2016 Keystone Crack on slide wall...:(

[esmoglo]

Today being a nice day and all I decided to wash the RV that’s been sitting at storage lot for a few months and why not I am a responsible RV owner after all. Storage facility lot is undergoing construction stirring up a lot of dust amongst other things. Sun shining birds were singing and RV was suds up with soap all was well with the universe until…… the CRAK was spotted and not the illegal type.

2016 Passport purchased in October of 2015 the crack located on the slide was not there because I recall looking it over upon delivery.
Observations; surface area around the crack is smooth to the touch unlike the textured feel of the fiberglass all over the RV’s skin never noticed this, crack is approximately 6” long, appears to be swelling a bit, you can see the crack travelling under the silicone. (looks like Keystone did a repair during manufacturing)

Now the down side we have a trip in March, then this summer we are headed to Mount Rushmore first last week of June, first two weeks of July for a total of three weeks, then Disney in October and back to Disney in December to round out the year. All of these trips require the RV that’s why we purchased it in the first place. Any idea what time frame it will take to repair this?

Please see attached photos bit disappointed but that’s life I guess. We will use the RV in March and I may need to take it to the local authorized Keystone repair facility AKA dealership. Side note RV was purchased in Michigan but warranty work is warranty work and the RV is less than six months old….

[esmoglo]

Two more photos..

[CaptnJohn]

From the pics it is hard to tell if a patch job or not. Certainly could be or could be water behind the gel coat. Defer to you as you are there. Does your dealer do body repairs? A good auto collision shop would work but if no structure involved there is a repair guy at my marina I've seen do fantastic things I thought could never be repaired ~~ fiberglass/gel coat. I'd be looking for a fiberglass guy if 100% certain no structure and in my area that would be around $150 - $200. Besides, he can tell if it stands a chance of coming back ~~~

[mosquitoman]

Its under warranty, contact your dealer have them document it and go camping. Get it repaired when you get back. That's what I did.

[dcg9381]

I can tell you that in my area, marine /fiberglass guy, $200 won't buy you much. That's a $1000+ repair - but the real issue is what caused it...

Take it to the dealer, see what they say. Before you OK them to repair it, I'd want to see a similar "patch" job that they've done on something else.

[sourdough]

Contact the dealer. Provide pics and if possible take it by their shop so they can put an eye on it. The key will be to find out what caused the problem and then find someone well versed in that kind of repair. Document EVERYTHING (names/dates) and be thorough with questions and documentation. Since you didn't buy it from the dealership doing repairs pay attention to how they respond to your request. If they don't seem really happy to take care of it shoot an email to Keystone customer service/owner relations with details and pics to make sure your info gets to them.

[Festus2]

esmoglo -
You should note that, since you bought your unit in Michigan, any local Keystone dealer is under no obligation to perform any warranty work for you. They may tell you that, because you didn't buy it from them, we are not interested in doing anything for you. So "warranty work is warranty work" doesn't always apply in the RV industry.

I'd start with a local dealership. Arrange to take your unit in - if they will accept it - and have them check it over to see (a) what caused the crack, and (b) and an estimate for repair. Any warranty repairs would have to come through a dealership and be approved by Keystone. The key is to find a dealership that will do the warranty work even though you didn't buy it from them and who will work with you and Keystone in getting the repair approved and done.

[esmoglo]

Thanks everyone for your input. Initially before purchase I contacted Keystone RV and spoke with a representative by phone at the manufacturing facility. One of the key questions I had was if I did not purchase it within my state would local dealers be responsible to do repairs.

Representative stated Keystone would prefer you to buy with in your local area however authorized dealer network members cannot deny service under warranty. I’m certain this has happed and in many instances I find the RV business to be grossly unethical in regards to MSRP wholesale pricing add-ons and warranty issues. Warranty claims in many cases can cause consumers to go on a wild goose chase because components are under warranty from other manufacturers.

