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Old 02-26-2021, 08:24 AM   #1
Amtracker
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Issues

I am a recent owner of a Montana 3791RD. After being told that Montana was the top-of-the-line RV, we bought a 2020 Montana. If Montana is the top of the line in the industry, I hate to see the worst. I am lucky that I have the technical ability to make repairs. Thus far, I have corrected these items: Stereo, two steps lights, bathroom sink faucet, shower faucet, rocker slide-out switch, closet door, bathroom door, divider wall from kitchen to living room, furnace, blinds (x3), main RV entrance door, and the automatic vent in the bathroom. After many years in the US Marine Corps, when a problem occurs, you alert the Commander; you always have a recommended solution. I wrote a three-page letter to Keystone with recommendations and never received even an acknowledgment that they read the letter. I review the problems on the Montana RV club page and see all the same issues. I only wonder how long the RV manufacturers will get away with putting out junk. In many states, we could buy a house for what we pay for these units—just venting my frustration.
 
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Old 02-26-2021, 08:31 AM   #2
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Originally Posted by Amtracker View Post
I am a recent owner of a Montana 3791RD. After being told that Montana was the top-of-the-line RV, we bought a 2020 Montana. If Montana is the top of the line in the industry, I hate to see the worst. I am lucky that I have the technical ability to make repairs. Thus far, I have corrected these items: Stereo, two steps lights, bathroom sink faucet, shower faucet, rocker slide-out switch, closet door, bathroom door, divider wall from kitchen to living room, furnace, blinds (x3), main RV entrance door, and the automatic vent in the bathroom. After many years in the US Marine Corps, when a problem occurs, you alert the Commander; you always have a recommended solution. I wrote a three-page letter to Keystone with recommendations and never received even an acknowledgment that they read the letter. I review the problems on the Montana RV club page and see all the same issues. I only wonder how long the RV manufacturers will get away with putting out junk. In many states, we could buy a house for what we pay for these units—just venting my frustration.
Having had two Montana fifth wheels ,now SOB. They are as good as any in their price range ,but top of the line ,not hardly. One of the most popular if not the most .

It seems like its hit or miss with these new ones . Both that I had were pretty good ,minor stuff ,nothing major. I too think anyone that does not have the ability to fix a lot of the problems is in for trouble . It sounds like a lot of them get to spend months in a repair shop .
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Old 02-26-2021, 08:31 AM   #3
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Yep, sounds typical. The first year we had our current camper, I had over 80 different issue. I kept a spreadsheet on them, what the original problem was, what I did to fix it. Some were too big for me, those when back for warranty.

However, after a year, I felt like I rebuilt the entire trailer, it's now a really darn good camper! Haven't had any new problems in long over a year now, and we use it almost every day and have traveled thousands of miles since.

Hang in there, keep fixing, and the second year of ownership and you'll love the camper!
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Old 02-26-2021, 09:06 AM   #4
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Welcome to the forum! We've been pretty lucky and all three of our Montanas have had few issues other than being dragged over 150K miles over some pretty crappy roads and the issues that caused.
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Old 02-26-2021, 09:24 AM   #5
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Originally Posted by Amtracker View Post
I am a recent owner of a Montana 3791RD. After being told that Montana was the top-of-the-line RV, we bought a 2020 Montana. If Montana is the top of the line in the industry, I hate to see the worst. I am lucky that I have the technical ability to make repairs. Thus far, I have corrected these items: Stereo, two steps lights, bathroom sink faucet, shower faucet, rocker slide-out switch, closet door, bathroom door, divider wall from kitchen to living room, furnace, blinds (x3), main RV entrance door, and the automatic vent in the bathroom. After many years in the US Marine Corps, when a problem occurs, you alert the Commander; you always have a recommended solution. I wrote a three-page letter to Keystone with recommendations and never received even an acknowledgment that they read the letter. I review the problems on the Montana RV club page and see all the same issues. I only wonder how long the RV manufacturers will get away with putting out junk. In many states, we could buy a house for what we pay for these units—just venting my frustration.

