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Old 05-18-2017, 05:07 PM   #1
wrgreen45
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Montana HC Kitchen slide out--problems

In Feb 2017 we picked up our new 5th wheel, Montana HC 352 RL. After a 2500 mile first trip, everything works very well in the until except he kitchen slid would stop two to three times when going out or coming in. Thought it was a loose wire but it turns out there is a broken weld and the bolt heads which hold the wall to the floor are sheared off. Called keystone talked with the Rep, he stated "Yea we know about this problem". The Rep next asked is the inside wall broken? I told him no, he replied good.. This is an easy fix which will be about 4-5 hours of labor. Thank goodness I have a rock solid RV repair shop here.

This a know design flaw for the Montana HC 352 and 353 RL's. The Rep also told me they are fixing the problem with a solid metal reenforced bracket to be included with welding the wall post to the floor.

If you have a 352 or 353 I would watch the corner area of the slid by the refrigerator
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Old 05-19-2017, 05:45 AM   #2
ctbruce
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William, good information and thank you for sharing. Hopefully you'll get yours fixed quickly and back out on the road.

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Old 02-06-2019, 04:48 AM   #3
NotyetMHCowner
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I know this is an old thread, but I have a broken wall with my 2015 Montana High Country 305RL. I have a very good extended warranty that expires this April, but it does not cover walls. I couldnt believe it. Anyways, $1500 to open the wall up, weld the broken part and put it back together at Camping World.

I sure wish Keystone would stand behind their products better than this. I have read many many people with broken aluminum wall studs.
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Old 02-06-2019, 05:15 AM   #4
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I'm surprised mine hasn't broke. I did read, here I guess, about someone that got Keystone to pay to have rollers installed under the kitchen slide. I was discussing this with a service rep at my dealership. He looked my trailer up and said Keystone had no recalls on it for fixing the slide.
I found that WD40 SPECIALIST WITH PTFE DOES NOT ATTRACT DIRT OR DUST will help a lot. Spray liberally behind the bottom seal under the slide from outside.
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Old 02-06-2019, 11:35 AM   #5
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Gearhead, have you had any problems with the WD-40 "eating" away at the "tarp" material under the slides? I have never put anything on mine because of the fear of making it worse.
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Old 02-06-2019, 12:52 PM   #6
sourdough
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Originally Posted by NotyetMHCowner View Post
Gearhead, have you had any problems with the WD-40 "eating" away at the "tarp" material under the slides? I have never put anything on mine because of the fear of making it worse.
Is the Darco fabric under your slide(s) beginning to fray? If so, where?
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Old 02-06-2019, 01:26 PM   #7
wrgreen45
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I posted this thread in Feb 2017. I hope the spray works for you, the bottom line is keystone knows about this problem. There is no re-call due to the cost to Keystone. If your camper is out of warranty, if you have some time you may consider taking your rig to your local fixer and have him look at the weld on the kitchen slide closes to the refrigerator. This is looked from the outside underneath the camper. Now would be the time to have it reenforced before it breaks and possibly cracks your inside wall (the wall that supports your cabinet--the one between the kitchen and bathroom on a High Country 352RL). Hope this helps--good luck.
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Old 02-06-2019, 01:50 PM   #8
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The Darco is not wearing under the kitchen slide but the living room slide Darco did within the factory warranty. Camping World add 4 pieces of metal approx. 8 inches wide, full depth of the slide, and about 1/8" thick under the slide so the rollers were riding on them instead of the Darco. They had recommended to Keystone adding 2 rollers toward the middle of the slide but Keystone denied them. The metal is there anyways so I am planning on adding 2 rollers myself. This is the side that the wall is broke. I am hoping it didn't break because of something they did the first time.

We are going fulltime in June 2022 and were planning to take this camper. We are re thinking a used DRV again.
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2015 Montana High Country 305RL
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1998 Coleman Grandview pop-up with slide

Trucks:
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Old 02-06-2019, 03:58 PM   #9
sourdough
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The Darco is not wearing under the kitchen slide but the living room slide Darco did within the factory warranty. Camping World add 4 pieces of metal approx. 8 inches wide, full depth of the slide, and about 1/8" thick under the slide so the rollers were riding on them instead of the Darco. They had recommended to Keystone adding 2 rollers toward the middle of the slide but Keystone denied them. The metal is there anyways so I am planning on adding 2 rollers myself. This is the side that the wall is broke. I am hoping it didn't break because of something they did the first time.

We are going fulltime in June 2022 and were planning to take this camper. We are re thinking a used DRV again.

