Rich (richfaa) does a "pre" PDI - Page 2 - Montana Owners Club

Mudchief · 04-29-2006, 01:44 PM

Congratulations Rich and Helen. I know the two of you are happy that the new unit has finally arrived. I remember when I told you to write the check and don't look back. Now aren't you glad you did. I know you and Helen will have many happy times in your new unit.
I am sure the two of you will be counting the days until November.

richfaa · 04-29-2006, 02:02 PM

Mudchief..I remember that and you were right..according to Helen's count down clock 186 days till retirement not that she is counting.

SAndreasen · 04-29-2006, 03:00 PM

Rich & Helen,

Sharon and I, also, remember the excitement of the arrival of our "new toy". I know that you two will really enjoy it. Also, Sharon and I have been retired for two years now and we just love it. Looking forward to meeting you at the fall rally.

fulltimedreamer · 04-29-2006, 04:31 PM

Rich and Helen,

Congrats on the arrival of your coach. I'm glad to see your Pre-PDI went off without a hitch. This is consistent with the shape our unit was in when inspected it. Keep us in the loop on the final PDI and the maiden adventure. Enjoy your new toy!!!!

patodonn · 04-30-2006, 05:00 AM

For MAC, Re C. Springs, we are going to be at the AFA FAMCAMP. I'm retired AF, and have that opportunity. Nancy has never seen that place, and I've only visited a couple of times, so we "booked" 10 days there. Also have some close friends in the "Springs" to visit.

Rich: re "By the way I have a Garrettt GTI 1500 leaning here in the corner..Have not found any treasure yet...It will be in the camper."

My trusty Bounty Hunter paid for itself last year..I got involved with some minor maint on the truck, and put my wedding ring in my pocket while working near the battery...while cleaning up, found it "gone"....did a "hands and knees " search around the truck, no help. Finally got out the B.H. and got a hit in 1 min....the ring had submerged itself in a grass area about 2 ft from the truck. Sure glad I had it with me!!

Been "playing" with one version or another of those gadgets since ?'84? One of these days, I'll upgrade to one of the fancy $1000 detectors, but, for now, I just put on the headphones go at it. Found lots of coins and a few rings and things, now and the, but nothing in the "big ticket" catagory. I did once find a 188? British half-pence in a neighbor's front yard. No possible idea how that came to be...this was N. Calif. Great escape mechanism hobby.....

Best,

Mac · 04-30-2006, 05:34 AM

PJ,

I saw you were retired AF in your bio and was wondering if that's what you were doing. I've never seen that campground but I bet it's nice. WAY back in the 60's (?) the lumber company my dad worked for made the church pews for the Chapel there at the Academy. My dad delivered them and set them up, I am still proud of that, and what a beautful Chapel.

mac

Broome101 · 04-30-2006, 12:04 PM

Rich congratulations on the arrival of your new family member, I am sure you both will have very fond memories to come with it.

Broome101 · 04-30-2006, 12:05 PM

Rich don't forget to show us new new rig with picutres.

richfaa · 05-01-2006, 04:34 AM

Yes we are critical of Quality and workmanship issues on thse units and have no problem expressing that on this forum or to Keystone..Mark Krol is the district sales manager Montana/Mountaineer and has alway been my contact point.

From: Richard LaScola [mailto:richfaa1@alltel.net]
Sent: Friday, April 28, 2006 5:06 PM
To: Mark Krol
Subject: 3400

Spent 5 hours at Town and Country Rv doing a Pre-PDI on our 3400. We will do the full PDI May 3rd. I wanted to identify issues that needed corrected before the PDI may 3rd, Bill had the unit pulled up front for me, Powered it up, Opened the slides and said have fun..yell if you need something. The unit was the cleanest unit I have ever seen, Everything I could check and it was 95% of the PDI was perfect. Everything worked, Nothing leaked, nothing was loose. I found zero problems and I looked really hard. Send along my congratulations to all the Old world craftsmen who built that unit a job well done.

rickfox · 05-01-2006, 01:36 PM

Rich, I am happy for you and Helen! We also had a near perfect 3400RL, finding only a few problems at delivery.

