A question for Montana owners - Page 2 - Montana Owners Club

Clemson1881 · 08-13-2009, 02:56 PM

I only hope I get as good of service out of my new Montana as I did my 97 Jayco I bought new. Used the heck out of it for 12 to 13 years and never had any problems out of it what so ever except for a burner board for the Norcold fridge. Of course we replaced tires and brake linings, but far as non wear items nothing. Crossing my fingers. Used the Monty twice this Summer. So far so good.

jimcol · 08-13-2009, 05:30 PM

We have about 27K miles on 2006 3000RK. Knock on wood, we have had no major problems with our unit. Only been back to the dealer once since we purchased it to correct some poor caulking done by the factory and a noisy water pump. I have had to make some minor repairs on my own but they have been more normal wear items like brake adjustments and tightening some water lines. I do believe following advice offered on this form has helped me prevent failures.

blarkman · 08-14-2009, 05:12 AM

What bothers me about the RV industry is that the same problems keep occouring. From quality control to cleanup, problems present on our 99 Montana were present on our 06. Sawdust, loose screws, wire end pieces of wood and even wood plugs left behind. Cleanup seems to be a low priority on the new rigs. Known problems are not passed on or how to fix them. Known water leaks, noisy pumps, loose screws or falling out, etc, the rear kitchen had a problem with drawer under fridge popping out and get eaten by slideout. You can't check this without climbing over counter. Their fix, more catches, but this was not passed on to dealer to correct before selling. In the car business we received notices of known problems and how to fix before delivery.. WE are the biggest and best salepeople for the manufacturer so why do they not be nicer to us
bob

Trailer Trash 2 · 08-14-2009, 05:53 AM

Quote:

quote:Originally posted by blarkman

What bothers me about the RV industry is that the same problems keep occouring. From quality control to cleanup, problems present on our 99 Montana were present on our 06. Sawdust, loose screws, wire end pieces of wood and even wood plugs left behind. Cleanup seems to be a low priority on the new rigs. Known problems are not passed on or how to fix them. Known water leaks, noisy pumps, loose screws or falling out, etc, the rear kitchen had a problem with drawer under fridge popping out and get eaten by slideout. You can't check this without climbing over counter. Their fix, more catches, but this was not passed on to dealer to correct before selling. In the car business we received notices of known problems and how to fix before delivery.. WE are the biggest and best salepeople for the manufacturer so why do they not be nicer to us
bob

Probably because we didn't pay 500 K for our 5er,
"My Opinion"
Montanas are one of the most popular RV's out there as for construction, parts, and workmanship and most of all price, I would put the Montana in the upper mid range of RVs, people love there floor plans and there smart looks. as with any RV manufacture they will cut corners for profet using some products that are not exactly top end.
I think we all have had the saw dust here and there, couple of knock out in the back of our cabinets, and a bunch of loose screws which I clasify as the normal with all the twisting and racking while underway something has to give. I do believe there are some Dealers that will not give the service we sometimes expect.
off the soap box.

BB_TX · 08-14-2009, 06:17 AM

I guess I am one of the exceptionally lucky ones. Have had our '07 Monty for a little over 2 yrs, 73 nights on the road, and over 8,000 miles.
Had a wiring error to the frig when we first got it and quickly corrected by the dealer.
Had a screw come out of one day/night shade last year. 30 minute fix.
Had a bolt come out of the couch this year. 5 minute fix.
And I replaced the Mission tires. Although I had no problems with those.
Been very pleased with ours.

8e3k0 · 08-14-2009, 06:34 AM

Coming from the mechanical and electrical side of the world, it would sure be nice to have schematics and parts list no different that the automotive, agriculture, industrial sectors. Our electrical both 12 volt and 110 volt in the basement was a disaster and a mess with no ties, no neat tracks, my furnace themostat wire had 2 different conectors where the wire was evidently cut too short. Water lines are like a maze rather than following a track system for ease of installation and troubleshooting. It takes no more time to arrange these items neatly and reduces call backs plus reduces the end cost of that RV. If you never have problems, never look behind the covers, and run it till it fails, the result is; What you don't know simply won't bother you! Through my life of owning, operating and maintaing all types of equipment I simply cannot turn a blind eye to the many deficiencies we've identified. Glad my Dealer is suppotive and understanding. And yes; cosmetically those Montys are a nice looking unit. Ellis

