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  1. #1
    Fireside Member Paragod1345's Avatar
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    Family of 4 going to full time- 395MS-R

    Hello all! My wife, 2 boys and I are currently going through the process of downsizing and going from a house to full time in an RV. We recently bought our tow vehicle and we are pretty sure we are settled on the new 395MS. Our plan is to order it in January to hopefully move out of the house late summer. We are planning on converting the garage into a kids room with bunk bed/desk/drawer combinations for each. We have 2 large dogs, and were really looking hard at the 399TH for the extra porch, but we feel like the living room layout on the 395MS is much more homey and usable. She and I are planning on working travel assignments all over, so we will be homeschooling and putting lots of miles on the rig.

    If anyone has advice on customizing a toy hauler for families, or any other good info, we would appreciate it! Also, does anyone feel strongly about the side porch on the 399TH? We really love the idea of it...

    Cheers

    Josh and Sue


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    Josh Ward
    2022 Momentum 395 MS-R, 8k axles
    2020 Ram 3500 4 door, DRW, 4wd, diesel, 4:10, Airlift bags, Reese 27k hitch

  2. #2
    Paid my dues 😁 FT4NOW's Avatar
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    The side porch is what decided it for my wife...so of course that's what we got. We lived in it for 3 years, started as a family of 5 and a dog, ended as a family of 6 and a dog. Definitely get a washer/dryer whatever model you decide. Ours paid for itself in 10 months. I built a triple set of bunk beds in the back of ours across the garage door when we lived in it. I removed the Hapijack bed and couches during that time. Now we are back in a house so the bunk beds came out and Hapijack stuff went back in the camper.

    My wife homeschooled, so we added an extra cabinet in the garage for school or library books. The bunk beds I made also had cubbies for the kids to keep some of their own stuff.

    I installed 6 Trones, from IKEA, in the garage to store the kids' shoes and other random stuff they had.

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    2023 Momentum 398M-R
    2023 Ford F-450

    SOLD - 2021 Reflection 311BHS
    SOLD - 2017 Momentum 399TH

  3. #3
    Fireside Member Paragod1345's Avatar
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    That's exactly what we were planning on doing. We were considering just not getting the happijack beds when we order the RV. (I want the 8k axles and solar setup, as well as a few other specifics, so we're going to order one.) Do yall use them now, or would you just get the rv without them? Thanks for the info!


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    Josh Ward
    2022 Momentum 395 MS-R, 8k axles
    2020 Ram 3500 4 door, DRW, 4wd, diesel, 4:10, Airlift bags, Reese 27k hitch

  4. #4
    Paid my dues 😁 FT4NOW's Avatar
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    I'm assuming you're asking if we use the Hapijack system now? Yes we do, our 2 older kids share the top bed and the 2 younger kids share the couch folded into a bed.

    If you ever think you will want toys in the back and a place to sleep I would get the Hapijack system. The bed comes out with 4 pins and each couch is 2 bolts or pins, I forget the exact setup. I did take the couch brackets off as well, but it was 1 bolt per bracket. I left the tracks in place and made reinstalling everything a breeze.

    Here are some pictures of when I still had it in the camper. You can see how I made attachments around the Hapijack rails to prevent it from tipping. Nothing was actually screwed to the wall.

    The last picture is the cubby area before it was finished. Each one ended up having 2 shelves in it.


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    Attachment 30862Attachment 30863Attachment 30864
    Last edited by FT4NOW; 11-25-2020 at 10:36 PM.
    2023 Momentum 398M-R
    2023 Ford F-450

    SOLD - 2021 Reflection 311BHS
    SOLD - 2017 Momentum 399TH

  5. #5
    Fireside Member Paragod1345's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by FT4NOW View Post
    I'm assuming you're asking if we use the Hapijack system now? Yes we do, our 2 older kids share the top bed and the 2 younger kids share the couch folded into a bed.

    If you ever think you will want toys in the back and a place to sleep I would get the Hapijack system. The bed comes out with 4 pins and each couch is 2 bolts or pins, I forget the exact setup. I did take the couch brackets off as well, but it was 1 bolt per bracket. I left the tracks in place and made reinstalling everything a breeze.

