High Country Problems

[Wicked1]

Originally Posted by richfaa

Less weight less expensive .

One reason we chose not to go with the MHC 331 and went with the Montana 3121RL

[dfb]

Originally Posted by richfaa

Less weight less expensive .

And Very CHEAP TOO!

[dfb]

So a Deal will be LOST over 200???funny when I see LTz trucks Longhorns and King Ranch... Sure would not know it...I think if 200 would destroy a deal, we'd see many many more.."tradesmen".... We just got back from going up the Northwest.. We did not see one tradesman, or plain F350 or Plain Gm...So, if a cable slide saves money and weight, give me the weight and the Electric or hydraulic... Ill Pay it..This is not a brand bashing.. Just letting Keystone get some feedback...

[richfaa]

That is not news to Keystone. That is why they make the Montana, Montana Legacy, HC, etc.Different models at different price ranges that will appeal to different folks .

We began working at local RV shows because some dealers in this area hired folks they had sold RV to and understood RVs to supplement there regular sales force at the Rv shows.Helen and I knew our Rv's but we did not fully understand sales. You can see and talk to more potential customers in a 4 or 5 day RV show than months in a RV Dealership. Yes 200.00 will lose a RV sale. The sales person has the price range for every unit they are selling.They know exactly how low they can deal.The experienced buyer also understands that and at a large RV show has hundreds of units to price.

It is very interesting and a educational experience.

[Denny and Angie Miller]

Originally Posted by Twopetes

I can tell you what the problem is with your slide - We had the same issue and on an HC 353. The cable pulley is connected to the wall frame / stud and Keystone did not reinforce the weld. The weld breaks after a few uses and causes the wall to move in and out (like 6 inches) when you run the slide. Our HC 353 was out of warrantee, but we talked to Keystone customer service and as a goodwill gesture (right) they agreed to fix it. That amounted to CW (yes Camping World of Madison WI - and they did a good job) having to remove the slide and get a certified Aluminum welder to reweld and reinforce the stud locations where the cable pulley is attached. We have not had any problem since. Call them and say you know this is a know issue on the HC 353 - especially if you have a residential frig (which is the end of the slide that breaks) PUSH the issue - they need to cover it. There is at least one other thread regarding this same issue on this site. The HC 343 does not seem to have the problem, but it does not have a residential frig. Our was fixed in April 2017 and no issues since.



See this thread - It was mine originally, but others commented on the same issue.


http://www.montanaowners.com/forums/archive/index.php


RE: you leak - that sounds almost like a roof issue not an AC installation issue.

X2 on the wall studs pulling loose. We bought our 353RL in May 2017, and through this forum learned of the 353RL wall issue. It seems that such a large heavy slide coupled with the weight of a loaded full residential size fridge is more weight pushing/pulling on the wall than the wall construction can handle. We took our unit into the dealer last fall and had them inspect it. They said Keystone considers the amount of movement we were experiencing normal (only about 1/2")...but I already expected that...I didn't think the wall was flexing that much either, but I also didn't think it should flex at all. Now that we are out of warranty, if the full blown broken studs/welds problem develops, I have a record of bringing it in under warranty for that very issue, with the hopes of getting any needed repairs covered at Keystones' expense. However, while having a furnace problem repaired this spring under warranty, I pointed out that a staple is pulling loose from under the rubber roof and looks as if it could poke through at any time. Sadly, Keystone denied the staple issue under warranty claiming it's "not a manufacturing defect"...Rather than argue about it, I decided to just repair it myself. When I climbed back on the roof ready to repair the problem, I found that several other staples were beginning to pull loose as well. I repaired those as well and have been meaning to call Keystone and give them an earful, but have not done so yet.

[mlh]

Our neighbor has a new DRV. The two front slides are cable slides. They might be less weight but they don’t always come on light weight or less expensive campers.
Lynwood

[dfb]

Originally Posted by mlh

Our neighbor has a new DRV. The two front slides are cable slides. They might be less weight but they don’t always come on light weight or less expensive campers.
Lynwood

Drv is now a thor company.

[kingdaddy]

Inadequate or non existent engineering coupled with shoddy workmanship and indifferent customer service. Very bad combination...

So glad I brought a full complement of tools and random nuts, bolts, screws, glue, duct tape etc. etc. on our recent trip!

I've come to realize over time that (with a few possible exceptions) these things are all "crackerboxes"!

[richfaa]

Originally Posted by dfb

Drv is now a thor company.

Thor purchased DRV Jan of 2015. DRV is a very heavy unit and IMO out of the range of MOST one ton trucks. They probably went cable to reduce or maintain weight.

We would have purchased the DRV of comparable size to our 13 3402 but would have needed a bigger truck.

[Wicked1]

Originally Posted by richfaa

Thor purchased DRV Jan of 2015. DRV is a very heavy unit and IMO out of the range of MOST one ton trucks. They probably went cable to reduce or maintain weight.

We would have purchased the DRV of comparable size to our 13 3402 but would have needed a bigger truck.

