No troubles with your RV - Montana Owners Club

richfaa · 09-30-2005, 06:47 AM

We see post after post about all the problems with the RV and that's only normal because it's the bad things that bother us..However...how about the good things...How many folks have not had a problem with their RV..Example We just sold a 1996 32 Foot Terry TT that we pulled out of the dealers lot and never had it back for ANYTHING.Broke a spring after 9 years and that has been it.We are going to be buying a 3670RL..lets hear the good stuff... Forgot to add that before the Terry we had a Coachman..it was a nightmare, before that a jayco...minor issues before that a Hi-Low what a well built camper, before that a Coleman Pop-up..it was a 1980 model.. lady that bought it called to say it was still on the road.

jpbcny · 09-30-2005, 07:40 AM

Had a 1995 Jayco 207 Fifth Wheel, from January 1995 til October 2000, never had to have in for service...

Then a 2000 Golden Falcon 28RLG Fifth Wheel, from October 2000 til August 2005, never had to have in for service...

Now have a 2006 Mountaineer 329RLS August 2005 til ???, no service required yet (2 months, and counting)...

padredw · 09-30-2005, 08:25 AM

Some who have read earlier posts of mine may be surprized, but I really put myself in the category of having little or no problems. Aside from the one small problem with the gasket on the slide at the very beginning, and for regular and expected maintenance, our Montana has been basically problem free for 40 months and 37,000 miles. I find that worthy of note and of appreciation.

As for the earlier posts, I stand by everything I said in them. It was not complaining, but keeping the record honest about the way that Keystone responds to customer needs. I will not go into that again, just affirming that both what I said in the above paragraph and what I said in earlier posts are both true and honest and I stand by both.

Based on our experience, I would have no hesitation in buying another Montana. Probably would have already done so if they had not changed the bedroom/bathroom arrangement by eliminating the wooden doors. As it is, I much prefer the 2002 model we have to the newer models, though there have also been some very good changes. The 2955RL remains our pick because of the way it fits our lifestyle. We are not, and never will be, full-timers, and we prefer the slight advantage of towing and parking the smaller/lighter fifth-wheel. We fully understand that others have different priorities, preferences, and basic life style.

Parrothead · 09-30-2005, 08:31 AM

Rich
Here are the only problems: Flashlight doesn't work (won't charge) - decided we didn't care. The other problems were the DVD-stereo unit (we replaced), the remote thermostat (have new one), and the Fantastic Fan sticking. So our only problems were not Keystone but their suppliers. We love our unit and have not experienced any other problems. It is a year old, we lived in it (parked) for nine months. We have only towed about 500 miles. We leave for the rally on Monday and we will put about 900 miles on it (round trip). Our first (Prowler) had no problems but we only had it about 2 years. Our 2nd (Tahoe) had so many problems I can't count them.
Happy trails.....................

Fordzilla · 09-30-2005, 09:31 AM

Almost any model is going to have something wrong with it. However major or minor it is it really depends on how your dealer takes care of you. I bought mine previously enjoyed and any problems were worked out by the previous owner. When I called them he had nothing but good to say about his time owning it and said the only reason they traded was to get something a little smaller. I have been happy with the way my dealer has taken care of any issues I have had so far and think that is they true sign of a good trailer, is how well the service department fixes our rigs when we do complain about something. Before this trailer I owned a 2000 Sportsmen by KZ that spent a week at the dealer repairing a list of things that we gathered over the first few weeks of living in the trailer.

drhowell · 09-30-2005, 10:03 AM

Rich Most of the problems on our used 2001 were wear and tear stuff. I can only think of 2 issues that I would say were Keystone design or construction problems. The weak shackles and the stress crack in the bedroom outer surface under the slide out. Keystone has accepted responsibility for the stress cracking and has redesigned the newer units. The shackle problem seems to have been redesigned but I haven't heard that Keystone admitted any responsibility for the light duty shackles.

Overall Keystone seems to be responsive to design or construction problems. As you have said they have had their problems but you are still considering purchasing a new Montana.

Do I like my 3280RL? Absolutely! Would I purchase another Keystone product? More than likely. But, I will prepare myself with all the information I can get and ask lots of questions. I will only use a solid dealership with excellent service and support history.

