New unit headaches 3791RD

[dkkirkland]

We bought a 3971RD this past Friday and we noticed Saturday hydraulic fluid leaking underneath the dinette slide. We looked at the fittings for the hydraulic lines for the jacks and they are so corroded they look like they're 10 years old. All four of the fittings for the rear jacks look this way. The front fittings look brand new as they should. (See pics). We took it to the dealer first thing Monday morning and it turns out the leak is a cylinder for the dinette which they ordered parts. We told them we want the fittings for the hydraulic lines replaced. They said it was probably caused from salt when it traveled from Indiana. We told them we looked at other Montanas on the lot and they did not look that way. They also stated they didn't know how long it was on the lot. We responded that this is new and we expect it to look new. It is our hope that Keystone will do the right thing and approve the replacement of these fittings.

Additionally, we turned on the valve in the bottom of the pantry closet for the water to make ice in the icemaker. Fortunately I had placed about 8 mega rolls of paper towels in the bottom of the closet because the valve leaked water all night. The paper towels were individually wrapped in plastic so they absorbed the water as it leaked and kept it in each roll instead of causing damage to the RV. We are going to fix the leak ourselves.

My question is has anyone else had these problems on a brand new unit like we have?

[dhenry3]

Our 2018 3791 had a leak on the water valve also. I got rid of the plastic ferrels and went with brass.No more leak. I also had to send the inverter for the fridge back to manufacturer for replacement. They had one to me in three days.No other problems as of yet.

[DQDick]

First, welcome to the forum! There are always going to be some issues on brand new units, many caused by the speed at which the haulers travel out of Goshen, some caused by the dealers and most caused by the speed of the assembly line at the plant. The dealer should replace those fittings weather Keystone does or not, IMHO, but if they don't know when the rig arrived and how long it was on their lot, I don't have a lot of confidence they could get Keystone to do anything. It really is all about the dealer.

[dfb]

Originally Posted by DQDick

First, welcome to the forum! There are always going to be some issues on brand new units, many caused by the speed at which the haulers travel out of Goshen, some caused by the dealers and most caused by the speed of the assembly line at the plant. The dealer should replace those fittings weather Keystone does or not, IMHO, but if they don't know when the rig arrived and how long it was on their lot, I don't have a lot of confidence they could get Keystone to do anything. It really is all about the dealer.

Maybe some of the posts will have people looking elsewhere other than a Thor Product.... If new buyers keep seeing this, I hope they do go elsewhere... In our travels we have folks all over, wanting to know about our Montana... I won't lie to them... Every person agreed to look at other non Thor Products... Sorry, but the word does get out.... We just got back from a trip.. Non eventful thank god this time... If you Want a Montana, don't pay more than 60 percent of msrp and have the dealer throw in a warranty....
Just the way it is...

[CaptnJohn]

Originally Posted by dfb

Maybe some of the posts will have people looking elsewhere other than a Thor Product.... If new buyers keep seeing this, I hope they do go elsewhere... In our travels we have folks all over, wanting to know about our Montana... I won't lie to them... Every person agreed to look at other non Thor Products... Sorry, but the word does get out.... We just got back from a trip.. Non eventful thank god this time... If you Want a Montana, don't pay more than 60 percent of msrp and have the dealer throw in a warranty....
Just the way it is...

Check out the Forest River forum ~~ Keystone has fewer complaints, especially big problems and sells more units.

[dkkirkland]

We just traded our Forest River Rockwood for the Montana and the unit we had was made rather cheaply but we did not have any major issues the couple years we owned it. We were also a member of the forum and always found it very helpful to problem solve.

[CaptnJohn]

Originally Posted by dfb

Maybe some of the posts will have people looking elsewhere other than a Thor Product.... If new buyers keep seeing this, I hope they do go elsewhere... In our travels we have folks all over, wanting to know about our Montana... I won't lie to them... Every person agreed to look at other non Thor Products... Sorry, but the word does get out.... We just got back from a trip.. Non eventful thank god this time... If you Want a Montana, don't pay more than 60 percent of msrp and have the dealer throw in a warranty....
Just the way it is...

1st tip on FR ~~ listen to the part in the manual about not traveling with water in the tanks. For years their tanks, especially FW have fallen out while traveling or parked. Rarely full tanks,,,,

[richfaa]

Originally Posted by CaptnJohn

1st tip on FR ~~ listen to the part in the manual about not traveling with water in the tanks. For years their tanks, especially FW have fallen out while traveling or parked. Rarely full tanks,,,,

Two of our holding tanks on our 13 3402 burst while standing still on our Florida lot.They both separated at the input to the tank.They were not full ...but..isn't that what holding tanks are for. Why call them holding tanks if they do not hold a full tank of whatever.We do not see a warning label that says "do not fill to capacity" were does it say do not fill tanks to capacity in the owners Manuel.

