New Fiver

[bwright]

We picked up our new Montana HC 353RL on Saturday and traded the 2013 Laredo 296RL. All prior posts I read about towing a Fifth Wheel were right on! The Laredo pulled great, however, other than the extra weight, this 5'er stays tucked behind the truck.

Stopped at a Campground on the way home and spent our first night in the rig. I did wake up to very little 6V power on Sunday morning. Talked to the Service Tech at the Dealer and he gave me some tips on checking the fuses in the converter to make sure it isn't something simple.

So far our favorite two items are the Theater Seating and Ice Maker.

[takpak]

Yes, the fivers pull very well indeed.

To your comment, first I assume you mean 12 volts, not 6 as stated. All the RV's run on 12 volt power these days.

First, were you plugged in? If you were, then even with a stone dead battery, the converter should have been supplying you with 12 volt power anyway. Second, if you were plugged in, then is the breaker for the converter turned on? I've seen them left off by accident. Third, is the main battery disconnect on? Sometimes that gets forgotten, and that being the case, the battery(s) won't charge, and when unplugged from shore power, the 12 volts won't work. The exception is, on MOST rigs, the landing gear, slides, etc, are usually wired ahead of that switch so they would still work, even with the switch off. Other then that, a bad battery connection, bad battery (not too likely) and a host of other things could be wrong. But the first three items are usually the likely culprits.

Side note, if you aren't already, there is a Montana owners only forum that you can join as well. Very good site.

Hope this helps.

[Alpine]

That is a beautiful Montana...enjoy!

[WaltBennett]

Join the Montana Owner's Club and check out the forum. There's no end of info on every year and model from owners themselves. http://montanaowners.com/ and here http://montanaadministrator.forumco.com/

[bwright]

Takpak,

Not sure why I typed 6V instead of 12V....duh, I guess I was too tired last night. Thanks for the tips. Hope to have time to look at it tonight after work.

[omextreme]

Great looking rig! We picked up our High Country 340BH on Saturday towed it back from S Fla to Atlanta Sunday...

ICE MAKER??? Cant seem to find ours... LOL

Nice units!

[gearhead]

I see you have the infamous shower door latch that sometimes works. Check it often.
Some of us put adjustable shower curtain rods in the bottom door tracks just in case.
Good looking trailer.

[gearhead]

Did you go with the residential refrigerator?
If so, I would like to hear your thoughts about it after you use it awhile.

[bwright]

Got a chance to check out the problem with my 12V power and after doing some searching for the converter, I finally found it. Both 40A fuses were blown, made a trip to O'Reillys and bought a pack of fuses, put them in and everything works again. If they blow again, I will have to make a 100 mile trip north to the Dealer and let them assess the problem.

[JRTJH]

Originally Posted by bwright

Got a chance to check out the problem with my 12V power and after doing some searching for the converter, I finally found it. Both 40A fuses were blown, made a trip to O'Reillys and bought a pack of fuses, put them in and everything works again. If they blow again, I will have to make a 100 mile trip north to the Dealer and let them access the problem.

Those two fuses are the "REVERSE POLARITY" fuses. They serve to protect the converter from reverse power if someone should hook up the battery backwards. That's their only purpose and they "instantly blow" to protect the converter. Once blown, the converter is electrically disconnected from the batteries so any recharging would not occur.

You should be "good to go" until the next time the battery is connected backwards.... Remember, white is negative and black is positive !!!!

Since there's no "power function" or "overload protection" provided by those two fuses, they would only blow if the battery power is connected backwards. You should be "good to go" after replacing the fuses.....

[mikell]

I picked up red and black electrical tape to color code the wires at the battery and a couiple of other places because of that issue