2009 Passport - fresh water tank.

[Scooterbluz]

Hello Fellow Campers,
As always I started my yearly shakedown on my 2009 Passport Toy Hauler.
I filled the fresh water tank on a Thursday. Came out of the house friday morning and saw a small leak. After further investigation I noticed the under belly of my camper had a large bow in it. Now if I didn't know any better (and I didn't at the time) I was guessing that I had a tank support issue. I called the dealer where I purchased the unit. Only to find out they can't get me in for another 2 weeks. I asked if I would void my extended warrenty if I took a look myself. The dealer did not think that I should have a beer belly under my camper. Well to make a long story short, I removed the under carriage covering. I found that the support that I thought had come loose was not there. The only support they have under there for an 80 gal. tank is a 2 inch wide piece of sheet metal. The tank sets in between two rails on a lip. But running across the center of the tank from side to side is a lousy piece of sheet metal. Now I am not an engineer, but at 8 lbs per gallon of water times 80 gallons. Well that explains the beer belly. Now to make matters worse, my propane hard pipe runs directly in the center of the tank from side to side. So my propane line now has a serious beer belly issue. I since decided to fix it myself by running angle iron across from side to side rail. I will be contacting my dealer and Keystone about this. I would hate to be driving down the road at 55 mph, with my HD trike in the toy hauler and have the fresh water tank fall out. Yippee !!! Has anyone else had this issue? :(

Scooterbluz

[Scooterbluz]

Well I called Keystone today. Only to find out that a design flaw such as mine has to be found before your warranty runs out. So my loss, I never noticed the fresh water tank under - belly bow / beer belly. They did not offer any solution. All she said was without a existing warrenty she could do nothing. So make sure you all tear apart your camper and look for engineering goof ups BEFORE your waarenty runs out........ I THINK I"LL CALL THE ATTORNEY GENERALS OFFICE AND FILE A COMPLAINT................:eek:

[SLIMSHADIE]

I know its BS, maybe the engineer thought the sheetmetal was to keep the rails together and not to support the weight, but if the sheetmatal fails, guess what. These things are over engineered anymore just to save money.

[250brider]

I think this is a common problem for Keystone, I have an 07 Raptor 3612 and my fresh tank (100 gal) fell out. It was held up with 4 thin sheet metal straps and self tapping screws. I had to fight for a month to get it fixed by Keystone even though it was only 8 months old. I am in the process of finding something better to play in and it definetly won't be a Keystone product.:mad:

[Scooterbluz]

Well, at least no one was injured when your tank fell out. Unfortunately that it would take a lawsuit for an injury to get Keystone to do anything about it.
Let me know if you find a hauler worth buying. Right now I think one is as bad as another......:cool:

[MightyMike]

Hey, Scooterbluz- Thanks for the info. Have a 2008 3602 Raptor, and with all of the problems I had with it, now I have something else to look for!!! I do have an opinion about better built toyhaulers, so PM me and I'll get back to you ( Can't be too critical of Keystone on here or ya get spanked.)

[soundman]

You should let loose on Keystone here, the site is not owned by Keystone. They need to take care of there customers, stop passing the buck or be run out of business.I am very upset about my present warranty situation and if it not resolved soon I WILL LET LOOSE and I'm sure there are a lot of people just waiting in the wings to do the same.
I am a small business owner and go beyond the call to make sure my customers are well taken care of and guess what, they always send me more business. I can't get over the awful customer service in this industry and it seems to a way of life for Keystone. I am in the market for a 5er and I can promise all who read this, it will not be a Keystone

[Scooterbluz]

You should let loose. I'm going to. I plan on writing to the CEO of Keystone and let him know of my issue. If that does not go as planned I WILL be filing a complaint with the STATE ATTORNEY GENERALS office. Maybe the quality would be better if these were manufactured overseas. I hate to say it because I am a "Made in the USA" supporter. :eek:

[250brider]

Well over the Memorial Day weekend, we took our 3612 out to a local lake, the fresh tank is again falling out (currently resting on the underside drawers) and our hydraulic hoses for the main slide are split and leaking. Called our local dealer who says we're not under warranty anymore. The bill would be ours. Nice. I have 2 thoughts on this 1. At least if I fix it myself it will be right and I won't be doing it again in a year or two.. 2: Keystone makes garbage and has dealers that are at least as bad as they are. I will spread the word at all functions I attend to avoid them like the plague.

[ftwildernessguy]

Well over the Memorial Day weekend, we took our 3612 out to a local lake, the fresh tank is again falling out (currently resting on the underside drawers) and our hydraulic hoses for the main slide are split and leaking. Called our local dealer who says we're not under warranty anymore. The bill would be ours. Nice. I have 2 thoughts on this 1. At least if I fix it myself it will be right and I won't be doing it again in a year or two.. 2: Keystone makes garbage and has dealers that are at least as bad as they are. I will spread the word at all functions I attend to avoid them like the plague.

In all fairness, you do have a 4 year old trailer and Keystone's warranty is 1 year, as are most trailer manufacturers. Things like hoses wear out, and Keystone can't keep replacing stuff forever.

[ftwildernessguy]

I think that infrequent use on things like hydraulic lines can make them prone to failure. I have owned trailers for over 20 years of various manufacturers and I expect to have to do certain maintenance on them as things wear out or fail. I don't expect the manufacturer to cover items long after warrantees have expired. Seriously.

[Jim W]

Seriously????? You think 4 years is an acceptable lifespan for a hydralic line? Not even considering the time, realize how many times per year most of these things are used. Highly unlikely most users go more than a couple dozen trips per year, and if it's on a permanent site there should be even less wear and tear. Face it, they just want to get away as cheap as possible, so if they can build it to last at least a year, they're home free. O.K.,these things go thru hurricane force winds whenever you tow them, and it's not like your house where the plumbing and appliances are not bouncing down the highway, but the warranty of 1 year?? That's got to be the biggest rip off of consumers anywhere. And if you do have an issue, Keystone's customer service has quite a reputation in this industry(Not really good, and not getting better as far as I can tell).

As a retired hydraulic engineer, this is one area that I always had problems with customers who excepted their hydraulic hose to last for ever. They think it is made out of steel.
Hydraulic fluid is made up of oil and several chemicals, which will cause the rubber used in hydraulic hose to fail over time. The other problem is the ozone in the atmosphere this too will cause the hydraulic hose covering to fail. Hydraulic hose is a replaceable item that needs to be replace every four to five years. In fact all hose assemblies and fan belts should be replaced on your car every four to five years also, do to the ozone effect.
Jim

[Festus2]

The debate over the fresh water tank supports and the hydraulic hoses has become both negative and argumentative. Those members who have been experiencing these problems have expressed their opinions about Keystone and its products as well as their anger and frustration and it is understandable why they feel this way. However, the continuing negative comments and trashing of Keystone, its products and dealers are not acceptable on this forum. The comments in the most recent posts have also turned personal. Because of the repeated negative attacks on a company and the inappropriate personal comments, these posts have been deleted.
You have made your point and we all understand what your views are. I would suggest that this issue be laid to rest by all those who have been involved in this "discussion".

[250brider]

I would like to apologize for the ranting. I am frustrated, but should and will take that up were it is appropriate. Wish you all the best of luck with you Keystone products.

[Scooterbluz]

Come on guys how can you put a warranty on a design issue. If it's a design flaw or failure, Keystone should fix it for the life of the camper. And then stop making them that way........ Common sense goes a long way here... :eek: