Good evening! On the fence 🤔

[JPence23]

Hello everyone!

Joined this forum because I’ve read a lot of helpful and insightful tips as I do research regarding Keystone’s on here. We currently have a 2019 Forest River 274 bunk house that has treated my wife, son and I very well for weekend camping. Long story short, I took a new job a few hours north, currently in escrow selling our house and plan on full timing for a year or so. I’m living in the FR alone right now but it is not going to cut it keeping a 3 year old wild toddler on a routine without his own room. We’re really leaning toward the Montana HC 385BR but debating spending more on a Grand Design midbunk (preferably the solitude). We both love the visuals a lot more on the Montana but hear the rave reviews on quality and service with GD. Any info to tip the scales either way is definitely appreciated! Looking forward to learning even more.

Justin

[chuckster57]

Welcome to the forum

Let’s get some of the basics out of the way, what will you be moving your house with? I worked at a dealership that sold GD for 5 years. The Solitude was a very solid trailer, but I’ve been out of the dealership game for 3 years now. Hopefully someone that has a Montana will reply.

[sourdough]

The Montana HC 385BR is a 16.5k lb. trailer which will require a diesel DRW IMO. Now, that's out of the way.

Some things to consider;

A Solitude is a very nice trailer - GDs top of the line. I assume you are looking at a 378MBS which weighs 16,800lbs. The Solitude will have some differences from the MHC (unless they've changed stuff in the last 12 mos. or so). Better OE tires and a few little foo fahs that the MHC doesn't have because the MHC is one step down from top of the line Montana. Functionality will be the same, appliance brands may be different. Pricing will be very different; GD charges a premium for their units and base that primarily on quality and service. Quality has proven to be about the same as any other brand since they're all built by the same "craftsmen" in about the same place. Service I don't know because I went with my dealer and their service/pricing. I do know that when I called the owner, then sales manager, at my local GD dealer and inquired about any "exceptional" service if I bought a Solitude he told me that folks that bought a GD, and from then particularly, knew that the wait time to get "anything" done in their shop would be at least 3 months. So much for exceptional service and that 10-20k price premium.

[JPence23]

Originally Posted by sourdough

The Montana HC 385BR is a 16.5k lb. trailer which will require a diesel DRW IMO. Now, that's out of the way.

Some things to consider;

A Solitude is a very nice trailer - GDs top of the line. I assume you are looking at a 378MBS which weighs 16,800lbs. The Solitude will have some differences from the MHC (unless they've changed stuff in the last 12 mos. or so). Better OE tires and a few little foo fahs that the MHC doesn't have because the MHC is one step down from top of the line Montana. Functionality will be the same, appliance brands may be different. Pricing will be very different; GD charges a premium for their units and base that primarily on quality and service. Quality has proven to be about the same as any other brand since they're all built by the same "craftsmen" in about the same place. Service I don't know because I went with my dealer and their service/pricing. I do know that when I called the owner, then sales manager, at my local GD dealer and inquired about any "exceptional" service if I bought a Solitude he told me that folks that bought a GD, and from then particularly, knew that the wait time to get "anything" done in their shop would be at least 3 months. So much for exceptional service and that 10-20k price premium.

Thank you both for replying. And yes, the tow vehicle will 100% be a 1 ton DRW diesel. I’ll sell my 2500 as soon as we sell our current trailer. I guess my real debate would be what you just mentioned. Exactly HOW much better is the customer service going to be and does it offset the big price difference. It’s sounding more and more like the Montana HC would fit us just fine and save a little $$!

[chuckster57]

A good dealership can make all the difference. Remember that no matter which brand you end up purchasing, if your full time and move, another dealer is not obligated to service it.

[JPence23]

Very good to know! I think we’re working with a pretty good dealer about 20 minutes from our current site. I’m pretty sure we’ll be in this area for at least a year, but if the right opportunity came up out of state… I wouldn’t not try lol

[chuckster57]

I sent you a PM

[wiredgeorge]

Dunno about the GD mid-bunk but folks with mid-bunks on this forum talk about lack of airflow and guess they get warm in warmer weather. You might want to poke into the GD forum and see if their mid-bunk offering has the same air flow issues. Someone is going to invent something some day to allow parents to keep up with kiddos from 2 to 5 years old. Wayyyyy too much energy.

