High Quality Work - Page 2 - Montana Owners Club

Wicked1 · 05-24-2018, 08:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bigred715

Yet, we still keep buying our rigs knowing that there are going to be all kind of problems. Nothing from the RV industry is going to change.

I agree and after buying this high priced Montana we just bought and Keystone touting all the quality that goes into them, I will never ever buy another RV again, keep what I have or get out of the hobby.

I work too hard for our money only to be told their products go thru 3 PDI processes and highest quality only to get it and have the simplest things be messed up.

If no one regulates this industry the consumer will always be the one getting hurt. Best of it all is you think you have a 3 year warranty and if you read the fine print they have the right to refuse to make repairs after 90 days, and then you try to get them done within 12 months and you basically have to give your RV up for months at a dealer.

We decided to just keep ours and whatever breaks after this round of warranty repairs I will just handle, there is no loyalty within Keystone Dealers and Keystone, unlike the auto industry.

Shame bc in the end the consumer pays the ultimate price.

dfb · 05-24-2018, 09:03 AM

Actually, in the end, THOR will pay the price.. we are looking to buying a used K-Z ESCALADE. BEFORE THOR TOOK OVER. All the great features in the world dont mean a lick if the parts are junk!.

richfaa · 05-24-2018, 09:25 AM

Thor industries owns 17 RV companies and is doing very well.

https://ir.thorindustries.com/press-...8/default.aspx

dfb · 05-24-2018, 10:15 AM

Propaganda

dfb · 05-24-2018, 10:16 AM

Did you know montana is the number one selling rv in country?.. blah blah blah.. sure dont make them the best..

richfaa · 05-24-2018, 11:34 AM

The Montana name covers many units not just a single one.

richfaa · 05-24-2018, 11:39 AM

Different source https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/THO/financials?p=THO

rgparker57 · 05-24-2018, 02:14 PM

Call me. 951-297-0332. Montana problems. Gary Parker

dfb · 05-24-2018, 02:21 PM

Removed,

rmorris · 05-24-2018, 08:02 PM

I am getting to close on a High country. Normally I don't take extended warranty insurance. Should I consider taking the 5 year Mechanical Breakdown protection?

dfb · 05-24-2018, 08:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rmorris

I am getting to close on a High country. Normally I don't take extended warranty insurance. Should I consider taking the 5 year Mechanical Breakdown protection?

Who is selling the plan? Then check the reviews..

Wicked1 · 05-29-2018, 11:22 AM

Update to those having issues with their Montana...

I highly encourage you to reach out to Keystone, I did after a bunch of issues popped up and needless to say they have been very helpful with getting our issues Repaired and parts Expressed shipped to CW for the repairs under warranty.

I was frustrated like most and had a great experience with their Customer Relations so now begins the process of getting everything on our list fixed.

I will post an update should all be done in 2 weeks.

Foodgod1 · 05-30-2018, 02:35 PM

After we received our brand new 381TH I was detailing it and realized that the top of the cap had hit a low clearance bar. Yellow paint across the cap and scraped paint. Leisure Time RV in OKC says all they can do is file a claim with the company. These dealerships claim to do PDIs but clearly they're just checking boxes...

Rcerne · 05-30-2018, 03:14 PM

Same thing happened on our Montana High Country 305RL. Waste basket drawer fell apart and I had to put it back together with better screws. Not fun laying on your back at 68 working under the counter reattaching slide rails for waste basket drawer.

mtlakejim · 05-30-2018, 03:15 PM

I think it is fairly obvious that the RV industry is dominated by just a couple of companies and as such the quality of workmanship in todays units is fairly consistent across the board. There simply isn't a company that makes a higher quality product at a reasonable price range.

I don't see the situation changing as big monopolies are usually more interested in maximizing profits than offering a high quality product. As such we are more or less forced to accept what the manufactures are churning out. I would not recommend an RV to anyone who isn't either somewhat handy or has significant cash on hand to pay for repairs. For certain I would recommend having out of warranty repairs completed by a non sales RV repair shop (at least their focus is on quality repairs).

As for us, we are financially secure enough to risk the cost of our unit and it would not be the end of the world if it was a bad gamble on our part (IE: a total loss). For repairs my thoughts are to replace anything that goes bad with a superior aftermarket part (such as brass water fittings instead of plastic and Saliun tires instead of OEM). That way the unit is constantly being upgraded.

Bikerz · 05-30-2018, 03:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by waynemoore

Call the converter manufacturer they will ship one out to you ASAP. Been there done that.

