Do I have a lemon?

[bcrvman]

Originally Posted by Cynstress

Thank you for your wisdom. Unfortunately, experience is something you get just after you need it. I would definitely agree that I put the cart before the horse. I knew there would be problems, I just didn't think I'd have to take it back in three times for the same issue. Then, I didn't know there'd be this catastrophic issue in the first few months. At least I was smart enough to not leave my support system before the shake down period was over. When this is done, I'm finding a different source for warranty work.

I have never taken my unit to a dealer because I read many posts here and I have nowhere else to live. I have taken in bad recliners, bad blinds, bad fireplaces and got replacements. EVERYTHING else I do myself. If you will be fulltiming, you need a lot of tools and knowledge otherwise you will not be happy. There are RV repair schools, check Youtube.

[cgeis48]

Most dealers take a very long time (months) to complete a repair when parts are not available; which these days is frequently.
When I talk to my fellow Montana owners I find that most are not aware of a New Program that has been introduced - Keystone Customer Service will approve repairs if you send photos of the problem and a description of the problem. They want to see your Montana VIN (which you should put in the subject line of the email to Keystone Customer Service).
If you get Keystone's approval for a repair you can find your own repairman and submit the estimate to Keystone Customer Service. Keystone will ship the parts to directly to you.They can approve the estimate and once the work is complete you will need to pay the repair man. After that, submit the approved repair bill to Keystone Customer Service and they will reimburse you. This works especially well if you are in an RV park and locate a local mobile repairman. You can live in the RV while it is being repaired (sounds like fun, eh?). I hope this helps some RVers.

[Camp CA]

Buy yoursellf a low deductible 6 year extended warranty. Good value for money in the future. I have a $0 deductible one on my 2020 Montana fifth wheel and used it once to replace a black tank valve and cable, which was the only failuer, other than those caused by operator error, in 17 years of owning 3 fifth wheel trailers.,

[jameswbarton]

General RV sold me a worthless extended warranty. No one would honor it unless you took it to a "authorized warranty approved" dealer. I had a permanent site near many big dealers but none of them would use the warranty company not even General RV who sold me the warranty.

[beeje]

It still baffles me why anybody would buy extended warranties on the most things. For the most part they are worthless.
The only exception to my rule there would be appliances because they're not built anywhere near as Stout as they used to be.

[Pilottom]

Yes, you have a lemon. They are all lemons or most of them. That's my experience as others seems to also have noted. Sorry to be negative here but we bought our Montana from the same dealer as you in 2017 with big dreams and expectations. We've done nothing except spend money and fix things ever since. In 3 years when I'm able to retire we will take a quick 6 month tour of the U.S. then get rid of it assuming it and our money lasts that long. This is not going to end until people stop shelling out $100,000 for a rig that is junk and just does what is necessary to fix it. What if you spent that on a car or truck and it was that bad? You would demand your money back or a replacement. That's what needs to happen. Period.

[DaveK]

I've concluded that a factory warranty is worthless. I have an extended warranty and the jury is out on that. My recommendation is have a BIG emergency fund and pay out of pocket. My dealer is horrible (will never deal with them again) and factory customer service wasn't much help.

My dealer had our rig 5 1/2 months for relatively minor warranty work (returned filthy and dead battery). They fixed a couple small things poorly, said they fixed 2 things (and didn't), and two things unresolved. Factory warranty is now ended.

I did get good service from Lazy Days last Winter in FL. I might do that again next Winter. Service is a black eye on the industry.

[DaveK]

Must be a new program because it wasn't available in February 2021.

I just wish there was a list of good RV repair shops and mobile techs in each state.

[mhs4771]

If you can find a Service Only Center or Mobile Tech you have a good chance of getting good repairs as their only income comes from the work they do and if they do sub-standard work the word will travel and they'll be out of business.
Dealers on the other hand are making their money sell you these "Built Your Own RV Kits" and generally if they have a Service Department you will be lucky if they can even spell "RV" yet alone fix them.

[beeje]

If you own an RV and don't have an arsenal of tools and the ability to know how to use them you are going to be in trouble. Or you better have very Deep Pockets

[R.S.O'Donnell]

Our son just sent us this today:

https://www.rvtravel.com/pathetic-qu...oducing-1017b/

[rrklay]

So I'm not the only one who CW has craped on. I'll NEVER set foot in a CW again! Promise....

