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Old 12-15-2019, 07:16 PM   #41
DaveK
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Buy again?

We have a 2019 Montana High Country 330rl and would buy again. I spent two years agonizing on Montana vs GD. I spoke to many owners of both brands. I just don't think one is head and shoulders above the others. After towing ours 15,000 miles recently, I realize that these rigs are subjected to a constant 7.5 earthquake. I'm surprised they survive as well as they do.

By the way, my 5er is a 320rl, 37 feet long. Adding those 2 feet (from 35 to 37 feet) gave us a 40 percent larger bathroom with double sinks, great feature.
 
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Old 12-15-2019, 11:10 PM   #42
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Would I buy again ~~~ after getting hosed by Heartland and 2 junkers by FR we bought a Cougar 5er. Maiden trip 700 miles from home the furnace was not working. I called Atwood, no dealer. Yes, I paid the service call but it was temp fixed the next day and completely fixed 2 days after. Next was a HC. We had 1 piece of trim cut too short (3/4") and a piece of crown molding come loose. I sent pictures to my dealer, they forwarded to Keystone and 2 weeks later repaired while I waited. Next Montana ~ never had a warranty claim or any out of pocket repairs. Current 2019 Montana 3791FL. We have only been in it 104 nights so far, will soon be leaving for 126 more. Only problem was the cap light and ODS flood light switches were transposed in the panel. I've purchased all 4 5ers from CW in Myrtle Beach. I have them do the work I or my mobile tech cannot. I have become friends with the sales manager, both parts guys know me by name. Two service writers also know me by name. When I need something like the aux fuel tank I order it and have it shipped to them so there are no shipping charges. When parts arrive, they call and I bring it in and wait, none of my units have had to stay overnight. I know 2 techs and ask when they will be available to do the work and make an appointment. The 4 had a PDI of between 2 and 4 hours and nothing has been found as they have a tech go over the units before delivery. There are 2 locations, 1 does sales and pdi / warranty work the other does warranty and non-warranty work. I cannot speak for all of their techs but the 2 I know are very good and have been there a while. I know of at least one that has not been there long and is working on his certifications. A lot depends on your dealer and your relationship with them.
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Old 12-16-2019, 01:03 AM   #43
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Yes. 3791RD1 20th anniversary edition. Really haven't had many issues, and am often surprised at how good many features are. seems other than a few wiring snafu's the build is really pretty good.
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Old 12-16-2019, 05:41 AM   #44
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Would I buy again

I would have to give it serious thought. We previously own a Forest River Cardinal which was very high quality. Had it all over the country and a summer touring Alaska without any issues. Probably over 40,000 miles over 8 years.
Bought a Montana 318 RL new and had many issues. Bought ours thru Campimg World hoping that the vast network of dealers would be good for support if needed. Not so.
Back to would I buy another Montana. After 2 years of heartache getting things resolved I would have to give it serious thought. MHO!!
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Old 12-16-2019, 08:28 AM   #45
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Well I have had 2 Montys, one for 11 years and only traded due to someone crossing the line. And have had small issues with both. When buying 2018, 3120RL looked at GD, but DW wanted Monty again. Have friend with top end "A" and he had twice as mine problem with his in ten years as I did. And all his repairs where also high end to fix.
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Old 12-16-2019, 10:25 AM   #46
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If you're not the handy type, DO NOT BUY A MONTANA.
Mine has been a P of S.
I have fixed quite a few things, but the bigger issue is the lack of Quality Control on the things that only the dealer can repair.
We did a lot of homework prior to purchasing (2015 Montana HC 310RE), and Montana was highly rated.
I can't imagine how bad the other brands are, if Montana was rated as high as it was.
The only reasons we still own it is that we like to camp, hike, etc, and I will not go through fixing another 5vr again, and I can't afford to take the bath financially if I disposed of it.
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Old 12-16-2019, 10:29 AM   #47
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We've had our 305RL less than a year so too soon to tell. But this thread is reflecting all the research we did before our purchase.


  1. Just a little research reveals that no one makes a perfect RV
  2. Every OEM has users that are very happy with their rigs
  3. Every OEM has users that have had resolvable issues and are generally happy with their rigs
  4. Every OEM has users that are very dissatisfied with their rigs


The waters are very muddy and it's very difficult to know what to buy amid all of the noise that's out there. Our research showed us that, even though there are justifiable hate stories from some Keystone owners, that the overall noise level was less with Keystone than other OEM's. So we decided to roll the dice on a Monty.


