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Old 07-18-2020, 02:45 PM   #1
just doug
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Is the Keystone Montana much of an upgrade over the Keystone Cougar

I currently have a keystone cougar 336 BHS. It’s gotten to the point where the paint is faded and other little things are going wrong so I’ve been thinking of upgrading. I’m hoping to get some thing of much higher quality. I went and looked at a keystone Montana model 3740 FK and it didn’t seem altogether the difference in quality. For instance some molding was coming down From one of the slide outs and one of the cabinets in the kitchen was laying on the countertop because the screws had been stripped out of the wood. These are the little things that drove me crazy about my current coach. My understanding was that the quality of the Montana line was much higher than the cougar. While I know not to expect residential quality cabinets furniture etc., I think my expectations may have been just a bit higher.

I found what appears to be a great deal on these coaches. They show an MSRP of 102,000 yet have them marked down to 79,000. I don’t know if this is a bait and switch or if this really is a great deal.
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Old 07-18-2020, 03:10 PM   #2
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Check out the Alpine line
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Old 07-18-2020, 03:40 PM   #3
sourdough
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IMO an RV is an RV is an RV. You can get some nice "bling" when going up in scale, larger frames (because they weigh more and other "stuff" but in the end it's an RV.

The Keystone line morphs seemingly continually. As the push keeps going toward larger and lighter things keep getting "lighter" ie; cabinets, floors, wall coverings, furniture, counter tops, fixtures, appliances....endless.

Your question was about the Montana vs Cougar. I will tell you that it will depend on what year/model of each. A new Montana is nice but not as nice as they used to be; same goes for the Cougar. You don't list what Cougar you have but when I had mine I had the High Country edition that had all the upgraded stuff. Now, the Cougar comes in 1/2 ton and Cougar...or something like that. Looked extensively at them the last year or so. Walked into one, then another and told the guy as soon as I walked in; "is this a Cougar?" He said yes. I said it looks so much cheaper than the other, he said I was in the 1/2 ton or ultra light model, the other one wasn't...big, noticeable difference.

Before I bought this MHC I looked thru the Cougars (all lines), MHC, Montana, Cedar Creek, GD Refection and Solitude, Wildfire, Riverstone and I don't remember what else. At the upper end (gvw above what I have) IMO required a DRW diesel...not for me. So you need to plan on that. As far as trailers being better or nicer? That depends on what YOU think that is. Quality? That's a word that can't really be used with an RV no matter what it is....they all sort of have the same "mother" so genetics aren't going to be much different.

Don't know what your expectation of quality is but if looking at your Cougar (no specifics is not helpful) and a Montana you can generically say, yes, it will be of better quality. My old CHC had the same countertops and cabinets as a Montana. None of them have those kinds of materials anymore from what I can tell. When I did my "bang vs buck" analysis of Cougars, MHC, Montana, Reflection and Solitude I picked the Cougar (not light weight).....then DW wanted a washer/dryer. Montana and Solitude required a DRW so here I am...."stuck in the middle again"...or something like that (wasn't that a song?). Don't know if any of that helps but hopefully something is.
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Old 07-18-2020, 08:06 PM   #4
just doug
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It's a Keystone Cougar 336BHS.

It's my understanding that the Montana 3740FK has been discontinued so that could be when the price has been discounted.

Is there a reason not to buy a discontinued model or is this just a natural cycle of things?
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Old 07-18-2020, 10:07 PM   #5
Frank G
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Quote:
Originally Posted by just doug View Post
It's a Keystone Cougar 336BHS.

It's my understanding that the Montana 3740FK has been discontinued so that could be when the price has been discounted.

Is there a reason not to buy a discontinued model or is this just a natural cycle of things?
Discounts of 20 to 30% are not unusual in this industry. Poke around the internet and you will see huge differences in the same, like equipped models. Shop wisely, a deep discount, volume dealer will not have the financial resources to offer any after the sale support. If you expect after the sale support you need to "leave a little meat on the bone".

If I walked into a new unit with a cupboard that came off the wall I would have deep concern about the skill of worker on duty that day and the setting of the screw driver. Are the rest ready to come down? I cringe at the amount of weight the DW packs in ours, after any given trip I expect the whole thing to be on the floor and of course it will be my fault.
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Old 07-19-2020, 08:18 AM   #6
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I think the biggest difference between the Cougar and Montana lines is that the Cougar is mid-profile while Montana is high-profile. I immediately noticed the difference in the internal feel of space. There is more height inside the slide of a Montana, for instance.

