A/C

[HOOK]

Well, if you want to say that a Montana is not expensive or luxurious, that's your prerogative. IMHO, its the most for the money built. The fit and finish is better than most more expensive RVs , to include motor homes. Value per dollar, it's not challenged anywhere. Although I do think there is a technical problem afoot here, I still see Montana as the best and believe Keystone will rise to the challenge. JMHO
Camping World has risen to the occasion and is installing a third AC.

[Hooker]

I certainly agree the Montana gives you the best bang for the buck. After much research, that was one of the primary reasons we bought one...but there are a number of 5th wheels that cost more and are more luxurious.

[Captain Joe]

David,
That is exactly what I stated on another thread. Add a 3rd A/C in place of the fan and wire it separately from the coach and plug into the 110 on the pedestal. If I kept my 3750FL, that was what I was going to do. Instead, with an interest rate lower than what I had, I chose to buy a new 3725RL with the quiet A/C.

Here is the link to that thread: http://www.montanaowners.com/forums/...r,conditioning

Enjoy....

[HOOK]

quote:Originally posted by Hooker

I certainly agree the Montana gives you the best bang for the buck. After much research, that was one of the primary reasons we bought one...but there are a number of 5th wheels that cost more and are more luxurious.

IMHO, depth of quality, dependability, and durability, are a greater luxury and value than price and "bling".

[Phil P]

Hooker

Let me get one thing cleared up. My wife and I like this Montana a lot. So much that we are having one built by a custom builder.

I don’t have a problem with a mass producer producing the occasional lemon. My entire beef is with Keystones Customer Service. They refused me access to the service center when I was Shipshewana, the insulting remarks the customer service rep said to my wife and then the belittlement when they wanted to know if I was RVIA certified and I told them NO. Then on top of that when I was able to prove the dealer wasn’t RVIA certified as well they hung up on me.

I think you get the idea.

Had Keystone acted with integrity instead of backing an irresponsible dealer because he had high trailer sales I would be beating the drum in favor of Keystone jus as you are.

I just got a price to have a custom builder build me a new Montana just like this one with qualified personnel and quality components.

The price came in $2,000 under what this unit cost me after doing all of the repairs Keystone refused to do under warranty.

I am not counting normal maintenance. I paid for the maintenance required by the warranty agreement plus additional items I preferred to have done. I am only counting the items that required major repairs that Keystone had performed on other trailers of the same model and year under warranty.

When I pointed this out to the manager of customer service and provided him with the VIN numbers of the other trailers I was told “we don’t cross reference those things”.

By the way the custom builder gives a 2 year Cap to Cap warranty and 5 years on structure. They have been in business for 15 years and are doing quite well.

Now what does that do to your “best bang for the buck” position?

Phil P

[HOOK]

Received an email from Sandi this am. It was warm at MB yesterday and they were comfortable.i will suggest the front AC from now on.

[Hooker]

quote:Originally posted by Phil P

Hooker
...Now what does that do to your “best bang for the buck” position?...

Phil P

Nothing, if I was going to buy another 5th wheel, it would be a Montana.

You had a problem with Keystone, I didn't. Sure I had some issues, but Keystone fixed them. The only reason we sold our Montana is that we wanted a MH.

Ask the the forum members whether or not they think they got their moneys worth or got the most "bang for the buck." It's been asked before.

[Irlpguy]

Hook wrote:

quote:
IMHO, depth of quality, dependability, and durability, are a greater luxury and value than price and "bling".

I feel a comment is warranted here. Since I have looked behind walls, behind every drawer and cabinet and under the bedroom slide storage, I can tell you that on my 3402RL the depth of quality is very very shallow, I did not expect my unit to start falling apart in the first year, dependability, not so much, Thousands of dollars spent by most MOC members to upgrade everything from the axles up, just to feel safe in driving them down the road, duarability, again not so much.

Larry you are in the business of selling the Keystone line, you cannot be badmouthing the product and expect to garner customers from the MOC, understood. But for heavens sake these units should not need 3 A/C's to keep them reasonably cool in hot weather. Nor should I have to rebuild the area that houses my stove because what the customer cannot see is crap.



The counter top is poorly supported, the 3/4 x 3/4 piece of wood (sitting on top of counter in picture) that was glued to the underside of the counter and meant to hold the stove in place fell out when removing the 2 screws on that side, the back corner of the counter is supported by a 1 x 1 piece of wood that sits under the counter and goes to the floor, it is not even fastened to the floor and flops around doing nothing.

