keystone good or bad

[Slink]

Hi Everyone, lets have some comments on the value and quality of the newer Montanas compared to the older models. Is quality as good? Lot's of negatives on the board with the new models. Are they really that bad? Let's have folks report who have spent $500.00 or less on their unit in one year with exception of tires or normal maintenance. Is Keystone and their dealers taking care of business, or is it all flash and no substance. Let's hear the good things on the product, is it worth it to continue buying keystone products?

[davidaf]

We are 17 months into fulltiming and so far haven't had an issue that I couldn't fix myself. Just a few little things here and there.

[bigskyjimmy]

On my 2015 7 months old, one toilet because it would not hold water went Dometic 160 bucks otherwise ZERO NADA ZIP very happyon our 2012 we had for 2 1/2 years same thing toilet 160 bucks because I went Dometic again and not the stock Thetford and I bought G rated tires just for piece of mind and other than That again ZERO and that is why I bought a another one just my experience in almost 3 1/2 years of Fulltiming in them,As far as my Dealer Tacoma RV here in the NW they have been great as far as the buying experience and as far as the Service dept only time I have been there in 3 1/2 years is on my 2015 I broke a chair by standing and jumping on it(my bad) but they took care of it on Warranty with no problems....Having said that it does help if you are handy as I have had to clean dust out of the fireplace a few times when it quit working and restringing stupid day/night shades sometimes...I LOATHE THEM but I am getting real good at it

[sambam]

We bought ours used 2 years ago and it has been everything we were hoping for. I added some stuff like the G614's, TPMS, and a hardwired electrical monitoring system. This forum has been real helpful, also, which makes doing some of these things yourself easier. It's an added bonus to buying a Montana. This is my 2nd Keystone ('04 Cougar TT). I'm not brand-loyal when it comes to RV's and I'm convinced there is good and bad with any manufacturer. Based on my experiences with this and the Cougar, I'd buy another Keystone. At the same time, I wouldn't rule out other makers as well when the time comes to move on.

[1retired06]

2002, 2005, 2010, 2015. Have had more problems with the 2015 then with all the other three together over fourteen years. Thumbs down on quality and Keystone customer service. Long time Montana advocate, not so much now.

[dieselguy]

I've had 3 Montanas since 2000. My 2011 has had more odds and ends in need of repair/replace than the other two combined. Brakes weren't even wired up on one side, entry door had sprung hinges and needed replaced due to wrong shock, MorRyde shear springs failed on one side, two storage doors delaminated, storage bottoms of dining room chairs fell off, bulb seals around slides split despite generous application of rubber conditioner, and spring perches were not welded inline with one another causing excessive shackle wear. Other than the shackle issue, most were tolerable, but cumulatively it adds up. Listening on the MOC in the past couple of years and my experience with my current fiver ... I've taken the blinders off and acknowledge there are other possibilities.

[DarMar]

2003,2007,2010, and now 2015. Haven't had problems with any of them that during our time of ownership added up to $500. out of our pocket. Had a major problem with the Dometic fridge in our 2015 but our dealer and Keystone stepped up and replaced it as fast as they could get a new unit from Dometic once they determined the unit was at fault.

Our dealer supplied us with a new bar fridge to use for the three weeks it took to get it done, sure it was an inconvenience but we have been through lots of worse things.

[Artemus Gordon]

Our Montana while not perfect, has exceeded our expectations. Keystone has been excellent as well as dealers from coast to coast. We started out with a major "slide issue" the repair bill was in excess of 12k. Keystone sent a tech to Tahoe from Reno, got us in a position to travel. Had parts shipped in four days to a non Montana Dealer and repairs made in 7 working days. They have been respectful, professional and great to deal with every time we had questions or issues. I mentioned many time we owned Cabin Cruisers. RVs are "child's play" next to big boats. We selected the Montana as our first fifthwheel and are completely satisfied!

[lawrenceb42106]

2001-2005-2010 Montana's. The 2001 was the best off all,with the least repairs. The dealer were all about the same. We have stopped at the factory few times with problems. Were given same tales. See your dealer. Montana still good for the $$$$.

[WaltBennett]

IMHO the 'quality' argument either way isn't how we should look at it all. I think it's more about how we perceive the 'value' of our RVs. I've had eight RVs of all kinds & brands save Class A, and ALL had issues of one kind or another. Some very minor, none major thankfully.

Considering all the different components from different manufacturers that go into any RV, the end product's 'quality' isn't really something that can be laid onto just Keystone. Buying any large RV/trailer is just like buying a house. Just because a toilet or refer fails doesn't mean you holler at the builder. Sloppy assembly of an RV is the same as sloppy construction of a house. (Ever done some renovation and seen how your house was built? Can be quite scary!) Anyone buying a home and not inspecting it both by themselves and a professional inspector is begging for problems. Why anyone would pay $30k, $60k, $100k or more and not do this completely escapes me. There are horror stories all over the internet from people who've bought new or used homes and had all sorts of major issues, but people still buy them.

