View Single Post
Old 04-20-2019, 04:59 PM   #10
dartfd3
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2019
Location: Dartmouth
Posts: 3
Quote:
Originally Posted by CWtheMan View Post
We have similar cracks from the corners of out bedroom slide. They have been there for years and ran their course years ago. Keystone will do nothing about them once the trailer is out of warranty. Keystone will hold that you probably overloaded the trailer. Hardly any of us can disprove that without spending thousands of dollars for a structural investigation.

Having some structural mechanic background I stop drilled our cracks. Fabricated some 1/8" 5052 aluminum into lap patches, sealed the cracks and surrounding area and pop riveted the patches to the trailer skin. They have been there for a long time and nothing else has developed.

In our case I'm convinced the cracks were predictable because of the way the original materials were fabricated. Sharp corners in a high vibration area will fail first just because of the way they were fabricated. It's not just a Keystone problem. I've observed similar cracking in numerous brands of 5th wheel trailers above 10-12K in overall weight. I've talked with a few owners that were lucky enough to have cracks repaired that developed before the warranty expired only to have them reappear again a few years later.

WARNING: Seal those cracks. Water intrusion will compound the problem.
Your corrrct it’s not just keystone that has these issues. My Heartland Eldridge 5ver had a very similar issue at the curbside rear. It split the back corner and caused extensive water damage to the rear of the unit I was in the process of repairing it when it was totaled by a tree over the winter at the campground. I’ve read a lot about the issues on here before purchasing my new avalanche. I’m hopefully that by keeping on top of the roof and side wall penetrations that I’ll have a good camper for many years to come.
dartfd3 is offline   Reply With Quote