First Time Snowbirding - Montana Owners Club

KemoLondon · 03-29-2019, 05:22 AM

Well we've had our Monty for almost two years now and just completed our first season down in Florida as Snow Birds. What a fantastic experience. Our Fiver performed great. (with exception of fridge running a little warm)

Living in it for three months was excellent. Never felt walled in or lack of space. Our Montana is indeed the high end brand we hoped for. No issues driving down or back up. The Sailun tires that came with it performed without issue as did our F350.

This forum was invaluable with info and tips to make our experience very enjoyable. Thanks to all fellow Montys. Next season we're going for 6 months. Happy travels ya'll.

richfaa · 03-29-2019, 07:02 AM

We have been snowbirding in Florida for several years. The winter weather is perfect for us. We also did the SW Arizona and Texas but the all brown landscape did not appeal to us and since we had a choice we moved on.

1retired06 · 03-29-2019, 08:18 AM

Our 12th snowbird season in Florida (six months) and glad you enjoyed as much as we do.

mjammersc · 03-29-2019, 09:19 AM

We did a 5 week snowbird season for our first time this winter and really enjoyed it and the resort we went to. We are in process of setting up for a 3 month stint next season. This was the longest trip with the trailer, 6+ weeks overall and went well. Looking forward to next time.

Loneoak · 03-29-2019, 10:43 AM

This is our eleventh season snowbirding in Florida, and our third trailer since we started coming down.

For the fridge, the best idea would be to make sure your fridge is not facing the afternoon sun. Ours doesn’t, and has been running well. Unfortunately, the big windows face west, so a lot of heat comes in that way. Next year we are going to put Reflectix in those windows. I have some at home, so I will make some to fit before we go south again.

1retired06 · 03-29-2019, 08:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KemoLondon

Well we've had our Monty for almost two years now and just completed our first season down in Florida as Snow Birds. What a fantastic experience. Our Fiver performed great. (with exception of fridge running a little warm)

Living in it for three months was excellent. Never felt walled in or lack of space. Our Montana is indeed the high end brand we hoped for. No issues driving down or back up. The Sailun tires that came with it performed without issue as did our F350.

This forum was invaluable with info and tips to make our experience very enjoyable. Thanks to all fellow Montys. Next season we're going for 6 months. Happy travels ya'll.

I put a 110 fan pointed straight up in the outside lower vent to help push the hot air up and out. Frig runs cooler.

timandsusan · 04-01-2019, 06:17 AM

Since we retired in 2006 and bought our current Monty, we have traveled 3 to 4 months a year. Our snowbirding is done at the stick house in San Antonio but our travels now have been reduced to staying 2 months in the same great RV park in Colorado. We have developed an extensive packing list as well as a list to secure our home. Downsizing and enjoying the cool weather at 8000 feet makes our summer snowbirding a real treat. Great to hear it is working for you and others!

Hooch on Wheels · 04-11-2019, 10:17 AM

Looking for suggestions for places to winter in Florida. How far South do we need to go to stay above at least 40 degrees. Stayed in Mission Texas this past winter, locals said it was a cool winter.
Thanks,

J&C
Hooch on Wheels

SaraLouwho · 04-11-2019, 12:00 PM

I would suggest south of !4. (That is just south of Disney and is the east/west route in the middle of the state.) We like Bowling Green, not a lot of tourist attractions, but within 1.5 hrs of everything. Sebring, and Frostproof also have some nice parks. We are in Torrey Oaks and like it so much we have been there for 10 years.

rohrmann · 04-11-2019, 08:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by richfaa

We have been snowbirding in Florida for several years. The winter weather is perfect for us. We also did the SW Arizona and Texas but the all brown landscape did not appeal to us and since we had a choice we moved on.

You are really missing out this season, as the entire desert is green everywhere, and the cactus is in bloom. I don't think it's been the nice for a very long time, except it has been quite cool and wet this winter in Arizona. I'm sure, as soon as it does finally get hot, all that green will again be brown. It was so wet in Quartzsite in January, that we had to delay our Meet & Greet a day to allow the water to soak in, and I think someone said we had over an inch of rain the day before.