However, several problems have come up since our November 05 delivery that most likely could have been caught at the PDI - but I didn't look for them.

1) As I have mentioned in other posts, the kitchen slide, when all the way in, did not match up very well where the fender skirt on the slide butts up against the fender skirt portion that is attached to the side of of the trailer. Take a look at this when the slide is all the way in and decide if you are happy.

2) Because of the high winds on our first camp out, we realized that the bedroom and the kitchen slides were not sealing properly (you could feel and hear the wind blowing through) when the slides were all the way out. We confirmed this by using a small hand mirror to look all along the inside edges of the slides. In this manner, it is easy to see if the white seal rubber is doing its job. Be sure to inspect around all 4 slides while they are open.
3) Recently, I noticed that one of the ladder rungs was about to come off - they are held to the vertical ladder poles with plastic parts that wrap around the poles and supported in place with screws. According to the dealer, these sometimes come from Montana already broken. Some are good - some are bad and seem to fail rather quickly - perhaps the first few times they are used.
4) I plugged in my Radio Shack amplifed FM antenna. It seems to work OK. Perhaps an externally mounted antenna would work better, but I am not yet ready to drill holes through the walls of the trailer.
5) I am also planning to reenforce the clothes hamper door in the future as every time I step on it I can feel it give.

Let us know if anything comes up in these areas.

By the way, did your 3400 come with free hi-gloss?

richfaa · 05-01-2006, 01:58 PM

You are correct about the fender skirts not lining up properly. I remembered that you mentioned that and looked for it..Just poor design.I don't think it will bother me. I did climb the ladder and I am not a heavy weight..I did not like the feel of it. We did check all the slides when all the way out and could see no gaps but will take a closer look May 3rd.Have not decided what we will do about the FM antenna problem. We do expect problems to show up with use but we are determined to have no problems outstanding on the PDI and this forum prepared us for that. The clothes hamper door seemed ok but then again we are not heavy weights (did not mean to suggest that you may have a few extra lbs on you) No High gloss I think..Tell you the truth I could not tell..looked for swirls and did not see any. It is new and very shinny.Did get some stuff we did not order. One recliner, Lamp, End table.

Montana Sky · 05-01-2006, 02:38 PM

Rich,
I am glad to hear that Keystone has meet your approval. I hope the rest of your official PDI is just as smooth. Enjoy your new rig!

Lstierw · 05-01-2006, 02:58 PM

Rich, hope you enjoy your new Monty.....We will also be in Arizona this winter both in Lake Havasu and in Yuma....hope to see ya there........Les

richfaa · 05-01-2006, 03:55 PM

Les that's great.Helen's brother lives in Lake Havasu and that will be our first stop then on to Yuma. Helen retires in Nov 1st.We plan to spend a month or so in Havasu, Yuma and the RGV.Will have to compare travel plans later on.(that is of course if we can afford the fuel????)

jrgwdenner · 05-02-2006, 12:49 AM

We may not eat, but we'll buy fuel!

melnjoy · 05-02-2006, 03:22 AM

Rich & Helen,
Congrats on your new rig! Just one more day till the final PDI! I'm sure things will go great. Where at in Yuma will you guys be staying this fall? Maybe we will see you there sometime. Again congrats and have lots of fun!
Joy

rickfox · 05-02-2006, 04:51 AM

Rich,

I weigh in at 225 so will get around to putting a little support on the left side next to the shower.

It was hard for me to judge how well the Radio Shack table top antenna actually worked since we didn't know how many FM stations we should really expect to hear. I thought about reconnecting the TV antenna, or perhaps going out to the TV to compare, but seemed to be too much trouble. The wife was happy that we could now receive some FM stations while the cable was connected (amp turned off), so that's good enough until she complains again.

As I have mentioned numerous times before, overall I am quite satisfied with the trailer. And vistors always seem to be impressed with how much room there seems to be inside.

VanMan · 05-02-2006, 05:36 AM

Why the concern over the FM antenna ? I thought we decided that's what the blue hose is for ???

Montana Sky · 05-02-2006, 08:13 AM

LOL!! =)

dsprik · 05-02-2006, 10:15 AM

Won't that look a little funny on the roof???

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