Forum Discussion

Bierp's avatar
Bierp
Explorer
May 27, 2018

Taking the plunge

...now I just hope someone put water in the pool. :)

Signed the papers yesterday on a new 2018 Montana 3950BR. Scheduled to take delivery a week from Tuesday.

Traded in our TT for the new 5er. Going to try our hand at full-timing. Should be quite an experience. Hopefully a good one.

Towing with a 2016 F-350 Diesel Dually, 8 ft bed. Love the truck, but it didn't come with the 5th wheel/gooseneck prep. I've got the OEM parts in hand for that, but have to wait a few days to get it installed.

Went with a 25k B&W puck hitch. Obviously more than I need today, but I know I'll want that capacity for our next rig. We eyed the DRV 24k GVWR units heavily, but I couldn't quite pull the trigger this time. That will require a TV with taller gears than my current one. Next time.

I've had a pile of things added. Inverter, 4 6-volt batteries, Washer/Dryer, HD DirecTV dish (automagic satellite finder), EMS, 3rd AC (cuz, ya know, more AC!) plus a number of smaller tweaks.

I guess my idea of 'roughing it' is poor wifi.

Anyway, the move from TT to 5er is exciting for us. DW and I can't stop babbling like idiots. (Admittedly, this isn't really a new condition.)

Looking through the 5er forums now. I'm sure I'll have the standard boatload of questions soon.
  • MFL's avatar
    MFL
    Nomad II
    May 27, 2018
    Congrats, yes, exciting times ahead for sure!

    Wise choice to install OEM puck system, then adding the B&W 3305. You are in for a great towing experience.

    The Montana should serve you well! It wouldn't matter if you had gotten the DRV, as you'd still be roughing it, due to poor wifi most places.

    Jerry
  • donn0128's avatar
    donn0128
    Explorer II
    May 27, 2018
    I would say go for it, all except the Winegard Travler. Please DONT! I have had Travlers on my RV for probsbly 10 years. In that time I have had two failures that required I send the whole thing back to Winegard. Last one last fall cost me a thousand dollars to make it work again. All that for an antenna system that I have been able to use a hand full of times. Remember, putting a dish on the roof means you must have a chear line of site to the sats to get reception. So, unless your going to be sitting in the desert its a waste of money. For less than 300 dollars you can get a ground based system that will work 99.5% of the time.
  • Cummins12V98's avatar
    Cummins12V98
    Explorer III
    May 27, 2018
    "Went with a 25k B&W puck hitch. Obviously more than I need today, but I know I'll want that capacity for our next rig. We eyed the DRV 24k GVWR"

    Great call on the B&W puck hitch. The Ford puck hitch is rated at 20K. Simply compare to REESE and CURT if you are concerned that the hitch is 20K and the others are 25K. I would trust the B&W to a much heavier weight than the other two any day. I would pull a 24K DRV without a second thought with the B&W.
  • BB_TX's avatar
    BB_TX
    Nomad
    May 27, 2018
    Congratulations on the new Montana. Now go over and join the Montana Owner's Club forum for all questions specific to your Montana. Very active forum and lots of good folks with lots of Montana experience there.
  • MFL's avatar
    MFL
    Nomad II
    May 27, 2018
    Cummins12V98 wrote:
    "Went with a 25k B&W puck hitch. Obviously more than I need today, but I know I'll want that capacity for our next rig. We eyed the DRV 24k GVWR"

    Great call on the B&W puck hitch. The Ford puck hitch is rated at 20K. Simply compare to REESE and CURT if you are concerned that the hitch is 20K and the others are 25K. I would trust the B&W to a much heavier weight than the other two any day. I would pull a 24K DRV without a second thought with the B&W.


    Just to update...the 3305 for Ford oem pucks is rated at 25K, but the 3300 20K is still available too.

    Jerry
  • Bierp's avatar
    Bierp
    Explorer
    May 27, 2018
    We did get the 25k B&W. My current TV is only rated for 23.5k 5th wheel/gooseneck towing, but since the Montana has a GVWR of 16885, I'm golden.

    My next TV will have a 5th/goose of 27.5k and the next 5er will probably be a 24k GVWR. That'll allow me to use the same hitch and still be in great shape. (I hope!)

    But that's years away. Probably a bit silly to be talking about my next 5er when I haven't even taken delivery of this one. :)

    As for the satellite, I'm wondering if others have had the same experience?

    I'm acutely aware of space limitations, which is why I wanted the roof mount. I'm also easily irritated by the idea of manual alignment, but that's a personal problem. Also, I can't stand SD, so I had to get HD.

    Now, all that being said, I rarely watch TV, but the DW does some and when I do, I don't want it to be a hassle. I get my DirecTV service for free, paying only a nominal amount for the receivers because I work for AT&T. (Don't hate, it let me buy a new Montana!)

    So I really do want an HD DTV dish that auto-tunes and stays out of my way. Is that just not a realistic scenario?
  • Splashers3's avatar
    Splashers3
    Explorer
    May 27, 2018
    Congratulations on your new Montana. I hope it lives up to your expectations. My wife and I pick up our 2019 Cedar Creek Hathaway 6/4.

    We can relate to feeling overjoyed with the thought of a new rig. We are trading in our 2009 CC Silverback. The 2019 has many more bells & whistles.

    Oh, I bought a new B&W Patriot hitch - I wanted to keep my existing rail system. I also added a 40 Gal Titan Auxiliary tank.

    Good Luck, travel safely.

    Mike
  • Cummins12V98's avatar
    Cummins12V98
    Explorer III
    May 28, 2018
    MFL wrote:
    Cummins12V98 wrote:
    "Went with a 25k B&W puck hitch. Obviously more than I need today, but I know I'll want that capacity for our next rig. We eyed the DRV 24k GVWR"

    Great call on the B&W puck hitch. The Ford puck hitch is rated at 20K. Simply compare to REESE and CURT if you are concerned that the hitch is 20K and the others are 25K. I would trust the B&W to a much heavier weight than the other two any day. I would pull a 24K DRV without a second thought with the B&W.


    Just to update...the 3305 for Ford oem pucks is rated at 25K, but the 3300 20K is still available too.

    Jerry


    HOLY!!! Why the heck did I not get this news!!!
  • Michelle_S's avatar
    Michelle_S
    Explorer III
    May 28, 2018
    We've had a Winegard Travler on all three 5th wheels we've had since 2010 with no issues. More and more CGs have Satellite Friendly sites, you just have to ask, but yes there are places with too many trees to get signal, but if there's that many trees, a portable or tripod setup won't help much either.

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