Solitude

Sorry You are mistaken Keystone has WAY better buying power than Grand Designs which is a small player, if you are a business owner like I am you would know the more volume of product you buy from a vendor the better deal you get from them AND kickbacks, I am not getting defensive and I am not Brand Loyal I said MANY times in my posts I like Solitudes And I know ALOT about Solitudes and what Components they use, do you have 3 friends you camp with all the time that have Montana's?? I would recommend one to Anybody and Yes of coarse I know they are former Keystone Guys that started it,IAGAIN I LIKE GRAND DESIGNS and am Not saying Grand DESIGNS Are junk and would have bought a Solitude or any other brand if they could have matched Montana bang for the buck .....They could Not, in 4 years when my warranty is up I will look at them again and Maybe I will buy one they are Nice Beautiful 5th's

topjimmy wrote:
Yep you are doing the right thing ,we are talking ALOT of money here and doing a lot research is the key ,Solitudes are real Pretty 5th's in and out but in my opinion they do not have the buying power like Keystone, Heartland, Jayco etc..and are not able to put all these nice features in for the same price as Montana or anybody else ,I almost bought a Heartland Landmark but they would not give me the Lippert 6 point auto-level for the same price as Montana( by the way the Auto level is AWESOME!!!)

Wrong answer.

Who do you think created Keystone? The current owners of Grand Design....

You think their suppliers aren't selling to them at the same costs?

And FYI, you can buy a Solitude for the same price as a Montana. I see the cost on both, and feature for feature, are the same.

Montana owners get so defensive right away, but that line has gotten so cheaply built, they are selling off of previous reputation.

Last RV Show we did a couple weeks ago, with 12 other dealers, there wasn't a single Montana on site......


Oh, your list of why Montana is better, are reasons that is better for you, not everyone. (And its OK to point that out) They use a 3 step entry, but it is no way cheaper than your steel 4 step. They went to Lippert and had them build the aluminum 3 step for them, so it doesn't bind up in two years. What until your steel step gets good and tight and you can't pull it out anymore.

These are by no means a new company with new designers and engineers. They didn't design anything with an oversight. There are reasons they built their products the way they did.

Yep you are doing the right thing ,we are talking ALOT of money here and doing a lot research is the key ,Solitudes are real Pretty 5th's in and out but in my opinion they do not have the buying power like Keystone, Heartland, Jayco etc..and are not able to put all these nice features in for the same price as Montana or anybody else ,I almost bought a Heartland Landmark but they would not give me the Lippert 6 point auto-level for the same price as Montana( by the way the Auto level is AWESOME!!!)

Thanks so much for the reply. I knew of bout a couple of those differences but not all of them. Just trying to get as much info as possible.

You are right the Solitude does have 2 in taller slides than Montana but that also stopped Grand designs from putting a ceiling fan in, all they had to do was Arch the ceiling like Montana and Heartland etc..did but they did not bother, unless you are inviting over Shaq for lunch I do not think that is a big deal, By the way I'm 6-4 230 and I hear ya it is nice having tall slides but the Montana slides are tall enough and I have no problem sitting down on my couch, there are some things I like about Solitudes,, 101 in wide frame gives my solitude buddies bragging rights on wider storage,and we LOVE the Pantry door NICE!!!!and the furniture is nicer than Montana's Too IMO, Montana did upgrade their furniture this year and is better but still not as nice as yours And also THANK GOD Montana(and everybody else) changed color in 2014 NO MORE WHITE! YEAH! , mine is a 2012 and still plain white and boring looking compared to the Solitude's:(

We looked at literally hundreds of 5th wheels before we bought our 2014 Solitude last March. One of the many things I liked about the solitude is the 7' tall slides. I'm 6'3" and have plenty of headroom. This is our 3rd 5th wheel and by far the best in my eyes. I also was tired of the plain jane white exterior you find on most all trailers and 5th wheels..

12 inch frames ,Slide toppers,better electronics,a little better suspension(mor-ryde LRE) with Wet bolt kit,convection oven , Arched interior ceiling ,ceiling fan, 4 step entry,Solid hickory wood throughout even on fridge, Nothing Major just a little more for the money made the difference for me

topjimmy, what features does the Montana have that the Solitude doesn't?

We are looking at both and I am curious. Thanks

We have 3 friends with them and they are nice looking units but they are built no better or worse than any other 5er in that price range like was said before they are former Keystone execs and it is not like they are building anything with revoloutionary technology or anything , Our Montana has more features for the money than their Grand Designs Solitude but theirs is better looking and they are on on 101 inch frame which gives them a little more storage room ,If you like the Layout go for it they just passed the 1000 unit sold awhile ago so now they have the early bugs worked out, Like I said I own a Montana but would not hesitate to buy one they are nice 5ers ......Honest review from a guy that knows 3 people with them and camp with them all the time

Just marked 35 nights, (not consecutively ) 5300 miles and 3 states in ours. (Purchased the first of Jan) We'll be doing much more as the season unfolds. The 5er has done very well and has been very reliable. Even tho Grand Design is new 5er the company has some solid cred behind it. Good luck on your decision.