It's official; I hate this trailer!

[wade]

My dealer up here in the northeast had been great but the beginning of this year they stop selling Montana's because of all the problems, major problems, structural etc. They been selling Montana's for many many years. Just was sick of it, didn't want to sell the public junk. So they now sell a couple different brands

[Marcus]

Originally Posted by wade

My dealer up here in the northeast had been great but the beginning of this year they stop selling Montana's because of all the problems, major problems, structural etc. They been selling Montana's for many many years. Just was sick of it, didn't want to sell the public junk. So they now sell a couple different brands

What are they selling now? Hopefully something of better quality. I'm open to suggestions!
Marcus

[wade]

Originally Posted by Marcus

What are they selling now? Hopefully something of better quality. I'm open to suggestions!
Marcus

Grand Design and was going to go back to getting Cardinals also

[sourdough]

Originally Posted by wade

Grand Design and was going to go back to getting Cardinals also

Do your research on GD. They are no better than any other brand. They came out strong (ex Keystone execs) touting build and customer service. They are just like all the rest...and they have to be if they want to sell units.

They were on my short list but about 10% higher than a Keystone so I wanted to investigate to see what I would get. Nothing really. Same build quality but maybe, possibly, a better customer service experience. That doesn't mean a lot since they have to work with a dealer anyway.

Dealers/warranty work? I was in FL at the time but the dealer there said he had warranty work backed up....2-4 weeks before they could even assess it. Called the TX dealer....might be 2 MONTHS before it could be assessed. I bought a Keystone.

I do believe you might be able to find a better quality 5th wheel than those most buy but I'm not spending 200k to find out I was wrong.

Edit: Looks like CaptnJohn and I were typing at the same time saying the same thing.

[Erikksen]

We bought a 2016 362RD secondhand out of warranty first rainstorm water running out of the rear air conditioner ducts..

Ended up with a new roof.. but the Dometic NXT Had several ways for water to get through I had to take it all apart and seal up the carry through holes where the frame came through.

[mtlakejim]

Originally Posted by sourdough

Do your research on GD. They are no better than any other brand. They came out strong (ex Keystone execs) touting build and customer service. They are just like all the rest...and they have to be if they want to sell units.

They were on my short list but about 10% higher than a Keystone so I wanted to investigate to see what I would get. Nothing really. Same build quality but maybe, possibly, a better customer service experience. That doesn't mean a lot since they have to work with a dealer anyway.

Dealers/warranty work? I was in FL at the time but the dealer there said he had warranty work backed up....2-4 weeks before they could even assess it. Called the TX dealer....might be 2 MONTHS before it could be assessed. I bought a Keystone.

I do believe you might be able to find a better quality 5th wheel than those most buy but I'm not spending 200k to find out I was wrong.

Edit: Looks like CaptnJohn and I were typing at the same time saying the same thing.

Yep this is similar to what I have said in the past about Grand Design as well. There is more than one guy up in Indiana that has made their fortune starting RV brands, building them up (with better quality at first and a LOT of hype over it) then selling the brand off to one of the major three that in time will draw the quality back down to maximize profit.

RV manufactures are in the business of making money. They could care less what the final consumer thinks about their products. Their customers are the dealerships. The dealerships only care about moving product out the door so they buy what sells quick. They will smile real big and fill you a line of BS a mile long to get you to sign and pull it off the lot. After that they could care less about you or the camper. There may be a couple of exceptions to the rule but this applies to about 90% of the industry. If you think otherwise, your just the kind of person they love to see walk into the door of the average dealership.

I have been watching this industry for a good while now and have come to the conclusion that unless your willing to spend your life fortune on a custom build, your going to be buying something that was made as cheap and as fast as possible. Quality be damned. Especially right now with the industry growing as fast as it is.

[Eagleback]

Originally Posted by wade

Grand Design and was going to go back to getting Cardinals also

We had a grand design and they have the same problems as Montana. Dont be fooled that one is better than another. There all the same. Check out the Jayco forum and its all the same issues. across the entire industry. What make Montana stand out more is there the largest by sales 5th wheel in the country. go any where and any rver knows a montana. But will ask what is solitude or reflection. ohh its a fifth wheel. OK