Bunk bed slats failure

[bcaldwell]

2011 Fuzion 322 Touring Edition III
Has anyone experienced a failure from climbing up on the bunk and the bunk slats falling? They seem to be only secured by staples. Does anyone have a modification to correct this? Screws, brackets, etc. The only support are the slats and then a futon type mattress on top. Seems like there should be a easy fix to this problem.
Thanks,
Bill

[Bigreddmaxxx]

I have a 2010 322 that had the same problem on our second trip. Dealer fixed it under warranty. I believe they put a piece of plywood or OSB in place of the slats. A very poor OEM design. Must be not too many people use that bunk, else there would be many more reports of this issue.

[11155]

I agree a very weak design. I hardly dare climb up on top bunk.

[Charlene]

I think I have the same issue. I have a 2011 Keystone Fuzion 302, TE III that has been used 5 times. Last weekend I noticed the top bunk was falling apart, see pictures. Is that what yours is doing? I am waiting to hear back from my dealer.

Char

[chrism69]

I have an 2011 322 Fuzion. The top bunk broke the 1st time it was used. Took it back to a dealer who did a half a** repair among the other repairs. Went out the first time this year after the repair and it broke again.
I decided to repair it myself. I removed the bunk from the garage ,removed all the fabric and the side rails. The bed design is terrible I e-mailed Keystone and told the to fire th design engineer. The cross supports are held together by roof truss cleats and pull out of the wooden 2 x 4 frame.
I took the side rails from a box spring metal support frame and ground off the legs. Then I drilled holes in one side of the angle iron every 8 inches and screwed it into the inside of the 2 x 4s on both sides and used 1 1/4 inch wood screws to secure it.
I then drilled 2 holes in the in the bottom of the angle iron and the wood cross supports on each side and carraige bolted them to the angle iron. Then reattached all the fabric,metal side rails,bumpers and reinstalled back into the lift. Took about 3 hrs.
Just got back from a 2 week trip and the bed is fine.

[bcaldwell]

Charlene,
Sorry for the late reply. Yes this is what is happening to mine. It is a bad design.

[bcaldwell]

chrism69, This looks like a great modification to bad original design. Thanks for your idea. I think I will use this idea to repair mine.

[Bob Landry]

Almost everything I have had to fix is either a bad design from Keystone or it was just thrown together using cheap materials an scrap pieces of plywood. Everything I repair is better than factory when I finish with it. At least I can fix it and not have to haul it to a dealer everytime a screw pulls out. Many are not that fortunate. So far, I have rebuilt drawer glide supports, retaped AC ducting, and done several things that could have been done better at the factory. What is sad is that it could have been done at no additional construction expense other than a few minutes to pay attention to detail. Thanks be to the bean counters.

[Blackirish]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OlGHku-mmDI

We had the same problem, the second time out in our new Bullet, the top bunk crashed down (with someone sitting on it). Thank goodness no one was underneath---you can see the result from the video above. It appeared that the bunk was not installed properly at the factory--it was held to the wall with a staple gun. I have to admit that we received good service from Keystone who worked closely with our service center and within four weeks, it was repaired. They sent us a hardwood replacement and our service center did an excellent job of reinstalling and reinforcement, all covered under warrenty. We had other deficiencies as well such as a cracked facet and the compressor--all repaired under warrenty. While I expect there will always be deficiencies in a product, I dont expect to have to worry about safety and security of my family. Needless to say, despite the repair, I am having difficulty trusting the top bunk. I am working with Keystone to see if we can come to an agreement regarding compensation for lost vacation time and costs incurred which I will use to trade in the one I have for another model. Once that is complete, I will be a happy customer again.

[heidi]

We had to modify ours as well used 2" by 6" angled aluminum and 1/2" plywood. Ours is sturdy now but still not sturdy enough for a couple to sleep in!

[Overshot]

We had the same issue twice in 4 months. 1st time Dealer just hammered the staples back in. Next time I put screws in it...seems to be holding.

[Blackirish]

See my comments under warrenty issues--we came to an amicable agreement and Keystone reimbursed me for out of pocket expenses while my bunk was being repaired since it occurred during our summer vacation. The top bunk was fixed by our dealer (excellent job) and Keystone was great at sending the necessary materials very quickly. We are happy with the outcome.

[joestaz]

I have had the same problem with the bunk in my 2010 405 Touring Edition II. With all the complaints you would think that Keystone would have to put out a recall or campaign on this. Someone is going to get hurt.

Joe Stasio

[joestaz]

Wonder if the NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) should or could be notified of all the complaints and hazard. Just my thoughts.

[Festus2]

Whoops... bunk not bunck.

It seems obvious that there is a serious problem with the bunks in the models that have been mentioned in the above posts. A rough count shows that there are about 12 members who have had issues with these bunks, 2 or 3 have contacted Keystone, 3 or 4 have contacted their dealer, and not sure what the others have done.
I am wondering if the dealers who have had this problem brought to their attention by you, have taken your concern to Keystone. Other than the 1 or 2 who appeared to have contacted Keystone, it is possible that the rest of these cases have gone unreported.
While it is probably a good idea to bring your concerns to other safety organizations, it also would seem prudent to also take them to Keystone. While it may be too late, photographs of collapsed bunks and other documentation should be sent to Keystone informing them of these incidents.
I doubt if the folks at Keystone read your posts so they may not be aware of the magnitude of this problem. It is good that you post them here so that our members are aware but unfortunately, we can't really do much about it.
If you haven't already contact Keystone, I would suggest that you do. If and when you hear from them, sharing their responses with us would be both interesting and possibly entertaining. :rofl:

[bcaldwell]

Just took my Fuzion in for warranty work. Dealer sent pictures to Keystone of broken slates. Dealer is waiting for approval from Keystone to replace or repair. I will keep you posted as to what they come up with. I would think it needs to be something different, or the same thing will happen again.

[BStiers]

Mine failed as well. Luckily nobody was in the bottom bunk. Nobody fell through.

I took off the fabric and drilled and screwed the slates back in. If it fails again then I will remove the bed and make other repairs. Very poor design.

[bcaldwell]

Picked up my Fuzion after all warranty repairs were performed. I asked the dealer what they did to remedy the bunk bed failure. Dealers reply was " We can only do what Keystone tells us to do". I asked what was done?. Dealer stated "We straightened out the brackets and reinstalled them". I looked at the repair and it looks like they also installed screws to hold the brackets. I doubt this is going to cure the problem. My son weighs 170 lb. I just cant see how this is going to last. Just seems Keystone would want to correct this the right way before someone gets hurt, and this was their chance to get it right during the warranty process.

[f6bits]

I didn’t see this mentioned in this thread, but what’s the weight limit sticker say for that bunk? My top bunk says 150 lbs. I’ve seen other models with higher weight limits.

EDIT: I don’t know if it’s my eyes or memory that’s going, but I just checked and mine says 250 lbs. I think that’s more than enough for anybody in my family.

[SAABDOCTOR]

You can go to the NHTSA web site and fill out a form about the safty issues you have.Giive very spisific information and a phone number to contact you. List everthing that has been done.If there is enough hits they will start anivestigation and if needed issue a comunicae ( i am a horrable speller) to the manufacture. Please no nasty letters.;)