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Old 12-10-2004, 09:59 AM   #1
Montana_2547
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Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: Luling
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M.O.C. #2547
Somebody help me feel better!!!

I recently bought a previously owned 3255RL that looked like it had never been used. I've researched and walked RV shows for a couple of years looking forward to the day I could get rid of another 5er we had that was very cheaply made and gave us nothing but problems. I won't get into brand bashing here. Anyway, I had narrowed down to the Montana, Open Road and Cardinal. Because I found this Montana, and because my dealer had suffered with me thru the other one, they gave me a deal I could not refuse. Now I have never been one to buy USED things but this coach was soooo clean I went for it. I did purchase a warranty (3 year) just in case, and this is something else I rarely do. Anyway, I found this Montana owners forum, and being so proud of our new coach, I signed up and boy have I gotten a lot of information. Some good, some disturbing. There is a part of this forum that is full of unhappy Montana owner and the list of problems they have mentioned has me worried that I made a bad decision. So....I would like to hear from some of you who are very happy with your Monty, have had little or no problems, and feel that the forum I'm talking about is a minority of owners, some of which would be unhappy with most anything they bought. From having been in marketing all my life, I know that an unhappy customer will tell a lot more people than a happy customer. So come on...make me feel better...but only if you mean it and are truly happy with your Montana.
 
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Old 12-10-2004, 11:09 AM   #2
Treecounter
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Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Bend
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M.O.C. #162
Nice looking outfit. We have a 3280RL and really like it. We have had some problems. But most of them are with The refrigerate, fantastic fan etc. As for the trailer the only problem was they ran the wire (120) line under the front rack and pinion gear on the front room slid and it sawed into the wire. It was repaired and paid for by Key Stone. The fan parts were provided by Fantastic and the #$%@ light still wont work in the fridge. All our problems have been with the dealer. They have got a completely new service department now and they are fast and efficient. We added toppers for our slide rooms and I think that is why we never had leaks that you here about. We have been to Alaska and into Mexico so it isn't parked a lot. There are problems with all of these rigs. Our last one went to the factory every year to have cracks in the sidling repaired. They finely replaced the whole side. Don't know how long it lasted. We traded it for our Montana as soon as we got it back the last time. We are along way from the Montana factory and wouldn't want to go there. Good luck.
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Old 12-10-2004, 11:26 AM   #3
Glenn and Lorraine
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We bought our 2955RL in September of 03. With the exception of having dealt with northern NY's worst Montana dealer we have had but one minor problem. That was the shower door and that was fixed and we have had no problems since than.
One other thing was the Fantastic Vent motor. I stripped the gears, notice I said "I stripped the gears" and when I called Fantastic and explained the problem they sent me a new motor, NO CHARGE.

You said..."So come on...make me feel better...but only if you mean it and are truly happy with your Montana." Hopefully that made you feel a bit better and if not maybe this will. I have no real immediate plans on trading my 04 Montana but when I do it will be for another Montana. No ifs, ands or buts about it!
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Old 12-10-2004, 11:30 AM   #4
joe2speed
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M.O.C. #1268
Hi Sandy, You wanted to hear from a happy Monty owner, here's one. I have a 2004, 3655FL. Took delivery in August 2003 and haven't had any serious problems to date. We have towed it about 7000 miles to date, problem free. I also read the horror letters some people write and consider myself very lucky. The only thing I didn't like was the sound system they used. It was cheap and the CD player got stuck closed early this summer. I plan on putting a better system in before spring. Good luck with your monty, not all of us are having these awful problems we keep reading about.
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Old 12-10-2004, 12:14 PM   #5
prariepoodle
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Hi Sandy, We have had our 2003 3280RL for a little over a year and have just sence Dec 1st pulled it down the road. It performed great and we had no problems with it. Sence we are full timers I check and check everything and have to say I have not had the problems that some have had. But then when something goes wrong I just fix it so it won't happen again. Good luck and like joe2speed says not all of us are having awful problems....
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Old 12-10-2004, 12:16 PM   #6
foggyb
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Join Date: Apr 2004
Location: farmingdale
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M.O.C. #1351
Hi Were happy. Everything has problems. Just fix and go on and you'll forget about them in no time. It's hard to remember any we have had. Nice truck. That's what I wanted but my black one showed up at the right time ,price, etc. Never washed a vehicle so much and I owned a carwash for 20+ years. Dan
ps. hit link beside thermometer and you will see why we travel in the south in the winter now.
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Old 12-10-2004, 12:21 PM   #7
lightningjack11
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M.O.C. #59
Real happy with mine that I also purchased used and in the blind before the MOC.