So far we've been very happy with it...no horror stories. There was a small handful of warranty issues, nothing big, that our dealer took care of for us.


The one thing that is always true regardless of which rig you buy...THE DEALER WILL MAKE OR BREAK YOUR OVERALL EXPERIENCE. So research dealers as well as you research trailers.
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Old 12-16-2019, 11:03 AM   #48
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Do it yourself

Amen to the person who said you'd better be a do-it-yourselfer to own an RV. Knowing what I know now, I'd never own an RV if I didn't know how to fix basic things. I'd venture to say a person who has NO knowledge of basic things is at risk of safety issues. When I'm towing, I'm listening to and feeling my truck and 5th wheel. If I had no idea or sense what is going on, it would be scary (my opinion). I am constantly inspecting tires, brakes, tires, and engine and transmission temperatures. I constantly listen to my water heater, ac, furnace, and inspect plumbing and propane systems.

We enjoyed a tour of the Montana factory. It was informative and I saw first hand that they just don't ship to dealers without inspection. If they find a defect on the factory floor, they go out in the lot where units are waiting to be shipped and inspect them. Employees and managers who make errors have to account for them. I recommended that everyone tour a Montana factory.

If you subject ANYTHING to the abuse an RV takes on the road, it would self destruct. We just finished a 15,000 mile trip across the US and Canada, and some roads were horrible.
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Old 12-16-2019, 02:41 PM   #49
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Our previous fiver was a 2011 Montana 3465SA. Aside from the repairs that I made over the years, we were very happy with it. Our current dealer carries Montana and Jayco. They had fewer Montanas on the lot and many more models of Jayco to tour. We ended up with a Jayco North Point. We like most of the floor plan and features. Many features are similar to the Monty. One thing I regret is the Monty had hydraulic slide outs and the Jayco is using Schwintek. Never had a problem with the hydraulic but I'm expecting to have problems with the dreaded Schwintek. Looking back, I would have had more peace of mind had we gone with the Monty for that reason.
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Old 01-02-2020, 07:44 AM   #50
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I researched for over a year before we finally bought our Montana. We're very happy with the construction and floor plan. We've been lucky that we haven't had very many mechanical break downs. Under warranty we had 2 fixes: the refrigerator wouldn't ignite (propane) and the refrigerator propane hose was getting crimped when the slides were in. CW repaired these 2 issues quickly. Not under warranty we had to replace the furnace circuit board. We were told it got wet, I don't understand how. I think my only complaint is an RV refrigerator can't keep ice cream frozen. That's OK, just eat it as soon as you buy it.
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Old 01-02-2020, 09:33 AM   #51
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Originally Posted by margerush View Post
I think my only complaint is an RV refrigerator can't keep ice cream frozen. That's OK, just eat it as soon as you buy it.

Interesting. The Dometic in the last and SOB 5er and the TT further back wouldn't but the currentNorcold will - but then ice cream never seems to last very long regardless of reefer brand
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Old 01-02-2020, 09:34 AM   #52
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Buying a new RV is just like buying a new home. Even new homes have problems and some of them are not small. I don't know why people trade there RV's as much as they do. Especially when you fix all the problems that you have. Sure the new one has a wine rack but hey its worth having a new payment LOL. I personally don't think a RV is like a car which some guys buy new every 2/3 years. I have a 03 and it does what I need without all the fluf. I have had problem but I have fixed them all myself so far. (knock on wood) Would I like something new sure but I want something that isn't to over the top which makes them complicated to fix. I would however buy another Montana if I was in the market.
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Old 01-02-2020, 09:42 AM   #53
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Just for the record. We are not handy in repairing anything .We have had 6 rv's the last two were Montana's. Execpt for very minor fixes we do nothing. We have ESP plans on both the truck and the RV. We have been near full timers in the two Montana's using them hard and doing many thousands of miles .The major problems have been tank failures in both Montana,s and recently the kitchen slide broke both gear assemblies and the header plate in the 3402. That was the most major problem we had. The ESP has handled all of our out of warranty problems . Keystone has treated us fairly and we have a excellent dealer. Having had RV's before and having the experience of selling them for dealers at major RV shows we were well aware of the quality of any RV.
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Old 01-02-2020, 09:51 AM   #54
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Quote:
Originally Posted by margerush View Post
I think my only complaint is an RV refrigerator can't keep ice cream frozen. That's OK, just eat it as soon as you buy it.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dave W View Post
Interesting. The Dometic in the last and SOB 5er and the TT further back wouldn't but the currentNorcold will - but then ice cream never seems to last very long regardless of reefer brand
I've seen complaints from both Dometic and Norcold owners about Fridge and Freezer temps not holding where they should.

