Montana and High Country

[chuckster57]

Originally Posted by bsmith0404

If you want frameless windows, consider looking at the Alpine. It’s normally priced between the Montana and the HC, but gives you the frameless windows and hydraulic leveling, which I prefer over the electric because of the range. Electric leveling systems often get an out of stroke error which means the Jack has gone as far as it can, but your not level yet. It’s common to have to add blocks under the jacks especially if you do much dry camping in national forests instead of a close to level RV site. I personally love my Alpine and also really like the Avalanche which is the Alpine equivalent of a Montana HC, basically fewer bells and whistles than the Alpine.

GC 3.0 is now coming with rear jacks that have extendable inner legs like the landing gear.

[ChuckS]

I wouldn’t own a fifth wheel that didn’t have six point hyd level up.. and I prefer all hyd slide outs.
.
The HC is a nice unit ... the Alpine and Montana are both Keystones top of the line luxury fifth wheels. Both are heavy...

Both have the drop frame giving you the larger basement access area ... I also am not fond of the free hanging rear wall on the HC...

[purebred]

When we narrowed our decision from the Montana and Alpine it was a hard decision for us. Both very nice trailers. We knew the size we wanted and both models were very similar also. We finally went with the Alpine. I just couldn't figure out why engineers would design a bathroom door like the one for the Montana that made it hard to get in and out of. Also liked the dual entry door of the Alpine to bathroom. If it wasn't for that we would probably be in a Montana now.

[wiredgeorge]

Dumb question but... looking at quite a few campers with the Thomas Payne furniture that is a few years old... MOST of the TP furniture was obviously bonded leather aka shedding pleather and looked terrible and many pieces of this furniture would have to be tossed or recovered. Is the TP furniture still problematic in new Keystone campers?

[purebred]

Originally Posted by wiredgeorge

Dumb question but... looking at quite a few campers with the Thomas Payne furniture that is a few years old... MOST of the TP furniture was obviously bonded leather aka shedding pleather and looked terrible and many pieces of this furniture would have to be tossed or recovered. Is the TP furniture still problematic in new Keystone campers?

George we've been in ours 14 months full timing it and our TP fake leather looks like new. Seems ok for now, knock on wood.

[Javi]

Originally Posted by wiredgeorge

Dumb question but... looking at quite a few campers with the Thomas Payne furniture that is a few years old... MOST of the TP furniture was obviously bonded leather aka shedding pleather and looked terrible and many pieces of this furniture would have to be tossed or recovered. Is the TP furniture still problematic in new Keystone campers?

Originally Posted by purebred

George we've been in ours 14 months full timing it and our TP fake leather looks like new. Seems ok for now, knock on wood.

My Cougar had Thomas Payne also and the pleather looked like new after 6 years... in fact the new owners asked if we had replaced it.. The secret is to keep the blinds shut... sunlight eats pleather 3 meals a day..

[wiredgeorge]

I looked at a Crossroads bumper pull. Was a 2014 and had a great floor plan but every bit of pleather including on the dinette backing/tops and window valances was shedding its skin like a sick snake. I see LOTS of threads in various places on the web regarding TP and this issue. We went to the RV show in San Antonio two years ago and a sales guy told me that TP had this issue fix but then he told me I could pull a 47' 5th wheel with an F150 (just kidding).

[bsmith0404]

Originally Posted by wiredgeorge

Dumb question but... looking at quite a few campers with the Thomas Payne furniture that is a few years old... MOST of the TP furniture was obviously bonded leather aka shedding pleather and looked terrible and many pieces of this furniture would have to be tossed or recovered. Is the TP furniture still problematic in new Keystone campers?

The new TP is a different material and seems to be holding up very well. In the 3 years I’ve been selling RVs I have not heard a single complaint.

[bsmith0404]

Originally Posted by ChuckS

I wouldn’t own a fifth wheel that didn’t have six point hyd level up.. and I prefer all hyd slide outs.
.
The HC is a nice unit ... the Alpine and Montana are both Keystones top of the line luxury fifth wheels. Both are heavy...

