Crack in fiberglass wall at bedroom slide

[VTROCK]

as anyone with Cougar 368MBI fifth wheel had problems with crack in the fiberglass wall on the left bottom corner immediately below the bedroom slide. We noticed a 6-inch crack in the fiberglass wall on a return trip from Georgia to Pennsylvania after Christmas. We recently took our 2018 368MBI 5th wheel to CW and they have verified that it is because of broken weld(s) on the aluminum studs in in front of the bed slide. The front part of the 5th wheel flexes from the broken welds and the fiberglass panel is the only thing holding things together at this point. We have taken care of this unit and had the appropriate work done by Lippert over a year ago that exceeds the factory service bulletin recall for frame flex near the axles. I have a B&W Companion hitch and tow the unit with a 2017 F350 6.7 L. It has always been stored on a flat asphalt driveway at my house. We have since researched this issue further on the Keystone and other forums and have found that others have experienced the same issue on other 5th wheel models that was related to a relative point of weakness at a point of high stress on the frame. I realize this issue is not limited to Keystone products, but I have a seen a disproportionate number of references to this problem from owners of Keystone models such as Cougar, Alpine and Montana. Of course, our unit is out of warranty and after contacting Keystone, they will not provide us with any “good will” assistance. Upon review on other forums, I have read where Keystone has blamed hitch type, improper tow vehicle, bad roads or tight turning as reasons why the frame failed. Keystone needs to step up and reinforce this area with factory installed gussets (an easy fix IMO). Also, they need to provide some type of “good will” assistance to affected owners out of warranty to fix this design flaw to avoid otherwise responsible owners having to shell out in excess of $6000 for the repair.

[Alpine Custom Upgrade]

Originally Posted by VTROCK

as anyone with Cougar 368MBI fifth wheel had problems with crack in the fiberglass wall on the left bottom corner immediately below the bedroom slide. We noticed a 6-inch crack in the fiberglass wall on a return trip from Georgia to Pennsylvania after Christmas. We recently took our 2018 368MBI 5th wheel to CW and they have verified that it is because of broken weld(s) on the aluminum studs in in front of the bed slide. The front part of the 5th wheel flexes from the broken welds and the fiberglass panel is the only thing holding things together at this point. We have taken care of this unit and had the appropriate work done by Lippert over a year ago that exceeds the factory service bulletin recall for frame flex near the axles. I have a B&W Companion hitch and tow the unit with a 2017 F350 6.7 L. It has always been stored on a flat asphalt driveway at my house. We have since researched this issue further on the Keystone and other forums and have found that others have experienced the same issue on other 5th wheel models that was related to a relative point of weakness at a point of high stress on the frame. I realize this issue is not limited to Keystone products, but I have a seen a disproportionate number of references to this problem from owners of Keystone models such as Cougar, Alpine and Montana. Of course, our unit is out of warranty and after contacting Keystone, they will not provide us with any “good will” assistance. Upon review on other forums, I have read where Keystone has blamed hitch type, improper tow vehicle, bad roads or tight turning as reasons why the frame failed. Keystone needs to step up and reinforce this area with factory installed gussets (an easy fix IMO). Also, they need to provide some type of “good will” assistance to affected owners out of warranty to fix this design flaw to avoid otherwise responsible owners having to shell out in excess of $6000 for the repair.

The sad thing about the lack of quality these days seems to be that once you have paid for the rv and the short warranty has expired, you are on your own. They have your money. End of story.

[MarkMork]

I have the exact same problem that appeared last week on a 2020 Montana 3781RL. Is Keystone going to do anything about it? The answer is no, Therefore this will be the last Keystone product I buy in my lifetime and my friends have made the same choice. Unfortunately there is no effective way to let potential new Keystone buyers know what garbage they are about to purchase, therefore Keystone will continue producing inadequately designed and constructed RVs.
If Keystone would repair this damage at their expense I would gladly retract my statement and be a lifetime customer!

[NH_Bulldog]

Originally Posted by sourdough

So you have a 3 year old RV and you think Keystone should warrant a fiberglass shower crack? They told you what any other RV manufacturer would have told you.

With all due respect, where did your shower crack statement come from?

Anyway, I believe the issue is the exterior fiberglass wall in the area of the bed slide. This is a well known issue with models having a master bedroom slide. Unfortunately, this is not an issue limited to Keystone or any of the other Thor brands, the same thing happens on similar Forest River models. While it obviously ins’t an issue specific to any one brand, there is a common element; it’s Lippert (who manufactures most all of the frames in the RV industry).

Like anything else in your RV when it is out of warranty, go to the component manufacturer instead of RV manufacturer (Keystone).

