Electrical fire

[bsmeaton]

We did what Ozz did, mainly because we read Ozz's posts a few years back. I made a list of all the issues everybody had. Because we took delivery in the Winter, I had several months to do preventative work and checks before the maiden voyage. (water fittings, electrical panel tighten, fixture tighten, new goodies...)

I still cross my fingers, as you just can't catch everything and I can only wish the best outcome for Mudflapp -

The only electrical problem we had so far was my own faulty work I'm embarrased to say. It took only a minute to fix, but boy did I yell at Keystone when the wife was watching over my shoulder.

[bsmeaton]

Wishing you the best Muddypaws - but your repair shop already sounds like he has an attitude.

Our Dealer says out of the three he sells, the best thing about Keystone is rapid response to parts. He had a Bighorn that was waiting over 5 months for a cabinet.

[Dean A Van Peursem]

Richfaa,

How do we arrange to have a wiring short like yours so we can respond apprpropriately to the fire? :-)

[richfaa]

Actually there was for warning that it might occur. We did insulate the wiring going through the front compartment into the frame and like Ozz did should have dropped the underbelly and checked under there. We were to lazy to do that and paid the price. We have since then tied everything back and since then Montana has done better in insulating those wire bundles as observed at the factory on the tours at the fall rally. We also saw a lot of tie wraps under there on the tour this year. However it has occured again so there may be still a problem and I have got this feeling that Montana will be looking at that area again. I might also add that we had a 3 year old 1980 3/4 ton chevy custom van burn to the ground due to improper wiring in the heater assembly that GM was aware of . The fire chief knew exactly what caused the fire as he had seen may of them and included that in the report.. I got a new van out of that. . It is tough to be perfect.

[MuddyPaws]

I found out today that the tow truck driver tried to lift our Montana after it fell off the truck and dropped it a couple of times. The third drop was the one which drove the landing leg up through the floor and broke the cabinet.

This is going to be lots more interesting before it's all over.

Edited 01/19/2008.

He forgot to install a safty pin. That's why it dropped.

The electrical fire took out the black tank sensors & melted the tank. Might have done the same for all 4 tanks, and of course the control panel. Getting closer to being totaled..........

We're already shopping for a new one.

[Bruce Lenhardt]

Sorry to hear of your problems. If I was you I would lobby very hard for the trailer to be a total loss. Between your insurance and the tow truck's insurance the two of them should total it.

I had a similiar problem with my '08 3075 this summer. After traveling some rough roads in Maine, we noticed that there was no 12 volt power when only hooked to the TV. The first clue was when my rear view camera quit. Upon setting up at a campground and after I had hooked AC power up, I luckily was checking the fuse panel and noticed it was getting very hot. Long story short- During assembly of the trailer they had mistakenly laid the large wire from the battery to the fuse panel over the frame and then placed the flooring over it. It took awhile (1000 miles) to short out. Could have been bad had I not been messing with the fuse panel. They just try to go too fast while building them.

We still do really like our Montana. Had no problems since. Takes awhile to work out the bugs.

[Champ_49]

I also had a problem 1 year after owning my 07 Monte 3400RL. We discovered about 1/2 way thru the 1st season with it that the shower was leaking around the sides. I discovered this when I opened the storage door to drain the tanks and noticed the floor wet. I took it back to the dealer and they promptly repaired the leak and was well aware of this problem and had said they have seen this before. Once fixed I put it away for the winter and the next season shortly after setup we tried using the microwave, and it kept blowing the circuit breaker. Further inspection I started tracking down the wire from micro to fuse panel. I found the wire that went down thru the floor to the slide out went into a junction box right near the tire. I thought maybe a loose wire in that junction box. After I removed the screws and broke the seal on that cover, out comes a box filled with water. I found that the wiring harness was full of water also which was a hose that the wiring was put in. More inspection revealed that there was a few real small leaks in plumbing right around the area where it comes into the the water hookups. Between the shower leak, the water line leaks and time this caused the micro problem. I cured this by tightening all water lines which were very loose, and where that hose with the electrical went thru I sealed that off with some silicone sealant.

It now appears I had better look into some other electrical problems.

