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Old 04-29-2013, 09:40 AM   #1
F16Vip3r
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Join Date: Apr 2013
Location: Merrimack
Posts: 15
Sprinter 320BHS First Impressions

Hello all... I'm new to the Keystone Forum. On Friday I just picked up my new 2013 Keystone Sprinter 320BHS. Ironically, a buddy of mine's wife bought the same model on the same day 2 weekends ago (but 500 miles away), but he won't pick his up until he returns from his deployment. I wrote up some initial impressions for him, and since I didn't see much info here about the 320BHS I figured I'd share with the group. I believe the floorplan was new for 2013, with the front bunks and aft queen bed that slides out to the side. Enjoy!


This weekend, it rained non-stop from Friday night through Sunday evening, so we only camped for 1 night (Friday) and then packed up to go home. No real time to TRULY enjoy the RV, but enough time for some initial impressions and make a shopping list. We didn’t get set up ‘til after 10pm, and were tearing her down by 0945 the next morning.

Though we were disappointed in the rain, I’m GLAD it did. I think our unit has some minor manufacturing defects… There is a small space in several positions where the flooring meets the outer wall under the trailer. The space can only be seen from underneath the trailer (not inside), and doesn't appear bad at first. I can fit my finger through the space in a couple spots, but the rest of the trailer is SOLID. While crawling around the RV on Saturday I felt some wet spots in the carpet in the master bedroom by the wall. I also saw moisture in the front by the pump. Both of these locations coincided with the "spacing" mentioned above. My theory is that water kicked up by the tire spray appears to have seeped through the space. I’m going to call Camping World to bring her in for a fix. If this isn't covered by the Warranty, Keystone and I are going to have some words. I probably never would have noticed except my wife and I were all over the camper doing minor mods Saturday and Sunday. If it hadn't rained, the first time we may have noticed would be when she started to rot.

Here are some necessary, minor mods we finished before the end of the first weekend, as well as overall impressions:

The trailer needs:
- Bunk Ladder – My wife made one. The short ladder from Camping world is not sturdy, nor does it fit, so my got some fencing material at Lowe’s. She had them cut it to size, and made/stained/screwed in a homemade ladder for about $20. Less than half the cost of the Camping World Ladder, and looks MUCH better (almost looks like standard equipment). It took about 2 hours total for her to make/stain/screw in.
- Bedroom Door Stops – The Master BR door will swing right into pantry drawers (with the knob slamming into them), so this required a LONG (5”?) door stop. Got one for the kids room, too, but this door stop could be shorter.
- Bathroom Door Stop - Bathroom handle will hit wall when door swings all-the-way open, so we got a “flat plate” stop to protect wall where it hits. Door stopper won’t work b/c bottom of the door is too high for a stop to be mounted on anything substantial. The bathroom door has to swing 180 degrees to hit the wall, so its not as big an issue as the other 2 doors (90 degree swings). Hinges are not your standard size, so hinge mounted stops won’t work.
- Foam Exercise Matting – We kept sporting goods, random outdoor stuff, etc, under the Master Bed in our last camper. This camper has carpeting under the bed, so I cut some foam matting to fit here to protect the carpet. (~$20 @ Walmart) While doing this I noted the wet carpet.
- Heavy Equipment Matting – We keep camping hardware (hoses, hitch equipment, leveling blocks, chocks, etc.) in camper when not in use. To protect pack-and-play floor, I put down a “heavy equipment” mat (designed for under exercise equpment). (also about $20 @ Walmart) I may mount the mat to 1/2” plywood for extra protection.
- Towel hooks for bath & hand towels – Got over-the-door hook for bath towels and taped to top of door to prevent movement. Sticky-hook for hand towel.
- Toilette paper holder – We got free-standing since none was included.


Not needed (Thanks, Keystone!):
- Winterization kit – Winterization kit comes standard with this model trailer. It was while I was going to put my old kit on the new trailer that I noticed wet wood in this compartment under the bottom bunk. I'm hoping the pump/water inlet isn't leaking, though I don't know if that's any better/worse than a "gap" in the side of my trailer.

Cool features:
- Light under black/gray water hose area… Nicely done! I hooked up in the dark, and it was a nice touch.
- LARGE/BRIGHT backup light that comes on when you place camper in reverse (not the tiny ones in tail-lights, but a BIG one like the “scare” light on the side). Can also be placed on via switch.
- 2x porch lights (normal one, plus one UNDER main stairs) on the porch switch. (The yellow lights) The one under the stairs just looks somewhat cool.
- Automatic rain-release on awning. (No “ghetto slant” needed, as my wife calls it)
- Scare light (bright, white spot light) by main door.
- Outdoor speakers (though we haven’t used them yet, and my wife was reading that the stock ones S-T-I-N-K. I'll reserve judgement until we actually use them).
- Outdoor TV mount – There is a TV mount/plug/cable hook-up outside the camper. Lift the swing-arm off the inside mount and place the TV outside for outdoor TV. (Yup, I’ll be the cool guy watching football outdoors this fall, beer in hand, while tending the fire and cooking on the grill).
- Built-in LED nightlights for main area by bathroom.
- Lighted (blue) light switch in bathroom.
- Skylight over shower.

