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Old 08-22-2018, 08:31 PM   #41
mtlakejim
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Originally Posted by kescue View Post
Bought 381TH year ago. Agree with others, important to find good dealer. I live in Orlando and bought my unit in Jacksonville at Camping World because of price. While it is a little over 1.5 hour drive to dealer, I will take it back to them because of the service they have provided thus far. I have owned lots of toys and yes there is always something that needs to be worked on. Heck I seem to always be doing something on my house! But, I am extremely happy with my unit. I shopped around for about 2 years, went to dealers, RV shows, internet research..... before I finally decided to buy the 381TH. Loved the layout more than the typical TH and the garage length was important to me since I wanted to haul a Harley Ultra. Also, I am the type person that for most repairs I just do it myself if it is not major. (just bought welder last month and learning to weld!)

I took a big gamble the day I bought my unit. The day I bought it, found small stress crack on side of unit door side by front slide when hooking up to leave. We took picture of it with the sales team and they noted it at the dealership. Took unit out on first trip (Orlando to Chattanooga) found a few minor issues. I took pictures of everything I found, printed the pictures out, handed it to the dealer and they used it as a fix list! On the stress crack, the dealership worked with Keystone engineering. They sent pics and Keystone said that was not right and said they needed to get into wall and find out what caused the stress crack. Keystone approved the work, dealer ordered all required parts. Ended up being a bad weld on frame, pretty expensive repair job. The dealer did an awesome job on the repair. Cannot even tell where the they did the fix on the outside of the rig!

Also I believe important to get the right tow vehicle. I believe bigger is better. F350 Dually with 26K Reese hitch. Tows like a dream!
You and I have almost identical stories except I already have the welder and know how to weld. That and I didn’t have nearly as good experience with camping world here in Arkansas as you did with your location

Luckily I have the means and experience to fix ANYTHING on these trailers and I know I can do it far better than the 20 something year olds they call “Certified Technicians” at a lot of the sales dealerships. If I am ever in doubt there are two SERVICE ONLY businesses close by who have real qualified techs

Like you I chose the 381 because of the floor plan and because it had a full 10’ deep garage as opposed to the SOBs that are 9’6”. That extra 6” means we can haul our kayaks, side by side or jet ski. None of which would fit in the SOB garages
 
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Old 08-23-2018, 09:27 AM   #42
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We’ve had issues with ours. Just got done replacing large slide out gear assemblies. Many of the parts used are of low quality. The exterior molding has all disintegrated and come off. Carpet is worn after 3 years. One tire is wearing faster than the others, no I did not hit a thing. Interior trim has come down, fan blades fell on the floor. Water heater was not connected, refer quit working after a rain, led lights have burnt out, toilet would not hold water, Black valve would not shut , roof has staples coming thru, emergency exit handle broke on rear window, bedroom window is hard to close., the slides pick up rocks and when closing the slides the rocks chew up the vinyl floor.. The fender in the drivers side flaps going down the road and the fender screws come out.. Now, if I were to do it all over again, I’d find a very clean used unit. I’m looking for a nice used KZ ESCALADE,, Before Thor bought them. I’ve seen a unit for 33k .. Body paint and just top shelf quality.. But that’s
Me.. Good luck with your purchase. I’m not knocking Montana, just giving you our experience.
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Old 08-23-2018, 02:35 PM   #43
wade
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Originally Posted by mtlakejim View Post
Hope I don’t get in trouble for mentioning other brands on here but it is very pertinent to this conversation!! Forgive me oh lords of the forum police!!

You won’t find a less expensive unit in the 380/381 floor plan than the Montana. Build quality is comparable to Forest River but a little lower than the much more expensive Grand Design (which has been bought out so build quality will now be questionable). New Horizons is in an entirely different league both in build quality, price plus at this point to get this floor plan from them it is a custom build $$$.

The biggest advantage to the 380/381 is the garage is longer than any of the competitors. If your hauling longer toys like kayaks, jet skis or side by sides it is the ONLY unit where they will fit (save a custom build of course).

