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Old 09-23-2007, 06:53 AM   #1
Dean A Van Peursem
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Flexible plastic ribbon Cable carriers under slide

When we had our sagging super slide roof repaired this past week on our late 2006 3400RL I also had the dealer repair the flexible cracked ribbon cable carrier under the super slide. The dealer added about a 4" x 4" 1/4" rubber piece over the cracked area and attached one end to the normal bolts that hold the ribbon to the outer edge of the slide and then riveted the other end to the plastic ribbon. Kind of a band-aid fix but may hold up. I was told by dealer personnel that "They all break". If this is true then why isn't Montana calling these units in for a fix? Now that I am home again I sadly have discovered that the Entertainment Center slide ribbon is exhibiting the same problem, only worse. I must have been brain dead because I thought I had inspected this while we were at the dealer. Now another trip to a dealer will now be required. It just seems like an endless process to try and get all these factory/design defects repaired properly. I was hoping after 16 months that I was getting close to an end of this nonsense.
 
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Old 09-23-2007, 09:35 AM   #2
blarkman
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When mine broke on our 3000rk I used some bungee cords to hook it back up as I could see it hanging down while driving down the road. and felt it was a better fix. I feel it is too wide(high) and flexes too much.
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Old 09-23-2007, 10:03 AM   #3
DONnANNIE
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Some of the guys use a door hinge to attach to the ribbon cable/hose holder and the outside of the of the the slide.

I had one replaced by the dealer under warranty. I imagine that I'll have to use the hinge now that I'm out of warranty.

I have seen pictures, if you want to search for them. I can't seem to find them.

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Old 09-23-2007, 10:42 AM   #4
The Oldguard
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Quote:
quote:Originally posted by DONnANNIE

Some of the guys use a door hinge to attach to the ribbon cable/hose holder and the outside of the of the the slide.

I had one replaced by the dealer under warranty. I imagine that I'll have to use the hinge now that I'm out of warranty.

I have seen pictures, if you want to search for them. I can't seem to find them.

Don, here is the link to the pictures!!!
http://www.montanaowners.com/forums/showthread.php?t=13147&SearchTerms=,Thought,I''d,s hare
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Old 09-23-2007, 01:45 PM   #5
richfaa
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Strangely enough it seems that none of the vendors involved with that , Lippert,Montana, seemed to be aware of the problem . We pointed it out to them at the rally and took them to several Montana's with broken ribbon cables.. They took many notes. Lippert who puts that stuff together seemed to have no idea there was a problem...Huummmmmm???
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Old 09-23-2007, 02:03 PM   #6
Dean A Van Peursem
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Rich,

I'm convinced there is allot of "don't talk about" or "Act Dumb" that goes on relative to these kinds of issues. I'd be willing to bet a large sum of money it is a well known problem. My dealer knew about the problem, knew how to fix it, fixed it immediately and didn't even have to call Montana for authorization. Why they didn't check all of my ribbons is a bit disgusting. There is so much that goes on in this industry that is completely foreign to me. If they don't have to fix the problem under warranty, they can soak the customer later. Just not good business practice. It isn't whether they are going to break, it is when are they going to break?
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Old 09-23-2007, 04:12 PM   #7
CRUZIN 2
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With all the post about the plastic ribbon breaking I think that it would be better just to remove it and replace it with a common door spring. Then tie the cables up with plastic zip ties to the spring, here is a pic. to show you what I'm trying to explain.