At any rate I do have a third-party seven-year warrantee on the RV that was purchased so I have additional coverage and protection if needed however based on the extent of the crack and how soon it has occurred I’m slightly concerned. Worst case scenario I have aviation speed tape I could just put over the crack enjoyed season and take it in for repairs at a later date. However, since I am slightly OCD probably goanna take it in at the end of March after I cleared everything with my local dealer.

Has anyone contacted the Keystone customer service center? If so what type of response have you gotten from them? Most of what I have read here on the forum typically show that Keystone will tell you to take it to the dealer and in my case the dealer is 100 miles away from my house.

[T_Clark]

just out of curiosity, which model Passport is that?

[Tbos]

T_Clark, that's. 2810BH. I have one just like it. I need to check mine and make sure it's not an issue with this model.

Esmoglo, Sorry to hear about this issue. Hopefully your local dealer will help you.
Tom

[sourdough]

I don't know what kind of contract or agreement individual dealerships have with Keystone but I do know that some folks have been denied coverage directly by the dealer or they will put you on a list so far out that it is not reasonable to wait.

I have contacted Keystone many times. They will direct you to your dealership and won't make any move on a repair unless they are working with the dealer...therein lies the rub. Since you didn't buy it from someone local you may find it difficult, if not almost impossible, to find a dealer who wants to be your advocate with Keystone. They make very little money on warranty work (best I can tell) so they aren't so gung ho to take on your repairs.

As far as the 7 year extended warranty, I have one as well. I don't think it will cover anything that is still under manufacturer warranty. I could be mistaken but I don't think so.

You are entering the murky waters of the buyer/dealer/manufacturer dance. Some have good success, some don't. Your issue certainly looks like some sort of manufacturing defect but the key is going to be finding a dealer that has your best interests at heart. I wish you luck. And yes, I think I would be all about getting it in as soon as possible because this dance can take a long time.

[chuckster57]

We are a Keystone dealer. There is another keystone dealer about an hour and a half away with a real poor reputation. We have had several customers tell us they bought at the aforementioned dealer and when brought in for warranty work were denied.

We don't deny warranty work, and yes the truth is any dealership isn't going to survive on warranty work. We do service units bought elsewhere but we limit the number of items we will address.

[dcg9381]

Originally Posted by esmoglo

Representative stated Keystone would prefer you to buy with in your local area however authorized dealer network members cannot deny service under warranty.

I've never been denied service by a non-purchase Keystone dealer, but I have been told that it'd take 6-months to get me in... (after I was asked if I purchased it there)

I've read about dealers declining, but I've never had that experience - just the unreasonably long wait.

It may also depend on the nature of the repair and how much margin there is in it... The repair above, I don't think that every RV shop is capable of factory re-finish like that.

Originally Posted by esmoglo

At any rate I do have a third-party seven-year warrantee on the RV that was purchased so I have additional coverage and protection if needed however based on the extent of the crack and how soon it has occurred I’m slightly concerned. Worst case scenario I have aviation speed tape I could just put over the crack enjoyed season and take it in for repairs at a later date. However, since I am slightly OCD probably goanna take it in at the end of March after I cleared everything with my local dealer.

Note that many 3rd party warranties defer to the factory warranty while it's valid - basically, you may have to use that factory warranty as "primary" - but it'll depend on the fine print of your warranty and likely the "root cause" of that issue.

Originally Posted by esmoglo

Has anyone contacted the Keystone customer service center? If so what type of response have you gotten from them? Most of what I have read here on the forum typically show that Keystone will tell you to take it to the dealer and in my case the dealer is 100 miles away from my house.

You have to start with the dealer. If that dealer declines to service, you need to document who you talked to, date, time. Keystone will likely redirect you to the 2nd closest dealer, so you might want to cover that base up front.

Hopefully this is all "just in case" and you'll have no issues getting your rig to the dealer!

