New member in Texas

[TexCamper]

Hi folks,

We live just outside of Austin Texas and have a Montana 3121rl on order. We're not new to 5th wheels, we have a Grand Design Reflection 303rls. We wanted something bigger and the 3121rl seemed like a good option. We looked at the Grand Design Solitude 310GK-R as it's the same floor plan as the Montana 3121rl, but the Solitude just doesn't have the storage and features we liked the best. As a Grand Design owner, I am a little apprehensive about buying a Keystone product for the first time. I've heard lots of negative reports over the years about Keystone, but it's not like Grand Design trailers are flawless works of art. They have their share of issues. Are y'all happy with the reliability of your rigs? Is there any truth to a grand design being any more reliable, or is it urban myth at this point in 2021?

[DutchmenSport]

Welcome to the forums and congrats on your decision to purchase a Montana. When you take delivery of your new Montana, you can expect a lot of problems, and be pleasantly surprised if you have none. Being a previous RV owner you know what to look for and should not have any surprises.

Before loading up your new camper, take the time to add extra braces to the closet(s) for shelving and cloths bars. It seems Keystone is not very good at attaching things to studs, and Styrofoam walls don't have much strength with 4 wood screws holding a boat load of weight.

Pull out your Robertson Head screw driver and go around everything, inside and outside and check every screw to snug them up. You'll find some are screwed into nothing. Not much you can do about that. Fender screws have a tendency wiggle out and break out very easy. I ended up putting new screws in with a backer (small piece of wood) the screws could actually catch to.

You should have no problems at all with appliances, the furnace, microwave, .... things like that. I have found the biggest problem are those things attached to the walls. So, a little more carefully positioned support goes a long, long way making your Montana stronger and trouble free.

These are my suggestions. Again, hopefully, you will not have any issues at all. But, be prepared to do some extra work yourself and maybe you can get ahead of any problems before they become problems.

And oh! Check all the screws UNDER the camper to make sure they are tightened, holding the chloroplast (underbelly covering) on.

Just check everything very careful when you take delivery. Again, the best surprise you should have is to have no surprises.

[TexCamper]

Originally Posted by DutchmenSport

Welcome to the forums and congrats on your decision to purchase a Montana. When you take delivery of your new Montana, you can expect a lot of problems, and be pleasantly surprised if you have none. Being a previous RV owner you know what to look for and should not have any surprises.

Before loading up your new camper, take the time to add extra braces to the closet(s) for shelving and cloths bars. It seems Keystone is not very good at attaching things to studs, and Styrofoam walls don't have much strength with 4 wood screws holding a boat load of weight.

Pull out your Robertson Head screw driver and go around everything, inside and outside and check every screw to snug them up. You'll find some are screwed into nothing. Not much you can do about that. Fender screws have a tendency wiggle out and break out very easy. I ended up putting new screws in with a backer (small piece of wood) the screws could actually catch to.

You should have no problems at all with appliances, the furnace, microwave, .... things like that. I have found the biggest problem are those things attached to the walls. So, a little more carefully positioned support goes a long, long way making your Montana stronger and trouble free.

These are my suggestions. Again, hopefully, you will not have any issues at all. But, be prepared to do some extra work yourself and maybe you can get ahead of any problems before they become problems.

And oh! Check all the screws UNDER the camper to make sure they are tightened, holding the chloroplast (underbelly covering) on.

Just check everything very careful when you take delivery. Again, the best surprise you should have is to have no surprises.

Thanks DutchmenSport, that was great advice. I had a handfull of issues with my current 5'er when I got it or discovered shortly after.


1. The island was too close to the fridge, they ended up rubbing against each other once the kitchen slide was closed.

2. The autoleveling wasn't properly set to level. I had to learn how to zero the autoleveling system so it understood what level actually was.

3. The sink came loose from the island on a trip. I had to reattach it and re-caulk it.

4. The entry door latch wouldn't latch unless you pretty much slammed the door. I replaced the striker and made some adjustments myself to fix it.

5. One of the windows didn't close completely. I had to "adjust" the window frame with a hammer.

6. One of the gray tank valves leaked. I found some glue that had partially blocked the valve gate. Got it out of there with a piece of wire.

