Passport Quality

[CHIEF MK]

We just got back from a 2100 mile trip, and The Passport has a few problems. We have around 7,000 miles on our 23RB, and I'm finding out how well a light weight trailer holds up. I must say were a bit concerned of the build quality of this TT.

1st trip the large drawer under the stove came open while we were on the highway, and destroyed the rails. Had to make a roadside repair in extreme hot weather. It still doesn't work right. It's a very cheap design, and the materials are cheap. We had a skillet and a pan it when this happened.

2nd trip, and all other trips, we find 3 or 4 of either the cabinet doors, or galley drawers open which always screws something up. Either the frame of the cabinet's get pulled apart or something falls out, or the rails get bent. Now I do know how to secure a vessel for sea, having been in the Coast Guard for 20 years. We check and recheck everything prior to moving.

3rd trip, the trailer lights kept going out, and blowing the fuses out in my TV. Had to take a 6 hour detour to find a keystone warranty repair shop. They found a faulty wire in the trailer. They fixed it with no cost to us except an extra day on the road.

6th trip, after 7 hours of interstate we parked at the CC, and found the entire window cornise, blinds,curtain and wood frame that's over the slide outs couch, laying on the floor. A bunch of screws on the floor also. No privacy for that night. I can't believe they just stabbed a few screws into the cheap walls to support this stuff. The couch was also pulled away from the wall, and the screws that hold it to the wall were missing. The A/C is also short cycling, in 80 deg weather.

Were not to happy. We spent good hard earned money for this thing and we are pretty much ready to get a higher quality trailer. The dealer said he is very sorry, and the owner said for me to bring it in and they will totally go through tis rig and fix all my concerns.

Think we are going to trade up if we can.

[BirchyBoy]

Sorry to read all of this. It is good that the dealer is going to fix everything, though.

[Wantoride]

I have a 23rb as well. We have only gone about 1000 miles. We also had the drawer and doors come open. I am new to rving so I drive slow and cautious not like Andy granetelli! I have had a number of plastic items break, curtain stretchers , storage latch, and have been fussing with the door jam latch. The strike plate screw was over tightened and striped, replaced with a larger one. I agree, there are cheap parts, and , well workmanship, well workmanship hasn't really bitten me is the xxx yet but all the cheap parts are made in China. I still love my passport, I only hope I don't have your MAJOR issues. As far as the size, how do you like it.

[Festus2]

Chief MK:
You are not the first and only member who has had issues with drawers and doors falling apart or coming off hinges. A few members have had to remove the drawer guides and other drawer components and essentially rebuild the supports from scratch.

Loose hinges and doors are a fairly common problem. Anytime you try to mount a hinge into particle board it will, over time, work loose. Screws, doors and particle board are a bad combination. To "fix" this, remove each loose screw, break off a short section of toothpick, squeeze some glue into the hole, insert the toothpick and then remount the hinge with the screw.

You don't have to do this with each and every screw and hinge but each time you come across a loose hinge, use this repair method - it seems to work and actually holds up.

You are lucky to have found a dealer who will make good on those items that need fixing.

I'm not sure if, by "trading up", all future problems will disappear. Even the so-called high end RV's have their issues. With Keystone, all their units are produced in the same plants by the same workers and one model doesn't get any more TLC or build quality than the other. The differences are in the quality of furniture, some appliances, upholstery, counter tops and other similar "creature comforts". The build quality is pretty much the same throughout the Keystone spectrum. Paying more $$$ doesn't guarantee better quality or fewer problems.

I understand your frustration in having to deal with all of the problems you have experienced and hopefully after your dealer service department has gone through it and has addressed all of the issues, you'll be a happy camper again.

[CHIEF MK]

Thanks for the support, and I know it all can't be completely free of problems. I just can't understand how a company could expect a 10 lb part mounted over your head to stay in place when the whole thing is just screwed into a very weak panel. Glad I wasn't sitting there when that screw sticking out could have went through my skull. Jeez. Trading up probably won't happen, but when your faced with as many small problems as we have you start thinking maybe there's something better out there.

We love the passport, I love pulling it. It's very addictive to me, and we are totally into the RV world. We just got back, and I can't wait to get underway again. The next trip will be back up to Oregon to the Dealer. They said they would take 2 days and totally go through it, and even look deeper into the whole situation for us. I guess you can't beat that. The bad part is that we will have to stay in a Motel and not be camping.

