Unhappy Montana owner right now!

[richfaa]

Parked next to a new Forest River TH at a Flying J on out way to Florida yesterday. He liked the looks of the Big Sky and asked who made it. He began telling me of all the problem he has had with his less that a year old TH like dump valves labeled wrong it took 2 months to have a bad A/C unit replaced and light fixtures that came off the wall. He said he would never buy another forest River product.. Sound familiar.

We have always had people compliment us on the Big sky it looks pretty they say and it does look pretty. That is usually followed by them telling us how unhappy they are with all the problems they are having with whatever brand they have. I always hope they do not ask me if we have had any problems with ours as if they do I will tell them.They ask us if we like the Big Sky and our reply is ..we do...

As I have aid many times these things are far more alike than different.

[mlh]

If you have an RV that isn't giving trouble, might be wise to keep it.
A neighbor just bough a high end 5er $125000. It will be interesting to see if he has any trouble with it.
Lynwood

[Golfmedik]

I do know that things could be much worse, but not being able to talk to a living soul at Keystone INFURIATES me! They want to talk to the dealer only. They feel that I am not their customer, the dealer is and I am the dealer's customer. But when you have this many problems and these TYPES of problems, and the unit has spent a full third of the 6 months we've had it in and out of the dealer, it gets maddening at times. I fought FR hard on something they KNEW they had done wrong and everyone from the chief engineer to the warranty department was just a phone call away and if they didn't answer, they called within a timely manner. I have to take it back yet again as stated earlier. Thank goodness the dealer is only about 35 minutes from home but GEEZ!!!

[dieselguy]

The consensus here seems to indicate if you trade ... you'll risk starting all over. I don't buy the conclusion of the consensus. I'd think real hard about taking a hit and moving on to something else if this continues to drag out much longer. Sanity and enjoying the RV life without fear of what will be the next shoe to fall would be worth the price to me. All manufacturers build a "lemon" from time to time and you surely got one.

[TLightning]

quote:Originally posted by Carole

TLightening, Sounds to me like Golfmedik has pretty much reached the last resort and he has been very patient and tactful in dealing with Keystone. You should not have to pay that much money for an Rv that was meant to be enjoyed and end up with a new one that is falling apart. I did not suggest a lawsuit just talking to a lawyer to see what the options are. I believe in being courteous and patient to begin with but there comes a time to persue other avenues with large companies. I like my Montana, did have some problems like delamination on the storage doors and side wall, but our dealer was fantastic and saw that they were taken care of in a timely manner. Keystone should step up to the plate and take his Rv back. It's just not right to be treated the way Golfmedik has been. Just my opinion.

You have to keep going up the chain of command. My old motor home had some missing and broken welds that held the body to the chassis. The dealer knew about it, but did not tell us. When I started writing letters, I was turned down by several people..."we are sorry, but it's out of warranty." I finally got hold of a guy up the chain with enough horsepower to apologize and told me to bring it to the factory so they could fix it. Fix it they did, including other items I had not mentioned, all without cost, and reimbursed me for all my fuel.

On edit, we bought it new.

[mlh]

I'm not sure if this camper was mine if fire wouldn't be following it.
Lynwood

[sambam]

Kudos to Golfmedic for his patience and resolve. I can assure you I am not built to handle the adversity he has been put through. This is way past the point of Keystone buying it back. And they can't even talk to him? I agree with Carole at this point. Even if I did get it back "all fixed", I'd be scared to pull it anywhere for fear of what was going to happen next.

[Golfmedik]

quote:Originally posted by sambam

Kudos to Golfmedic for his patience and resolve. I can assure you I am not built to handle the adversity he has been put through. This is way past the point of Keystone buying it back. And they can't even talk to him? I agree with Carole at this point. Even if I did get it back "all fixed", I'd be scared to pull it anywhere for fear of what was going to happen next.

It truly does make me wonder what the rest of the studs look like

[Golfmedik]

BEYOND MAD!!!!!!! First trip out, 50 miles from home and the wall separated again! The dealer's GM has been notified and is calling Montana. The repair facility now says that they will not touch it anymore. I've got to be very careful as to what I say as not to violate forum rules, but next week, the fight begins!

[Razrbk]

quote:Originally posted by Carole

I'm afraid I'd have to be talking to a lawyer.

X2

[DQDick]

Definately sounds like the time to get legal advise.

[sambam]

Yeah, you've been about as patient as anyone can be. It's time to take the gloves off.

[TLightning]

Just be prepared to get nothing from Keystone once you call in a lawyer, they won't even talk to you. It will be "our lawyer will call your lawyer."

[Golfmedik]

I've had a few hours to try to calm down a bit, but still hasn't happened. The GM of my dealer is calling higher up the chain at Montana. Until I hear back, still contemplating what to do. Bad thing is we have trips planned and paid for for every three weeks until February. To be frankly honest, I don't expect a lot from them at this point considering the extremely limited conversation I've had with them.

[waynemoore]

I know this will cost. BUT life is far too short to be living under all this stress and stress can kill. Trade the rig in on a new one. There in just no way this RV is ever going to be right. Even if it is in your mind it never will. Every time you take it out you will be stressing thinking something is about to go wrong. Driving down the road with your gut in a knot is just no way to enjoy a trip. JMHO

[Golfmedik]

I will be at the dealer first thing in the morning. I am now concerned about future delamination in the left front wall of the rig as it has now been removed three times already and the wood backing on the fiberglass is almost nonexistent as it has been pulled and torn when separating the wall the last two times it has been in for repairs. Even though we've tried to have a relaxing weekend, lots of things about where to go from here with this rig has kept being brought up. I'm so disappointed and really ticked with this rig it's unsettling. I will post updates when I can. Thanks for listening.

[jcurtis934]

Time to ditch the dog is good advice at this point. You could also donate it to the local fire department so they can use it for fire training/video and take the writeoff. John

[Carl n Susan]

It sounds to me like it is time to replace the entire wall. Ideally the new wall will not have the structural problems you have currently. While it sounds impossible, replacing the wall isn't too bad a job. This is a factory task and not something your dealer can do. Replacing a wall isn't as difficult as you might think but does require some experience assembling RVs.

In my case (for a similar issue), Montana built a new left wall and trucked it to their Cougar plant in Pendleton, OR. They also towed my RV from my dealer here in CA to meet the wall. A few weeks later it was back to me. There is another member here who had a similar replacement on a Montana model no longer manufactured and way out of warranty.

I suggest you have your dealer push for the wall replacement. It has been done before and it is much more likely to happen than a replacement RV.

[Golfmedik]

I've actually heard of this before. The problem though is not originating in the wall I don't think. I believe it is in the area of the generator as you can hear quite a bit of popping when the jacks are used both ways. Not really sure as my others did similarly, just not as loudly.

[Golfmedik]

I know the phone is held the wrong way, but was holding a 70 pound Aussie on a leash too. Hopefully this will play.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h-j-jw_B97U