iLoveRVlife Live! – 1 Year Montana Update, Travel Costs, and Questions & Answers
It’s been almost a year since our last iLoveRVlife Live! In the broadcast we cover two topics – a 1 year Montana update and the growing challenges of RV travel costs. We also opened the chat line and covered a number of questions from the viewers.
Our Montana 5th Wheel After 1 Year
It’s been a year since we bought our new Keystone Montana 5th wheel. We had a few small issues early in our travel. None affected our travel, but we had one issues with the electrical power for the awnings. Was easily remedied with a warranty repair. The other issues were very basics most being a loose piece of molding that was repaired with a small finishing nail.
We’ve made a few modifications, but worked very hard to make each fit the factory finish and not hack up the beautiful interior of this 5th wheel.
The added weight moving from a 14,000lb 5th wheel to a 20,000lb 5th wheel has been noticeable. Towing with the Ford F-350 diesel dully has been an non issue. The biggest issue is the push experienced by the 5th wheel as we navigate down long mountain roads. We haven’t had any problems, but have to manage downhill speed, breaking and down shifting a little different.
Increasing RV Travel Costs
Next we discussed the growing challenges of RV travel costs. We are seeing as well as experiencing a sharp increase in the cost of campgrounds. This includes both private, corporate, and state campgrounds. Plus finding a campground that meets our timeframes are requiring us to reserve sites anywhere from 6 to 12 months in advance.
We traveled over 8 months in 2022 to push the performance of the Montana. It performed very well. Moving from a 40 ft to a 42 ft 5th wheel hasn’t been an issue in towing, but we have run into a few campgrounds that would not accept an RV over 40 ft in length. Fortunately, we were always able to find a campground in the area we wanted to visit that met our needs.
And with that long 8 months of travel and many thousands of miles came diesel fuel costs. Wow, did we burn through the travel budget. Adding the 55 gallon auxiliary tank has been both a convenience and a cost savings. No longer do we have to stop during the trip and find fuel. And we’re now able to find lessor cost fuel near the campgrounds and not purchase the expensive truck stop fuel along the Interstates. Savings sometimes have been over a dollar a gallon, and the costs savings have been significant when we burned through a couple thousand gallons of diesel over a years time.
Watch the video for much more. And thanks so much following Joan and I as we share our RV travels, tips, mods, and product reviews.
Check out our RV Accessories page where we have listed a wide range of products from essential items to those “nice to have” RV products to make RV life more enjoyable. Every item listed is being used or has been used by Joan and I as we’ve traveled across the country in our RV.Purchased use of Digital Juice BackTraxx 1 End User License Agreement for Travelin. The Music may be used, altered, or incorporated according to the guidelines described herein into any production (including but not limited to, broadcast, commercial, industrial, educational, and personal).
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