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Old 06-08-2019, 04:58 PM   #1
jeffba
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Front corner of side is pulled in.

Okay no Pix because I ran out of hands.

I went to check the clearance of my bedroom slide to make sure I wouldn't hit the camper next to me at storage.

I noticed the bottom seal does not compress in the front. It compresses in the back. Looking up the front the top compresses more than the bottom.

Because I was hanging a shelf in the front compartment, I had a 4 foot metal ruler.

Put the ruler to it and the bottom is off by 3/8 of an inch.
Put the straight edge on the wall on the other side to the slide and it was nice and flat.

Monty is sitting on its from legs.

So now for the questions.

Is this normal?

Should I brace myself for a ruined summer and fall of camping?

I am going to see if I can go and put the straight edge to some other Monty's at the dealer tomorrow.
 
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Old 06-08-2019, 05:11 PM   #2
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jeffba View Post

...Should I brace myself for a ruined summer and fall of camping?...
.
What do you think has happened?
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Old 06-08-2019, 05:50 PM   #3
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Originally Posted by prndl View Post
What do you think has happened?
Could be wall has moved. Not really sure.
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Old 06-08-2019, 07:27 PM   #4
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Is it leaking or causing another problem?
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Old 06-08-2019, 07:34 PM   #5
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If I'm reading your post correctly your trailer is just sitting on the landing gear and not the leveling jacks. If correct, than the nose may just be tweaked a little. I would try leveling the camper and recheck. Hope it's that simple.
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Old 06-09-2019, 02:08 AM   #6
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So far no leaks. but with that seal not comressed and it being in the front, not sure what would stop the rain from coming while driving.

Will recheck tomorrow and will also check with it hooked up and leveled.

I will also check the opposite side.
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Old 06-09-2019, 10:49 AM   #7
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Okay went back this morning before the heat hit. Heat index of 110 today.

So I ran the slide in and out 3 times, making sure it fully closed.

leading edge seal is compressed. More at the top but less at bottom.

Then retracted front legs and autoleveled.
Using straight edge still see gap at bottom. It does not change size.

Hitched it up to the truck to take the weight off the legs completely.
Using straight edge still see gap at bottom. It does not change size.

So the good news is it doesn't move.

I still see that the bottom seal is not making contact.

Will be taking it in for a laundry list of warranty issues. Will add this to the list.
If not satisfied will bring it up at rally for techs to look at.

Will also keep an eye to see of the gap grows.
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Old 09-23-2019, 06:03 AM   #8
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Well at the Rally the techs came and looked at the issue. I have the "dreaded frame flex".

Took our Montana over to the Customer Service Center to be evaluated. Julie at the CSC was great. The Issue I reported was on the ODS side by the bedroom slide. She found that we also had an issue on the DS Side.

DS Side fix is to loosen Cap and swing it up enogh to be out of the way. There are 3 AL tubes at the bottom of the wall. The lowest one has a wood insert. Tehy will add wood to the upper 2 and install 8 inch long lag bolts to strengthen it.

ODS side:

It has broken welds.
The fix is while the cap is already out of the way, is to remove the philon(sp) wall. Repair welds. add wood and Lag bolts. Then add a plate for even more support.

There are trim pieces inside that also need securing.

They will pickup and deliver to TX. The whole process will take about a month.

I have been told by boththe techs at the Rally and by Julie that this a common issue across all brands.
There are TSBs out to document the fix, but dealers are not always willing to do it.

And no I did not ask why then do they not address it at the Factory if it is so common.
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Old 09-23-2019, 07:08 AM   #9
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We had our 3820FK identified as flex issues as well during the rally. We left ours at the CSC last Wednesday with Darrell. Our indicators were kitchen flooring showing ripple like it was being pulled. The dinette seemed to be rotating pulling the L brackets out of the walls which were holding it in place. Slide tore a line along the edge when moving in and out. Outside on the door side there is a bow below the forward slide edge. And the lower cap edges have L shape black plastic caps about 5 to 6 inches long, those pulled out the screws on the door side and cracked the ODS which I had replaced not knowing why, now we are aware of what to look for. Ours is there for a couple weeks, we will drive back to get it when its ready. We are very happy Keystone CSC is addressing before we use it as our winter home in AZ for several months. The best experience ever was attending the rally and learning so much from all the seasoned experts we met, we can't thank everyone enough.
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Old 09-23-2019, 11:07 AM   #10
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Can only saw wow. Best of luck to all that are facing issues like this.
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Old 09-23-2019, 11:11 AM   #11
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pics???