[jem]

Originally Posted by dfb

Maybe some of the posts will have people looking elsewhere other than a Thor Product.... If new buyers keep seeing this, I hope they do go elsewhere... In our travels we have folks all over, wanting to know about our Montana... I won't lie to them... Every person agreed to look at other non Thor Products... Sorry, but the word does get out.... We just got back from a trip.. Non eventful thank god this time... If you Want a Montana, don't pay more than 60 percent of msrp and have the dealer throw in a warranty....
Just the way it is...

dfb, i posted so many problems with Keystone mfg./ Thor.... had a 2017 HC Montana ... Frame welds broke. Repaired at Dealer to Keystone Mfg. specs,,,, after 22.6 miles it broke again (Keystone did nothing). We bought a New 2017 3000RE MONTANA... (+16,800 $ and my defective unit with only 2,136 miles of pull time.!) MANY PROBLEMS WITH NEW 3000RE....BACK TO DEALER NEXT WEEK (5th. time 105mi. RT) this is the 2nd. time we have missed a Trip to Alaska.!!!!!! QUALITY is ????? How about a class action lawsuit.? the RV industry needs to wake up.jem

[Rondo]

Class Action Lawsuits will get you no where! In a class action suit you have to have specific problems with specific models and this would have to be done on an individual basis and individual suits. If you try a Class Action vs the RV industry it will be thrown out at the lowest point of entry into the legal system. If you are having so much problem with your old unit why did you buy another Thor product? There may be a problem with Quality Control but it is RV industry wide. If you go to any of the individual sites of the manufacturers and models you will see there is the same problem with ALL of them. I've had a few problems with our unit BUT I don't go on the Forum here and complain about them, I talk to my dealer and with Keystone Customer Service and we work things out. IF you complain and get nasty with both your dealer and with the Customer Service Rep at Keystone you are defeating the purpose and you will turn both of them off and won't get any help. If you work with them and explain the problems in a calm manner I've found out it works out a whole lot better. Threats will get you nowhere!

[dfb]

Originally Posted by jem

dfb, i posted so many problems with Keystone mfg./ Thor.... had a 2017 HC Montana ... Frame welds broke. Repaired at Dealer to Keystone Mfg. specs,,,, after 22.6 miles it broke again (Keystone did nothing). We bought a New 2017 3000RE MONTANA... (+16,800 $ and my defective unit with only 2,136 miles of pull time.!) MANY PROBLEMS WITH NEW 3000RE....BACK TO DEALER NEXT WEEK (5th. time 105mi. RT) this is the 2nd. time we have missed a Trip to Alaska.!!!!!! QUALITY is ????? How about a class action lawsuit.? the RV industry needs to wake up.jem

I agree on the class action law suit. Need to find attorneys who do this. As far as a specific problem with a specific unit?. They are all EXACTLY THE SAME. MADE BT THE SAME FACTORY UNDER THE SAME COMPANY. THE suit i think would be failure of performance... these rvs are bought to do a job. Sold as doing a job. When this many units have problems, its time for an attorney to look into it.. I think besides financial awards, the Company Thor should either offer to buy the units back at full oridinal paid for price, or replace the product with a new one... im pretty fed up with paying good money only to get into constant trouble.. we did not buy these to work on them.. yes, sometime a thing here or there. But not a Constant berage of issues. Some possibly deadly, ie, hot wire to frame, walls falling off, slides sliding out, frame welds coming undone.. Just because THOR is the number one selling rv, who cares? They are number one because of the number of dealers, not because of quality.. Regretting a purchase is not fun... I miss Holiday Rambler, Alfa, western rv, original Sportsman by kz, ... The 2008 economy caused great companies to go under or be bought by Thor...
There is no excuse non, for alot of the issues folks are having...