True our neighbor in Florida where we stay has one and base weight Dry with nothing is 16,000 he has a 2011 F450 with Airbags, does fine but he said wouldn’t pull it with anything less then a 1 Ton Dually, loaded they are something like 18,000-19,000 as they are snowbirds so load it almost to max. IMHO just not worth all that money but they are really nice looking

[Rebel702]

GoodTimes
Did a search from TwoPetes and I think this is the link you need. Good Luck.

http://www.montanaowners.com/forums/...ad.php?t=70197

[socoinc]

I’m having leaking roof issues with my brand new Montana too

[GoodTimes]

Sorry you’re having leak issues too. It is very disheartening. Keystone is now working with us. Time will tell. Good luck with yours.

[jlb27537]

The Bal cable system works great on a small slide like a bed slide. Ours has been perfect for 5 years. However, on a large slide, with questional support for the pulley system, probably not.

However, in our bed slide, the lack of hyd systems under the bed makes for a lot of storage space under the bed. She loves it.

[CT Wanderer]

Originally Posted by GoodTimes

We have had our HC since July of last year. We have had nothing but problems with it. Sure does take the fun out of camping when you worry every time you go what’s going to go wrong this time. So many things I won’t list them all. Some major ones were the furnace wasn’t working. The service people asked my husband if it had been under water?? It was so corroded. They cleaned it up and it’s been working. We’ve had a leak when it rains coming from one of return air vents. We had it in 4 times with Keystone making the service people jump through hoops and try different things. They finally replaced the AC unit but I won’t trust that it’s fixed until we camp in a rain storm. The kitchen slide out was making a horrid noise. It was moving the wall panel next to the fridge back and forth, warping it and almost breaking it! They discovered a weld that looked like it had broken and Keystone did a quick fix with some bolts that didn’t hold. Our service people said they fixed it and had brought the slide in and out many times and it was fine. Well we just got it home Friday and when I let it out it made a very loud pop. I was afraid it was stuck but it came back in a little so I put it back out. Well hubby wanted to wash it today so he went to let the slide in and it makes an even worse noise than it did. Something is very wrong! We have had it in for service 6 times and this is getting old! I was in tears today! I’d love to take it back to CW and tell them to keep it! We really don’t know which way to turn. We feel like we got a lemon! We are retired, not wealthy and this was our last hurray! It’s turned into not such good times! Thanks for listening!

We've had too many problems to list with our HC 305RL also. We had the roof leak repaired twice with them finally approving the A/C replacement. Now waiting for a good rain to see if that repair worked.
Had a similar slide issue. The kitchen slide has a wear strip that the slide rides on, there are no rollers, etc., just a plastic/nylon strip under the full length of the slide. I treated the seals with a seal conditioner that has silicon and some of it got on the strip. Slide started jumping violently. With research on this and other forums I figured out what happened. That strip should never get silicone on it. Had to clean off as best I could with alcohol and use WD Specialist Dry Lube with Teflon on the strip and the bottom of the slide. It was instantly cured, as good as new.

For seal conditioner many have recommended Protect All Rubber Seal Conditioner. Just checked with the manufacturer and it too has silicone. They said all seal conditioners have silicone. Will just have to be careful not to get any on the strip and not do the bottom seal so none wipes off onto the strip.

I keep hoping once we get everything fixed we will again enjoy camping with our unit. Got back from a trip yesterday and opened the door to find the wood trim on the inside of the driver side slide laying on the couch, table and sink. Not much damage but now I have another project before we go out again.

[socoinc]

We've had our 2017 Montana 310RE for 7 months and spent around 45 nites in it so far. Drove from Corona,Ca.& bought it from Camping World in Calera,Alabama. Besides the leaking roof.Which is the biggest problem. It started leaking 3 or 4 days after we had it. Took it to C.W. in Mississippi. It still leaks. I've had it in the shop more times than I want to think about. Had to take it out of Thompson RV in San Bernardino yesterday 6-14 because we have to be in Corpus Christi on 6-22. They had it for a month & did absalutley nothing. They totally lied to us & said they did things that weren't true. I'll start working on it myself. This is my 4th 5th wheel in 22 years. So I've seen problems. But this is the worst. For a company to not stand behind their product just blows me away. I spoke yesterday to Keystone & I told them I could be at their facility by July 6th. They pretty much said take a number.
I've retired but I started my company in 1984 & my son & daughter along with long term employees run it. So I'm familiar with the business world. If I treated my customers the way we been treated. My customers would tell me to go pound sand.
I'm so looking forward to this MOC Rally so I can talk to other owners.
Everybody is busy right now. But it will slow down. It always does. That's how this country works. It's called recessions. Good companies will still be around. Bad companies will be gone. I don't care how long you been in business.

[richfaa]

"It's called recessions. Good companies will still be around. Bad companies will be gone. I don't care how long you been in business."


You are correct during the last recession 2007/2009 several Rv companies went belly up Keystone /Montana was not one of them.

[socoinc]

Thank you for letting me vent. Now I think I’ll have a beer...

[steve1230]

Same as twopete. Known problem with too heavy kitchen slide. Besides reinforcing weld my dealer installed 5 rollers under slide edge. So far so good...

[Debgrind85]

Your experience and situation mirrors ours. I thought my upscaling we would have a better coach. It is worse than the 11 we traded for the 17. Keystones “file” has to be quite thick by now...and that is only the things we didn’t just fix ourselves. Disappointing.