Nice looking rig. The early 99-2000 models had 8 inch I beams. If your Montana has the 8 inch I beam, make sure you have the dealer perform Service advisory 00-8 on it. Keystone is still doing this free of charge even on used units. If in doubt call Keystone and give them your VIN number. That's the way they track this advisory.

Good to see you posting. Oh, thus far I am truely happy with my choice.

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Old 12-10-2004, 04:08 PM   #8
DHenry
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M.O.C. #496
I am keeping mine for a long, long time as we are very happy with it. You may have a problem or two, that is to be expected with a rig that you bounce all over the country. Our Montana has been great, and we love the floor plan. We hope you enjoy yours as much as we do ours.
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Old 12-10-2004, 04:08 PM   #9
Montana_2434
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M.O.C. #2434
Hi. We are also happy so far. We just bought a 2955RL which was built just this November and have not had any problems to speak of. I have reviewed (and appreciate) all the comments in MOC and will be taking the advice of many contributers. We have the goofy remote A/C controller, and the music system could be better, but overall we are very happy. We spent a few months shopping and are very happy with our choice to go with a Monty.

Paul
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Old 12-10-2004, 04:31 PM   #10
paulrem
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Join Date: May 2003
Location: Twin Falls
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M.O.C. #299
Sandy, Welcome to the MOC, glad to have you aboard. We are on our second Monty and like it very much. This forum kept me from having a problem. One of the axles needed to be replaced, along with two of the four tires. Second axle was okay. We have put on about 14,000 miles on ours and if and when we trade it will be for aniother Monty. We have had other minor things, but nothing serious. We can't wait till March rolls around so we can start to roll down the road.
Take the time to enjoy it.
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Old 12-10-2004, 04:46 PM   #11
stiles watson
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Location: Leona
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M.O.C. #2059
On this forum, you get to hear every gripe. That's because it is open and uncontrolled. Not only do you find the problems but you get the solutions. Like you, I bought preowned. It is in pristine condition even after the previous owner lived in it fulltime for a year. To me, that speaks to the durability question.

Have I had problems? Yes. Big problems No. No bigger than the routine maintenance on my stick house. I spend much more time "fixin'" on the stick house. If I didn't have confidence in the Monty, I wouldn't be going fulltime in April.

Today I fixed the shower control knob in the stick house for the fourth time in three years. If that had happened on a Monty, some would feel that the rig is majorly flawed. Moen is sending me a new control as we speak. I also replaced the rusting door catches on the Monty. Along with the high amber running light that I creamed on a limb last outing. Tomorrow, I will repair the series of small tears I got in my roof from that same limb. Irritating, but not catastrophic.

