New Montana Owners

[glendodom]

Originally Posted by bou0146

We have a 2018 3810MS. We have the second fireplace and love it. I rebuilt the bed platform so it fit the mattress but have no issue with pivot door so it is the way it came. I had to revamp the cable system as that splitter/switch mounted behind the docking station was messing with my satellite system. Added a pure sine wave inverter so we can use the TV when boondocking. Added a vacuum outlet near the storage compartment door so I do not have to climb in the storage bay to vacuum my truck.

I would be interested in knowing how you rewired your cable wiring. I bought a new Montana last Sept and ran into the issue with the splitter/switch behind the control center not allowing my Dish Tailgater satellite to transmit. As I understand the way they use the splitters the auto satellite systems do not work. I have the 3721 RV. I for now have been simply running a cable direct via the slides to the Dish boxes but would since I couldn't ever figure how to revamp the wiring, especially the BR connector. Thanks

[DebNJim B]

I'm also having issues with the tailgater and house cableing. I was thinking of just removing all the splitters and using the existing house wiring. Has anyone tried that?

[Dixie Flyer]

Congratulations on your new purchase and welcome to the thread. Hop you have many miles and many weekends of pleasure. We have been Montana owners since 2011 and have enjoyed it very much. There will be some things you will have to take care of long the way, but I hope it is small things. Enjoy yourself and Happy Trails to you

[Dixie Flyer]

Congratulations on your new purchase and welcome to the thread. Hop you have many miles and many weekends of pleasure. We have been Montana owners since 2011 and have enjoyed it very much. There will be some things you will have to take care of long the way, but I hope it is small things. Enjoy yourself and Happy Trails to you

[glendodom]

Originally Posted by DebNJim B

I'm also having issues with the tailgater and house cableing. I was thinking of just removing all the splitters and using the existing house wiring. Has anyone tried that?

I tried simply bypassing the splitter behind the central service center but still didn't get signal transmission thus I figure their is other hidden splitters somewhere within the trailer.

[jmb98]

Originally Posted by sdavenport66

Just bought my first RV, its a 2109 Montana 3854BR 20th Anniversary Edition. I am sure I am going to have lots of questions, like where is the cable booster located, It is not behind any of the TV's. Can't hook the cable up till I find it. I live in the NW corner of New Mexico, I am a nurse, and looking forward to traveling and having some good times in my new RV.

Steven

Welcome, Steven!

Your *antenna* booster (which needs to be off for cable use) should be located behind your bedroom TV. Look along the inside top of the TV compartment, where you should see a small green light. That's the booster -- hidden in plain sight, lol! Hit the small button next to it to turn it off. When you're using your antenna for TV, make sure the booster is on.

Have fun traveling in your trailer! We're finding it's a worthwhile learning experience. And this group is an amazing resource!!

[jmb98]

Originally Posted by Gutz54

Wecome Steven--Deb and I just joined yesterday---maybe some of the experts here can help you. I have a question for the group---how does my fridge get power when we are driving and going down the road. The people we bought or 3811 told us it ran on propane and electric and it automatically switched over?? I don't think they used this rig very long as I think the fridge is elec only.? Does the power cord hooked up in the bed of the truck when we are driving provide power to the fridge or are the batteries keeping it on?? Thanks

Hi Gutz & welcome to the group!

FYI: If the folks from whom you bought your Montana didn't tell you where the power inverter for the fridge is, it's on the ceiling of your basement/belly, on the driver's side. If you don't see anything on its display, press the button to turn it on. It will show your battery strength on the display. Always a good idea to make sure it's on when you hook up to your truck, so *you* know it's on. We went through a newbie experience last year where our residential fridge/freezer temps would *greatly* fluctuate while on the road, then stabilize on shore power. It was like the fridge wasn't getting any juice at all...because, hey, it wasn't! Figured out that the inverter wasn't even on (thank you, dealership!). Now we check it with every hookup, if only for *my* peace of mind.

Happy trails!! ~Maggie & Jim

[Gutz54]

Originally Posted by jmb98

Hi Gutz & welcome to the group!

FYI: If the folks from whom you bought your Montana didn't tell you where the power inverter for the fridge is, it's on the ceiling of your basement/belly, on the driver's side. If you don't see anything on its display, press the button to turn it on. It will show your battery strength on the display. Always a good idea to make sure it's on when you hook up to your truck, so *you* know it's on. We went through a newbie experience last year where our residential fridge/freezer temps would *greatly* fluctuate while on the road, then stabilize on shore power. It was like the fridge wasn't getting any juice at all...because, hey, it wasn't! Figured out that the inverter wasn't even on (thank you, dealership!). Now we check it with every hookup, if only for *my* peace of mind.

