Cabinet Quality - Montana Owners Club

SlickWillie · 02-01-2007, 03:56 AM

Well, I guess I should have spent the extra to get the 3400 or 3475. Undoubtedly the Mountaineer is made of scraps left over from the others. I went to pull out the top kitchen drawer, and low and behold, the whole drawer almost hits the floor. So, I'm off to Lowe's and Home Depot to get parts to build new supports for the drawer slides. (Notice I didn't say repair.) Two staple joints holding 1 X 2's together is not what I consider adequate to hold drawer slides. (Rant over, thanks for a place to vent.)

ARJ · 02-01-2007, 05:56 AM

Join the club! When I got our rig home the same thing happened. The entire framing unit for the kitchen drawers was coming apart and certainly it was not anywhere near level. I was able to get in there and using glue, brad nailer, drywall shims and clamps got it into some semblence of a decently framed unit. It only took about 2 weeks for my arms to heal after tearing them up on the damn slide latches.

Ozz · 02-01-2007, 07:37 AM

Yea, here too. I took all the slides for the 3400RL desk apart and put the proper amount of screws in them.
it's a U-finish deal....

AZCampinfool · 02-01-2007, 08:19 AM

Same here but only in the kids bunk room. Re-built that frame and then reinforced the kitchen drawer frames before it became a problem.

SlickWillie · 02-03-2007, 02:42 AM

Delete, double post.

SlickWillie · 02-03-2007, 02:43 AM

After sitting back and downing a couple cold ones, I tackled the framework for the drawer glides. I had picked up an assortment of items at Home Depot. What I found that worked on the bottom was stamped metal gussets. Those could be attached to the floor and vertical 1 X 2's. I then used the stamped metal "L" brackets to secure the top. The single cross support (1 X 2) had come loose, so I discarded it. I got a couple of those ceiling box supports (used for ceiling fan boxes) that are expandable, and used them for cross braces between the two vertical side pieces. These worked like a charm. Fitted drawers and made adjustment. Good and sturdy! Set back and drank cold ones for attitude adjustment.

melnjoy · 02-03-2007, 05:21 AM

SlickWille, as you can see, the Mountaineers are not the only rigs with problems regarding drawers, cupboards and such. We have owned 3 TV's in the past 15 years and each and everyone of them had "less than standard" drawers. However, when we bought our Montana, we knew we would be living in it, so one of the first things Mel did was to install metal braceing and heavyduty glides to replace the original poor performance ones. Now we have no issues. As far as the cupboard door, and drawer fronts were concerned, because they don't use a very good finish on them, I lightly sanded them and put on an acrylic satin finish to help protect them.
Joy

SlickWillie · 02-03-2007, 01:16 PM

Quote:

quote:Originally posted by melnjoy

SlickWille, as you can see, the Mountaineers are not the only rigs with problems regarding drawers, cupboards and such. We have owned 3 TV's in the past 15 years and each and everyone of them had "less than standard" drawers. However, when we bought our Montana, we knew we would be living in it, so one of the first things Mel did was to install metal braceing and heavyduty glides to replace the original poor performance ones. Now we have no issues. As far as the cupboard door, and drawer fronts were concerned, because they don't use a very good finish on them, I lightly sanded them and put on an acrylic satin finish to help protect them.
Joy

First thing I did after the kitchen drawers came apart was look at the chest in the bedroom. Good to see the units are partitioned and much better quality glides. When we hit the home base for a while, I'll probably but some better glides in. (lack of tools here) Hate anyone has problems with them, but at least its just not limited to Mountaineers.

bigmurf · 02-03-2007, 03:13 PM

We were looking at a new Hitchhiker (just looking)and it had FULL extension drawer slides. Only a little thing but next time I rebuild drawers on our 3655 FL I will add them.

old turbo · 02-03-2007, 04:44 PM

Same problem with kitchen drawer slide framework on 2004 Mountaineer. Cheap framework held together by staples which came apart. Framework was not even screwed to the floor. Its a real trip to fix when it is in the cabnit. No glue, no screws just the cheap staples. When it comes time to purchse a new rig, I am going to have the dealer take the tt apart so I can check how it was put together.

