Inaugural Trip woes…

Docedward · 01-29-2022, 09:00 AM

One last post for the morning. I am 272lb so I know my way around a few buffets but…this is ridiculous. After sitting at my kitchen table for 3 hours of WebEx meetings the bench felt loose. Our first trip out and this is what I discovered. See pics:

This is #9 on the list of items to fix. CampingWorld is really busy so it will be weeks before I can possibly get in per their parts department. This was after the finance guy sent me to the salesman who never answered and A nice lady finally did and she was pretty honest. “This happens, baby. Thanks for your patience “. She was very nice.

I’m not new to RV just new to this lack of quality. Should I just start drilling and putting in supporting? Or wait for CW and recoup some of the $2,500 in extended warranty?

**JRTJH** · 01-29-2022, 09:17 AM

You're pretty much faced with a choice of the "lesser of two evils"...

1. Wait for the dealer to schedule an appointment and hope their repairs are able to fix all the problems (without causing different or worse issues somewhere else)...

2. Bite the bullet and fix them yourself. Chances are that your "woodworking skills" on your own trailer will "far exceed those of a disinterested, busy hourly employee"....

So, faced with the above choices, my trailer never went back to the dealership except to change out the air conditioner top unit which they ordered and called me when it was in the shop. We stopped by on our way home from a trip and never unhitched the trailer while they replaced it.... Otherwise, ALL my repairs were "self generated".....

Something to consider depending on your "patience, talent and tool availability"...

Northofu1 · 01-29-2022, 09:17 AM

Hi Doc,
I had a Bullet premier, not sure what trailer you have and not saying bullets suck, there were a number of jobs I had to do to bring it to my level of satisfaction.

I started with going over trailer and making things right with what I was dissatisfied with.
A trip on Hwy 69 out of Port Huron Mi. trashed my pantry, all stapled together with shelving so thin it only had one side. I bought 1/4" ply cut and stained myself and braced with 1" x 2" strapping.
The dinette needed serious work and I needed somewhere to store bikes for trips so I almost completely revamped it and added cleats for tie downs.

Tires, springs, wet bolts and shackles, EMS, water pump and sound deadening in it's compartment, new mattress and stronger wood and larger gas shocks to actually hold it up, that's some of the list.

The collapse of one spring and the shearing of another (on a four year old trailer) was the last straw.

Based on what I spent in 2 yrs on that trailer, when trading it in I bid $5k lower on the
5th wheel knowing exactly what I was in for, (Hopefully worst case scenario).

I can honestly say that the Cougar is more robust than the TT and am pleased with it.

My advice is, fix what you can and fight hard for what you can't. Do it yourself or hire a handy man/ mobile RV repair person.

I wish you luck and happy camping.

P.S. I was a big lad also, have shed 50lbs but I still sit like I'm 270 lol

P.S.S. Kreg pocket hole jig's are a beautiful thing.

Javi · 01-29-2022, 09:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Docedward

One last post for the morning. I am 272lb so I know my way around a few buffets but…this is ridiculous. After sitting at my kitchen table for 3 hours of WebEx meetings the bench felt loose. Our first trip out and this is what I discovered. See pics:

This is #9 on the list of items to fix. CampingWorld is really busy so it will be weeks before I can possibly get in per their parts department. This was after the finance guy sent me to the salesman who never answered and A nice lady finally did and she was pretty honest. “This happens, baby. Thanks for your patience “. She was very nice.

I’m not new to RV just new to this lack of quality. Should I just start drilling and putting in supporting? Or wait for CW and recoup some of the $2,500 in extended warranty?

Howdy,

From one full size person to another... NOTHING in these campers is built to support us without additional bracing...

I either avoid sitting or if I can't avoid it, I sit lightly and don't shift my weight if I can help it... And I add bracing where possible or replace ASAP with furniture for grown up folks... pushing 300

**flybouy** · 01-29-2022, 09:42 AM

As a member of the "big and tall club" myself I can attest to the need for extra bracing. The balsa wood equivalent framing that stapled into place just doesn't cut it. Replace the boards with good lumber, screw it together with wood screws and add metal corner braces at the stress points. One time repair, and your good for the duration. When we had our FR Surveyor it had aluminum welded framing in the interior and I really missed that when we went to the Keystone.

ChuckS · 01-29-2022, 10:16 AM

If it were my RV it would be fixed properly by me... The dealerships are over loaded and will continue to be...

And I would CANCEL the extended warranty today and put some cash aside for RV repairs down the road... your $2500 you are paying for in extended warranty will cost you more than $2500 if financed with the loan and is about useless...

YMMV

Javi · 01-29-2022, 10:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ChuckS

If it were my RV it would be fixed properly by me... The dealerships are over loaded and will continue to be...

And I would CANCEL the extended warranty today and put some cash aside for RV repairs down the road... your $2500 you are paying for in extended warranty will cost you more than $2500 if financed with the loan and is about useless...

YMMV

Absolutely 💯

**sourdough** · 01-29-2022, 11:20 AM

You've been given good advice. I doubt anything in an RV, any RV, is actually meant to be used by anyone over maybe 225. I'm 200 and the things that creak and move around me are worrisome. IF you have that repaired (which I wouldn't) they are going to repair it in the same manner in which it was built..but probably not as well. Those benches need to come apart and be reinforced from stem to stern along with anything else you intend to put a lot of weight on.

As they try to cut weight on the RVs to fit ever smaller, lighter tow vehicles some of the materials they use are downright unbelievable. The wait to get the RV in to have it fixed "for free" will aggravate you, the time they will keep it will aggravate you more and the product you receive back will then make you ballistic. Get some heavier hardwoods, screws, metal reinforcements etc. and make a fun day of "mods", they're always fun.

Kojac · 01-29-2022, 11:45 AM

It's not a weight problem it is the cheap material they use! I'm 170 lbs, my 2016 28.5 BDS Keystone fiver surround dinette broke after 1 trip. I tore the whole thing out and replaced it with a table and chairs and gained a foot of extra space! I have also used this site on numerous occasions to fix various problems, no telling how much money it has saved for other things.

notanlines · 01-29-2022, 01:06 PM

Generally speaking, extended warrantees for RV's are sold with the auto industry used as an example. In reality it isn't even in the same ballpark. Techs are swamped, and how are they going to get paid for installing supports for your large frame? Keystone will turn it down flat! Much better that you reinforce it yourself, get that money back as best you can and go on down the road! Luck to you.

markcee · 01-29-2022, 01:38 PM

Since we are talking about extended warranties....

I was never a purchaser of them for any product until I was talked into it with our first RV purchase - a Class-C - in 2019. The finance guy did a great job terrifying us on what could go wrong and how we could rest easy with the extended warranty. The Class-C was a short lived experiment and when we were in the process of selling, found out from a potential consignment dealership, that we could cancel the extended warranty and get a pro-rated refund. I was unaware of this.

I might be the only dummy out there, but if anyone else is considering cancelling theirs, be sure to contact the issuer and find out what you need to do to get a refund. We purchased a 5 year extended warranty for a few thousand bucks and were able to recoup all of it, less the days it was in effect.

**sourdough** · 01-29-2022, 02:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kojac

It's not a weight problem it is the cheap material they use! I'm 170 lbs, my 2016 28.5 BDS Keystone fiver surround dinette broke after 1 trip. I tore the whole thing out and replaced it with a table and chairs and gained a foot of extra space! I have also used this site on numerous occasions to fix various problems, no telling how much money it has saved for other things.

The poor choice of materials used in these things makes it a weight problem...for most anyone; kids that bounce, folks that wiggle etc. Heck they even put in shower stalls with nothing but thin fiberglass floating in the air as a floor when they forget to put any support under them (seems like 1/2 the time). And where they get some of the wood they do....I can't imagine. I've seen pieces of wood in a trailer that look like balsa wood; looked like it and felt like it but it wasn't. They said it was "pine"?? All we can do is know what the beast is, what to expect and then make those "mods".

Docedward · 01-29-2022, 04:51 PM

Well darn. I was hoping you’d say “don’t worry, Keystone has your back! That’s not normal quality!” But, I know better now.

I guess I’ll consider taking out the bench and just going with two chairs. May not be a bad idea.

**flybouy** · 01-29-2022, 05:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Docedward

Well darn. I was hoping you’d say “don’t worry, Keystone has your back! That’s not normal quality!” But, I know better now.

I guess I’ll consider taking out the bench and just going with two chairs. May not be a bad idea.

Unfortunately these days when you buy a camper its a "work in progress". Quality is horrible and dealer/manufacturer support can be challenging. We can all agree that it's wrong, shouldn't be that way, etc. but that's the reality. If there's any questions on how to make the repair yourself let us know. There's a lot of experience here at your disposal.

**sourdough** · 01-29-2022, 05:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Docedward

Well darn. I was hoping you’d say “don’t worry, Keystone has your back! That’s not normal quality!” But, I know better now.

I guess I’ll consider taking out the bench and just going with two chairs. May not be a bad idea.

Keystone might, and probably would, "have your back" approving the repairs. As I mentioned previously it won't be anything different than what already broke so....why? And why would they come back to "upbuild" an owners trailer beyond factory specs? They are what they are and we all have to be cognizant of what we buy vs what we expect it to do - sort of like putting a 15k 5th wheel on the back of a Tundra.....gotta know the limitations.

Gegrad · 01-29-2022, 06:18 PM

Yep, had a similar experience. The little strip of wood attached to the face of the dinette that holds the table off the floor when in the bed position pulled out of mine when it was in the bed postion after a few kids crawled on it. Didn't tear anything, just pulled right out of the staples that held it on. I was out camping, just went to the local hardward store, grapped a box of screws, and screwed the board back on from inside the bench (so the heads wouldn't be visible). Perfect since. Just cheap attachment from the factory.

Ram Nation · 01-30-2022, 08:23 AM

New guy here but all the advice given sounds 100%. We've had good luck with our unit but a few times I have just bit the bullet and fixed it myself. I give up on the keystone warranty long ago. It's hard to find competent techs here in the Rio grande valley so i do a lot of you tube videos when problems arise. As far as extended warranties save your money.

slow · 01-30-2022, 10:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Northofu1

Kreg pocket hole jig's are a beautiful thing.

If you own a trailer, you need a Kreg pocket hole jig. Staples without glue is a failure waiting to happen.

dutchmensport · 01-30-2022, 10:49 AM

The materials used the camper are not cheap. A staple is a staple, a 2x2 board is a 2x2 board. How it's put together is shoddy.

Save yourself the headaches of attempting to get warranty to fix these things and just do it yourself, and fix it right. Brace the end supports, the middle support, from the floor up. Replace the plywood bottom with a heavier plywood.

If you let the RV dealership warranty fix it, they'll just reattach the same board with the same staple and the next time you sit on it, it will give way again.

Do it yourself and it will be done right.

SandyBurg · 01-30-2022, 11:53 AM

I don't want to be a nay sayer. But we just got our camper back from CW. They had it for ten weeks!! They only fixed some of the issues, said others were fixed - they weren't!! Plus they broke other parts while fixing things on the list.

We're ready to try to get our money back from the extended warranty. Since it is easier to fix things ourselves then have them break things. My opinion!

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