Are new RVs as good as old? The Keystone Montana 3123RL is

Today’s RV review is of the 2025 Keystone Montana 3123RL fifth wheel. In my virtual travels around social media, I see a lot of people bemoaning the fact that RVs today seem cheaply made. Then they point to their vintage fifth wheel and brag about the cabinetry and some other components. 

I get that. And there is validity to that point. But let’s take a look at this Montana and see if that’s universally true. 

First, know that there are several iterations of the Keystone Montana based on the options you choose when placing your order. 

There is the regular Montana, which ain’t half bad anyway. But then you can get this Legacy Edition package that takes it up several notches. 

Built like the old days, but better

Let’s first talk about some of the build methodology in this trailer. The first thing that is apparent is that all the cabinetry is good-old-fashioned sawed-out-of-a-forest wood. Not “lumber core,” which is a wood-like product that gets wrapped with a wood sticker like a 1970s station wagon. Nope. It’s the real deal. 

And they pocket screw it all together and then use magnetic catches and soft-close hinges and drawer slides. 

Something else inside that really caught my attention is that the furnishings come from La-Z-Boy. For real, actually brand-name furniture. And you can absolutely tell the difference, too. In fact, La-Z-Boy provides a five-year warranty on the fabric of the recliner and folding couch in the back. 

But I love using my X-ray vision and looking underneath and behind things, and one of the areas that’s almost always an issue in RVs is the plumbing. I don’t know who thought it was okay to use PEX clamps on flexible lines, but they should be set out to sea and have a plug in their boat made like this. It’ll leak and they’ll sink. 

Here, you just find PEX plumbing. Most RVs have PEX plumbing nowadays, but not entirely. There are still some of those incorrectly plumbed flex lines with PEX clamps. The issue is that that combination almost always fails. No real plumber would do that, but RV companies do. But not here. 

Montana 3123RL - 2025

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Some options that matter

You know I usually start by looking underneath an RV, but there are some variables here depending on the options chosen. 

These Montana models have a package called the Legacy package that is more about technology than looking back, but whatevs. 

That Legacy package includes disc brakes. Ohbabyohbabyoh. 

Now, many big fifth wheels don’t get much road time in—I see quite a few of them go from the dealer to a seasonal or even permanent site, and, in that case, this upgraded braking system isn’t worth the money. 

But if you’re someone who does a lot of traveling, then having better brakes is always a better thing. So the disc brake portion of the Legacy package is worth the price of admission all by itself. 

But then you also get side and rear observation cameras, which can make pulling a beast like this through cities an easier task.

Also in that package are electric dump valves and a power-operated cord reel. That’s pretty cool. And there’s also a surge protector included. That package ain’t cheap, but it’s got lots of things many of us add. 

Lastly, it comes with the iN-Command^® control system. This is a touch control-based system that operates and monitors much of what’s in this trailer. Seems funny that the package is called Legacy, but it includes some of the more advanced features. Perhaps the dictionary had the day off—I don’t know. 

Kitchen in the Montana 3123RL

If you’re going to be full-timing in a fifth wheel, this is one nice place to cook up some vittles. The storage and appliances in here are all pretty first-rate. 

There’s a three-burner propane stove with a large oven, which is flanked by drawers on one side and a pull-out storage compartment on the other that has adjustable shelving in it. There’s also a large pantry on the bulkhead of the space and more storage in the island. 

On the island, you won’t find Gilligan, but you will find a multi-function sink that incorporates a glass rinser. Counter space overall is good, both beside the stove and here on the island. 

There are two options for keeping things cool here. The standard is a residential 20-cubic-foot refrigerator, which also includes a 2,000-watt inverter so you can use it on battery power. But you can also get an 18-cubic-foot, 12-volt refrigerator. I’ll admit that I’m biased. Modern appliances in general aren’t all that great, but I feel that the 12-volt models are better suited to the RV environment. 

Another appliance in here is a central vacuum system that includes a kick-on dust pan feature. 

One of the unusual things in the storage compartment at the front of the living space is a drop-down storage bin over the main pantry area. This metal drop-down storage is nifty and all, but I wonder if just a step ladder might make more sense? I don’t know. 

Something else I like is the utensil drawer that’s underneath the dining table. Makes sense—this is where you’re going to use these utensils and, bam, there they are. 

More living spaces

The bathroom upstairs has decent storage, and there’s a good sink and a porcelain toilet—as it should be. There’s also a high-performance vent fan, of course. That features a rain-sensing component so you could leave it running fumes even if there might be some rain. 

The bedroom features a king bed as standard equipment, which is located in a slide room. 

Up front, the closet is something you might expect, but the doors open such that you can fully access the entire closet rather than shuffling sliding doors.

And that closet door design is just a very good example of some of the attention to detail in this fifth wheel. Over and over, it’s clear that the folks at Keystone were really paying attention to usability features and also build quality features. 

For example, the central air conditioning system uses standard filters, so you can just go to your local hardware store when it’s time to replace them. Considering that many of us go to dusty places or places with a lot of pollen, yet most RV A/C systems don’t have much filtration, this is refreshing. 

A few more things

This fifth wheel starts out at a higher price tag, which makes sense. You get a lot of value, in my opinion, and that value is represented in things that make a difference.

But then you can go nuts with options. For example, you can get full body paint, but that’s going to add $9,750 to the price. I like the idea of full-body paint, but why, why, why, why do all RV companies that do this not offer one choice that isn’t carnival float swishy swirls? Who among us is asking for this? We want the nice paint, but why does it have to look like a float in Mardi Gras? And then we’re paying almost ten grand for this!

I had written that the Legacy package comes with a lot of useful things, and it’s not cheap at $8,800, but it’ll cost you a lot to have just the disc brakes added in the aftermarket. The price for that package seems worth it, but that’s to me.

Lastly, you can outfit this with some legitimate solar power features. At the top is a system with 1,320 watts of solar, but which also includes 540 amp hours of battery storage along with soft starts on the air conditioners and a lot of premium components overall. This is not significantly different than the system I put in my own trailer, and the MSRP of their SolarFlex Outlast Extreme 1320I-L package of $18,930 is not out of line considering what it comes with. There are also many less capable and significantly less expensive solar packages.

Conclusions about the Keystone Montana 3123RL fifth wheel

Is this fifth wheel perfect? Nope. Nothing is. And something that annoyed me was the furnace ducts cut into the floor of the trailer. Bleh. I wish they were up on the cabinets. 

But there is so much right with this trailer, starting with the materials being used and just the thinking that went into the design of the interior. 

Keystone also certifies and tests this trailer by using a climate chamber for 48 hours at 0°F. Cool. 

So while lots of newer kids on the block are making a lot of noise about their offerings, I think that there are still a lot of reasons to consider a Montana if you’re looking for an upscale fifth wheel that might even become something you live in full time. 

My thanks to Josh from Bish’s RV for the video in this article. 

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More about these RV reviews

These RV reviews are written based on information provided by the manufacturers along with our writer’s own research. They are based on information from a single unit and may not reflect your actual experience. Shop your RV and dealership carefully before making a buying decision. They are intended only as a brief overview of the vehicle, not a comprehensive critique, which would require a thorough inspection and/or test drive.

Tony comes to RVtravel.com having worked at an RV dealership and been a lifelong RV enthusiast. He also has written the syndicated Curbside column about cars. 

You can also check out Tony and Peggy’s RV podcast.

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