First off...Semper Fi fellow 1833'r. i was stationed at Del Mar with Aco 3rd AABN. I think once you get through these issues, you will hopefully have a reliable rig. It pays to turn your own wrenches and diagnose problems rather than have it sit out of service in a dealership lot. Safe travels
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Old 02-26-2021, 10:47 AM   #6
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I am sure your selling dealer told you it was ….top of the line...It is a good Rv but not close to top of the line. We have had two of them and they had problems as all RVs do. We have had 6 RV's over the years.
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Old 02-26-2021, 08:31 PM   #7
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"Told that Montana is top of the line"....of what? They are the top of the line for Keystone 5th wheels. Top of the line in the 5th wheel RV world? No. Look at price and what you get for your hard earned money; floorplans. Keystone will knock it out of the park vs other brands on floorplans, price and usability for a new owner. The rest always, as I see it, have lots of problems trying to check the boxes.

Owning an RV means a few things; It is a hobby that costs lots of money. If you don't have basic repair skills from wood working, electrical and LP issues you will be lost and unhappy. Your best bet is to understand the RV industry and the folks that buy them.

"I only wonder how long the RV manufacturers will get away with putting out junk. In many states, we could buy a house for what we pay for these units"

The manufacturers are going to give you the product you are willing to buy for.....forever. They can't make enough units to get to the lots before folks buy them....people want cheap and light....then gripe about it.

In "some" states you could buy a house for the price of an RV? Maybe. I don't live in that state nor would buy a house at that price. An RV is a toy and needs to be viewed in that manner IMO.
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Old 02-26-2021, 11:08 PM   #8
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As previously stated, some people have minimal problems and others have nothing but problems. Quality Control is not a strong point on most RV’s. Maybe if Japan started to build them they would have to get better or go out of business, just like the big three in the auto industry. My 3160 has had more issues than it should have had. As stated before, you are probably better off doing your own repair as 75% of the dealerships do terrible warranty repair work. Unfortunately whenever a new startup company that has good quality control comes around it always gets bought up by the big RV companies who proceed to cut quality and squeeze out profits.
Just my observations but I think it is correct.

Tom Marty
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Old 02-27-2021, 05:11 AM   #9
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Thanksfor the comment. I was stationed everywhere during my 24 years. I went on to work the EFV and ACV programs. Just retired last Dec. Thanks for your service.
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Old 02-27-2021, 05:53 AM   #10
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The only real issue we have had with our 3160RL was the crappy job of installing the electric brake magnets, wires were way to long inside the hub and got caught up and broke in turn we didn’t have trailer brakes in the smokey mountains of Tennessee. Had to replace the front two hydraulic jacks last November and the frig went out 1year after we bought the 5th. Frig was fixed under my extended warranty, I fixed the brakes and I replaced the jacks. Other then that we haven’t had any other issues in the 4 years of ownership. I do all my own maintenance

Check exterior sealants twice a year, grease the suspension, repack wheel bearings and check the brake pads.

Also check the torque on all bolts on the suspension, rims and the 5th wheel head
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Old 02-27-2021, 06:39 AM   #11
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What I noticed on the OPs initial post is that many if not most of the problems noted are industry 'standard' products that are used in virtually every RV from basic entry level right up to the custom built New Horizon or Spacecraft RVs. That industry too is limited in that while they may have different brand names, they are owned by Dometic, Lippert and a couple others to fill the needs. They were probably all great at conception but now these products are driven by stockholders that demand a good return on their investment which means the bottom line on their financial reports needs to be way on the plus side.


As a for instance, those long magnet wires noted weren't Keystone's doing but either Dexter or LCI, one of which assembled those axles. Is Keystone ultimately responsible? Yes, but they in turn have to fix the problem and hopefully can recoup the cost of repairs from Dexter/LCI and hopefully force them into better products.


Then in 2020 into 2021, the pandemic and the available skilled workforce for whatever RV product you name sure didn't help.


