Keystone, Read This. - Montana Owners Club

MuddyPaws · 10-07-2006, 01:25 PM

Begin Rant;

That ^%$%#^%^% remote thermostat is so totally worthless I'm about ready to rip it off the wall & toast it to a crisp it in the microwave/convection oven, which seems to work OK.

On our last trip we had to leave our dog inside for about 4 hours. It was a moderately warm day so I set the thermostat on cool @ 72 F. When we came back it was >50 %&^%$ degrees inside and the dog was in distress.

That same night it got cool, so I set the damn thing on heat @ 70 F. At 2AM my wife got up & shut off the heater because it was 85 and the furnace was still running! All this time it was in the 'I Feel' mode.

We have had trouble with it from our very first trip. It has never been accurate, never predictable, and always wrong.

Keystone, this IS NOT ACCEPTABLE! If you are still installing these useless pieces of junk you ain't been listening.

End Rant;

How can I get a Comfort Control Center to replace the remote. I'll pay for it if necessary and will install it myself.

There is not a single competent Keystone/Montana dealer in my area. The ONLY one is Alpine Recreation in Morgan Hill, CA. I won't rehash my previous problems with Alpine here, but sufice it to say that they will never see us again, for any reason.

Thanks for listening,
Muddypaws

Parrothead · 10-07-2006, 01:35 PM

Try emailing Dometic. We had good success with emailing them. They called back within the hour. Sent us another remote. I called and told them it was not acceptable and referenced the MOC. They sent us the CCC within the week. Be nice. You ranted here, that's what we are for but when talking to them, be nice but firm. If you don't hear from them, do it again. I think it all depends on who you talk to. They sent ours directly to us. We bought our unit from Alpine also and we were not impressed.
Happy trails......................

haslcs · 10-07-2006, 02:00 PM

I am glad to here that someone else is also having trouble with their remote thermostat. my dealer said he called dometic and they said it was within their tolerance. so no help from them. so i gess i will try what parrothead did. e-mail them and see what happens. mine is any where from 8 to10 degrees off. so if you want 70 degrees on heat you set it at 78 or80 to get 70 in the heat mode in the cool mode to get 70 you set it at60 degrees. a piece of junk.

Glenn and Lorraine · 10-07-2006, 02:00 PM

Excuse me Muddypaws but you are not on just a rant but you are also raving. Ranting and Raving to any dealer, Keystone or Dometic will get you absolutely no where. Any further conversations with any dealer, Keystone or Dometic concerning this thermostat should be calm, cool and collected.

Cat320 · 10-07-2006, 02:38 PM

MuddyPaws, you need to post your problem in the "What I'd Like To Say If..." thread farther down in the forum. Word is Keystone reads that section.

On edit, it's entitled, "HEY KEYSTONE."

OntMont · 10-07-2006, 03:39 PM

It is well known that the remote thermostat is nothing but trouble. Both Keystone and Dometic are well aware of this, and Keystone is no longer installing them.

Most of us have been able to get them replaced by Dometic, but the hoops you have to go through seem to vary. Sometimes they will just send you one with no questions asked, but most often, they seem to want a dealer to verify that the remote is not working correctly. This is where having a good dealer relationship is useful. Our dealer just took my word for it, called Dometic and asked them to send a CCC.

As others have said, call Dometic, make it clear what your problem is, and ask for a CCC as a replacement. Sometimes they try to get you to install another remote, I don't think that has ever worked, but you might have go through that hoop just to get where you want to be. Be calm and firm, the experience of others suggests that you will get what you want, but don't waste any more time, most of us had this issue resolved months ago.

Old GI · 10-08-2006, 03:04 AM

Muddypaws, we had that same thermostat in our 2955RL, and we had the same problems. My wife who is the brains in this outfit, mounted the holder and the remote on the wall right next to the manual on/off switch (left side of switch) and kept it in the holder. It seemed to work better that way. The remote senses any change in temp wether it's from your hand holding it or if it's under a vent or in the sunlight. It worked just fine after that.

MuddyPaws · 10-08-2006, 06:48 PM

Ours is mounted on the wall right under the receiver. I've tried every trick I've found here to make the stupid thing work predictably, all with no luck. Been trying for two years and I'm a disgusted. Did I not start and end my rant properly?

So far I've been able to fix everything that went wrong myself, except this ONE thing. Not that there has been alot going wrong. We've been RV'ers for 30+ years, you name it and I've probably fixed it at least once.

If Dometic insists I take it to 'The Dealer' we will have a problem.
I said we will not go back to Alpine and I meant it. They are totally incompetent and not to be trusted.

