Does anyone have good axels/tires? - Montana Owners Club

Montana_1887 · 08-11-2004, 07:49 AM

I am considering the Montana 3400, but all of this talk about faulty axels and bad tires has me scared! I really want to hear some positive reports- if there are any. I am not looking forward to immediately upgrading the axels/tires on a brand new rig!

Di

RVWheels · 08-11-2004, 08:13 AM

Don't let the discussion scare you off. If you check around you will find that many manufacturers of RVs use the same supplier for their axles.

We had our rig for three years now and have about 15k on it. Since we read about the Axel problem we've been checking and double checking and so far no problems. Not only that but our tires are showing NO unusual wear of any kind. They look almost new.

And if you are looking for a 3400 please look in the For Sale section on the MOC. Jimnkaran are selling a brand new one. It is only 5 months old and from the sound of it has lots of extras. Check it out.

RVWheels/admin

vickster · 08-11-2004, 08:13 AM

Di - This past Spring we purchased our 2980RL. We have been really pleased with our Monty and are still in love. We have a fantastic sales rep at a local reputable dealer that has provided great service. So far the only issue has been slide leakage. We have taken Monty in to the "Warranty Doctor" for repair. Waiting for a good Wisconsin rain to find out if this issue has been resolved.

NJ Hillbilly · 08-11-2004, 08:19 AM

You have to realize one thing, not many people start threads about the lack of problems. Threads come about from problems or issues we are having. If You look at the few here that have problems with axles vs the over 1000 members, axle problems are not very common.
What You are reading are the problems not so much the items that are problem free.
You will find that Dexter or Alko make a majority of the axles out there whether they are on campers or other trailers. My horse trailers all have Dexter TorFlex axles and I haven't had any problems.

Take all posts for what they are and make Your own observations. If You went onto the Open Roads Forum or other RV ones, and believed that everything posted there will happen to You, You probably would not get out of bed in the morning!!

John

Montana_657 · 08-11-2004, 08:49 AM

You have to realize that even though the axels are used everywhere, each lot is not created equal. The hangers supplied this month may not be the ones used next month... same goes for other parts. You just hope you don't get a bad batch.

You also have to realize I put 12,000 on the 5er in just over a year, RV Wheels has taken 3 years to get there. On the RV use pole we did a few weeks back a very large pecentage of respondents had not towed 20,000 miles yet.

You also have to realize that the wear on my suspension was only visible because one link broke.... as good or bad as that may be. Even though RV Wheels has not seen any problem I doubt he has removed the bolts to inspect the bushings and hangers. If you look at all the posts, you can see the beginings of trouble (wear) only showed up when the bolts were removed on 3 out of 4 joints.

Just from the design and the nature of the hangers and bushings, I suspect that almost all brands of RV that use this type of suspension (Torflex is quite different) will show varying degrees of wear after 15,000 miles or so. I have also heard through private e-mails from lots of folks who have changed links and bushings when the tires were replaced and the brakes re-done.

It's also a fact of life that it's hard to admit you may have purchased a product which has more then it's fair share of design/production faults.

I have chose to speak out, some folks don't.

I guess the good new is that in spite of the problems, Montana is still not the worst product out there... just approach it from the viewpoint of an informed consumer. For instance, if you plan to put on lots of miles, perhaps consider extended warrenty.

lightningjack11 · 08-11-2004, 12:19 PM

It is always nice to be able to check your rig against a known database of problems. Thats what the forum gives you. I have not had any major problem and I have lots of miles on my Monty. Two of my tires are original (99 tires) The two I replaced were not replaced because of tread wear. My 99 tires look just as good as my new ones. But I check more now than what I used too so this forum is making my RV experience safer. Besides I am gaining my experience here.

LCI(Lippert Components) makes the frame and Alco supplies axles for a lot of companies. I just looked at Forest River product with a Lippert frame. You pratically need a ladder to get in the bedroom.

The one thing to keep in mind is these campers are hand made. So they are subject to human error. If someone does not align something properly it will cause problems. No manufacturer will build a perfect RV everytime. They all have problems from time to time.

So the bottom line is to pick the RV you want and hope for the best. Get your problems corrected during the warranty period.

Learn to inspect your rig yourself. Have it fixed before it fails.

Montana_1741 · 08-11-2004, 12:34 PM

We love our Montana but we have experienced the axle and brakes problem. The axles were replaced two months ago. The brakes always squawled and the dealer said it wasn't their job to adjust them. My husband adjusted them countless times. The new axles were installed and the brakes on the replacement axles squawled the very same way. My husband adjusted them twice on a one week trip. The tires on the first set of axles were all bald on the inside. The axles were sent to the manufactures and we waited for two months for them to approve the replacement of the tires also. They wanted to make sure that there was a problem with the axles before they spent their funds on new tires. Apparently there was. We are now getting new tires this time. While our 2004 3670RL is in the shop they are supposed to replace a hydraulic cylindar in the main slide. All three slides were coming out while on the pike. This was a huge problem. The slideout manufactures told us to stop at a lumber yard and cut 2 X 4s and put them on the inside of the sideouts to hold them in. When we shut the Kitchen, Bedroom and Main valves off at the pump only the Main slide would continue to slide out. This is a repetative problem for us. Our dealer replaced the hydraulic pump with the axle problem. I guess now they will be replacing the hydraulic cylindar as well. We called the slide out manufacturer and they said that they sell the slides to a lot of RV manufactures but that Montana had more problems than others because of the way they plumbed their hydraulics. Also there is a reaccuring gas leak. I sure hope they get it this time. We also noticed a crack in the rear window under the main window. My husband is starting to have a very bad attitude and it ruins the fun. I hope our dealer will repair everything and we can start having a good time without all these problems.

steves · 08-11-2004, 02:53 PM

I have a 2003 3670RL with over 10,000 miles on it. I have Alco axles and General tires and have no problems with the suspension or tire wear.

