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Old 02-20-2017, 11:00 AM   #1
lacofdfireman
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What's the build quality difference between an 07 and a 2014

Been looking at a few different used Fifth wheels. One is a 2007 Montana 3000RK and the other a 2014 High Country Montana 293RK. The 07 has an asking price of about $18k so could probably get it for $17 and the 2014 has an asking price of $35k with a high book of $31k. Not sure if they will come down to high book though.

Just curious as to the build quality of an 07 Montana compared to the 2014 High Country version.

Also the 07 is extremely clean for the year. Probably a total of 100 nights use it's entire life with one owner and not even been used in the past 3 years And the 2014 has probably also the same amount of use but is in great condition also. Just wondering if the 2014 is that much better than the 07.

What are your thoughts?


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Old 02-20-2017, 11:32 AM   #2
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This is JMO but you're looking at a trailer that is 10 years old - getting close to the end of its normal life cycle. It may or may not have had issues in the past but sitting or being used, the trailer is aging every day. From suspension components to appliances to seals/sealants they all age daily. Many times sitting and being unused is worse than being used daily. I would go for the 2014 for that reason alone.
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Old 02-20-2017, 11:49 AM   #3
lacofdfireman
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This is JMO but you're looking at a trailer that is 10 years old - getting close to the end of its normal life cycle. It may or may not have had issues in the past but sitting or being used, the trailer is aging every day. From suspension components to appliances to seals/sealants they all age daily. Many times sitting and being unused is worse than being used daily. I would go for the 2014 for that reason alone.


Yes. I have to agree with seals going bad etc. but then again I've had on a few of my newer coaches things go bad. Not meaning anything from that besides these are RV's and they fall apart just sitting there and not even being used. Even new ones. We had in our RV once that was brand new a refrigerator go out within 2 years. One day we went went out to the fifth wheel to get ready for a trip after sitting for a month and the electric stairs wouldn't work. Worked fine the trip before and when we got home. But somehow the step motor went out and we never did anything.

I'm just curious as to materials etc being used in 2007 compared to 2014. Have they changed? We haven't owned a fifth wheel since 2006. So not sure what's changed.


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Old 02-21-2017, 08:09 PM   #4
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I think it will come down to what you are happy with. I don't agree that an 07 is anywhere near it's end of life cycle, seals going bad or anything else. I'm sure you will get years and years of good use from it. If it has been taken care of and there is no sign of serious water leaks, etc. I'm sure it will be great. It's more about appearance and if you want a newer looking, more modern feel or not. Build quality will be just fine on either.
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Old 02-21-2017, 08:52 PM   #5
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I think it will come down to what you are happy with. I don't agree that an 07 is anywhere near it's end of life cycle, seals going bad or anything else. I'm sure you will get years and years of good use from it. If it has been taken care of and there is no sign of serious water leaks, etc. I'm sure it will be great. It's more about appearance and if you want a newer looking, more modern feel or not. Build quality will be just fine on either.
I'm sorry but I have to disagree. To think that an RV, whether kept in immaculate condition or not, is something I would ever consider at 10 years old, is something that wouldn't happen; unless it was priced at a "fire sale" price. For an RV, IMO, 5 years gives me "gotta look close", 10 years.....I'm thinking I've got 2-3 years of serious use....all warranties ran out many years ago. The roofing material may have a lifespan of 12 years...maybe. I, personally, have no use for anything 10 years old (cars/trucks/rvs/boats/etc.). DW has been with me for 50 years....she stays no matter what
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Old 02-21-2017, 10:22 PM   #6
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Well today I had a day off and had a chance to walk in and look around at quite a few manufactures I was interested in. Well found out something that was great to know ahead of time. I don't fit in hardly any of them. Ceilings in the bedroom and bathrooms are to short. They are all,around 6'4-6'5 and I'm 6'5. Constantly felt like I was hunched over or I was scraping my head in the roof. High Country is out, cougars are out and most every other model Imtried I was to tall for. I did however walk into one that I had a good 2" headroom. That was a Grand Design Reflection. That may end up being what I go for. I hated my last Motorhome before this one I have now because I had to constantly walk with my head down. That's huge for me.
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Old 02-21-2017, 10:53 PM   #7
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Well today I had a day off and had a chance to walk in and look around at quite a few manufactures I was interested in. Well found out something that was great to know ahead of time. I don't fit in hardly any of them. Ceilings in the bedroom and bathrooms are to short. They are all,around 6'4-6'5 and I'm 6'5. Constantly felt like I was hunched over or I was scraping my head in the roof. High Country is out, cougars are out and most every other model Imtried I was to tall for. I did however walk into one that I had a good 2" headroom. That was a Grand Design Reflection. That may end up being what I go for. I hated my last Motorhome before this one I have now because I had to constantly walk with my head down. That's huge for me.
Look them over closely. I just visited with a guy with a Grand Design Reflection a week or so ago here in the park before he left. He regretted his purchase. Think it was 2 or 3 years old but he was not happy with it.
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Old 02-21-2017, 11:02 PM   #8
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Look them over closely. I just visited with a guy with a Grand Design Reflection a week or so ago here in the park before he left. He regretted his purchase. Think it was 2 or 3 years old but he was not happy with it.
Yes I would for sure. From what I've seen they seem to be a pretty well built trailer. I liked it as much as the HC Montana. I'm sure you could ask 100 different owners of the exact same trailer and close to 50% wouldn't be happy with them for one reason or another. We've had Rv's for over 20 years now. From toyhaulers to class A's and I've learned that no matter how nice they all seem to just fall apart for no reason. They definitely aren't built with the same quality as a house is. I think Rvers in general expect a little to much for what they are getting.
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Old 02-21-2017, 11:15 PM   #9
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Yes I would for sure. From what I've seen they seem to be a pretty well built trailer. I liked it as much as the HC Montana. I'm sure you could ask 100 different owners of the exact same trailer and close to 50% wouldn't be happy with them for one reason or another. We've had Rv's for over 20 years now. From toyhaulers to class A's and I've learned that no matter how nice they all seem to just fall apart for no reason. They definitely aren't built with the same quality as a house is. I think Rvers in general expect a little to much for what they are getting.
Yes, I think in general folks expect something with the quality of a new home...it just isn't there. Good luck on your search.
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Old 02-22-2017, 07:42 AM   #10
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For my 2 cents- I think a lot of your decision should consider how the previous owner cared for the 2007. We purchased our 2006 Montana from the original owner who used it as a home away from home while on a job site in Florida. He estimated it had about 1500 miles on it, just to and from that job site. He never even used the stove and the furnace rarely. Since we purchased in in 2010 it has been stored inside except when we "are on the road". I care for it myself. Other than new tires, wheel bearing seals, a couple switches, and a couple cabinet door hinges, and now maybe a black tank valve replacement, the RV is like new. Roof is great, etc. I really like the hydraulic slides.
Don't have any position on the newer models because I haven't shopped around. We like the one we have. Good luck.
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Old 02-22-2017, 08:54 AM   #11
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Originally Posted by lacofdfireman View Post
... They definitely aren't built with the same quality as a house is. I think Rvers in general expect a little to much for what they are getting.

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Originally Posted by sourdough View Post
Yes, I think in general folks expect something with the quality of a new home...it just isn't there. Good luck on your search.
Here's my "take" on comparing "quality" between RV's and S&B houses:

I believe the most important concept that we all tend to ignore (or forget) is that RV's are NOT the same as a S&B home. Consider that a house is built on a foundation and the only "movement" it gets is an occasional wind, some thermal expansion or some settling through the years.

