myths about the artic package or the warm and toasty package. The slides leak like a sieve. We used 499 KWH of power in Feb.. That is a average of 17.82 kwh per day. Normal usage is @ 7khw.. 5 tanks of Propane.. normal is @ 2 tanks.. Total bill for Propane and power 177.16. We have identified all the serious leaks and have towels stuffed in most of the slide corners. We do stay sort of warm and toasty with the help of the real warm and toasty package.. Socks, slippers, sweat pants and shirts , sweaters and for those hair challanged....caps. We have gone through a 2 litters of good rum and a entire can of hot chocolate to supplement the warm and toasty package.. It helps..

klefevre · 04-09-2010, 12:29 PM

I have not yet picked up my new (2010 3150 RL) unit, but I must say reading all the posts am wondering if I am making the right buying decision. (My other consideration was carriage rvs) Most posts are quite negative about the montys quality. Already signned on the dotted line, so keeping my fingers crossed.

richfaa · 04-09-2010, 02:48 PM

I think what you are seeing is that the quality on all brand Rv's is not of the highest. Quality is not job 1 in the RV industry. Your Montana will not be perfect nor will any of the others.We are 46 months of hard use on this guy and we have had some problems but we are still on the road and it is serving us well.

KDS MONY · 04-10-2010, 01:47 PM

I agree with Rich. our SOB cost 2.5 times our Monty but it is NOT 2.5 times warmer!! It is a much nicer unit overall but it is still an RV and as such it is less energy efficient than an S&B. In a normal winter it would not be an issue, just head south to warmer weather but this year that was not possible!! Let's all hope for more seasonal temps next winter!! Best wishes, Jay and Kathy

bigskyjimmy · 12-16-2010, 10:27 PM

WOW! 40 gal in 3 DAYS! something is up, we have 2004 3280 rl and it has been around 15 to 30 degrees for the past week up here in Olympia, Wa and we go through abought about 7 gals every 3 days we do have 1 creamic heater in the living room and 1 in the bedroom and keep the furnance set to 62 degrees at night and my wife makes big meals at night and that sucks a little gas but it stays pretty cozy althogh we do turn on the heat during the day sometimes to keep the temp up to 70 or so and we always put a little blanket on our laps watching tv I have been pretty suprised we have not gone through more propane our slides seem to be sealed good and we always keep the shades closed when the sun goes down and have insulation pads in all of our vents up top and that helps too
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CamillaMichael · 12-17-2010, 01:42 AM

Quote:

quote:Originally posted by klefevre

I have not yet picked up my new (2010 3150 RL) unit, but I must say reading all the posts am wondering if I am making the right buying decision. (My other consideration was carriage rvs) Most posts are quite negative about the montys quality. Already signned on the dotted line, so keeping my fingers crossed.

Personal choices are just that...you make the choice you think is best for you. We shopped a lot before buying our Montana. Is it perfect? NO! But we ae happy with the choice we made; may your choice serve you well, whatever that choice might be.

mhs4771 · 12-17-2010, 03:51 AM

All I can say is that the Monty is WAY warmer in cool/cold weather than our previous SOB TT and easier to keep cool in hot weather. A 2955RL might not be the biggest Monty, but the floor plan fit our needs perfectly and was exactly what we were looking for.

CamillaMichael · 12-17-2010, 06:57 AM

Quote:

quote:Originally posted by mhs4771

All I can say is that the Monty is WAY warmer in cool/cold weather than our previous SOB TT and easier to keep cool in hot weather. A 2955RL might not be the biggest Monty, but the floor plan fit our needs perfectly and was exactly what we were looking for.

First sentence describes our experience perfectly.

Lawman · 12-17-2010, 01:20 PM

To be honest, I have not read the four previous pages of posts. However, these rigs leak air like sieves. When cold, we stuff towels, dirty clothes, WalMart bags and anything else we can find, where ever the slide corners meet the frame. Try sitting on the floor...it is very drafty. We run two 1,500 Lasko heaters, they are a big help and not nearly as irritating as the "furnace" cycling on and off every few minutes.

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