Another rain water leak - Montana Owners Club

G McCall · 03-20-2006, 02:09 AM

Well I hate to add to the list of Montana owners with slide rain water leaks but......put me on the list.
During a very rainy day (yesterday) I discovered the floor damp/wet at the rear of the bedroom next to the slide. Slide was out.
Got on the roof and examined the seals. The big seal running along the slide from top to bottom had not flipped outward when the slide was rolled out. I also noticed that there was a small area on the top seal running the length of the slide, the one running front to back where it screws into the trailer, needed caluking. Hopefully this will repair my leak.

richfaa · 03-20-2006, 04:38 AM

I really thought that Keystone/Montana had improved on their quality and workmanship issues..I am losing confidence in that feeling.

G McCall · 03-20-2006, 05:16 AM

The problems I have encountered is a sad state of affairs.
With the hope of not making enemys by saying, I have had many more problems with the unit than expected. This is just one more problem, and I have not even taken the trailer camping yet.
Actually I was not expecting problems since my last new trailer was all but flawless over the 5 years I had it (and still have ).
Keystone is not winning me over.

Ishler · 03-20-2006, 10:57 AM

The was a running change in the 2005's for the bedroom slides with reguard to the trim on the bottom edge of the slide. We took ours in twice to have a similar leak fixed. On the second trip the factory authorized the replacement of the trim with the new style and we haven't had a leak since.

Mike

G McCall · 03-20-2006, 11:08 AM

Yep, I had to reglue one of the bottom rubber seals along the bedroom slide on also.
That seal was attached to the trailer (not the slide) from front to back where slide comes in and meets trailer when slide is closed.
However, I doubt the bottom seal I reglued would cause rain leaks when the trailer is parked.

Montana Sky · 03-20-2006, 02:01 PM

Rich,
Dont lose faith yet, so far my 2004 3400RL Montana has not had any leaks. Now that I say that you watch this summer will be a different story. I leave my coach down at the lake from mid April until first week of October, the slides stay out all summer (I cycle them open and closed every 2 weeks or so to keep things lubed and working) and so far so good. While traveling to Bend, OR last summer for the Trailer life rally I went through a horrible rain storm, and was really scared that I would be finding water in my kitchen slide. The coach was bone dry, and so far the past 2 summers the coach has been dry at the lake as well. Now if I could just figure out where those 2 little mice got in... I hope those of you that are having water leaks will soon have your coach fixed, dont give up on Keystone just yet.

richfaa · 03-20-2006, 02:26 PM

That's what really gets my Irish up (and I'm not even Irish) One unit can be perfect and never have a problem and the one next in line can be full of problems.. That is poor supervision, Poor workmanship, poor quality control and there is no excuse for it and I am not picking on Montana they all all like that and that is no excuse. So here I am wondering what kind of a unit those skilled old world craftsmen are going to run down the line the week my 3400 is built.Now that I am super aware of all the " oversights"those craftsmen make, and they work at ALL the Rv plants I can see the less thanperfect workmanship in every unit of any brand that I look at.Having been a quality control guy for many years I just can't stand it...Oh well...

Montana_3768 · 03-20-2006, 03:22 PM

I had water leaks in my 2005 3400 RL on the curb side large slide and the bedroom slide. When I took it back to the dealer he said that the foil sealing tape that was applied on along the top edge of the slide next to the outside wall of the slide was not applied correctly, e.g. it had little gaps where it was not sealed. I have not had the unit out since it was fixed, so I hope that the resealing job fixed the problem. They did replace the window treatments that were stained by the water. Fortunately, I was able to sponge up quite a bit of the water with chamois and moved out the couch and put a fan on it for several days to dry it out. (I just hope that is a good grade of marine plywood on the decking.) In the bedroom, the water accumulated in the shirt closet floor. When the weather gets better, as in above freezing, I'm going to get the unit out of storage and hose it down to see if it leaks. We have a five week trip planned in June/July and I sure don't want to be trying to fix leaks again when I'm supposed to be picking! I really love the lay out so I hope this is the last visit to the dealer for "quality" repairs. Wouldn't the Toyota quality boys have a good time at the Montana plant? I guess this will improve my patience. Good luck with the repairs and I hope they get it right the first time. BD.

G McCall · 03-21-2006, 01:21 AM

Last night I looked at the top slide seal area from inside the trailer with the slide in. Where the seal is fastened to the slide (the seal parallel with the trailer) I can see areas that may need to be resealed. I plan to clean the area and place a thin dab of sealer along the seal. Can't hurt.
In fact I may reseal all seams I can find, even on the front slide.