[sourdough]

Originally Posted by NH_Bulldog

With all due respect, where did your shower crack statement come from?

Anyway, I believe the issue is the exterior fiberglass wall in the area of the bed slide. This is a well known issue with models having a master bedroom slide. Unfortunately, this is not an issue limited to Keystone or any of the other Thor brands, the same thing happens on similar Forest River models. While it obviously ins’t an issue specific to any one brand, there is a common element; it’s Lippert (who manufactures most all of the frames in the RV industry).

Like anything else in your RV when it is out of warranty, go to the component manufacturer instead of RV manufacturer (Keystone).

You are absolutely correct, my apologies to all. Was reading shower stall crack somewhere but obviously not in this thread.

[sourdough]

Originally Posted by MarkMork

I have the exact same problem that appeared last week on a 2020 Montana 3781RL. Is Keystone going to do anything about it? The answer is no, Therefore this will be the last Keystone product I buy in my lifetime and my friends have made the same choice. Unfortunately there is no effective way to let potential new Keystone buyers know what garbage they are about to purchase, therefore Keystone will continue producing inadequately designed and constructed RVs.
If Keystone would repair this damage at their expense I would gladly retract my statement and be a lifetime customer!

If you read my previous post referencing a shower stall my apologies. I read a lot of posts and fiberglass shower stall crack came in my head from somewhere but it is obviously not your problem.

The crack under the bedroom slide is a recurring problem. Does yours have the relief seam under the front edge of the slide? Most issues I've seen/read are in the side wall and causes run the gamut as was mentioned in the first post.

Immediate refusals for repairs will come for any number of reasons but...what kind of hitch do you use? If it is Andersen or another that uses a hitch pin adapter you will be out of luck as Keystone/Lippert said they would not warrant a trailer that used them.

If you use a conventional hitch and this has happened who have you talked to at Keystone? Have you attempted to escalate and how? Do you have extended warranty from an outside vendor? Let me know, you may or may not be beating your head against a brick wall.

[army1rob]

Not sure how a type of hitch would warrant them not to fix it. I don’t see a stipulation in their structure warranty about use of certain hitches. I have the same problem and Camping World, where I bought the trailer new, doesn’t seem to be worried about getting it covered by warranty. I also have an Andersen hitch that they sold me with the trailer. Sad part is it’s going to take months to get it back. Annoying you spend so much money on an RV and it spends its first couple of summers in the shop.

[sourdough]

Originally Posted by army1rob

Not sure how a type of hitch would warrant them not to fix it. I don’t see a stipulation in their structure warranty about use of certain hitches. I have the same problem and Camping World, where I bought the trailer new, doesn’t seem to be worried about getting it covered by warranty. I also have an Andersen hitch that they sold me with the trailer. Sad part is it’s going to take months to get it back. Annoying you spend so much money on an RV and it spends its first couple of summers in the shop.

Lippert, the manufacturer of the frame, will not warrant repairs/damages to your RV that they deem caused by the use of an Andersen hitch. That took effect as of March 15, 2021. You have a 2022 trailer per your profile so unless you bought it way early in 2021 it won't be covered if it's a frame problem.

If it's a wall welding problem Keystone may or may not cover it. If they say the frame caused it and Lippert denies it then you are holding the bag. If it is a faulty wall weld and Keystone owns up to it they may cover it. Read post #5 in the linked thread.

https://www.keystoneforums.com/forum...nty#post533837

[chuckster57]

Originally Posted by MarkMork

I have the exact same problem that appeared last week on a 2020 Montana 3781RL. Is Keystone going to do anything about it? The answer is no, Therefore this will be the last Keystone product I buy in my lifetime and my friends have made the same choice. Unfortunately there is no effective way to let potential new Keystone buyers know what garbage they are about to purchase, therefore Keystone will continue producing inadequately designed and constructed RVs.
If Keystone would repair this damage at their expense I would gladly retract my statement and be a lifetime customer!

If you buy ANY OTHER brand fifth wheel and it has a slide up front, make sure it has the stress cut or you’ll find out Keystone isn’t the only one that uses Lippert frames that have this issue.

[dbunnell77]

So, my crack just appeared a couple of days ago in the same location. Left corner bedroom slide on my 2021 High Country 385BR. It looks life Affinity in Goshen, Indiana are the experts in this repair. That’s 2k miles away from me in Western Colorado. Does anyone know or recommend anyone in Colorado or Utah for this all too common frame weld repair?