richfaa · 08-14-2009, 07:27 AM

Blarkman's post is interesting and of course true. I could say exactly he same thing about our previous 4 rvs all SOB's. So so much saw dust fell out of the ceiling and into he light fixtures on a very well known SOB that the lights were dim. On another there was so much metal flings in the fridge compartment that it shorted out. Just removed the bottom drawer on the end of our 06 3400 island to do some wiring and wound up vacuuming out sawdust , wood chips and bits of wiring.On our tank indicator panel(which does not work) of the 4 screws holdng it in they cut the hole to big, One screw was missing as it had no wood to screw into another was there but screwed into nothing and the other two actualy had wood to attach to... It is the nature of the RV industry.

blarkman · 08-14-2009, 12:15 PM

Trailertrash
I cannot accept that excuse "we did not pay 500K for it". I do not feel it matters if we paid 10k or 500k. I expect some pride in workmanship and this includes cleanup in construction. It is no wonder we get treated this way, we just accept what they hand out, this includes all products If you have not enough pride in your product, neither does your employees, or anyone else who works for you from top to bottom. I have steered many people to various products or services. I did not or will not badmouth any product or service. I just suggest they might want to check it out. With all the problems we had on our Montana I did not put them down, we are proud of our Montana and when it was away for repairs just said it was at the RV doctor.
bob

Clemson1881 · 08-14-2009, 01:07 PM

My unit was clean and in good shape when I picked it up. A lot of what is being discussed depends on the dealer. My dealer was excellent in prepping my unit, and doing ad ons for no charge I asked for. They also gave me a great price. Beat everyone else by thousands. If you are in the market to buy check out RV007.com. I am in no way affiliated with them except for being a highly satisfied customer. I drove 4 hours to buy from these guys because of their price.

akf15e · 08-14-2009, 02:47 PM

Mixed reviews on mine. Compared to the Mountaineer 5er I had for 7 seasons, I am a bit disappointed in my Montana so far. My Mountaineer 298RLS was in the shop twice during that time - once for some post shakedown "tweaks" and a second time for the Dometic recall. Not a single cent out of my pocket for repairs that entire time! Had a number of the "flaws" in workmanship and clean up issues others have discussed, but no failures. Based on that, I went straight to the Keystone section at the RV show this year and bought a 2009 Montana 3400.

I've only had it 4 1/2 months, and it's been in the shop twice for a total of 4 weeks, and still needs some more fixes. Issues have included 2nd A/C not wired correctly, Dimplex fireplace thermostat failure, landing gear replacement on right side, awning slow to retract, cracked cabinet door, kitchen faucet installed incorrectly, convection oven gets moisture trapped in the glass door, front cap decals replaced already, shower head leaking, and a leak under the bedroom sink (into the basement). I've spent over $100 on gas taking it back and forth to the dealer and had to cancel one trip while awaiting parts, costing me my deposit money.

None of these are major failures (exept Landing gear), but have been pretty major annoyances, especially considering this rig was twice the price of my last rig. Even more perplexing is that the last rig was made by the same people!!

We'll see how the rest of the season goes, but I do know I'll be purchasing a service plan based on the initial experience with my Montana.

boje · 08-14-2009, 05:17 PM

I was hoping to get some feedback on the Monty's. After reviewing the prior comments, I would like to comment on two things.

1) The Dealer/RV Technicians play a crucial part as far as a remedy to problems are concerned. They can try all they want, but if they lack the experience on how a unit is constructed, or how items operate, good luck.

I have to give a shout out to Sonny's RV in Casper, for rectifying my issues.

2) I wonder why a majority of owners expect to have issues with the purchase of a rig, regardless of manufactuer or price. Perhaps that is why so many questionable/problem items accompany the RV. I know you get what you pay for, so I expect quite a bit from my 3400RL.

My 2 cents.

By the way, currently in Mitchell SD heading to Hidden Bluffs MN.