[Dean A Van Peursem]

The reason that Keystone Montana may respond better on parts is they may have had more field failures and have had to send more of them. We have had several water leaks also in our 3400RL. One plastic hose came off a T fitting to the front of the furnace air return grill. Poured water into the kitchen and living room at 2:00AM until I could get the water turned off. The next morning found the problem and was able to push the hose back on to the fitting w/o loosening the clamp. Never had been tightened at the factory. Tightened the clamp on the hose and that particular leak has never returned. We have had several other leaks and most have been solved by just tightening up the fittings up to the required torque that should have been done at the factory. I've tightened all fittings that I can find and am aware of. 90% or more were way too loose. Even the black tank flush lines leaked badly until properly tightened. Must have been an Engineering Change Order implemented the day after our unit was built since no one else has had these problems. :-)

[HamRad]

MuddyPaws,

Surely the towing company and their insurance will be responsible for the majority of damage. And, of course, Keystone and or whoever made whatever caused the fire problem should also be held responsible for their share of damages.

Of course it sounds as if the unit should simply be "totaled" and you get a new replacement. With the twisting of the frame nothing will ever truly "fit" right inside the coach. It may not track correctly as you're pulling it. I just can't see how it can't be "totaled".

Good luck and please keep us up to date on how it goes.

HamRad

[hoodoo68]

Hopefully it all works out well I definitely have been there done that...needless to say 2008 was not a good year for the Fifth Wheel. On our move out from Montana to Virginia I kept noticing things "quiting or not working right" and the closer I got to Virginia the worse it got. Well upon plugging at a KOA in Virginia I heard a sound...well not normal anyway, unplugged and ran inside and didn't notice much right off...and that's when I noticed the TV upstairs it had smoke rolling out of it. Yep everything was shot!! Luckily the next morning there was an RV tech at the camp who could check it out and he discovered the 50 AMP neutral wire had never been hooked up, how it worked is beyond me. Anyway the incident took out two TVs, microwave, DVD player, majority of the electrical equipment, fridge hardware, electric water heater, and a freezer we had plugged in with 200 pounds of prime beef!! Yeah it stunk for a few days!! Luckily Keystone warranteed everything except our personal TV and the freezer. Dixie RV here in Virginia did a great job, it took a while to get all the parts but it works great now.

Hope all turns out well for you tommorow is allways a better day!!

[Dean A Van Peursem]

It is really discomforting to hear of these fire/wire shorting problems, especially those that are identical on like model units. We have had more than our fair share of problems with our late 2006 3400RL but haven't had a electrical short or fire..........yet. Have had all the DC lights in the entertainment center fail. I fixed that myself, finding a connector which had been crimped over the insulation. I'm at a loss of words for all the problems we are experiencing with these Montana 5th wheels.

[msieger]

Well looks like I'm gonna be doing some reworking of the wiring this spring. Is all of this visible just by taking the underbelly down?

Mike

[richfaa]

Yes it is. Drop the front two panels first. That is the worst. Don't forget the front compartment around the battery and where it goes through the framing. Also the panel in the side compartments where the water pump , furnace, etc is...That is also a nightmare..also the convertor the rear connections can be a rats nest.

[bsmeaton]

Muddypaws! What's the latest??!

[HamRad]

Brad,

If you go to his original post at the very bottom you will see the latest update. Last major update was on the 10th with another edit today.

Dennis

[MuddyPaws]

We're in one of our favorite camps near San Juan Bautista, CA. It's been raining very hard for most of the day and almost all night. I haven't found a single leak. (Good News!)

I've had a little time to stick my nose into some of the dark corners. It seems that even when they put something back together 'better than new' the standard in the RV industry is to pass insulated wires through a hole in the frame without any type of grommet to keep the wires from abrading on the bare metal.

I am not going let this happen. If anybody has advice that hasn't already been posted here please feel free to tack it onto this thread.

I found the 50A breaker they put on the batteries so it's not likely to catch fire again.

I used to have a switch to disconnect the batteries but somehow it got left out, along with my underbelly sewer tube and a couple of tools I had in one of the cabinets.

The 'structure' definately appears to be more solid than before. We're happy with that.