Journey with Confidence RV GPS App RV Trip Planner RV LIFE Campground Reviews RV Maintenance Take a Speed Test Free 7 Day Trial ×
 

Go Back   Keystone RV Forums > Keystone Tech Forums > Towing
Click Here to Login

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
 
Old 11-16-2018, 05:51 PM   #21
JRTJH
Site Team
 
JRTJH's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: Gaylord
Posts: 26,841
Quote:
Originally Posted by Laredo Tugger View Post
As I was finishing the wax job on the 5er the other day I took a closer look at the "pitting" on the front cap. It actually appears to be bug marks in the 'sticker" portions of the front end, I tried rubbing out the marks with no luck. The only remedy I can think of is to remove the sticker(s) or mask off the sticker area and lightly spray black spray paint to match the design of the sticker. I guess I could also order new ones as well.
RMc
You might do some research on your trailer using both online resources and old brochures from the year your Laredo was manufactured. Keystone was using "improved vinyl graphics" in many of their trailer lines and most of them carried a 5 year "graphics manufacturer's warranty". The way it worked for the replacements I know about is that the owner contacts Keystone, "reminds them of the graphics warranty" (yeah, they have conveniently forgotten more than remembered) and Keystone will ask for photos and make a decision. If the "Keystone decider" agrees, they will send you replacement decals and the cost of installation is your responsibility. Keystone will process the reimbursement with the graphics supplier and you won't be involved in that.

A graphics package for a typical trailer is about $300-400 and installation is at least that much, usually more. If you can get Keystone to spring for the decals, it might be better than using spray paint to reproduce them. YMMV
__________________
John



2015 F250 6.7l 4x4
2014 Cougar X Lite 27RKS
JRTJH is online now   Reply With Quote
Old 11-16-2018, 05:56 PM   #22
Snoking
Senior Member
 
Snoking's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2018
Location: Lake Stevens
Posts: 764
If you are going to paint them, be sure use capable paint. A good paint store should know what to use. Chris
__________________
2019 Laredo 225MK for travel. Bighorn 3575el summer home in Washington, Park Model with Arizona Room for winters.
2015 RAM 3500 SRW CC SB Aisin Laramie
Snoking is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-16-2018, 05:59 PM   #23
fourfourto
Senior Member
 
fourfourto's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2016
Location: Bainbridge NY
Posts: 214
Quote:
Originally Posted by Snoking View Post
Might work with a bumper and square box SUV, however with a 5th wheel it is to far from the trailer, and the trailer is to tall.
Mine is originally designed to clip on rear door frame , I mounted it to rail on roof just got 4 extra factory roof attachments for straps
A bigger type like this for you 5 ers.
Has to save some gas
Attached Thumbnails
Click image for larger version

Name:	wing.jpg
Views:	154
Size:	63.3 KB
ID:	19331  
__________________

2017 Keystone 1750rd
2006 Hummer H3
1968 Oldsmobile 442
1983 Honda CX650C
fourfourto is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-16-2018, 06:01 PM   #24
Snoking
Senior Member
 
Snoking's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2018
Location: Lake Stevens
Posts: 764
Quote:
Originally Posted by fourfourto View Post
A bigger type like this for you 5 ers.
Has to save some gas
Not in most cases. To far from front of trailer.
__________________
2019 Laredo 225MK for travel. Bighorn 3575el summer home in Washington, Park Model with Arizona Room for winters.
2015 RAM 3500 SRW CC SB Aisin Laramie
Snoking is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-16-2018, 06:31 PM   #25
Laredo Tugger
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Apr 2018
Location: South US
Posts: 712
JRTJH, The trailer is a 2017. I have some warranty work that needs to be done and thankfully the dealer has opened a new store just under an hour from my home (versus over 3 to the east and 2 hours west).
I will add the sticker damage to the list and see where they go with it.
Thanks, really good info.
Chris, I had the same thought about which paint product to use. If I need to go that route I will definitely do some research.
Thanks
fourfourto, Is it me or is that picture showing that trailer too far back in the bed of the truck? It just doesn't look right.
Laredo Tugger is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-16-2018, 07:18 PM   #26
fourfourto
Senior Member
 
fourfourto's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2016
Location: Bainbridge NY
Posts: 214
fourfourto, Is it me or is that picture showing that trailer too far back in the bed of the truck? It just doesn't look right.


