Check Your Wheel Well

[Flyguy]

It has been brought to my attention in the past that there is an issue with some Keystone trailers at the wheel well locations. Most all of the trailers today use a composite wall that's composed of 1/8th inch Luan plywood with fiberglass gel-coat with some glass fiber embedded in it bonded to the Luan plywood, in most places on the trailer the bottom of this vertical wall is covered in some way but not in the wheel well location, here the bottom of the wall is cut to match the fender skirt and is left exposed, what this means is that if you look under the wheel well you will see the raw cut edge of the vertical walls plywood sandwiched between the skirt and the well itself, if this is left untreated when you tow in the rain, water will splash up onto that raw edge and wick up into the plywood causing it to rot and swell in time and delaminate the fiberglass from the plywood. It is important that you seal this raw plywood edge with whatever you can, such as paint, varnish, rubber undercoating, etc etc. This may or may not apply to your trailer but a simple check certainly can't hurt and may save you some grief later.

[Festus2]

Flyguy:
After reading your above post, I went out and checked all round the wheel well area that you mentioned. On our 2008 Cougar 5th, I cant see any evidence of exposed plywood or any other edges that are not covered. Unless I am not looking carefully enough or in the wrong places, the problem that you described may not apply in my case. Thank you for the heads up in any case and, as you said, a check for possible future rot and delamination is well worth the few minutes that it took. Richard

[Flyguy]

Richard, you need to look at the fender skirt on the wheel well, just behind it is the sidewall and the bottom of this should be protected in some way, if you see the cut edge of the plywood sidewall this is what I'm talking about. The fender skirt is usually a plastic piece that's screwed onto the sidewall and then sealed with clear silicone on top of the skirt. Don't look at the metal well piece above the wheel, this is not directly over the wheel but on the outside edge. Your trailer may not have this.

[Festus2]

I think that this RV may be constructed somewhat differently. Upon another inspection, I cannot see any exposed wall edges. Everything seems to be covered and sealed in some way. Perhaps some other members who have a late-model Cougar 5th wheel or a 2008 version could chime in and let us know if they are able to spot any exposed edges in the area that you described.

[Chessie]

I have a 2009 Passport 245RB. The wheel wells had exposed wood as previously mentioned. I checked for that in the TT that I was planning to purchase after a discussion in another Keystone forum that is apparently no longer active. Thanks to that discussion, I pointed this out to the RV dealer, and they sealed it during the TT prep. No one had brought that to their attention before. They now seal that exposed wood as part of their prep for Passports.

[placergoldman]

I have the 245RB also and read that on the forum..I checked my wheel wells and the paneling was bare..I went to an auto parts and got a black tar undercoating in a spray can and it has worked great!!

Tim

[antiqfreq]

checked ours, we have the enclosed underbelly,
but looks like NO exposed wood for us!

:D

jo

[twoclaws]

It has been brought to my attention in the past that there is an issue with some Keystone trailers at the wheel well locations. Most all of the trailers today use a composite wall that's composed of 1/8th inch Luan plywood with fiberglass gel-coat with some glass fiber embedded in it bonded to the Luan plywood, in most places on the trailer the bottom of this vertical wall is covered in some way but not in the wheel well location, here the bottom of the wall is cut to match the fender skirt and is left exposed, what this means is that if you look under the wheel well you will see the raw cut edge of the vertical walls plywood sandwiched between the skirt and the well itself, if this is left untreated when you tow in the rain, water will splash up onto that raw edge and wick up into the plywood causing it to rot and swell in time and delaminate the fiberglass from the plywood. It is important that you seal this raw plywood edge with whatever you can, such as paint, varnish, rubber undercoating, etc etc. This may or may not apply to your trailer but a simple check certainly can't hurt and may save you some grief later.
Thank You Flyguy! Researching TT to purchase. Went to Keystone Dealer yesterday and looked at 199ML and 195 RB. Previously having read your comment - your right, exposed fiber wood in wheel well - very obvious if you feel in this area. I found this on the 2010 models of the Passport Express and Ultra Lights not on the 2011 models. They (2011) appear to have an enclosed wheel well. I brought this to the attention of the sales person who inturn called the Keystone Rep who wasn't (willingly?) knowledgeable of this issue. Said he would check into it. However he agreed, if the wood was exposed - problems would occur. Both salesman and rep (on phone) began to tell me of the construction and the wrap/materials used. I pulled "particles of wood" and showed the sales person. Checked other models of Passport - 2010's exposed wood and 2011 enclosed wheel wells. Dealer said they would repair the 2010 to factory specs if I wanted the trailer (I don't think I want it) plus pointed out to the sales person that the Keystone bunkhouse (2010) ,sitting ready for delivery, had exposed wood. Wonder if they will let the new buyer know of the issue. Visited another dealer looking at TTs checked the wheel wells. Many makes did not have this issue and the 2011 Passports as stated above seem to have been corrected with a "wheel well". Dealer #2/salesperson never heard of this concern or issue but readily agreed of potential problems. Thanks a million. I enjoy reading and learning. You taught me and I taught atleast 3 others! This site is fantastic.

[SLIMSHADIE]

The exposed area in my TT is on the slideout. I read this post earlier and sprayed the black undercoating on the edge. I didn't see it until the slide was out. Thanks for looking out for us Flyguy.

[Terrydactile]

Yep, Flyguy my Passport was the same way as I discovered it shortly after purchase and sealed the exposed wood with undercoating.

[Flyguy]

All of the moderators on this forum are former members of the "Keystone Camping Group Forum" (which is no longer!) and many of the issues discussed have been brought to light on this forum because of the importance of those issues, I have seen many new issues brought to light on this forum by other members that I'm sure have helped others (I know that they have helped me). You shouldn't let this issue deter you from buying the trailer as long as the dealer is willing to fix the problem and as long as you do a proper PDI alongside the tech and make sure that there are no further problems, a PDI form can be found here: http://eaa1358.com/Passport/Pre-Delivery%20Inspection%20Checklist.pdf It doesn’t matter what model or brand you buy (Keystone or not) you will find flaws with all of them the important thing is to be in the know about what to look for for your own protection. View it as buying a house and neither the real estate agent nor the contractor is your friend, they are looking out for their own pocketbooks and you need to lookout for yours!!