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Old 01-22-2022, 12:19 AM   #1
KausalityKid
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I'm terrfied! I don't want to screw this up. Need friendly advice

I am so new to this that RV's for sale actually shiver as I walk by them. I swear I heard one howl, 'I'm a bad, bad RV.'

I will put right up front what I could use any advice/knowledge/opinions on, and then give the back story or else you'll fall asleep. I have not owned, nor have I driven, or camped/lived in a fifth wheel ever. I know one of the very first questions will be, 'How are you going to use it?' or something similar. That's also part of the back story.

I have been searching for several months and limiting my searches to, at the very most, 200 miles near me, but usually just 150. My general search filters are; used, fifth wheel, toy hauler, 2016 or later. The following used Montana - I've been hoping to find a Keystone Montana or a Grand Design - grabbed my attention because of the floor plan. The bedroom is in the back and the floorplan said, 'garage underneath', WTF. The biggest problem I have with toy haulers is the lack of living space. I’m sure that’s not an unusual sentiment, but if you want to bring your toys you have to give up something. The pictures posted for it never show what they call the garage. I did find a couple of nice videos, and one I will include the URL to that shows exactly what the garage is. The reason I want a toy hauler is that I want to be able to bring along an ATV and some additional equipment. So I don’t need a 13 foot garage, but I do need something and this looks like it might be it. I have not seen a floor plan like this in the several months I have been searching. So what I’d like to know is, does anyone have any experience with this floorplan or model? If so, what did you like what didn’t you like. I will also gladly take advice or opinions from Montana owners in general, inexperience with this model doesn’t make what you have to offer any less valuable.

Model: 2019 MONTANA HIGH COUNTRY 381TH

Listed at: Listing at rvtrader
Short Video walkthrough:

Okay, some off the back story and what I'll be doing with it, my evil plan to dominate.... Uh sorry. I get carried away sometimes. First, what am I going to pull it with? Long, long story short; 3 months ago I was able to score a 2019 Dodge Ram 3500 Laramie with all the bells and whistles and then some. It is a dully and has the HO package and will tow 30,000 lbs. With 1,000 lbs. of torque with 21K milage for, I'm ashamed to post how little I paid for it. Let's just say I found a deal just as I was about too give up. So, I believe I can tow this fine.
I have been my mother's caretaker for 6 years, and turned 60 a few months ago. Fortunately, because of my career choice i was able to retire at 54. She was diagnosed with a rare form of inoperable pancreatic cancer, and was doing so well we would forget she had cancer. Then in February of last year we found out the hard way that she was in end stage renal renal failure at stage 5. It has been a tough year as her body has been systematically shutting down. One of the reasons I grabbed the truck and have feverishly been looking for the right RV is because she would like to see some national parks while she had the time. I don't believe that time will be available, but my intention all along was to get a fifth wheel and travel the national parks, do stand-up comedy wherever I could, prospect for gold (just a hobby), and in general have some life again. I'm single, have no children, have a house that is paid for, income, and a dog (he's important). I named my dog Cobain because I know exactly how I'm putting him down when the time comes. I'm just kidding. Didn't you see the 'I do stand-up comedy' part?

Back to the RV. If you've looked at it, I'm not paying what there asking, I only put a 1k deposit to hold it until I can think it out. I'm going to hire an inspector. The RV doesn't have a generator so that's got to be discussed. I sold cars when I was starting lot in life. I know this game and if I don't get the prices I want I'll walk away. They are already trying to game me.

My adventures will be chronicled under the title, 'The road best traveled.' I'm sure that's not original even though I just came up with it.
 
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Old 01-23-2022, 07:10 AM   #2
DutchmenSport
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"WTF. The biggest problem I have with toy haulers is the lack of living space."

KausalityKid,
The model you are looking at has an identical floor plan as the Montana High Country 375FL (and others), except the bathroom and bed room. The front living room and the middle kitchen living area is identical.

We've had our 375FL for over 3 years now and it's been used (almost) full time. We are not full timers, but we use the camper full time. (There is a difference). With that said, we have never felt like we lacked for living space. Actually, quite the opposite.