Good. Mine frayed on both ends of both large slides....after warranty. I had to pay to add the "runners" to stop the wear. My slides appear to be bowed in the middle with the ends running on the wear bars. I added the "runner" in the middle of each slide but they look as if they have never even ran over the wear bar. The ends on the other hand have definite markings to show they are moving across the bars. I have used the WD-40 Specialist spray after gearhead recommended it in another thread. It works but I don't use it on the Darco because I have the runners under the slides. Bal/Norco? said they use Zep 45 but it is hard to come by and expensive - and the WD 40 seems to work just as well - now to use up the case of Zep 45 I bought....
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Old 02-07-2019, 03:53 AM   #10
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Yea, I have tried to find the ZEP Z works chlorinated lubricant that a Keystone rep recommended but you can only buy it by the case and its expensive. Some people have used products on the slide bar and then it started "eating" the Darco up so I've been concerned about using anything.
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1992 Ford F150 SC, SB, 4x4
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Old 02-07-2019, 05:57 AM   #11
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Gearhead, have you had any problems with the WD-40 "eating" away at the "tarp" material under the slides? I have never put anything on mine because of the fear of making it worse.
No I haven't noticed any changes in the Darco. Usually I just spray behind the bottom seal, but yesterday I sprayed a little on the bottom of the slide.
I've been using the WD 40 Specialist Dry Lube at least a year.
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Old 02-07-2019, 06:07 AM   #12
gearhead
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Originally Posted by NotyetMHCowner View Post
The Darco is not wearing under the kitchen slide but the living room slide Darco did within the factory warranty. Camping World add 4 pieces of metal approx. 8 inches wide, full depth of the slide, and about 1/8" thick under the slide so the rollers were riding on them instead of the Darco. They had recommended to Keystone adding 2 rollers toward the middle of the slide but Keystone denied them. The metal is there anyways so I am planning on adding 2 rollers myself. This is the side that the wall is broke. I am hoping it didn't break because of something they did the first time.

We are going fulltime in June 2022 and were planning to take this camper. We are re thinking a used DRV again.
Keep an eye on https://www.pplmotorhomes.com/
If nothing else it will give you an idea on what folks are asking for used units. They have several DRV's listed and an almost new Montana Legacy. I have told myself if I ever trade it will be for one with full body paint.
I'm doing my Spring compound and wax. It's killing me.
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Old 02-07-2019, 09:01 AM   #13
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I agree, full body paint is a MUST. I spent hours this early winter compounding the right side (the side the sun always sees). I cant believe how quickly the gel coat (or whatever it is) will fade. I hate waxing and buffing anyways, but a 35' rv is a pain!
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Trucks:
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1992 Ford F150 SC, SB, 4x4
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Old 02-07-2019, 09:24 AM   #14
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Yeah I pulled ours out of my "toy yard" a few days ago. I've been working on it 4-5 hours a day. I bet I have $500 worth of miracle waxes and cleaners. I finally hit upon what works for me. Porter-Cable random orbit buffer and 3M Marine Fiberglass Restorer and Wax. It's brutal working that buffer off a step ladder and doing a 2ft X 2ft area at a time. Very depressing when I get started and thinking how long this will take. I finished buffing one side yesterday and decided to do the rear of the trailer with Meguiars liquid cleaner wax this morning, thinking it wasn't oxidized very bad. I did the bottom half and buffed it off with a cheap WalMart 6" buffer with a microfiber on it. It looked like ****. Apparently more oxidation than I thought. I'm looking at it about to cry thinking I have to get the Porter Cable on it, I looked at the little one handed buffer with the microfiber all loaded up with wax, and thought..what do I have to lose...so I squirted some 3M on it. Hot dang it's working pretty good. A lot lighter and easier than the big buffer. Then it looked about to rain so I put everything up and came inside.
So I guess bottom line....try the little cheap $30 buffer with the foam pad and a 6" microfiber on it. Squirt about a tablespoon of 3M on the microfiber and work about a 2x2 area. Buff until the 3M sorta starts disappearing. If it doesn't disappear a little you used too much. You can increase the area you're buffing as well. Wipe off with a microfiber or terry towel.
Let us know how that works if you try it.
And just FYI...Heartland Landmark 365 has full body paint. I like the Oshkosh floor plan.
edit add: since it's raining I checked the Heartland web site and they have a new floorplan..Ranier. Shorter, bigger tanks, and high carrying capacity.
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Old 02-09-2019, 03:09 AM   #15
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I hear ya Gearhead. I have the Harbor Freight Chicago electric DA polisher and some Griot's fast correcting creme that I used. It works pretty good for the first step, but it is daunting doing a 2'x2' area and looking at how big the rig is. Also, on a car you get to rest your hands more doing the horizontal areas. NOT on the vertical side of a 11' tall camper!. haha. Luckily only one side of mine was pretty bad. The other 3 sides really just need polishing instead of compounding. I hopefully will get to them early Spring.

