Montana 3813MS

[Knieriemen]

Does anyone else have this model with multiple issues ? Bought new, custom order, last March, pre-Covid. We have had multiple system failures and many smaller issues. And no luck with Keystone accepting responsibility. The coach has spent most of its first year at Camping World under warranty repairs. We are at our wits end. Anyone else? We need help....

RV Life no longer has the Letters section we are used to from Trailer Life. We always got a lot of our questions answered there.

Thanks, in advance

Susan Knieriemen

[DutchmenSport]

Your's is a perfect example of why I suggest so strongly for people who are purchasing a camper and hitting the road for full timing immediately. I always say, and always will, you need to own the camper and use it a lot for at least 1 year before full timing to flush out all the problems.

You are not alone. In the first year of my ownership of my current Montana High Country, I had 78 different issues that came up. Everything from replacing the entire wheels and hub and brakes, to blown tires, to replacing the outside entry door, to fixing broken fallen cabinet shelves, to fixing the furnace. After a while, I gave up on warranty work. If it didn't require jacking the trailer up to get the tires off the ground, I fixed things myself. It took me 6 months to figure this out.

After 1 year and all these things got fixed, mostly myself, I now have a good solid, functional, stable, and dependable camper. In our second year of ownership, the only problem I had was when I turned the electric on the water water and I had no water in it ... OOPS! I burned out the heating element and replaced it. That was the ONLY problem in year two of ownership.

So your problems are NOT unique, you are NOT alone. But one thing you really need to start doing, is figure out how to fix things yourself, regardless if under warranty or not. (If you ever want to see your camper again, that is).

[Ram Montana High Country]

Well, IMHO, DEALER, DEALER, DEALER - it is so critical to buy from the right dealer. I bought my first from the wrong dealer months to get repaired ... 2nd unit, from the right dealer - call him up and in/out, done right the first time. Some dealerships are highly publicized for poor service, long lead-times, etc. Of course COVID has made it worse but even then the RIGHT Dealer has ways. True doing your own work is GOOD. You get to know in/out about the rig.

On my first one, I made newbie errors - cost big bucks. Both units have been MHC and I'd do it again but we love the 373RD.

I think you'll find this forum to very hopeful

[jeffba]

First of all welcome to the MOC!!

Second this is why friends do not let friends buy from camping world.

Try reaching out to

Alisha Howton
574–535-1919
howta@keystonerv.com

she maybe able to help

[DQDick]

Welcome to the forum! I totally agree. There are a few good Camping Worlds but they are the exception. Call Keystone and have them recommend a better dealer near you. This year, with Covid, has been a year when parts were hard to find or not available at all but Camping World has a bad rep for only wanting to sell the units.

[Knieriemen]

Did you buy your High Country new with all those issues? Or used? You mentioned a warranty. My hubby and I are on the older side at 71. We don’t climb on roofs anymore or crawl underneath. But we have an excellent local mobile repair guy now who will do all those things for us. I guess I expected a better built coach for the price we paid. Our KZ was half the price and twice the coach.

We have considered selling it, but the offers we’ve received have been very lowball, and our loss would be considerable. So we’re hoping to get some traveling in soon while we still can. Hubby is a 100% disabled vet, but doing well.

Thanks again for your kind words....

[Rondo]

Susan-- When you call Keystone Customer Service make sure you have your VIN #, purchase date and also which Camping World you purchased it from and are having it serviced at. Also when talking to the Service Rep, who ever it may be, always be calm and kind to them. One thing you do not want to do is get mad and etc at the Rep. They are there to try and help you and any abusive talk to them just turns them off and you won't get any help.

[RMcNeal]

I've bought 2 units from CW and had good luck with them both. All of the Keystone approved vendors in our area, 7 including 2 CW stores, are swamped with repairs right now. I need an alignment and they are out to March just getting an appointment to drop off the unit. Most small repairs I have done myself. I've had pretty good luck with getting at least parts covered under warranty. Dexter repaid me for a new hub assembly after a few months. As it turned out, I found it cheaper than they were selling it and they were probable happy to not cover labor.
Covid seems to be flooding the market with RV's and all of the dealers and service centers are swamped. It took us 11 months to get a replacement theatre seating recliner for our unit under warranty. Shipping is slower than normal too.

[Knieriemen]

Thanks for your advice. We already did everything you suggested to no avail. I think they’re just overwhelmed with Covid delays and people needing help.