richfaa · 02-04-2007, 04:06 AM

Old turbo..good idea..but if you do that it is doubtful that you will ever buy a RV from any manufacturer.There is a mobile suites parked next to me here.We have been comparing fifth wheels..The same folks that built the 3400 must have run over and built the Mobile suites.

marisolwithsol · 02-04-2007, 07:06 AM

We have had some minor repair issues with our Mountaineer (trim, wallpaper, curtain, flashlight etc) that have already been taken care of by our dealer, but I have to say that we haven't had any trouble with our cabinets or drawers and everything seems to be quite solid. I guess now I'll have to brave our freezing temps to go take a good look at them.

Marisol

marisolwithsol · 02-04-2007, 07:06 AM

We have had some minor repair issues with our Mountaineer (trim, wallpaper, curtain, flashlight etc) that have already been taken care of by our dealer, but I have to say that we haven't had any trouble with our cabinets or drawers and everything seems to be quite solid. I guess now I'll have to brave our freezing temps to go take a good look at them.

Marisol

DONnANNIE · 02-04-2007, 01:18 PM

Quote:

quote:bigmurf Posted - Feb 03 2007 : 10:13:13 PM
We were looking at a new Hitchhiker (just looking)and it had FULL extension drawer slides. Only a little thing but next time I rebuild drawers on our 3655 FL I will add them.

We have a 2007 3650RK and it has full extension drawers. The day we got it home from the dealer, the left hand kitchen drawer fell down in the back. The dealer fixed it under warranty.

richfaa · 02-04-2007, 04:10 PM

You can get better cabinets in a fifth wheel and you will pay for them..you can get better everything in a fifth wheel..for a price and a addition in weight. You gets what you pays for and when we purchased our Montana's we got exactly what we paid for.

scattershot · 02-06-2007, 05:32 AM

The cabinets in our 2955 are attractive and sturdy, but the doors are attached with bare minimum screws, and the guy who attached them had his screwgun set too high, stripping the holes. We have had several of the screws pull loose. It would be a disaster for one of these to come off while on the road. I recommend checking these periodically, and reapir or replace as necessary.

SlickWillie · 02-06-2007, 01:21 PM

Quote:

quote:Originally posted by richfaa

You can get better cabinets in a fifth wheel and you will pay for them..you can get better everything in a fifth wheel..for a price and a addition in weight. You gets what you pays for and when we purchased our Montana's we got exactly what we paid for.

I wouldn't agree with that at all. I know there are items that higher priced units have that lower priced ones don't. For example, I don't expect corian counter tops in a lower price unit. I'm very satisfied with formica. However, I don't expect items to fall apart when a RV is one or two months old. Quality of workmanship should be the same regardless of the price of the unit. The cabinets would be fine if they were put together right.

genecurp · 02-07-2007, 02:52 AM

Our experience is like Scattershot. The hinge screws come loose on the cabinet doors. As suggested, I go around the unit checking for loose screws periodically.
Gene

richfaa · 02-07-2007, 05:32 AM

We agree with you Will .However Keystone/Montana has little to do with the quality/ workmanship of the units. The Rv industry as a whole has everything to do with it.As long as he industry standards remain the same and the consumer accepts the quality/workmanship as "part of rv'ing" nothing will change.With the new Big Sky Keystone has the opportunity to raise the bar in regard to quality/ workmanship. They will produce less of them so they should be able to raise the level of quality.I think the success of the Big Sky will be determined by it's quality. I can't wait to see the Big Sky..I know exactly where to look and it will take me maybe 15 mins to determine if Keystone raised the bar..or it's business as usual.Don't get me wrong...there were no big surprises in the quality/workmanship of the 3400, disappointments yes but no big surprises..would have been the same with a Jayco, Cardinal, Open Roads, etc.

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