Montana a Lemon?

[mmikemitchell]

I bought a new Montana Mountaineer this year and have already had more trouble than a person should. I know the Mountaineer is the lower line of the Montana, but I was assured by Mike Thompson RV that they were all built the same, just had less bells and whistles.

I gravitated to the Montana because a couple of people said they liked their model. Could it be Keystone isn't building quality anymore?

I haven't had enough experience with new 5th wheels to know if the poor workmanship is normal, or if I got a bad deal.

So far:
Black tank leaked because the gate was installed incorrectly.
Flush out valve was put in backwards and didn't work.
Spare tire almost fell off and was bouncing on the freeway.
Weight of the couch has broken the molding because the full wight of the couch rests on the molding.
Trim fell off the island.
Shower doors won't stay in the track (poor design)
Vanity door almost fell off because of loose screws.
Bedroom drawers didn't shut.
Bedroom door didn't latch.
Screen door plastic slider won't stay in track.
Toilet won't hold water.

At this point I'm wondering if it will stay together long enough to get rid of.

I expect a few things going wrong, but isn't this over the norm?

Keystone company has not been responsive to my complaints. Remains to be seen if they will pay for the repairs I have already made.

[mmikemitchell]

We travel with everything closed and straps are built in on things like TV and chairs. Straps are the way to go.

[hmar1]

sorry OP for the diversion.

I have the Alpine 3720FB similar layout, but they moved the washer/dryer space to a separate cabinet, and we only have one sink..
do you travel with the closet doors open or closed? closed and latched I can't get them to stay on the track. I'm thinking of adding a strap to hold them open while traveling.


2012 Ford F350 DRW, 6.7 diesel.
2013 Keystone Alpine 3720FB
We travel with doors closed and latched

[kroghville]

We have a 2012 Montana 3400 RL and have only towed a little over 5000 miles. So far, the only issue was the electric motor that runs the hydraulic pump died. It was promptly resolved by Keystone. Other than that, everything has been absolutely flawless. I'm wondering if you happenened to get a "made on Friday" unit. Sorry to hear about your misfortunes though. Hope you can get them resolved and "Keep Smiling"!!!

[kakampers]

minnow wrote:

bobx2 wrote:
8 of the 11 problems there is no way you would catch in a PDI. Most of them weren't a problem at that time. Let's not make this sound like it's the buyers fault. There is no excuse for poor quality workmanship, and the blame goes squarely on the shoulders of the manufacturer's.

X2 !! Love the RV manufacture apologists as well as those that always offer the always very helpful "I have one of those and have never had a problem" comments. I can't for the life of me understand why it's OK to spend $30,000 and up and then find on the first trip out that plumbing was connected backwards or leaks, trim falls off the wall, cabinets pulling off the wall, etc and sit back in wonderment why others complain about the shoddy manufacturing.

Heck...I bought a brand new model home...third day in it cranked up my new washing machine....heard a strange noise from the basement, ran downstairs to a totally flooded laundry room. Plumber had installed the check valve backwards in the drain for the washer! Had a punch list longer than any I've ever had on a RV...

[goducks10]

Like they say "You need to be either rich or handy to own one". Sooner or latter the warranty runs out and we're on our own.

[TXiceman]

With any large manufactured piece of equipment, you can expect a few small things to go wrong, but some of the basic things you are listing are just plain sloppy workmanship and should have never left the plant.

But as long as people buy the junk, the manufacturers will continue to sell the junk.

Even on out HitchHiker Champagne we have had a few minor things...a sink drain leaked in the kitchen and the fancy vessel sink in the bath leaked at the base. Both of these I fixed.

So to the new buyer, get a good PDI list and give the dealer a copy and tell him this is what you will be checking and you will not sign the papers until the unit is demonstrated at 100% and the PDI list is 100%.

Ken

[mmikemitchell]

We bought the 5th wheel in Calif (mike thompsons), big mistake, but I'm not going into that one.

We live in Wash during the summer, Calif in the winter (or other warm place).


I do understand the quality issue. We are all to blame for that when we scout for the cheapest product. Talk quality to a young person and watch their eyes glaze up.

I can fix all of the problems myself and probably will so I get a good job. Just urks my to pay a lot of money for something new and have it fall apart.

