Problems - Montana Owners Club

syplace · 06-16-2004, 12:29 AM

Wow...sliders leak, kitchen leaks, tub leaks! We pick up our 1st 5th wheel next week and after reading problems people are having we are wondering what have we gotten ourselves into?
What about getting things fixed on the road? Do we have enough engine power to pull a 5th? What special areas should we be concerned about on final inspection?
These rigs are not cheap! Seems to me there is no excuse for some of these problems!
We hope to leave mid October & travel thru Ark., Texas, AZ and
maybe Las Vegas. Should be home 1st week in April. Even looking ahead for campgrounds gets confusing. We want to stay away from large cities and hope to find a "fishing hole".
If anyone has some helpful advice, it certainly would be appreciated.

John & Marianne -Wis. snow birds to be
2005 3295RK w/air lift hitch
2003 3500 Chevy duramax extend cab, dualwheels, long box, diesel

Joyce H · 06-16-2004, 01:04 AM

John & Marianne, Think this is called "last minute jitters"...
Yes there are a few members here who have had some problems with their units, but this would be true of any brand. We have been very fortunate and have had no major problems. Our unit is a little over a year old and we have enjoyed many nights of problem free RVing. We had a few minor things which were quickly handled by our dealer. Remember there are over 1000 members here on the MOC. I am sure if you looked at the percentage of those who have had major problems it would be very small. This forum is designed to share problems as well as adventures and improvements and get answers to any questions we all may have from time to time. I must say most of those with major problems will usually post a follow-up praising Keystone for their service. RELAX...Enjoy the experience. You will enjoy many happy miles in your new Montana!

Just148 · 06-16-2004, 01:34 AM

John & Mariann,
I agree with Joyce, Don't worrie about problems just look things over and make sure the dealer check all your fittings. Here is a web site for PDI. (pre delivery inspection) it will help you before signing your final papers. Enjoy your new rig and happy camping.
http://users3.ev1.net/~crossstitch/PDI/pdi.html

Bowie · 06-16-2004, 02:00 AM

Good words of advice from our friends!! The PDI was an enormous help to us--and the dealer really sat up and paid attention when we sent them a copy of what we were going to be looking for! It made the inspection a breeze as they did not feel that they had been blindsided.

To try to help you put things in perspective, we had a stick built house done by a VERY reputable builder (several hundreds of homes in a large metro area) and the punch list of items needing attention ran to several pages. Included items that really blew our minds. Once they realized that we would be thorough and hold them to the quality they claimed, they stepped right up to it. Sounds from all that we read here that Keystone will do the same--they do seem to back up their quality claims. And I guess if they don't we'll be the first ones to hear about it!

Best of luck and DO enjoy your rig. Keep us posted on how it goes

Montana_621 · 06-16-2004, 02:17 AM

I agree with everyone else, don't worry about it unless it happens. We haven't had troules *knock on wood* with these things so not everyone does. Take it easy and enjoy your new rig.

vickster · 06-16-2004, 12:23 PM

John and Marianne: Before we made our purchasing decision, we did extenstive research and shopping. Based upon our needs and expections, Montana fit us perfectly. Overall we are very excited about our new Monty. We brought her home about ten days ago and have been living in our wheel home to become familiar with and test all systems. Felt this was an important part of our RV experience to reduce and eliminate any problems when we take our first road trip.

So far, the only problem identified is a slide leak in the dinete and bedroom. Our dealer has been promptly notified and will be taking Monty in for a check up. We have a wonderful dealer that prides itself in customer service (that is one of the reasons we purchased from them). Our dealer has assured us that any issues that come up while on the road will be addressed by other dealers in their network.

We used the PDI suggested by others on this forum for the final inspection, went through a four hour orientation on all the systems and then turned over the check. Worked very smoothly.

To make a long story short - know you will be pleased and happy with your new Montana as the majority of us owners are. A Montana is a great value!

Begin to enjoy your new Monty and start creating many happy memories. Happy trails .....

FredG · 06-16-2004, 03:50 PM

I agree with everything said so far. Regardless of the manufacturer, you will always have a few units that have defects. The same goes for Cars, computers, etc.

Just to put you at ease, we've put over 2,600 miles on our 3575 (to Florida and Back) and we only have a short list of items for the dealer to check out. Nothing that I would consider major, screen door alignment, 1 outside lock not working, etc. We've had no problems with leaks (despite weathering a couple of severe Florida Thunderstorms in May), towing, or any of the appliances.