I am not in the middle of a battle with Keystone, they have refused two warranty claims because I did not report them while I was away from home and it was 2 weeks after my warranty ended. Ok I will repair what needs to be repaired myself and will have a better end result than if the dealer did it under warranty, I can tell you this much, anything I do will be 100% better than original.

It is not the attributes alluded to by Hook that sells Keystone, it is the decor, bling and floor plans, along with the largest group of selling dealers of any RV in the marketplace.

So why did I have my stove out you might ask, well I was installing a electronic ignition for the oven. Project completed and it works great.

[Ozz]

Even with all the mods and repairs I have done to mine, I love it and would buy another.
If they built them like a Rolls Royce, we could not afford one.
The many people who full time in theirs seem to be happy with the build for the most part, and with some exceptions many, many of them would buy another Montana.
I met Steve and Vicki Reigle when they were moving into their second one: full timers. They loved their first and bought another.
It is a balance, light weight, affordable materials, affordable pricing.
Montana is a industry leader for a reason, they are a good product.
Ozz

[HOOK]

When the whisper quiet AC was designed, it was meant to be quiet in the living area where conversation, TV , music, and any other need for quietness are important. All the floorplans but the 3750 and 3850 are rear living and entertainment, with the wq above that area and the second ac at the opposite end of the ducting above the bedroom. The two mentioned are front living room models, but the wq is in the rear above the bedroom with the 2 nd AC above the kitchen, 8-10 feet short of the end of the duct which is above the living room. IMHO, until the ducting is turned around and the wc is placed above the living room and the 2 nd is placed at the end of the ducting in the bedroom, the system will remain inefficient in the living room. I'm not hvac trained, but all the other models seem to do an excellent job with 2acs. We live here in the hot, humid , sunny south and are very comfortable on the warmest days in our 3455 sa. Hope to be as comfortable in the 3900fb Big Sky that is to be here in about a week.

[K0LCB]

Larry, you hit the nail on the head. The design engineers never considered the front living area to be different than rear even the the thermostat is for rear zone 1 and front is zone 2. I still like mine, and I haven't had the heat problems others talk about

[bncinwv]

And neither have we and we had an early model that did require some experience in learning how to keep the front living room area comfortable. If I was concerned, I would not be getting ready to order another front living room model (interestingly enough I did notice 4 vents in the living room now). Bashers will continue to be bashers, but we are getting ready to order our third Montana, which speaks for itself!! I still believe to OP's rig has some ducting problems that have not been unearthed, since the thermodynamic properties of two AC's should cool any configuration with the square footage of these rigs. As a disclaimer, that last statement can be taken as nothing but opinion!
Bingo

[Irlpguy]

I want it understood that Keystone are not alone, nor are they the worst in the area of quality of materials used in the "hidden" portions of what is involved in building a trailer/camper. When less expensive and lighter materials are used in combination with poor workmanship you wind up with what I have seen in every cabinet and behind every drawer.
Staples partially driven in that hold nothing, parts not even secured that are needed to guarantee the integrity of area's of the unit.

My second look at new Montana models was far different than my first look, where initially I was blinded by the very nice decor and finished appearance, I have now looked closely at what one would not normally see and it is no different than the way my current model was built.

Recurring problems with certain areas should not continue year after year with no resolution to eliminate the problem. New models should not be introduced until they are proven to work properly in most if not all aspects. It is all about sales and eventually those who do not pay attention to the details will fall behind in spite of the huge sales force they have.

Keystone is only one of the players in this very lucrative market, they are far ahead of most but must step up and solve issues before the units go to market.

If in my lifetime I am ever in the market for a new RV I will most definitely look at the Montana line, however I will without a doubt be looking at others as well. In the meantime I will make the mods that would make any make/model a better more convenient unit to live in and hope Monty holds together.

[HOOK]

After around 30,000 miles in ours , we are happily waiting for our new Big Sky. I already have a list of upgrades started.......plexiglass in screen, water filter, at least 2 additional elect plugs, paper towel rack in basement, I look forward to my hobby. DW says Monty is my mistress. I agree, even if others find her to be less than luxurious, "trailer trash", LOL!!

[Captain Joe]

I totally agree and the Montana is #1 for a reason. Good quality at a reasonable price. Yes, we had a cooling problem with our 3750FL and it could have been fixed (adding a 3rd air is a guaranteed fix instead of experimenting with moving the air from the kitchen to the living room). But, like I previously stated, with interest rates so low, terms longer, and dealers wanting to unload their 2013 models to make room for the 2014s, we chose, YES, another Montana. Difference in price per month: $8 and we upgraded to a Big Sky.