[bpounds]

mmikemitchell wrote:

So far:
Black tank leaked because the gate was installed incorrectly.
Flush out valve was put in backwards and didn't work.
Spare tire almost fell off and was bouncing on the freeway.
Weight of the couch has broken the molding because the full wight of the couch rests on the molding.
Trim fell off the island.
Shower doors won't stay in the track (poor design)
Vanity door almost fell off because of loose screws.
Bedroom drawers didn't shut.
Bedroom door didn't latch.
Screen door plastic slider won't stay in track.
Toilet won't hold water.

I don't blame the buyer/owner, and there obviously is a lot of room for quality control improvement at every RV manufacturer. With some of the gripes that I read at times, I wonder if any of us could afford to own the RV we own today, if our desires were industry standard.

As for the list of issues the OP had,

I don't even know how you can install a gate valve wrong. No excuse for that one.

The tank flusher is an easy, and it seems common, mistake to make. By the time two poly hoses are pulled through the carcass and usually up under a lavatory, it is pretty easy to get the two mixed up when the valve is set. Still, they should get it right. Easy to fix it yourself, right?

Those spare tire carriers on the bumper are junk. Can't really blame that only on Keystone. None of them should be mounted there. I put my tire in the under bed storage.

Then a whole list of stuff that sounds like a list you would have on a new stick/brick house. Cosmetic mostly. Easy to fix stuff.

Lastly the toilet not holding water is probably simply the seal dried out. Lots of us have dealt with that. There is even an instruction sheet with the toilet that shows you how to recover the seal with some hot water. Or, a new seal is a 2 minute job.

I don't mean this to sound like I am dissing the OP. You said you were new at this. Your expectations might be higher than is realistic with this industry. Don't give up on your rig, just deal with it and work through the issues. Keep in mind though, if you don't learn to fix some stuff yourself you are going to continue to be frustrated.

You never did reply to my question about Mike Thompson versus your location in WA.

[mich800]

minnow wrote:

bobx2 wrote:
8 of the 11 problems there is no way you would catch in a PDI. Most of them weren't a problem at that time. Let's not make this sound like it's the buyers fault. There is no excuse for poor quality workmanship, and the blame goes squarely on the shoulders of the manufacturer's.

X2 !! Love the RV manufacture apologists as well as those that always offer the always very helpful "I have one of those and have never had a problem" comments. I can't for the life of me understand why it's OK to spend $30,000 and up and then find on the first trip out that plumbing was connected backwards or leaks, trim falls off the wall, cabinets pulling off the wall, etc and sit back in wonderment why others complain about the shoddy manufacturing.

I completely agree the Mfg's and dealers need to up their game. But I am not sure where the above statistic comes from. Nearly all if not all should have been discovered pre delivery. None of the stated problems were hidden if tested.

[minnow]

bobx2 wrote:
8 of the 11 problems there is no way you would catch in a PDI. Most of them weren't a problem at that time. Let's not make this sound like it's the buyers fault. There is no excuse for poor quality workmanship, and the blame goes squarely on the shoulders of the manufacturer's.

X2 !! Love the RV manufacture apologists as well as those that always offer the always very helpful "I have one of those and have never had a problem" comments. I can't for the life of me understand why it's OK to spend $30,000 and up and then find on the first trip out that plumbing was connected backwards or leaks, trim falls off the wall, cabinets pulling off the wall, etc and sit back in wonderment why others complain about the shoddy manufacturing.

[caberto]

Sorry to hear about the issues, I would get with the dealer or manufacturer to make things right... but just so you know, our 2010 Keystone Cougar has been great (knock on wood) since we bought it new.

[Allworth]

You got the last one off the line on a Friday afternoon before a holiday weekend!

[Mountaineer42]

bobx2 wrote:
8 of the 11 problems there is no way you would catch in a PDI. Most of them weren't a problem at that time. Let's not make this sound like it's the buyers fault. There is no excuse for poor quality workmanship, and the blame goes squarely on the shoulders of the manufacturer's.

Agree. With 5ths and TTs, they are all junk. Instead of sometimes you get a lemon it's sometimes you get a good one.

[jffkrn]

I agree that the manufactures are not doing things the old way and making sure we get quality products. That comes with a multitude of things we buy everyday. Stand your ground and make sure the dealer / manufacture makes it all right and keep documentation on the stuff. Go to the "Lemon Law" info on the computer if you haven't already and check out to make sure your unit doesn't fall into that category. if so, do what you got to do to delete it and move forward. Don't let anyone push you around and make sure you keep documentation of all items, conversations etc. Good Luck and Be Safe ! ! !