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Old 04-06-2019, 11:51 AM   #1
CaptnJohn
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A lesson for Montana/Keystone

It seems Forest River is way ahead in one way!!!

http://www.forestriverforums.com/for...ms+-+Emails%29
 
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Old 04-06-2019, 12:01 PM   #2
Rondo
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John, to let you know there are Keystone Montana folks monitoring and reading this Forum and they normally send PMs to folks when they see a problem they can help with. Not all problems are addressed by the Keystone folks but they are here watching the comments and postings.

Oh, by the way, this week in the RV Travel site they have listed the recalls from the RV Manufactures and there are two units that are being recalled by Keystones and about four or five recalls by Forest River.
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Old 04-06-2019, 01:34 PM   #3
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Originally Posted by Rondo View Post
John, to let you know there are Keystone Montana folks monitoring and reading this Forum and they normally send PMs to folks when they see a problem they can help with. Not all problems are addressed by the Keystone folks but they are here watching the comments and postings.

Oh, by the way, this week in the RV Travel site they have listed the recalls from the RV Manufactures and there are two units that are being recalled by Keystones and about four or five recalls by Forest River.
A little more than watching would be nice. Nothing like Clemmons, the Dynamax GM. He is on a lot and is extremely helpful with owners. If I could stand a Class C I'd consider one only because of his presence.

Long ago I had an FR product. One and Done! Had good luck with Heartland but my last 3 have been Keystone, 1 Cougar and 2 Montana. At 71 I may be done buying new but if I do it will be a Montana. It could be another DP if health gets worse at buying time.
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Old 04-06-2019, 02:39 PM   #4
team bradfield
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we've owned 3 FR's, a Salem TT and 2 Cardinal Fivers, the second fiver was the biggest lemon I've ever experienced.

we had a Montana Mountaineer with bunkhouse when the kids were young, we outgrew it and tried the Cardinal again, we had no problem with the first Cardinal or the Mountaineer. when cardinal #2 started falling to pieces, we went back to Montana
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Old 04-06-2019, 03:26 PM   #5
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I get the list of RV recalls every month. FR has major quality problems.
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Old 04-06-2019, 04:31 PM   #6
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Had 2015 FR Cardinal had nothing but problems.
Had Keystone Montana TT & 5er with no problems.
Came back to Montana hopefully I will have the same luck with the new Montana.
Maiden Voyage in a few weeks.

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Old 04-06-2019, 04:35 PM   #7
Ram Montana High Country
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Did I see FR plant had a fire? Are they back in production? If their down too long - crews will leave. Then what? Better or ... ?
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Old 04-06-2019, 08:53 PM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Rondo View Post
John, to let you know there are Keystone Montana folks monitoring and reading this Forum and they normally send PMs to folks when they see a problem they can help with. Not all problems are addressed by the Keystone folks but they are here watching the comments and postings.

Oh, by the way, this week in the RV Travel site they have listed the recalls from the RV Manufactures and there are two units that are being recalled by Keystones and about four or five recalls by Forest River.
Montana folks lurking in the shadows? Not to say it isn't possible but I think they lack the commitment to their product to openly stand up for it. Of course all issues can't be addressed. At least they could address warranty and design failures. I own proof positive they are unable or unwilling to regain the quality reputation they once held.

I don't follow recalls not associated with my rig but what I've seen usually involves safety related issues in components from other manufacturers. Has Keystone ever recalled failed items of their own design?
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Old 04-07-2019, 03:54 AM   #9
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LOL Okay, I for one have been a "target" of the lurking Montana folks. They have reached out to me via private chat and have put me in touch with others at Keystone to get issues resolved and offered to meet privately at the National Rally for a one on one visit.

Once you have been targeted, you will see the pattern in the posts where they are getting involved.

Do they take the peacock approach to announce to the world they are here? No. With "Manufacturing defects corrected by me" you are making sure it is known that your 3160 had issues (not surprised) and that you were able to address them yourself. So you did not really need help from the Montana lurkers.

There are others that do need assistance and they do get it.

And if you follow my posts you will find that when you touch the right nerve you will also hear me be critical of Montana and Keystone.
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Old 04-07-2019, 10:09 AM   #10
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I had a friend who owned a very small RV dealership. He always said campers and people are a lot alike after you skin them there isn’t much difference in them.
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Old 04-07-2019, 10:18 AM   #11
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Jeffba, I appreciate your opinion. You are fortunate in that your issues were addressed by factory reps. I guess I would rather have our issues handled without needing PMs and knowing contacts (from other posts). I corrected my own stuff because I wanted them fixed. I have other issues that we just have to live with.

