Any thoughts or experiences with the Keystone Montana, specifically the 3854BR? My husband and I are looking to full time soon. Our price range is $50-$60k and we think we want to buy new. Also, anyone know much about their manufacturers warranty?

These Keystone Montana posts may be interesting reading while you wait.

Do you like the floor plan? (Don’t answer unless you have spent an hour inside the unit moving around) Ever towed before? How long? Ever owned or rented an RV to try out our lifestyle? If you have a tow vehicle will it safely do the job? (No, don’t tell us what the salesman said...”it’ll tow anything on the lot.”) Could be 17,000 pounds wet and loaded and 41 feet. Very few county, state and federal parks at that length.

There are a lot of Montana Owners who full time. Check out the Montana Owners Club forum.

We have done full time for 2 years in our Montana 38' with no major problems. Make sure wheather buying Used or New.. make sure you have a good walk thru and that everthing will fit your expectations etc. Good Luck and Happt Travels !!

One of the most popular lines among full timers, and if it matters to you, they dont void the warranty on new models for fulltiming. Many brands and lines wont cover full time use. Look also at their sisters Alpine, Avalanche from Keystone, and some other lines you may want to peruse would be K-Z Durango and the Columbus from Palomino, and the Bighorn from Heartland, you will also hear a lot of positives about the Grand Design lines, with the Solitude being most comparable.

Keystone Montana for fulltiming?? | Good Sam Community

Cummins12V98
Explorer III
Jan 12, 2020
Me Again wrote:
Cummins12V98 wrote:
Why would anyone think that you can possibly exceed your RV's GVWR???

I full time with my 21k DRV. Last I checked It weighed 24k. UH, well wait a minute.......how did that happen????? :B

Lucy's rocks!

My wife won’t agree to that statement!
Me_Again
Explorer III
Jan 11, 2020
Cummins12V98 wrote:
Why would anyone think that you can possibly exceed your RV's GVWR???

I full time with my 21k DRV. Last I checked It weighed 24k. UH, well wait a minute.......how did that happen????? :B

Lucy's rocks!
ependydad
Explorer
Jan 10, 2020
Cummins12V98 wrote:
Why would anyone think that you can possibly exceed your RV's GVWR???

I full time with my 21k DRV. Last I checked It weighed 24k. UH, well wait a minute.......how did that happen????? :B

I thought, "him of all people???".

Now granted, I ran overloaded by 1,000 pounds for 2 years and ended up with a buckled frame!
Cummins12V98
Explorer III
Jan 10, 2020
Why would anyone think that you can possibly exceed your RV's GVWR???

I full time with my 21k DRV. Last I checked It weighed 24k. UH, well wait a minute.......how did that happen????? :B
ependydad
Explorer
Jan 10, 2020
rhagfo wrote:
keh3491 wrote:
I am a dietitian and my husband is a nurse. We are traveling, doing contract that are usually 3 months at a time. Right now we stay in air b&b’s usually but it’s so hard packing up and moving that often and it gets very expensive. Our poor pets get so stressed when we keep uprooting them. So, this is why we are going to get the 5th wheel. We have borrowed the in-laws trailer before and got a little idea of what it’s like. Because we have been on the road for about 6 months now we have already down sized considerably and just rent a uhaul when we move. My husband drives an F250 so we know what we can pull. We are a little worried that the Montana may be a little heavy.

keh3491 wrote:
So the F250 can pull 15,900 lbs.

Well at full GVWR of that 5er you really need a F350 DRW, while you might fit just under specs in a SRW you might not like the towing experience.

And with fulltiming, they'll likely be at/over GVWR.
rhagfo
Explorer III
Jan 10, 2020
keh3491 wrote:
I am a dietitian and my husband is a nurse. We are traveling, doing contract that are usually 3 months at a time. Right now we stay in air b&b’s usually but it’s so hard packing up and moving that often and it gets very expensive. Our poor pets get so stressed when we keep uprooting them. So, this is why we are going to get the 5th wheel. We have borrowed the in-laws trailer before and got a little idea of what it’s like. Because we have been on the road for about 6 months now we have already down sized considerably and just rent a uhaul when we move. My husband drives an F250 so we know what we can pull. We are a little worried that the Montana may be a little heavy.

keh3491 wrote:
So the F250 can pull 15,900 lbs.

Well at full GVWR of that 5er you really need a F350 DRW, while you might fit just under specs in a SRW you might not like the towing experience.
JAC1982
Explorer
Jan 09, 2020
I can't help much with the full-timing aspect but I like that floor plan a lot. We are considering a Montana High Country ourselves which is basically that plan, minus the middle bedroom (I'd love to have that as a dog room!). The only thing I'd really look at is the closet space to make sure it's enough for you both, especially if you put in a washer/dryer.

I'll also add that getting that price down to 50-60k might be tough. I know the rule of thumb is 30% off MSRP, but that will put you at the top end of your range.

Otherwise, we've owned 2 other Keystone products, including our current toyhauler, and we've been happy with both of them. Only reason we keep switching is because our needs change.
work2much
Explorer
Jan 09, 2020
These folks have been full timing in a Keystone Cougar for 9 years now with no major issues. The Montana should make a very nice full time rig.

https://www.youtube.com/user/LoveYourRV/featured
rmalik1
Explorer
Jan 09, 2020
sure why not, I've oil and gas field workers live in TT & 5th wheels with families, just have to know how to do it, equipment (dual pane windows), Where u plan to stay....

I myself overwintered at minus 30 degrees
Arcamper
Explorer
Jan 07, 2020
Our 3100RL with a washer and dryer in the front closet loaded for a weekend trip comes in at 3,400 lbs on the pin. The 3100 is a shorter Montana with a 16,000 lb GVWR with a little over 4k CCC. After playing the 3/4 ton truck game with our last 5th wheel and watching every pound we decided to go with a dually and never give weight a second thought.