Fred

Montana_676 · 06-19-2004, 11:34 AM

iwas in the shojohn&marianne,03 2955RL bought last july 1)back windows leaked 2)heater cmes on breakers trip with no load on thm but fridge 3)no insulation around lines oming in from water inlets 4)open holes with no ins. around stablizer jacks(i have the artic package 5)air pours in from slideouts when windy or heater turns on 6)locks on outer compartments are hard to turn and bind up,change the 751 locks and every one wont have a key to your locks i did for about fifty bucks.7)gas regulators wont go to full tank when one runs out,im on my second set.8)septic tank froze up broke outcome of this ones to long to tell but imagine sewer water in your trailer.8)if you happeto get in a cold area,20s-30s not very cold huh open up your cubboards for a nice blast of cold air.keystone says you simply cannot put enough insulation on the slideouts.OK then why do you put the bed ,couch & dining room in an area whwre you cant maintain proper temp? me reminding them the meaning of artic:subzero. I was told ther not really winter rigs you.OH wonder why i wasnt told that when i bought it.9)water lines froze up several times and you cant get to them unless you pull the underbelly.found out later the lines were laying on bottom with nothing around them.10)fantastic fan quit.the list gets down to smaller things but still problems which tops out at a whopping 26.thats alot peoplefor a rig that isnt even a year old! and yes like you said they are indeed expensive.a few months ago when i got back in town i took it and my list to the dealer,good people,no complaints here.but,its warming up people hitting the road again i knew they'd be busy.called keystone hey fellas I'm an ironwoker i need my rig fixed would like you to take it to the factory and get it done? there's no work here in arkansas (im union but i wont go there right now)so i gotta hit the road.well could you take it back to the dealer it cost to much for us to come get it. OK but what do you get charged for having some to come pick it up.around 2000.00,what? your ten hours from here.tell you what,pay for my fuel,put me up for a night when i get there i'll come home call me when its ready i'll come get it,wont even cost you a third of that two grand.well..cant really do that,dealer? OK i give took it there.sixweeks,two trailer payments and three missed shutdowns later no rig.keystone again,dealers waitng on parts.uh fellas you getting in to my wallet now,hard.well still waiting on the septic tank and rear windows.(you know how many they build a day?)hey guys its been six weeks.tell you what how about making the payments till its fixed so i can use it.cant do that but how about we extend your warranty for three months(montanas is only a year).i said,make it six.ok but heh-heh you had to ask.i wonder if i should've ask it for the length of the loan.memorial days getting close.me and my are getting out of church and visiting with friends when they said hey rick,were going to the lake memorial day pulling our fith wheels.come on with.my wife says yeah that would be nice ive only been out once scince we bought it as he uses it for work.well,good then its a plan.by the way we were driving out in the country,drove by your place didnt see your new montana.knew you were funny about keeping it by them big ole trees till you built a building for it.where you keeping her?dealer time.hey guys me again going on two months i sure would like my rig for memorial day.parts are in youll have it before that weekend.fair enough.they worked hard all week on it ,and this time i didnt call once a week it was every day.wednesday called,come get it,hooray.got there at three ready to roll loaded,sights reserved feeling good.still being worked on last minute things you know?ok, but it will be ready ive got our sight reserved we're loaded pointing towards the truck.fivethirty they'r closing the gate on one end to lock up and we are heading the other.aahhhh open roads,beautiful countryside heading to the lake,and best of all my wifes with me this time(her job keeps her here and taking care of the house plus the little dog whom is also with us in my new quad-cab she usally rides in mommas truck not mine.she knows this too because apparently my back seats the indy 500 with her being mark martin going from window to window.uh dori the dog?i know she says shes never been in your truck isnt she having fun?as the dogs burns into pitstop row for a quick pat on the head aww how cute she says mommas little girl.fun yeah,cute ok but for some reason as she finishes her laps alls i can think of is devastating)but hey we're heading to the lake and all is well. after a wonderful evening with friends we called it a night me vowing to cook breakfast because im a early riser.we were told by the dealer to give black water tank a day to let the glue dry.we wre in a corp park and had sights close to the bathrooms anyway, so i told them id give it a couple of days to be sure.i took an early shower than went outside to start breakfast as my wife prepared to do dishes,one of my buddys was already up when i went outside,looking at the condensation runoff from the ac he said that sure was a lot of water.i told him it was most likely the humididity.yehhh he says still looks like a lot of water to me.you gotta know bill 64 retired ironworker,knows the trouble ive had with this rig.he's a riot.about that time wife opens the door.honey did you know the kitchen faucet was leaking?underneath? no all over the counter top oh boy here we go. sure enough.all i could say was, it wasnt doing that before!knock knock,bill at the door,you know there's no water coming out your grey water hose?are you sure?the valves open.i went back outside.nope dry as a bone.we checked the valve again,open.bill said;what about the other?black water bill,different tanks as i pulled the valve to show him we both watched a night and days worth of shower and dish water run out the hose.how could they,i stopped him there,bill i dont know.we stood there dumbfounded as my wife rounded the back of the trailer with a notebook and pen,"honey,would you like to start another list?"me and bill looked at each other than just started laughing.the rest of the holiday was pretty much uneventful.we found out the outside shower didnt work anymore.then the spark for the stove quit.small stuff.i had my wife with me on our first camping trip in our new "montana".we had our friends around us.we made new friends,walter&willoene who taught us a new domino game called train.we had good weather and mother nature at her finest around us.i on that weekend could not have asked for anything more.as for the montana i took her back after that weekend.where she still sits waiting on parts keystone says its not them its they're parts manufacturer.would i buy another?i dont know.i did ask them to come get it the second time feeling it was they're fault not the dealers but they said they couldnt afford to do that.i suggested then just come and get it i dont want it anymore,nope take it to the dealer he'll fix it.what do i know for certain?i know there are no lemon laws for fith wheels in the state of arkansas you would have to sue keystone.(i checked)what else do i almost know?that if keystone would have picked this up the first.they had the manpower& resources to get this done in a more timely fashion with better results.but,they could'nt afford it.lucky for us works picked up here a little so i hav'nt needed it.would like to have it back so me and my wife can go again.what do i know for absolute certain,that weekend was one of the most special weekends we've ever had.that though things were going wrong,things were still right because we had each other,and in comparison to that every thing else was just small things.would i buy another or recommend to a friend,i just dont know.take care & stay safe rick&dori.oh yeah & the little dog too!

