Problem with slides

[Petunia]

Hi, we're new to this site and also as a 2002 Montana 3295 owners with a triple slide. We bought this lovely unit thinking we would be spending the winter in Arizona. We bought it used in Sept/07 and never used it until July 2008. We took it out for a practice run and had not a problem. We got back home, went to unload the fridge till the next trip. We went to put the slides out but when we did this the L.R./ D.R. slide tore right off the floor. We took it to be repaired and just got it home Dec 23/08 when it was -35 C. Of course due to the very cold weather we have here, we haven't been able to see if it is working properly. The thing we noticed is that the B.R. and L.R. slides are pushed out about 6". Is this normal? Can anyone tell me what could have caused the floor to rip apart from the walls? Is there something we should be doing differently? We made very sure that it was level everytime we parked before we put out the slides. The repair shop that we took it to said the floor was rotten, but we seen the unit when it was apart and could not see any sign of rotten plywood or anywhere that it had bee leaking. The repairshop put another sheet of plywood on top of the old, then used angle iron to hold the floor and the walls together. They said this should never happen again. We are very concerned now that we see the slides out about 6 inches by themselves, what causes this, etc. and we are wondering if there might be a problem with the settings for the hydraulic system. Is there some way the slides can twist to cause it to rip off the floor like that? We phoned Keystone Montana in Indiana but the tech there told us it was caused by someone walking on the slide when it was in. This probably caused it to be unbalanced. Has anyone every heard of this? This is a beautiful unit and seemed to be in excellent shape other than the decals were peeling a bit. Thanks for any helf you offer

[HamRad]

Petunia,

We have the exact same unit. I've never heard of this happening. But I can understand it could happen because the rams that push and pull the slides are very powerful. But obviously something went wrong to cause that damage. I find it hard to believe that the Keystone Tech would say something like that. We have walked on ours while the slides were in and have never encountered such a thing. And the slides going out 6 inches by themselves is something that should NOT occur. It makes me wonder if the repair shop knew what the heck they were doing! The slides should be tight up against the body of the coach.

Your best bet is to find a shop that knows how to fix the problem. If you can; get the thing to the repair service center in Goshen, IN. They can and will fix it. They are very good.

We love our unit. Our decals had really gotten rough looking. Curled up, shrunk, faded and in general just very unattractive. While at Quartzsite this past week we had the good fortune of having the other attendees removed the old ones and put on the new ones. It looks like new again.

Of course with the temps being so cold I'm sure it is very difficult to do anything with the trailer.

Good luck and keep us informed as to what you discover and end up doing.

HamRad

[rames14]

I think you are getting some bum info. First, the plywood used on the deck is lifetime warranty marine grade. Unless your unit had a bad leak somewhere, I don't understand that. As hamrad said, I doubt that walking on it caused the problem. A few members have noted that their slides do move out but they shouldn't. I'm not sure what has caused that. I would call Montana and get a recommendation for a good servicing dealer in your area and have this looked at. Or, if you don't mind scheduling a trip to the midwest, take it to Camp Keystone. This is what they call the service facility in Goshen. If you make an appointment and get there, they generally handle your issues very reasonably. We have not personally used it, but everyone who has have raved about it. You can generally stay in your rig while there - hence the name Camp Keystone. Best of luck.

[ols1932]

Petunia,
In December '04 in Blythe, CA., our living room slide did the same thing. Our unit is a 2000 3555RL. The slide mechanism tore right out of the floor. The bolts holding the mechanism were pulled right through the floor! We took the rig back to Tucson, AZ., to Beaudry RV where it was repaired. Though our unit was four years old, Keystone paid the bill!

When Beaudry repaired it, they installed angle iron the full length of the slide through which the bolts were installed. We accepted the failure as "one of those things that happen." There had not been any leaks or anything that had happened to weaken the floor, thus allowing the bolt heads to pull through. I believe it was probably because there should have been large washers installed under the heads of the bolts.

Because Keystone paid our bill, I'm assuming they know or knew of the problem. You might check with them to see if they might help you out.

Orv

[bob n pam]

Petunia, we had to the same thing happen to our 2001 2955RL just last summer. The bolts were pulling through the floor while we were coming back from Alaska. The repair shop in Whitehorse called Keystone and the recommended repair was exactly how they fixed yours. Our shop added more bolts as well. I agree with Orv (ols1932) that there should have been washers and/or a piece of angle iron as a reinforcement. We phoned Keystone about the problem, plus a couple of others, and even though our rig is almost 8 years old, they sent us a check for part of the repair costs.

Pam

[Petunia]

Thanks to all that replyed to our problem. We appreciate any feedback that you give. We are from Alberta Canada and it is a little "iffy" to get Goshen??? Where is that? Indiana?