Both have the drop frame giving you the larger basement access area ... I also am not fond of the free hanging rear wall on the HC...

HC and Avalanche also have drop frame. Basically the HC is the same design and structure as the Montana just a lower trim level to reduce the price, Avalanche is the the same design and structure as the Alpine, but lower trim level to reduce the price. The HC and Avalanche will use a smaller frame on lighter models. HC has Electric leveling, the Avalanche keeps the hydraulic system. I’m with you on the Hydraulic which is one of the reasons I really like the Avalanche if looking to save a bit from the Alpine price. I also love the wide body and the extra space it offers, but there are enough differences and pros and cons to each line to make the Montana and HC a better choice for some.

[Javi]

Originally Posted by bsmith0404

HC and Avalanche also have drop frame. Basically the HC is the same design and structure as the Montana just a lower trim level to reduce the price, Avalanche is the the same design and structure as the Alpine, but lower trim level to reduce the price. The HC and Avalanche will use a smaller frame on lighter models. HC has Electric leveling, the Avalanche keeps the hydraulic system. I’m with you on the Hydraulic which is one of the reasons I really like the Avalanche if looking to save a bit from the Alpine price. I also love the wide body and the extra space it offers, but there are enough differences and pros and cons to each line to make the Montana and HC a better choice for some.

When we were looking for a new trailer we had made up our minds that this would be our last trailer and so cost wasn't going to be an issue.
We looked at comparable models of the Montana, Montana HC, Alpine and Avalanche.

Our specifications were 34 to 35 feet, drop frame, 7,000 axles, G-rated tires, two whisper quiet A/C units, 12 gallon hot water tank, rear living, and upgraded interior, large shower, storage in bath, full queen or king bed.

Things that we didn't care about, built in vacuum, wine racks, convection microwave, accent lighting, heated chairs, quadruple stereo speakers, outdoor kitchens, outside TV's, cameras or any of that foo-foo stuff..

After looking at all of the trailers that fit our lists, we boiled it down to the Alpine or Avalanche.. and the Alpine almost won because of the auto cord wheel storage.. but I couldn't convince myself that that one item was worth the $7K markup...

[sourdough]

Originally Posted by wiredgeorge

Dumb question but... looking at quite a few campers with the Thomas Payne furniture that is a few years old... MOST of the TP furniture was obviously bonded leather aka shedding pleather and looked terrible and many pieces of this furniture would have to be tossed or recovered. Is the TP furniture still problematic in new Keystone campers?

Our last trailer was a 2014 and the TP pleather started flaking early on. It was always either covered or the blinds down. It just started getting "flaky" and would peel off. When looking at the new trailers many, if not most, had the TP furniture. I asked about the issue and they told me that the material and process had been changed. Haven't had it long enough to know if it helped or not but it does feel different than the last coverings.

[ChuckS]

Yea the built in vac is a waste for us.. Dirt devil unit... it does a really good job but hose is cumbersome.. haven’t used it in 5 years..we bought a lite weight Shark and it’s light, great suction, easy to clean..

Furniture .. not sure if brand..is as good as the day we bought it in 2014..

Wife likes the convection microwave and so far the RV style Dometic 1350 has been flawless on electric and propane..

We don’t have a stereo. No outside speakers.. do like the Bose sound bar.. TVs both Samsung...

Hyd system for slides and levelers flawless..

Glad we don’t have..
.. In Command
.. KeyTV

Mine is the baby of the Alpine series at 34 feet... matches well with our short bed GMC

[purebred]

We love the addition of the built in vacuum. Works great. Love the DVD player, radio and stereo. Also the Samsung fridge, whisper air and especially the heat pump. We downsized the queen size bed to a smaller full size with 11 inch mattress. Love the extra room. As far as the rest of the furion appliances they all work great.

[Javi]

Originally Posted by ChuckS

Yea the built in vac is a waste for us.. Dirt devil unit... it does a really good job but hose is cumbersome.. haven’t used it in 5 years..we bought a lite weight Shark and it’s light, great suction, easy to clean..

