I've now spent a total of 8 nights and traveled approx. 1500 miles with our new HC 331 RL and have made some observations that I'll share in case anyone is interested.
I came to have a High Country in a very weird sequence of events all of my own doing. I had many times walked through the MHC, Cougars and regular Montana's as well as many others. In our last walk through of all the above months before this purchase DW and I both assessed that the HC would not be our first choice....but forgot I guess.
The HC has the Road Armor suspension. When I asked about and investigated, it was supposed to be another version of the MorRyde suspension I had on my last trailer....it is not. From what I watched/felt it is nowhere near as compliant or as advanced as the MorRyde. I could watch the MorRyde all day as it seemed to sort of "float" over rough roads, dips and humps. The Road Armor is like all the other suspensions we have had; see a bump? The suspension jumps. See a hole? The suspension jumps. No smoothing, just sends it straight into the coach. That was confirmed on every stop we made; drawers knocked out, doors knocked open, debris from ? strewn everywhere - it must truly be a shockwave sitting on that suspension (it will come off).
Came with Ranier tires which I had removed at the dealership and replaced LRG Sailuns….very happy with that.
Interiors are not as nice and "quality" as our last trailer.
Furrion? I've never had Furrion before and hope to never have it again. TV, stereo, speakers, fireplace (help me!) - where to start??? TV? Programming in it doesn't even have the TV option in the source menu so there is no TV option - cable/air/satellite. Furrion? They don't exist for support other than every 2 days after an inquiry....if they feel like it and then the response is totally useless. I've spoken about the Furrion speakers before - never seen anything so cheap. Fireplace glass front fell off one side during travel. I will say the suspension caused that. The stereo is so limited and controls so arcane that I don't know how it exists in the 21st century. My solution? I will throw it all out when I get back and have time to upgrade.
Got that out of the way, now the "other stuff"...
Storage? We love the additional storage. Still have tons of stuff we could put in but don't need it.
Towing it? Much better than a bumper pull.
Slides? They are cable but seem to be either better supported, better wear bar construction, better motors...something.
Residential fridge - I was very concerned about that transition but so far we love it. Love it that we didn't bring our external ice make and let the fridge just do it for us. The extra storage in the fridge and freezer is an awesome upgrade.
This unit has the double sink vanity and so much bathroom storage that we positively love.
Floorplan/layout we love. Lots of room for 2 folks and puppy.
Light interior: I had mixed feelings about that because I've always loved the "wood" feel and insisted on it in everything we've had built or bought. That turned out to be a little offsetting when we spent 5 months in the trailer and all those dark wood tones began to feel like you were in a "hole" or tunnel. The lighter motif and higher ceiling of the 5th wheel really gives you more of that open feel you have in a regular home.
Ceiling fan: we love it and it gives circulation that is really needed in FL.
Bed/mattress: Came with an RV king mattress that as usual wasn't up to par. Replaced it with a residential queen and had the bed platform cut down to allow more room around the bed. Result? Perfect. Lots of room to maneuver around the bed to make it, get in/out etc. and DW made foam "supports" to go in each corner over the little cabinets to give you the feel of the full king bed.
Whisper Quiet AC: Awesome. Anyone that has spent days and evenings under the droning of an RV AC trying to listen to TV or talk on the phone knows how irritating that is. The quiet AC does not eliminate the noise but it reduces it substantially.
Microwave: Large - 1.6cf and works like a charm (not Furrion).
Underbelly: One thing I said I would never have again is Darco under anything in an RV after all the issues I've had. Well, I've got Darco. The major underbelly is coroplast which I'm good with. Slides have Darco which I don't like but I've dealt with it enough to know how to deal with it. The wheel wells which are very problematic have very little darco compared to our last trailer and the steel support/framing is much more robust and prevalent. As soon as I get back I will cover the wheel wells with hdpe or uhmw - just didn't have time before this unplanned trip.
Fantastic Fan: Fantastic.
Auto Leveling: I had been wanting auto leveling and came within a inch of having it installed on our TT. The cost and age of the trailer made me rethink that and I didn't. I LOVE it. I had figured I would get something with 6 point leveling but those come on trailers that absolutely require a diesel and usually a DRW - things I'm just not going to do.
Summary? We are very happy. I'm a bang for the buck guy (cost vs benefit) and we think this will fit that bill. We are easy on things and make them last forever so we don't see a problem here....unless it's the "pleather"
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Don't know if this helps a single soul in the world but...I'm sitting here alone while DW is with DD for a few days, have not another thing to do but listen to puppy snore so figured I would post some thoughts in the event anyone was thinking about making a similar transition.
Edit: Thetford Toilet; NO!! These things are poorly designed, they don't rinse well, not formed well etc. I am about 200 lbs. but I swear the "ring" for the toilet is built for a rear end about 12" wider than mine! It will come out as an upgrade as well.