Which I think is exactly what you have been doing.

Sunshine · 09-30-2005, 11:06 AM

Can only echo others' comments - we bought our Montana previously enjoyed and so far, knock on wood, have not had any major problems structurally. A leaking black tank was replaced by the dealer, and they also corrected a wiring problem in the convertor. Hubby fixed a window leak and tightened bath tub faucet fittings. We replaced the door for the water pump cubby, which we discovered was broken after we had the unit awhile, and hubby corrected a spaghetti wiring job done by the previous owner. We did have the tire separation which caused damage to the right rear of the coach, but the tire company took care of that and we replaced the tires with heavy duty trailer tires. The workmanship appears to be top notch. We would certainly by another Montana!

adelmoll · 09-30-2005, 12:12 PM

We sure can't complain. Got it the end of April and have about 10,000 miles on it already. Nothing major has happened as yet. Knock on wood.

joe2speed · 09-30-2005, 01:25 PM

I would also like to jump on the happy montana owner's bandwagon. Pulled my baby off the dealers lot August of 2003 and have never been back. Have had 3 summers of trouble free fun, and hope to have many more. Would I buy another Montana? Yes, I would.

snowbunny · 09-30-2005, 01:40 PM

We have one of the oldest Montanas (a 1999 3350RS) that we bought used in 2003. Since then we have put about 7000 miles on it and have had no real problems. When we bought it I was on this forum and was informed of the Service advisory for the 8" frame. I spoke to Keystone and they told me that ours was eligible for the frame upgrade and it was done at our dealer at no cost to us. At the Rally last year at Goshen We met with a Montana manager after the factory tour and asked him about the 1" long stress crack in the corner under the bedroom slide. He told us to watch it and if it got worse to bring it in for a free repair. We are now about 1000 miles from home and the crack is about 2" long so it will be going in to the dealer when we get back home in a few weeks.

I would buy another Montana in a flash, not because I know them to be better than all the competition but because I know from my own experience and the experience of those in this forum that Montana will go the extra mile to take care of us and not try to squirm out of the cost by holding up the fine print. I feel good knowing that I have spoken to Jeff Rank and several other Montana managers and that the one who gave me the info on the stress crack also gave me his card with not only his office number but his cell and home numbers as well. That's committment and confidence in their product!

Next year if things go well we will be upgrading to a 3400RL.

Are there things that I wish Montana would do different? You bet! But I doubt that I couldn't say that about any brand. A couple are parked next to us at Camp Hatteras right now and they have an Everest about the same as our Montana. They are equally happy with the service they are getting and the fit and finish on their coach. Keystone is certainly doing something right to have that wide a reputation.

richfaa · 09-30-2005, 02:00 PM

snowbunny..we were in Camp Hatteras in July of this year..very nice campground.. keep the good news coming....it feels goood.

sreigle · 09-30-2005, 02:17 PM

This is our fourth fifthwheel and every one (3 different brands -Wilderness, Jayco Eagle, Montana) have had one problem or another. This one had the shackles problem and the overhang problem. Keystone took care of both at no cost to us. I guess I don't expect to put this many miles (30k plus) towing a rig over all kinds of road without some problems. We'd buy another Montana simply because, unlike many manufacturers, Keystone has not turned their back and said it's our problem. Overall this has been a very good rig and I'd highly recommend Montana.

Searchers · 09-30-2005, 03:05 PM

We too have an older unit ordered and manufactured in February of 1999. It's never been back to the dealer. Keystone did notify us about the 8" frame advisory, sent the parts and paid the bill to a certified welder of my choice for the install. We had a small leak in a hot water line that I took care of myself. Last spring I lost a control board on the Dometic refrigerator which was taken care on an extended warranty by a local RV repairman, and a bad solenoid on the Dewald slide system, repaired by me at a cost of $37.50.

richfaa · 09-30-2005, 03:06 PM

No one has to sell us on Montana. We are going to buy one for the reason most folks state..they stand behind the product.We have a long list of things that go wrong thanks to this forum just thought I would like to give everyone the chance to post what went right.Puts us in the proper mood for our factory trip next week...

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