Any idea where it was bought originally?

[Tbos]

Originally Posted by chuckster57

We are a Keystone dealer. There is another keystone dealer about an hour and a half away with a real poor reputation. We have had several customers tell us they bought at the aforementioned dealer and when brought in for warranty work were denied.

We don't deny warranty work, and yes the truth is any dealership isn't going to survive on warranty work. We do service units bought elsewhere but we limit the number of items we will address.

I sure wish you and your Dealer were in my area.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk

[esmoglo]

Originally Posted by t_clark

just out of curiosity, which model passport is that?

2016 2810bh

[Laredo291OH]

So I buy my Keystone camper locally in Ohio, 6 months later my employer says congratulations your job is moving to California and so are you. Now the Keystone dealer in California is going to deny my claim because I didn't buy local and I should haul my camper back to Ohio for work?

[{tpc}]

Originally Posted by Laredo291OH

So I buy my Keystone camper locally in Ohio, 6 months later my employer says congratulations your job is moving to California and so are you. Now the Keystone dealer in California is going to deny my claim because I didn't buy local and I should haul my camper back to Ohio for work?

Not necessarily. But there is a misconception that these "dealers" work just like our car "dealers" and they do not. Some are better than others, but it doesn't work like one might think. From what I have heard this is pretty much uniform for all makes, its not just a keystone thing or something.

I haven't been able to nail down why it doesn't work that way. Maybe its because these are essentially a "mobile" home type of product and are more prone to issues? Maybe it's because the money the dealer makes is way more from the first sale and hardly anything from warranty work where maybe the converse is true from a car dealer?

What I do know is if in order to make a sale you need to hear "yup any keystone dealer will service you no problem", then I think your going to hear that, regardless of how true it may or may not be.

[dcg9381]

Other manufacturers do authorize non-dealer repairs, especially for customers traveling or in a bind. I've dealt with a local independent around here, he gets warranty work from several manufacturers - he says Keystone isn't one that he gets warranty work from. I didn't ask him for a list of those that do allow it.

I'm not saying that all manufacturers do this and it may very well be special circumstances only. He works on everything from pop-ups to Prevost.

The difference may be that Keystone has a big dealer network and that's not necessarily true of other manufacturers. So generally there is a dealer option semi-close by.

My guess is that the payment of the labor/job rate seems to be the major impediment for getting warranty work done at a non-purchase dealer, but someone else would know better. What I've been told in the service bay is that Keystone pays about 60-70% of retail. If I was running a business, that'd put you at the back of my service line.

My experience has been that it depends on the "job" - no dealer wanted to replace our lighting that failed while on the road, but dealers were very interested in replacing the roof (I talked to several).

Don't assume that you can't get service, but I'd have my ducks in a row before calling Keystone with list of local dealers and their response to service requests.

[sourdough]

Reflecting on this I think that the type of dealership itself has a large bearing on how a non-buyer warranty repair is handled (obviously).

I've been in quite a few "one owner" RV places and they are quite different than walking into a CW repair center. The one owner facilities pretty much do what they want, on what they want, on any given day. If the pay is low then they may want to do something else....if they are busy; if not, they may want to jump right on your RV. At CW, when I've had problems in TX or FL no one bats an eye and they just take care of it. Obviously you have to wait for them to deal/negotiate with Keystone on warranty items but it has always gotten done.

I also think a previous poster was right about the units being sent to non-Keystone dealers. Keystone is a very large RV manufacturer and their units are sold almost anywhere any other brand is sold so I'm sure they have a "certified" dealer within a reasonable distance - maybe not the one you're sitting in front of but somewhere reasonably close.

Takeaways? Make sure you get a good dealership in the first place and then make sure you have your ducks in a row (as was previously mentioned) when you start a claim.

[gearhead]

I would keep a email conversation going between you and the dealer. Confirm all verbal conversations with an email. Try to keep the emails in one thread.