The 375FL is our 5th camper: 1 pop-up, 3 travel trailers, and now the fifth wheel. It is the longest camper we've had also. Of all 5, this camper has the most room. It doesn't feel cramped. The upper level, front living room area is very comfortable and actually quite large compared to other camper floor plans. The shear design of the interior makes it feel like a real house, not a cramped camper, or a tent, or even something on wheels.

The kitchen is accessible with all the slides in. And even with the slides in, the kitchen still is not cramped. With slides out, we often pull the stand along table and chairs in the middle of the floor rather than in the slide out. The full size refrigerator holds anything and everything, because it is a residential refrigerator, not an RV refrigerator.

There is adequate cabinet space in the kitchen, living room, bathroom and bedroom for our needs. We do not have all that storage under the back half of the camper and do not have the garage in the rear either. We are a couple, and for us this floor plan works very well. We both also have an entire lifetime of camping experience, as we both had parents that camped in travel trailers, truck campers, Winebago's, and pop-ups. My wife and I have been Married 37 years and we were tent camping 3 months after we were married. So, we have learned what is truly essential for our camping needs and have discarded all the excess stuff that just takes up room. Learning what you truly need with you in your camper, vs what you just want to drag along and take up space and weight takes time and experience, trial and error, and demand vs your personal supply. This balance comes only with time. And in time, you'll find you have more space empty in that camper than full.

Your bathroom and bedroom is designed different. We actually looked at this model and considered it seriously as a strong contender when we purchased our 2019 model. But we opted NOT for this one, because of the inability to reach the bathroom when all the slides are in. Ours has a rear back door on the opposite side, opposite the bathroom door, which makes easy access when traveling.

We ended up having a washing machine and dryer installed, which took storage away from one cabinet, but the end resulted in shuffling things around and using the actual washing machine as a laundry hamper instead of baskets sitting around, and the whole change actually stream lined our "junk" and actually cleaned up the bed room and gave us MORE space than we had before.

You have a great floor plan. You'll absolutely love that upper living room, and you'll be spending the largest amount of time up there. The kitchen has good space, and once you get your "flow" in the kitchen going, you'll find it a very comfortable arrangement.

Granted your camper is NOT a house, nor does it have the space of a 2800 square foot house, or a multi level stick and brick structure. It is an RV and a darn nice one at that. It's the largest floor plan you can probably get. It has some really, really great features, and once you start using it, you'll understand a lot more.

Congrats on your choice! Just always remember, the camper is NOT a house. You cannot compare it to a house. Your camper is not an automobile either. You cannot compare it to an automobile in any way, shape, or form. It is a totally different animal, and it will take you time to figure things out and settle in your mind what is standard practices for the purchase, care, upkeep, and repairs of your new camper CANNOT be compared to how things are done with an automobile or a house. This also takes time to figure out and finally accept.

Meanwhile, congrats on your decision! I hope you have many successful and enjoyable experiences traveling around and enjoying this fantastic vagabond, transient, lifestyle! It's a wonderful life!
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Old 01-23-2022, 04:16 PM   #3
KausalityKid
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You made my day. Thanks

I've been agonizing over making a decision. I have put a deposit on the one that I found at the dealership on Friday to hold it while I agonized and researched. I've concluded that I can't go wrong with a Montana that is in good shape. I took my mother to see it on Saturday because the hope is that she will hang on long enough to get to enjoy it with me. She has been somewhat skeptical until she saw the unit. We both believe that it was never used. If it was then whoever owned it took immaculate care of it or only used it a few times. My other issue causing me angst is that I found two identical units for sale by private owners and their asking price is a few thousand less than the dealership. Unfortunately one is a 2 Hour drive and the other is a 5 Hour drive. I have told the dealership that I absolutely must have an inspector come and check it out before I would commit.

The dealership is asking $60,500 before tax tag and title. The private owners are asking $58,000-$59,000 and say they are negotiable. I have just reached out to them and I’m hoping they will respond.

What I didn’t know was that there were other Montanas with a similar floor plan. Which is interesting, because I have been looking at RVs for several months with the surge terms used, fifth wheel, toy hauler, within 200 miles. And then all the time never once did I see a floor plan similar to this. It is possible that there were some, but the asking price was out of my range so I didn’t even pay attention.