Now, consider an RV (of any kind) that rolls down the highway at 70 MPH (hurricane force winds) bounces over potholes 2" deep (earthquake force shocks) storage for extended time periods when the systems are inactive, drying out or rusting away. Repeated "day in and day out" extreme temperature swings of 50 to 75 degrees within 2 hours (from towing in the desert at 120 F to A/C comfort in the campground at 70 F) It's remarkable that these "contraptions" are engineered to withstand as much "environmental stress" as they are and function year after year.

They aren't anything close to the same thing and comparing them to each other is like comparing apples to oranges. Even though they might have some of the same "features" (beds, bathroom, kitchen appliances, etc) even those items are very different in how they are built and how they function. They "sort of look alike" but that's about the end of their similarity. So, when someone compares the quality of a S&B to the quality of an RV, it is subjective to the item you're talking about. Quality can be "tolerances of how things fit together", "upgraded appliances", "thickness of carpet", "color coordination of décor" or so many other "what a buyer thinks is important qualities" that go into a product. Quality in an RV and quality in a S&B has to include more than just what you can see, feel or smell. It has to also take into consideration the entirely different functions that those two "houses" face. Some things that we want in a S&B are impossible to even include in an RV. For example, woodwork with finely mitered corners with no visible joints. We expect that in a S&B, but is it even possible in an RV where the woodwork "jolts down the highway" moving 2" or more in a 10 foot span? The "quality" in the "finish woodwork" can't be compared with that in a "quality S&B", it's not even exposed to the same environmental stress. Without that "engineered movement in the mitered crack" the woodwork would "pop off the wall" within the first few miles. There's much more that's "different but looks the same" between those two kinds of housing. Sure, there is much "room for improvement" in RV manufacturing, but I don't think it will ever reach the level of "quality finish" that we expect in a "custom S&B", more because of what an RV is subjected to as we use it than to "care in manufacturing".

Consider "that cheap tape" RV manufacturers use to hide the crack between two sheets of luan on the wall. They could use sheetrock (at triple the weight) and float it to hide the crack (like in a S&B) but the first time that wall moved 1/4" up/down at 70 MPH, what would that crack look like? That "cheap tape" moves easily and flexes with wall movement, hiding that crack much better than the "float" would if it was used, so "quality" becomes "necessity" with "that cheap tape"...

When I was in the Air Force we used to call the B52 a "flying marvel". It was a "marvel" or really, it could have been "magic" that 100,000 pounds of metal and fiberglass, strung with 1200 miles of wire and cable, held together with 30,000 rivets and bolts could "fly at 700 MPH without falling apart in the air"..... It's pretty much the same with any RV. Why or how they manage to stay together is a remarkable feat of engineering "magic". Try moving your "quality built house" across town, level it and turn on the TV, A/C, shower or refrigerator... Ain't gonna happen......
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Old 02-22-2017, 10:22 AM   #12
sourdough
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Here's my "take" on comparing "quality" between RV's and S&B houses:

I believe the most important concept that we all tend to ignore (or forget) is that RV's are NOT the same as a S&B home. Consider that a house is built on a foundation and the only "movement" it gets is an occasional wind, some thermal expansion or some settling through the years.

Now, consider an RV (of any kind) that rolls down the highway at 70 MPH (hurricane force winds) bounces over potholes 2" deep (earthquake force shocks) storage for extended time periods when the systems are inactive, drying out or rusting away. Repeated "day in and day out" extreme temperature swings of 50 to 75 degrees within 2 hours (from towing in the desert at 120 F to A/C comfort in the campground at 70 F) It's remarkable that these "contraptions" are engineered to withstand as much "environmental stress" as they are and function year after year.

