Lawsuit

[awheeler]

Too much like the tourist industry these days - specifically the restaurants in tourist locations. Most have the attitude - "We're never gonna see these people again, so why bother!"

[richfaa]

We have been fortunate over the years. We have had great dealers and good service. We have had to contact Keystone customer service over the years with our two Montana's and had good service. We travel all over the country and winter in Florida and can not remember really poor service in restaurants .We have been to some we would not return to. The local Keystone dealer here does not handle Montana's but does all our routine maint and repairs without complaint. That dealer has done warranty work for us with no issue.

There is no doubt in my mind that the quality of construction has gone down over the last 3 or 4 years not that it was ever all that great. Those who toured the Montana plant last rally may recall the the line was jammed with units under construction.I have never seen it that jammed.

[mlh]

Originally Posted by Texan

With thousands of new people coming into the market every year they don't really need that much repeat business. You go from a somebody before you buy to a nobody after you buy. The whole industry is rotten to the core. People work 30 or 40 years then retire and have all this frustration in there so called 'GOLDEN YEARS'. No need for this.

Darn I got cheated. I worked over 50 years. What did I do wrong?
Lynwood

[packnrat]

it would be grand if some improvment would come out of this. if for nothing more than putting the "fear" ( fear of losing proffits) of having to go to court in the front of the manf and dealer owners minds.
bad for me but the older rv i have now is not one i would want to live in let alone retire in. it has been a good unit. for camping couple three-five times a year in.

.

[Montana Man]

There should be a law that requires anyone considering buying a Montana to read at least six threads on this forum. Two in maintenance, two in modifications, and two of the buyers choosing. The resulting loss of sales would cause necessary change.

[packnrat]

i am not in favor of "more" laws. but if the lack of qualty, and not caring about the customer keeps at the way it is now. them the rv manf should be forced to work under a ouple new laws to build there units up to a real standard. and fix problems right now, no delays.

[mlh]

I knew a Va state senator, sadly dead now he said every time we make a new law we take away somebody’s freedom.
Lynwood

[packnrat]

as i said in the first sentence of my last posting.
most laws out there are redundent or just bad news. ( how many laws does it take to make murder illegal).
as now a cop who knows how to read ALL the law books, can kick in any front door at random, and arrest someone inside on a felony that would sick in a court of law.

[dfb]

Quality Control is ALOT cheaper than having lawsuits, return to dealers and A BAD NAME! I worked in a factory that made Pistons for cars , trucks and boats. At nearly every step there was a quality control person. We had a name to protect. One name was TRW... If a piston fell on the floor it was thrown out. Pistons were forged, grinder, machined plated weighed and shipped out. If Richaa thinks quality control is expensive, just think how much sales losses cost. Believe me Richfaa, it’s it so much cheaper to do a job right, do the job once, than to have to go back on cruddy work and cheap parts..

[richfaa]

We know it is expensive to implement as we worked on many QC projects it takes a significant investment in management and employee training and requires a whole new way of doing business. We also agree 100% that the investment will pay off 10 fold in increased sales, better working conditions and improved labor management relations.Most companies will not or can not do it and in the case of the RV industry they sell RV's no matter what the quality.

[dfb]

How much does it cost for an employee to check for water leaks, acres placed right etc?? Not an early as much as the cost of shoddy work. Would you ride in a plane built by Thor? U can, I won’t!

[dfb]

And I just had to replace my slide out gears! Something I have never had to do with 5 other rvs..

[richfaa]

Thor does not make aircraft and there is no comparison between RV quality control and Aircraft quality control and safety having worked in that industry for 37 years.
Quality control is a process that the entire company must buy into and support.

[Phil P]

Hi

At the dealer I purchased from I had an RVIA certified electrician come in the trailer and I ask him where his VOM was. He didn’t know what a VOM or a Volt, Ohm Meter was. He had a certificate he produced it for me.

When I found out the shop didn’t have one I produced mine then had to teach someone how to use it.

Phil P

[Rondo]

The way I look at things, "IF you are so unhappy with your Montana and the quality of work that has been done on it, why do you still have it?" Go out and trade it in for an SOB and see if THEIR Quality is any better than the one you presently have. From what I've been able to gather off of other manufacturer's forums and brands of fivers , there is no difference between the Montana's quality than the others. In fact, there are a whole lot of complaints on other rv websites that are much worse than those that are coming out here on this Forum. You didn't pay $300,000 for your rig and you aren't living in an S & B when you're in your Montana. Do you think that the S & B would be the same if it was rolling down the hiways and biways of our US or Canada? I know it wouldn't. I like mine and have had several problems with it BUT I will stay with my Montana and not go to an SOB. IF you don't like it, trade it and see what you have then folks!

[richfaa]

We have toured many Rv plants in the Elkhart/Goshen area over the years. When we were shopping for a 5th wheel i think we toured all of them. Every plant looked the same. Same workers, same vendors, same assembly line methods. The different brands are more alike than different. Helen and I also worked for several dealers at the Cleveland, Ohio RV show in the mid 90's and sold many different brands of RV's.

We have purchased two Montana's not because they are perfect but in terms of quality, service and price they were the best bang for our buck.

We did purchase one brand of RV in 1995 a TT by a company that went belly up in 2008.We had nothing but trouble with it. We purchased it in January of 1995 and sold it in January of 1996. We did not like it so we traded it. I would do the same if we became dissatisfied with the Montana.

[packnrat]

the more i read, the more i think i would build it my self.
buy a bare frame , improve it a bit. ( nake it my self?).
would take me at least a year to do it ( must work reg job to pay the bills) and just might cist me twice-thrice the new rv paice. but it would be bilt right no falts.. and if anything did break i would know how to fix it right the first time.
just no fancy graphics or brand name on it.

[mlh]

Originally Posted by packnrat

the more i read, the more i think i would build it my self.
buy a bare frame , improve it a bit. ( nake it my self?).
would take me at least a year to do it ( must work reg job to pay the bills) and just might cist me twice-thrice the new rv paice. but it would be bilt right no falts.. and if anything did break i would know how to fix it right the first time.
just no fancy graphics or brand name on it.

If you try I don’t doubt you can do it. Keep an eye on the weight. You are going to haft to pull it.
Most people can do almost anything they try. I built my home pored the footer put the cap on the roof and did almost everything between. Before I had never built a bird house.
Lynwood

[richfaa]

Paknrat..I have said before that IF i could have a 5th wheel RV built like I wanted it built with the quality I wanted i would not be able to afford it and I would need a HDT to pull it.

[dfb]

Originally Posted by richfaa

Paknrat..I have said before that IF i could have a 5th wheel RV built like I wanted it built with the quality I wanted i would not be able to afford it and I would need a HDT to pull it.

Before thor took over k-z made escalade... one nice unit of great quality..i had one of their new vision ultras... quality is cheaper than repairs, cheaper than a bad name.. its NOT that hard. Believe me..
When i did my job, I made Certain i was not going back!...my ram does not give me this much trouble. My lawn mower works fine. My tv, rifle, boats, all were fantastic.. so, im on another trip, and the slide gears stripped! Wow! I cant wait to see what happens next? I bought this to have r st and relaxation,.not to work on every single time it goes out..
I dont get paid to work on it..