Seems to me that life is made of just such trivial stuff. I just praise God I have enough mechanical skill to do most of it myself. Do I love my Montana? Maybe I reserve that word for weightier things. I will say this, my Montana feels more like home than the stick house to both my wife and me.
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Old 12-10-2004, 06:04 PM   #12
fulltimedreamer
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M.O.C. #919
As you can see in our signature we have a Mountaineer by Montana. We have used ours extensively for the past two years. There were no warranty issues with the coach, but we did have to have the recliner mechanism replaced on one of our recliners as it was a bit one sided. I took the recliner to the dealer and he ordered the part and had it back to me in 48 hours.
At the end of this last camping season the Airconditioner quit cooling. It was covered by the Duotherm 3 year warranty. It turns out that the folks at Duotherm had placed a copper line where it would rub against the compressor and it rubbed a hole in the line. A local RV company did the repair ( 2 miles from home)and I now have a new 3 year warrranty on the airconditioner.
Neither of these issues were caused by Keystone/Montana but by their suppliers and both were taken care of expeditiously. So would we buy another Montana? You bet. We're looking for a 5th wheel as we are planning to go fulltime and will buy a Montana if we can find the right deal. Yes, we're happy campers and all of our friends love our coach too.
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Old 12-11-2004, 01:54 AM   #13
ken
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M.O.C. #345
Sandy
We bought our 2003 3655FL based on friends that have Montanas. We have not had a lick of problems with it. I hate to see it go, but fell in love with the 2005 3475 which will be delivered in january. We hope we have the same luck with it. I think, as you read all the comments on the MOC, there are minor problems that can be encounterd. But the majority of owners seem to have no problems at all. As long as Keystone backs their product and the dealer repair the small items, we will continue to buy Montanas. Enjoy your Montana.
Ken and Velda Taylor
Dahlgren VA
2003 3655FL Montana/Ford F350 Diesel
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Old 12-11-2004, 02:50 AM   #14
Montana_2180
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Sandy,

I bought my 2002 3575RL used, just a few months ago. It was used, but very little.

I have participated on this excellent site for as long as I have owned my 5er, maybe a little longer (it is what helped me decide!) Alot of what goes on around here is very helpful, but a word of caution concerning web forums:

Let me start by saying I also participate on another great web forum for Ford Superduty trucks, www.thedieselstop.com (I know, I know, I have a V-10, so what am I doing on that site? It has a ton of excellent info for all superduty trucks). What I notice on forum sites is folks like to vent...some come to bash and "bait", but most of us just come to talk, listen, and enjoy the friendship of folks with similar interests and products. You have to be careful with what you hear sometimes (there was a post by ONE person out here who had a very serious problem with the king pin mount and the structure on the front of the trailer...).

Now, I emphasized "ONE" not because anything was wrong with that post, but because that is the ONLY person so far that I have read about on this site of many users that had that problem. Anyhow, all the next day while I was at work I was fretting about that problem showing up on my trailer! I had to shake myself loose and realize that not all the problems apprearing out here happen to everyone or happen alot.

Never-the-less, I still find the "troubles" entries are useful (I cracked open the bottom of my shower to see if it was wet due to some exchange by some members on that one...alas, mine was bone dry!).

But I find the psyche of forums is to have elated owners and downers (not sure we have alot of downers around here, and by downers, I by NO means, intend that anyone who posts a problem (like the king pin problem) is a downer.) Many times they are doing it to help us by informing. The problem starts when you see alot of those posts all collected here in one site. Starts to make you wonder.

I have not towed my rig very far, but I am amazed at how well it pulled for the 300 or so miles I've pulled it.

I have not owned my 5er nearly as long as many of the veterans here, but the few months of full-timing I am doing in it so far has proven to be virtually trouble free.

Like others have said, no matter what you buy, you will probably have some level of trouble...it is, after all, built by men, and men usually make mistakes somewhere.

Do some serious research, soul-searching, and then make a decision based on facts, not emotion, or interior colors | | and go enjoy it!

Sorry for the long post, but that is what was on my mind and heart concerning this matter.