7. The Norcold Fridge doesn't seal properly and the freezer ices up.

So if anyone tells you Grand Design trailers are flawless, just spit in their eye.

[DadsHemi]

Welcome to the Forum, we have the 3160RL, our rig was just over 1 year old when the fridge went out, had the coil replaced with the Amish coil, front lippert jacks I replaced in November and several other small things but all and all we’ve had pretty good luck.

Congrats on your new 5th

[TexCamper]

Originally Posted by DadsHemi

Welcome to the Forum, we have the 3160RL, our rig was just over 1 year old when the fridge went out, had the coil replaced with the Amish coil, front lippert jacks I replaced in November and several other small things but all and all we’ve had pretty good luck.

Congrats on your new 5th

Everything Lippert makes is suspect unfortunately. Lippert leveling jacks seem to be the bane of many people’s lives.

And RV fridges seem to be very unreliable. I think residential fridges aren’t made to be bumped and jostled like happens in an RV. And RV gas electric fridges are just junk. I don’t get too surprised when components break. It’s rarely the RV manufacturer that is responsible other than using low quality components in the first place. But it seems that all of them buy their components from the same companies. So component and appliance related failures are consistent across brands.

[rames14]

TexCamper, welcome to the forum. We are awaiting our 4th Montana. The advice I would give a family member is choose your dealer first. The issues you hear about on Montana’s are the same you will hear on Grand Design, Jayco, Forest River, etc. What separates most of the negative feelings is how their dealers handled their issues. When you hear issues with frames, furniture, water heaters, air conditioners, furnaces, refrigerators, ranges and microwaves - the same people supply the entire industry. Our current order, we didn’t even quote another dealer. They do such a good job of customer service, we couldn’t put a price on it. So, once you find the dealer that you know will take care of you - choose your make and model. For us, the MOC is what separates the Montana brand from the others. We have attended lots of rallies over the years, made lots of friends and gotten lots of good advice and ideas. The 3120RL is one of the most popular Montana models. You should be very happy with your choice. We wouldn’t be getting our 4th Montana if we hadn’t received good value from them.

[DQDick]

Welcome to the forum! We have owned three Montana's and still own two of them. All together we've towed over 150,000 miles in our 11 years of full timing and are very happy with Keystone and the Montana brand. My only experience with GD is some friends we know from a regional rally who when from a Montana to the more reliable GD. They took everything they had in their Montana cabinets and moved it to the GD. Within a year all of their cabinets had fallen off and had to be replace. My guess is all manufacturers now days have some of these type of stories, but if we wanted or needed a new one it would be another Montana.

[TexCamper]

Originally Posted by rames14

TexCamper, welcome to the forum. We are awaiting our 4th Montana. The advice I would give a family member is choose your dealer first. The issues you hear about on Montana’s are the same you will hear on Grand Design, Jayco, Forest River, etc. What separates most of the negative feelings is how their dealers handled their issues. When you hear issues with frames, furniture, water heaters, air conditioners, furnaces, refrigerators, ranges and microwaves - the same people supply the entire industry. Our current order, we didn’t even quote another dealer. They do such a good job of customer service, we couldn’t put a price on it. So, once you find the dealer that you know will take care of you - choose your make and model. For us, the MOC is what separates the Montana brand from the others. We have attended lots of rallies over the years, made lots of friends and gotten lots of good advice and ideas. The 3120RL is one of the most popular Montana models. You should be very happy with your choice. We wouldn’t be getting our 4th Montana if we hadn’t received good value from them.

Thanks for welcoming us to the forum. It's great to see that you've had a consistently good experience with Montana's. The MOC sounds fnatastic, I'll have to look into how to participate more and share all my good experiences.

[TexCamper]

Originally Posted by DQDick

Welcome to the forum! We have owned three Montana's and still own two of them. All together we've towed over 150,000 miles in our 11 years of full timing and are very happy with Keystone and the Montana brand. My only experience with GD is some friends we know from a regional rally who when from a Montana to the more reliable GD. They took everything they had in their Montana cabinets and moved it to the GD. Within a year all of their cabinets had fallen off and had to be replace. My guess is all manufacturers now days have some of these type of stories, but if we wanted or needed a new one it would be another Montana.

