Problems with new 2013

ron2560

New Member
Joined
Jun 18, 2013
Posts
5
Location
Saint Louis
Have many of you had to take the RV back to the dealership for little fixes (or big fixes) that were not discovered till you went rv'ing in it? Most of the problems we encountered were minor, however, should definitely not have been missed on the quality check at the factory.

Most major is a large crack in the kitchen table, and we are going to insist on a replacement table....don't you agree?

Interested to hear from you!

Ron and Diana
 
I think almost everyone of us has had to take the rig back to the dealer at least once during the warranty period. This is not uncommon. You have a house that is a rolling earthquake. Things shift, settle, bang, come loose, or tighten. You can only see so much in a walk-thru and quality check. I will say for us, after our first year, we have little to no issues. Table cracked - replace it. Absolutely. Good luck during the shake down period.
 
Please relay that information back to keystone one. Call the service center and speak to a service tech, let them know about the problem and any others you may have and tell them to record it on your record. VIN number.
 
You were very lucky. Some dealers also have their own campgrounds and have buyers stay there, but most don't. If you go on a factory tour you will see why they aren't perfect. First they make 15-18 or more a day. Second, when you go or come from Goshen it's not unusual to be passed by transport people towing Montana's (and all others) way too fast over some really bad roads. Third things can happen at the dealer both by them and by people looking thru the rigs. What's good about Keystone is that they will make it right. Be sure and contact Keystone Customer service in addition to the dealer. That way if things don't go as planned Keystone is up to speed on it from the start. And yes get a new table.
 
I've been back once and a couple small items myself, so far so good. I have purchased 3 brand new S&B in my life and have always had call backs. Had a friend once that during inspection of a new build $500K house found the roof pitch too shallow and not to code. All in all I'm happy.

Scott
 
On our 06 3400 we gave our dealer the PDI provided here on this forum. After they did that we spent two days 6 hours per day going over every inch that we could see. We found a couple of things we did not like and the dealer repaired them. We drove the 3400 out of the dealers lot without a visible problem in May of 2006. In December 06 2006 the thing caught on fire in Quartzsite cause was one of the hydraulic line was run next to a high amp line next to the frame. The high amp line wore on the frame , shorted and burned through the hydraulic line. The fluid caught fire. Fortunately the damage was was trip stopping but not fatal to the Montana. It was repaired at a dealer in Quartzsite and Keystone wrote a blank check for the repair.

Poor design, poor workmanship no quality control. That is the way it is. Now every problem we had large and small is on record with Keystone.

On our 13 3402 the dealer on their PDI found a frayed awning and would not deliver it to us until it was replaced by Keystone. How did that get out of the factory. we found the cable inputs in the service compartment wired backward.. How did that get out of the factory.

All we can do as owners is to bring all of these things to the attention of the Manufacturer and this is not Keystone bashing it occurs on all brands. If we all did that we might change things. Doing nothing contributes nothing. Keystone has been fair with me over the 7 years we have been owners the product and If I thought there was a better product in the price range I would have purchased it and not a second Montana.

I have no beef with Montana that I would not have with any other manufacturer. Build a better product.
 
Always seems to be some issues with a new rig, regardless of manufacturer. Decent dealer will make sure the table is replaced.
 
Your table should be fixed or replaced as is needed to make you satisfied. Items needing repair or replacing is a normal process for RVers. Our first Montana was purchased from North Gate RV owned by Billy Yates in Ringgold, GA and they were very thorough, we were well satisfied with their customer service. Once we told them when we wanted to pick up the RV they basically did full hookups and repeatedly checked everything out for several days to make sure it all worked correctly. We received a great walk-through with Alma Fountain a retired full time Montana RVer. We later had tv and stereo trouble which North Gate RV replaced with no issues. After the warranty expired I fixed a leaking drain line, replaced the power converter, and replaced the China tires with G614s, got new TrailAir pin box, and put on two new Marshall propane regulators. Also, Keystone re-streched the carpet at the fall rally. Now our current and second Montana was purchased from Lazydays of Tampa, FL. Lazydays is a large dealership selling many Montana coaches yearly. They fixed and adjusted several things on our current coach including replacing the couch, and the chair with folding stool, along with swapping out the propane regulators, pin box, and wheels/tires as part of the trade agreement. While traveling back to Tennessee this spring our power converter went our and Cullum and Maxie RV of Nashville replaced the converter through the warranty. Later we still had some issues and arranged for service during our travels at Lazydays of Tucson, AZ and they fixed a broken drawer latch under fridge, put in a new hall door to bathroom, and replaced a seal on one rear window. Later on and after some push-back from Flair Furniture I repaired one of the recliner chairs myself, and the rear window does not yet crank in properly and seal air tight. Also, there is a crack in one of the bedroom clothes closet doors. We are still under warranty, and plan to offer these issues to the tech at the fall rally and see what happens.
 
Not discounting the fact that the cracked table should have been caught at the factory however, its possible that happened after the unit was shipped. Wood has a way of taking on and giving up moisture quickly under certain circumstances. This may not be a factory QC issue due to the inherent nature of wood but I am sure they will replace it for you in any event. I guess what I am trying to say is that Keystone may have done everything in their power to make a reputable product but circumstances, beyond their control, made it appear that they didn't care.
 
Ron, what model Rv do you have? We have a 2013 Mountaineer 358rlt that has the stand alone island. Our table hit the island when slides
were in. Eventually, either the table or the island wood was going to be damaged. First my DH removed the screws holding the table in place but that didn't solve the problem so he completely resized the table and refinished it. I just wondered if you have a model with the island in it. If so I'm not sure even a new table of the same size, design will fix it if it is hitting island when traveling. We have had several items that we had to get our dealer, Dandy Rv in AL to take care of and they have been super. I've noticed that several people recommend contacting Keystone as well as your dealer and just wondered if that is necessary if your dealer is taking care of you. This is our 9th Rv and first Montana. It is far from perfect, but we really like it and have never had a dealer as competent to work with as this one has been. Hope you have the same results.
 
We took delivery of our new 2012 last year and had it home for a few weeks prior to taking our first big trip. Got to the beach and found the AC/DC converter never worked from day one and we had been running on battery power. I was able to get a battery charger and kept it on trickle for the week we were there and once back home got it right back to the dealer. Took a little convincing but they were able to get us fixed up and turned around for another camping trip within three weeks. There were all kinds of excuses why it took so long including they had to get the manufacturer of the converter to authorize the replacement. After that and some other little things we are happy campers.
 

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