New Montana owner from Michigan

marine9007 · 03-12-2021, 08:57 AM

Hi All - New member checking in. Been camping all my life, and recently traded in my Sierra truck and APEX trailer (5 years) for a new Silverado 2500HD diesel and new Montana HC 337RL.

My wife and I are excited to hit the road and someday meet some of you as well!

Cheers!

wiredgeorge · 03-12-2021, 10:17 AM

First, congratulations. I don't think Keystone makes a Montana High Country 337RL but what the heck do I know. I do know that Montana campers in that range will have a gross weight over 14K lbs and your brand spanking new 3/4 ton diesel may not have adequate payload. What does your yellow sticker in the driver door frame say for payload? The pin weight for your camper will be north of 3000 lbs. Anyway, good luck!

**sourdough** · 03-12-2021, 10:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wiredgeorge

First, congratulations. I don't think Keystone makes a Montana High Country 337RL but what the heck do I know. I do know that Montana campers in that range will have a gross weight over 14K lbs and your brand spanking new 3/4 ton diesel may not have adequate payload. What does your yellow sticker in the driver door frame say for payload? The pin weight for your camper will be north of 3000 lbs. Anyway, good luck!

I think the OP has a 331RL per his listed information. Probably just a typo. And yes, the 331 is not a "light" trailer and a 3/4 ton will probably be overweight. I got rid of my 3/4 ton, 3190? payload, due to this trailer and I still feel that I would have preferred a dually; payload approx. 4k.

BTW, welcome to the forum OP. Lots of great folks here with tons of knowledge.

jasin1 · 03-12-2021, 10:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by marine9007

Hi All - New member checking in. Been camping all my life, and recently traded in my Sierra truck and APEX trailer (5 years) for a new Silverado 2500HD diesel and new Montana HC 337RL.

My wife and I are excited to hit the road and someday meet some of you as well!

Cheers!

Congratulations and welcome! You may want to check your weight calculations.. a lot of people have found out( myself included ) that 2500 diesels are not rated to tow larger fifth wheels... I would take your rig to a CAT scale... I know gmc/ Chevy changed there gvwr on some 2500s but I would double check ... I was 1000lbs over my truck gvwr...I recently upgraded to a 1ton drw... not trying to be negative... just passing on what was freely given to me..

Gary R. · 03-12-2021, 12:27 PM

Hello and welcome to you and your DW to the forum!

Congrats on the new RV and TV.

You will find many very knowledgeable folks here who are more than happy to share, too!

Enjoy and take care!

Sarge2 · 03-12-2021, 01:13 PM

from S.E. Michigan... Congrats on the TV and 5er.... Have fun, be safe and enjoy..

jfk69 · 03-12-2021, 06:39 PM

Welcome from central Michigan. Enjoy your new rig, and here’s wishing you many happy memories!

marine9007 · 03-13-2021, 06:21 AM

My 2500HD has a max towing rating of 18,500 (still need to setup URLs for images but I do have the pic of the placard). This is the highest towing model for the Silverado 2500 family only found in a diesel. The Max payload is 3198. The Montana HC dry/gross weight is 11610/14501. I spent a significant amount of time researching this and was going to buy a regular Montana (not the High Country) but decided to go with the High Country because it was designed to be more for those who MOVE a lot versus the regular Montana which is heavier and better suited for more stationery, longer-term use - albeit you can use either type for the same purpose. The HC is lighter and since all my financial decisions are based on the long-term cost and not the monthly payment like most consumers, the reduced weight of the 5th wheel will save on overall fuel costs.

I wanted to make sure I would not exceed 80% of the GVWR. I around 78% if I max out the Montana. We travel light so I don't expect to add more than 1500lbs.

I have flown Cessna planes also and am very familiar with weights and where that weight is distributed. We balance the load as needed, but generally, we do not carry more than we need when traveling.

The first question a few RV dealerships asked was "Do you know what the max towing is of your truck?" before we looked at anything. They said during the RV sales boom last year, many people purchased trailers and had issues due to weight....and I am sure you can guess the outcome and consequences of that... lol

It is refreshing, though, to know many of you understand it - it helps ensure the roads are safer for all of us....

markcee · 03-13-2021, 06:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by marine9007

My 2500HD has a max towing rating of 18,500 (still need to setup URLs for images but I do have the pic of the placard). This is the highest towing model for the Silverado 2500 family only found in a diesel. The Max payload is 3198. The Montana HC dry/gross weight is 11610/14501. I spent a significant amount of time researching this and was going to buy a regular Montana (not the High Country) but decided to go with the High Country because it was designed to be more for those who MOVE a lot versus the regular Montana which is heavier and better suited for more stationery, longer-term use - albeit you can use either type for the same purpose. The HC is lighter and since all my financial decisions are based on the long-term cost and not the monthly payment like most consumers, the reduced weight of the 5th wheel will save on overall fuel costs.

I wanted to make sure I would not exceed 80% of the GVWR. I around 78% if I max out the Montana. We travel light so I don't expect to add more than 1500lbs.

I have flown Cessna planes also and am very familiar with weights and where that weight is distributed. We balance the load as needed, but generally, we do not carry more than we need when traveling.

