Basement Stank (update) - Montana Owners Club

Exnavydiver · 03-17-2008, 05:15 AM

Well as it stands now we go into Campers World in Pooler, Georgia on Thursday to have the belly pan dropped. They won't take the pics I took as proof that the tank is cracked so after they ascertain that the tank is in fact cracked they will have to order the new one. In the mean time we have a rig that is no longer livable until the new tank gets here. Just got off the phone with Keystone and basically they said that they couldn't see the crack but did see the leak so no tank till CW calls it in. We had to cancel our trip to Myrtle Beach which cost us 50 cancellation fee. Nice. Keystone said no problem about paying for everything under warranty but they won't speed anything up. They said that if I wanted the shipping expedited I would have to pay for it with no reimbursement. CW said we wouldn't be able to stay there during the wait either. So basically they both said Tough S--t, sit and wait.. I doubt that we will buy another Keystone and will probably list this one for sale as soon as we get back to Wisconsin... Dave and Betsy

Fire5er · 03-17-2008, 07:12 AM

If you have not yet posted this on Trailerlife.com you should. If you have, then good for you. All those looking to purchase a new rig need to know how these RV manufactures treat their customers. Sorry to hear of your situation and hope all works out for you guys.

waldo238 · 03-17-2008, 07:41 AM

Is it me or does it seem that most of the problems you hear about are with the trailers that are in the 34.... series? Is there or has there ever been a thread on problems that are repeat problems and are they of the same trailer model? I don't want to upset any one with this, I would just like to know for myself. I owned a Fleetwood TT for 12 years and never once had a problem with it, maybe I was just lucky?

HamRad · 03-17-2008, 07:44 AM

Dave,

Sorry to hear of your ongoing problem. I know your situation currently is of great concern and understand why you are feeling the way you are. But do you think another manufacturer would be much different from what Keystone is doing? Given your location I would bet that there probably isn't much difference between them. And I would guess that the same dealer services many different companies. But now is probably not a good time to be looking at that sort of thing. You have other things on your mind.

Good luck and keep us updated.

Dennis

bigmurf · 03-17-2008, 07:47 AM

Mine is out of warranty but under extended warranty. I didn't feel like waiting around so I dropped the belly cover and put a patch on myself. Cost was around $44.00 plus my time. Since we fulltime I didn't feel like not having a shower.

Exnavydiver · 03-17-2008, 08:01 AM

We started fulltiming as a stress reducer, my wife had a small stroke three years ago and I was injured on a fire about the same time. So we pulled up the anchor and hit the road. Last year we had a blast but were very crowded with the two labs. We had such a good time we decided to go fulltime and ordered this rig foolishly expecting the same low stress lifestyle we had last year. From the start we had a stress factor. it took from late June to the 26th of Oct to get this so we didn't get out of Wisconsin till the 10th of Nov. We didn't get to have a break-in trip either. So we had a trial by fire so to speak. We found the warranty items as we traveled and been trying to get them taken care of since the first of Feb. through two dealers and one mobile service. So far we are no further along in the warranty process than when we started except being lied to repeatedly about delivery times and service availablity. The very fact that we are fulltiming complicates the whole situation. If this doesn't get taken care of any better than it has been we won't even buy another rig as there doesn't seem to be ANY manufacturer that does any better with warranty work or quality assurance. We will probably have to pull the sticks and bricks off the market and dump this POS when we get home. Just cut our losses and chalk it up to experience... Dave and Betsy

bsmeaton · 03-17-2008, 08:59 AM

I am really sorry to hear about your troubles Dave. It might be worth taking a breath and looking out to the future a few months before you react.

Keep in mind you have a first year production model for a brand new series rig. The repairs you have had to work through seem about average for the sport. Also, it seems Keystone is meeting their commitment to you as a customer.

The fact that you fulltime makes it complicated, but does not - and should not - give you justification for receiving better service than any other Keystone customer waiting to get his rig repaired. If these units were advertised as full time habitable homes it might be different, but they are still just campers.

The schedule you were given would seem satisfactory to me as a vacationer. As a full timer, I would hope you have contingency plans worked out for this type of thing, because anything could happen that might temporarily put you on the street such as repairs, theft, a traffic mishap, even a broken down tow vehicle.

Parrothead · 03-17-2008, 10:58 AM

I'm having a bit of problem understanding here. Didn't 30 lbs. of ice go into a full tank that caused the problem?
Happy trails..........................

Exnavydiver · 03-17-2008, 12:12 PM

30 lbs of ice shouldn't have done anything to the tank, 200lbs shouldn't have either. The 40 to 50 mile trip with 3/4 full tank shouldn't have done anything either. The Key words here are "Shouldn't Have". I have dumped ice in tanks for the last twenty five years of RVing in many different rigs and never ruptured or burst a tank, or even sprung a leak. Either defect or freak problem, it shouldn't have happened. But it has happened and now it needs to be fixed in a reasonable manner and in a reasonable time... Dave and Betsy

exav8tr · 03-17-2008, 12:28 PM

I think the lesson here is for everyone to be able to do a proper PDI and a Break Down cruise BEFORE leaving their respective areas. As a fulltimer I am taking my chances by driving off the lot and starting my big adventure (as we say). Because of this, I was still renting an apartment (short term lease) while doing my break in camping. We left Anchorage headed for Fairbanks with the intention of returning to Anchorage if repairs were needed. Fortunately, they were not and we left Alaska from Fairbanks.

Perhaps we have been extremely lucky with our unit or maybe just overly cautious. Having said this I hope things continue to go our way.

Dave and Betsy, I totally understand your feelings towards the RV industry and can't blame you for these feelings. I guess a "Lemon Law" for RV's would be out of the question as most would be returned to dealer. I would really like to know what the repair rate is on these campers. Of course, we will never get the full skinny from the dealers as they are in the business to sell new units and not repair older ones or ones just sold. It would be easy for me to say hang in there and once you get the kinks worked out you will have a great unit, but this does you no good at the present time.

Perhaps you could find a CG near the dealer who will do the repairs, and get a spot near the looo until your tank comes in, then take to dealer for repairs. In any event, I hope you get this worked out to your advantage.

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