Montana_1520 · 06-19-2004, 06:24 PM

John and Marianne,
In regards to your other concern about your truck...we have a Chevy 3500 and it will pull ANYTHING ANYWHERE. You should have no worries about this truck. It's a beauty.
#29 fans
04 3670RL Big Sky
04 Chevy 3500 CC Dually 4WD Duramax/Allison

DrivesBGM · 06-19-2004, 11:49 PM

Quote:

quote:Originally posted by #29 fans

John and Marianne,
In regards to your other concern about your truck...we have a Chevy 3500 and it will pull ANYTHING ANYWHERE. ...

I'd agree with you if you had said a Chevy 3500 will pull "any Montana" (that wasn't overloaded) "most places"!

Craig

patodonn · 06-20-2004, 02:40 AM

Just remember...most of the problems you see mentioned on this Forum are the exceptions to the vast majority of experience here...that is why you get to read about them...

There will be minor adjustments and "problems" you will find...all part of the nature of RVs, just like any car or other large, complex item. Many come out perfect, some not quite as perfect. Keystone has been very helpful in resolving a couple of relatively minor (in hindsight) issues we had...our original dealer was not quite as helpful...actually, extremely over-committed and under-staffed in the Service department, and new deliveries get priority over warranty work...another really good reason to get any problems fixed before you take delivery.

Just make the PDI a thorough one, don't take final delivery or pay for the rig until the dealer makes good on the required "fix" items. It might be helpful to video tape the demo stuff by the dealer if you are not already familiar with it all. Read the various manuals you will receive. Above all, enjoy the travels and the rolling home..

Best,

sreigle · 06-20-2004, 07:47 AM

Rick and Dori, it took me awhile to read through your post. You've had more than your share of problems. I hope this works out well for you and you begin to see why Montana is the number one seller. Please keep us posted.

Montana_676 · 06-20-2004, 09:17 AM

steve&vicki, I apologize for what turned out to be the makings of a short story.When my wife came home and read it knowing my typing skills she asked me how long I'd been at the computer.After I had posted that steve called from the RV dealer and told me all they were waiting on was an outside shower faucet,they even had a shampoo contractor clean the carpets and the compartments underneath,plus cleaning the outside up.Due to pick it up this week so will see how it goes.I noticed you were full timers Im assuming your no where north in the wintertime.Thats where I ran into alot of trouble.Until the next time.Take care & Stay safe Rick & Dori

Montana_1520 · 06-20-2004, 11:58 AM

HI Craig/Drives BGM,
Guess we are just prejudiced!!! Our 3500 pulls our Big Sky here in CA anywhere we want to go with absolutely no problem. We live in the southern Sierra Nevada Mountains and we have to climb/descend some steep grades 6000+ feet just to get in and out of CA. The female fan has a tendency to "overstock" on everything in case she can't find her favorite stuff in local mkts. so we are usually "overloaded" in a BIG 5er. We go over the mountain passes at 55 -65mph (where allowed) and could do more if we wanted to "break the speed limit" (we don't!).
That why we sent the message that our 3500 would pull ANYTHING ANYWHERE

