2002 3295RK frame flex - Montana Owners Club

Drifty1 · 08-31-2016, 09:14 AM

I have been watching our rig for frame flexing for a while now and while we were at the spring rally at Seven Feathers in Oregon we had a chance to talk with Chase Booth the Montana Rep. I pointed out the areas I was concerned about and he stated he would pass the info on to someone at Keystone Service dept.
A couple of weeks back I did here from Keystone about my flexing and they directed me to take the trailer to a keystone shop and they would approve some shop time to get some measurements, photos taken. Since I was driving by Tacoma RV at the time I stopped by to get an appointment. Needless to say, that did not go as planed as I was told by the service manager that unless I bought the trailer from them they would not even look at it. They asked who I talked to at Keystone so I told them and their response was "who is that". So I left with my tail between my legs and headed home vowing never to set foot in Tacoma RV again..
When I got home I decided to drop the overhang skin and access the problem and fix it myself. I figure the only way to get it done to my standards is doing it myself. Well it turns out I had two problems going on. One was 2 cracked welds where the back of the Pinbox framework ties into the trailer frame. The other was on both sides of the trailer where the side walls sit on the framework. There were 5 welds that were broke towards the front of the trailer.
The photos show a few of the cracks and my repairs. I did put 2 gussets on the two cracks on the Pinbox frame.
Photos are located at the end of my photo album which is in the link below.
https://picasaweb.google.com/1136486...at=directlink#

Tfthorp · 08-31-2016, 09:56 AM

How was i taking the skin off? I have debated it just to check I don't see anything now but have had issues in the past which a dealer repaired.

Drifty1 · 08-31-2016, 10:11 AM

Mine is not hard as it comes off in two pieces. I only had to take off the foward section. I had the wife help me for a couple of minutes while taking it off and on. I did set up a couple of tables to set it on which only allowed to drop an inch or so when coming out.

bigskyjimmy · 08-31-2016, 11:08 AM

So did Tacoma RV get any notification from Keystone Or the Rep that you were coming or did you bring any documentation from Keystone about the matter??? If ya did not I'm not sure ANY Dealer would help you on a 2002 that is Way out of Warranty ,but it sounds like they could have been Nicer about it ,I have dealt with Tacoma RV for many years and 3 Montana's and they have always been real nice once I had a Bad Toilet and another time a Defective chair and they took care of it right away

Drifty1 · 08-31-2016, 11:58 AM

Quote:

quote:Originally posted by bigskyjimmy

So did Tacoma RV get any notification from Keystone Or the Rep that you were coming or did you bring any documentation from Keystone about the matter??? If ya did not I'm not sure ANY Dealer would help you on a 2002 that is Way out of Warranty ,but it sounds like they could have been Nicer about it ,I have dealt with Tacoma RV for many years and 3 Montana's and they have always been real nice once I had a Bad Toilet and another time a Defective chair and they took care of it right away

I had the Keystone Service Rep send me an conformation email stating that they were going to pay time to check out my trailer. They were offering "good will" service time. All I asked for from them was a little help to figure out what was wrong. I did not expect them to fix it. As for Tacoma RV all I can say is he does not represent Montana very well. This is my opinion... Fact is he acted like a D__k.. As for Ben Fisher from Keystone I think he tried to help me out, but it just did not work out. I sent Ben a letter with photos discribing what I had found and my fix. He said he did foward them to service and engineering.

psomers · 08-31-2016, 11:59 AM

Drifty1 I'm impressed with your over head and vertical welding. Horizontal for me is good, vertical is fair and over head I get someone else to do it if a critical weld. I need a spring hanger replaced. How many miles from Alabama to Washington?

bigskyjimmy · 08-31-2016, 12:08 PM

Yeah my Guess is that Tacoma RV being by far the Biggest and Busiest Montana/Keystone Dealer in the NW they did not want to Mess with it when they have SO many other Keystone's in the Shop waiting for Service but they could have told Ya Nicely they are just to busy right now,When I was there about a Year ago the Service Guy told me they have over 6000 THOUSAND work orders a year!

so yeah they are BUSY

Drifty1 · 08-31-2016, 12:40 PM

Quote:

quote:Originally posted by psomers

Drifty1 I'm impressed with your over head and vertical welding. Horizontal for me is good, vertical is fair and over head I get someone else to do it if a critical weld. I need a spring hanger replaced. How many miles from Alabama to Washington?