Trailer Trash 2 · 08-14-2009, 06:01 PM

Quote:

quote:Originally posted by blarkman

Trailertrash
I cannot accept that excuse "we did not pay 500K for it". I do not feel it matters if we paid 10k or 500k. I expect some pride in workmanship and this includes cleanup in construction. It is no wonder we get treated this way, we just accept what they hand out, this includes all products If you have not enough pride in your product, neither does your employees, or anyone else who works for you from top to bottom. I have steered many people to various products or services. I did not or will not badmouth any product or service. I just suggest they might want to check it out. With all the problems we had on our Montana I did not put them down, we are proud of our Montana and when it was away for repairs just said it was at the RV doctor.
bob

When I received my trailer I paid the dealer DEALER PREP FEES they are the ones that were supose to go over my trailer and make sure the unit was up to snuff,clean and everything working, and it was my responability to notice any or all problems that I could see when we spent most of the day checking the trailer out before acpting delivery, I not saying I havent had problems I did but my dealer took care of my issues it sat in his lot for one month and I made 1 payment for it while it was in the shop, all my deacls are peeling out of warintee, cabinet doord falling off from loose screws, I could go on and on with all my problems but I wont.
As for a dollar amount a diamond is a diamond but a $10 diamond and a $1000 diamond are not the same as a 60 K 5er and a 500 K 5er are not the same.
Bob I have not been to the factory but I hear that every Keystone product is put together by craft persons with pride.

richfaa · 08-15-2009, 05:02 AM

"Bob I have not been to the factory but I hear that every Keystone product is put together by craft persons with pride." Arghhhhh. We are bitting our tongue.....

simonsrf · 08-15-2009, 06:04 AM

We're fulltimers, and any repairs done are figured as housing costs. Luckily, this forum has given us the knowledge to know how to look for potential problems.

Like others, we have had the normal wear and tear issues...as a retired guy, they keep me busy. We are very happy with the quality of our home.

akf15e · 08-15-2009, 06:27 AM

"We're fulltimers, and any repairs done are figured as housing costs. Luckily, this forum has given us the knowledge to know how to look for potential problems."

Robbie - and therein lies the irony of my situation! As this is my 4th camper, I also have learned a lot along the way and from forums like this. I spent hours crawling around every nook and cranny of this unit, tested everything on it - sometimes twice. I think the dealer thought I was nuts!

Unfortunately, most of my issues would not have been caught no matter what. Oh well. I'm still quite satisfied with my Montana, just would give it an 80% grade vs. the 90% I'd have given my Mountaineer. Still plenty of time to raise the grade though!

Desert RVer · 08-15-2009, 08:01 AM

What is troubling here is that many here have suggested that the Montana problems are about the same as other RV manufacturers. The purchasers low level of expectation is unfortunately what the manufacturers quality performance is. We get what we accept. Quality quite often isn't always a matter of how much is paid either.

Clemson1881 · 08-15-2009, 11:54 AM

I for one expect good service from a trailer in Montana's price range. To expect zero issues is unrealistic in my opinion. However, some things there's no excuse for. Good quality control inspectors and another check over by a good dealer should minimize post purchase issues. I am expecting a lot out of my Monty as I stated in an earlier post my 97 SOB gave me 13 trouble free years outside of normal wear and tear. We'll see.

Champ_49 · 08-15-2009, 02:09 PM

I have a 2007 3400RL. I have had some minor problems with mine also. Some water leaks that also caused an electrical problem. Other than that I been pretty trouble free. I believe Montana is a great affordable unit and its record shows it. I will say that my experience in the rv industry as far as owning has always been the same. There will always be things that come up and need a quick fix. You can't take something this big down our beautiful hwys. without having some kind of effect on the trailer. Its just the way it is. If you want to blame anyone I would say blame the state for not giving us great perfect hwys. But then again in order to do that you have to pay more taxes. It just keeps going on and on. Its part of the rving life for me.
Dave

HamRad · 08-15-2009, 08:43 PM

Dave,
What a great attitude! I like to think that I share that same attitude but sometimes I just can't make it work. But we're gonna keep trying and enjoying. Everything, even the failures, are simply a part of the adventure. And what else do we have left? Enjoy!

Dennis

Allen in MT · 08-16-2009, 01:13 PM

My 05 3400 had everything you folks have mentioned. The holes to the water looked like they were knocked out with a hammer and then covered with a square plate, 5" holes for a 3/4" pipe, no plugs or plates around pipes,saw dust and wood chips in and under everything. Of course we should have examined it closer and had things corrected.
My wife always says,

"You can tell that they didn't have a woman walk thru on the final inspection"

but like you stated, all the manufactors have the same issues.
Allen

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