Trouble bringing new Montana home - Montana Owners Club

gj4040 · 05-01-2007, 02:33 AM

While doing the PDI on our new 3000RK I found two tires low ( 45 to 50 lbs ) on air. The service tech said they would check for leaks and refill the tires. Before pulling out the next day I checked all tires again and the two in question both had 73 lbs in them. Finally got on the road at 5.00 pm ( 80-90) eastbound on a rough road and the ride while pulling was not very good. Nearing I-75 South the road and ride improved and we started South. At about midnight we pulled into a Wal-mart in Lexington, Ky to rest and eat. At 5.00 am , before pulling out I checked the tires and found one flat and one with only 45 lbs in it again. Spent the next two hours trying to get the flat tire off and the other one aired up with a portable air compressor. Finally got back on the road and home by noon. Upon taking the two tires into a nearby tire repair center we found the valve stems to be defective and leaking. The service repair guy advised that the valve stems were a very poor quality and needed to be replaced with a better quality, high pressure valve that could be tightened on the rim. The new valve stems were put in and I'm in the process of replacing the stems in the other three tires as two on them are slowly losing air also. Next I 'll have to address the very rough ride on poor roads. Not a great start to my first experience to fifth wheel towing.

richfaa · 05-01-2007, 02:43 AM

We have also had to replace all the OEM valve stems. If I were taking delivery on one now I would have all the stems replaced before leaving the dealers lot.Give the ride a chance. I assume you drove it home fairly empty you may be light on pin weight. On VERY rough roads even ours with both the Mor Ryde suspension and the Mor ryde pin box will chuck some.You may want to consdier the Mor-Ryde or similar pin box in the future. You are right ..not good to start out with a negative experience..First impressions last.

Bill and Lisa · 05-01-2007, 02:45 AM

Sorry to hear about your "rough" start with your Montana. Thank you for sharing. I am going to check my valve stems to see what they are like. They should be the metal reinforced stems but I don't know for sure so thanks to you I will check and hopefully avoid the same predicament you found yourself in.

Bill

Mudchief · 05-01-2007, 03:54 AM

Sorry to hear about your problems but glad you made it home. Things will only get better.

Cyrus · 05-01-2007, 04:09 AM

I posted a week or so ago about having the same problem with valve stems leaking. The magic number seems to be 40-50 lbs vice holding the 85lbs. Only had my unit about 7 months, about 500 miles and replaced one last year now the second one with same problem. Before it goes out again I am replacing the three on the road and the spare. The ones on my unit are high pressure type with the metal stem and leak where the rubber portion goes through the wheel.

DonandJudy_12 · 05-01-2007, 04:42 AM

Rubber stems are intended for passenger tires only- Metal stems are used on all big trucks to withstand the higher pressures we must use to properly use the tires on our coaches- Any compentent tire store or truck tire center can install the proper stems- Don

VanMan · 05-01-2007, 04:50 AM

gj4040 and other new owners - don't forget to retorque the lug nuts every so often until they stay snugged up !!

Trailer Trash 2 · 05-01-2007, 04:57 AM

Too bad about the valve stims, you should send the bill to the people that preped your 5er and ask for a refund. Good thing the tire didn't come off the rim, or come apart and do some trailer damage.
Sometimes a bad start can mean smooth sailing the rest of the trip, I hope thats the only problem you ever have with your new trailer.

gj4040 · 05-01-2007, 08:38 AM

It sounds like the tire stems that Keystone is using on the high pressure rims are of an inferior quality. I would think that Keystone must have knowledge of this problem by now and should have taken steps to correct the problem. I believe this to be a serious safety issue and will contact NATSA about it. I could have had much more serious problems had I not stayed on top of the tire pressure problem. I also was fortunate to have a very good torque wrench with me when removing and replacing tires.

cmp-shooter · 05-01-2007, 09:45 AM

All machines NEED maintance..new is no different, the only difference is that new = less chance of out of pocket$$$$.

I always do a pretrip and while not doing anything at my site I look for more stuff.....

you'll get used to it and it will STILL BE FUN!!

(BUY A GOOD TOQURE WRENCH, when you see a rv broke down on the side of the interestate see if it's got all tires

rldriver · 05-01-2007, 09:55 AM

When we picked up our Big Sky the spare was missing. After further questioning I found out it was flat and the dealer had it sent out to replace the valve stem. I guess I better get out and check the tires again to see if they are holding air.

Delaine and Lindy · 05-01-2007, 06:43 PM

I run 110 lbs of air pressure in all tires on the 5er. And have Alcoa Aluminum wheels with steel valve stems. I highly suggest if you don't have steel or metal valve stems get them. If I'm not mistaken the Big Sky GVWR is over 16,000, I may be wrong on that. But if I was towing a Big Sky it would have metal valve stems, and the Pressure Pro monitoring system. Most all tire failure is caused by low air pressure. GBY......

dscott · 05-02-2007, 02:32 AM

Thanks, for the info on on the valve steams I'am going to change mime A.S.A.P.

SlickWillie · 05-02-2007, 02:35 AM

I had the issue with the valve stems. I called Keystone back around the first of 07, and they wanted to say valve stems were not a warranty item. Finally they agreed to reimburse me for having them changed out. I'm still waiting for the check. They're all the same, your best buddy when you're buying an RV, then suddenly they forget who you are when you have issues with the unit. Leaking, inferior quality valve stems from the factory are not a maintenance issue, they are a manufacturing issue. I keep a good digital gauge and infrared thermometer in the truck, and when tires won't hold the recommended pressure (80 lbs on my unit) for 200 miles, they become a safety concern.

