Newbie to Montana High Country

[Rockstar48]

Just bought a used 2018 Montana High Country HM375FL. Not the best starting experiences.... mystery broken window, fantastic fan gear closure issue (will replace), water leaking behind water outlets in convenience center, toilet seal ring does not hold water, and an ice maker water shut off valve that was not even seated tightly in the tubing.... leaked badly when we turned on the water. Found the second shut off under sink, so we’re good for now. Not a great start - thought Montana was better than that... anyway, once we get all fixed, should be great! Wish us luck.... any advice would be helpful!

[rames14]

Welcome to the forum. Sorry to hear about your rough start. Wondering why the previous owner wasn’t aware of and fix those issues? First off, Montana uses the same vendors as every other RV company. So, let’s address the issues. The toilet not holding water can many times be fixed by cleaning the seal and using gasoline on the seal. There are two primary manufacturers- Thetford and Dometic. Thetford tends to have more issues. Not sure which window broke and why. That can be anything from a rock from a mower, vandalism, etc. Water leaks happen. Yes, the ice maker waterline not seated is an issue. That should never have gotten past the PDI at the dealer. (The dealer should have checked every system in the coach for delivery) and the buyer should double check. Not sure about the gear box, but be sure to use 303 protectant on the seals. The rubber seals can become sticky and make the motor work harder to open causing premature failure. Remember that when you are driving down the road you have a hurricane going on in your rig. Things loosen up, regardless of brand. Once you get everything to your liking I’m sure you will enjoy it. Best of luck.

[jcurtis934]

The post previous should have noted vasoline on the seal. I suspect the spell checker gremlins was working away. Actually, plumbers silicone grease is designed for seal lube and available many places.

[Rockstar48]

Originally Posted by rames14

Welcome to the forum. Sorry to hear about your rough start. Wondering why the previous owner wasn’t aware of and fix those issues? First off, Montana uses the same vendors as every other RV company. So, let’s address the issues. The toilet not holding water can many times be fixed by cleaning the seal and using gasoline on the seal. There are two primary manufacturers- Thetford and Dometic. Thetford tends to have more issues. Not sure which window broke and why. That can be anything from a rock from a mower, vandalism, etc. Water leaks happen. Yes, the ice maker waterline not seated is an issue. That should never have gotten past the PDI at the dealer. (The dealer should have checked every system in the coach for delivery) and the buyer should double check. Not sure about the gear box, but be sure to use 303 protectant on the seals. The rubber seals can become sticky and make the motor work harder to open causing premature failure. Remember that when you are driving down the road you have a hurricane going on in your rig. Things loosen up, regardless of brand. Once you get everything to your liking I’m sure you will enjoy it. Best of luck.

Thanks for your thoughtful reply. I think we will enjoy our new (to us) Montana as we work through the issues. Many things on our list are not too far from issues / feedback that we’ve seen on this forum. I’m not so concerned about the use of inexpensive parts as I am about sloppy workmanship in some areas - particularly with plumbing connections. We’re also having problems with cable TV connections - as I suspect that there are either multiple splitters and / or faulty wiring connections in the coaxial cables - again as I’ve read from other owners. I’m looking at ways to either identify and correct the cable paths, run a new dedicated cable through the shell (not desirable), or leaving my cable modem / wifi in the compartment and just use streaming service to watch cable TV. Fortunately, our 5th wheel will be located permanently on a lake campground, so the road travel trailer shaking is behind us. But - all in all, we’re getting some help with repairs, can do some ourselves, and will start enjoying it more. Thanks again for your reply.

[rames14]

Greg, on the TV, a couple of quick questions. First, do you have the Winegard 360+? I added the Winegard Gateway to ours and it allows me to bring in external WiFi and broadcast my own SSID. Second, do you have KeyTV? If so, there are two things to look at. A lot of the connectors aren’t attached well according to some reports. Also, the diplexors have shown to be a problem sometimes. The easy checks would be put new ends on the wires and then swap diplexors. Just a suggestion.

[Rockstar48]

Originally Posted by rames14

Greg, on the TV, a couple of quick questions. First, do you have the Winegard 360+? I added the Winegard Gateway to ours and it allows me to bring in external WiFi and broadcast my own SSID. Second, do you have KeyTV? If so, there are two things to look at. A lot of the connectors aren’t attached well according to some reports. Also, the diplexors have shown to be a problem sometimes. The easy checks would be put new ends on the wires and then swap diplexors. Just a suggestion.

I’m not sure what is equipped on our unit. We have a winegard TV antenna, I believe, and have subscribed to Xfinity cable TV / internet service at the RV park. On our old 5th wheel (2003 Four Winds), I didn’t mind drilling thru the shell and installing a weatherproof connector, as there was no good cable connection on that unit. What I may do is get a coax cable tester and try to do some troubleshooting to identify cable paths, and evaluate the cable connectors as you’ve suggested. I think it is fixable.... but will take some time. Shudder to drill a hole thru the wall for one dedicated cable to fix an installation issue!

