villa308 - Montana Owners Club

Montana_1190 · 12-04-2004, 06:18 PM

You might have better luck getting some feedback on your question by starting a new topic. There are a lot of helpful folks on this site who can give you advice but your post might get lost under the Mountaineer topic. Hope this helps!

Montana_2618 · 12-05-2004, 10:02 AM

Thanks for the advise on starting a new topic. We were considering purchasing a 3650RK but were disappointed about all of the problems posted about the Monty. Would appreciate any information other owners can give.

Glenn and Lorraine · 12-05-2004, 11:10 AM

First let me start off by saying Welcome to the MOC.

Yes you are seeing a number of problems posted by the Montana owners.
What you also should be seeing is how Montana is consistently stepping up to the plate and taking care of the majority of these problems. Some of which are well out of the warranty period.

Also keep in mind that as much as we hate to admit it most folks are complainers and not so much complimenters. They have a problem they complain and rightfully so. But when nothing is wrong they rarely have anything to say ie; complain about. I am one of those who has no real complaints and love my Montana and will buy another and another until they put me into a nursing home.
Also keep in mind that even though the MOC membership is quite large we account for only a very small percentage of Montana/Mountaineer owners out there enjoying there rigs. At this very moment there are 2 Montana 5th wheels and 1 Mountaineer TT in the same park that I am in. None have access to a computer and all 3 love their rigs.

And last but not least is the fact that this board exists is the reason you are reading about these problems. I guarantee you that if any other brand had a forum such as this one you would be seeing the same kind of problems.

Montana_2618 · 12-05-2004, 01:07 PM

Thanks Glen & Lorraine. You have made us feel better about our decision. We currently live in a condo on the seawall in Galveston. We are selling it and moving to a Monty. We are excited and ready for the change. My wife and I met online and were married 3 years ago. Life is great and we are both very blessed. We enjoy reading all of the comments and we are learning a great deal about 5th wheels. This will be the first time for my wife but my second to own. Thanks again. Look forward to meeting everyone.

stiles watson · 12-05-2004, 01:37 PM

It is easy to get into just seeing one side of the story. As Glenn said, it is human nature to complain. The only way you can avoid RV problems is not to purchase one, any RV. These rigs are constructed by people just like cars and houses.

When I had my first stick house constructed, I regularly wanted to strangle the contractor for broken promises, snow jobs and just plain lying. But that house still stands and is an asset to the community in which it exists (I later sold it). My current stick house is located in a solid middle-class neighborhood, but I had to replace three electrical plugs today and the toilet needs a new wax ring. Ugh!!

There is no forum to chastise the builder. With these Montanas, we are privileged to give both positive and negative feedback to Keystone (they monitor) and in addition, get terrific synergistic, creative energy to problem solve. As a relatively new fifth wheeler, this is an outstanding plus that has worked for me to shorten my learning curve. Questions have been answered for me that I didn't even know to ask. I have made some important upgrades before having to experience the downside in some areas. I have even been able to make a little contribution now and then.

After Dianna and I spend a bit of time next April in Germany for 45th wedding anniversary, we will be going fulltime in this Montana Big Sky. If I didn't have confidence in the rig...well, I didn't fall off the turnip truck. I am ready for the Great Adventure.

stiles watson · 12-05-2004, 01:40 PM

P.S: Just saw your post and see you are living in Galveston. Well, I am in Clear Lake, neighbor.

Montana_1190 · 12-05-2004, 06:39 PM

We're new to owning a 5th wheel or any RV for that matter. We just got our Mountaineer in June and have put about 5,600 miles on it. So far, we love everything about it. We have had no problems, other than a few minor details that the dealer fixed. I researched for several months and feel like we made a good decision and got a good quality 5er and a lot for the money. One thing I did notice while doing my research was that no matter what the make of RV, if someone had a problem with that particular brand then their advice usually was not to buy it. It made me second guess everything and just about drove me nuts! I finally decided the heck with it and went with our decision and have not regretted it at all. Good luck with your decision!

Montana_2618 · 12-06-2004, 12:16 AM

It is so good to talk to some positive people. Hey, I even learned we have a neighbor and we have not even bought our Monty. There is so much to learn and just reading the posts on this forum has taught us so much. We are just waiting for a contract on our condo and our Great Adventure will start. We went this past weekend and checked out some camp grounds. We met the nicest people and they were willing to share information and even show us in their rigs. I believe we are going to love being full-timers. Thanks so much for making Mary Kay and I feel welcome.

sreigle · 12-06-2004, 05:51 AM

Villa308, as others said, we usually hear about problems on this forum but rarely do we post the good things. When you realize Montana has been the number one seller for three years in a row and likely this year will be the fourth, you realize there are a lot of Montana owners out there. When you also look at how many members there are in this forum, the number of complaint becomes a rather small percentage. There's not much comfort in that if you happen to have a bad one but I think you can see the odds are you will get a good one. If not, it's nice to have Keystone backing up the product as they do. We bought our first Montana in January, 2001, and put about 10-15k miles on it before trading it for another Montana. That should tell you we were pleased with the first one. We've put about 25k miles on this second one and are equally pleased with it. I hope you don't let the relatively few problems cause you too much concern. I think it's most important to find a dealer you have confidence in, one you feel will be there when and if you need him.

DHenry · 12-06-2004, 02:06 PM

The dealer is really the key. I choose the dealer 250 miles away from where I currently live for two reasons. One was the price naturally, and the other was because the local dealer flat told me if I did not buy from him he would not service the Montana I bought from someone else. I really did not want to do business with a firm that had that policy. My remote dealer told me he did not care where the unit was purchased he would take care of the warranty and would do it happily. I have taken it to him twice for warranty repairs (the second time was to install a window that was back orderd) and both times it was repaired correctly and efficently. I do have a place to stay when I take it there so it is not to inconvient to tow it that far. Actually I enjoy towing the Montana because it gives me the practice and I hardley know it is behind me, it tows so nice.

Montana_2618 · 12-06-2004, 03:30 PM

We will be going Friday to check out the Montana's at a dealer in Houston. I am going armed with tons of information from this forum. My list of questions is growing by the day. We will see how well the dealer handles them. I can't thank all of you for the honesty and taking the time to respond to our posting. Any information you care to share between now and then will be greatly appreciated.

rames14 · 12-06-2004, 04:46 PM

villa308 -

We just moved up from a Rockwood TT to the Montana in August. We were new to RV's with the Rockwood and had a number of fairly serious issues. But our dealer took care of them. When we moved up to the Montana, we did not have near the problems, but we also used the same dealer since they had serviced us so well. Many of the exasperated readers you hear from are the result of dealers not doing their job. A good dealer can short circuit a lot of the negatives. We love our Montana and I am pretty sure our next RV - some years down the road I think, will probably be the new Cambridge. But it will definitely be a Keystone/Montana product. We hope you enjoy your new Montana. You will find a very vigorous discussion of issues on this forum and no shortage of people willing to help. If possible, to experience the real thrill of this forum, try to attend the rally and meet some of the neat people you hear from at this site. If you have a problem, there is a good chance that someone else has already had the same problem and found a cure. Welcome aboard.

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