I very much appreciate your response. Gave me a lot to think about. When my mother is gone, I plan on spending quite a bit of time using the RV. There is a lot I want to see and I’ve been auditioning travel companions. That sounds dirty, and that’s not what I meant. For instance, I have a really good friend and he wants to see a concert in the red rock amphitheater in Colorado as well as I do. It’s a bucket list item.
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Old 01-23-2022, 08:01 PM   #4
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Kausality Kid, sorry about the issues you have dealt with. Unfortunately, the RV Industry is not the auto industry. With RV’s, your choice of dealer will determine whether you like your RV or not. If you buy on price alone, you may get a good deal but be on here complaining that your dealer had your RV all summer doing repairs. When we moved with from Illinois to Wisconsin, we needed some repair work done. Called the local dealer. Their reply was “ we let you know if we want to service your unit. We take care of our own customers first”. We just bought a new unit in April. Had a slide issue about 1000 miles from our dealer. Not only did they get us an appointment the next day at a dealer in Albuquerque, they also overnighted the part - hand delivering it to UPS. Choose your dealer wisely. We’ll know if you listened. You will either be the guy happy with your RV or the one complaining. Best of luck with your decision.
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Old 01-31-2022, 10:25 AM   #5
KausalityKid
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Originally Posted by rames14 View Post
Kausality Kid, sorry about the issues you have dealt with. Unfortunately, the RV Industry is not the auto industry. With RV’s, your choice of dealer will determine whether you like your RV or not. If you buy on price alone, you may get a good deal but be on here complaining that your dealer had your RV all summer doing repairs. When we moved with from Illinois to Wisconsin, we needed some repair work done. Called the local dealer. Their reply was “ we let you know if we want to service your unit. We take care of our own customers first”. We just bought a new unit in April. Had a slide issue about 1000 miles from our dealer. Not only did they get us an appointment the next day at a dealer in Albuquerque, they also overnighted the part - hand delivering it to UPS. Choose your dealer wisely. We’ll know if you listened. You will either be the guy happy with your RV or the one complaining. Best of luck with your decision.

I went ahead and had an licensed inspector look the unit over and there are a few very minor issues. We're going in today to haggle and they aren't going to like that we are getting our own financing with credit life insurance under my mothers name and if she lasts a year we will all be surprised. So, this may not cost us that much.
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Old 02-01-2022, 04:47 PM   #6
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Originally Posted by KausalityKid View Post
"we are getting our own financing with credit life insurance under my mothers name and if she lasts a year we will all be surprised. So, this may not cost us that much.
I'm so sorry about your mothers eventual fate, but this is inappropriate IMHO. Nice that you posted it in a public forum so the finance company may have some redress if it all plays out like you are planning. Sorry... I just don't get it.
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Old 02-01-2022, 07:08 PM   #7
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Old 02-02-2022, 08:29 AM   #8
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Reads like "Kid" is certainly an appropriate screen name.
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Old 02-02-2022, 12:52 PM   #9
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I experienced a lot of different financial learning experiences while my mother was in the process of dying, medicare, medicade, banks, the whole gauntlet.

One thing you need to consider about such an arrangement as you are proposing. If your mother goes forward with the loan and you are a cosigner, then you are now responsible for the remainder of the loan as a cosigner has equal responsibility. That is, IF your name is on the title of the camper too.

If your name is not on the title of the camper, and your are not the primary borrower or the cosigner on the loan, then ... technically ... you have no claim to the property.

So, maybe you have power of attorney authority right now. Do you know, power of attorney lasts for only a specific length of time? And at Death, the power of attorney stops. So, if you do have power of attorney and planning on using that power of attorney to safeguard the camper in your name after the life insurance pays off the loan, the insurance company just (may) want to take back the camper.

Now, if she has a Will, then the will becomes active at death and the power of attorney ends.

Only because I went through a lot of financial headache with my own mother and because I worked in a financial based institution working with loans for the last 20 years before retiring, am I bringing up these things to consider.

However, every "system" has loop holes and the smart ones find the loop holes, and they are usually the ones that come out ahead! More power to ya, if you find the loop holes!
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