Baffled

[Bullet Boy]

I purchased a 2015 Bullet... I did some research but mostly purchased because friends have this model and they all seemed to be very happy with they’re units. I should have went to TT 101, I bought my unit cash from a dealer in Delaware and once the finances were traded, it went down hill quick....It’s been an issue since I parked it in my driveway. Just came in from fixing a leak in the FWT, morons put a screw through the tank during assembly, seems to be the norm for Keystone. I went into this knowing I’d be doing maintenance and I love tooling around, so it’s not a major issue, but definitely a learned a serious lesson about what I should have been looking for way before purchasing. So far I have done a boat load of more than maintenance items on our unit. I’ve replaced anything dirty or worn and that’s really what it’s about, making it your own and adding your own flavor. So glad I bought used and knew I’d be doing some work, I can’t imagine if I spent $30k and had the same issues, and I have read some nightmares. Shame on the manufacturers for not having better QC.
Happy Camper when things ain’t broken!!!

[rjrelander]

Did something shift to make it start leaking? Odd that the original owner wouldn't have found it over four years time. Make sure to check around the area for water damage. General consensus is that quality control issues are not unique to Keystone and occur across all price ranges on all makes and models.

Over the past two seasons, we've actually had more issues with our "bricks and sticks" house than our trailer. Best we can do is keep up on the easy stuff and get help with the hard stuff. Good luck!

[busterbrown]

Believe it or not, putting screws through holding tanks is not exclusive to Keystone. Join a few other manufacturer enthusiast forums and you'll see that those kind of quality isses are prevalent across the board.

As far as quality control in the recreational vehicle industry as a whole, its relatively non-existance compared to the automotive industry. Watch a few YouTube videos that demonstrate how these coaches are put together. Then, balance that with the fact that "assembly line" workers are compensated (and incentivized) with production numbers and not sitting in a unionized factory on hourly payrolls.

Considering how fast these trailers are built, it's a miracle they can move at 70 mph down the highway and still be in one piece at the campsite.

[chuckster57]

A 2015 trailer should have had a leaking tank discovered a long time ago.

If you bought it from a dealer, shame on them for not finding and fixing it. At this point there probably isn’t much you can do, but I would at least try to get the dealer to replace the tank.

[sourdough]

Originally Posted by Bullet Boy

I purchased a 2015 Bullet... I did some research but mostly purchased because friends have this model and they all seemed to be very happy with they’re units. I should have went to TT 101, I bought my unit cash from a dealer in Delaware and once the finances were traded, it went down hill quick....It’s been an issue since I parked it in my driveway. Just came in from fixing a leak in the FWT, morons put a screw through the tank during assembly, seems to be the norm for Keystone. I went into this knowing I’d be doing maintenance and I love tooling around, so it’s not a major issue, but definitely a learned a serious lesson about what I should have been looking for way before purchasing. So far I have done a boat load of more than maintenance items on our unit. I’ve replaced anything dirty or worn and that’s really what it’s about, making it your own and adding your own flavor. So glad I bought used and knew I’d be doing some work, I can’t imagine if I spent $30k and had the same issues, and I have read some nightmares. Shame on the manufacturers for not having better QC.
Happy Camper when things ain’t broken!!!

Not throwing stones but you bought a 4 year old trailer and blame the manufacturer for a leaking tank? What was going on the prior 4 years? Who did what "working" on stuff?

Lots of folks on the forum have issues with new trailers (attributable to Keystone - maybe- dealers do "lots" of stuff to new trailers) and many don't. Those items can be addressed up front right now with the dealer/Keystone. Buying a 4 year old unit and blame the manufacturer for all failures you encounter just doesn't fly. Buying that old of a trailer puts 100% if the "what works, what don't" on the new buyer IMO.

[notanlines]

Bullet, we travel a considerable amount, talking to many, many RV owners. Over all, Keystone has a pretty good name from the average RV'er. You are on a forum that mostly has developed into a problem/complaint zone. It is by the nature of its purpose. Not many posts here complimenting the dealers nor their RV's. Your RV may be as old as five years. Fix what you need to and enjoy your RV.
Have you checked the age of your tires? It is possible they are the originals....