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Old 09-24-2007, 07:26 AM   #8
blarkman
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looks like how it was done on our old 1999 Montana 2750
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Old 09-24-2007, 10:56 AM   #9
Ozzie
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...that door spring might be just the ticket for what I need...
I had a blowout last summer that took some weather stripping from under the big slide, and also lost the long spring that holds an outlet wire for the slide. That spring might be just the ticket, I'm getting tired of using bungee chords...
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Old 10-27-2007, 06:51 AM   #10
Dean A Van Peursem
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My Dealer called me today concerning this issue. I've had one slide cable carrier repaired on our our late 2006 3400RL and another that is cracked but still not repaired. I asked the dealer to find out what Keystone/Lippert was going to do about this widespread problem. He told me he had talked to Denny at Keystone and was told that they didn't know about the problem or that there even was one. I find that impossible to believe. Denny was going to check this forum to find out what was going on. Incredible!
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Old 10-27-2007, 01:13 PM   #11
richfaa
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We heard that same story "never heard of the problem" at the fall rally See My post on this thread of Sept 23rd.. Jason Lippert , the owner of Lippert and Aram Koltookian the product manage of Montana BOTH saw the problem so BOTH Lippert and Montana KNOW about the problem.. I was there..
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Old 10-27-2007, 02:17 PM   #12
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I do not know if the 2955RL is different or not, but on our slide the plastic is on a post and the plastic rotates around the post vs the picture I have seen where it is bolted to one of the support pieces and flexs. This is a Aug 2006 build date on our unit.
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Old 10-28-2007, 04:07 AM   #13
Dean A Van Peursem
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Bob,
On the late 2006 3400RL it swivels on a post at the Frame end but is bolted to the slide at the slide end. It appears to me that there should have been a post at both ends or the plastic ribbon carrier should be slightly longer so that it doesn't put so much stress on it at the slide end. Very poor design and I am very disgusted with Keystonme and Lippert for not owning up to the problem. Unless we hold their feet to the fire these kinds of idiotic designs will continue. We need to get agressive and get Keystone to be an ethical company. As far as I'm concerned they are NOT at the moment. They should have recalled and repaired these a long time ago.
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Old 10-28-2007, 04:55 AM   #14
stiles watson
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At the rally, I followed the Lippert guys around as they inspected several units with the plastic strips. One of the issues they identified was that the strips were wrongly placed so that they did not allow the strip to flex unincumbered. When the slide is pulled in, there needs to be room for the strip to fold without hitting the rails.

Most or all of the ones that cracked hit the slide rails when folded. We measured the strips' folding dimension on mine. there was enough room for the strip to fold properly and I haven't had the problem ... yet.
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Old 10-28-2007, 06:08 AM   #15
Dean A Van Peursem
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Stiles,

Interesting, I haven't checked to see how much stress is being put on the plastic carrier when the slide is closed. My analysis was that too much stress was being put on the carrier when the slide was fully out. I may have missed the real problem. I'll check again. Thanks. I just don't understand how Keystone and/or Lippert could deny responsibility on this issue. But if we fix the problem ourselves they have no incentive to live up to their responsibility. When the warranty costs get too high they will fix it.
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Old 10-28-2007, 08:04 AM   #16
stiles watson
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Lippert was going to talk to Keystone about placement. The plactic strip is supposed to fold without touching the rail in the closed position. If not, then the strip mounting on the frame needs to be moved back toward the rear of the unit until it folds properly.

Granted this may be all hype. It was on-the-spot engineering by those guys, but it does make some sense that if the strip does not have room to fold properly, it would put improper stress on the area that is cracking/breaking. The other side just lays against the frame when closed.

Every one of the broken/cracked strips I saw at the rally measured to indicate improper placement, i.e., too far forward. If this bears out to be true, then Keystone has an assembly problem rather than a design problem.
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Old 10-28-2007, 04:01 PM   #17
Dean A Van Peursem
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Having been a engineer at one time in my career and later was responsible for a fairly large manufacturing plant, placement of the attachment point is something that should be on a engineering drawing and if so it is a design problem. However, after what I have learned about how the internal wiring is done at the Keystone factory, placement may be at the whim of the assembly line worker. Very bad policy, disgusting and quality products will NEVER be achieved.
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Old 10-28-2007, 09:07 PM   #18
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Stiles, that is very interesting. Now that we know that Keystone & Lippert KNOWS about the problem, it will be interesting to see what they do about it. I have had one replaced with a new one about six months ago. I'll have to check it, but I bet it was installed in the same position as the broken one.
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Old 11-04-2007, 04:09 PM   #19
Dean A Van Peursem
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Our Carrier is positioned as far back on the slide as it can go. After further review I'm again convinced that the plastic carrier ribbon is too short putting too much stress on the end attached to the slide.
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Old 11-04-2007, 05:23 PM   #20
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FYI, the positioning alluded to was not on the slide side, but on the I-beam side. If the slide is closed, it should not touch the slide rail in the folded position according to the Lippert guys. Since the plastic strip is positioned on the rear part of the slide, the only place it can move is on the frame side.
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