If you search the archive using 'muddypaws' and go back 2 years you'll see why.

MuddyPaws · 10-08-2006, 06:52 PM

By the way. I installed a dual zone wireless and programmable heating & cooling thermostat system in my house and it works perfectly.

MuddyPaws · 10-12-2006, 05:07 AM

I followed your advice and sent an email to Dometic. But I don't seem to be one of the lucky ones thay choose to be nice to. They instructed me to take it in for repairs. But at least they suggested a couple of alternative dealers to take it to, one of whom we've had good experiences with. It means I will have to take time off from work both taking our Monty in and picking it up. I'm working 60-70 hour weeks and that will be a problem.

Can anybody tell me how much a CCC would cost should I choose to skip all this BS and replace it myself?

Thanks,
MuddyPaws

OntMont · 10-12-2006, 06:05 AM

Sorry I can't tell you how much, but I think the wall unit alone is around $100, but you also have to change the circuit board in the A/C, and I would think that is not a cheap item. Camping world may be able to price it out for you.

It is a frustrating process, but at least you are now on the Merry-go-round, with patience and some inconvenience, you should get where you want to be.

MuddyPaws · 10-19-2006, 06:59 PM

Well, we're going camping, boondocking, this weekend and our problem has still not been resolved. We're going to freeze! The heater doesn't shut off until the set temp + 23 (+/- ?)degrees and the A/C will not shut off on it's own at all. We probably won't turn the system on at all for that reason.

Duo-Therm gave me the names & numbers of three dealers who carry their parts. So far two of them have given me the 'eh?' response, and I'm waiting on the third to get back to me.

IF, and that seems to be a big if, I can find a knowlegable RV dealer I may be able to get the parts for just over $200.

That Duo-Therm didn't replace the unit outright when I contacted them when they have already replaced so many for the same reasons does indeed leave a bad taste in my mouth. It may become an issue if we shop for a new RV in the future.

This is more of a hassle than the time our heater exploded! But that was 4 or 5 RV's back.

richfaa · 10-20-2006, 02:42 AM

That would leave a bad taste in my mouth also. That they have replaced so many for the same problem in the past means that Duo-Therm will do it.Just have to find the right person to talk to.. Just last month I had to call a manufacturer 3 times. The first 2 folks said..no way..we can not help you..the 3rd person said no problem and solved the issue and it was not a Rv related problem .. Most companies these days seem to have a lot of "customer service folks" that have little or no knowledge about the product. I would keep trying. I try to be polite but persistent.

Charlotte · 10-20-2006, 09:39 AM

We contacted Dometic also and were just told to put it on "I feel". Doesn't help much. We also offered to buy a wall unit from our dealer and were told it was too complicated for us to install. Not only are we fed up with not being able to control the temperature, but we are also disgusted because the Direct TV remote triggers the air conditioner and heating unit. Direct TV says they never heard of that before. Dometic says they are on the same frequency. Well, da! Just help us do something about it! It is a pain and we would never buy another one.
Charlotte

MuddyPaws · 10-22-2006, 05:48 PM

I found the parts I needed. $219 total. They should be here in a few days.

I'd rather pay the bucks than get jerked around for 3 months.

Too hard to install? We'll see about that. Others have done it without problems. Can't believe it's any harder than building a computer from a pile of parts......

MuddyPaws · 10-28-2006, 06:39 PM

I installed it without a hitch. Piece of cake. All I needed to do was to compare the wiring for the old one to the new one. The colors may not be the same. The freeze sensor had to be replace with the new one, the old one just pulls off the coil and the new one goes between the fins.

Our system didn't use the 'Load Shed' connection so I just left it hanging.

One small problem though. There is a heater vent right below the thermostat, and we think it causes the heater to cycle on-off-on in about 10 minutes. Drove Mrs Muddypaws nuts all night. Tonight we'll cover the vent & see if that improves things.

The holes in the wall where the 'mote used to be are now covered by a wireless indoor/outdoor thermometer. ($19.95 from CW). It looks great.

Cheers,
MuddyPaws

Driftwoodgal · 10-28-2006, 07:18 PM

Congrats on solving your problem on your own. We were fortunate that we didn't have this type of thermostat in our 3400RL. Hope you have lots of

from now on.

MuddyPaws · 10-29-2006, 03:12 PM

Does anybody know if the CCC has a temp sensor in the control unit? I 'think' it does because covering the vent made the heater stop cycling on-off every few minutes.

I'm planning on replacing the vent with an adjustable one.

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