Keystone/Montana Participation - Montana Owners Club

dpam · 05-01-2010, 02:17 PM

I guess I would be considered a fairly new member of MOC, and I'm not sure if Keystone/Montana product management, or customer service were ever invited to participate in the forum, or whether MOC was/is interested in having them participate. Prior to purchasing a 3150RL the Bighorn 3055RL was on our RV shortlist, but we decided to buy a Montana. While doing my 5th wheel research I joined the Heartland Bighorn forum, and noticed that Heartland/ Bighorn product management and customer service frequently read the postings, and also responded to a lot of the questions/posts. This impressed me, because it gave me the impression that Heartland/Bighorn management was interested in providing customer service, and was interested in their customers feedback.

Since reviewing a fair amount of the posts that identifies a product/service issue there seems to be a common theme where the manufacturer could do a better/improved job when manufacturing the product that you bought. Plus, the manufacturer may be interested in coming up with a "fix" for common issues.

I'm interested in hearing some of the feedback from the senior, and recent MOC members.

Appreciate your thoughts.

David

Delaine and Lindy · 05-01-2010, 02:36 PM

David I have owned both Keystone and Heartland 5th wheels and I'm also a member of the Heartland forum also. Don't think you will see Team Montana on this forum as much as the product managers are on the Heartland forum, and yes they do answer problems and make comments which I think is great. However it has been my experience with Keystone that they will go the extra mile to make you happy with your Montana. Congraz on your new Montana. May you have many Happy Trails with the Montana. GBY....

exav8tr · 05-01-2010, 03:22 PM

David, We have been told that Keystone Management routinely monitors this forum, and although they don't post answers, you can see the upgrades to future models based on some of the information here. We also have a National Rally in Goshen, IN, where they're made and we are invited to tour the Montana factory and make comments on new prototypes. I really feel we have the ears of upper management as seen in changes to the newer units. I have often thought it would be nice to have a rep answer questions but that is not the way it works......I have owned my unit for three years, fulltime in it and absolutely love it. Had I wanted to spend more money I probably would have gone to the Big Sky or a different model, although many "Upper End" units require a larger tow vehicle, which I am not interested in.

Most of the "Fixes" you speak of come from members who have "been there, done that". I like it better this way, personallly.

Keep reading and keep posting and "Welcome to the Best Darned Forum on the WWW!!!!

RVWheels · 05-01-2010, 03:43 PM

Dpam,
The Montana Owners Club is owned and operated solely by members. There is no direct involvement by Keystone. That does not mean we do not have a good working relationship with the management of the organization. Various Montana management personnel do read the Forum. How much we don't know. But we do know they pay attention to items discussed by MOC members. This is very evident from the way the Montana product has progressed over the years.

Many of the ideas and suggestions made here on the MOC Forum have been incorporated into the latest Montana iterations.

From the very inception of the Montana Owners Club the Owner of the Forum and the Administrators wanted the Forum to be completely independent from the Keystone Corporation. This was to insure that both the good and the bad aspects of the product could be discussed without fear of interference by the Company.

That was our philosophy at the beginning and continues to this day. The Corporation does participate in our National Rallies (Fall Rally at Goshen and Spring Rally at various locations) by sending upper management to present the latest and greatest goings on inside the Company. At these Rallies we have an opportunity to meet and discuss items of interest with the people that can get things done.

If you haven't attended one of these Rallies then you really must put that in your "MUST DO" list. The Fall Rally is always held somewhere near Goshen, IN. This is because the factory is located there. Attendees are afforded a special tour of the factory that produces the Montana. This is an excellent tour.

The Spring Rally is moved around the country. Most of the time the Rally is held somewhere in the West / Southwest. As an example: Most recent Rally was in Kerrville, TX. The year before it was held in Southern OR. Next Spring it will be in California Gold Country near Sacramento, CA. In addition there are many Regional Rallies held from one end of the Country to the other! We hope to see you at one or more.

We appreciate your membership in the MOC and look forward to your active participation

RVWheels, MOC Administrator

dpam · 05-02-2010, 08:01 AM

Thank you for the responses to my post. You shared some good information with me......thank you. I'd love to attend one of the mentioned rallies, so my wife and I will have to figure out when and where we can attend.

Regards,

David

KathyandDave · 05-02-2010, 12:37 PM

From fellow Canadians: we have been very impressed with the information found here and with the opportunity to read both laudatory and deprecatory posts. Keystone has been fairly responsive, IMHO. The Goshen Rally is where you can learn about the Montana from Keystone and from the manufacturers of all of the components, e.g., Lippert, Dometic, Goodyear, etc., and from the owners - like drinking from a fire hose. Cheers.

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