Montana Owners Club - Keystone Montana 5th Wheel Forum - View Single Post

Kfinnert · 03-10-2024, 03:19 PM

Good afternoon -

As mentioned by Carl n Susan, there is a hot water heater switch on the exterior tank. That will control the electric heating element. In my 2008 Montana, I have an interior switch on the panel where I may choose between electric or gas. If I am on electric, then the exterior switch must be in the on position. If I am on gas that switch can be either on or off! I leave my on all of the time so I don't need to mess with it.

Decals are another adventure. I absolutely agree that you do not want to paint over the decals. You can remove the decals and have new ones painted on, but that is very expensive, and the outcome will not be as you envision. Here is why...

Keystone used a darker colored decal when the unit was first produced. Overtime, the fiberglass beneath the decal begins to generate small cranks, which is due to heating of the fiberglass as the sun's rays pass through the darker color of the decal and the heat not dissipating due to the decal covering the fiberglass. These small cracks cannot not be repaired and will be noticeable if the rig is painted.

I visited no less than 7 RV body shops in California and Oregon and discovered the best solution is to remove the decals and then reinstall them. I did the majority of the work at removing the decals myself. I used the Rapid Remover Vinyl Letter Remover, Plastic Razor Blade Scraper, a Car Decal + Car Sticker Remover, and a heat gun. The items are found on Amazon at the link below.

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=rapid+rem...l_7t2b5u8deu_e

The decal removing is a long process that should be spread out over the course of a week - check Youtube for the videos. My decals were so baked on that the end cap took me the better part of a week. The others came off in a few days! Don't rush it, just take your time.

You may buy decals that are similar to yours from RV Graphics in San Diego, CA. Their webpage is https://rvgraphicsstore.com/. My cost for my 2008 was a bit over a $1000. I was very pleased with the product because they covered the old decal shadows and were resistant to the UV Rays from the sun..

Once they are off, wash the RV, but DO NOT Wax it - you have to fight this urge to do so! Wax will cause the new decals to slide downwards when they are applied. I hired Bish RV in Junction City Oregon to replace my decals; I did the grunt work and had the new decals, which I delivered to them.

Once I had the decals replaced, then I had the RV waxed with a marine ceramic coating. I used ABC Detailing in Sacramento, CA. The Marine Ceramic Coating is not cheap, but worth the expense! My RV's appearance is like new and we are very happy with the outcome!

Best of luck with the remodel. I have remodeled ours and it was a labor of love for me! I learned so much from my experiences, from this forum and from other RV'rs I met along the way! Enjoy the journey...

03-10-2024, 03:19 PM	#14
Kfinnert Montana Fan Join Date: Dec 2022 Location: Union City Posts: 104 M.O.C. #32153	Good afternoon - As mentioned by Carl n Susan, there is a hot water heater switch on the exterior tank. That will control the electric heating element. In my 2008 Montana, I have an interior switch on the panel where I may choose between electric or gas. If I am on electric, then the exterior switch must be in the on position. If I am on gas that switch can be either on or off! I leave my on all of the time so I don't need to mess with it. Decals are another adventure. I absolutely agree that you do not want to paint over the decals. You can remove the decals and have new ones painted on, but that is very expensive, and the outcome will not be as you envision. Here is why... Keystone used a darker colored decal when the unit was first produced. Overtime, the fiberglass beneath the decal begins to generate small cranks, which is due to heating of the fiberglass as the sun's rays pass through the darker color of the decal and the heat not dissipating due to the decal covering the fiberglass. These small cracks cannot not be repaired and will be noticeable if the rig is painted. I visited no less than 7 RV body shops in California and Oregon and discovered the best solution is to remove the decals and then reinstall them. I did the majority of the work at removing the decals myself. I used the Rapid Remover Vinyl Letter Remover, Plastic Razor Blade Scraper, a Car Decal + Car Sticker Remover, and a heat gun. The items are found on Amazon at the link below. https://www.amazon.com/s?k=rapid+rem...l_7t2b5u8deu_e The decal removing is a long process that should be spread out over the course of a week - check Youtube for the videos. My decals were so baked on that the end cap took me the better part of a week. The others came off in a few days! Don't rush it, just take your time. You may buy decals that are similar to yours from RV Graphics in San Diego, CA. Their webpage is https://rvgraphicsstore.com/. My cost for my 2008 was a bit over a $1000. I was very pleased with the product because they covered the old decal shadows and were resistant to the UV Rays from the sun.. Once they are off, wash the RV, but DO NOT Wax it - you have to fight this urge to do so! Wax will cause the new decals to slide downwards when they are applied. I hired Bish RV in Junction City Oregon to replace my decals; I did the grunt work and had the new decals, which I delivered to them. Once I had the decals replaced, then I had the RV waxed with a marine ceramic coating. I used ABC Detailing in Sacramento, CA. The Marine Ceramic Coating is not cheap, but worth the expense! My RV's appearance is like new and we are very happy with the outcome! Best of luck with the remodel. I have remodeled ours and it was a labor of love for me! I learned so much from my experiences, from this forum and from other RV'rs I met along the way! Enjoy the journey...