Plastic door handle

[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!

[JRTJH]

You noted that your Cougar is "new and on its second trip" when the metal door handle broke. I wouldn't go so far as to call that one "durable".....

You'll discover many "weight/cost" saving measures in RV's just as you will in cars and trucks, trash cans, beer cans and almost every other item we use. When was the last time you saw a steel dash in a truck? or held a beer can that didn't "buckle at the sides" when you opened it and picked it up.

It's a "change" for sure, to use plastic where metal once was, but today's plastics are, in many situations, even stronger and more durable than their "stamped metal" cousins.

Don't think for a moment that it's only Keystone that's using plastic rather than metal. Look at your RV sales lot and you'll find that nearly every manufacturer is using the same (or often even cheaper versions) plastic components.

Heck, even modern fighter jets are made out of "carbon reinforced fiber" rather than aluminum, magnesium and steel. Ain't modern technology "wunnerful"

You stated that you stopped by the dealer to get a replacement and that it's now plastic. Are you sure that it's not the dealer who ordered "cheaper plastic replacements" rather than stock the "keystone supplied steel" parts ????

[SteveC7010]

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!

Is this the main entry door latch or some other door latch in the trailer? (Helps to be specific with these things...)

[SteveC7010]

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!

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.

[Festus2]

Originally Posted by Petunia

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! !

We have an '06 Nissan X-Trail whose rear and front bumpers, and front side panels are all made of - guess what - plastic. Over the years, plastic has replaced many types of metals and is used extensively in all sorts of applications. It's everywhere.

Just because an item is made of plastic doesn't mean that it is "cheap" and the manufacturer has "cut corners". I didn't shy away from buying our X-Trail because of the amount of plastic in the vehicle.

Your statement of "buyer beware" suggests that we should all think seriously about purchasing a Keystone product because it might have a plastic door handle. If having a plastic door handle is a major fault with Keystone's RVs then we should all be so lucky.

[Steve S]

Buyer beware of the handle or Keystone units?
You can buy a metal one for cheap and it takes maybe 10 mins to install.
I think that the more you use your trailer the more things you'll find that you'll modify or add to your trailer.