Happy trails!! ~Maggie & Jim

Thanks Maggie and Jim--Going to go check it right now!! It was off!! It is flashing 00.0 and then 1.37 ?? Is it supposed to be doing that?? Does it need to be on when you are on shore power or does it hurt it to be on then?

[jmb98]

Originally Posted by Gutz54

Thanks Maggie and Jim--Going to go check it right now!! It was off!! It is flashing 00.0 and then 1.37 ?? Is it supposed to be doing that?? Does it need to be on when you are on shore power or does it hurt it to be on then?

I pulled out my inverter manual & visited our belly. The 00.0 on your display is the measured battery voltage. The 1.37 is the total AC output (in kW). You don't mention the color of your indicator light. Was it green, amber or red? You might also see an Error code, which will shut down the inverter if anything's out of sorts.

Since the inverter doesn't give a reading for your batteries, you should have those checked to make sure they're still good. (Take a pencil, paper & tape to the battery area to label & map the battery cable wiring around & inside the case before removing the batteries.) If the batteries check out good, reinstall them, using your map to reconnect.

*ONLY* if your batts are good: Look for random battery cables coming through the wall from the direction of the inverter. It may be that the inverter was never connected to the batteries, hence the 00.0 reading. Easy fix there.

We leave our inverter on when connected to shore power, but check that it's on when we hook up for travel.

Good luck! ~Maggie

[TBW Ventures]

Welcome to the forum and congrats on the rig.

We were the newbies last year and I have enjoyed the range of ideas, solutions and help on the forum.

[Gutz54]

Originally Posted by jmb98

I pulled out my inverter manual & visited our belly. The 00.0 on your display is the measured battery voltage. The 1.37 is the total AC output (in kW). You don't mention the color of your indicator light. Was it green, amber or red? You might also see an Error code, which will shut down the inverter if anything's out of sorts.

Since the inverter doesn't give a reading for your batteries, you should have those checked to make sure they're still good. (Take a pencil, paper & tape to the battery area to label & map the battery cable wiring around & inside the case before removing the batteries.) If the batteries check out good, reinstall them, using your map to reconnect.

*ONLY* if your batts are good: Look for random battery cables coming through the wall from the direction of the inverter. It may be that the inverter was never connected to the batteries, hence the 00.0 reading. Easy fix there.

We leave our inverter on when connected to shore power, but check that it's on when we hook up for travel.

Good luck! ~Maggie

Thanks !! we will check those things.

[DebNJim B]

Originally Posted by glendodom

I tried simply bypassing the splitter behind the central service center but still didn't get signal transmission thus I figure their is other hidden splitters somewhere within the trailer.

There are additional splitters behind the wall plates where the cable comes in. Not sure why they do all this. If you try to follow wiring with a continuity check it seems most everything is connected together. It's no wonder the sat won't work.

[Eagleback]

Welcome to the forum, As you can see there is lots and lots of help and suggestions. Keep the shiny side up.

[Dixie Flyer]

Originally Posted by glendodom

I tried simply bypassing the splitter behind the central service center but still didn't get signal transmission thus I figure their is other hidden splitters somewhere within the trailer.

We had a problem with our splitter located in the bedroom behind the TV. All connections were loose. Reconnected all the cables and the TV in the Living room cleared up. The connection for the outside TV was loose from the connection behind the wall. Once all the cables were tightened everything worked.

[TAKPAK]

Originally Posted by Gutz54

Hi Terry and Patsy!!---Funny about the BR door--it's the one thing I wish was different--Deb likes it though.. Did you change it to a pocket door??? Fireplace is still in the BR....we spent the first night in our rig last night---I can see why you would want to change the bed platform--what did you do to improve that?? Thanks Dick and Deb

We used it for the first season. Then the upper bearing gave out and dropped the door. At that time I decided to change things. I made it a hinged (swinging) door. I had to swing it out into the hallway, but wasn't a problem for us. Bought the same type hinges as used on the bedroom door. Just "flipped" to door over to change the latch point. Really only major work was to make a new latch hole, and fill the old one. Only one drawback, the door won't quite open all the way in the hall, due to the valance over the window. I thought about reworking the valance (it would clear if I took a 1/4 inch off it) but decided the door opens far enough so left it alone. For us it works. For others, well.....maybe not. But we like it now. If you need, I can PM you with all the details as to what I did on the door. I actually did NOT have to buy any other materials than the hinges. Regarding the bed platform, I took the existing plywood off and used all new plywood to make it the width/length of the mattress. Yes, it makes it tight along the edge, but not a problem for us. Again, to each his own.

[The Landrys]

Welcome!

[WeBeFulltime]

Welcome! Get right in, buckle up, and hang on.