It is not always about poor quality and arm wrestling with the factory to fix things that should never have left the assembly line. If they handled their business on the line and fix what they should, maintenance and repairs wouldn't be the most used threads on the forum.

We do like our trailer very much and feel blessed to be able to fix problems for the most part. I feel sorry for those struggling with issues and getting little resolution.
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Old 04-07-2019, 12:38 PM   #12
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Quality control at the factory is not of the highest. We knew that before we purchased . We have had 2 Montana's a 06 and this 13. We have had several problems with both of them most IMO as a result of poor workmanship. We have put over 100K miles on them total. We have had the extended service plan(warranty) on both of them and used the plan on both of them. We have attended the fall rallies every year since 2006 since we live not far away and that does help in understanding keystone operations, Operations at the service center and meeting Keystone reps . We are not handy in repairing anything RV or otherwise.We have never had a problem with Keystone or the service center with warranty repairs or seeking help and information not to say we always got our way. Just our experience others may differ.
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Old 04-07-2019, 12:58 PM   #13
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I still think it all revolves around the dealer. I've had issues with both of our Montana's that were promptly and correctly fixed and Keystone Customer service was easy to work with. We were even been oked to have a non-Montana dealer do one repair and a non-RV service person do another.
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Old 04-09-2019, 08:09 PM   #14
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When there is a known issue that Keystone has known about for quite some time and have not corrected the problem IE air conditioner ducts collapsing it makes them seem unresponsive to their customers needs Over all satisfied with my unit. Just wonder why they do not correct these easy and cheap fixes
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Old 04-14-2019, 02:14 PM   #15
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I joined this forum and was lucky to find out I was buying too large of a Montana for my F250 SD with a 6.0. Ended up pulling the plug on the Montana 5 days before we closed and getting an Outback instead. Wife wasn't happy at first but we have adjusted to it. Dealers keep pulling out the trailer life towing guide and saying you can tow it. My 341 RD has the same den as the Montana so we bought half of a Montana. Did get a notice from Keystone with a mfg's recall on the furnace, so we won't use it in the cold weather until maybe late 2019. Didn't say if it was a carbon monoxide issue with a warning to that effect.
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Old 04-14-2019, 03:09 PM   #16
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Quote:
Originally Posted by CaptnJohn View Post
It seems Forest River is way ahead in one way!!!

http://www.forestriverforums.com/for...ms+-+Emails%29
Not enough to chance a FR product. Bad record.
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Old 04-14-2019, 07:01 PM   #17
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I get the list of RV recalls every month. FR has major quality problems.
Where do you find keystone trailer recalls?
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Old 04-14-2019, 10:21 PM   #18
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Originally Posted by Gunny B View Post
I joined this forum and was lucky to find out I was buying too large of a Montana for my F250 SD with a 6.0.
I fell into the same trap. I did buy a Montana too large for my F250. F250 pulled it just fine, after air bags were installed, but I was still over weight for payload, rear axle, GCVWR, etc. I wound up buying an F350 DRW. In the process of selling the F250, in case anyone is interested. Thought I did my homework, but I left out a few numbers. Dealer should have known better! I will not buy from them again, but I doubt that any other dealers are any better when it comes to Tow Vehicle ratings and capacity.

I thank the others in the forum who brought this to my attention. Didn't want to buy a new truck, but that is the safe and smart thing to do (or trade in the brand new Monty for a lighter weight 5ver....
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Old 04-15-2019, 08:19 AM   #19
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After decades of pop ups and tt's we bought our first 5er a half dozen years ago to start snowbirding. It was a 1 year old FR Blueridge. Met the revious owner as he was picking up the new rig. He traded it solely because of the small corner shower. A 6'6" logger was just too cramped. We put four years in that unit and only problem was a furnace ciucuit board. Traded it for our new 3731FL mostly to get a bigger shower plus I've always wanted a Montana. The spacious front living room was the deal maker for DW. Only real problem was the microwave died after one year (replaced under warrenty). All other issues have been factory related sloppiness that I have usually fixed myself. Dealer caught several issues that needed attention before I took delivery. I'm guessing the FR had similar issues that the previous owner fixed and I never saw.

Bottom line is I have been happy with both units and we love our Monty and plan to continue with this one till we retire from this lifestyle.

Life is Good.
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Old 04-15-2019, 05:23 PM   #20
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I have a 2017 HC 310RE was purchased in spring of 2018 we love the camper but has had a lot of structural issues plus many other things. The dealer has been great they have over 80 man hours invested in fixing the issues. one thing for sure it should be better than a newer one
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