[Bullet Boy]

I understand that across the board you will find some ridiculous things that have occurred during assembly. And yes, the dealership should have found all of these issues and made a resolve or informed me. I’m learning and I totally understood going into this what would and would not possibly work and repairs are just part of the owning aTT. Tires are being done this week and like I said, anything I find worn or broken is getting fixed as we go.... my bullet will eventually be “Bullet Proof”.....it’s a solid unit that I will have no problem getting 10 or so years out of. I do not put all the blame on Keystone, but perhaps if the dealership paid a little more attention this would not even be an issue and I’m saying from when the trailer was first sold.... not sure how someone missed this unless they never boondocked and the dealership never filled the tank to test.... it is what it is at this point. The dealership is Hitch RV, I wouldn’t so much a give them a penny of my future purchases. Thanks for all your input, it is beneficial.

[jsmith948]

We purchased a 2012 Cougar in the fall of 2011. About 1 1/2 years later, I had occasion to drop the rear underbelly to look for a water leak (turned out to be wheel spray migrating into the underbelly where it wasn't sealed well).
While looking for a leak I checked around the water tank and discovered that the support strap mounting screws were wearing a hole where the water tank was resting on them. MacGivered some pads out of thin sheet metal and inserted them between the tank and the screws. Might be something to check.
I agree with the previous posts. If the screw had been drilled into the tank during assembly, the previous owner certainly should have noticed the leak - unless they never used the FW tank?

[GMcKenzie]

Originally Posted by Bullet Boy

Tires are being done this week and like I said, anything I find worn or broken is getting fixed as we go.... my bullet will eventually be “Bullet Proof”.....it’s a solid unit that I will have no problem getting 10 or so years out of.

Google "Wet Bolt Kit" if you are looking to make things bullet proof.

Not a Keystone issue, but the bushings on the springs are generally crap.

Going to be a spring project for me.

[sourdough]

Originally Posted by Bullet Boy

I understand that across the board you will find some ridiculous things that have occurred during assembly. And yes, the dealership should have found all of these issues and made a resolve or informed me. I’m learning and I totally understood going into this what would and would not possibly work and repairs are just part of the owning aTT. Tires are being done this week and like I said, anything I find worn or broken is getting fixed as we go.... my bullet will eventually be “Bullet Proof”.....it’s a solid unit that I will have no problem getting 10 or so years out of. I do not put all the blame on Keystone, but perhaps if the dealership paid a little more attention this would not even be an issue and I’m saying from when the trailer was first sold.... not sure how someone missed this unless they never boondocked and the dealership never filled the tank to test.... it is what it is at this point. The dealership is Hitch RV, I wouldn’t so much a give them a penny of my future purchases. Thanks for all your input, it is beneficial.

The highlighted section above is an observation so many make/find out after the fact. Your situation should have been caught, IMO, by the original dealership, original owner or the dealership selling it to you used. How it was missed by all of them I don't know but emphasizes the importance of a thorough PDI when new or used. Another possibility, that I touched on in my previous post, is work performed sometime after the trailer was built by "someone". How do I know? I've had the coroplast replaced on my trailer 2 times. After the 2nd replacement I had "new" screw locations through it in the middle of the frame. Last trip developed a drip out of one of them. It's in the shop right now to see if it penetrated the FW tank or what other damage might have been done. An issue? Yes. A "Keystone" issue? No. Over a period of years LOTS of things could take place that Keystone has responsibility for. I do however agree that all RV manufacturers would benefit greatly from improved QC.

[Number 4]

Wouldn't we all enjoy the benefits of a highly motivated QC department checking everything we purchase, new or used. The hard fact is that QC is almost pure overhead in manufacturing and the only value to a company would be reduced cost of returns, but I'm pretty sure returns are factored into the overall cost to begin with.