Thanks for the warm welcome DQDick. I agree that every manufacturer has their share of horror stories. Lately with the explosion in growth in the RV industry thanks to covid, it's been a tough time for the RV manufacturers as they try to keep up with demand. I walked through 6 Grand Design Solitudes a couple of weeks ago and all of them had different fixtures and furniture. I asked the dealer and was told that Grand Design is so hard up for parts that they're just shoveing anything they can get into their rigs. However, every Montana we walked through was consistent. Just shows that each manufacturer is having different issues with covid and supply chains. I'm not sure if this has impacted Keystone yet, but so far I haven't seen any inconsistency among the Montana's I toured.

[DTH]

TexCamper,
We bought our 3121 last spring. We replaced one front jack and that is the only issue we have had in this first year. Our first was a High Country and it was also very solid with no issues. Because of our good experience with it we moved to the 3121.
Also like you we were Grand Design owners. Ours was pretty good but not on the level we have experienced with Montana products. Hope you have good results with your new one.

[AZ Traveler]

Jesse,

I assume your Grand Design had the Lippert Electric leveling system. The hydraulic system on your 3121 is much more capable than the lower end electric system.

[TexCamper]

Originally Posted by AZ Traveler

Jesse,

I assume your Grand Design had the Lippert Electric leveling system. The hydraulic system on your 3121 is much more capable than the lower end electric system.

What is it about the hydraulic system that's better? I've never had hydraulic, so I'm very interested in understanding the pros and cons of hydraulic versus electric leveling. BTW, my electric leveling never gave me any grief other than Grand Design not bothering to zero it at the factory. I found out later that this is a common problem for people. They get a new 5th wheel and the auto-leveling fails to level the trailer. It often turns out that the system wasn't properly setup at the factory. There was also a problem with Grand Design trailers where they were putting the auto-leveling controller in backwards during install. This makes the trailer think front is back and back is front. Throws the leveling off badly.

[AZ Traveler]

Jesse,

The downside of hydraulic is it is heavier. The upside is it is much beefier and smoother. It can easily handle more weight. The brains and sensors should be fairly similar.

[TexCamper]

Originally Posted by AZ Traveler

Jesse,

The downside of hydraulic is it is heavier. The upside is it is much beefier and smoother. It can easily handle more weight. The brains and sensors should be fairly similar.

It looks like hydraulic is faster than electric too. And no having to manually extend the landing gear seems like a plus as well.

[Mikelff]

Originally Posted by TexCamper

Everything Lippert makes is suspect unfortunately. Lippert leveling jacks seem to be the bane of many people’s lives.

And RV fridges seem to be very unreliable. I think residential fridges aren’t made to be bumped and jostled like happens in an RV. And RV gas electric fridges are just junk. I don’t get too surprised when components break. It’s rarely the RV manufacturer that is responsible other than using low quality components in the first place. But it seems that all of them buy their components from the same companies. So component and appliance related failures are consistent across brands.

I had terrible issues with my Dometic gas/electric fridge. Slow to cool, slow to recover, had to travel with gas on to keep somewhat cool. Dealer nor Dometic could fix the issue. Got fed up and went to JC Refrigeration ( near Goshen IN) 12v compressor driven cooling unit (Amish).What a difference! Keeps fridge at 36,37 and freezer gets to -12 consistently in 90 + degree temps. Never achieved those temps before. Can drive with 12v on with no gas issues. Much stronger and reliable than residential fridge, though I know many folks have no issues with their residential units. No inverter required. My Dometic fridge is the largest they make so we have lots of room in our fridge. We took out the ice maker and it gave us way more room in the freezer and less stuff that can break down. Look them up on the web.

[Mikelff]

Originally Posted by TexCamper

Thanks for welcoming us to the forum. It's great to see that you've had a consistently good experience with Montana's. The MOC sounds fnatastic, I'll have to look into how to participate more and share all my good experiences.

