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

Montana_4028 · 06-25-2005, 08:51 AM

Our 1st Big Sky, 2003 3295 completely fell apart! We are full-timers and had purchased the BS new. We took it up to No. Calif. and back to Salinas, CA. (our original starting point) and noticed the brakes were squeaking. Took it back to the dealer and they found that the brakes all had to be replaced after it had been driven less than 1500 miles. We also noticed, and told dealer, that the cabinet doors on the bedroom tv cabinet were off by about 1 1/2". We didn't realize at the time what this portended, but the dealer should have. They simply took the doors off and realigned them. A few months later, the carpeting in front of the fireplace caught up in the kitchen slide and we had to tear it out.

These models have a laundry chute at the top of the stairs to the bedroom that is held up by a 1/4" ridge and the hinge is held in place by only 5 small screws. In January of 2003, my husband fell through the chute when it collapsed as he was entering the bathroom. He twisted his knee resulting in a $10,000 surgery being necessary. We are still waiting for Keystone to settle with us on that.

The fireplace heater quit working and the water pump went out. In March of 04 the kitchen slide began leaking from underneath the floor and also the cabinets. Went to Holiday World in Houston, TX and they repaired above, but we had to foot the $552 bill and wait to get repaid from Keystone. It took over 6 months to get the money back.

By May of 04 the drawer credenza in the bedroom had begun dropping by 1 1/2" while hitched and we noticed that the cabinet doors were off again. We again contacted Keystone and they wanted us to bring it to Goshen, but couldn't get us in for 2 weeks. We told them we were in Ottumwa, Iowa and on our way back to CA and didn't want to wait two weeks and go clear out of our way. They said, alright, then take it to Pendleton, Oregon. We had a service manager check it in Lincoln, Nebr. and he said he "thought" it would make it to Pendleton, but to check for stress fractures each time we stopped.

By the time we got to Evanston, Wyo., the bedroom slide would no longer go in and out because the frame was so twisted. Before we left, my husband checked the tires, as is his usual habit, and found that the RF unit tire was cupping a bit. By the time we got to Ogden, Utah, the RF tire and a rear tire were practically down to the threads. At this point, we refused to drive it any further and called Keystone to come and pick it up. They sent someone from Blaine Jensen RV in Kaysville, Utah to get it.

The first thing Keystone had them do was take it to get it weighed, before we even had a chance to empty the tanks. They were, of course, trying to put the blame on us for overloading, but found instead that it was 400 pounds underweight. They found that our hitchpin was moving up and down about 3 inches and there were more than half a dozen breaks in the overhang frame. Keystone also wanted to know what we had hit. We had hit nothing! We were in Kaysville for 4 weeks while they tried to get parts in and fix it. Bo Parker, the service manager there, was great. Keystone had agreed to pay our expenses while we were stranded there and they did - - - we just got the check 1 week ago - a whole year later!

Finally, it was repaired except for the slideout which Blaine Jensen was not equipped to do. We traveled on to Pendleton, Oregon for that repair. Bob Payant, at Keystone in Pendleton, told us to have the rig in by 6:00 a.m. and he would have it out by 2:30 p.m.. His word was good as gold and they even repainted out entry steps!

By the time we got back to Salinas, the shower tub was leaking at the drain and my husband fixed that himself. We had doors that would stick throughout the unit and all the slides groaned badly when coming in and out. We again contacted Keystone and told them we were very unhappy and felt the unit was not safe and the frame was permanently bent and could not be repaired. After much haggling back and forth, they agreed to replace the unit. They replaced it with a new 2004, same model unit in October of 2004, and we're right back on the same track!

In November we took it to Sacramento, CA and found that we had no electricity whatsoever. Keystone told us to take it to Folsom Lake RV, and they found that the electrical transfer box had completely melted down. When it did, it damaged the TV, the microwave, the DVD and the fantastic fan, all of which had to be replaced.

In December we took it back to Alpine Recreation in Morgan Hill, CA, where we had gotten both units, because the brakes were squealing. Again, with less than 500 miles on the brakes this time, they had to all be replaced.

In January we were in Quartzsite, Arizona when we had a flat. We found that it was not a tire problem, but a defective rim. We had another flat at a Bonneville Flats rest area and found again that the problem was a defective rim. Also, we are now noticing that all the tires are wearing on the inside, indicative of an axle problem.
We've had this unit only 9 months! We took it back up to the Alpine Service Center and they feel that this is also a frame problem. We contacted Keystone and their first request, again, was to have Alpine weigh it.

After seeing all the similar complaints I can't figure out why Keystone is still putting out such inferior products! I don't want another one - I want my money back!! Two lemons in a row is just too much for me.

