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Old 06-15-2005, 10:58 AM   #1
Montana_107
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Montana Mountaineer Quality

I bought a 2001 30.5 Mountaineer TT and really thought the quality was way below standards for what you pay for the trailer. I am looking at a 2006 326fks and was wondering if in the last five years the quality has come up to a reasonable standard. I did an awfully lot of repairs my self on the trailer that should have never happened. Shower door knobs, bathroom door opener, material shredding on couch, fiberglass splitting on side of trailer etc etc. Does anyone have an opinion on this subject. I would appreciate and help you can give me. I would not buy another unless I get some warm fuzzies on the forum.

fknipfer
 
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Old 06-16-2005, 03:53 PM   #2
trukdoc
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We bought a 2005 328RLS Mountaineer. I absolutely love it. There has only been a couple of things that had to be fixed by the dealer. As far as overall condition and quality I have nothing bad to say. Nothing was so serious that it changed any of our travel plans. The technition at the dealership had good things to say about the Mountaineer line. Good luck.
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Old 06-16-2005, 04:49 PM   #3
Montana_107
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Taking a trip to alaska in about three weeks, will be gone for two months. Will probable trade the 30.5fks for a 326fks when we get back. Both retired and will travel some but will never sell the homestead, but want a nice place to reside when travelling. Nice to have a son who is a peace office and lives only four houses down so we get our house watched all the time. I have heard Mounaineers that have enclosed bottom are good for about -20 to -30 degrees F below zero can anyone confirm this.

Cheers,
fknipfer
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Old 06-17-2005, 03:04 AM   #4
Montana_2779
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30 below zero??!! Wow! I'd be real impressed with any RV that could take that! Although the Mountaineer with the enclosed bottom is not necessarily rated as a cold weather, four-seasons rig, we feel pretty comfortable that it can take some low (below freezing) temps if prepped correctly. That, in fact, was one of our criteria when buying our fulltiming rig (could withstand the relatively mild winters we get here in TX, with a few nights below freezing each year). However, I'd be a bit leary of heading that far south of zero in our rig.

As for the quality-- we couldn't be happier with ours! We've had the rig since January, and have been fulltiming (no stickhouse) sinch March, and the rig has never been back to the dealership. Heck (knock on wood) tightening a screw and adding a little caulk has been the closest to a repair that we've gotten.
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Old 06-17-2005, 04:09 AM   #5
Richard
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We bought our unit used and have had very good luck with it.

30 below in an RV? (any RV!)...you better bring your mittens.

I saw a news article the other day about the insect invasion of alaska this year. Remember something about "RV'ers staying inside, trying to avoid the swarms"..

You might want to check that out before heading up there.

I can't find the exact article but here's something similar:

http://www.knoxstudio.com/shns/story...6-14-05&cat=AN
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Old 06-17-2005, 04:42 AM   #6
CountryGuy
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We agree, not 20 to 30 BELOW. NOPE. Maybe 25 degrees F.

Do a search here at MOC (see search function at top of this page). There is a lot of chatter about freezing and cold weather RVing. You will get an education, and maybe a few laughs!

Enjoy Alaksa
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Old 06-17-2005, 07:20 AM   #7
sreigle
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One thing I think speaks to improved quality of the Mountaineers is they now have their own assembly plant. Previously they shared the plant with the Montanas, with each built on alternating days. As the sales volume increased more and more had to be built each day. Now, with their own plant, that build rate can be distributed over the entire week. I don't know if the plant operates every day but the capacity is there to do so. I'm convinced the quality problems we saw for awhile had to do with having to push through too many units per day.

As for minus 30F, we were told at the service center in Goshen that the Montana is warranted to 28F. We originally could get down to 22F before freezing pipes. Did a little caulking on the belly pan and we got down to 17F. Continued doing some ohter things and last winter we got down to 3F without freezing. The furnace was set on daytime temp all night to keep the warm air going into the belly and I had heat taped the low point drains. We woke up to frozen pipes again but the outside temp was minus 5F.

The new Montanas have the low point drains in the basement storage area where they are far less likely to freeze. Plus, Keystone moved all the water lines up between the floor rails where they get the warmest air in the basement and do not lay on the steel frame members. So the new ones should fare better than the 22F we at first got out of ours. I'd guess they'll go into the low teens without modification but that's just a wild guess. I don't know if the Mountaineers share this same design but it would be a good question to call Keystone Customer Service and ask about.

We do not have the doublepane windows (wish we did). So for the winter we cover the windows with the 3M window film made for stick homes. It helps a lot inside but there still is a lot of cold air coming through the walls, especially where the cabinets are. We stay warm but use the furnace a lot and supplement with electric heaters to keep the propane usage down. Just be sure the furnace runs enough to heat the belly. I don't know if the Mountaineer has a heated belly or not.
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Old 06-17-2005, 09:11 AM   #8
Jeff Heiser
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We have a 2005 327RKS Mountaineer TT and love it. As for quality, we got what we paid for - a quality unit worth the money spent on it (so far). We have had it almost a year and have had next to no (a few roof bubbles fixed right away) problems with it. In fact compared to other TT's we have had this one far out shines any of the others. We have had our TT in 22 degrees F (over night several times, actually to 18 degrees once) and dont think we would want to go much lower than that with it. As for anything below zero - I don't know about that - probably not.

We were told our Mountaineer did have the heated belly and I would have to believe it. We had no frozen pipes etc when we camped in the cold (18/22 degrees f) weather. It does have a completely enclosed belly.

Bottom line is we couldn't be happier with our Mountaineer TT and recommend Montanas and Mountaineers to anyone that will listen.

God Bless America
Jeff Heiser
Merritt Island Florida
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Old 06-17-2005, 03:21 PM   #9
Montana_107
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I once owned a 1990 38ft Carriage Fifth Wheel which had a closed bottom and in the literature was a rating of -30 degrees F in cold weather. I never stayed in the winter in it, but it according to the sales literature was capable of that. Not enough room in it to stay in winter for that long. It also had storm windows which came with it when I purchased it and installed in the winter. The enclosed bottom was heated by the forced air furnace so the problem of freezing pipes internal wasn't there. Just had to keep heat tape on anything coming in. I like the Mountaineers and own one (30.5fks) and since retiring am wondering and not knowing as of now where I will going especially in the winter. Just thought I would ask. They have a 326fks with slide out bedroom I have my eye on right now and thought after my up trip north, may try to purchase it.
Thank everyone for your replies.

fknipfer


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Old 06-18-2005, 10:12 AM   #10
sreigle
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Fknipfer, the Montanas also have forced air from the furnace into the belly. I'm not sure if the Mountaineers do but would bet they do.
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Old 06-20-2005, 03:14 AM   #11
mgdg
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I`ve changed my mind on the quality issue with Keystone. They have their problems like everyone else. The aluminium frame is what I wanted in a 5er so I`ve learned to live with the little things that have gone wrong, but were fixed promptly by my dealer. I think that is the key, having a good dealer that takes care of you. Our Mountaineer 328rls 5er has the heated underbelly. We camped in April of this year and it was going down to 20f-25f and around 45f-50f during the day. we had no problem staying warm. The furnace would kick on every 15-20 mins like clock work. So we started using those little ceramic heaters, one in our bedroom and one on the kitchen cupboard and the furnace hardly went on. The bedroom actually got too warm with that little heater, so we turned it down to its lowest setting and opened the sliding door between the kitchen and bedroom. Minus 20f-30f I`d be a little worried, you`d probably be warm, with furnace, ceramic heaters and maybe a fireplace. The furnace would never shut off and the pipes better be empty and no water hooked up.
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