Annoying but livable:
- Main light switch is up on master control panel, about 6.5’ up (just under ceiling). All other switches are on lights (except in bathroom). This means that standing on the floor, the only switches that our kids can reach for lights are on the lower bunk and in bathroom. Old camper had “normal” height (just above counter) main switch and MBR switch, plus bathroom.
- NO counter space in bathroom, just a sink with about 2” on each side of it. Hardly enough room to keep a soap bottle.
- Ours didn’t come with outdoor access to storage under the bed (???). Every other unit in this style that I've seen has one. Why not mine?
- Kitchen sink is HUGE! But, it is just 1 large tub. I prefer the double basin, with which 90% of RV's seem to come standard. I "Fixed" issue by getting a wash basin for $5 at Wally World.
- 50’ White Water hose required – The water inlet is WAY in the front of the trailer. Many RV parks I've been to have water hookup behind trailer. A 25’ hose won’t even reach the back of the trailer. (<$20 @ Walmart.com)
- Fresh Water Tank is in the FRONT of the trailer, so fresh water weight sits on the hitch. My last trailer had the fresh water over the camper axles (personal preference?)
- Cable TV hookup comes out BACK of camper, so if cable box is on front of site you need a LONG coax. Cable is at opposite end of camper as water hookup, so if the 2 hookups are co-located at your campsite (pretty common), at least 1 of them will need to be 30+ feet in length!


I think that's it for now. If there's interest, I'll post further impressions when we actually get to enjoy her. Her next trip will be to Camping World tomorrow to get the "leakage" issues solved (I hope). After that, it'll be a weekend at the Kentucky Horse Park. Our family of 4 will then be living in her from 3 weeks as we move x-country from TN back to SoCal starting in early June.
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Traded:
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2007 Forest River Wildwood 27BHBS
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Old 04-29-2013, 10:23 AM   #2
x96mnn
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Join Date: Jul 2012
Location: Nova Scotia
Posts: 502
Great review, I own a Sprinter and I laughed when I read the cool features and annoying but liveable cause everything you listed there I thought the same thing!

The outdoor speakers are ok, I mean if you are on private property and trying to have a party with them they are defiantly going to disappoint. But for a small area where you do not want the park to hear it they are not bad. My largest complaint is they are pointed to the side and most CG I go to the fire area is in the front, thus I really cannot hear Music as its pointed into my neighbours camper and not in the direction of my social group. I fixed this with an Ihome portable speaker, loads of sound and I hook it up over by our fire.
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Old 05-02-2013, 03:16 PM   #3
Liam's Dad
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Join Date: Apr 2013
Location: Winnipeg, MB, Canada
Posts: 5
As I get my 320BHS in a couple of weeks(still snow on the ground here)..this post is most informative.

Keep the info coming.

My rig is going into a seasonal site about 60 miles north of home with no immediate plans for towing.

Will share stories later

Thanks

Bill
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Old 05-02-2013, 08:04 PM   #4
F16Vip3r
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Join Date: Apr 2013
Location: Merrimack
Posts: 15
I dropped my trailer off at the Knoxville Camping World on Tuesday. I was surprised that there was NO hassle/arguing as I pointed out the issues (2 wet spots and a bathroom counter top that was starting to separate). The service rep even noticed a small dent in the slideout with some chipped paint (must've happened at the dealership, b/c we barely had her 72 hours). He said they'd try to put some touch up paint on her.

I guess now they have to contact Keystone to see what Keystone wants them to do. We are hoping to go camping next weekend, so not it's a waiting game. I think we've spent more time doing minor upgrades to her that we have enjoying her (actually, I KNOW we have). Next upgrade will be a vent cover for the bathroom. Figured I couldn't go wrong for $19, and the install seems simple enough. Then we'll decide on the outdoor speakers after our first trip.

I also replace the stock stereo with a Jensen AWM968 model. It was a birthday gift meant for the old camper, but we traded her in before my birthday. The new one seems much more user friendly than the stock model, plus it's bluetooth capable. Should be kinda cool controlling the music from by the fire, or listening to "iheartradio" (assuming I'm hooked up to decent wi-fi; questionable at many campgrounds I've been to).

I finished assembling my "Bill's BumperQ" today as well, though the mount is on the trailer sitting in a garage downtown, and the grill is sitting uselessly in my garage.
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2013 Ford F-350 CC, 6.7L Diesel
Traded:
2013 Sprinter 320BHS
2007 Forest River Wildwood 27BHBS
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Old 05-10-2013, 04:48 AM   #5
F16Vip3r
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Join Date: Apr 2013
Location: Merrimack
Posts: 15
Still in the shop

Latest update. After dropping the trailer off on 30 April, she's still sitting in the shop. It appears that there are several areas inside the camper where the laminant is starting to separate, and CW is in touch with Keystone about how to go about the fix. They also found a leak by the Pack-and-Play door that requires a new seal.

Overall, I'm very happy with the thoroughness of CW on their "overhaul" of my new camper, although I'm a bit disappointed in the quality control of Keystone. The timeliness of the fix is also a bit disappointing... We'll be at 2 weeks next Tuesday, though I guess some parts had to be shipped from the factory.

We only had 2 camping weekends left in TN before we move back to CA (10-12 and 17-19 May). This one's out, so we are hoping we don't lose our last one as well. My 6 y/o has been wanting to go back to the Kentucky Horse Park since our first trip there last fall.
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2021 Cougar 364BHL
2013 Ford F-350 CC, 6.7L Diesel
Traded:
2013 Sprinter 320BHS
2007 Forest River Wildwood 27BHBS
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Old 05-01-2014, 10:32 PM   #6
F16Vip3r
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Join Date: Apr 2013
Location: Merrimack
Posts: 15
One year later...

After 1 year of ownership, we've put over 6,000 miles on the trailer, and spent more than 60 nights in her. She's treated us well, but we've had a couple more issues pop up:

1) The leaking pack-n-play door next to our sons bed continued to leak. It appeared that they replaced the seal UPSIDE DOWN with the seam at the top... thus allowing water to continue to leak into the camper. We initially fixed this with weather stripping, but after a while that seemed to compress and not give us a good seal. So, we brought it to a Camping World in CA that fixed the seal (again), this time putting the seam at the BOTTOM. Yay!

Unfortunately, it rained on our last trip and the door STILL leaked. My next try is going to be EZE RV Gutter around the door. I think it's just a poor design where water seaps into the space around the door, and there's no place for it to go. I hope the gutter just funnels the water away. BTW, we have friends w/ the exact same model, and they have had the EXACT same problem.

2) The city water connection leaked on the outside of the camper from the first day that we owned her. I figured it was just a poorly designed plastic connection, and lived with it. It wasn't until last winter, after I had already winterized once (connection comes in by water pump, which is under a cover under my son's bed) that it was also leaking INSIDE the camper. Ugh. Got this replace on our last visit to camping world, and it seems to be fine now.

3) Several bolts on the outside backed out leaving empty screwholes... Got these fixed under warranty. It included one that was holding some of the sealant above the main gutter.

4) Since our last warranty visit, we've noticed 2 more things... A) some delamination in our kids bunkhouse. Almost brought it in to get fixed under warranty, but documented it through a phone call to Keystone and will fix ourselves. We are sick of bringing her in for work and having to wait 3-weeks to get her back. B) one of the overhead lights (the one that is most useful, in the "cave" by the pantry), stopped working at the switch. Switch now pivots with no resistance, and light does not turn on. Replacing w/ an LED double dome light.

I think that's it! Other than the issues (more than we would like, and ESPECIALLY the pack-n-play door design), we still love her. She (along w/ our 2013 F-350 Diesel) have treated us very well...
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2021 Cougar 364BHL
2013 Ford F-350 CC, 6.7L Diesel
Traded:
2013 Sprinter 320BHS
2007 Forest River Wildwood 27BHBS
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Old 05-02-2014, 06:28 AM   #7
fla-gypsy
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Location: North Florida
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Thanks for the thorough follow up. Like most things RV it takes time to make them into what they should be!
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Old 05-04-2014, 11:36 AM   #8
jjr
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Join Date: May 2010
Posts: 8
F16Vip3r

I had a similar problem with a door to the storage area on a passport. It leaked, I replaced the seal, still leaked. I am not sure how your door is constructed but here's what I found.
My door was constructed with a piece of aluminum wrapped around the fiberglass door. The water was passing between the aluminum and the fiberglass and then seeping in on the inside of the door. It actually had nothing to do with the rubber seal in the door jam. I caulked where the aluminum met the fiberglass all the way around the door and no more leak.
Maybe you could run a hose on the outside of your door and see where the water is entering. Hope this helps
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Old 05-21-2017, 03:38 PM   #9
Jhanemann
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Join Date: Feb 2016
Location: St. Rose, Louisiana
Posts: 24
It's been a while since you posted this and I am curious if you still have the trailer and if any more issues are noticed.

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