Every time a major motor component failed in our brand new Montana we ended up going to the manufacturer to get it replaced. Normally for free. The people at the dealer pretend they know what they’re doing and make things up and in the end they just tell you it’s not their problem. So far we’ve had The hydraulic drive system for the slides Fail Because the motor was not properly installed. it failed almost immediately. The motor burnt out and although we brought it back five or six times with the same symptoms the dealership “professionals“ were never able to figure it out. Finally my husband got on the phone with the motor manufacturer and between the two of them they figured it out and the manufacture just sent us a new motor free. We had to install it ourselves fortunately my husband can do that. Same thing with the hydraulic brake motor. Find out who made the unit and contact them directly. Apparently they know all about the crappy quality and incompetent installation that goes on at the Montana factories and in the dealerships which are even worse.

CCClarke · 05-30-2018, 04:35 PM

Keystone QC (or the lack of it) has been a problem with my previous 2010 Mountaineer. I had the same issues with unfinished work on the structures holding drawers or using undersized screws to mount the slides for the drawers. The plumbing off the bathroom was a disaster with the trap off of the shower drain mounted 180 degrees upside-down resulting in the drain being forced up against the flooring above, the fittings coming loose and ultimately filling the storage compartment with water. Then the drain on the shower floor cracked around the basin set and leaked all over the place. I fixed that problem by having a fiberglass specialist redo the area around the drain, put in a decent basin set (the drain and down pipe with better rubber gaskets) and then stopped the shower floor from flexing by injecting urethane foam between the shower floor and the sub-floor.

Then there was the usual deteriorating decal issue. I ultimately fixed my continuing Mountaineer problems by trading up to a 2018 High Country which had its maiden voyage on the trip down to Palm Springs this past winter. The only two issues that arose were again, the need to re-install the drawer slides with 1/2 inch screws to replace the 1/4 inch ones that had started falling out or just pulling out. I had to complete the stabilization of the supporting structure of the drawers in the bedroom by screwing in screws that had only been started about 1/4 inch instead of screwing them in to a solid fit.

The other issue that came up in California was when the sound bar under the TV in the main room came loose from its mount on one side. It was then I discovered that the installer had used long wood screws up from beneath into the plastic base of the sound bar. With the screws in place it is very difficult (nigh on to impossible) to get to the plug-ins on the back of the sound bar. To get to the heads of the screws to replace them or remove them I would have had to remove the trim around the fireplace and that didn't appear to be a task I could perform. So there the sound bar sits - one screw in and one screw stripped out. It would have been much simpler to mount the sound bar using two short velcro strips - one at each end. Then the sound bar could easily have been removed, the wiring changed or checked and put back in place.

One last note: I had to replace the MorRyde suspension on the Mountaineer after about 3000 miles. The plastic dry bushings had worn through in several places and the bolt holes in the shackles were becoming elongated. The result was premature wear on the tires which required replacement. The heavier duty Dexter suspension with wet bolts and more substantial shackles fixed that problem. This all done at my expense.

I was not going to have this happen again so prior to making the purchase when I saw that the High Country had the lower end Morryde suspension I wen to their website and found where Morryde recommended the installation of their suspension upgrade kit. It consists of heavy duty shackles and wet lubricated bushings. I had their kit installed prior to picking up my new unit.
Check out their webpage: http://www.morryde.com/products/90-c...2F4-suspension and you will see where instead of producing a stronger suspension they have a "tip" that you install their Heavy Duty Wet Bolt & Shackle Kit to avoid "being stranded on the side of the road due to broken shackles". I guess that if you don't buy their upgrade kit you are probably going to be left stranded at the side of the road with broken shackles.
Sorry about the length of my rant, it's just that it has been festering since 2011.

bshgto · 05-30-2018, 04:48 PM

An you wonder why? Pretty obvious to me.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=khKkjbHMPRU&t=32s

Bikerz · 05-30-2018, 05:24 PM

We pretty much had to rebuild the thing from the ground up. The slide was put in wrong. The slide window was upside down and backwards and not flush . Consequently, the interior of the rv filled with water for the year and a half it sat outside before we bought it. And yet when we pointed all this out to the dealer they said we were crazy basically. Eventually Keystone did replace the slide and the window and after that we gave up on them and repaired/replaced everything else ourselves. When I say everything I mean everything except the refrigerator. So far.

Fishin2dMax · 05-30-2018, 06:15 PM

I've owned many RV's over the years and was hoping not to deal with as many "warranty issues" in my new 2018.5 Montana High Country 5th wheel.

After a 300 mile maiden voyage, my list of warranty issues was over a dozen: Shower door locked up, closet shelf and pole fell down (with just hats siting on it) , hot water issues (check value), Trim loose around slides, floor not glued down / bubbling, slide ceiling drooping, fridge door wouldn't close among other issues. It seems Montana HC's are no different in quality than an entry level RV. The good news is my dealer has addressed most of the issues and claims the warranty support from Keystone is one of the best (they sell many other makes - including non Thor brands).

With today's poor RV quality workmanship, having a good RV ownership experience is less about the Brand or Make and more about selecting a good dealer that is there for you after the sale.

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