Montana Owners Club - Keystone Montana 5th Wheel Forum - View Single Post

Bama Camper · 02-28-2015, 08:36 PM

We have had our 2015 305RL for around 4 months now and we have around 3500 miles on her. Initially, there were a few minor problems, fixed by myself or the dealer. We had one major problem - the Lippert 4 point leveling system was throwing error messages erratically and intermittently. Took it to the dealer and before he was finished troubleshooting it, it developed a more severe symptom of the same problem - the right front leg was sticking causing the error condition. Before it was over, the right front leg seized up completely. The dealer did a good job working with Keystone on it. In the end, Lippert replaced both front legs under warranty. Other than that, all has been well.

On the upside - the level system works great now. That's not something that was originally on our list, but now that we have it we really love it. It makes the floor much more solid when leveled. The storage space is good, especially the large closet. The bathroom space is good, plenty of room. The shower size is good. Regarding having the kitchen on the "Camp side", we would like one more window on that side, but it's better having the short slide on that side to keep from intruding on the camp area. Can't have both and we haven't missed the window(s) on that side much. Having to put the kitchen slide out to get to the refrigerator hasn't been the headache I thought it would be. The awning is a good size, and great storage space in the basement for that size camper. The kitchen island is perfect - good size sinks, adds more counter space, an adjustable spray head, and electrical outlets on both ends. I like the island instead of an "L" shape because of better traffic flow around the kitchen. There is good heat and A/C distribution in all rooms in the 305RL, however, I understand that some of the High Country models don't have a heat duct in the bathroom.

On the downside - the living room A/C is noisy. I wish the bedroom A/C were ducted into the same ducts but it is a "dump air" unit. If it were ducted into the same ducts, that would provide a measure of redundancy should the main A/C fail, and also it may be possible to run just that one to cool the living room therefore eliminating the noise. We tried to get the dealer to do this when we bought the unit, but keystone would not allow it. I think the ducts are there, but not sure. That's something I will check into once we get out of warranty. I'm a little apprehensive about the cable driven gate valves for the black water tank and one gray tank, but they haven't been a problem yet. The location of the cabinet door for the interior controls can be a real "head banger". It's right over the steps entering the bathroom and bedroom. It's natural for a person to be looking down at the steps as you approach them, and not up where the cabinet door is. That's not a problem if you remember to shut the door when you are finished with it, but I have banged my head on it more times than I want to admit. So, I installed a homemade modification that turns a red flashing light on visible through the slots (air return) in the steps when the cabinet door is open. Haven't banged my head again yet - but that's not something that comes with the unit. The closet door latches (snaps) are flimsy and don't work. I replaced them with a plastic buckle instead of the snap that is provided. I have heard of other folks having problems with the shower door latch not holding, resulting in broken shower doors. I suspect that is because they are not pushing the latch down hard enough to make it "click in". We have not had a problem with this latch or the shower door. The bathroom needs a medicine cabinet; that's on my "to do"list. I'll probably put it where on towel hooks are behind the toilet. Axles - I wish the axles on this unit were heavier (they are rated at 5200 lbs.), they seem marginally rated, but they have not been a problem.

We bought the 305RL because it met many of the items on our wish list, and it also was short enough to fit in my RV garage. All-in-all, we really love the 305RL and would probably select the same one again.

02-28-2015, 08:36 PM	#9
Bama Camper Montana Fan Join Date: Dec 2014 Location: Warrior AL, usually Posts: 184 M.O.C. #15888	We have had our 2015 305RL for around 4 months now and we have around 3500 miles on her. Initially, there were a few minor problems, fixed by myself or the dealer. We had one major problem - the Lippert 4 point leveling system was throwing error messages erratically and intermittently. Took it to the dealer and before he was finished troubleshooting it, it developed a more severe symptom of the same problem - the right front leg was sticking causing the error condition. Before it was over, the right front leg seized up completely. The dealer did a good job working with Keystone on it. In the end, Lippert replaced both front legs under warranty. Other than that, all has been well. On the upside - the level system works great now. That's not something that was originally on our list, but now that we have it we really love it. It makes the floor much more solid when leveled. The storage space is good, especially the large closet. The bathroom space is good, plenty of room. The shower size is good. Regarding having the kitchen on the "Camp side", we would like one more window on that side, but it's better having the short slide on that side to keep from intruding on the camp area. Can't have both and we haven't missed the window(s) on that side much. Having to put the kitchen slide out to get to the refrigerator hasn't been the headache I thought it would be. The awning is a good size, and great storage space in the basement for that size camper. The kitchen island is perfect - good size sinks, adds more counter space, an adjustable spray head, and electrical outlets on both ends. I like the island instead of an "L" shape because of better traffic flow around the kitchen. There is good heat and A/C distribution in all rooms in the 305RL, however, I understand that some of the High Country models don't have a heat duct in the bathroom. On the downside - the living room A/C is noisy. I wish the bedroom A/C were ducted into the same ducts but it is a "dump air" unit. If it were ducted into the same ducts, that would provide a measure of redundancy should the main A/C fail, and also it may be possible to run just that one to cool the living room therefore eliminating the noise. We tried to get the dealer to do this when we bought the unit, but keystone would not allow it. I think the ducts are there, but not sure. That's something I will check into once we get out of warranty. I'm a little apprehensive about the cable driven gate valves for the black water tank and one gray tank, but they haven't been a problem yet. The location of the cabinet door for the interior controls can be a real "head banger". It's right over the steps entering the bathroom and bedroom. It's natural for a person to be looking down at the steps as you approach them, and not up where the cabinet door is. That's not a problem if you remember to shut the door when you are finished with it, but I have banged my head on it more times than I want to admit. So, I installed a homemade modification that turns a red flashing light on visible through the slots (air return) in the steps when the cabinet door is open. Haven't banged my head again yet - but that's not something that comes with the unit. The closet door latches (snaps) are flimsy and don't work. I replaced them with a plastic buckle instead of the snap that is provided. I have heard of other folks having problems with the shower door latch not holding, resulting in broken shower doors. I suspect that is because they are not pushing the latch down hard enough to make it "click in". We have not had a problem with this latch or the shower door. The bathroom needs a medicine cabinet; that's on my "to do"list. I'll probably put it where on towel hooks are behind the toilet. Axles - I wish the axles on this unit were heavier (they are rated at 5200 lbs.), they seem marginally rated, but they have not been a problem. We bought the 305RL because it met many of the items on our wish list, and it also was short enough to fit in my RV garage. All-in-all, we really love the 305RL and would probably select the same one again.