I am sorry to hear everything did not work out as well as you first thought. I'm of 2 minds on blaming Keystone for everything, although ultimately it is their responsibility to have a working unit when it leaves the assembly line.
When it comes to "peripheral" equipment adds such as the gen or in our case the washer and dryer, I am always 100% suspect of the accuracy of the install so try to make sure I go thru those items with a fine tooth comb. In the case of the gen, although it should have been thoroughly inspected before it left the factory, it should have also been thoroughly inspected by the dealership before handing it over to you...then there is the customer PDI which can also be a measure to catch failures - but that should not be IMO; but it has become just a fact. Factor in that the person at the factory installing the gen and the person at the dealership neither had any idea of what they were doing and you can figure there is a lot of room for failure. Unfortunate, wish it weren't so etc. but that is the current state of affairs in the RV world whether we like it or not.
" It is a shame, a disgrace to American workmanship, and truly the fault of management. The overlying philosophy at Thor must make it a very unlikable place to work. "
IMO as long as customers are clamoring for these units, buying them as fast as they can build them and rushing off to use them, I doubt that the finished product a person gets is a "fault" of management; more the product produced by the requirements placed on management to meet the production schedule. As far as being an "unlikeable" place to work, I don't know, but I have worked in conditions with quotas placed on productivity and didn't view it as unlikeable, just a part of the job.
From my perspective Keystone, Thor, Forest River, Jayco and all the rest of the manufacturers do the same thing; put out as many units as they can, hope for the best and let the dealer become the QC (quality control) point (the only one). That puts a lot of responsibility on the dealership but from my experiences they know that is the situation. Now, to compound that....
On this new trailer I found out something I did not know - and I'm embarrassed to tell it but it might help someone in the future. I had mods done while I was in FL and they were preparing the trailer for me in TX. One of them was to remove the tires on the new trailer and install Sailuns. It was a disjointed affair. Previously I would just tell them I wanted X tires installed, the got them, installed them and I paid for them when I picked up the unit. This time I guess they thought since I was in FL I may never come back or something and didn't want to be stuck for a new set of tires so made me pay for them in advance - very weird. I had to call the tire company, specify what I wanted and negotiate the price; then I had to pay the dealership, they removed the tires/wheels, took them to the tire store, had them remove the old tires/install the new ones, then the dealership paid for the tires (from the money I had paid them up front) and mounted them back on the trailer - rather complicated and unnecessary as I told them but that was their new policy. Now for my foul up; on the day of pick up and PDI we went over everything but it was cold, windy and rainy. I had sent them a copy of the PDI, asked them to use it prior to my arrival then I was going to go over it with them. They said they would/did. We went over the trailer and didn't find anything, BUT, I did not check the air pressure on the tires. I had stipulated to the tire store and the dealership not only 110psi wheels but 110psi in the tires...repeatedly. On the day of the PDI the weather wasn't really good, my pressure gauge was in my truck clear on the other side of the dealership and the PDI person didn't have one. I decided with the amount of stress I put on having those tires aired to pressure I would check it when I got home fairly confident it would be OK - lesson, never assume anything at any time with a new RV. Got it home and got out my gauge to check the pressures....FORTY PSI in the tires!!! I went through the roof being extremely upset with the tire store, the dealership and most of all myself. After ripping them inside out for a complete failure on their part and placing my wife and myself in danger I had to admit one last thing to them....I (ME) had failed as well. I failed to check that air pressure; I knew you can't take anything for granted and I know on any work performed I (ME) am the last stopgap to assure everything is right....and I failed both myself and my wife on that part. Knowing my temperament, my disappointment and what time I was picking up the trailer, the GM came to the dealership on his day off, in his sweats, to see me. He explained to me that when something is subbed (the tires) they don't touch them or check that....that was between me and the tire store where I bought them. We discussed the merits of that philosophy from mine/their perspectives. They took off the wheels and put them back on but I supposedly paid the tire store so it wasn't the dealership's responsibility....but I paid them, not the tire store and THEY purchased the tires.....round and round. He said maybe they needed to revise their policy and I agreed. Long story to point out another area to watch for if you are buying, ordering or speccing a new trailer with added equipment. Sorry for the long post; I need to find something to do but it's cold and I'm feeling pretty lazy....
