Nightmare

[bfaix22]

My wife and I just started full timing a few months ago and decided to buy a 2017 Forest River Sabre Cobalt 36BHQ because I am in the Navy and we wanted to have flexibility when moving to new duty stations over the next 10 years. The price of the unit for the size and floorplan was exciting and we pulled the trigger.

After living in it for a few months we discovered a bundle of problems. Water was getting into one of the slides and soaking the carpet when it rained, shower was leaking into the floorboards and soaking my storage space, water pump was allowing water to get into my tank while hooked up to city water, heater did not work correctly, windows and doors were not properly sealed and many other problems. To sum it up the unit was not built correctly and falling apart.

Needless to say, my wife and I were pissed. The warranty was not working with us and because I bought it in California and moved to Washington I could not take it to the dealer. At this point we decided to take the negative equity hit and buy the Montana 3950BR.

I cannot explain enough how much better life is in this unit. The quality of this unit from our last is night and day. You honestly pay for what you get I learned the hard way. If you are on the fence about a Montana I can tell you from my heart it is worth it. I enjoy coming home from work and relaxing in my fifth wheel and I am beyond happy we decided to take on this life style change.

Respectfully,
Brandon

[Razrbk]

Welcome from NW Arkansas!

[mlh]

Welcome. Hope you enjoy your Montana and it doesn't give you a seconds trouble but they all have quality problems. If you have China Bomb ST Tires I would advise you to get them off before the ruin the side of your new camper.
Lynwood

[DQDick]

Welcome! What Lynwood means is that if it doesn't have Sailun or Goodyear 614 tires on it you should look at replacing with one or those before you tow it very much.

[DarMar]

First of all congrats and welcome to the MOC family. You will glean a wealth of information and friendship during your time here.

Also good to hear the comparison of the Montana to the Sabre. Many of us are very happy repeat Montana owners but of course you can expect a few minor problems to deal with along the way.

[scottz]

Welcome and glad you enjoy your Montana. Always happy to see Navy people sign up; we are a Navy family (son is Senior Chief). Just curious; how does full-time RVing fit in with active duty life? I can see the advantage when you PCS.

[CORattler]

Originally Posted by DQDick

Welcome! What Lynwood means is that if it doesn't have Sailun or Goodyear 614 tires on it you should look at replacing with one or those before you tow it very much.

or... Bridgestone Duravis R250. A very good 14 ply tire.

[snowbirds R us]

Welcome from Missouri to this great forum and enjoy your stay. It’s a group of social and knowledgeable folks to help with any problems you may have with your Montana.

[1retired06]

Rough start with that FR!

[PackerFan]

Welcome to the MOC and hoping your experiences get better from here on.

[Recumbent]

Welcome to MOC form an old Navy CT, this is the place to be for learning about your Montana, Montana offers the most Band-For-The-Buck, we actually have fun learning about our fifth wheel, we hope you have many wonder years of use and enjoyment.

[WeBeFulltime]

Originally Posted by CORattler

or... Bridgestone Duravis R250. A very good 14 ply tire.

The Bridgestone Duravis R250 is a very good tire, but it is a very good Load Range E 10 ply tire not a 14 ply. To get a 14 ply you must go to a load range G tire such as the Sailun S637 or the Goodyear G614.

[Mudchief]

Welcome and enjoy this great forum.

[Oldsoldier]

Although we don't full-time, we travel around th country a lot, especially in the winter. As retired military (retired military.....never, ever a civilian ��), we stay at military campgrounds whenever possible. We see sooooo many active duty folks living in their campers on Post. They draw full "quarters allowance" which can be a rather large chunk of taxfree money, especially those with spouse and children. Whatever BAQ they receive, it is valued at an additional ~25% (their individual tax bracket). That can be a couple grand a month (you must factor in BAQ rate + number of dependents + locale adjustment for local cost of living impacts + whether only one or both are in uniform). And that is fine with my wife and me. But then sooo many check into the military campgrounds, staying within whatever constraints are at each campground/Famcamp, and pay a tiny fraction of what others pay at a comparable campground in the area. If you stay at the USAF Famcamp in Tucson, you pay around $30/night: a civilian campground is a few times that price. Some campgrounds are under $15/night. Full electric, water, sewer, often cable and wifi for under $1K per month is a verrry good deal! Using tax free dollars is a free camper, utilities, and no commute time. I like having the safety provided by being inside the perimeter fence, MPs making rounds (and they actually do so, in some places), and the fact most (not all!) military personnel act far better than their civilian counterparts. For PCS, as long as you stay CONUS, you are golden. I don't think you can ship a camper if going OCONUS, but I had a Warrant Officer in Germany who shipped his Class B as his "pov". Travel then means you draw whatever is the going rate for mileage, Per Diem, etc. I don't harbor any grievance about them getring over on the system, but earing up campground spaces as longtermers gripes me! Those campgrounds are for recreation, not fulltime use. We who travel often can't get into those campgrounds because the fulltimers tie up the spaces! After 42.5 years with the Army (30 in uniform plus 12.5 in Dept of the Army civil service) I love every soldier, sailor, airman, and Marine. Well, maybe not the Navy poges. �� But if you are eligible to use the military, Coast Guard, or NASA campgrounds, do so! Best buys around, and profits are supposed to stay in the Morale Support (recreation for soldiers) arena (even though some Commanders siphon off money for the installation...another pet peeve).

[Oldsoldier]

Florissant? We are in Ozark. Howdy, fellow Zarkian!