internet pic ?
__________________

2017 Keystone 1750rd
2006 Hummer H3
1968 Oldsmobile 442
1983 Honda CX650C
fourfourto is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-17-2018, 05:28 AM   #27
Laredo Tugger
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Apr 2018
Location: South US
Posts: 712
On a closer look,that photo maybe correct if you factor in the extension of the king pin in the front of the trailer. The hitch point is probably over center of the axle.
RMc
Laredo Tugger is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-17-2018, 05:33 AM   #28
Dave W
Senior Member
 
Join Date: May 2015
Location: Near Saratoga Springs,
Posts: 1,131
There are literally hundreds of articles and research papers on the 'net describing air flow over a pick up. Most of the pickups are pretty 'slippery' as they are, and especially with the tailgat closed and even better with a tonneau. Add an air deflector will, on a pieckup, disrupt that air flow, putting 'dirty' (disrupted) air in the box, creating drag. If you have a later 5er with the extended pin box, you add drag while an earlier, closely coupled unit might even benefit from a deflector -- though with that said, it didn't for me with our now long gone Kountry Aire.

Think about that deflector - it's stuck up in the airstream 15-18 inches. Then think about how air moves in a smooth stream over your truck then think about how that air stream is disrupted by something sticking up on the roof at some sort of angle.

As far as semi thruck - that's an entirely different story as those deflectors are part of an engineered system, not a haphazard one size fits all add on 'gadget'.

The idea is right, unfortumately the execution doesn't work
Dave W is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-17-2018, 06:13 AM   #29
flybouy
Site Team
 
Join Date: Oct 2011
Location: Joppa, MD
Posts: 11,714
Quote:
Originally Posted by fourfourto View Post
Mine is originally designed to clip on rear door frame , I mounted it to rail on roof just got 4 extra factory roof attachments for straps
A bigger type like this for you 5 ers.
Has to save some gas
What I question is the air flow that's implied by the red arrows. How is it the air flowing over the trucks windshield (whis is wind tunnel tested by a company that's got a building full of engineers and over 100 years experience) flow in a straight line over the windshield across the roof. Then, like magic, when it hits the air "deflector" it shoots several feet into the air just above the trailer's roofline. Maybe the guy that GMO'd Jack's beans worked on the design.
Obviously you spend your money as you wish but I'm not "buying it".
__________________
Marshall
2012 Laredo 303 TG
2010 F250 LT Super Cab, long bed, 4X4, 6.4 Turbo Diesel
flybouy is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-17-2018, 06:23 AM   #30
fourfourto
Senior Member
 
fourfourto's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2016
Location: Bainbridge NY
Posts: 214
Mine was $100 bucks, at least 10 percent increase in gas and I do feel a difference lugging up long hills.
My tow vehicle only has a 5 cyl I need all the help I can get.
__________________

2017 Keystone 1750rd
2006 Hummer H3
1968 Oldsmobile 442
1983 Honda CX650C
fourfourto is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-17-2018, 06:37 AM   #31
flybouy
Site Team
 
Join Date: Oct 2011
Location: Joppa, MD
Posts: 11,714
Quote:
Originally Posted by fourfourto View Post
Mine was $100 bucks, at least 10 percent increase in gas and I do feel a difference lugging up long hills.
My tow vehicle only has a 5 cyl I need all the help I can get.
I'm happy for you. My BIL had a H3 and after a year of pulling their little teardrop trailer and traded it in for a f150. They towed it with several suvs before that and spent a lot of money until landing on the f150. As for your mpg gains if your H3 is anything like theirs that would be <1.5 mpg gain. Too many factors IMHO to affect mileage claims like that. Change in traffic, change in wind speed or direction, weights, temps, road surface, to say nothing for driver consistency. I'm only stating the reasons I wouldn't buy it. Your satisfaction for your purchase obviously works for you.
__________________
Marshall
2012 Laredo 303 TG
2010 F250 LT Super Cab, long bed, 4X4, 6.4 Turbo Diesel
flybouy is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-17-2018, 02:26 PM   #32
MattHelm21
Senior Member
 