I still have a couple stems to change, and I think the NHTSA may be the correct route to pursue. Thanks for the idea. It's not the $20 I spent for the stems to be changed, but merely the idea RV manufacturers use such poor quality products in the RVs, then don't want to rectify the failure of those products.

richfaa · 05-02-2007, 03:02 AM

Far be it from me to defend keystone, as the ultimate responsibility for everything in the entire camper Is Keystones responsibility(at least for the first year)...However.. The axles, springs, wheels , Tires, Mor-Ryde suspension, that entire unit comes to keystone as a pre assembled unit. If you have been on the factory tour you understand that..Keep in mind that keystone assembles a camper from vendor supplied items.When a vendor provided item fails I ALWAYS contact the vendor first, no matter what anyone may say about doing that and I have received excellent service from the vendors. It is actually the vendor that warranties the item, keystone only agrees to address it during the first year.IMO the vendor has greater knowledge as to what is warrantied and under what conditions than keystone.As a matter of fact it is a good idea to read all the vendor supplied warranty information (is you got any) to better understand where you stand regarding warrinties.

Ozz · 05-02-2007, 03:29 AM

I had metal stems put in mine before I drove it anywhere, no tire expert here, just sounded good to me. I think I read it somewhere on this or another Forum. I sat on the ground and took two at a time to the tire shop for the work.
A guy sometimes just doesn't know when buying a new toy.
I would suggest the screw on tire pressure monitors, I love mine, just walk around the rig, as long as the little indicator is Green, you are at pressure, I have them on all tires; 9 of them. (None on truck spare)
I would think that anything that arrives at the dealer should be good for a few thousand miles, good luck with your Monte, it will be better, it's a shame that happened to you as a first experience, you keep worrying about it after that.
Good luck, keep us updated.
I like; stike that, LOVE the campbell Hausfeld tire pressure gauge.
I put an accessory end on it that locks onto the tire stem and allows you to just hold the gauge, works super for deflating the tire as well. (The one in this link has one on it.)
I got mine at an automotive parts store.
Do yourself a favor, get one.
http://www.aircompressorsdirect.com/...roducts_id=761
Accupressure tire caps
http://www.accu-pressure.com/

SlickWillie · 05-02-2007, 03:38 AM

Quote:

quote:Originally posted by richfaa

Far be it from me to defend keystone, as the ultimate responsibility for everything in the entire camper Is Keystones responsibility(at least for the first year)...However.. The axles, springs, wheels , Tires, Mor-Ryde suspension, that entire unit comes to keystone as a pre assembled unit. If you have been on the factory tour you understand that..Keep in mind that keystone assembles a camper from vendor supplied items.When a vendor provided item fails I ALWAYS contact the vendor first, no matter what anyone may say about doing that and I have received excellent service from the vendors. It is actually the vendor that warranties the item, keystone only agrees to address it during the first year.IMO the vendor has greater knowledge as to what is warrantied and under what conditions than keystone.As a matter of fact it is a good idea to read all the vendor supplied warranty information (is you got any) to better understand where you stand regarding warrinties.

I understand your point of view, but I feel like the statement you made in your first sentence. I have no intention of contacting independent vendors during the Keystone warranty period. I purchased my unit from a Keystone dealer, not Lippert or Surburban. They (Keystone)can deal with vendors. The issue of the valve stems left a bitter taste in my mouth, and I can assure you I will enforce all warranty issues that come up, whatever be the avenue that they choose. I had previously done the labor when they supplied the parts, but I am through with that. Just my personal opinion.

Emmel · 05-02-2007, 03:50 AM

I agree with both Ozz and richfaa on the metal valve stems, change them out!
Slickwillie, when you call the NHTSA to turn in Keystone for using inferior products to assemble their Montanas/Mountaineers, don't forget to relate to them the inferior parts GM used to assemble your truck!
You'll notice I drive a GMC and will defend them also, since they use suppliers for their valve stems too. Ive never seen a forum that relates problems with the tires on the trucks, but I'm sure if I did a search, I'd find one.

SlickWillie · 05-02-2007, 04:51 AM

Deleted

richfaa · 05-02-2007, 06:36 AM

slickwillie....I understand your fustration..Same here.Note that I had 26 items on my service center repair list both large and small as I feel we need to bring these failures to the attention of keystone as they have the ultimate responsibility of the quality of the vendor supplied items. We the consumer are part of the poor quality issue as we fail to hold the Manufacture responsible as we should. I do not disagree with your point,,However the reality is that the vendor provides the warranty and IMO they know their warranty better than the Rv manufacturer..We may have better luck dealing with the vendor than keystone. My valve stems were replaced by my local tire guy as a service they provide to good customers. I dealt directly with Dometic with our Fridge problem with speedy results..as they said..it is our warranty, not Keystones. The same case with Apollo with excellent results. I did in all cases notify Keystone of the problems..for the record. My 1 year Keystone Warranty is up in a couple of week but I have a lengthly List of issues "on record" with Keystone...just in case. Remember after the 1 year Keystone Warranty you will have to deal with the Vendor or a Extended Warranty company..(I do have one of those) More folks should be reporting safety related issues to the NSTB..I do.. If we do nothing...nothing will happen...

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