We are sold on the DRV Mobile Suites. We have looked at many campers and feel that DRV is the only one we would trade for. We love our floorplan and length (would really like to be about 32-34') and we already have the generator, and washer and dryer. With the probability of losing money on trading, we just wouldn't want to take the hit on anything else.
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Trucks:
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1992 Ford F150 SC, SB, 4x4
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Old 02-09-2019, 05:57 AM   #16
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Yeah, only 1 side of mine is really bad. South side, gets no shade. Well, just a little. The Bigfoot is parked next to it and throws a little shade late in the afternoon. The 3M I'm using is a mixture of compound and wax, so really it's a 1 step. But, I am going back over it with wax.
Washer/dryer..another source of frustration. We bought a Pinnacle combo from PPL Motorhomes based on their recommendation. Used it for maybe 10-12 loads then it locked up. Couldn't get the door open. I called PPL to get it to them for repair and they refused to work on it. Said every one they work on they have to get a Pinnacle Tech out to get it fixed. I got the name of a local authorized service tech and took it to him last week. His place was a junkyard. Not much confidence in him fixing it.
We are in about the same place with trading. It would be a big hit. I'm thinking a DRV should be about top of the line. I doubt the Landmark is any better than a Montana or Alpine. RV show in Houston this weekend. We're NOT going! LOL
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Old 03-08-2019, 06:34 AM   #17
NotyetMHCowner
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Well we finally got it back from Camping World. They ended up not welding the wall and just scabbed in a bracket to reinforce it. I don't know how they attached it (I have heard of people using rivets). Anyways, I hope it will hold up, who knows. The end of the wall that broke is where our table and chairs are. We are planning on removing them and installing something more like the mobile suites have that is a "hutch" with storage and a telescoping table. I am somewhat concerned about adding any weight to the slide, but we will just do what we what to do and deal with problems as they arise.

If it ever breaks again I'll fix it myself and be sure to fix it for good!

We have the Splendid washer/dryer combo and have never had a problem (knock on wood). I cant imagine not having one.
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2015 Montana High Country 305RL
Previous campers:
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1998 Coleman Grandview pop-up with slide

Trucks:
2006 Ford F350 CC, SB, DRW, 4x4
1992 Ford F150 SC, SB, 4x4
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Old 03-10-2019, 06:47 AM   #18
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I'm derailing this thread a bit but...look for DRV's on RVTRADER.COM. There's a nice used one for sale by owner in Austin TX. Also a couple, including a DRV AIRE at PPL.
Only way I'm trading is sell the Montana myself or by consignment. I doubt I would get $20,000 on trade value.
Prepping for a trek east. Gonna run up Natchez Trace then east to Virginia. NASCAR and genealogy.
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Old 03-10-2019, 10:02 AM   #19
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RVTrader is where we have been looking. Last 4th of July we found the perfect rig (for us). 2015 DRV Mobile Suites for $56k. I cant remember the exact model number but it was shorter. Total length was 34', and that's when we had a defining moment conversation. If we were to do this, that was the rig. We decided to keep ours and haven't looked again until this wall broke.

We see rigs like ours listed for between $39k to about $47. If thought we would get less than $30k, there is no way I would let it go. We are on the fence about getting rid of it anyways. We have a specific plan to be debt free by the time I turn 50 (less than 39 months) and that's when we are leaving. Spending too much money on the difference between our rig and another one will mess the plan up and that's unacceptable. Besides, my truck would be overloaded somewhat with a DRV so that's a concern as well.

We really like our floorplan and layout. We will need to modernize the décor and add some storage. We plan to paint the cabinetry white to brighten up the living area. We both really wish all brands would offer light décor models instead of the same old brown wood EVERYWHERE! haha.
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2015 Montana High Country 305RL
Previous campers:
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1998 Coleman Grandview pop-up with slide

Trucks:
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1992 Ford F150 SC, SB, 4x4
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Old 03-10-2019, 03:46 PM   #20
Sulphur1
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Our Cougar HC 299RKS large slide Darco is being mashed in the centre by possibly a roller behind the wear bar. Be good to try it before adding a metal protection plate.
Is the WD40 Specialist this one - "WD-40 Specialist 150g Anti Friction Dry PTFE Lubricant"? as it's available here in Australia.
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