Have you installed extra fans to move out the hot air from behind the fridge in your rigs?

Here's a thread from the Keystone Forum that got a lot of attention. I added fans to mine which seems to have helped maintain better temps.

http://www.keystoneforums.com/forums...ghlight=fridge
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Old 01-02-2020, 11:03 AM   #55
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The number one rule of RV life that few people know before they dive in is; You better be handy and know or learn how to work on your RV. Even if you buy it brand new. It is said a boat is "a hole in the water you throw money in". An RV is; "a hole in your driveway (or campground) you throw money in" if you aren't willing and able to work on it yourself.
This is the basic reality of today's rv ownership. Can't imagine the number of trips to the rv repair we would have made over the last 2 decades if we didn't repair the small stuff ourselves or with the help of this forum and fellow RV'ers.
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Old 01-02-2020, 11:19 AM   #56
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Originally Posted by jsb5717 View Post

Have you installed extra fans to move out the hot air from behind the fridge in your rigs?

I've added 2 extra fans on both the last and current 5ers. The last because the Dometic supplied didn't work (frozen up) so that got a couple pretty big ones. Still no joy with the freezer tho the rest of the fridge worked well


The current 5er got 2x50 cfm fans pulling air out. These come on before the Norcold OEM fans though all are supposedly set at 130*F which is what the OEM temp switch is supposed to operate at. Didn't have a problem with ice cream before and for sure after with the 1210 reefer
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Old 01-02-2020, 07:33 PM   #57
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Well they took away our model so I don’t know if I will buy another Montana. She loves to take baths so that’s kind of her thing. When she retires we will get a new 5er so at that time we will see who has a tub!!
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Old 01-19-2020, 04:00 PM   #58
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I’ve had 2 brand new fifth wheels since March 2019. First had so many problems I took a loss and tried again. Got a 2020 Montana 295 rl and same thing. New front window creates condensation moisture in all the floors from bed forward and the condensation leaves standing water in that front window. Keystone refused to buy my dehumidifier that is the answer for this poor purchase choice and their design. Linoleum floats with furnace use, and the you’ll need a bag full of replacement parts for the furnace that’s inaccessible. So I would stay in a cabin at a campground and watch everyone work on their rig from a lawn chair. Never buy a camper again unless it’s. 1987 prowler lynx which will maybe operate beautifully.... sarcasm... imagine where 50-90 thousand dollars will take you on vacations the camper wil be in the shop
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Old 01-19-2020, 04:15 PM   #59
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Sorry you are having issues.

BTW you can fix the floating floor by sealing the vents so air does not get under the vinyl.
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Old 01-19-2020, 06:29 PM   #60
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I’ve had 2 brand new fifth wheels since March 2019. First had so many problems I took a loss and tried again. Got a 2020 Montana 295 rl and same thing. New front window creates condensation moisture in all the floors from bed forward and the condensation leaves standing water in that front window. Keystone refused to buy my dehumidifier that is the answer for this poor purchase choice and their design. Linoleum floats with furnace use, and the you’ll need a bag full of replacement parts for the furnace that’s inaccessible. So I would stay in a cabin at a campground and watch everyone work on their rig from a lawn chair. Never buy a camper again unless it’s. 1987 prowler lynx which will maybe operate beautifully.... sarcasm... imagine where 50-90 thousand dollars will take you on vacations the camper wil be in the shop
I have the big front window in a 2019 3761 FL and no condensation in temps from 18 to 99F. The only problem in over 100 nights is the cap light switch failed. Only problem with the Last Montana was a piece of trim was cut short.
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