Forum Discussion

rkassl's avatar
rkassl
Explorer
Feb 26, 2014

Thoughts about our 9 year old 5th Wheeler

It is hard for the wife and I to believe our 2005 Montana will be 9 years old this spring. She has ben a great trailer. Over the years I have upgraded the entire suspension, new brakes, new bearings, great tires and the wife takes wonderful care of the inside. Not one nail hole any place in the camper always use the 3M Command system to mount pictures and the like on the walls. We have a new refrigerator that was replaced under extended warranty about a year ago and still has another year on warranty. The OEM TV's have been replaced with LED's, the OEM microwave/convection works great, really no know issues to contend with.

The Montana took us to Alaska last year and functioned flawlessly, it was an amazing 8960 mile adventure which will be hard for us to top in the near future.

I guess what we were wondering was should we get proactive with some additional preventive maintenance before we set out on another major trip? Specifically the hydraulic slide system. Never had a problem, did install a new pump before going to Alaska but the OEM hydraulic lines are still being used. Would you wait for a line failure or invest in some new lines because of the age of the camper?

I have talked to many Montana owners who have had rigs slightly older than ours, say 2003-2006 who purchased a new Montana, like 2013-2015's and were disappointed at the quality of the entire trailer, which is really, really sad.

I guess the wife and I have a pretty good trailer and thinks if it would be smart to invest a few dollars to maintain its reliability.

And thoughts and comments will be appreciated.

22 Replies

  • It seems like the hydraulic lines that I've seen fail suffered from poor manufacturing and failed fairly fast rather than die of old age or wear. Yours being nine years old, I suspect they are well built and have many more years left on them.
    Unless they have blisters, soft places or leaks, I would not replace them.
  • rhagfo's avatar
    rhagfo
    Explorer III
    If you like the layout, and it is as solid as you state why waste money on a new rig?

    If it meets all you needs, I would keep it.