A bad Montana.. Its a question

[Montana Man]

I've certainly done my fair share of complaining about build quality. Things are going to break and I really don't mind fixing things. My gripe without going into details is poor quality workmanship and inept engineering. There is just a little too much of both of these things happening.

[richfaa]

Never had a full failure whatever that means We have had our share of issues with both Montana's but never of that magnitude. It is in the shop now because of a broken rear Hydraulic jack. It did not fail .I broke it. This 13 3402 had less problems than our 06 3400.

I will add that since May 2006 with Montana#1 to the present with Montana #2 we have traveled over 100K road miles. The one major add one to both Montana's was the Mor ryde IS system and of course quality tires the present being G6 14s

[Razrbk]

I purchased a new 2015 Montana 3100RL and full-timed in for three years, putting around 6000 miles on it. The failures I’ve experienced have been vendor items:
(3) refrigerator cooling units
(1) convection/microwave unit
(1) hydraulic jack
(1) television

[rollingdownthehighway]

Every RV has issues, we were camping up in Maine 2 summers ago and a 2 million dollar coach pulled in next to us. We got talking and she hated her coach. She said it spent more time in the shop then she used it. She has a list of things that broke, replaced, didn't work (even after getting repaired), etc. Things on the list were items like:
Fridge, slide, black tank leak, engine blew a head gasket 5500 miles in, awning, counter top breaking, tiles breaking, and so on. Every coach has issues. We have about 5k miles on our 3700LK and so far no major issues (knock on wood), though this season, it'll be sitting not being used.

[Charlie 3931fb]

Hi All,

Its looking like the more you pay for a coach or trailer the more problems and the more headache's you have. We just spent 6 nights in our's and I am happy to say no problems this weekend. Everything worked. We are getting used to this trailer every time we take it out. On July the 1st we will move the trailer from this location to our new living location because we will be full timing on July the 8th. That's when the house close's. So I have learned a few thing's about owning a RV. I need to stay on top of thing's and yes I from time to time I will have to break out the tool's and do some repair's.


Thanks again for all of your help. The MOC and all of the member's ayou guys are the best. I mean you ROCK!!!! Having the forum is worth's it weight in GOLD!!!!

[RDThompson]

Towed approx 10K miles

Had some issues initially, but no major system failures.

Only major issue to date was/is tires. Original tires separated at about 5K miles. Replaced all four and spare with Sailun's. No more tire issues(at least so far).

Did upgrade tow vehicle from 3/4 SRW gas to 1 ton DRW diesel. Vast improvement, but nothing to do with the Monty .

Randy and Micheale Thompson

[BUBBA-NONNIE]

I have 2017 3000RE. I had to have axle removed and reinstalled at my expense, even after Keystone they would fix it, which they did not. Cost me a new set of tires. Air conditioner intake was collapsed on all of the vents. Constant trouble with refrig. Thanks to MO i finally figured it out after being in the shop at least 4 times to get it repaired. I have had hydraulic jacks replaced. Most of this happened within the first year. I like the Montana, but are definitely things I would do again before buying one.

[Camp CA]

[QUOTE=Charlie 3931fb;1187577]............Has anyone every had a Montana that went into full failure of the trailer?...........1 Did the dealership were you got the trailer help in anyway? 2 Did the factory stand by your unit?.........

We are on our 3rd Keystone (2nd Montana) fifth wheel trailer since 2004 and never had partial or full failure, just operator errors with the first two. In each event the dealership took care of it and in one event replaced a broken shower door under warranty even though it was the result of operator error AND the factory stood by the unit. Our new 2020 Montana fifth wheel has had no failures or warranty items that needed to be addressed to date. Super quality and excellent dealer pre-inspection.

[steiny93]

Since 2004 we have purchased 6 new rv's (three different manufacturers); the first and the last of them being Montana's. All of the rv's have been similarly priced to the Montana line, some more, some less.

Anyway,
Across those rigs the 'failures' have been similar. For the most part silly quality control items that shouldn't have made it out the factory door but did.

On the last montana examples being
- Wiring harness for the heater was through the fan so it couldn't turn
- Leaky Level-Up lines
- Bad ceiling fan
- Poorly installed interior trim
- ect, silly things that are annoying but aren't structural or significant

We don't full time, we use the rv's a few weekends a month during the summer and that's it.

It is interesting to note; we did have one rig that had zero issues (actually two of them as the first one came in the wrong color so they had us use it until the correct one arrived 12 weeks later). Heartland Cyclone toyhaulers, both of them had zero quality issues post initial delivery. We only had it for about 18 months then went back to the Montana line but the Cyclone treated use exceptionally well from a quality perspective.

[Speck56]

2020 3761FL. Less than 600 miles in it. Portion of crown molding fell off. Bad staple job. Outside cargo door coming apart. Extended island shelf cheap hinge broke. 17.00 later I doubled the strength. Had door fixed, Keystone wanted to replace it but would take 2 months. All fixed now, oh solar not producing, have to warranty that I think. Dealer in California told me to buy a good electric staple gun

2020 Montana Legacy Full Body paint
2020 GMC 3500HD DRW Denali Sierra 4WD

[Hamlej]

We are coming up on 2 years of ownership with our 3820FK and we've had our fair share of problems both minor and major, the worst being frame flex issues. Keystone has gone above and beyond to pay for and address our issues, to me the most important part of ownership is how the company treats you after the purchase.

[WeBeFulltime]

Three new Montanas for us 2008 3400RL, 2012 3585SA, and 2018 3791RD all full timed in. Only a few MINOR issues and all were taken care of our dealer promptly, completely, and cheerfully. Zero major problems.

[quilterpat]

We ave a 2004 mountaineer and are still going have had few problems and usual wear replacements such as tires and battery etc

[heidileonard]

Unfortunately yes.
We had our 2017 3820FK lemon lawed in 2019 and the dealer was of no help but Keystone finally took notice after we had our attorney call them.
Bottom line is that they replaced it with a 2019 3790rd because they discontinued the 3820fk but we have had issues with this one as well from day one..,
Disappointed..

[Last2Die]

2 years with my new fixer upper, I’ll be dumping it soon for SOB. Tired of constantly have things fixed only to find out it’s still not fixed... still angry about my axles and tires with no response from keystone even with help from trailer life magazine, she can’t even get them to respond. So tired of the leaking ac unit...lol. I’ll take a hit for sure but I’m over it.

Tony

[heidileonard]

The constant little issues are what drive me crazy.

Kitchen sink faucet falls apart
Trash can cabinet falls apart
Mounding falls off
Cabinets peel
Closet doors fall off the hinges
Dinette table leans
Dining chairs break
Walls come apart from the seams
Blinds break and pull apart
Refrigerator either freezes or drips
Oven won’t light


These are all signs of lazy workmanship.
It’s not what Montana stands for.

I want to get rid of ours too but if will for sure be hit..
Never makes sense to buy new and sell soon.

[Last2Die]

[QUOTE=heidileonard;118917
I want to get rid of ours too but if will for sure be hit..
Never makes sense to buy new and sell soon.[/QUOTE]

Same but I’m over it screw it, it’s only money...

[laverdur]

Your question got lots of responses covering the spectrum from almost no trouble to dozens of problems. My Monty has 86,000 miles on it and I would not hesitate to start a cross-country trip tomorrow. Have I had failures? Yes, but nothing catastrophic. Water heater 120 volt thermostat - fixed myself. Window shades coming loose at the top - fixed myself. Fresh water anti-backflow valve - fixed myself. Rear dual pane window fogged - local RV glass installed fixed for an amazing low price. Springs replaced due to excessive bushing wear. Problem solved with new springs and wet bolt kit. MoRryde shear springs replaced courtesy of MoRryde, labor on me. Sofa/dinette slide was (or became) off-center resulting in the driven end pinion gear jumping a couple teeth. Drive shaft from driven end to passive end cracked causing delayed movement of passive pinion. Fixed myself by centering slide, having drive shaft repaired, replaced both active and passive roller/gear assemblies, synchronized pinion gears. Now perfecto! I've heard horror stories but speaking for myself, Monty has been great and it cost me a lot less than $110K.

[dfb]

All who are not happy should bring them to THORS headquartes and leave
them there.

[Jetson]

I bought my Montana in 2002, have done a fair amount of repairs myself, had a new roof put on and still have it. It pases for a much newer 5th wheel, but what do I know.