Dano · 03-21-2006, 02:21 AM

After all the problems I here people have, I'll have to say we must have got a good unit. We had a storm come thru last night that was A little scary. All the lawn chairs,BBQ,and any thing that was'nt tied down ended out in the feild. And stll no leaks. I'm still impressed with keystone, Looking for something wrong, cant find anything yet! I think the quality is still better than any unit we looked at.

Garin1 · 03-21-2006, 05:03 AM

G McCall, sorry to hear about the problems. Don't lose faith. I know it is easy for me to say but the Monty is really a good unit. All that aside, I must be one of the lucky ones. Our 3650 has been running full time since January 05. Even went through the edges of "Rita" and no leaks. Just lucky I guess.

Montana_2913 · 03-21-2006, 09:03 AM

I am sorry to hear that you are having problems as well. I am hoping that you are able to find your leak and have it repaired and not have to go thru what we are dealing with

G McCall · 03-21-2006, 09:51 AM

Sixcampers.....me too

If I have to go through what you are, I will be trading campers.
My last camper was nearly trouble free for 5 years.

rickety · 03-21-2006, 12:56 PM

Guess I'm going to have to put my 2 cents in on this

. Phyllis and I bought our 2004 3280rl August of 2004. We have had no problems with it worth mentioning, No leaks in the bedroom, or any of the other slides. My best friend and his wife bought their 3280 rl about 2 weeks after we did. Both units had been on the lot for about 5 months. Their unit had a bedroom leak twice, once in Ocean Shores, Wa
with winds and rain at about 35-40 mph and our unit taking the full force of the wind and rain, shielding theirs.

I guess what I'm saying is that buying anything, including new cars, homes, Monty's, shoes, Anything at all is a crap shoot in today's world where if you want quality, your going to have to find somebody who is old enough to have been trained by a craftsman. Last time I heard there were very few old world craftsmen left in this world. Manufacturers hire the cheapest labor they can!! When buying, keep your eyes open and your wallet closed until you're absolutely sure of what your getting.

Just my 2 cents worth or one cent in todays money.

G McCall · 03-22-2006, 12:59 AM

I do agree with you Rickety
I think next time I will buy three of the same trailer and keep the one with less problems..... but then with my luck I would buy 3 bad ones.....

( I "sealed" on the bedroom slide last night) a work in progress )

DiananColin · 03-22-2006, 05:13 AM

We went through Tropical Storm "Arlene" and Hurricane "Wilma" last year. Not a single drip of water entered our 5er and it sure rained. We do have slide awnings so that may have helped. Diana

rickfox · 03-22-2006, 04:26 PM

First, let me say we have had essentially zero problems with our 06 3400. But I guess that depends on how you classify problems and/or who created them!

During clean up and make ready for our unit, I observed a "mechanic" making some adjustments on the slides to make them look a little better when the slides were closed. I assumed he knew what he was doing. WRONG!

Later in the day, we took possession of the unit and happily towed it home. About 10pm on the first night of our first outing I happened to be outside on the bedroom slide side of the trailer when I looked up. I could clearly see light coming through where the slide was supposed to be sealed. Further inspection that night and then again the next morning uncovered the fact that all 3 slides on the drivers side were not properly sealing when in their out position.

I took it back to the dealer, and subsequently found that the "mechanic" who had adjusted my slides had only worked there 60 days with no prior experience working on 5vers. I also got the uneasy feeling that slide adjustment was not the strong suit of the service department. Adjusting them requires some understanding of the concepts of geometry and mechanics. They seemed short on the geometry side.

To make a long story short, I made my own slide adjustments - took about 4 hours (the bedroom slide is the bear) but now do not have air or water leaks.

Don't know if the problem came from the factory, but darn sure the "mechanic" didn't make things any better. Some times, you're better off doing things yourself!

old turbo · 03-23-2006, 01:29 AM

Leaks are a common problem in all families of travel trailers. I deliver several different types for a transport company out of Indiana.If I can get into them at the yard to check things out before I hook up to deliver, I find little wet areas in most, if it has rained.I think if each Manufacturing company had a robo wash at the end of each assembly line ,they would find the leaks before the rig is shipped.Quality control is not job one at rv manufacturing companies.

Montana_2913 · 03-23-2006, 08:29 AM

Quote:

quote:Originally posted by G McCall

Sixcampers.....me too

If I have to go through what you are, I will be trading campers.
My last camper was nearly trouble free for 5 years.

As was my Sunnybrook. If I could I would kick my own rear for trading that in

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