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12-12-2018, 11:41 PM
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#1
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Established Member
Join Date: Dec 2018
Location: Beautiful Southern Colorado
Posts: 11
M.O.C. #23111
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Hello From Beautiful Southern Colorado - 3820FK
After looking at many different units and weighing all the options, we finally made a deal on a 2018 - 3820FK to replace our 2009 Crossroads Cruiser 30SK.
We loved the Cruiser, and if our son wasn’t needing it for work, we probably would not have upgraded for awhile yet.
What we like about the Monty so far:
- Kitchen is ample with 3 separate work zones, large RV fridge, and big window. Didn’t think I wanted a booth, but this one is large and a comfy place to play games, watch the news, and just hang out!
- When extra folks come with us (or show up as they are want to do), the couches in the living room sleep 4 adults with enough room to slip by without disturbing anyone
- Smaller humans can fit on the kitchen booth with the boosters removed and on the reclining love seat with the center section removed, could also add an air mattress to the kitchen floor space if need be... that would be 8 extra folks which would be a ton, but doable
- Lots of bedroom storage
- Bedroom feels very private and cozy with the hall creating space, second entrance, big picture window, and tall ceilings
- Legacy package full-body paint (yay, no more stickers), solar pre-wire, 4 season insulation, ducted AC, even the little fireplace / electric heater in the living room adds to the utility of the RV
- Second entrance... air flow, access to bathroom
- Even with the slides in, I can still crawl up into the kitchen and make a sammich
The NOT so great aspects of the Monty...
- In comparison to other units, demonstrably less basement storage. That said, most of what we had in the Cruiser fits with room to spare, with the exception of the slide out flat grill we McGyvered in the Cruiser. Will my husband survive the loss of this grill??? To be continued...
- No way to easily add fresh water to the tank...
- It seems crazy tall, and the landing gear seems crazy low to the ground
- Main door potentially gets in the way of the awning, and let’s talk about the slide - with it out, it drastically limits the space one has in the shade :/
- There is a lot of mechanical stuffs in our limited basement... it’s going to suck when something inevitably breaks
- Kitchen sink is 2 smaller stainless steel bowls instead of one larger one, no under booth storage and booth doesn’t make into a bed they way they traditionally do, and no pantry (albeit, even with how much we all cook, there seems to be ample storage).
- Hose connections for the washer / dryer are along the far side wall which seems weird...
- Glass shower door... I can totally picture someone forgetting to lock that and a bunch of sandness ensuing
- Overall, quality is good, but not great. Theater sofa seems a little frail, bathroom feels cramped, and the mattress we have is a king, but not particularly comfie.
None of these were deal breakers obviously, but there are some obvious gotchas there that we have already encountered simply by doing a walk through.
Taking it out this weekend for a quick run. Excited to see how camping with all that space and ambiance impacts the experience.
Thank you all for creating a great forum to better understand the brand and our particular unit.
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12-13-2018, 04:55 AM
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#2
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Montana Master
Join Date: Mar 2017
Location: Winchester
Posts: 903
M.O.C. #19514
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We also traded a Crossroads Cruiser for our Monty. Our reason for trading was the fact that we had a lot of issues with the Cruiser. We had it four years and there was always something. The Monty so far seems to be of better quality.
The Cruiser had a better floor plan, with a wider staircase, a wider hallway, and a closet in the hallway (great place for the cat box!). What we like about our Monty is the 12 cf RV fridge, the roller blinds which make the place nice and dark and keep out the sun, and the king bed. We changed out the mattress for a Brentwood RV King from Amazon and just love it! Not expensive and easily the most comfortable mattress we have ever slept on.
I have seen the front kitchen model at the RV show. The kitchen is amazing! What turned us off was the lack of basement storage space. I believe that this is only with that model and is because the front of the trailer (that is, the higher part) is shorter than in models with a front bedroom and bathroom. This gives less room for underneath storage. It's a compromise, I guess.
As for filling the fresh water tank, ours has a switch where the city water is hooked up. You flip that and it fills up the fresh water tank. Check to see if you have that as well.
As for the awning, ours is not over the slide, but we very seldom have it out. DH is afraid it will get damaged in the wind.
As for the shower door, we are having trouble keeping the handles on, so we will have to work on that.
As for overall quality, all brands have issues, none is better than any others. It's the luck of the draw.
__________________
![](image.php?u=19514&type=sigpic&dateline=1530304240)
2017 High Country 305RL
2015 Ford F-250 Super Duty
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12-13-2018, 05:29 AM
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#3
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Montana Master
Join Date: Apr 2013
Location: Arroyo City
Posts: 3,110
M.O.C. #13395
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Congratulations! Welcome to our group!