[Rondo]

As DQ Dick stated "Welcome to the Forum" and you have learned now one of the reasons this Forum was formed. It is to find out what is going on with the unit and ask questions and get answers about your unit.
First of all-- How is this dealer that you have bought you unit from? I truly thing they are trying to give you the run around. IF a dealer does not have records on the unit and can't tell you when it came into their lot, they are worthless dealer, as far as I'm concerned. I'm just wondering if they are selling you a USED unit that came down to Florida with some snowbirds and they don't want to let you know it is used. You don't say what year the 3971RD is and I have a sneaking suspicion that this could be the case. As DQDick stated the transporters could have brought it down there last winter over salt treated roads coming out of Goshen OR it could have come down from up north by a prior owner on the same type roads.
If it were me, I'd be calling Keystone Customer Service and talking to them. Have your Vin# available and they can tell you when the unit was transported and where it went. If it didn't come to your dealer, I'd be asking the dealer where he got it from. You can check to see what your unit's birthdate was by checking the little plaque or sticker on the drivers side of the unit by the Level-up access door. This will also have your Vin# on it.
Keep us informed on what you find out and especially who the dealer is that you purchased this unit from and seems to be giving you the run around on the hydraulic system.

[richfaa]

What Rondo said .keystone n can track down the RV with the VIN #

[coachgrowl]

If they sold you a used unit as new someone will be going to jail.

[wecker1]

We purchased a new 2017 3791RD back in November and have had several problems so far. Had to cancel our first outing as in my pre-trip inspection of the unit I found that the unit had been mis-wired at the factory and the frame was holding a charge! Ice-maker water line leak, self-leveling system didn't level, rear a/c unit malfunction (internal divider installed incorrectly), and miscellaneous other issues that I'm told are just minor adjustments and not covered under warranty...good thing I know a thing or two on how to make these "minor adjustments" myself. There are a lot of limitations in the "limited warranty"!

[1retired06]

Originally Posted by wecker1

We purchased a new 2017 3791RD back in November and have had several problems so far. Had to cancel our first outing as in my pre-trip inspection of the unit I found that the unit had been mis-wired at the factory and the frame was holding a charge! Ice-maker water line leak, self-leveling system didn't level, rear a/c unit malfunction (internal divider installed incorrectly), and miscellaneous other issues that I'm told are just minor adjustments and not covered under warranty...good thing I know a thing or two on how to make these "minor adjustments" myself. There are a lot of limitations in the "limited warranty"!

Bad dealer. Apparently no PDI by him. Call Keystone. On a new unit those are all warranty issues, and not minor adjustments.

[wecker1]

The PDI was a joke as out of the 11 items on the punch-out list only three were completed on our scheduled purchase/pick-up date. I had to assist with the remainder to get us out the door as the wife and I had to drive 5 hours home for another appointment the following morning. Wouldn't have been so bad if the salesperson hadn't told me the day before that everything was already done. Lesson learned, allow time to spend the night or more when picking up a new unit to allow for proper punch-out execution. The specific issues mentioned except for the levelers were the ones that Keystone approved as repairs. The other miscellaneous items were things like slide covers out of adjustment (retracting ruffled), main door closing hard (scraping door jam), detached junction box in cellar...CW wanted 2 hours labor @ $125 per to remove and realign to door. I've made the adjustments to these items with the exception of the door as it's not an absolute requirement at this time but with a new unit you would expect these things to be taken care of without any hassles.

[jeffba]

Originally Posted by wecker1

The PDI was a joke as out of the 11 items on the punch-out list only three were completed on our scheduled purchase/pick-up date. I had to assist with the remainder to get us out the door as the wife and I had to drive 5 hours home for another appointment the following morning. Wouldn't have been so bad if the salesperson hadn't told me the day before that everything was already done. Lesson learned, allow time to spend the night or more when picking up a new unit to allow for proper punch-out execution. The specific issues mentioned except for the levelers were the ones that Keystone approved as repairs. The other miscellaneous items were things like slide covers out of adjustment (retracting ruffled), main door closing hard (scraping door jam), detached junction box in cellar...CW wanted 2 hours labor @ $125 per to remove and realign to door. I've made the adjustments to these items with the exception of the door as it's not an absolute requirement at this time but with a new unit you would expect these things to be taken care of without any hassles.

I would have walked. The door would have been a showstopper.

Which CW is it?

[dkkirkland]

We know this isn't used but a new unit. I checked the date and its Feb 8 2018. My husband told the dealer if we would have seen the fittings before we purchased it we wouldn't have bought this unit. The dealer is camping world so not sure if we'll get them to replace. We are going to sit tight and wait to hear about the fittings from dealer who reached out to Keystone and see what happens. If we don't get good news then we're going to call keystone directly. Thank you for all your input. The hardest thing for us now is this is our home so we can't just turn it over to someone and wait for it to be fixed.

[Kyle and Lisa]

Welcome to the forum. We have a 2018 3790RD and have not had the same issues, although I will be adding the CAT hydraulic oil additive to the leveling system to cure the popping noise.