My brother is in a software QC position and we've talked several times about how product is rushed through QC to get it to market. He tells me the new normal is that users expect glitches and, if there are enough complaints, the company will fix them later with a software patch.

I've seen the videos of trailer manufacturing (and furniture, etc.) where workers are hustling to slam out the daily quota. QC may be a quick glance through the TT and QC may possibly happen at a reputable dealer, but I wouldn't bank on it.

Keep in mind that "QC" is often a random sampling so even with a QC department it doesn't mean every unit is checked.

Consumer beware and be aware along with "Trust but verify" seem to be the way to keep ourselves out of trouble.

[sourdough]

I think QC is quickly going the way of the dodo bird. Got my trailer back about 2 weeks ago from having roof maintenance and AC service done. Was told they would pull it around for pickup. When I walked out the trailer looked strange with the nose on the ground. Took the truck to hook up and tried to raise the tongue jack - nothing. Returned to tell the service writer and went back to the trailer and plugged in the truck - "click", all the brake magnets kicked in. Hmmm, looked at the breakaway switch and it had been pulled. Someone had pulled the cable and drained the batteries (2 new Interstates).

After the above, and before I took it back in for other repairs (where it is now), I sat down with the GM and SM to discuss what happened, why it happened and what their plans were to correct things like that going forward. My takeaway? "Well, people make mistakes. That cable could be pulled in any number of ways" - or, we make excuses for failures and find that acceptable vs taking action to fix what's broken. What? What are the plans to correct it? Isn't there some sort of checklist that someone follows before returning it to a customer? WHO is supposed to check it out before someone tries to hook up? Aren't the techs trained to verify ALL their work when completed? See the above. They said there is a checklist they are supposed to follow but hadn't been because they were so backlogged. They said they would try to do better. I've had an email in to the GM and SM for 3 days now with no reply. I'm afraid I, along with so many others, will be dealing with an out of touch dealership.....and they used to be so good. My opinion is the new GM is a "hands off", "I would rather be anywhere other than the office" kind of guy; I'll be working to remedy that.

The point? I think QC is becoming something that manufacturers and dealers talk about but are unwilling to provide because it isn't profitable. In days gone by QC was actually what I call "pride" in the product you delivered; best I can tell that is becoming more and more extinct sadly.

[AbHDToyHauler]

Well in fairness to the manufacturing industry (that is left) they are pressed to wall to make a profit. Offshore manufacturing (trailers i guess are somewhat exempt) makes it hard to even compete now day. I have a friend who works for a large air compressor manufacturer. Every year they go to the Home Depot purchasing fair (and not just Home Depot) and no matter what they say , HD wants it cheaper. So as we used to say in our plant. "Yes we can make a toaster that is perfect and does everything you could ever want in a Toaster and in every color with zero flaws ! But who will buy a $500 toaster??" We didn't actually make toasters but you get the point. Until we North American consumers are willing to stand up for quality products by spending what it costs we are doomed to have crappy products. The RV companies have less of that Manufactured overseas problem as far as their actual construction but many of the components are made somewhere off our continent. My 2 cents.

[Roscommon48]

a 4 year old trailer? i would not blame the manufacturer.

[murfscot]

Leaks, punctures, and other oddities can also be caused by improperly using the stabilizer jacks to level the rig. I've see someone doing this on almost every trip we take.

If the stabilizer jacks are not specifically rated for load bearing, using them to level the rig will torque one side of the trailer out of shape and this can cause short clearance screws to punch through tanks/walls/floors, window seals to fail, and (worse case), frame damage.

[markjamestx]

Bought a brand new 2017 Bullet Premier 31BKPR in July 2017. Had a few minor things in the first few months, which the Dealer fixed. Can't say much about the Dealer, they are just as bad as all of the others in our area. Also can't say much about Keystone's CS people, dumb as dirt.

So, getting to the point, we have not had any problems for almost 2 years and nearly 20,000 miles of traveling around the country.