MattHelm21's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2016
Location: Sussex, NJ
Posts: 471
I had this deflector(picture attached). It was made by Wingmaster and I think it was an Aerotravel III. I was pulling 14K pounds with a gas 454 and 4.56 gears and became a friend of all gas station attendants while owning that rig. The deflector did nothing to improve mileage in my case but that wasn’t what I was thinking when I purchased it. That rig had a terrible chucking problem on those concrete highways with expansion joints at highway speeds. The best analogy I can make is think of an inch worm. The truck hits the expansion joint(drag), the trailer catches up(takes up play in the kingpin/hitch) and bump. Next, the trailer hits the same joint(drag) and since the truck is pulling normally again, the trailer pulls back(takes up play the other way) and bump.

My though process was what if you could reduce drag at the trailer and add drag to the truck at highway speeds and the deflector idea came to mind. For my specific situation it worked and improved things considerably. Now, having a truck with enough power, a hitch/kingpin with very little if any play, and a more aerodynamic front cap on the RV, the deflector has been unnecessary. Of course, reducing bug hits would be well worth it but the company went out of business and it is no long possible to get the mounts.
Attached Thumbnails
Click image for larger version

Name:	5C1705AB-5BE5-4BCB-9A32-3B71A9CB5F89.jpg
Views:	313
Size:	224.9 KB
ID:	19343  
__________________
2016 Fuzion 414 Chrome
2016 Ford F450 Super Duty King Ranch
MattHelm21 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-17-2018, 02:55 PM   #33
66joej
Senior Member
 
66joej's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2014
Location: radium hot springs bc
Posts: 2,007
These wings work but play h**l with gas mileage.
Attached Thumbnails
Click image for larger version

Name:	2012-Tony-Stewart-Racing.jpg
Views:	76
Size:	122.1 KB
ID:	19347  
__________________

2018 Ram 3500 6.4 Harvest Edition
2018 Cougar 27RESWE
66joej is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-17-2018, 08:10 PM   #34
77cruiser
Gone Traveling
 
Join Date: Jun 2018
Location: Frostbite Falls
Posts: 325
Most of the trailers don't need help in the front, but the square rear is where the help is needed.
77cruiser is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-18-2018, 05:01 AM   #35
66joej
Senior Member
 
66joej's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2014
Location: radium hot springs bc
Posts: 2,007
Quote:
Originally Posted by 77cruiser View Post
Most of the trailers don't need help in the front, but the square rear is where the help is needed.
I think that's why we are seeing more 18 wheelers with this on the back end.
Attached Thumbnails
Click image for larger version

Name:	trailertail-1.jpg
Views:	158
Size:	49.5 KB
ID:	19349  
__________________

2018 Ram 3500 6.4 Harvest Edition
2018 Cougar 27RESWE
66joej is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-18-2018, 08:01 AM   #36
JRTJH
Site Team
 
JRTJH's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: Gaylord
Posts: 26,841
Ford (and I'm sure other manufacturers as well) have done an excellent job of "smoothing the airflow" on today's vehicles. They have gone so far as to redesign the windshield wipers and their location, park position and function. Hoods, windshields, rooftops, truck beds, tailgates, tailgate "dams" have all been designed with airflow function as a primary concern. Even small, seemingly insignificant things like the curve of the rear of the cab have been designed to not disrupt airflow.

Hanging a 5' wide "wing" on top of today's trucks is significantly disruptive to the airflow over the vehicle. When engineers change the slope of the windshield 1 degree and reposition the wipers 1/4" up or down, to "fine tune" the airflow, I find it hard to believe that much "square bulk" hung to the roof can be beneficial or an improvement. For me, it seems more "snake-oil" than engineered science... YMMV
__________________
John



2015 F250 6.7l 4x4
2014 Cougar X Lite 27RKS
JRTJH is online now   Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Forum Jump

» Featured Campgrounds

Reviews provided by

Powered by vBadvanced CMPS v3.2.3
Disclaimer:

This website is not affiliated with or endorsed by the Keystone RV Company or any of its affiliates in any way. Keystone RV® is a registered trademark of the Keystone RV Company.


All times are GMT -8. The time now is 01:36 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.9
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.