DebNJim B · 04-13-2019, 09:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KemoLondon

Well we've had our Monty for almost two years now and just completed our first season down in Florida as Snow Birds. What a fantastic experience. Our Fiver performed great. (with exception of fridge running a little warm)

Living in it for three months was excellent. Never felt walled in or lack of space. Our Montana is indeed the high end brand we hoped for. No issues driving down or back up. The Sailun tires that came with it performed without issue as did our F350.

This forum was invaluable with info and tips to make our experience very enjoyable. Thanks to all fellow Montys. Next season we're going for 6 months. Happy travels ya'll.

Fantastic Experience are the key words here. So glad to hear your maiden voyage went so well. We have the same set up except a crewcab and residential fridg. This is our 6th year wintering in NW GA. Sometimes when it gets cold in Feb we head to FL touring for a month. This year we booked ahead a spot near Venice for next Feb. We love our Monty and find it very comfy for the 6 months we are in it.

Hope you have many more years of enjoyment with yours.

richfaa · 04-13-2019, 10:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rohrmann

You are really missing out this season, as the entire desert is green everywhere, and the cactus is in bloom. I don't think it's been the nice for a very long time, except it has been quite cool and wet this winter in Arizona. I'm sure, as soon as it does finally get hot, all that green will again be brown. It was so wet in Quartzsite in January, that we had to delay our Meet & Greet a day to allow the water to soak in, and I think someone said we had over an inch of rain the day before.

We have nothing bad to say about snowbird winters in the SW.We have seen the desert in bloom .It is fantastic. Since we retired we have become very picky as to where we go or where we stay. We realized early on we did not have to be anywhere. We did Lake Havasu city, Tuscon , Apache Junction.The south west is beautiful .The night and morning desert winter can be cold it took us a couple of years to get the sand out of the RV. Nothing serious and we enjoyed our winters but we kept trying different places. We particularly enjoyed travelling around the SW the scenery and history is fantastic. The "Q" of course is a must do and we did.

Here in central Florida with all the attractions, WDW, Universal , Kennedy space center, there may be to much to do and see. The weather for us is perfect.n The great thing about this life style is we can do anything we want and be anywhere we choose.

Woody_Smith · 04-13-2019, 02:22 PM

We’ve been snowbirding since 2005. We started off in a motorhome, going to various locations up and down the FL Gulf Coast. We also spent a winter in Benson, AZ and one in Texas. The past number of years we’ve been in Central FL, in Sebring. This past winter we bought a used Montana, which we left in storage in Sebring. We’ll travel over the summer in our Thor Vegas, mostly short trips in New England, but we’re planning a longer trip to SD and Mt. Rushmore for September.

We used to spend 5 - 6 months in FL, usually from October thru April and sometimes into early May. But we’ve cut that back to just Feb. & March now and we’re happy with that. The Monty we bought was exactly the right size for us, plenty of room, a real oven and a king size bed. We’re looking forward to the next several winters and getting to know it better. The Montana really is a first class rig.

Woody_Smith · 04-13-2019, 02:26 PM

You can’t be absolutely sure of above 40 degree weather unless you get down to Miami or the Keys. We’ve seen a week of sub-40 temps several times in Sebring over the last 10 years.

summer home · 04-13-2019, 07:00 PM

We live in Myrtle Beach.. snowbird for a month (Feb) near Ft Meyers, Fl, then summer in upstate New York
total almost 6 months in the Monty... Love it!!!!!

DebNJim B · 04-14-2019, 06:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by summer home

We live in Myrtle Beach.. snowbird for a month (Feb) near Ft Meyers, Fl, then summer in upstate New York
total almost 6 months in the Monty... Love it!!!!!

Just curious, did you move to Myrtle from NY? We are considering moving our residence from NY to either GA or Charleston nearer kids and grands and summering north. What months do you spend in NY and where?
NY is becoming a great place to be from.

You may also like: