Keystone Warranty ??

[cougarpelt]

Recently my water heater thermostat failed in a way that caused the element to get so hot that it melted the black wire that goes between the thermo and the element. The element is still good, gets hot, draws 10.1 ohms.
Camping World quoted me $258 to repair (diagnosis, replace thermo, 2 6" wires, and element Plus 1 1/2 hour labor at $125 per).
Camper is 8 months old so I mistakenly assumed that Keystone would honor the one year warranty; NO! more importantly, they didn't even steer me in the right direction ... namely Airxcel, suburban division, who makes the water heater. Camping world did not pursue the warranty repair towards them either but rather had ME pay the bill ! as if no one would warrant the thermo failure!
Well, a more senior RVer goes by the name Old Buscuit, was kind enough to steer me to the right procedures to file a claim for reinbursement.
Bottom line, there really is no one year warranty that the salesmen advertise for an RV; and if you are as unlucky as I was with the people I was dealing with, you end up forking out money after pitching a fit, etc.
I've learned this lesson, if you have a problem with your RV, put it in writing in this or another RV forum; you may get some unwelcome commits from a few but likely as not, a senior, kind RVer will give you good sound advice BEFORE you go to the dealership and face the problem unprepared.
Thank you Old Buscuit and all you other RV good guys for helping us new kids learn how it really works to care and feed an RV.

[bdgmbdgm]

hi,

you are correct and incorrect. keystone does offer a 1 year warrantee, on what they build. Each individual component is warranteed by the manufacturer.

What was explained to me, was when the RV industry crashed in 2008 the manufactures cut back. Before that time the dealership would file the claim with the manufacturer and then the manufacturer would file a claim with each one of their vendors.

After 2008 it was left to the dealership to file the warrantee claim with each vendor who put a parts on your RV.

Hope this explanation helps.

[x96mnn]

Cougarpelt is correct in what is stated in the post. I will add any warrant we get with our RVs are only as good as the dealer that does the service. Your dealer should have told you what old biscuit told you, that is customer service in my mind. We are fortunate we have a spot to go and post our issues learning from one another's experience in the process.

[bdgmbdgm]

It is worth wile to find a reputable dealer who will address all the issues and file the appropriate warrantee claims.

In my case, my dealer is great in that aspect of the service.

[JRTJH]

cougarpelt,

Is it possible that you have this RV forum confused with another? I just checked and we have no member with a name of "Old Buscuit" or anything like that. The only posts you've had on this forum are about the cooling fans in your refrigerator and landing gear stability. You've never posted here about a hot water problem.

Your comments thanking that member are apparently intended for a member of another forum. You may want to search your forum memberships and find the right place to thank him as this is the first post you've made about your water heater issues.

[Bluewater]

Another great story from the much loved Camping World.

[cougarpelt]

our moderator is correct, Old Buscuit is from another forum, but I'm sure we have many fine senior members like hime here. Just want them all to know that we junior members appreciate when they take the time to steer us in the correct direction out here among the money only oriented companies.
the other comment about the change in 2008 makes sense, my father-in-law was a wagon master for years and I never heard him have to complain about local dealer service before he passed.

[mazboy123]

you just told us what we all know....make sure that what will be done is under warranty coverage BEFORE it is done.:(

[cougarpelt]

I got a check for $129 today from Keystone RV :)(that's 58% of the amount I paid for repair of my 8 month old water heater at Camping World) ! Now I'm 58% happy with the Keystone's RV "Warranty". That's probably about all that Camping World would have gotten from Keystone IF they had approved the repair under warranty. I think I have learned a $90 lesson ... that the Dealers service departments make more money IF they DON'T agressively pursue a warranty approval from the manufacturer of an RV or a water heater.

[JRTJH]

At this point I think I'd at least contact Airxcel, provide them with all the information and sincerely express your displeasure in having to pay for a warranty item at 8 months of ownership. Who knows, you might just find they stand behind their products. It certainly can't hurt to make sure they're aware of your situation caused by CW and Keystone's failure to communicate.....

[cougarpelt]

Got $104 from Airxcel yesterday so my total repair was covered finally! Interesting letter was attached .... they regretted that they could not pay all the billed amount because the warranty claim procedures were not followed; IE they were not call up front. Here is where I fault the service department at Camping World ... they only called Keystone; not once did anyone call Airxcel the maker of the water heater or did they even mention their name or that they were the ones that actually warrant the problem; instead the service agent just reported to me that Keystone denied the claim and presented me with the bill.
I am just now fully understanding the motivation behind what happened ... Camping World would have gotten less than half the money IF they had processed the warranty claim with the proper company Airxcel; they know that, and that is why they only called Keystone who I am told does not warrant items on their trailers that they don't manufacture. PURE GREED on the part of a service department that clearly knows what they should have done but handed me the bill anyway!
I hope that other owners can benefit from my learning experience .... don't trust camping world to process a warranty claim properly .... their "directives" must be to get the most $ they can out of a repair even if it means misleading a customer into believing that there is NO WARRANTY on a 8 month old water heater. I will look for a company that will actually help me with warranty repairs when I am shopping for my next trailer.
Again, thanks to all those who have helped direct me in the right direction for this warranty claim.

[denverpilot]

Small claims case there. Negligence.

[Soreeyesuk]

I must say I am suprised how you guys in the US except only a years Warranty on you trailers as we have here in the UK 3-6 yrs on appliances and a 10 yr warranty on the trailer itself for leaks . Seems to swing very much in the manufacturers favour to produce a very poor product instead of having confidence in your product ?

[zuley]

Occasionally, you will read where someone has had a positive experience with Camping World. Myself, I have been shell shocked with the negative feed back I have read about them. I don't know of too many people with good things to say about them. It seems to me they have a big box store attitude.

[mazboy123]

I don't know what happened to you but if it was under the warranty period keystone is good for the warranty.

I'd be raising issue with this with keystone....they are the ones who should be dealing with their subcontractors, NOT camping world nor you.

[theeyres]

I don't know what happened to you but if it was under the warranty period keystone is good for the warranty.

I'd be raising issue with this with keystone....they are the ones who should be dealing with their subcontractors, NOT camping world nor you.

That's just not true as I read my warranty. They are very clear that all appliances, etc. are not covered by them but by the manufacturer and that those claims must be made to the man. not Keystone. Camping World certainly knows that and should have made the appropriate claim.

Unfortunately, RV manufacturing is pretty much unregulated and it behooves all of us owners to read ALL the fine print to figure out what to do in these cases. It is truly a "buyer beware" industry in the USA.

[Oldmilkman1]

So you say each device in camper has warranty is my toilet warranty separate from camper warranty ? My toilet stuck open flooded camper am confused I think toilet owes me a new camper!