So glad I am handy!

[thedinobots]

Our first two weeks in our Montana, we learned a lot! We did take it to MS, TN and on our way to AL - so we are putting it through the ringer in the cold.

Everyone says the first month you will find and resolve issues, and then HOPEFULLY it is smooth sailing for a bit, with little issues here and there. This cannot be more true in our case.

Just thought I would share for any newbies out there, to have a sense of what to expect.

Problem 1:

The grey water return line was cracked at a T joint inside the storage. I am guessing it was cracked when we received the unit, because it looked like the cap in the T joint was screwed in too far and it cracked the whole T - it only started dumping water when we did loads of laundry. At least it was nice smelling laundry water dumping into the storage! Glad this was in a very accessible part of the camper.

Solution:

We cut the T off (not sure why it was even there, it was just creating a weak point, I think the T may be there for larger units that have a second bathroom?) and replaced the pipe with some 40 gauge straight pipe. Let it seal, ran some laundry the next day and it held up just fine.

Problem 2:

Our cabinet over the TV broke off. The plastic caps that go into the holes in the wood panel wouldn't stay in place on one side.

Solution:

I used Gorilla Glue (the gel kind that expands). Mositened the wood to get adherence, put the glue in, tapped the plastic pieces into the holes with a hammer, let it set up for 24 hours. It's holding great now!

Problem 3:

The water pump froze and fuse blew. We were not keeping the basement warm enough when everything froze in Tennessee.

Solution:

Put a heat lamp and space heater downstairs until everything thawed. Now that its thawed, the heat lamp alone is keeping it plenty warm. It thawed out, and we will test it when we disconnect the water tomorrow and hopefully the pump works fine.

Problem 4:

Drawer slide broke on a kitchen drawer.

Solution:

We will buy a replacement slide from home depot or Lowes and swap out the slide on the drawer. If I am feeling ambitious, I will just upgrade all of the slides at some point with high quality soft close slides.

Problem 5:

This one was our fault. We forgot to strap the bedroom door closed when we drove. The door got jammed and the hinge that holds it in place bent.

Solution:

Remove the hinge from the door, bent the bracket straight, got the door sliding perfectly again. It also bent the magnetic holder that keeps the door open, bent that back into place as well. Oops, lesson learned!

Otherwise, so far so good! We are learning a lot and enjoying every minute of it. I am just glad my dad taught me to be handy as a child, and I can fix most things myself.

Be safe out there everyone!

[jimcol]

When we first bought the 5'er in 2006 the salesman told, "You better be pretty handy or have a lot of money!"
Like you my dad taught me a lot but owning an RV taught me a lot more.

[brycesteiner]

sounds good. In the last few years, I've also learned to keep records of all repairs on vehicles with notes like this!

[thedinobots]

Originally Posted by brycesteiner

sounds good. In the last few years, I've also learned to keep records of all repairs on vehicles with notes like this!

That is my plan as well, I am going to submit some receipts to warranty to see if they will reimburse me for some items as well. Not sure how much they will fight me on it, cheaper and easier to let me fix it myself from my perspective but who knows!

[suny07]

Originally Posted by jimcol

When we first bought the 5'er in 2006 the salesman told, "You better be pretty handy or have a lot of money!"
Like you my dad taught me a lot but owning an RV taught me a lot more.

I can not agree more !

[MandK]

We also had a drawer slide soft closure mechanism fail after a few trips. I called my dealer and told him which drawer length, he called keystone and they sent me new slides and a spare. Showed up on my door step a few days later. If you are a diy’er and it sounds like you are, it’s a great program. Those drawer slides are not as good as you can buy, but that was 3 years ago and no problems.

[BB_TX]

Originally Posted by jimcol

When we first bought the 5'er in 2006 the salesman told, "You better be pretty handy or have a lot of money!"
Like you my dad taught me a lot but owning an RV taught me a lot more.

An honest salesman!

But definitely a fact, for financial reasons as well as peace of mind.

[432bartman]

If you're not handy and somewhat mechanically inclined, owning any 5th wheel or trailer could be a horrible experience. Having to rely on a dealership or service center to fix every little thing on these things, you'd never get to use it. For those people, I'd suggest just staying in a hotel.

[newowneroldmontana]

Hey, thanks for this, especially the freezing weather and the sliding bedroom door information. My bedroom door's been messed up for a while now--my fault--but maybe I can just bend the hinge back to how it's supposed to be.

[Hblick48]

Like I've always said: "If you own an RV, not only do you need to know how to change a light bulb, you have to know how to change the whole fixture".

[Lins and Vic]

I just talked with keystone and they have a program for small warranty job that owners can do themself. They will ship parts free to you. Called "Do it yourself program". My Keystone RV App. Its to keep you on the road. And its FREE

[Our3231CK]

If your RV is new I hope your calling Keystone customer service and getting them to send you the parts for free? They have been great with me, sent me drawer slides and I have a bathroom faucet coming next week. I use the Keystone app, then take photos and usually within a few hours i get an email, attach my photos and address to ship, get confirmations back and wait for UPS.

[plgavin]

I consider myself pretty handy. The only problem with the Monty I couldn't tackle was replacing an axle (warranty issue anyway). Have a broken slide cable yet to replace, third one all in different slides. Darco issue waiting on me too.



Where in AL? We are in the Fairhope/Foley area through 3/22. Traveled through TX, LA, MS to AL just before Christmas. Really enjoyed a stop across the river from Natchez.


P

[richeyb]

Good report! Sound like a normal, start with being a fifth wheel owner. Working the slideouts can always bring trouble if you don’t stick with a good plan. I tried closing the kitchen slideout with one of the adjacent drawers open. I stopped when I heard the noise��. Got to repair my first drawer. I say first cause lesson learned the second time when extending the front room slider. Once again a drawer had come open and hung up on the slideout as it extended. Lessoned learned, always check for loose drawers.

[Rondo]

Nick, I solved the water pump problem by going in behind the basement wall where the pump is and hoping your heat duct for the bathroom runs out of the furnace and near the pump area. I cut the ducting and placed a pvc Y at one point in the ducting. I then reconnected the duct to the bathroom on one of the Y's with radiator clamps on all of the pvc and bought some ducting and added it to the other Y and secured it to the floor near the pump area. Now when the furnace runs, it supplies heat to both the bathroom area and the area where the pump is secured to the flooring. In really cold weather I also turn on the light in the convenient center. It is surprising how much heat comes off of that lighting fixture in the ceiling of the center. As you stated "So Glad I'm Handy" is perfect especially if you own an RV. There is always something to do or fix on it. Enjoy that unit and safe travels!

[DaveK]

I'm sorry to bear bad news, but there's no end to problems. Pray that you don't have slide-out, suspension, frame, or roof problems.

[ErnieSC]

The only reason we own an RV is we have a Shih Tzu and not willing to leave her with a kennel or in her crate in a motel room.
One can't justify an RV Financially. You must either Need one or really enjoy Camping.
We need one!
Old and not handy! LOL!

[SRD]

Rondo, I like the idea of putting a y in and adding duct to the water pump. Going to do that to ours.
Thanks
Steve

[Cat320]

As I have said before, an RV is in one of three conditions, not in any order:

- It's broken.
- You just fixed it.
- It's getting ready to break again.