    Here are some pictures of when I still had it in the camper. You can see how I made attachments around the Hapijack rails to prevent it from tipping. Nothing was actually screwed to the wall.

    The last picture is the cubby area before it was finished. Each one ended up having 2 shelves in it.


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    Attachment 30862Attachment 30863Attachment 30864
    I never thought about using the rails to hold stuff in place. That is a good idea. I was thinking it might sell better with the hapijack in place down the road. I can't see the pictures? Thanks for the advice, it's really helpful!


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    Josh Ward
    2022 Momentum 395 MS-R, 8k axles
    2020 Ram 3500 4 door, DRW, 4wd, diesel, 4:10, Airlift bags, Reese 27k hitch

  6. #6
    Paid my dues 😁 FT4NOW's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Paragod1345 View Post
    I never thought about using the rails to hold stuff in place. That is a good idea. I was thinking it might sell better with the hapijack in place down the road. I can't see the pictures? Thanks for the advice, it's really helpful!


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    Can you see the pictures now? I tried uploading with the computer this time, not sure why they didn't work earlier.

    Click image for larger version. 

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    2023 Momentum 398M-R
    2023 Ford F-450

    SOLD - 2021 Reflection 311BHS
    SOLD - 2017 Momentum 399TH

  7. #7
    Paid my dues 😁 FT4NOW's Avatar
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    @Paragod1345

    Here is another picture I meant to include, it's a finished version, i realized I included an unfinished picture in the previous post. Click image for larger version. 

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    Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk
    2023 Momentum 398M-R
    2023 Ford F-450

    SOLD - 2021 Reflection 311BHS
    SOLD - 2017 Momentum 399TH

  8. #8
    Fireside Member Paragod1345's Avatar
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    Yep, can see them now. That's awesome. I think we're going to do a bunk on each side with a desk, shelves/ drawers underneath, leaving an aisle between to access the back deck. Since we are probably doing the 395MS, we won't have the side deck. I am definitely considering copying your idea of attaching all of it to the Happijack rails.

    Did you go with 8k axles to get the extra GVWR for the trailer? I'm worried that weight is going to limit what we take before space does, even with the extra weight capacity from the upsized axles.

    Also, we are definitely getting the washer/dryer for it. I've just got to figure out which unit is the best for that situation.


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    Josh Ward
    2022 Momentum 395 MS-R, 8k axles
    2020 Ram 3500 4 door, DRW, 4wd, diesel, 4:10, Airlift bags, Reese 27k hitch

  9. #9
    Paid my dues 😁 FT4NOW's Avatar
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    I would have gotten 8k axles and disc brakes, but GD didnt offer those options when we ordered.

    You'll definitely want the 3rd AC, we also went with dual pane windows, king bed and generator. The generator option is debatable. For the price, you could do a decent solar system, but I didnt even consider that at the time. I'm happy we have it though, when we lived in it there were multiple times the campground lost power for about 4 hours, so the generator was worth it to us, especially in the winter.

    Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk
    2023 Momentum 398M-R
    2023 Ford F-450

    SOLD - 2021 Reflection 311BHS
    SOLD - 2017 Momentum 399TH

  10. #10
    Fireside Member Paragod1345's Avatar
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    We plan on doing dual pane windows for the sound insulation mostly. I actually have a nice synced set of inverter generators that are rated together higher than the Onan, are smaller, and quieter, so I'm going to just use them. We were back and forth about the bed size, but we kinda want the room to stand on both sides, so we'll go queen. My wife and I are tiny so it won't be a big deal.

    I don’t know if do you know anything about this, but H rated tires are listed as standard equipment on all of the momentum M series, but on the build sheet online, you get charged for "upgraded" G rated tires? I'm also trying to figure out the backup camera. Depending on where you look, it is listed as standard and optional, but it's not available to pick as an option... I'm going to call GD customer service about a lot of the little details so that the dealer can't fleece us for a bunch of stuff we don't have to buy.


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    Josh Ward
    2022 Momentum 395 MS-R, 8k axles
    2020 Ram 3500 4 door, DRW, 4wd, diesel, 4:10, Airlift bags, Reese 27k hitch

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