Some background information:
From 2006 through 2013, nearly all RV doors were manufactured with Fastec RV locks. In 2014, NHTSA mandated a "Fastec RV doorlock recall". That recall required Fastec to consume all of their available locks and all future production of locks to meet the recall effort. Simply put, there were NO RV doorlocks available in the USA to meet "new trailer production".
So, the industry turned to Europe and an "Italian manufacturer" to provide locks for the industry so they could maintain production of new trailers. Those "off the shelf locks" were not the same configuration as FIC locks, so the cutouts in the doors had to be changed....
The "apparent industry decision" (not exclusive to Keystone) was to reconfigure the doors to keep building trailers. That started the "Euro lock invasion".....
Once Fastec finished the recall and was able to resume production of locks for new trailers, some manufacturers returned to the "old style locks" while some "kept using Euro locks".
Keystone apparently elected to return to FIC locksets. Then, along comes the "pandemic" and parts availability returned to the supply chain..... FIC locks were not available and Lippert (who builds nearly all the industry RV entry doors) elected to use Euro locks rather than stop production.....
So, Keystone gets blamed for not being "sensitive to RV consumer desires"....
I wonder what we'd be saying if Keystone just stopped putting doors in RV's until the Fastec locks were available to Lippert ?????
There's usually a much more complicated situation that "drives the decision to make production line changes than just the thought, "Let's see, how can we piss off our customers this week" ..... YMMV
__________________
John
2015 F250 6.7l 4x4
2014 Cougar X Lite 27RKS
|