Community Forums

sarahsubaru · 05-05-2006, 11:05 AM

Looking to "upgrade" from a TT to a 5th wheel.
Really like the Montana. Any suggestions or comments would be appreciated. Thanks.

sarahsubaru · 05-05-2006, 11:05 AM

Looking to "upgrade" from a TT to a 5th wheel.
Really like the Montana. Any suggestions or comments would be appreciated. Thanks.

"007" · 05-05-2006, 02:22 PM

Sara, welcome to irv2

Down the forums 1/2 way there is a 5th wheel group that will help you if they don't pickup your question here they will pick it up there also. Enjoy the forums and good luck in finding your 5th.

"007"

gearman · 05-05-2006, 03:20 PM

Sara,

The Montana seems to be a fine trailer for a mid priced unit.
I belive more important than brand, is getting the floor plan you like best, then buying from a good dealer that will take care of you after the sale, then brand.
We concidered a montana for a while, but now we want a king size bed in our next trailer, and montana didn't have that option (maybe now they do).
Good luck and happy camping.

RV Wizard · 05-05-2006, 11:41 PM

Sarahsubaru, welcome to iRV2.com. We are glad to have you join us here and we look forward to reading of your adventures and experiences. Good luck on the hunt for the rig 5th wheel for yourself. Take your time and you will find it at a great price in todays market. If we can be of any further assistance feel free to ask.

cdrcos · 05-06-2006, 04:10 AM

There is a "consumer reports" for RV's. As I have in the past on this forum, I would urge you, or anyone else planning to buy an RV, to get a copy of the RV Consumer's Group ratings guide (book or CD). The will give you some objective information and ratings on the different models out there. Yes, the guide costs about $80, but that is pretty insignificant when you are going to spend $25,000+ on a fifth wheel. (You may be able to find the guide in some libraries.)

We have used the guide to purchase our last 3 RV's and found the ratings to be quite accurate. The RV we purchased before we discovered the ratings was a piece of junk and we wish we had know about the RVCG guide then. (The guide had accurately predicted it was poor in quality.) The Montanta models rate between 1 & 3 stars (out of 5). Believe me, there are models out there that are better rated for the same money and identical features. Unless you are an expert on RV's (which we are not), think about it. The RV Consumers Group website is: www.rv.org

Do not believe anything that RV salespeople tell you and only about half of what RV owners tell you about their rigs. They are not objective after having made a decision and sinking $25,000+ into their rigs. They want to believe they got the best.

Good Luck!

Edmund A Skibinski · 05-06-2006, 05:35 AM

sarahsubara, Welcome to the IRV2 website, glad you found are friendly site, check out the posts in our 5th wheel section to help you make your decision easier. Ed.S

Jimmy Jam · 05-07-2006, 03:26 PM

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by cdrcos:
There is a "consumer reports" for RV's. As I have in the past on this forum, I would urge you, or anyone else planning to buy an RV, to get a copy of the RV Consumer's Group ratings guide (book or CD). The will give you some objective information and ratings on the different models out there. Yes, the guide costs about $80, but that is pretty insignificant when you are going to spend $25,000+ on a fifth wheel. (You may be able to find the guide in some libraries.)

We have used the guide to purchase our last 3 RV's and found the ratings to be quite accurate. The RV we purchased before we discovered the ratings was a piece of junk and we wish we had know about the RVCG guide then. (The guide had accurately predicted it was poor in quality.) The Montanta models rate between 1 & 3 stars (out of 5). Believe me, there are models out there that are better rated for the same money and identical features. Unless you are an expert on RV's (which we are not), think about it. The RV Consumers Group website is: www.rv.org

Do not believe anything that RV salespeople tell you and only about half of what RV owners tell you about their rigs. They are not objective after having made a decision and sinking $25,000+ into their rigs. They want to believe they got the best.

Good Luck! </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Well...

I had often wondered if there existed such a book as you just mentioned.. That's great to know!

On the subject of believing what RV owner's tell you about their experiences and rigs---I kinda have to disagree with you there..

That's one of the reasons that I immediately joined this forum board when I discovered it, was to hear about others' experiences and adventures. I would dare say that most of the other members probably joined for this same reason, along with the other obvious reasons.

Of course I know that there are good and bad in everything, Rv's included, What problems I have had with my personal POV, for example, I hear from others they've never had a problem..so, I figure that good ol' "word of mouth" advertising is best and still be able to allow a little leeway about the actual performance of said product.

I guess what I'm trying to say is, "word of mouth" here about an 'XYZ" brand of motorhome MAY not be totally indicative of how every unit will function, but it's a great starting point for recognizing, identifying and eliminating potential "ABC" brand(s) units for your own individual use.

Personally, I'm watching and reading the 5th wheel comments for helpful info currently and gleaning some useful info..Thanks to you folks who I am "gleaning" from..

And same for various dealerships as well...

Stylin' · 05-09-2006, 04:21 AM

Welcome. We decided on a Mountaineer, made by Montana. It's basically the same trailer, but with fewer bells and whistles. As with anything, there is the potential for problems, but so far our troubles have been few. As was suggested, look at floor plans, and find something that appeals to you. One thing we like is the slide in the bedroom which makes it much roomier. Good luck looking.

fulltimedreamer · 05-21-2006, 08:08 PM

Sarasubaru,

You might want to check the Montana Owners Club forum to view owner experiences. I have a Mountaineer by Montana TT and have been very satisfied.

Here's a link to the site:

http://www.montanaowners.com/

JayC · 05-22-2006, 03:50 AM

Good morning and welcome to IRV2.com

I can't help you with a review of the Montana, but I would like to suggest another brand that was brought out to compete specifically with the Montana line, the Bighorn models by Heartland Mfg. Heartland began with high end units (Landmark) but soon came out with the Bighorn models.

You can find Heartland models here

You will get a lot of information including participation by a Heartland Mfg. VP
here

Good luck!

Two Bit · 05-22-2006, 05:20 AM

One thing we enjoy about our fiver is the ability to make quick stops along the way at rest areas for lunch in the fiver, or to just make potty breaks and use the fiver facilities. A key to this is being able to access critical areas (sink, refrigerator, bathroom, dining table) with the slide(s) closed in their travel position. Whatever you buy, see if you can access these areas with the slides closed before buying a floorplan. I would also suggest you look at Holiday Rambler Alumascape fivers. We really enjoy ours.

Diesel Don · 06-10-2006, 07:22 PM

We just returned from a 44 day trip that included
3500 miles of towing and this was our shakedown trip on our new Montana. We were 100% pleased with the unit and the only issue we had was one of the oak plugs in a kitchen chair fell out. That was it! We have owned RVs for 32 years and this new Montana was the result of a lot of research on our part. The Montana gives you good value for your RV dollar but there are a lot of good makes out there and I think you can get a lemon in any brand so you just hope your unit was made by the good people on the good days and not by the vacation relief people. Check over any new unit extremely well and if you see a few things you don't like, don't buy it.