[Montana Man]

I do my own work and there was plenty of it on this trailer. My advice is to use an independent repair shop or mobile repair. If they can do work under warranty you'll have better luck. These folks do repairs for a living and not as a necessary evil.

[BiggarView]

Also own a 3813MS,
-ATS failed. Keystone covered that. ATS has been discontinued. Progressive Dynamics cannot get parts for it to even make them.
-Having issues with autolevel not holding...investigating that one. Slow leak or bad seal? Drops about an quarter to half inch per month on road side front.
-Crown molding fell off, DIY replaced.
-Island hot water supply line leaked... DIY repaired
-F/W tank would not fill. Turns out drain cap was MIA. bought replacement PVC cap from Menards, then next day found the cap stashed in the HWH compartment.
-Microwave vent leaking, temp fix but will have to reseal when time/weather permits
-trim LED on front cap has 2 burned out lights... just gonna live with that since we never use them anyway.
-pop up power on the dinette shelf, too close to the window interfering with shades and improperly mounted such that it gets stuck. DIY pulled it out sanded flashing so it operates smoothly now... but don't let it slam down in its hole it gets stuck again. bad design. Kitchen counter one does not have this issue.
-in the what were they thinking department... sharp squared off door and drawer pulls in tight spaces... accident waiting to happen, ask both of us how we know this. We replaced them all with stylish curved ones that match the fridge and micro doors. Not cheap but worth every penny.
-coat closet door at entrance cracked... did not discover this until recently when we were examining ways to modify the "skull creaser" above it. DIY reinforce it.
-several cabinet doors have become "sloppy" and don't close properly any more. DIY retighten hinges. Ongoing issue?
-Ceiling fan squeaks
-lights they provide to attach to the awning arms are useless. hardly used but already failing to stay in tracks. plus a pain to install then each time you want them there to provide outdoor light. Turning them off is the equivalent of looking directly into the sun, good luck being able to put your finger on the little button that turns them off. JUNK.
-oldie but a goodie... tank level indicators are showing false readings. Groan.

Other than that it's a great design for our needs. Rig has already been adapted to our lifestyle. Front closet is gone, replaced with desk and removable raised floor blocks to accommodate desk chair and passage on that side of the bed, laundry hamper taken out and replaced with shoe rack, shelves added in bath room and kitchen from repurposed front closet materials, Dividers (again from repurposed front closet supplies) put in upper kitchen hutch area and under island. wine rack taken out and turned into rack for stretch wrap, aluminum foil, baggies and such. box constructed from front closet left over wood and trim next to bdrm dresser to store central vac parts, much handier than digging out from under the bed.

Being handy has it rewards, cuz we cannot afford to have the rig in the shop for weeks on end for stuff you can repair, modify, or replace all by yourself. JMHO.

[Knieriemen]

Thank you for your tales of woe with your 3813MS. Your experiences have mirrored so many of ours. The front hydraulic bleeding down? We had to have both front jacks bench tested and Lippert replaced one. We still measure the jacks occasionally just because and we find fluctuations in the measurements from 1/4 to 1/2 inch up and down. One mobile repair guy said that will happen with hot/cold weather fluctuations; a neighbor at the RV park said that shouldn’t happen ever. But it’s not going back to the shop. We, too, have arrived at the DIY stage with our mobile repair guy when needed. We are both 71 and we no longer climb on roofs. And sometimes you just need another experienced set of hands.

In our island it was the ice maker line that leaked under the belly.

We are also replacing the dangerous cabinet handles. One question, since we have the same model, did you replace the mattress and if so, with what brand. Our mattress is like concrete. A good topper is half the price of a new mattress, so we are replacing the mattress, but are not in agreement as to what type. We’re looking at Brooklyn Bedding, the Arctic Dreams Hybrid. Runs $560 for the RV king.

We love the floor plan, like you, but for different reasons. Two closets and two dressers give us separate dressing areas, which was always a hassle in our other fifth wheel. And I love the laundry space. We got tired of always having the laundry hassle in parks, and I can do a couple of small loads every night at my leisure with the separate washer and dryer.

[Knieriemen]

Forgot to add that the ATS was also an issue. Failed while at CW getting satellite , w/d added . CW replaced the ATS with a different model that no longer connects t o out power failure monitor. And you’re correct again in that the correct model of ATS is now out of production. And Progressive Dynamics doesn’t know when they’ll be making them again. Which makes me wonder what do we do when - or if - this one fails again.