[CHIEF MK]

I have a 23rb as well. We have only gone about 1000 miles. We also had the drawer and doors come open. I am new to rving so I drive slow and cautious not like Andy granetelli! I have had a number of plastic items break, curtain stretchers , storage latch, and have been fussing with the door jam latch. The strike plate screw was over tightened and striped, replaced with a larger one. I agree, there are cheap parts, and , well workmanship, well workmanship hasn't really bitten me is the xxx yet but all the cheap parts are made in China. I still love my passport, I only hope I don't have your MAJOR issues. As far as the size, how do you like it.


We really love the 23RB, and we understood that it wasn't a giant TT. We chose this one for it's size and weight. It's just me, the DW, a large Chocolate Lab, and a 5 pound toy Fox terrier. No kids. It gets cramped around chow time if the big dog is inside, but overall It's a pretty good size. We have made 6 trips since last October, and around 7,000 miles. I wish we would have bought something a bit bigger. It really is a joy to pull though. My truck has a 7200 lb limit, so I wanted something around the 5,000 lb mark to make sure I could stop in time, and be safe, and well under the rated capacity. The Passport fit the bill, and I matched the truck and trailer perfectly.

[440justin]

I have a 23rb as well. And it has really worked out well for me. It has had a few small issues, but for $20k I was not expecting the world.

I had the same issue with the drawer under the stove. I just replaced the light factory slides with some 150lbs rated units. Most of my other issues have been just upgrading the factory installed stuff with better stuff.

Glad it sounds like your dealer will take care of you.

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[CampDestinations.com]

Any chance one of your tires is out of balance causing a little more "shaking" inside the trailer than should be? I mean, yeah - we've all had the drawer/door hinge issues. But the couch pulled away from the wall and the window cornice fell down? That doesn't sound like something I've heard much from others. Get those tires checked out. It's worth a look to possible smooth out the ride.

[CHIEF MK]

Any chance one of your tires is out of balance causing a little more "shaking" inside the trailer than should be? I mean, yeah - we've all had the drawer/door hinge issues. But the couch pulled away from the wall and the window cornice fell down? That doesn't sound like something I've heard much from others. Get those tires checked out. It's worth a look to possible smooth out the ride.

I wish it was that easy. The tires are fine. Have you driven down I-5 lately from CA hwy 20 to I-5 and all the way to LA? It's one bumpy ride.

I'm a retired mechanic, and I can tell you YES the installation of the cornice couldn't be expected to last as long as it did. I drive 55-60 mph always. I've never been off road, and we pack well, and secure the inside of the TT correctly. The tires show absolutely no wear from out of balance , under or over inflation, or alignment issues. I run them at 55 psi which is what the dealer had them at. I tried 65 which is the recommended psi for max weight , but that was to much.

Thanks for the help, but the issue is quality control.

[CHIEF MK]

I have a 23rb as well. And it has really worked out well for me. It has had a few small issues, but for $20k I was not expecting the world.

I had the same issue with the drawer under the stove. I just replaced the light factory slides with some 150lbs rated units. Most of my other issues have been just upgrading the factory installed stuff with better stuff.

Glad it sounds like your dealer will take care of you.

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For once I really didn't want to have to go through the whole trailer upgrading everything. That's ridiculous. I understand it, but I'm tired of paying for things and then just having to replace everything to make it road worthy. And where did you get a Passport for $20 grand? Mine was $27K. I learned my lesson, and hopefully I will not make that mistake again.

[440justin]

For once I really didn't want to have to go through the whole trailer upgrading everything. That's ridiculous. I understand it, but I'm tired of paying for things and then just having to replace everything to make it road worthy. And where did you get a Passport for $20 grand? Mine was $27K. I learned my lesson, and hopefully I will not make that mistake again.

Yes, it would be nice to not have to upgrade everything, I even looked at brands that I though were high end such as Lance and after looking on their forums I see they have the same issues I see talked about on this forum, so decided I better save my money and just fix/upgrade as I needed on a much cheaper unit.

I bought my Passport for the local dealer, Thompson Family RV. Good dealer, and have taken good care of me so far. They have the 2015 Passport 23RB listed online for $24,300 but they always have a lower price posted on their units at the dealership. When I got my 2013 they listed it online for $21,900 and I got it for just around the $20 mark once the deal was done. The higher price must be the new upcharge for having the new exterior color.

http://www.thompsonfamilyrv.com/2015-keystone-passport-ultralite-elite-23rb-new-travel-trailer-ia-i1169374

[440justin]

For once I really didn't want to have to go through the whole trailer upgrading everything. That's ridiculous. I understand it, but I'm tired of paying for things and then just having to replace everything to make it road worthy. And where did you get a Passport for $20 grand? Mine was $27K. I learned my lesson, and hopefully I will not make that mistake again.

Oh, I see you are in CA, I am sure the big cost difference is shipping cost. I am only 4 1/2hours away from the factory, so that saves a lot of shipping cost.

[zuley]

As the owner of a 23RB as well we have ourselves experienced two of the same issues you have. Second trip out the valance above the couch came down. Into the local hardware store and purchased a pack of drill bits and some collapsible metal retainers. I carry a rechargeable drill for the legs. Took my 20 minutes when I got back to the camp site to fix the valance, never to fail again. And yes, you are correct it was very poorly constructed. I believe 4 light screws holding it up through the wall paneling.
Our lower drawer under the oven I felt never opened far enough, only about 8 inches. When I got around to winterizing I played with it and determined the slides were not allowing it to open fully. I remember slicing my hand open on a sharp edge. A trip to the Home Depot Boutique and a new set of slides later we are good to go. I'm curious now whether the drawer will open on it's own while under way. May have to add some sort of a lock to the drawer at some point.
Other than that we have been very happy with the trailer over all. We spent 42 nights in it last summer and have that many booked again this summer.

[CHIEF MK]

Sorry to hear you had the same problems as us. Yes I could repair everything that has failed. I would put some anchors in the wall. That was my plan until the dealer said they would fix me up. I'm very handy around the tool box , but my disability's prevent me from getting on the ground to work. It's gets pretty ugly getting up HA ha. I still manage. I do all my own repairs on everything, but it is getting very hard. It doesn't help that the Keystone dealer is 4 hours from here. Probably going up next week.

I mean we have the bug, so we've got to get it repaired and hit the trail again. SOON!

[zuley]

I hear ya MK. Our dealer is 3 plus hours away so for the cost of the repairs I have made it was not worth the fuel.

[Wantoride]

For once I really didn't want to have to go through the whole trailer upgrading everything. That's ridiculous. I understand it, but I'm tired of paying for things and then just having to replace everything to make it road worthy. And where did you get a Passport for $20 grand? Mine was $27K. I learned my lesson, and hopefully I will not make that mistake again.

Well if it makes you feel any better, when given the retail price at the dealership, I stumbled, my salesman said" this is the time you beat me up". I thought about it and said "24 and out the door". At 24 with tags tax tittle and anything else that would have nickel and dimed me. I was happy with it. 20 would have been sweet though!

[CHIEF MK]

Well I made all the repairs myself, instead of wasting 10 hours worth of gas to make the round trip to the dealer, and then probably having to spend the night or two in a Motel.

We did something totally crazy, and drove down to Santa Rosa RV, with the Passport, and traded it for a much larger, and very well built Rockwood Windjammer 3025w. It's 34' long 3 slides. It's an awesome TT.

We decided, that since we really have taken to the whole RV thing, that we should just go ahead and make ourselves very comfortable. No more walking around the dogs at chow time or in the middle of the night.

So anyway I probably won't be frequenting this site much anymore, but I did find it to be very informative, and very friendly. Thanks for listening, and all the advice we have got.

Tom and Kim

[HappyCamperMN]

So anyway I probably won't be frequenting this site much anymore, but I did find it to be very informative, and very friendly. Thanks for listening, and all the advice we have got.


Forest River has an equally good forum for their RVs. I read and posted there a bit when we were looking at their products.

I was originally looking at Rockwood Roos before we started looking around and decided we "needed" bunk beds, then we "needed" a bunk house. Then we found a unit with an outdoor kitchen... Now we're waiting on our Premier 31BHPR.

Happy Trails!

[Festus2]

Congratulations on your new purchase. Stop by from time-to-time and let us know how the Rockwood is making out. Will you also be looking at a new tow vehicle?

Great to have you as a member!

[CHIEF MK]

Congratulations on your new purchase. Stop by from time-to-time and let us know how the Rockwood is making out. Will you also be looking at a new tow vehicle?

Great to have you as a member!


I will indeed stop by. Thanks, and yes I think a new larger TV is in my future. (tx)

[crohill]

I do worry about how a super light TT will hold up. I feel bad for you.. you go with what is told to be the best...and it give you misery. Dealer can fix..but they are going to use the same materials. Maybe these light weights just were not meant for long trips.

[Floton]

"Think we are going to trade up if we can"

I had more problems with my very expensive Montana than I have had after downsizing to my Passport 2650. My point is trading up isn't always an answer

[RGene7001]

"Think we are going to trade up if we can"

I had more problems with my very expensive Montana than I have had after downsizing to my Passport 2650. My point is trading up isn't always an answer

Agree. Very few problems, definitely nothing major or structural. Needed to upgrade a few things

[{tpc}]

I've only been on one trip so far and it was only about 32 miles one way. Our passport didn't have any problems (other than the dinette table when we turned it into a bed after we got there), nothing opened or seemed to break. There were a few bumpy spots but nothing major, other than a RR track we had to cross both ways.