I have worked with steel or SS all my career. 2 years of voc- tech for welding and 40 years of working as a Steamfitter in Refinerys or Paper Mills.. Welding is like riding a bike.. But it has been about 6 years since i welded anything.. I think my fix is as good as any dealer would do. Also if the frame manufacting company would of taken an extra 5 minutes to weld the top side of the flat bar that holds up the walls we would not be talking about this problem today.

jameswbarton · 08-31-2016, 01:00 PM

Ben Fisher of Keystone is also the only one at Keystone that helped me get my AC fixed. He is very difficult to get a hold of. he also revered two previous denials on fixing smaller issues.

**Carl n Susan** · 08-31-2016, 02:00 PM

This is not the first complaint about Tacoma RV service. I know several Montana owners here on the MOC who will *NEVER* darken their door again.

Ben also called me about the issues I have had (too many to list) and offered to cover the cost of a investigation. I explained the offer to my dealer and he told me they couldn't get to it for two months. As I couldn't wait, I took a deep breath, held my nose and went to my local CW. They agreed to do the investigation but refused to contact Keystone ahead of time (Ben asked that they contact him first). They would contact him after everything was done to see what he would cover. No way Jose, was I opening myself to an open-ended CW repair ticket. So I went back to my local Montana dealer and talked to the owner. I got in three days later. They even called Ben first. There was no problem being paid for the process on an out of warranty rig. I never have had to contact Keystone on any warranty repair. My dealer has always contacted them and were able to do everything for me. A good, no great, dealer is priceless.

I am envious of Larry's welding prowess! I can weld but nothing like this.

1retired06 · 08-31-2016, 05:17 PM

Quote:

quote:Originally posted by Drifty1

I have been watching our rig for frame flexing for a while now and while we were at the spring rally at Seven Feathers in Oregon we had a chance to talk with Chase Booth the Montana Rep. I pointed out the areas I was concerned about and he stated he would pass the info on to someone at Keystone Service dept.
A couple of weeks back I did here from Keystone about my flexing and they directed me to take the trailer to a keystone shop and they would approve some shop time to get some measurements, photos taken. Since I was driving by Tacoma RV at the time I stopped by to get an appointment. Needless to say, that did not go as planed as I was told by the service manager that unless I bought the trailer from them they would not even look at it. They asked who I talked to at Keystone so I told them and their response was "who is that". So I left with my tail between my legs and headed home vowing never to set foot in Tacoma RV again..
When I got home I decided to drop the overhang skin and access the problem and fix it myself. I figure the only way to get it done to my standards is doing it myself. Well it turns out I had two problems going on. One was 2 cracked welds where the back of the Pinbox framework ties into the trailer frame. The other was on both sides of the trailer where the side walls sit on the framework. There were 5 welds that were broke towards the front of the trailer.
The photos show a few of the cracks and my repairs. I did put 2 gussets on the two cracks on the Pinbox frame.
Photos are located at the end of my photo album which is in the link below.
https://picasaweb.google.com/1136486...at=directlink#

I am impressed! Beautiful woodwork in that Montana and what a shop you have. Would appear you are a skilled craftsman and can tackle just about anything.

bigskyjimmy · 08-31-2016, 06:21 PM

Carl N Susan since you have Never dealt with Tacoma RV and are only going on the Opinion of a few folks out of 6000 THOUSAND work orders they have a year you have take it with a grain of salt just go to Yelp and read the reviews and Only a few Complaints,I am not saying they are perfect but having bought 3 Montana's from them my experience AND my Neighbor next to me right now with a 2016 and on his 2nd Monty from them are really happy with them and no Offense to Larry but he comes in with a 2002 Monty that has frame cracks and you want Tacoma RV to put him on the Front burner for Service/Inspection?????

Quote:

quote:Originally posted by Carl n Susan

This is not the first complaint about Tacoma RV service. I know several Montana owners here on the MOC who will *NEVER* darken their door again.

Ben also called me about the issues I have had (too many to list) and offered to cover the cost of a investigation. I explained the offer to my dealer and he told me they couldn't get to it for two months. As I couldn't wait, I took a deep breath, held my nose and went to my local CW. They agreed to do the investigation but refused to contact Keystone ahead of time (Ben asked that they contact him first). They would contact him after everything was done to see what he would cover. No way Jose, was I opening myself to an open-ended CW repair ticket. So I went back to my local Montana dealer and talked to the owner. I got in three days later. They even called Ben first. There was no problem being paid for the process on an out of warranty rig. I never have had to contact Keystone on any warranty repair. My dealer has always contacted them and were able to do everything for me. A good, no great, dealer is priceless.