The first question a few RV dealerships asked was "Do you know what the max towing is of your truck?" before we looked at anything. They said during the RV sales boom last year, many people purchased trailers and had issues due to weight....and I am sure you can guess the outcome and consequences of that... lol

It is refreshing, though, to know many of you understand it - it helps ensure the roads are safer for all of us....

Is the 'max payload' you mention from your actual truck or is it a published brochure weight? Every truck has its own unique payload number. This varies based on the truck's configuration (gas? diesel? crewcab? single cab?) and option (trim) level. A truck's unique payload figure is the difference between what it weighed when it left the factory and it's GVWR.

Look at the yellow/white sticker on the driver's side door pillar of your actual truck and see what it says for the 'maximum weight of all occupants and cargo should not exceed.......' This is the available payload for your specific truck and what you have available to carry the pin weight, all occupants, the hitch and anything else you put in the truck.

3198 would be pretty healthy payload for a 3/4 ton diesel. Curious to find out if that's what is actually on the sticker!

marine9007 · 03-13-2021, 06:55 AM

Yes, it's on the sticker on the door. I will try to post a pic of it once I get an URL to store it.

marine9007 · 03-13-2021, 07:19 AM

jasin1 · 03-13-2021, 07:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by marine9007

Save a picture to your photo album
When you post a picture ..click on the paper clip/ attachment ... choose file.. choose picture from photo album... click on “use ” ...then click on upload picture and wait for upload

jasin1 · 03-13-2021, 07:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by marine9007

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/QT...gKGxGOTo=w2400

Your max pin weight is 2775... I don’t know but I think your are gonna be over on your calculations... my fifth wheel would probably be a better fit... You might be right on the ragged edge ...I hope for the best for you and good luck....I almost bought the exact same truck but they didn’t want to make a deal...they wanted full sticker because it was so popular
They are really nice trucks

Roper46 · 03-13-2021, 08:03 AM

Welcome from south Georgia. Congrats on the new purchases and safe travels.

marine9007 · 03-13-2021, 08:04 AM

We always travel light and the bed of the truck is generally empty besides the Reese hitch, propane tank and fuel can (2). Same for the inside - we try to keep most of the weight near the axles and limit the weight near the toungue.

jasin1 · 03-13-2021, 08:18 AM

I would get the CAT scale app for your smartphone and get everything weighed for piece of mind...load up everything like your going camping..including the people going on trip ( or add there weights in)...weigh the trailer and truck first then disconnect the trailer in a empty space at the truck stop and reweigh just the truck...this will give you pin weight and true trailer weight....here is my truck and trailer weights with my old 2500 truck... my trailer is about 2000 lbs lighter in gvwr...my pin weight was 2460lbs with packing light

wiredgeorge · 03-13-2021, 08:19 AM

A word of explanation. Your payload is 3146. The 331RL gross weight times 23 percent (normal center of the range for pin weight) comes to 3214 lbs. If you travel "light" it will be a bit less but generally, for safety sake, you need to compute based on the trailer gross weight (fully loaded) which is 14,260 lbs.

Add the weight of passengers, gear in truck and your hitch and you may be well over your payload, even if you pack light. Just pointing this out for your safety sake as we do see MANY people come to this forum in the same position. When I camp at any RV Park, I see LOTS of 3/4 ton trucks parked in front of 16K lb. fifth wheels and think about this. Better to be forewarned.

travelin texans · 03-13-2021, 08:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by marine9007

You mentioned 3 things,
#1 The max tow weight of your truck. If you notice the wording on that tag you posted it has weights for "conventional" trailers & "gooseneck" trailers, it does not post any numbers for TTs or 5th wheels which are totally different pin/hitch weights for RVs. The manufacturer arrived at those weights testing trailers that in no way compare to carrying RVs.
#2 The dry weight of any rv is totally useless to the consumer. That's it's weight as it rolled out the factory door, once it arrived at the dealer they added batteries, propane, any other option the dealer or buyer requested & added water to the tanks for testing that you can never completely drain again. You nor anyone else will ever tow a rv anywhere near it's dry weight.
#3 "We will load/travel light!", if I had a dollar for every time I've read or heard that I could possibly buy my next rv. If you are like everyone else you'll start out that way then "we need this/that for our next trip" that item gets added in & never seems to get taken out after you've used it that one time.
YOUR trucks payload & 13% for TTs/23% for 5th wheels of the GVWR of YOUR rv will give you real world tongue/pin weights + hitch weight + everyone/everything in/on your truck subtracted from that payload & you'll have good working numbers.

mch5jdm · 03-13-2021, 11:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by marine9007

Hi All - New member checking in. Been camping all my life, and recently traded in my Sierra truck and APEX trailer (5 years) for a new Silverado 2500HD diesel and new Montana HC 337RL.

My wife and I are excited to hit the road and someday meet some of you as well!

Cheers!

Congrats and thanks for your service!

markcee · 03-13-2021, 12:14 PM

GM's GVWR is 11350 on a 3/4 ton? Sure makes for a nice payload bump! Is this new for 2021? Anyone know the changes made that allowed the increase?

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