Journey with Confidence RV GPS App RV Trip Planner RV LIFE Campground Reviews RV Maintenance Take a Speed Test Free 7 Day Trial ×
 

Go Back   Montana Owners Club - Keystone Montana 5th Wheel Forum > MOC Technical Forums > Maintenance
Click Here to Login

Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread Display Modes
 
Old 11-05-2010, 06:06 AM   #1
pbahlin
Montana Master
 
Join Date: Jun 2009
Location: Sioux Falls
Posts: 617
M.O.C. #9380
Check 120 volt Fixtures

The LR slide out in my Big Sky has cabinetry over the couch area. One of the doors has never been quite right so my project of the day was to adjust it. It had a pronounced sag so I figured it would be a snap to adjust the nifty Euro hinge to straighten it out; maybe a 5 minute job.

Not! As in most Keystone maintenance tasks there's always a bonus project stored inside the 5 minute one. What happened is that I opened the door, adjusted the hinge a bit to lift the door only to find out that now I couldn't close the door. It hits the 120 volt light fixture.

I didn't know it at the time but it seems the sagging door was not a defect. It was a feature. The only way the door clears the light is to mount it so that it sags. This allows the outside top corner to miss the light by at least one micron.

I reasoned, due to prior knowledge with all things electrical in the Keystone, that the ceiling box was most likely mounted in a scruffy oversized hole and it would be simple to shift it a little in the hole, refasten it, and get back to my adjustments.

Once again, not so fast Skippy! This hole was absolutely perfect; in the wrong place of course, but perfect nevertheless. Absolutely no room was to be had to fudge the mount. DW came to the rescue at this point. She noted, correctly, that the fixture was pretty ugly anyway so why not take a run to Lowe's to see if we couldn't find a prettier fixture that was smaller than the original.

Well after a total of three hours now, it's apparent that Lowe's had nothing that would work and by the way, if I change out that fixture, there's the one over the desk to consider, eh? Sighhhh. Time to put it back together and go on line to find something we like.

The problem with putting it back together is that the keyhole openings in the fixture are way to small for the screw heads Keystone used. This makes threading the needle to get the screws back in is good for another ten minutes.

It's a good thing I'm retired with plenty of time on my hands to finish building my trailer. Wonder if that's also a feature?

Oh by the way, I discovered that this fixture, designed and equipped with a big warning label that says not to use anything bigger than forty watt bulbs, was in fact supplied with two 60 watt bulbs. This is of course a fire hazard but I figure they put in the 60s to get enough light for the precision 1 micron saggy door adjustment.

You might want to check your fixtures to see if they've generously supplied you with more watts than they had to.

Update:

I forgot to mention that every twist cap in the box was 'decorated' with electrical tape. Anybody else ever see this? What's that all about? It makes me nervous when I see that. Makes me think the same elves that managed to misswire every single speaker were let loose on the AC side of the house. Scary, very scary.
 
pbahlin is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-05-2010, 06:24 AM   #2
bncinwv
Montana Master
 
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: Winfield
Posts: 7,327
M.O.C. #6846
The more you dig, the more you discover, the more you discover, the more you wonder, the more you wonder, the more apt you are to drive yourself beyond the limits of sanity. There is a lesson to be learned in there somewhere, but you will have to dig to discover it!! Besides, look on the bright side, you are well on your way to becoming a MOC go-to guy who has been there and done that, there has to be some value and satisfaction to be found in that!!
Bingo
__________________

Bingo and Cathy - Our adventures begin in the hills of WV. We are blessed by our 2014 3850FL Big Sky (previous 2011 3750FL and 2007 3400RL) that we pull with a 2007 Chevy Silverado Classic DRW CC dually.
bncinwv is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-05-2010, 06:25 AM   #3
garyka
Montana Master
 
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: Tonawanda
Posts: 551
M.O.C. #3662
This is a product of piece work,quantity not quality
garyka is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-07-2010, 11:06 AM   #4
alandaudrey
Montana Fan
 
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: Houston
Posts: 157
M.O.C. #9011
Treat it like politics.....ignore it.
alandaudrey is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply


Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Forum Jump

Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
LED ceiling light fixtures johncamtravel General Discussions about our Montanas 8 12-03-2014 02:46 PM
LED lighting fixtures from Keystone BrokenElbow Additions & Improvements 10 11-13-2012 05:13 PM
Adding 2 6 Volt Batteries to existing 12 Volt mainer General Discussions about our Montanas 10 12-21-2011 03:45 AM
QUESTION ABOUT LIGHTING FIXTURES jackel1959 Additions & Improvements 7 03-25-2010 05:14 AM
Light fixtures in Big Sky judyuk General Discussions about our Montanas 2 09-30-2007 02:35 PM

» Featured Campgrounds

Reviews provided by

Powered by vBadvanced CMPS v3.2.3
Disclaimer:

This website is not affiliated with or endorsed by Montana RV, Keystone RV Company or any of its affiliates. This is an independent, unofficial site.


All times are GMT -6. The time now is 04:04 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.9
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.