Montana 3901RK Heads UP

[RV Vacation]

FYI: Theater seating is not fixed and can slide causing it to come in contact with the molding on the kitchen half-wall. In this case the molding was splintered as the chair was returned to the upright position.

Also, the furniture will slide into the path of the opposing slides which, when closed, will crush the seating and or damage the slides.

Shame on Keystone and the design staff.


This picture (pardon the orientation) shows the furniture moved slightly away from the kitchen half wall to allow clearance and permit the chair to recline. Unfortunately, now the furniture is in the path of the slide out. Forget about this when closing the slides and "SQUASH".



This picture shows what happens to the kitchen half wall molding when the furniture is held tight to the wall and out of harms way of the opposing slide outs.



Try sliding the seating in either direction and it will come apart at the console.

Oh what fun it is to own a Keystone Montana 3901RK.


Be well and safe travels. Your friend and mine,

John

[JRTJH]

Have you discussed this with Keystone? If so, what did they say?

[Camping family]

You can bolt it down. That’s what I had them do with mine

[RV Vacation]

Originally Posted by JRTJH

Have you discussed this with Keystone? If so, what did they say?

No JRJH, With my 50 years of experience in RVing, I do not see the need to "add salt to injury" and I think I am correct in saying contacting "Keystone" will only cause us more grief. Plus having read the "warranty info" and seeing "Keystone Buyers" need read the "warranty info" before buying any "Keystone" product, pretty much sums up, I will be heading to "Lowes" for a piece of molding and hopefully a matching solid stain.

Not trying to be sarcastic, I know the rules when buying an RV. It is all about "Murphy's Law", so no matter the price, year or model, RVers need to expect things to go wrong.

If my problem is the worst case scenario for us, I shall be a "happy camper".

My initial post is to alert other 3901RK owners/buyers of the theatre seating not being secured and the damage that can occur if they are not careful.

Be well and safe travels, your friend and mine,

John

[RV Vacation]

Originally Posted by Camping family

You can bolt it down. That’s what I had them do with mine

Hello Camping Family and thank you for your response.


My post is to alert others of the problem we encountered in hope of preventing others of having a major problem especially when closing the opposing slide outs.

Be well, safe travels, your friend and mine,

John.

[RV Vacation]

Check em before you fold em.... for storage or travel.

We were reviewing the slide adjustment directions when we found the wire harness caught on the slide adjustment. The wire insulation is damaged but easy repair.

Just very lucky this was found before the slide was closed.


This was found on a 2023 Montana 5er. Yep same one as above with the theater seating issue.

Oh what fun it is to own a RV.

Be well and safe travels.

[Andrea&GeorgeSchrader]

We have had the same thing happen ��
24 3901RK

[JRTJH]

Originally Posted by Andrea&GeorgeSchrader

We have had the same thing happen ��
24 3901RK

What "same thing" ??? Are you talking about the theater seat movement and molding damage or the slide adjustment nut/wiring harness ???

[77chev]

Thanks for the heads up our new 5th wheel has the same seating set up will definitely address problem.

[foldbak]

I'll be checking mine. Question, why is the nylon jam nut loose?

[Mikendebbie]

Foldback - there should be a “gap” between the nuts for adjustment of the in & out stop points.

[foldbak]

Thanks Mike. I just watched the Lippert adjustment video. I have electric slides which adjust differently. The hydraulics if improperly adjusted can over stroke as where the electric slides can't Makes sense.

[CBears]

Originally Posted by RV Vacation

FYI: Theater seating is not fixed and can slide causing it to come in contact with the molding on the kitchen half-wall. In this case the molding was splintered as the chair was returned to the upright position.

Also, the furniture will slide into the path of the opposing slides which, when closed, will crush the seating and or damage the slides.

Shame on Keystone and the design staff.


This picture (pardon the orientation) shows the furniture moved slightly away from the kitchen half wall to allow clearance and permit the chair to recline. Unfortunately, now the furniture is in the path of the slide out. Forget about this when closing the slides and "SQUASH".
Attachment 45268


This picture shows what happens to the kitchen half wall molding when the furniture is held tight to the wall and out of harms way of the opposing slide outs.
Attachment 45269


Try sliding the seating in either direction and it will come apart at the console.

Oh what fun it is to own a Keystone Montana 3901RK.


Be well and safe travels. Your friend and mine,

John

Thanks for this head's up! I just checked mine and it is screwed down two places in front. This is the first time that checking it has actually shown it to be good to go. There have been at least 5 other things that were in fact bad in mine. I appreciate you putting this on here.

[rhagfo]

interesting, we have a love seat, chair, and foot stool, none of which are secured to floor or wall, and don't have issues with them moving when traveling.

[GlasNav]

Originally Posted by rhagfo

interesting, we have a love seat, chair, and foot stool, none of which are secured to floor or wall, and don't have issues with them moving when traveling.

Similar here, when we removed the trifold and installed the theater recliners, I asked the forum about securing the recliners and was told to just set them down, since the fridge is in front of them in the slide they wouldn't go anywhere. That guidance was correct, the recliners have never strayed while towing.

[JRTJH]

When you consider where the frame members are in the slide walls and where the frame is located in most furniture pieces, they will SELDOM "match up" to allow "frame to frame attachment points"... Then, to make the issue even more complex, remove the existing furniture and install something different, don't expect the frames to match the same.....

Then, consider that "running screws through the pleather" or "adding a strip to the wall so you can attach that to the new sofa frame" just aren't aesthetically pleasing" and usually something few people want to "rig to their RV walls"...

So, what do you do? Most will "do a trial" and see if they even need to secure the furniture to the walls or floor. And, of those, only a small handful see any need to secure the furniture. Of those, nearly all find that just screwing a small "retaining block to the floor in front of the front legs" is all that's needed to keep the furniture from sliding or moving slightly.

When you step back and look at the "big picture", even the OEM retaining screws (2) through the upper back corners and two screws through the front legs WILL NOT keep the sofa in place through a trailer roll-over or a significant sudden deceleration from an accident. So, there's not any trailer built, that I know of, that "secures RV furniture the way seats in a motorhome are secured. And, the motorhome seats equipped with seat belts are not built the same as the seating in an unoccupied trailer.

Like most, I've never experienced any significant movement of any large furniture piece in any trailer I've owned. Then, I'd ask: Do you really want a 300 pound theater seating sectional bolted to the wall and every bump the trailer experiences pulls against the aluminum structure in the slide, potentially stressing or breaking the welds that hold it together ????

Really, when considering all the potentials, maybe not bolting it to the slide walls is the better choice over having to reweld the aluminum studs along the slide perimeter ????? YMMV