Jeff - did you ever take any pics of the before showing the gap?
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Old 09-23-2019, 01:49 PM   #12
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Jeff - did you ever take any pics of the before showing the gap?
Yes, I do. Still a week out from home will post.
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Old 09-23-2019, 03:24 PM   #13
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Frame flex

I am having a difficult time getting my head around the frame flex issue. Is there a common sequence of events to look out for? Is it purely random no matter the floor plan or model length? Does it happen to High Country models as well as Montana models? Is it strictly caused when aluminum stud welds break from the base or top channel? Or is it when welds in the base structural frame break? Is it bumpy roads that hammer the welds loose? How many years has this issue been out there? Is there anything I can do to guard against it happening to my unit?

Or maybe the keystone engineers do not know what causes it - and therefore they are unable to address it in the factory?
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Old 09-23-2019, 07:06 PM   #14
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All I can say, is they do not build them like they used to. Our unit has been towed on the roughest/rocky campground road imaginable. Our site at our favorite campground is 2 miles from the check in lodge and so rocky that 4x4 is necessary to get you there.

We are keeping our older unit forever. LOL
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Old 10-12-2019, 05:11 PM   #15
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Mikendebbie View Post
I am having a difficult time getting my head around the frame flex issue. Is there a common sequence of events to look out for? Is it purely random no matter the floor plan or model length? Does it happen to High Country models as well as Montana models? Is it strictly caused when aluminum stud welds break from the base or top channel? Or is it when welds in the base structural frame break? Is it bumpy roads that hammer the welds loose? How many years has this issue been out there? Is there anything I can do to guard against it happening to my unit?

Or maybe the keystone engineers do not know what causes it - and therefore they are unable to address it in the factory?
I’m also curious about your same questions.

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Old 10-12-2019, 06:01 PM   #16
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For us the main issue is I found the bedroom slide was sticking out at the bottom. A straight edge placed on the wall just in front of bedroom slide confirms it. On the right side the silicone was pulling away from the trim when hooked up.

We have not driven on really bad roads. I have been able to take it easy on RR crossings. So I do not think the issue is road related for us. But I do see where rough roads can be a cause.

If one has a slide above the front pass through storage I would say there is a risk. How much of one I have no idea. I have been told by the techs at the Rally and by Keystone Customer Service this issue occurs in other brands also. I did not get clarification if it was just Keystone brands or other manufacturers.

I do not know what the cause could be. If I were there when they took ours apart I could tell if it were faulty welds or not.

I know of one individual who has had this repaired once only yo have it come back again. The Fix seems to be evolving.
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Old 10-12-2019, 06:57 PM   #17
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Frame flex

Jeff - for the “straight edge test” in front of the bedroom slide that you mention...
Is the straight edge testing horizontal alignment or vertical alignment?

It sounds to me if the filon siding on the front section is pulling upward - then the tongue and front section must be bent upward in relation to the main body frame remaining horizontal? To give an EXTREME example - the tongue section points to 10:00 while the main frame rear points to 3:00? And I don’t mean to say it is actually bent that far out - just trying to get a frame of reference for the flex.

Do you know if the main frame is broke? Or does the coach box lift up off of the main frame? Does the coach box “rack” out of square?
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Old 10-13-2019, 05:04 AM   #18
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Okay here are the pix

In the pix with the ruler this is a 4 foot straight edge.

It goes from the top of the camper to the bottom (vertical). The bottom looks like it is sucked in. In reality it is stationary and the wall is pushing out above it.

In the next pic, is is looking up and you can see the slide gasket is not making contact with the wall. Currently, I can stick my finger in there. And yes the slide is in all the way.


In the 3rd pic with bad orientation is showing the slide at the top is touching and at the bottom it is not
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Old 10-13-2019, 05:21 AM   #19
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Okay and to add a bit more detail

The 2 pix are the same I just marked up the one.
The pix it taken from the front looking back and up.
The top circle shows The end of the trim piece at the bottom of the bedroom slide opening. You can see where it is twisted.

The bottom circle is the vertical trim piece. What you cannot see in the pic is the wall at the bottom has moved forward enough that there is a gap in the sealant on both sides of it.

the sort of straight line is highlighting the gap at the bottom.


Oh and if you look at the slides refection on the wall you can see the bow

I hope this helps.
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Old 10-13-2019, 05:26 AM   #20
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they say the main frame is not broke. The issue is supposed to be just in the aluminum framing
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