06-25-2005, 08:51 AM	#49
Montana_4028 New Member Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Livingston Posts: 8 M.O.C. #4028	Our 1st Big Sky, 2003 3295 completely fell apart! We are full-timers and had purchased the BS new. We took it up to No. Calif. and back to Salinas, CA. (our original starting point) and noticed the brakes were squeaking. Took it back to the dealer and they found that the brakes all had to be replaced after it had been driven less than 1500 miles. We also noticed, and told dealer, that the cabinet doors on the bedroom tv cabinet were off by about 1 1/2". We didn't realize at the time what this portended, but the dealer should have. They simply took the doors off and realigned them. A few months later, the carpeting in front of the fireplace caught up in the kitchen slide and we had to tear it out. These models have a laundry chute at the top of the stairs to the bedroom that is held up by a 1/4" ridge and the hinge is held in place by only 5 small screws. In January of 2003, my husband fell through the chute when it collapsed as he was entering the bathroom. He twisted his knee resulting in a $10,000 surgery being necessary. We are still waiting for Keystone to settle with us on that. The fireplace heater quit working and the water pump went out. In March of 04 the kitchen slide began leaking from underneath the floor and also the cabinets. Went to Holiday World in Houston, TX and they repaired above, but we had to foot the $552 bill and wait to get repaid from Keystone. It took over 6 months to get the money back. By May of 04 the drawer credenza in the bedroom had begun dropping by 1 1/2" while hitched and we noticed that the cabinet doors were off again. We again contacted Keystone and they wanted us to bring it to Goshen, but couldn't get us in for 2 weeks. We told them we were in Ottumwa, Iowa and on our way back to CA and didn't want to wait two weeks and go clear out of our way. They said, alright, then take it to Pendleton, Oregon. We had a service manager check it in Lincoln, Nebr. and he said he "thought" it would make it to Pendleton, but to check for stress fractures each time we stopped. By the time we got to Evanston, Wyo., the bedroom slide would no longer go in and out because the frame was so twisted. Before we left, my husband checked the tires, as is his usual habit, and found that the RF unit tire was cupping a bit. By the time we got to Ogden, Utah, the RF tire and a rear tire were practically down to the threads. At this point, we refused to drive it any further and called Keystone to come and pick it up. They sent someone from Blaine Jensen RV in Kaysville, Utah to get it. The first thing Keystone had them do was take it to get it weighed, before we even had a chance to empty the tanks. They were, of course, trying to put the blame on us for overloading, but found instead that it was 400 pounds underweight. They found that our hitchpin was moving up and down about 3 inches and there were more than half a dozen breaks in the overhang frame. Keystone also wanted to know what we had hit. We had hit nothing! We were in Kaysville for 4 weeks while they tried to get parts in and fix it. Bo Parker, the service manager there, was great. Keystone had agreed to pay our expenses while we were stranded there and they did - - - we just got the check 1 week ago - a whole year later! Finally, it was repaired except for the slideout which Blaine Jensen was not equipped to do. We traveled on to Pendleton, Oregon for that repair. Bob Payant, at Keystone in Pendleton, told us to have the rig in by 6:00 a.m. and he would have it out by 2:30 p.m.. His word was good as gold and they even repainted out entry steps! By the time we got back to Salinas, the shower tub was leaking at the drain and my husband fixed that himself. We had doors that would stick throughout the unit and all the slides groaned badly when coming in and out. We again contacted Keystone and told them we were very unhappy and felt the unit was not safe and the frame was permanently bent and could not be repaired. After much haggling back and forth, they agreed to replace the unit. They replaced it with a new 2004, same model unit in October of 2004, and we're right back on the same track! In November we took it to Sacramento, CA and found that we had no electricity whatsoever. Keystone told us to take it to Folsom Lake RV, and they found that the electrical transfer box had completely melted down. When it did, it damaged the TV, the microwave, the DVD and the fantastic fan, all of which had to be replaced. In December we took it back to Alpine Recreation in Morgan Hill, CA, where we had gotten both units, because the brakes were squealing. Again, with less than 500 miles on the brakes this time, they had to all be replaced. In January we were in Quartzsite, Arizona when we had a flat. We found that it was not a tire problem, but a defective rim. We had another flat at a Bonneville Flats rest area and found again that the problem was a defective rim. Also, we are now noticing that all the tires are wearing on the inside, indicative of an axle problem. We've had this unit only 9 months! We took it back up to the Alpine Service Center and they feel that this is also a frame problem. We contacted Keystone and their first request, again, was to have Alpine weigh it. After seeing all the similar complaints I can't figure out why Keystone is still putting out such inferior products! I don't want another one - I want my money back!! Two lemons in a row is just too much for me.