They aren't anything close to the same thing and comparing them to each other is like comparing apples to oranges. Even though they might have some of the same "features" (beds, bathroom, kitchen appliances, etc) even those items are very different in how they are built and how they function. They "sort of look alike" but that's about the end of their similarity. So, when someone compares the quality of a S&B to the quality of an RV, it is subjective to the item you're talking about. Quality can be "tolerances of how things fit together", "upgraded appliances", "thickness of carpet", "color coordination of décor" or so many other "what a buyer thinks is important qualities" that go into a product. Quality in an RV and quality in a S&B has to include more than just what you can see, feel or smell. It has to also take into consideration the entirely different functions that those two "houses" face. Some things that we want in a S&B are impossible to even include in an RV. For example, woodwork with finely mitered corners with no visible joints. We expect that in a S&B, but is it even possible in an RV where the woodwork "jolts down the highway" moving 2" or more in a 10 foot span? The "quality" in the "finish woodwork" can't be compared with that in a "quality S&B", it's not even exposed to the same environmental stress. Without that "engineered movement in the mitered crack" the woodwork would "pop off the wall" within the first few miles. There's much more that's "different but looks the same" between those two kinds of housing. Sure, there is much "room for improvement" in RV manufacturing, but I don't think it will ever reach the level of "quality finish" that we expect in a "custom S&B", more because of what an RV is subjected to as we use it than to "care in manufacturing".

Consider "that cheap tape" RV manufacturers use to hide the crack between two sheets of luan on the wall. They could use sheetrock (at triple the weight) and float it to hide the crack (like in a S&B) but the first time that wall moved 1/4" up/down at 70 MPH, what would that crack look like? That "cheap tape" moves easily and flexes with wall movement, hiding that crack much better than the "float" would if it was used, so "quality" becomes "necessity" with "that cheap tape"...

When I was in the Air Force we used to call the B52 a "flying marvel". It was a "marvel" or really, it could have been "magic" that 100,000 pounds of metal and fiberglass, strung with 1200 miles of wire and cable, held together with 30,000 rivets and bolts could "fly at 700 MPH without falling apart in the air"..... It's pretty much the same with any RV. Why or how they manage to stay together is a remarkable feat of engineering "magic". Try moving your "quality built house" across town, level it and turn on the TV, A/C, shower or refrigerator... Ain't gonna happen......

^^^^Spot on.

I think I could have chosen my words more carefully. Trying to compare "quality" in a s&b and an RV is indeed apples and oranges. If you think about it, it is actually quite a feat to put a small house together with all the appliances and comforts of home then let it travel thousands of miles over the highways and byways. The design and building of the RV has very different objectives than those of a s&b......and, in reality, they do a pretty good job of it generally speaking.
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Old 02-22-2017, 12:19 PM   #13
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The only comment that I will add is that the price for the '07 seems high. We purchased an '06 3400RL in excellent condition for $15,500. New tires, new seals for wheels and some seam tape is all we needed to do. We will need a new roof in a year or two but I can replace the roof 10 times with the $$$$ saved.
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Old 02-22-2017, 01:33 PM   #14
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One thing to keep in mind is the life expectancy of the roofing material. You will not be doing the work yourself with a few of your fishing buddies. This roof has an actual age of 11 years right now and is high-dollar to replace. 40’ RV roof replacement, it comes to about $12,000, or $300 per linear feet. Since money is not much of an object (Grand Design Reflection) maybe stick with the newer Montana and negotiate with great vigor!
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Old 02-26-2017, 06:25 AM   #15
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An '07 is indeed 10 years old and at that age, it could very well have to have some serious work done if not used in 3 or so years - and that part is what would bother me the most. Tires shot? Most likely. Roof repairs? Possibly. Rodent damage? A/C work OK? Furnace? HW Heater? etc, etc, etc. Then there is the fact that vintage Montana decals don't survive and the exterior gets a worn, chalky look vs the '14 HC high gloss finish though the front cap may fade and need to be painted as ours has been. As far as head room in a '14 HC - I'm 6'4" and still have several extra inches of bedroom height in our '14 343RL HC though earlier versions may not. If you are tall AND hefty - different story

Of course, if the price for the '07 can be made really right, many deficiencies can be fixed reasonably - '$17K is, IMO, not really right for a towable that hasn't been used for several years and without regular standard maintenance.

I'll not get into a comparison with a S&B home as they are night and day different in materials and construction criteria.
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