Refrigerator DOA

[Hamlej]

Purchased our Montana 3820FK on the 3rd of September traveled to Illinois and on the 15th of September we lost everything in our refrigerator. Long story short the refrigerator was installed incorrectly at the factory, has overheated and now needs to be replaced. Very disappointed with Keystone; we are living in a hotel waiting for new cooling unit and no one seems to be in any hurry to correct this problem. Attached is the picture of refrigerator vent from the roof.

[richfaa]

I hope you have reported this to the Keystone service center.

[Hamlej]

They are the ones we are dealing with, every time I call for an update they say this is a process that involves Norcold and that it takes time and they are sorry for any inconvenience. Very frustrating.

[richfaa]

Originally Posted by Hamlej

They are the ones we are dealing with, every time I call for an update they say this is a process that involves Norcold and that it takes time and they are sorry for any inconvenience. Very frustrating
.

It is frustrating.We were there for the national rally last week and the entire area is a mad house.

[Montana Man]

If that is insulation blocking the vent that is a keystone issue. The only Norcold issue is for them to deliver a fridge asap at keystone's expense. Don't let keystone delay this with bs about other vendors.

[Former StClairSailor]

Originally Posted by richfaa

It is frustrating.We were there for the national rally last week and the entire area is a mad house.

Rich, correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe you mean by "the entire area" you are referring to the Goshen, IN area, encompassing all the area manufacturers and sub-suppliers such as Norcold. Our issue was caused by the Norcold refrigerator. We had to leave our rig at Keystone, who are waiting for parts ordered during the rally.

The national rally was well organized and a huge success.

[1retired06]

Lost the dometic frig in our 2015 within 30 days. Keystone installed the frig without removing the packing material behind the cooling unit. Worse than stupid, negligent. Keystone replaced.

[Hamlej]

Yes, that is insulation blocking the vent and Keystone is going to correct the problem. What ticks me off is that I’m 1800 miles from home, 2 weeks have past, living in a hotel because of RV being at service dealer and no end in sight. This has delayed our trip plans, all of our reservations out the window, refrigerator and freezer full of food and costing me out of pocket for lodging everyday this drags on. I have asked Keystone to get together with Norcold on this issue but seems to fall on deaf ears.

[AZ Traveler]

Tell Keystone you want to continue your trip, use a cooler vice your reefer and wait until you get home or further down the road to fix the reefer.

[socoinc]

We were having problems with our Dometic refrigerator. Keystone bought us a little $200.00 refrigerator from Best Buy. It was a pain in the ass. But it worked.

[Montana Man]

Hamlej, did you buy that unit used? The sealant around the vent looks like it has been around a while.

Soconic has the idea. Make do until the repair is complete. This one makes me mad.

[1retired06]

Originally Posted by socoinc

We were having problems with our Dometic refrigerator. Keystone bought us a little $200.00 refrigerator from Best Buy. It was a pain in the ass. But it worked.

Similar here. Bought a bar frig from Best Buy, I set it up in outside storage. Still there, handy overflow for beer,etc.

[Hamlej]

Yes, this Montana was purchased brand new. Keystone did offer a $100 mini fridge. When we left Arizona our planned trip was to head east to the coast then follow coastline around the US and be home for Christmas. My wife’s passion is cooking so refrigerator and freezer were packed, a mini fridge wouldn’t cut it. Even if it was repaired down the line we would have to wait for delivery of part at any given destination. I just feel that within 2 weeks of spending 75k on a top end Montana, Keystone has no sense of urgency to resolve this problem.

[CarWin]

In the eyes of the manufacturer (Keystone), your 75k purchase is just like a leaf blowing in the fall breeze. Its just a sad fact in todays business climate with MAJOR market controlling corporations.

[phillyg]

Originally Posted by socoinc

We were having problems with our Dometic refrigerator. Keystone bought us a little $200.00 refrigerator from Best Buy. It was a pain in the ass. But it worked.

This plus a cooler; at least you can get back on the road. I swear, I estimate half the problems we all experience are caused by bad installation at the factory.

[jgeorger]

Every time I am tempted to upgrade our 5th wheel, I review these posts, and feel the cure.

[Hoopty]

When we purchased our 3820fk, we thought it would be like buying a vehicle. We were so wrong.... I now know these units are put together by trained monkeys (that’s being nice). I spend more time fixing their screwups then I do enjoying the unit. Since we are full timers I end up doing most of the repairs myself. My last project was pulling up the bedroom carpet to remove drywall screws that were left on the subfloor prior to them laying the carpet. Not nice when walking around barefoot at night.
Learn how to do your own repairs.. keystone customer service is all about passing the buck. Pm me if you want more items to watch out for..

Bruce

[Hamlej]

I also have floor damage due to screws not being removed prior to laying the flooring. Flooring is peeled back under the slide area because of this.

[ClockDr]

Don’t mean this in a negative way but I would only stock fridge with what you would use in a week. Sorry for what you are having to deal with. Dealers and manufacturers could care less about us once the money changes hands

[Hamlej]

I get your point. It took only 2 weeks for me to find that out.