I am envious of Larry's welding prowess! I can weld but nothing like this.

Drifty1 · 08-31-2016, 06:29 PM

Quote:

quote:Originally posted by 1retired06

Quote:

quote:Originally posted by Drifty1

I have been watching our rig for frame flexing for a while now and while we were at the spring rally at Seven Feathers in Oregon we had a chance to talk with Chase Booth the Montana Rep. I pointed out the areas I was concerned about and he stated he would pass the info on to someone at Keystone Service dept.
A couple of weeks back I did here from Keystone about my flexing and they directed me to take the trailer to a keystone shop and they would approve some shop time to get some measurements, photos taken. Since I was driving by Tacoma RV at the time I stopped by to get an appointment. Needless to say, that did not go as planed as I was told by the service manager that unless I bought the trailer from them they would not even look at it. They asked who I talked to at Keystone so I told them and their response was "who is that". So I left with my tail between my legs and headed home vowing never to set foot in Tacoma RV again..
When I got home I decided to drop the overhang skin and access the problem and fix it myself. I figure the only way to get it done to my standards is doing it myself. Well it turns out I had two problems going on. One was 2 cracked welds where the back of the Pinbox framework ties into the trailer frame. The other was on both sides of the trailer where the side walls sit on the framework. There were 5 welds that were broke towards the front of the trailer.
The photos show a few of the cracks and my repairs. I did put 2 gussets on the two cracks on the Pinbox frame.
Photos are located at the end of my photo album which is in the link below.
https://picasaweb.google.com/1136486...at=directlink#

I am impressed! Beautiful woodwork in that Montana and what a shop you have. Would appear you are a skilled craftsman and can tackle just about anything.

Thanks Mike. I am very proud of my old trailer.. My goal is to keep it rolling down the road. There is a reason they put wheels on these things. Right now we are fixing a few items and getting ready to head south. Its funny that I worked with metal my whole life but now I am into wood..

davidaf · 09-01-2016, 04:22 AM

I've been dealing with a Frame Flex repair for almost a month now. I've been waiting to post the final result until after I get the rig back which could be tomorrow. We were on the road when I decided enough was enough I had to get it checked out. Ended up at RCD Sales (a Montana dealer) outside Columbus OH. They pulled the cap off and found all kinds of broken aluminum welds. I believe the final count was 5. Keystone agreed to pay for the repairs. So far they have added 4 additional cross members as well as a couple more "things" as recommended by Keystone. Waiting now for some special epoxy before they button it up. We decided to continue our trip and left for PA then NY rather than sit around OH waiting for the rig so I don't have pics except those provided by RCD prior to the repair which I'll include in a thread when I get the rig back.

Keystone stepped up which was great but I don't think it would have gone as well had it not been for the pitbull running the service department at RCD. Great group of folks that have gone out of their way for us. Again I say all this w/o getting the rig back so hopefully I don't have to edit this post!

Drifty1 · 09-01-2016, 05:19 AM

Quote:

quote:Originally posted by davidaf

I've been dealing with a Frame Flex repair for almost a month now. I've been waiting to post the final result until after I get the rig back which could be tomorrow. We were on the road when I decided enough was enough I had to get it checked out. Ended up at RCD Sales (a Montana dealer) outside Columbus OH. They pulled the cap off and found all kinds of broken aluminum welds. I believe the final count was 5. Keystone agreed to pay for the repairs. So far they have added 4 additional cross members as well as a couple more "things" as recommended by Keystone. Waiting now for some special epoxy before they button it up. We decided to continue our trip and left for PA then NY rather than sit around OH waiting for the rig so I don't have pics except those provided by RCD prior to the repair which I'll include in a thread when I get the rig back.

Keystone stepped up which was great but I don't think it would have gone as well had it not been for the pitbull running the service department at RCD. Great group of folks that have gone out of their way for us. Again I say all this w/o getting the rig back so hopefully I don't have to edit this post!

I believe I have fixed everything that was broke without taking the front cap off. I would not want to tackle that job myself. I am glad to hear you have found a dealer that will support you and make the repairs needed to get back on the road. Some day I would like to see what the newer models have for support behind the cap.

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