[Bob and Jeannette]

Wow. We have a 3813 legacy. I installed the drain caps that came with the unit, replaced the mattress with a sleep number R5, screwed in a piece of crown molding and installed some power outlets.

We are very happy with ours, love the floor plan, tub ceiling height, washer dryer, closet space etc. Hope you find happiness! 😊

[Knieriemen]

Thanks for the opinion on a mattress. We need to replace the one that came with the unit; it’s like concrete. We have a wonderful temperpedic at home, would you say the R5 is comparable? The small sample one at CW is hardly big enough to make a decision.

Sound like you got lucky with your unit...we got the ‘rush it off the line before we shut down for Covid’ model. But all the big problems are fixed and we’re working our way thru the smaller ones. We also love the floor plan. Suits us perfectly.

[Bob and Jeannette]

We had a Temperpedic at home and it was ok but the cushion got mushy after a year or two. I spent a lot of money on it and felt as though I had wasted it. The R5 on sale at Camping World was only about 2k and it is the best nights sleep that I have ever had. Jeannette likes it too. I would repurchase in a heartbeat.

[bcrvman]

Originally Posted by Knieriemen

Does anyone else have this model with multiple issues ? Bought new, custom order, last March, pre-Covid. We have had multiple system failures and many smaller issues. And no luck with Keystone accepting responsibility. The coach has spent most of its first year at Camping World under warranty repairs. We are at our wits end. Anyone else? We need help....

RV Life no longer has the Letters section we are used to from Trailer Life. We always got a lot of our questions answered there.

Thanks, in advance

Susan Knieriemen

Fortunately, there is no Camping World in Canada. I travelled across the country after buying our new 5er. The closest servicing dealer worked with me for the few items I couldn't fix myself, blinds, recliner, fireplace. I removed those items and put them in my truck and drove to the dealer. There is NO way I will park my RV on a dealer's lot unless I can stay in it overnight and for no longer than 4 nights. So far so good. I have not heard anything good about CW and the few times I was in a store in the US was not impressed. Too bad somebody didn't tell you that if you want to own an RV you better be an electrician, plumber, carpenter and generally handy at DIY. Good luck. FYI, the closest dealer for Keystone did NOT do warranty work anymore since he got burnt by Keystone one too many times.

[BiggarView]

Originally Posted by Knieriemen

Forgot to add that the ATS was also an issue. Failed while at CW getting satellite , w/d added . CW replaced the ATS with a different model that no longer connects t o out power failure monitor. And you’re correct again in that the correct model of ATS is now out of production. And Progressive Dynamics doesn’t know when they’ll be making them again. Which makes me wonder what do we do when - or if - this one fails again.

IN theory, unless one has a built in genset... you don't need the ATS. We got ours with the gen prep only. We have a portable genset which plugs into the shore power cord through an adapter when needed. If the our replacement fails under warranty... Not sure what we will do about that. Currently I'm entertaining plans of adding a separate 30Amp connection at the front of the rig so we can plug in to our portable genset in the truck bed using a short power cord to use the A/C to cool the RV while moving to a new campsite. In that instance the ATS will switch to that line to provide power to the RV.

ON the mattress... we already had a 3" topper. from the stix 'n brix... RV bed is very comfy with it.

[Theo]

Have a 2018 3811MS had many issues with it dealer was good BUT when the roof started lifting off the radius on the side an other areas they only wanted to repair not replace unit had been sitting an not moved in 6 months keystone could care less about their customers
W9 t buy a new one ever again

[BiggarView]

Originally Posted by Bob and Jeannette

Wow. We have a 3813 legacy. I installed the drain caps that came with the unit, replaced the mattress with a sleep number R5, screwed in a piece of crown molding and installed some power outlets.

We are very happy with ours, love the floor plan, tub ceiling height, washer dryer, closet space etc. Hope you find happiness! 😊

We love our Legacy FBP unit also, in spite of what I call mostly minor issues. Level up system aside. Where did you add power outlets? I want to add one in the hutch area. The quibbles don't really bother me too much. Only add for us so far is peel and stick under counter lights with motion sensors that are USB rechargeable. instead of their intended application, we strategically placed them in the hall near the bedroom door, near the foot of the bed and in the walk through to the bathroom. No stumbling in the dark. We recharge one each day for an hour as a part of our routine so by the third day all three have been charged. Works for us.