[BigBobIa]

We bought a 2021 Montana HC 383TH. This is rear bedroom where the bed raises so you can load toys in the 5’ wide by 10’ long garage below. This is front living room and weighs 17k.

GD has the same floor plan with the same garage size but weighs more than 20k. Once I saw that I did not look at a GD.

As far as I know we got one of the last 2 383’s in the country. Not on the 2022 list of Montana’s

[JPence23]

Originally Posted by wiredgeorge

Dunno about the GD mid-bunk but folks with mid-bunks on this forum talk about lack of airflow and guess they get warm in warmer weather. You might want to poke into the GD forum and see if their mid-bunk offering has the same air flow issues. Someone is going to invent something some day to allow parents to keep up with kiddos from 2 to 5 years old. Wayyyyy too much energy.

If only we could source 1/4 of their energy we’d have a chance! 🤣 And that’s one of the repeating negatives I’ve been reading about with this specific model MHC. Keeping little guy at a comfortable temp is a priority for sure and it’s been 100-108° here for weeks now 😅 I’ll look into the GD forums and see if the same issues exist. I know the GD has 3 AC’s and “30% better air flow” according to their brochures. Appreciate the input!

[sourdough]

Originally Posted by JPence23

If only we could source 1/4 of their energy we’d have a chance! 🤣 And that’s one of the repeating negatives I’ve been reading about with this specific model MHC. Keeping little guy at a comfortable temp is a priority for sure and it’s been 100-108° here for weeks now 😅 I’ll look into the GD forums and see if the same issues exist. I know the GD has 3 AC’s and “30% better air flow” according to their brochures. Appreciate the input!

Looking at what I can find/see on both units it appears they both have 1 A/C vent in the mid room. If they both have 2 15k btu A/Cs I doubt there would be much difference in cooling as they both use almost the same technology/design. The founders of GD were 3 execs from Keystone so they did not try to reinvent the wheel.

[meaz93*]

When I was shopping for a replacement bumper pull back in 2018, after selling the Springdale ; we found that Grand Design's fit & finish were definitely a notch or two above Keystone's product-IMO.
The wife, daughter and I spent the summer before going through endless amounts of models trying to find the perfect trailer. Road tripping to RV Shows / Dealerships, Casinos, etc...
This is our second Keystone and it has held up very well [emoji106]
PS...not a fan of the S track AC cooling[emoji848]

[JPence23]

Originally Posted by meaz93*

When I was shopping for a replacement bumper pull back in 2018, after selling the Springdale ; we found that Grand Design's fit & finish were definitely a notch or two above Keystone's product-IMO.
The wife, daughter and I spent the summer before going through endless amounts of models trying to find the perfect trailer. Road tripping to RV Shows / Dealerships, Casinos, etc...
This is our second Keystone and it has held up very well [emoji106]
PS...not a fan of the S track AC cooling[emoji848]

Very good to hear! We are in the same boat but a little more pushed for time. We’ve looked at every Midbunk within 200 miles and keep coming back to the Montana HC. Appreciate the input!

[bsmith0404]

If it was me, I’d get the Montana 3855. The door to the mid bunk room opens into the kitchen, a small fan can help move the air around and keep the temps in that room consistent.

I sold GD and Keystone for 4 years, been to both factories. If you pull back the skin and look at the structure, they are very similar. There are a lot of things I liked about the Solitude, but when I buy an rv, I look for value vs $. If the price difference between the two was a couple thousand, maybe as much as $5k, I’d buy a GD anything more than that I’d say you’re paying for a thought/concept that the service/quality will be better. I can tell you at the dealership I worked at, it was the same service department and same warranty office that handled both. GD seemed to be 1-2 days faster on warranty approvals. BTW, I own an Alpine, if I was buying today, it’s probably be an Avalanche. I like the wide body and 6 point hydraulic leveling. The only reason it wouldn’t be another Alpine, I don’t need/want all the bells and whistles, the Avalanche. Is basically a lower trim level Alpine. BTW Avalanche has a 372, but will have the same airflow issues as the 385, that’s why I’d go with the 3855.