With all that said, the RV industry needs better direction and quality control too.
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Old 02-27-2021, 06:54 AM   #12
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When first looks at ours, it had just arrived at the dealer. Teh dealer had not a chance to do anything but park it. Front cap was full of bugs and inside had sawdust all over.

What I looked for besides the floor plan was what had fallen off or come loose during transit. Plus what was the initial quality. It survived the trip with little for the dealer to do besides clean up.

We have had a few more issues than what I feel we should have had. If it required out of pocket, the dealer fixed. Otherwise I fixed it. Worse was the dreaded frame flex.

There was nothing that the dealer did that did not require a second attempt, or me finishing the job.
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Old 02-27-2021, 07:02 AM   #13
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All brands have issues IMHO. I found 13 issues at PDI, most of which were fixed before I signed for it, with written promises to bring it back one time when parts were available. I feel sorry for folks that are not handy with tools. Seems like I'm always repairing something, just like every RV I've ever owned.
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Old 02-27-2021, 07:46 AM   #14
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This is our second Montana. The first one, an 04, was mechanically superior to this one. Somewhere between 2004 and 2016 Keystone exchanged quality for something else, probably profit. Their push to build new this and different that outpaced their ability to make reliable units. As owners we are left to bring our trailers up to the condition it should be. Hence the popularity of repair related topics in this forum. As such, this is our last Montana. A new one is out of the question based upon quality issues alone. Ours is finally dialed in and in my opinion, worth more than a new one. OP, hang in there.
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Old 02-27-2021, 07:46 AM   #15
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Montana may not reply to your letter BUT IMHO the input is reviewed and applied to some degree. Since joining MOC in 2017 and watching the posts, many of the items listed have kind of disappeared from general comments. As you mentioned, list problem and a fix the worked for you makes it easier for them to get a starting point to make changes. Also listing those here might help others ID and catch issues to fix before FUBAR.

Thank you for your service - Happy/Safe Travels
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Old 02-27-2021, 06:11 PM   #16
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We have had two Montana's a 06 3400 and now a 13 3402.They are pretty much the same Rv but the 3402 had a separate bathroom that Helen liked. IMO we see no major difference in the quality or construction between the two. The 06 3400 had poor slide seals you could see the ground at the corners. They corrected that later with improved slide seals and we have no problems. The worst issue we had was a stripped slide gear in the kitchen slide of the 3402.We thought we had frame flex in the 06 3400 but it was the gel coat wall that had separated from the framing. They caught that at a fall rally and corrected it. The only improvement we did on both units was installing the Mor Ryde IS since we have been high end users.
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Old 02-28-2021, 06:35 AM   #17
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We have had two Montana's a 06 3400 and now a 13 3402.They are pretty much the same Rv but the 3402 had a separate bathroom that Helen liked. IMO we see no major difference in the quality or construction between the two. The 06 3400 had poor slide seals you could see the ground at the corners. They corrected that later with improved slide seals and we have no problems. The worst issue we had was a stripped slide gear in the kitchen slide of the 3402.We thought we had frame flex in the 06 3400 but it was the gel coat wall that had separated from the framing. They caught that at a fall rally and corrected it. The only improvement we did on both units was installing the Mor Ryde IS since we have been high end users.
Rich,

out of curiosity please define high end user.

Thanks
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Old 02-28-2021, 07:38 AM   #18
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We purchased our first Montana in 2006 our goal was to see this great country and stay out of cold weather. We have done that. We have averaged about 7 k miles a year .We have slowed down and we went nowhere this year.
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Old 02-28-2021, 10:34 AM   #19
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You'll find many of us have put 10K or more on our rigs per year. It's not unusual for some of us to be in Michigan, Florida and Arizona all in the same year with many stops inbetween. Like Rich and Helen we've slowed down on that this year and now have bought a second Montana for our other home base. One Montana will travel the east and the other the west stationed in either Kansas or New Mexico.
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Old 02-28-2021, 04:00 PM   #20
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Are there many differences between the "EAST" machine and the "WEST" machine? Betting west might be more solar complete.
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