#29 fans
04 3670RL Big Sky
04 Chevy 3500 CC Dually 4WD Duramax/Allison

sreigle · 06-20-2004, 02:12 PM

Rick & Dori, no problem. I enjoyed reading it even though it was a sad story. Your frustration came through loud and clear. Sounds like your dealer is going to take care of things for you. I hope you find like most of us have that the Montana is a good product by a good manufacturer. It's not perfect but it's a good bang for the buck. The manual says it's not a full-time RV and that's what most of them say even though many of us fulltime in them anyhow. We sometimes have to take steps to "finish" doing the things that make it better in cold weather, etc. For example, filling those holes around pipes with expanding foam insulation, etc. As you look around the MOC you'll see numerous posts on things that have been done to make it work better in cold weather.

We spend November and December in the Kansas City area (kids and grandkids here) then head south for the Winter. This past winter we had nights down to 14 degrees and some days never reaching freezing. We did fine although we had a couple of episodes of frozen pipes. The low point drains that hang below the bellypan were the culprit and I plan to box that area in and fill it with insulation before this next winter.

Keep us posted on yours. Hopefully the dealer will get you taken care of.

Montana_676 · 06-22-2004, 07:30 AM

Quote:

quote:Originally posted by sreigle

Rick & Dori, no problem. I enjoyed reading it even though it was a sad story. Your frustration came through loud and clear. Sounds like your dealer is going to take care of things for you. I hope you find like most of us have that the Montana is a good product by a good manufacturer. It's not perfect but it's a good bang for the buck. The manual says it's not a full-time RV and that's what most of them say even though many of us fulltime in them anyhow. We sometimes have to take steps to "finish" doing the things that make it better in cold weather, etc. For example, filling those holes around pipes with expanding foam insulation, etc. As you look around the MOC you'll see numerous posts on things that have been done to make it work better in cold weather.

We spend November and December in the Kansas City area (kids and grandkids here) then head south for the Winter. This past winter we had nights down to 14 degrees and some days never reaching freezing. We did fine although we had a couple of episodes of frozen pipes. The low point drains that hang below the bellypan were the culprit and I plan to box that area in and fill it with insulation before this next winter.

Keep us posted on yours. Hopefully the dealer will get you taken care of.

Steve & vicki,good idea on the belly drains!While the dealer was waiting on the septic tank,they had the belly removed.I went by wth more insulation which they put in later for me.Also to my surprise when I was underneath taking pictures with my digital camera(I've kept a file on this whole mess)I noticed the dealer had taking the extra steps to wrap the water lines in foam pipe insulation.By the way I wasnt to far from you last winter.I had my rig parked at Adventureland Campground in Altoona IA. as I was working in Des Moines.Joe&Karla the managers with Rose,Mary,Ted&Andy plus others are the nicest people you'll ever meet.I was there july till jan of this year if you are ever in that area swing in you wont regret it.Until the next time,Take care&Stay safe, Rick&Dori

CountryGuy · 06-22-2004, 07:36 AM

rickochet,

Adventureland, near DesMoines, is a VERY nice park!

HOW IS ROSE??? What a sweetheart she is. I have a wonderful but very long story about Rose, but it has NOTHING to do with Montana's so won't go there.

Is she there all summer again this year???

I need to get back to Iowa, not sure it will happen this year, but I am keeping my fingers crossed.

Carol

sreigle · 06-22-2004, 03:10 PM

Thanks, we'll do that. In July we're going up to Sioux Falls to get registered to vote. Haven't planned a route yet but if it works out we'll give it a try. Thanks.

CountryGuy · 06-23-2004, 02:15 AM

Steve,

If you want to stop at Adventure Land, be sure to make a reservation, the park is 3/4 full (give or take) with work campers all the time, they are working at the amusement park.

Think of it this way, all those full timers to chat with and compare with and learn from!

Nice and clean to.

Montana_676 · 06-24-2004, 03:07 PM

Carol
[/quote]miss rose was doing fine when I left last Jan.As far as I know she is still there.Yes I agree it is a wonderful campground and its the people who work there that make it so.I could not have made it without them!If you wish to check on Miss rose the campground # is 1-800-532-1286.If you do call please tell all that rick says hello,because its the special people that you meet that makes the world go round.and these folks are of such caliber I promise.When ever I needed help they were there,No questions asked.Be it the heat of summer,or the cold of winter,They were there.And,It will not be forgotten. until the next time,take care&stay safe rick&dori

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