[dutchmensport]

Wow, that's a hard decision. I'm a Montana High Country owner. I purchased my current Montana strictly because of the floor plan. It just happened to be a Montana High Country. ...

Something you need to consider.... before selecting either ... if you plan to travel, can you access the refrigerator, the stove, the bed, and the bathroom with the slides pulled in?

[bsmith0404]

Originally Posted by dutchmensport

Something you need to consider.... before selecting either ... if you plan to travel, can you access the refrigerator, the stove, the bed, and the bathroom with the slides pulled in?

For me, that’s a no, no, yes and yes and not that big of a deal imo. I know a lot of people are concerned with that, I’ll sacrifice for floor plan when everything is open if need be. Like I always said, I buy for how it is used 90% of the time and just deal with the other 10%. Accessing all that stuff with the slides in, falls into that 10% area for me.

[sourdough]

Originally Posted by bsmith0404

For me, that’s a no, no, yes and yes and not that big of a deal imo. I know a lot of people are concerned with that, I’ll sacrifice for floor plan when everything is open if need be. Like I always said, I buy for how it is used 90% of the time and just deal with the other 10%. Accessing all that stuff with the slides in, falls into that 10% area for me.

I think that inside access on an RV is a personal preference. In all my years I've never wanted to be inside my RV or get anything when traveling, we plan otherwise. I've seen folks stop, deploy slides, break out the bbq etc. in roadside parks, parking lots etc.; that's just not something I would ever do. It's easy to plan eating and potty stuff while traveling IMO. The floorplan, to me, is far more important because that's where I am day in and day out....and I want to get where I'm going. JMO/others will vary I'm sure.

[chuckster57]

Originally Posted by sourdough

I think that inside access on an RV is a personal preference. In all my years I've never wanted to be inside my RV or get anything when traveling, we plan otherwise. I've seen folks stop, deploy slides, break out the bbq etc. in roadside parks, parking lots etc.; that's just not something I would ever do. It's easy to plan eating and potty stuff while traveling IMO. The floorplan, to me, is far more important because that's where I am day in and day out....and I want to get where I'm going. JMO/others will vary I'm sure.

I’m right there with you.

[bsmith0404]

I’ll admit bathroom and bedroom access has come in handy. A couple times we had some pretty heavy winds, pulled into a rest stop and crawled into bed for a few hours until it died down. Have used the bathroom several times on the road. As for anything else, a cooler by the door or in the truck is all I need.

[JPence23]

Originally Posted by bsmith0404

If it was me, I’d get the Montana 3855. The door to the mid bunk room opens into the kitchen, a small fan can help move the air around and keep the temps in that room consistent.

I sold GD and Keystone for 4 years, been to both factories. If you pull back the skin and look at the structure, they are very similar. There are a lot of things I liked about the Solitude, but when I buy an rv, I look for value vs $. If the price difference between the two was a couple thousand, maybe as much as $5k, I’d buy a GD anything more than that I’d say you’re paying for a thought/concept that the service/quality will be better. I can tell you at the dealership I worked at, it was the same service department and same warranty office that handled both. GD seemed to be 1-2 days faster on warranty approvals. BTW, I own an Alpine, if I was buying today, it’s probably be an Avalanche. I like the wide body and 6 point hydraulic leveling. The only reason it wouldn’t be another Alpine, I don’t need/want all the bells and whistles, the Avalanche. Is basically a lower trim level Alpine. BTW Avalanche has a 372, but will have the same airflow issues as the 385, that’s why I’d go with the 3855.

Great info here! My wife wasn’t too keen on the 3855 midbunk doors facing the kitchen due to light/noise when lil man is sleeping, but you make a great point. Might need to revisit that one in person. As far as accessibility while closed, the bathroom is really the only thing we’ll need. My wife’s bladder might be worse than my 80 year old grandmas lol We will be relatively stationary for the time being and when we do travel I always have my 20 quart in the cab packed with snacks/drinks to eliminate as many stops as possible. The dealer did say they’re moving the 2023’s in soon so pricing may be flexible on the 22’s. If by some crazy way we can get the Solitude within $5k of the MHC, that would sway my vote quite a bit. The wife is still in love with the looks of the MCH though. Appreciate all the input guys!