Functionally and cosmetically that are a lot of cross-overs between the models which means that "quality" perhaps isn't the correct word for comparing them.

Generally, it seems that the Cougar is at the higher end of the mid-profile lines and the Montana HC is at the lower end of the high-profile lines. As a result, the Cougar might have some applications of higher end materials than the Montana HC. They all seem to use the same basic appliances, etc.

I don't think there is any real direct comparison of one line to the other except design. Some of them will use cable slides, others will use geared slides. The Montanas will use hydraulics while the HC's and Cougars use electronics.

Look at design, layout, and features, then pick the one you like and can afford.
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Old 07-19-2020, 08:33 AM   #7
Javi
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Originally Posted by just doug View Post
I currently have a keystone cougar 336 BHS. It’s gotten to the point where the paint is faded and other little things are going wrong so I’ve been thinking of upgrading. I’m hoping to get some thing of much higher quality. I went and looked at a keystone Montana model 3740 FK and it didn’t seem altogether the difference in quality. For instance some molding was coming down From one of the slide outs and one of the cabinets in the kitchen was laying on the countertop because the screws had been stripped out of the wood. These are the little things that drove me crazy about my current coach. My understanding was that the quality of the Montana line was much higher than the cougar. While I know not to expect residential quality cabinets furniture etc., I think my expectations may have been just a bit higher.

I found what appears to be a great deal on these coaches. They show an MSRP of 102,000 yet have them marked down to 79,000. I don’t know if this is a bait and switch or if this really is a great deal.
I just sold a Cougar and it was a great 5th wheel for a weekend or occasional week long trips. We used it an average of 45 nights a year for the first four years that we owned it. It was great, but I always limited our travel distances because with the light weight frame and running gear I didn't want to get to far from home.

The Avalanche, Alpine and Montana are greatly better in that respect over the Cougar.

The past year and a half the Cougar pretty much set under the storage shed because of health issues limiting our free time to travel. However, that's about to clear up and we've now purchased a new Avalanche (take delivery Wednesday).

We looked at many brands and models including the Alpine and Montana before buying. Budget wasn't the consideration as this will be our last trailer, and we want it to last until we can't comfortably travel anymore.

My first priority was running gear, I wanted 7K axles, "G" rated tires and wheels, heavy gage frame, at least 10" drop frame for storage, and heavy duty greaseable shackles.

Next, we wanted to limit length to a max of 35 feet and only wanted a couples trailer.

All three of the mentioned trailers had these things, so it came down to furniture and fixtures. The Montana's that we toured had the best cabinetry and a lot of bells and whistles. The new ones don't have carpet, which the DW was excited about; she hates carpet

All in all, the biggest differences I saw between the Avalanche, Alpine and Montana was bells and whistles... stuff like built in vacuums, electronics and cabinetry finish.

All in all the Avalanche won, having less bling and stuff we have lived without all of our lives.

I just paid more for this trailer than I paid for the house we live in...
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Old 07-22-2020, 04:39 PM   #8
04ctd
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we have a 2020 Cougar 364BHL.

if you put a flashlight in the kitchen drawer, and close it, you can see the light THRU the counter top.

thats THIN
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Old 07-25-2020, 04:00 AM   #9
Dave W
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I can't tell you how many different 5th wheel brand names we looked at but they did include Cougars, Montanas, Crusaders, Alppines, Columbus, Sanibels and so on. What we ended up with is a Montana High Country as it had the layout we were looking for as well as the price less a trade that we wanted. We had earlier put a deposit down ona a Cougar 327RES since it too had the right layout but decided against it since the dealer was not local. We also looked at a closer one but the dealer wouldn't budge $300 less on the price that we knew we could buy at the non local dealeer.

The Montana High Country has, so far, been exactly what we wanted and needed and with few problems in about 28-30K miles, back and forth across country and at 20K less wallet pain then the 'standard' Montana. Yes, we 'gave up' self leveling and (often, not always) troublesome hydeaulic slides, but I can fix cable slides and easily level any towed trailer with a couple blocks.

Your choice, your dollars as long as the interior works for you, buy what you feel is best for your needs. Bling is expensive
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