Steve

larryngail · 08-11-2004, 04:41 PM

Quote:

quote:Originally posted by NJ Hillbilly

If You went onto the Open Roads Forum or other RV ones, and believed that everything posted there will happen to You, You probably would not get out of bed in the morning!!

John

larryngail · 08-11-2004, 04:44 PM

Quote:

quote:Originally posted by justdiana

I am considering the Montana 3400, but all of this talk about faulty axels and bad tires has me scared! I really want to hear some positive reports- if there are any. I am not looking forward to immediately upgrading the axels/tires on a brand new rig!

Di

Hi Di,
We give the 3400 two thumbs up. We've been in ours full-time since January 2.

Montana_1887 · 08-11-2004, 06:52 PM

Thanks for all of the reassurance. I really like the Montana, but I was getting a little unnerved.

Di

fulltimedreamer · 08-13-2004, 04:47 PM

I looked over my tires and suspension and with approximately 6K miles it looks like everything is OK. The tires are wearing evenly and look pretty much like new. Hope it stays this way.

Karl · 08-14-2004, 08:09 AM

We've put about 12,000 miles on our Montana 3298RK, and have had not axle or tire problems. We did have wire from the brake magnet wear against the drum, but that was fixed easily. Our axles and brakes happen to be Dexter instead of the Alko's that were usually put on the units.

sreigle · 08-17-2004, 04:46 PM

Don't forget that rarely do any of us post positive things other than in reply to a question. But we're all quick to post the bad things since we're looking for help or a shoulder.

As for axles and tires, that's a bugaboo on all trailers from what I've heard. We've done a lot of miles and just had our third Goodyear Marathon tire go defective on us. Goodyear replaced the first at no charge and prorated the other two for wear. We do have one wheel where the wear is a bit abnormal but so far the tires are going defective before they get worn out. I wouldn't let what you hear about axles and tires worry you. Just keep an eye on it and remember that's what the warranty is for.

D and M On The Road · 08-17-2004, 07:38 PM

Quote from SReigel: "Don't forget that rarely do any of us post positive things other than in reply to a question. But we're all quick to post the bad things since we're looking for help or a shoulder."

That's a good statement Steve. We might sound like a bunch of complainers to someone new..... but the Keystone Montana is a great RV.

We'd buy another Montana without any reservations.

Karl · 08-17-2004, 08:20 PM

I fully agree about how we seem to emphasize the negatives in a site like this. With the numerous systems there are in a camper, and the miles and miles of less than perfect roads over which we travel, it amazes me how well these units stand it.

Yes, I believe initial quality control can be better (where is that NOT the case?) overall the units stand up well. I have a friend who spent over $400,000 on a top line coach, and he has experienced at least as many quality control issues as I have. AND I am still trying to get rid of the squeaking floor that has been a problem ever since I built my new house. And I don't drag my house all over the country as I do my Montana.

CountryGuy · 08-18-2004, 04:20 AM

Karl,

AMEN! to all you said.

GordonR · 08-18-2004, 04:35 AM

Steve – Glad to have you back. Hope you enjoyed your trip up north. We’d like to hear more about it.

Editorial

It’s interesting how this thread has developed. I’ve only been a member a couple months, but there seem to be cycles of the type on info we exchange. It’s just like watching life in general. Most of the time, we’re sharing general knowledge (Steve taught me about fifth wheel hitches), talking about problems we’ve encountered (Gruffy’s suspension link tutorial is awesome) so we can learn how others have dealt with them, sharing happy and tough times (grandkids and hip surgeries), and planning on getting together (rally/reunion). Sometimes there are priorities. For the last week, there hasn’t been much in the way of problems discussed because we’ve all been concerned for our Florida members and their families. Sometimes we spend a lot of time on burning issues (cracks and axles). Sometimes we just chat. Sounds just like life with my friends and family.

Instead of blood and location being the connecting factor, it’s our Montanas and this forum. I suspect there are even a few Montana owners who found this forum to be one of the final deciding factors. It’s a great group to belong to.

End of Editorial

Now – on subject – axles and tires. I’ve got Dexter axles (finding that out was a thread by itself) and Tacoma tires. No problems, except the rig has only about 400 miles on it so far, so nothing to be expected. (That’ll be changing during the next few weeks) However, I’ve notice that Dexter axle owners seem to have fewer concerns. Has Keystone made a long term switch?

Gordon

sreigle · 08-18-2004, 02:41 PM

Thanks, GordonR. We enjoyed it very much. Probably the most enjoyable was meeting face-to-face two of our members - Patodonn (Pat and Nancy) and RC and Samantha (Dick and Patty). All very nice people. We had great times with them. We're on a hiatus of sorts, spending ten nights in a quiet, seculded park we like near Beckley, WV, with the idea we'll get caught up on all our little projects. Vicki is working on her postcards and I'll get them out on the website when she does. Actually, I have four postcards to get ready already. I think the site has us in Sioux Falls, SD. That was awhile back! We've since run up Minnesota, then over to Door County, WI, then the Upper Peninsula (St. Ignace) of Michigan, down to Columbus, OH, to visit our daughter and hubby, and now in WV. It's good to be back online, though. Those areas didn't offer much in the way of web access. most of the time we did have email access daily, though.

Northstar · 08-19-2004, 06:59 PM

Some great posts. Keeps me informed about issues concerning current topics. I have learned a lot from reading all these threads. Keep us posted. Happyrving....

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