We will be taking a much longer trip at the end of next month, about 200 miles one way, so will see how she fairs then.

[BirchyBoy]

I've only been on one trip so far and it was only about 32 miles one way. Our passport didn't have any problems (other than the dinette table when we turned it into a bed after we got there), nothing opened or seemed to break. There were a few bumpy spots but nothing major, other than a RR track we had to cross both ways.

We will be taking a much longer trip at the end of next month, about 200 miles one way, so will see how she fairs then.

+1 here. We went 24 miles round trip a couple weeks ago. We're leaving for a 5k mile trip on 5/23.

[CHIEF MK]

Time will tell I guess. The rockwood looks pretty solid. I went over everything on it, that I had troubles with on the passport, and found it to be built better.

For one the bed. You would not beleive how well built the frame , the bed lift, and the massive platform that the mattress sits on.

Before our last trip I had ordered a bedlift kit. I tried to install it, but ran into several problems with the passport. One, is that the entire thing is to cheaply made(liteweight), that once I installed the kit and tried to close the bed the sides of the bedframe bowed out to the point that if I would have pushed on it more the entire bedframe would have broke to pieces. I readjusted to try and take more pressure off the side of the bed, and even reinforced the sides. Didn't help a bit. The mattress sits on a 1/4 '' piece of plywood. The wood sides on the frame are cheap particale board or pannelling of some kind stapled to the 1x1'' frame material. I know it's a light weight trailer, and that how they get it lite.

I loved our trailer, but I don't think it would have held up for us in the long term. I'm older and I need to stop all this buying of RV's, and get back to the mission at hand, and that is camping very comfortable with no worries of equipment failure due to lite weight materials.

Will this Windjammer be trouble free? of course not. I'm sure I will run into problems as well, but the things I was l looking for that had failed on the passport are rock solid on the Windjammer, That's all.

[Wantoride]

Update....... I know it's been a while but guess what! The large valence and shade came off this week, trip number 6. About 2000 miles. Elders glue and toothpicks will fix it!

[Lholestine]

I have a 2013 3220 bh. The only issue I've had with the passport itself, minus a refrigerator ignition board, is the 90 degree elbows in the plumbing. I've replaced every one as they all have leaked. Now I keep a couple extras o hand. Easy to do, just a pain after you get to campground, sit down with a beer to relax and have one of the kids say, dad there's water on the floor again. I'm pretty sure I've found them all, but you never know. Our above the sink cabinet doors have come open during transit once, we tie them shut before leaving now. Love the camper.


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[PT RV`er]

I have a 2013 3220 bh. The only issue I've had with the passport itself, minus a refrigerator ignition board, is the 90 degree elbows in the plumbing. I've replaced every one as they all have leaked. Now I keep a couple extras o hand. Easy to do, just a pain after you get to campground, sit down with a beer to relax and have one of the kids say, dad there's water on the floor again. I'm pretty sure I've found them all, but you never know. Our above the sink cabinet doors have come open during transit once, we tie them shut before leaving now. Love the camper.


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I`ve got a rig similar to yours. So far to date, one issue that is being fixed right now. We got back off a 2 week trip and during the trip, I lost my antenna feed. Come to find out, there is a union connection between the run from the antenna to the junction box inside. It was obvious when I checked it out myself and found a gray coax on the roof and found a white coax coming into the junction box. Looks like they are removing the antenna mount assembly to find where this union is at and fix it. Luckily it`s still under warranty. Other than that issue, I`ve had no other issues with this rig.

[lspajm]

I have a 2011 3220bh and only issue I had was a bowing floor in the bathroom.


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[Javi]

Hopefully my Passport will move on tomorrow to another owner, its been a good enough trailer just not the one I want to spend the rest of my life with.. Finally worked up the courage to divorce her and move on with a new Cougar... :D Now its up to the finance gods as to whether this is a match made in heaven or hell..

[JRTJH]

Javi,

When the tree fell on our Springdale, we were in much the same situation. We were leaving the "known and reliable" and moving up to another brand from Keystone. We were "sure about it" but still "concerned about whether we were making the right move" Once we got the Cougar home, moved our stuff into it and did a few mods (LED lights, Oxygenics showerhead, etc) we wondered why we waited so long LOL

Good luck and let's hope the "finance gods" get things worked out for you.