Welcome to the forum from Texas! I’m sure you know this but its worth repeating. After your delivery, make sure to document any warranty issues. Don't wait to turn them in to the dealer. Get a hard copy dated when you submitted them. Follow up with dealer to make sure they submitted them to Keystone. About a couple months before your warranty expires, do another inspection and submit any additional warranty items, again document everything and get dated hard copies . Your warranty work should still be covered even though your warranty time may have expired. Stay on top of your dealer. Don’t “assume “ they have submitted your claims. Just follow up.
I agree, your dealer makes all the difference. The good ones are the ones that take care of you after the sale. Luckily, I found one, but I still follow up and keep them on their toes. Happy camping!

[Gabby1987]

Had a 2018 Montana, molding came off on first trip. When winter came around the furnace wouldn’t work, ended up being a control board. Just little things. When the house got finished we moved out of the Montana and decided to trade for something smaller so got a 2021 cougar. Perfect size but nothing but trouble from the beginning, had it for 2 months. Decided to trade it for another Montana. Started looking and with them just sitting on the lot molding and trim was popping off in everyone we looked at. Ended up with a GD 303rls. Best decision we’ve made with rv’s, absolutely no issues since getting it last September. Still enjoy coming here to learn tips and tricks from the members.

[Byron B]

Originally Posted by TexCamper

Hi folks,

We live just outside of Austin Texas and have a Montana 3121rl on order. We're not new to 5th wheels, we have a Grand Design Reflection 303rls. We wanted something bigger and the 3121rl seemed like a good option. We looked at the Grand Design Solitude 310GK-R as it's the same floor plan as the Montana 3121rl, but the Solitude just doesn't have the storage and features we liked the best. As a Grand Design owner, I am a little apprehensive about buying a Keystone product for the first time. I've heard lots of negative reports over the years about Keystone, but it's not like Grand Design trailers are flawless works of art. They have their share of issues. Are y'all happy with the reliability of your rigs? Is there any truth to a grand design being any more reliable, or is it urban myth at this point in 2021?

Welcome to the MOG! We purchased a 2019 3121rl Legacy last year and love it. It is our traveling rig as opposed to the other two 5ers we live in that are semi permanent.
IMHO, none of the Rv manufacturers put out a high quality product anymore. I believe that Montana is as good as any and better than some. Just be prepared to do a lot of your own repairs and modifications. You will save yourself a lot of grief and aggravation!

[jeririgged223]

Originally Posted by TexCamper

Everything Lippert makes is suspect unfortunately. Lippert leveling jacks seem to be the bane of many people’s lives.

And RV fridges seem to be very unreliable. I think residential fridges aren’t made to be bumped and jostled like happens in an RV. And RV gas electric fridges are just junk. I don’t get too surprised when components break. It’s rarely the RV manufacturer that is responsible other than using low quality components in the first place. But it seems that all of them buy their components from the same companies. So component and appliance related failures are consistent across brands.

RV fridges have become such a problem that many dealers won't sell a rig with them any more and they won't service them. I don't have one. I opted for the standard RV trailer LP / Elec double door fridge. My dealer told me that they spend more time on residential fridge warranty issues than anything else.

[Mikelff]

Originally Posted by jeririgged223

RV fridges have become such a problem that many dealers won't sell a rig with them any more and they won't service them. I don't have one. I opted for the standard RV trailer LP / Elec double door fridge. My dealer told me that they spend more time on residential fridge warranty issues than anything else.

Have to agree, except for the newer 12v and 120v compressor driven RV fridges. I had issue after issue with my Dometic RV fridge. I replaced my cooling unit in the fridge with the JC Refrigeration 12v compressor unit. Its been the answer to all my problems. Comes with a 3 year warranty and made specifically for RV’s. No more having to run propane while traveling to try to keep fridge cool. I maintain 37 degrees in fridge and -10 below in freezer in 100+ degree heat. I can travel down the road without the need for propane. I can open my fridge as much as I need without worrying about how long it will take for my fridge to recover. It recovers in just a few minutes rather than hours. Worth every penny. Luckily, no issues with any other appliances, jacks, or slides.....yet.