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Originally Posted by Petunia
Had our 2016 333 mms cougar out for our second trip this summer when the door latch broke. Stopped at the dealer to get a replacement when they discovered the new one is plastic not metal. Cheap!keystone cut a corner here to save money? Buyer beware! Don't know how that is going to hold up, especially with active family. We do love the trailer so hope we don't discover any more modifications!
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Hold on with the "cry foul" here. There's more to this than just a change of material.
First, consider that the door latches on exterior entry doors of RV's have long been made of cast zinc alloy. That material is pretty much bottom of the bucket when it comes to strength. It has worked well in the RV world because most RV's are low usage, at least compared to our cars and trucks.
Which brings me to my second point. The door handles on my Ford Super Duty are all plastic. It looks to be a very good grade of polycarbonate or similar. I have absolutely no worries about the door handle failing any sooner than a metal one. In fact, living in snow country, I expect it to last longer and better because it is unaffected by road salt. More and more of our cars and trucks are built out of increasing amounts of plastics and less metal. To me they are just as well built, if not more so.
I don't think Keystone cut corners here to save money on the product itself. In looking at the 2016 Cougars versus my 2011, I see a lot of upgrades in materials and components. I suspect that in this case, going to a plastic door handle assembly may well eliminate future callbacks and warranty claims because it is stronger and more durable. Yeah, that's a money saving step, but not in the way you imply.
Before I started this post, I did some snooping on the net. Keystone used to use Tri-Mark door assemblies in their entry doors. In searching the Tri-Mark product lineup, everything is cast zinc metal alloy. It appears that they switched suppliers. I also noticed that the new Cougars have a much more sophisticated (and stylish) latch on exterior compartment doors. I can't tell if they are plastic or metal, but I can tell you that I did not find a matching Tri-Mark compartment latch. So they may well have changed suppliers. It looks to me like Keystone has upped the quality on these components by doing so.