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12-13-2018, 07:00 AM
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#4
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Established Member
Join Date: Dec 2018
Location: Beautiful Southern Colorado
Posts: 11
M.O.C. #23111
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Quote:
What turned us off was the lack of basement storage space.
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Crazy question... what are folks putting in there that requires substantially more room? I am asking because I sincerely don’t know (even though my husband was sad about the storage as well - he can’t actually seem to articulate why).
For us, we are giving up the drawer that we installed that housed our 36” flat grill. Other than that, everything fits with room to spare (although in different compartments), especially since we haven’t installed our generator in the prep space. We bring tools, chairs, fishing gear, a table, 22” table top grill, 22” table top flat grill, our hoses / wheel chaulks, and extra propane / water bottles, with all of our household items fitting within the coach.
—————-
As for filling the fresh water tank, ours has a switch where the city water is hooked up. You flip that and it fills up the fresh water tank. Check to see if you have that as well.
Our Cruiser has the access to the water closer to the outside of the unit. This allowed us to easily fill the fresh water with extra water bottoes that we carried with us. With the extra people that always seemed to come with us, this really helped to extend the time we were able to be out camping at sites without hookups.
Thank you for the input and the suggestion on the mattress, going to definitely check that out!
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12-13-2018, 07:10 AM
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#5
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Montana Master
Join Date: May 2018
Location: livingston,tx
Posts: 567
M.O.C. #21685
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Welcome to the forum.
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12-13-2018, 07:13 AM
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#6
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Montana Master
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: Salem
Posts: 7,651
M.O.C. #2283
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Welcome to MOC from the beautiful Blueridge Mountains of southwest Virginia.
Lynwood
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12-13-2018, 08:20 AM
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#7
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Montana Master
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: Lake Havasu City AZ.
Posts: 1,811
M.O.C. #10552
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Welcome to the forum from Arizona. Congrats on the new rig. Have fun and be safe.
__________________
Wayne and Ann Moore
2015 Ford F-350 King Ranch
Firestone air bags, bed saver.
Add 40 GAL tank in bed.
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12-13-2018, 08:30 AM
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#8
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Montana Master
Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: Lake Gaston
Posts: 8,773
M.O.C. #12156
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welcome and safe travels
__________________
Mike and Lorraine
2002 3655 FL, 2005 3650RK
2010 3665RE, 2015 3910FB
F350 crew cab dually 6.7
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12-13-2018, 09:13 AM
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#9
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Montana Master
Join Date: Nov 2005
Location: Paola
Posts: 5,739
M.O.C. #4961
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Congratulations and welcome to the group.
__________________
Dennis & Linda Ward
Paola, Kansas
Montana 3735MK Legacy Edition
1200 watts of Solar
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12-13-2018, 04:36 PM
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#10
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Site Team
Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: Wilsey
Posts: 18,799
M.O.C. #11455
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Welcome to the forum! May your new rig bring you many years of wonderful memories.
__________________
Dick, Joyce, Diego, Picatso and Gustav
2017 3720 RL, and 2013 HC 343RL
Pullrite Hitch, IS, Disk Brakes, 3rd AC, Winegard Traveler, Bathroom door mod, Dometic 320, couch for desk swap, replaced chairs, sun screens, added awnings, etc.
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12-13-2018, 08:43 PM
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#11
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Montana Master
Join Date: Sep 2017
Location: Tacoma
Posts: 1,567
M.O.C. #20475
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Welcome to the MOC. from Washington St! Enjoy the new Rig.
__________________
Bob & Carol Washington St
2017 HC HM352RL 2018 Dodge 3500 laramie CC LB 4x4
Curt Q25 with puck system, Factory air bags
Happy Trails
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12-13-2018, 09:04 PM
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#12
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Site Team
Join Date: Sep 2017
Location: Oro Valley
Posts: 4,061
M.O.C. #20477
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Welcome to the forum! Enjoy your new rig.
__________________
Zack and Donna plus Millie and Ranger
2018 3160RL
"Life is too short to stay indoors, enjoy the ride!"
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12-13-2018, 11:48 PM
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#13
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Montana Master
Join Date: May 2017
Location: new caney
Posts: 1,050
M.O.C. #19873
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As for as the shower door, you might want to cut you a dowel stick and fit it in the runner at the bottom of the door just in case the plastic latch ever breaks going down the highway. There are a lot of what-ifs on these rv's . Welcome to the forum and hope you have many safe miles ahead of you.
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12-14-2018, 04:49 PM
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#14
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Seasoned Camper
Join Date: May 2017
Location: Naples
Posts: 91
M.O.C. #19861
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First of all welcome.
I divided out the storage under the bed by putting up a board to divide the outside storage from the storage under the bed. It gives me a little more storage outside and the wife can keep extra bed stuff and clothes under the bed. We have had our 3820 FK for 1 1/2 years full-time in it.