[MikeandJo4]

That article pretty much sums it up. They are just built that way and for some reason we can't figure out how to stop buying them..... It's the mfg's that control what goes out the door and as long as we keep writing checks, why should they change? It's also pretty unfair to lay too much blame on dealers who have trouble fixing things that should have never left the factory. The dealer service department should be for repairs down the road. Not rebuilding or finish building or QC on brand new rv's. The dealers don't cause doors to fall off, hydraulic leaks, broken welds, nails coming out the bottom of slides, cheap electronics, etc... We had our 2020 3120 for 1 week in the fall of 2019 and it was so bad, the dealer (CW) replaced it with another which has been better but there were still many discussions with Keystone about the poor quality in the components used and really bad construction techniques. I gave up on them eventually. I also saw the list from Keystone that the dealer was supposed to go through. Everything from tire pressures to gas leaks to verify if the AC works. Pages of things to check. All of this should be done at the factory and I don't buy that things happen on the road between the factory and the dealer. Are they built to go down the road or not? If they were built right, and they are 95% there we wouldn't have these problems. They are so close to a really nice product, why not just finish the job right??

[Montana Man]

This stuff should be brought up at the rally and factory tours. Perhaps during a meeting with the factory folks. Tours in addition to being interesting are usually a "look how great we are" presentation.

[Delaine and Lindy]

I agree, there is NO, I repeat of any brand that will not have problems, we have owned 7 5th wheels, and three tag alongs. All have had issues. The least amount of issues was with the Mobile Suites, 2nd was the Keystone built Cambridge. We had very few issues. The Keystone Cambridge was the best Keystone product we ever owned. Back then we go a appointment with Keystone, for the issues we had, took it to the factory, and all issues were repaired. We did the same with the Mobile Suites when it was owned by a different people. Great repairs and fast, in and out in days.

I repeat all RV's will have issues, no exceptions. If you have NO issues you are not using it as many of us have and do.

We also tried a Motor Home, bad decision. Never slept one night in the Motor Home.

Happy trails.

[Delaine and Lindy]

I agree. Todays 5th wheels are very poorly made, cheap materials.

Happy trails.

[R.S.O'Donnell]

We have a 2020 Modern Maple 3121rl that was built pre COVID and have zero complaints with the quality of materials. We're actually very impressed with the quality of the wood they used in the cabinetry.

We had some minor issues that I was able to correct fairly easily and with minimal expense. Been full timing in it over a year and overall we are very happy.

That being said we did have two issues I consider serious:

The first was the main awning rail pulling away from the outside wall due to stripped screws. I caught it early before it leaked or worse, got ripped off on the road.

The second was a panel covering a hole that led directly from the outside to the area behind the convenience center was not there.

[randdcran]

We have a 2020 Montana BR3854 5th wheel that developed a water leak from the fresh water tank after our 3rd trip with the RV. I was able to determine the cause of the leak, and it was from the top of the water tank being crushed from the top on the passenger side. This could only have happened when the water tank was installed when our Montana was built. It took 3 trips for it to start leaking. It took 2 months for our dealer to get our Montana in to look at it, and then they confirmed what I found.

We are now waiting for a water tank to be shipped to the dealer. It has been a month now and no update on the tank. Per the dealer, they are waiting for the tank to be shipped from Keystone. Per Keystone, the water tank is on back order with no ETA. We haven't been able to use our 1 year old Montana for over 3 months now.

This is crazy that it is taking this long to get this fixed. We have no idea when the tank will get to the dealer, and then, who knows how long for the dealer to get us in to replace the tank. We are not very happy.

I am just curious about one thing. When the dealer looked for the leak, they pulled off the cover to the back of the water connection in the basement cubby.
I am going to try and add a picture of what the wiring looks like behind the panel they left off. We have been RV'ing for 23 years and I have never seen a wiring mess like this. This is how the wiring was left from assembly of the unit at Keystone. Just curious if anyone else has looked behind this panel?

Also notice in the 2nd picture, the cover of the electrical panel has fallen off, and the wood that holds the panel up has come loose from the chassis. This is poor, poor workmanship, ugh.

And, one. last thing, since we were 1 month outside the 1 year manufacturer warranty, we have to use our extended warranty to cover this. I guess we are lucky we bought the extended warranty. But, I think this terrible that this wasn't covered under the manufacturer warranty as a structural issue.

[DaveK]

Absolutely right.

[RMcNeal]

That's basically the exact photo I have of my basement. Very colorful, don't you think?
It looks like a rats nest.