Furniture .. not sure if brand..is as good as the day we bought it in 2014..

Wife likes the convection microwave and so far the RV style Dometic 1350 has been flawless on electric and propane..

We don’t have a stereo. No outside speakers.. do like the Bose sound bar.. TVs both Samsung...

Hyd system for slides and levelers flawless..

Glad we don’t have..
.. In Command
.. KeyTV

Mine is the baby of the Alpine series at 34 feet... matches well with our short bed GMC

The 3121RS is the one we were looking at.. oh... we got Key TV so far it ain't bad but the omni-directional antenna pretty much sucks.. Thankfully we mostly watch old movies anyway..

[purebred]

Originally Posted by Javi

The 3121RS is the one we were looking at.. oh... we got Key TV so far it ain't bad but the omni-directional antenna pretty much sucks.. Thankfully we mostly watch old movies anyway..

Just the opposite experience with keytv here. Had numerous problems with the keytv box. After installing a dc voltage power injector with the supplied omni-directional antenna our tv outlets work great.

[BeagleMan]

Originally Posted by Javi

The 3121RS is the one we were looking at.. oh... we got Key TV so far it ain't bad but the omni-directional antenna pretty much sucks.. Thankfully we mostly watch old movies anyway..

Whats the alternative to KeyTV? Went to dealer Monday to look around and the one we liked has that. Do I really need it? We are thinking if we have a Direct TV account, which we do, and thought of setting up a tripod at sites, once feasible and just activate it again. Could we tell them to de-activate it if we bought one in the future?

[purebred]

Problem is the keytv box has a satellite input for your dish. If it happens to work you will be ok. If not you could always go direct to your tvs with your cable.

[Javi]

Originally Posted by BeagleMan

Whats the alternative to KeyTV? Went to dealer Monday to look around and the one we liked has that. Do I really need it? We are thinking if we have a Direct TV account, which we do, and thought of setting up a tripod at sites, once feasible and just activate it again. Could we tell them to de-activate it if we bought one in the future?

If you like Direct TV and have an account I'd have them install a roof mounted DTV dish before I bought it..

Everyone pretty much says the KeyTV sucks.. so far mind doesn't but we don't watch that much TV when we're camping.. I've got hundreds of old westerns

As for alternatives to the actual KeyTV system I don't know but I'm pretty sure I will either cross that bridge when the time comes or blow it up and swim across..

[purebred]

Originally Posted by Javi

If you like Direct TV and have an account I'd have them install a roof mounted DTV dish before I bought it..

Everyone pretty much says the KeyTV sucks.. so far mind doesn't but we don't watch that much TV when we're camping.. I've got hundreds of old westerns

As for alternatives to the actual KeyTV system I don't know but I'm pretty sure I will either cross that bridge when the time comes or blow it up and swim across..

I have to agree with Javi on this. Seems to me local over the air tv is a hit or miss in an rv. Either you have a good signal and good channels or you don't. I'm like the rest and would prefer a good FREE tv signal but more and more it's just not there. I am getting where i prefer, 1st a good cell phone signal and 2nd a good cheap internet service. We lucked out here in Harlingen with being able to get 50 mb service for 20.00. That is hard to beat. More and more of our tv watching comes from a 20.00 dollar ROKU hooked to a good internet signal.There is thousands of tv stations free for the watching.

[BeagleMan]

Originally Posted by Javi

If you like Direct TV and have an account I'd have them install a roof mounted DTV dish before I bought it..

Everyone pretty much says the KeyTV sucks.. so far mind doesn't but we don't watch that much TV when we're camping.. I've got hundreds of old westerns

As for alternatives to the actual KeyTV system I don't know but I'm pretty sure I will either cross that bridge when the time comes or blow it up and swim across..

Well, I have talked to other campers here who have theirs on a tripod and it works well, but in our spot it is obviously coveted because our "frontyard" is directly south and the tripod would work well. But, I wouldn't mind it on the roof. If I could have a retractable dish when traveling.