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

sreigle · 06-18-2005, 08:38 AM

Welcome, Sue and Verle. I am a bit pressed for time this afternoon so have not yet read through all the replies. Please forgive if I end up duplicating those.

In a few days we will mark 27 months fulltiming in our Montana. This is our second Montana. We bought the first one new in January, 2001, then ordered a second one, taking delivery in July, 2002. If we someday decide to trade again it likely will be for another Montana. The way Keystone stands behind the product is icing on the cake but is very nice icing. The units are not perfect but we could not find a better bang for the buck.

Montana has been the number one seller of all recreational trailers in North America for the last four consecutive years. Any brand could catch the public eye and become a first year best seller but you don't retain that title if you don't produce a good product. Top seller for four years, you know there has to be a good reason for that.

You will find this forum is not controlled or in any way affiliated with the manufacturer. Those folks do monitor the forum and have responded with improvements in the product over the years. You'll find in this forum we are not afraid to talk about the problems that come up. But remember that those problems are in a small percentage of the units, as you would expect with any brand. The difference is we talk about them here. But we're not very good about getting on here and saying "Wow, my trailer is x years old and I've never had a tire wear problem." It's just not human nature to do that except in reply to a question. But it is human nature to post about a problem, seeking either help or commiseration, or maybe both.

There are other good brands out there, too. But from your post I think you've discovered what we discovered. It's really tough to beat the Montana and Mountaineer. Like you, we looked at numerous brands and kept coming back to the Montana. We're not a bit sorry we made the Montana decision.

By the way, the attractiveness and the floorplan are what kept drawing us back to the Montana when we were looking for a new FW. Then, looking at the construction details is what sold me on it. Things like attic vents to vent moisture and other little things you normally don't think to look into until the purchase is final.

As I said above, Keystone stands behind their product. Three weeks ago we had some work done at the factory service center. After contacting those folks they made an appt for us to come to the center. They not only took care of what we went there for but they went looking for other things needing repair related to the major components, like the slides, water tanks, etc. And they replaced seals on our slides even though most of them were fine. You know what? Our Montana is an early 2003. We took delivery in July, 2002. Most of this coach is out of warranty. They took care of us anyhow. And they've done the same for others with even older rigs. This is not to say you can just walk into the factory service center and get work done. They asked us if we could come there. We had the option of going somewhere else but we were able to go to Goshen, IN, so went to the service center.

Last, but definitely not least, we have made a number of good friends through this forum. We have met a number of MOC members while on the road. Today we had the pleasure of meeting Jan and Paul (userid jpkelpe). At our first annual international rally last September there were 67 Montanas and Mountaineers. We became friends with many of those folks.

OK, one more thing. Forgot about your fridge question. I know the 8 cu ft fridge is standard. 10 cu ft was an option when we ordered our 2003 model. I don't know if there are any larger ones as an option or not. Maybe someone with a new rig can answer that.

Good luck. Let us know your decision.

06-18-2005, 08:38 AM	#12
sreigle Montana Master Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: Oceanside Posts: 20,028 M.O.C. #20	Welcome, Sue and Verle. I am a bit pressed for time this afternoon so have not yet read through all the replies. Please forgive if I end up duplicating those. In a few days we will mark 27 months fulltiming in our Montana. This is our second Montana. We bought the first one new in January, 2001, then ordered a second one, taking delivery in July, 2002. If we someday decide to trade again it likely will be for another Montana. The way Keystone stands behind the product is icing on the cake but is very nice icing. The units are not perfect but we could not find a better bang for the buck. Montana has been the number one seller of all recreational trailers in North America for the last four consecutive years. Any brand could catch the public eye and become a first year best seller but you don't retain that title if you don't produce a good product. Top seller for four years, you know there has to be a good reason for that. You will find this forum is not controlled or in any way affiliated with the manufacturer. Those folks do monitor the forum and have responded with improvements in the product over the years. You'll find in this forum we are not afraid to talk about the problems that come up. But remember that those problems are in a small percentage of the units, as you would expect with any brand. The difference is we talk about them here. But we're not very good about getting on here and saying "Wow, my trailer is x years old and I've never had a tire wear problem." It's just not human nature to do that except in reply to a question. But it is human nature to post about a problem, seeking either help or commiseration, or maybe both. There are other good brands out there, too. But from your post I think you've discovered what we discovered. It's really tough to beat the Montana and Mountaineer. Like you, we looked at numerous brands and kept coming back to the Montana. We're not a bit sorry we made the Montana decision. By the way, the attractiveness and the floorplan are what kept drawing us back to the Montana when we were looking for a new FW. Then, looking at the construction details is what sold me on it. Things like attic vents to vent moisture and other little things you normally don't think to look into until the purchase is final. As I said above, Keystone stands behind their product. Three weeks ago we had some work done at the factory service center. After contacting those folks they made an appt for us to come to the center. They not only took care of what we went there for but they went looking for other things needing repair related to the major components, like the slides, water tanks, etc. And they replaced seals on our slides even though most of them were fine. You know what? Our Montana is an early 2003. We took delivery in July, 2002. Most of this coach is out of warranty. They took care of us anyhow. And they've done the same for others with even older rigs. This is not to say you can just walk into the factory service center and get work done. They asked us if we could come there. We had the option of going somewhere else but we were able to go to Goshen, IN, so went to the service center. Last, but definitely not least, we have made a number of good friends through this forum. We have met a number of MOC members while on the road. Today we had the pleasure of meeting Jan and Paul (userid jpkelpe). At our first annual international rally last September there were 67 Montanas and Mountaineers. We became friends with many of those folks. OK, one more thing. Forgot about your fridge question. I know the 8 cu ft fridge is standard. 10 cu ft was an option when we ordered our 2003 model. I don't know if there are any larger ones as an option or not. Maybe someone with a new rig can answer that. Good luck. Let us know your decision.