Chip
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Old 12-11-2004, 04:01 AM   #15
mrosser
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M.O.C. #1423
After going thru several TT's & 5ers, we have found the one we hope to have for along time. When we bought the Montana, we were also looking at other brands but after alot of shopping decided on the Montana. We could not be happier with it. Have we had any problems? A few, nothing major. Will we have any more problems? I would think so. If my wife will sign the check I will buy another Montana when we trade!
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Old 12-11-2004, 05:10 AM   #16
Montana_2547
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M.O.C. #2547
Thanks so much for all of your posts. As I said in my original post, an unhappy customer will talk more than a happy one. At the time of this post well over 100 owners have viewed this forum and 14 have replied. I feel much better and I'm very happy with our Montana. Either our coach is darn near perfect or I'm just to dumb to see the problems.

Thank you all and I wish each of you a very Merry Christmas and a safe and happy new year. I'm not a full-timer, I'd like to be one day, and I enjoy so much conversing with everyone from all over the country. Honestly, it helps me deal with this "hitch itch" more than you could possibly imagine. I don't know what the future holds, I only know that the Lord holds the future and I pray one day He will grant my dream and let me live and travel full time in our RV.

Thank you all.
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Old 12-11-2004, 06:52 AM   #17
harleyrider
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M.O.C. #627
i own a 3280RL as well.Its a 2001 model.Bought it new in March of 2004 with a FULL warrenty.So this unit was sitting on the dealers lot for almost 3 years.Got a great deal was really the only way I could afford a Montana.Wanted BRAND new but didn`t have the bucks.So I got lucky and did get NEW but its an older model.

As i type i`am having problems.My selling dealer was very nice but his service department was totally worthless.Now I have another dealer to get care of my problems.

1. bed room slide crack
2. cracking of the fiberglass on the kitchen slide
3. front landing gear pump leaking
4. looks to me anyway that the caulking around all the windows is cracking(no leaks so far but its a concern to me regardless.

Am I upset that my Montana isn`t perfect?A little.

Counting on Keystone to take care of the problems.My warrenty runs out in March of 2005.Bringing to the dealer in January.

If I had to do it over again I wouldn`t have changed a thing.I truly love this 5er.I`am so proud to tow it you can`t imagine.And also proud to be a part of this forum.i love my Montana and even though i`am having some problems I will defend it to the end.

to me its like a marriage you have some rough spots along the way but you sit down and talk and work threw them,and the next thing you know your kissing and hugging and all is like it should be.
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Old 12-12-2004, 11:45 AM   #18
Montana_2230
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M.O.C. #2230
Mansonsand, I recently bought a previously enjoyed 2001 2955RL and like yours it looked hardly used. I was able to talk to the prior owner and he assured me that he did not have any problems with it. He did have the dealer replace the A/C under warranty because it froze up on low speed. I have not had a problem that I thought was anything other than normal RV maintenance. These things will occur for the life of the RV in my opinion and you just fix them. As an old plane driver, that was a saying I heard once by a older pilot friend."There are two kinds of pilots, those who HAVE landed with the gear up and those who WILL land with with the gear up". Applying the thought to RV's, there are RV's that have problems, and there are RV's that will have problems.

Hope all yours are minor and you have a great time with your Monty as I do.

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Old 12-13-2004, 03:35 AM   #19
Dental Floss Tycoon
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M.O.C. #1817
I had to chuckle a bit when I read that your short list included Montana, Open Road and Cardinal. My first fiver, bought in March 2004, was one of the three on your list (not the Montana ). I had so many problems with it I got rid of it after three months of ownership and bought the Montana. Have I had any problems? Yes, but nothing major and none that I couldn't repair myself. I don't tow my trailer as I have a seasonal site, so I can't say if there will be problems as a result of travelling. However, we did use it every weekend including a week long vacation in September.

Would I buy another Monty? Sure! But I hope I don't have to because I like the one I have now too much
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Old 12-13-2004, 09:36 AM   #20
sreigle
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M.O.C. #20
Ray and Judy, just an fyi - the DuoTherm AC units are infamous for freezing up on low fan speed in high humidity. So we just run ours on high and avoid the problem.
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