Keystone warranty coverage, is dealer a must?

[{tpc}]

I have a few slight issues that need taken care of on my trailer. It is still under warranty, until april of next year, but is currently sleeping happily in storage.

If I document these issues and contact keystone, would they remedy them through me, or must I take it to the dealer?

The issues I have I feel I can fix on my own, and I feel I will do a superior job to that of the dealer.

1. Black tank sensor always reading empty.

2. Door latch very tight to open and close (I thought I fixed this one already but it still seems way too tight).

3. "Wallpaper" behind the bed peels back. This is the most cosmetic of the issues, and I just smooth it down every so often. I could probably fix with a small amount of adhesive.

4. One basement door has a weird ripple in it. It did not start out this way, it just showed up. Its cosmetic as far as I can tell, the door opens and closes and appears to keep water out just fine.

5. Insulation cutout in the round air conditioning vent in the bathroom. I believe this is just leftover from when it was made and was never pulled out. I am assuming I could just remove the vent and grab it out of there myself.

6. Roof vent over shower, appears to not be installed "level". I think this may be due to curvature of the roof line, but I don't know. It functions fine just the part that holds the screen seems to be angled off a bit. The one in the main cabin looks different.

7. This will sound silly but probably my biggest complaint. The lower bunk window screen constantly comes loose from the frame it is in. I would assume they would just get a new screen and be done with it. Of course I could take it to a screen shop and probably get it fixed right for about $5. For now I just fix it myself when it happens and move on. But its the most annoying.

So as you can see, these are all relatively minor issues. Would keystone be any help to me if I worked them out myself? Should I just schedule a dealer appointment and by done with it? Or should I just suck it up and take care of it myself?

The dealer isn't that far away, probably about a hour job to get the trailer and drop it off, but I hate to have it just sitting around their lot for months on end.

[Ram189]

I am sure they will have to be taken to a certified dealer for repairs.

They will never just let someone repair their car and send them money.

Mine is at the dealer now with my laundry list of little things like yours that they are fixing for me before I put it away for the winter.

Get them addressed before it goes out of warranty and becomes a hassle.

I made my appointment a month ago and just dropped it off yesterday.

[outwest]

dealer will need to start the case before the warranty period ends. This includes taking photos of the areas and submitting them to Keystone.

[JRTJH]

The Owner's Manual has all the instructions on how to obtain warranty service. Every situation, whether it is "at home" or "in transit" or "special situations" starts with the instruction, "Contact your dealer".

Even the instructions on contacting Keystone for assistance begins with, "Contact your dealer".

Keystone, like Ford, GM or Chrysler, won't "pay for repairs based on customer complaint" but will pay for repairs if they are verified by the dealer network. Occasionally, the dealer will verify the problem and if parts need to be ordered, will call to make an appointment when the parts are available and/or simply send the parts to the customer to install (if a simple one for one exchange) but usually won't send anything to the customer if it is a "difficult install/exchange) such as an engine, or a fuel injector, etc.

So, with your list, I'm sure that Keystone will not process any warranty item unless it is verified by a dealer to be valid and within warranty. Once approved, some dealers will give or send the parts to the customer, other's will not. That depends on the arrangement you make with your servicing dealer. You may find the service department will "work with you" or you may find that they will only do the work themselves. The only way you'll know is to contact your local dealer and discuss the problems you have and see how he wants to work the problem.

Don't expect Keystone to get involved until the dealership processes the warranty claim. Without proper verification from a dealer, Keystone will most likely just refer you to a dealer for service.

Good Luck

[accordionman]

I think you should schedule an appointment with your dealer ASAP .Keystone is not as liberal with warranty work as some other companies are .
I purchased a fifth wheel last August . the dealer told me if there were any minor adjustments to be made , (cargo door s needed to be adjusted ) they needed to be done by October . to be covered by warranty . that is just for minor adjustments . I did have some other problems later on which were covered with in the one year warranty . best to check with Keystone or dealer

[Festus2]

Keep in mind that, at this point, you have no idea how many of the 7 items you listed above will be eventually approved by Keystone. They may give the green light to your dealer to repair/replace some or all of those on your list. Any that might be turned down you will end up having to fix yourself. And you did say that you could probably fix them on your own and "do a superior job to that of the dealer".

In view of that I'd be tempted to do the repairs myself however the "weird ripple" in one of your basement doors may not be a simple, cosmetic fix.

Regardless, should you decide to have the dealer do the repairs, you need to take your unit into them and let them deal with Keystone. That is where the process starts - with the dealer - not directly with Keystone.

[sourdough]

If it were me I would take it to the dealer. They keep a file on the unit and the issues it has had. If something were to get worse in the future you would have the hostoric evidence of what was wrong and what was done.

As far as Keystone working with you as an individual owner; I am going thru that right now. For things I could fix, ie; a shower handle that blew its guts out and a remote that won't give me a menu; the dealer has told me to contact Keystone directly to see if they would just send me one. On the other hand, I've done that before with broken sliding door rollers. I was directed to take pics, give them to the service dept. who then sent them to Keystone. It took 9 days to get an approval for replacement and 17 more for Keystone to send the rollers to the dealer....for me to go get and then replace. It's a slow go.