__________________
2017 Montana 3820 FK
2004 Dodge Ram 2500
2009 Harley Davidson Ultra Classic
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12-15-2018, 09:06 AM
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#15
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Montana Fan
Join Date: Dec 2016
Location: Lakewood, Wa.
Posts: 188
M.O.C. #19305
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You pretty much hit all the Pros and Cons about this particular unit. The draw to it was the three major zones and double doors. The manual water fill in the rear drivers side is a bit of a challenge and during my last experience, need to make sure the city fill lever was turned on to assist in venting as the water seemed to back up in the tubing to the tank. The Coleman grill works for us with an extended hose off the curbside propane tank as it will need to be at least 5 ft away from the unit. The grill travels in the back of the truck. The King size mattress is a pain to make due to limited space around the edges but probably the same for most other models. Anyways, great to compare stories about this model. Happy Glamping
__________________
Henry & Lita (Scotty/Bluey Our shelties)
2022 SOB with 2015 Chevy Silverado
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12-15-2018, 09:26 AM
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#16
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Established Member
Join Date: Dec 2018
Location: Beautiful Southern Colorado
Posts: 11
M.O.C. #23111
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Thank you all for the welcomes and the ideas... taking her out for our first overnight today!
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12-19-2018, 01:43 PM
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#17
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Montana Master
Join Date: Apr 2016
Location: North Lake Tahoe
Posts: 639
M.O.C. #18510
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Congrats, we had the same 5th wheel with every bell and whistle added. After 2.5 years, and 80 RV parks, and 41 states and two provinces of Canada, we sold it a few weeks ago and have a new 5th wheel SOB on order. The bathroom is not comfy if one is on the pot while one is using the sink. upgrade the shower nozzle to the Oxygenics brand. Also put a floor mat that you use for stepping out of the shower on the floor of the shower and leave your shower head on the ground while traveling. There have been reported issues with the refer going off when using the front water sensing overhead fan in the kitchen. Ours had that problem and they fixed it by wiring the refer to the battery. We upgraded to a Sleep number king bed and it is much more comfy than the stock bed. One other con, is the wife would not cook me dinner, unless I cleaned the bugs off the front windshield every time we got to a new park. :-)
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2017 3820FK Legacy Edition full body paint Montana, For Sale this November, 2018. 2016 Ram 3500 long bed Dually Cummins Turbo with air bags
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12-19-2018, 01:49 PM
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#18
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Established Member
Join Date: Feb 2018
Location: Manitou Springs
Posts: 16
M.O.C. #21185
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Welcome
Welcome to the club, I have a Montana 380 and also in southern Colorado. Colorado springs.
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12-19-2018, 02:30 PM
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#19
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Seasoned Camper
Join Date: Sep 2018
Location: Plant City
Posts: 91
M.O.C. #22581
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Welcome to 3820FK glamping!! We love ours and have had it out a few times in the last couple of months since we got it. A couple of minor tweaks we've done that have helped our needs out quite a bit:
1. Went from the stock king mattress to a house king and now to a house queen mattress in the bedroom. I still need to trim the plywood a bit since it is sized for a king, but our test runs with the queen mattress proved it was the right move for us as we can now walk around the bedroom and access the cabinets where the washer/dryer preps are. (Our 4.5 pound toy golden doodle sleeps under the cabinets in a tiny "trailer" we got from CW that fits in that hole quite nicely!)
2. It gets warm in Florida and the air was having issues keeping the front cool so I removed (they just snap off) the two ac vent covers over the ceiling fan in the living room. MUCH better now!
3. I also closed off the two air returns under my steps. We rarely, if ever, run the furnace opting instead for electric heat the rare times we would ever need it. My hope was to stop cooling the basement. (If you run the furnace, you'd have to open these back up.)
We love our FK and our 2 year old grandson figured out that if he puts his forehead against the glass in the front while standing in the booth, he can go from one side of the trailer to the other and his head vibrates on the glass making a fun sound. (We clean bugs on the outside and forehead prints on the inside of that front glass! Definitely worth the few extra minutes for the view!!)
Enjoy your FK!!!
__________________
2019 F350 SRW with Demco Autoslide
2021 385BR
2018 Smart Trailer
2017 Fully Grown 5 Pound Toy Golden Doodle
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12-19-2018, 05:25 PM
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#20
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Established Member
Join Date: Apr 2018
Location: Bozeman
Posts: 11
M.O.C. #21671
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Congratulations on your beautiful new rig. I love mine! Watch out for the refer gremlin. Ours had this glitch and a little rewiring, from a service tech, solved the problem. When fridge is running, turning on the ceiling power vent in the kitchen may shut down your fridge. If they are on the same circuit you'll know. Lots in this forum on the subject. Happy camping!
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