With reasonable care you should get over 15 years of service from the Montana before you start to see serious deterioration and I’m sure there are units out there more than twice that old. Like ANY RV they don’t last forever and anyone buying one should have some good mechanical knowledge and expect occasional issues
I see above you commented that Grand Design has been bought out , do you happen to know by what company?
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Old 08-23-2018, 02:40 PM   #44
mhs4771
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Grand Design is now under Winnebago and has been for a while now, like late 2016.
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Old 08-23-2018, 02:52 PM   #45
wade
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Ok thanks, didn't know if it had changed handa from them recently. Still hearing good things on them and standing by there product according to my dealer. They sell both Montana's and Grand Design units
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Old 08-23-2018, 03:22 PM   #46
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Ok thanks, didn't know if it had changed handa from them recently. Still hearing good things on them and standing by there product according to my dealer. They sell both Montana's and Grand Design units
I take anything a dealer doesn’t put in writing as total BS
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Old 08-23-2018, 06:04 PM   #47
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We have been on this forum since 2005 and have owned a 2006 3400 and now a 2013 3402 Big Sky. We have been to every fall rally since 2006. We like rallies and we do not live all that far away.We have been on the Montana plant tour every rally since 2006.Tthat is 12 years worth of tours. We have seen that plant when they built every Montana on the same line due to a weak economy.We have seen it with a booming economy as it is now.We have never seen the line so crowded as it was on last years tour. The units were jammed side by side.

The manufactures know there will be good times and bad times.These are good times and they are building Montana's as fast as they can while people have the $$ to buy them.. Just our opinion but the build quality has suffered in the last few years and IMO has been getting worse every year.It will continue as long as the economy booms. The economy in that area is heavily dependent on the RV industry .The unemployment rate rises and falls with the economy. Quote "The BLS reported that the unemployment rate for Elkhart rose 0.2 percentage points in June 2018 to 2.6%. For the same month, the metro unemployment rate was 0.7 percentage points lower than the Indiana rate. The unemployment rate in Elkhart peaked in April 2009 at 19.6% and is now 17.0 percentage points lower." That is the way it is in the RV industry.
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Old 08-23-2018, 11:04 PM   #48
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Hi

Keystone would not allow any dealer except the selling dealer to do the warranty work on our Montana.

Phil P
They lied to you for some reason.
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Old 08-25-2018, 02:52 AM   #49
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They lied to you for some reason.

Makes no difference why they have reputedly lied to me so as far as I am concerned Keystone and their reps have no integrity.

Cheat me once shame on you cheat me twice shame on me.

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Old 08-25-2018, 05:32 AM   #50
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Hi

just in case: the most important decision in buying an RV to chose a good and reliable dealer with good reputation also for their workshop.

Everything else is than a piece of cake

Btw, we had 0 serious issues with ours since April 2018 and towed already 6,000mls through USA.

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Old 08-26-2018, 07:50 AM   #51
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We've found that no matter if it is an RV, Boat, no matter how much they cost , none are perfect out the door. It just depends on how we deal with it ...so far we're dealing too.
I have had several boats and no issues. My dad had a new fishing boat. Installed Honda 150 4stroke, the electronics, bait tank.. had it for six years... Not One issue.. No fenders falling off or trim disintegration. No leaks, or transoms falling off.. no screws backing out, props falling off... Can one imagne if our trucks were put together like our Rvs?. OH MY!
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Old 08-26-2018, 08:27 AM   #52
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On our 379RD. I had a drawer for mystery screws/bolts. They just show up on the floor after each time we set up. I started my collection just coming home from the dealer. Would add to it at almost every time we set up. DW would ask about them. I would tell some day I'll figure out if they belong or if we should get rid of them.
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Old 08-26-2018, 09:34 AM   #53
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Those mystery screws could actually belong somewhere, or more than likely just some the installers dropped during MFR and were too lazy to pickup, so now they just rattle out while traveling our Fine Roads.
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