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Old 08-25-2017, 08:11 AM   #1
mskeyspirate
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Thinking about a new Keystone ?

I'm fairly new to this forum, but have an issue that I'd love to share. I wish there was a forum for potential buyers of keystone products. Because rethinking a keystone purchase is my intention. While I'm glad for the folks out there that own a keystone and are having a positive experience, good for you.
I on the other hand am on the flip side of that coin. My passport is a 2015 and like many others I've seen has some "denting" in the front cap, with no apparent damage. Parked inside during the winter, waxed at least twice a year, and washed everytime it goes out. These dents have appeared over the last 2 months or so. There is no leakage, water damage, and it have never suffered a bird, or tree strike. I ask Keystone to stand behind their product, and fix this issue....you guessed it "Claim denied" after all it is 1 year and 3 months out of warranty. I'm shocked that my 2 year old camper is visibly damaged either because of the quality of workmanship, products used, or maybe it has just reached it's life expendency. I'll include some photos for you to look at. But from this point on....look for me at the campsites. I'll be the one with the sign on the front of my camper, stating my case.
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Old 08-27-2017, 05:12 PM   #2
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Mine has had the same thing happen. I too am very disappointed. I'm going to see if my insurance will cover it. But don't hold much hope for that either. For now I'm continuing to enjoy it with the cosmetic flaw. FYI, I saw a different brand with the same issue at the CG this weekend.


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Old 08-29-2017, 01:09 PM   #3
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Anyone know what causes this?
Yea, there isn't much wiggle room with Keystone repairs, I've had my fair share of heck while it was under the 12-month warranty.
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Old 08-29-2017, 02:43 PM   #4
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I will just take a guess, but the insulation behind the front cap is what gives support. Sometimes the insulation can fall down in the wall. That would basically leave a hollow pocket behind and allow the denying you are seeing. It is basically cosmetic, not going to effect the performance of the trailer at all. It's not just keystone, it's virtually every manufacturer at that price point, some are even worse. Some manufacturers use a fully wrapped front end that continues from the roof all the way down the front cap, but you will pay twice as much as you did for your Passport.
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Old 08-29-2017, 03:29 PM   #5
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From what I read on a similar post I originated, 2 things can cause this. One is related to heat causing the Filon to expand away from the cheap backing at that location. The other is due to heat and some (possibly even a small amount) moisture getting into the wall at some point and causing the same thing. Since the Filon is anchored on all 4 sides it has nowhere to go when it expands but out. Unfortunately, when it contracts it doesn't return to its original shape.


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Old 08-29-2017, 05:22 PM   #6
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While not the "only reason" one of the contributing factors is distortion caused by heating/cooling. Think of a rubber balloon. Blow it up, let out the air and compare the surface to a balloon that has not been inflated. Significant difference in surface distortion caused by the stretching. There is some of that same distortion, some "oil canning" some moisture expansion, some base support separation and some "bad luck".

I don't think there's any one reason, but a combination of several factors that, when they all occur, causes the result. And yes, that's one of the reasons the "more expensive models" have moved away from FILON front and rear caps. They are on both ends of "entry level", fiberglass cap on the front and FILON on the rear of "premium level" and are replaced by fiberglass caps on front and rear on the "luxury level" trailers.
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Old 08-29-2017, 05:42 PM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JRTJH View Post

They are on both ends of "entry level", fiberglass cap on the front and FILON on the rear of "premium level" and are replaced by fiberglass caps on front and rear on the "luxury level" trailers.
Thanks for this, and this makes a lot of sense. My question is this: I have NEVER seen fiberglass caps on the front AND rear of a traditional travel trailer (only on front, like mine), only on fifth wheels. Are all travel trailers considered, at best, "premium"? Or is it related to the whole design of the travel trailer vs. the ifth wheel?
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Old 08-29-2017, 06:53 PM   #8
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Keystone has essentially moved away from the luxury travel trailer market in recent years. Back in 2011/2012 they produced the Vantage to compete with Forest River's Aviator trailer.

Currently, I don't believe any Keystone travel trailer has a fiberglass rear cap, however several of the "luxury fifth wheels" do have that feature. The Montana travel trailer was produced for a few years but was discontinued in the mid 2000's. Currently, the only "luxury travel trailers" in the keystone line are toy haulers, so a rear cap/rear wall is not an option since both brands have rear doors/loading ramps.

Because of construction costs, it's just not feasible to install fiberglass caps on the lower priced brands. Since the rear walls are not curved on most Keystone products, there's little chance of the distortion to manifest itself on the rear walls, so there hasn't been much problem with that, however there are a few comments recently about rear wall separation at the upper roof molding trim.

Here are pictures of the Avaitor and the Vantage rear caps:
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Old 09-04-2017, 01:52 PM   #9
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I have seen a few going down the road with those dents and was always curious what caused them..
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Old 08-01-2019, 06:08 AM   #10
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https://www.amazon.com/Aluminum-Suct...%2C392&sr=8-10
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Old 08-01-2019, 07:06 AM   #11
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I don't think you can expect a suction cup to be of much use on a curved surface.
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Old 08-01-2019, 09:01 PM   #12
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Would not do much good as the material has stretched.
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Old 10-18-2019, 05:42 AM   #13
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Deli nation of the front sheet. Mines worse but started at 8 years and is almost ten years old. May get a new trailer and not sure it will be a keystone based on comments about build quality lately. Bummer. Ours has 80k miles and has been great but is showing age issues
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Old 10-18-2019, 07:01 AM   #14
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When did you take those photos? Did you reseal that joint in the photos?
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