[mlh]

I had a friend who owned a little camper dealership. He said campers and people were a lot alike, when you get the skin off there isn’t much difference in them.
Lynwood

[jsb5717]

I was having issues with our TV cable as well. I removed the wall in the belly storage and tightened all of the connections to the hub. Every one was pretty loose. I also pulled the wall plates and tightened those connections. Much better now.

[Rockstar48]

Originally Posted by jsb5717

I was having issues with our TV cable as well. I removed the wall in the belly storage and tightened all of the connections to the hub. Every one was pretty loose. I also pulled the wall plates and tightened those connections. Much better now.

Thx for your reply. The belly wall you removed .... was that the black “carpet look” wall material that is next to / behind the wall where the coax connectors are in the convenience center? Is it attached with screws or Velcro?

[jsb5717]

Originally Posted by Rockstar48

Thx for your reply. The belly wall you removed .... was that the black “carpet look” wall material that is next to / behind the wall where the coax connectors are in the convenience center? Is it attached with screws or Velcro?

With screws. I removed the panel on the door side and my coax hub was screwed to the floor right there. Yours might be different but you should be able to see it quickly.

[Rockstar48]

Originally Posted by jsb5717

With screws. I removed the panel on the door side and my coax hub was screwed to the floor right there. Yours might be different but you should be able to see it quickly.

Thx... is that wall pieced together so you can remove only what you need to see near the convenience center? Sorry for all the questions — as our unit is about 2 hours away.......

[jsb5717]

Originally Posted by Rockstar48

Thx... is that wall pieced together so you can remove only what you need to see near the convenience center? Sorry for all the questions — as our unit is about 2 hours away.......

Sorry, yes, it's the carpeted panel that covers all of the "guts" of plumbing, electrical, etc.

[Rockstar48]

Originally Posted by jsb5717

Sorry, yes, it's the carpeted panel that covers all of the "guts" of plumbing, electrical, etc.

Thx.... do you have to remove the entire panel along the compartment wall, or just a section near the convenience center? (Or just pull remove enough screws to pull it back to see the hub)? Sorry again - If I was at the unit, I could see in real time……! Appreciate your patience!

[DutchmenSport]

Congrats on your new purchase.

Campers are only as good as the people who own them and use them. They are a constant, I mean ... a constant repair job, if you want to keep them nice.

Quite obvious the previous owner just used and abused it. They didn't care. Use it, tear it up, and then expect to sell it for a fortune.

Good luck fixing the known issues, the big things. Just be prepared to spend the rest of your life fixing more. It never ends .... that is ... IF you want a nice camper you'll be proud of!

[jsb5717]

Originally Posted by Rockstar48

Thx.... do you have to remove the entire panel along the compartment wall, or just a section near the convenience center? (Or just pull remove enough screws to pull it back to see the hub)? Sorry again - If I was at the unit, I could see in real time……! Appreciate your patience!

You'll know better when you get to your unit. But I would remove just one panel and take a look. You'll know from there.

[Rockstar48]

Originally Posted by jsb5717

You'll know better when you get to your unit. But I would remove just one panel and take a look. You'll know from there.

Gotchya - Just hope the wall cover is sectioned off so I can just get access to coax connectors and cables. I’m thinking of getting a simple cable tester to help trace out how things are wired. If, when I solve, I’ll post the journey!

[Rockstar48]

Originally Posted by Rockstar48

Gotchya - Just hope the wall cover is sectioned off so I can just get access to coax connectors and cables. I’m thinking of getting a simple cable tester to help trace out how things are wired. If, when I solve, I’ll post the journey!

Well, I was able to pull that panel back today, and started testing cable connections with a coax tester. I did find what looked to be some sort of combiner behind the convenience center wall. Next step will be to try and isolate any coax that finds its way to my living room tv, reconfigure if necessary to use it as my main cable signal source. It sure looks like cheap connectors in the convenience center.....

If anyone has updated wiring diagrams for Montana High Country 5th wheels... please send a link!

[craigb]

In the RV world, the consumer is the only "quality control". It doesn't matter if it's new from the factory, from a dealer or your neighbor.

[JDDilly]

No diagrams available! The manufacturers don't give them out.

[Rockstar48]

Originally Posted by jsb5717

You'll know better when you get to your unit. But I would remove just one panel and take a look. You'll know from there.

Follow up on my wiring problem…… solved it today. I bought a coax tester (Klein Tools VDV512-101 Explorer 2 Coax Tester Kit) from Amazon, and did the following:
Selected 2 coax ports behind my main TV, and added two of the colored plugs from the tester. Went outside to the cable connections in the convenience center and tested each for continuity. All failed. Pulled the wall from the compartment next to the convenience center to gain access to the back of the coax connectors, and the “hub”. Checked all connectors for tightness, then one by one, disconnected each cable to look for the “one” that would get me to the connector behind my main TV. Found a continuous path, then went behind the TV to remove wall plate, disconnect the splitter, and finally was able to get a signal through. Then.... by reconnecting the convenience center jack, I determined my cable/ant Jack in convenience center was BAD!..... So, at the end of the day, after removing the hub and splitter at both ends of the desired cable, and replacing the convenience center Jack... we now have cable TV and internet in the 5th wheel. Hope this help someone out there. The tester really, really helped, and the feedback on this site helped me solve the issue!