Considering the features, floorplans, usability and capabilities vs. price of a Montana, I'm quite happy with ours. DRV and a few other high end 5ers may have better 'quality', but I don't want the level of debt I'd have if we got one of them. (That in spite of requiring a bigger truck - well, maybe that wouldn't be so bad . . )

A final note: One thing I've noticed on many RV forums is that much of the time the loudest complaints come from people who really didn't understand what they were buying or getting into. They thought they'd be able to drive off into the sunset and everything would magically work perfectly even if they never read a manual or listened to someone tell them what to do. Once I ran into someone who didn't know how to hook their brand new coach up to the utilities at a camp site. Go figure . .

[DQDick]

Just remember, there are thousands of owners on this forum and mostly only problems get reported. Many many folks with no problems at all never say a word.

[Slink]

DQDICK that's what I was hunting for with this tread we all know there are a lot of diff manufacturers that have parts in these units.But as the final completion is by Keystone they should be held accountable, I purchased the unit from Keystone I should not have to chase down every manufacturer that has parts in these units, that goes for all manufacturers it should be up to Keystone to deal and get warranty returns from each manufacturer for faulty equipt. In the meantime have Keystones dealers fix the problem, if they are unable to fix the issue get the people trained or pull their dealership

[richfaa]

I have not spent 500.00 out of my pocket for all repairs combined on both of our Montana's as our extended warranties picked up the cost less deductible. Now the first EW cost us 1074.00 for 7 years and we got triple or more out of that EW. This one on our 13 cost us 1980 and we have got 1107.00 back thus far with the Montana going in again in May for tank replacement. we have got 3054.00 in E.W' over 8 years or 381.75 per year plus the deductibles which have been 400.00 total over the years so far which brings us up to nearly the 500.00 per year mark.

Anyone with data collection experience will recognize that the MOC is a excellent representative sample of Montana owners and you do not need large numbers of issues to understand that those issues represent what issues Montana owners are having.. The Nelison Tv ratings are a example were a small representative sample of TV viewers determine were billions of $$ are spent by advertisers.

[TAKPAK]

Discounting our very first RV, a 2007 Cougar pull trailer, which we only had one year before deciding we needed more room!

Our first fiver was a 2008 3400. A few problems, nothing major. Then a 2011 3400, a few problems, nothing major. Now the 2014 3725, and so far, zero problems. Also, I can say with certainty that the quality, at least in our opinion, definitely improved from the 2008 to the 2014, ESPECIALLY in the insulation/tightness factor. Definitely noticeable is the lack of any cold spots/drafts in the 2014. Also noticed a significantly reduced use of propane over the season in the 2014. And the six point level up is to "live for".....I don't want to "die" for anything. All in all, while the previous Monty's were nice, each one had improvements over the previous one, and the 2014 is the best one yet. Probably our last, too.

Just our opinion and what has been good for us, anyway.

[bigskyjimmy]

Yep I have fulltimed in 3 of them a 2003,a 2012 and my 2015 and I'm telling ya I myself have not seen any fall off in build quality ,like TAKPAK said before better insulation,12in frame ,better wood,Better electronics, better Gelcoat and graphics better EVERYTHING (EXCEPT the Mattress) I would be willing to bet if you look in the archives on this Forum over the years you will find just as many complaints from folks that have got a lemon or other bad problems and I feel for folks like Virginia,Rich,etc.. and that SUCKS but for me and my wife we have been very happy Or Maybe the Luckiest Monty owners on Earth

[richfaa]

the fact that one can have few of no problems and another has verifies the lack of quality control on the line or training of the assembly line workers. If mine were built like bigskyjimmys we would not have had the problems we have.

[K0LCB]

I still think my Montana was well built and I had very few problems, and they were always handled quickly and easily , we lived and traveled in it for over 20 months. It was just no match for front bumper of semi

[Hogfan]

We have a 2014 Mountaineer 356 bunk model and we have had several issues but the dealer has worked really hard to get things fixed and so far that has been the case. We are taking it back the end of March after a trip (hoping everything works right) to have everything checked out prior to the end of our 1 year warranty. We have had slide issues, frig temps up and down, and our fresh water tank overflow was on the side of the tank. Which meant that we would lose 2/3 of our fresh water while traveling. Our dealer has done several modifications to the tank and hopefully is now fixed. Our dealer has assured us that if we continue to have these problems, our warranty would still be in effect. We will see but love our Mountaineer!

[mlh]

I've never complained about the problems I've had with my High Country because never had any trouble. I do see where I could have trouble. There are too many reported here for me to think they are trouble free. At least I know what to keep an eye out for.
Lynwood

[mhs4771]

OK, so what's the answer here? You take two identical models, same year and everything, ones a Lemon and the other is Perfect (or as near perfect as anything can be).
Is it the day of the week they're built (like Monday after a party weekend, or Friday before the weekend party), the time of the day (like the lemon is the last one off the line that day, so everything is rushed to finish it or the first one of the day while still hung over and haven't had the first coffee break yet).
Really makes you wonder. There must be something to cause such differences.