[JRTJH]

Originally Posted by dbunnell77

So, my crack just appeared a couple of days ago in the same location. Left corner bedroom slide on my 2021 High Country 385BR. It looks life Affinity in Goshen, Indiana are the experts in this repair. That’s 2k miles away from me in Western Colorado. Does anyone know or recommend anyone in Colorado or Utah for this all too common frame weld repair?

Your trailer is likely still covered by the Keystone "Three Year Limited Structural Warranty". The frame is manufactured by Lippert and the remaining "structure" is manufactured by Keystone. Both are included in this warranty.

Unless you plan to bypass the warranty and pay for the repairs out of pocket, your FIRST step in repairing the trailer is to report the defect to a Keystone dealer service department and have them initiate a damage report and repair request to the factory. Once that is done, Keystone will determine if the repair is a covered warranty repair and then will instruct the dealer on how to repair the trailer.

You may have some input on who does the repair, but typically, since Keystone will be paying for the repair (if it's a warranty item) then they will be calling the shots on who and how the repair is made.

I'm not sure where you got the information that "Affinity in Goshen, Indiana is the experts in this repair", but on Keystone trailers, the factory determines who repairs their warranty work.

At any rate, the FIRST step is reporting your defect to a Keystone authorized service center. Since your trailer is a 2021 model, you may be approaching that "3 year window for warranty" so I wouldn't wait too long and let the warranty expire !!!!!

[Cheesehead4Life]

Sorry you've had to go through this VTROCK. It sounds like you've done a lot of sobering research on this already, but in case it is useful, check out the YouTube channel of "Midlife Detour". Through a few different episodes they detail their dealing with the manufacturer (Vanleigh) and also Lippert. Looks like the dealer attempted one fix once and it failed (did not add gussets). So it made it seem that the owner was prepared to do whatever he had to do, even pay for it, and took it to Affinity in Goshen. Great video detail on what they ended up doing, and the manufacturer did end up covering it. But what a process! Good luck to you and the others having this same issue.

[Alpine Custom Upgrade]

Originally Posted by VTROCK

as anyone with Cougar 368MBI fifth wheel had problems with crack in the fiberglass wall on the left bottom corner immediately below the bedroom slide. We noticed a 6-inch crack in the fiberglass wall on a return trip from Georgia to Pennsylvania after Christmas. We recently took our 2018 368MBI 5th wheel to CW and they have verified that it is because of broken weld(s) on the aluminum studs in in front of the bed slide. The front part of the 5th wheel flexes from the broken welds and the fiberglass panel is the only thing holding things together at this point. We have taken care of this unit and had the appropriate work done by Lippert over a year ago that exceeds the factory service bulletin recall for frame flex near the axles. I have a B&W Companion hitch and tow the unit with a 2017 F350 6.7 L. It has always been stored on a flat asphalt driveway at my house. We have since researched this issue further on the Keystone and other forums and have found that others have experienced the same issue on other 5th wheel models that was related to a relative point of weakness at a point of high stress on the frame. I realize this issue is not limited to Keystone products, but I have a seen a disproportionate number of references to this problem from owners of Keystone models such as Cougar, Alpine and Montana. Of course, our unit is out of warranty and after contacting Keystone, they will not provide us with any “good will” assistance. Upon review on other forums, I have read where Keystone has blamed hitch type, improper tow vehicle, bad roads or tight turning as reasons why the frame failed. Keystone needs to step up and reinforce this area with factory installed gussets (an easy fix IMO). Also, they need to provide some type of “good will” assistance to affected owners out of warranty to fix this design flaw to avoid otherwise responsible owners having to shell out in excess of $6000 for the repair.

Dang I think that if it were my rv with that crack that I would just buy a piece of aluminum trim to cover the crack that uses the black rubber strip that covers the screws and just cover the crack that will probably re-appear anyways and keep using it.

[RickV]

Originally Posted by dbunnell77

So, my crack just appeared a couple of days ago in the same location. Left corner bedroom slide on my 2021 High Country 385BR. It looks life Affinity in Goshen, Indiana are the experts in this repair. That’s 2k miles away from me in Western Colorado. Does anyone know or recommend anyone in Colorado or Utah for this all too common frame weld repair?

Look at this thread https://www.keystoneforums.com/forum...ad.php?t=53512 CW did a great job.

As for just covering the crack it is a structural issue not cosmetic.

[ChuckS]

Originally Posted by dbunnell77

So, my crack just appeared a couple of days ago in the same location. Left corner bedroom slide on my 2021 High Country 385BR. It looks life Affinity in Goshen, Indiana are the experts in this repair. That’s 2k miles away from me in Western Colorado. Does anyone know or recommend anyone in Colorado or Utah for this all too common frame weld repair?

This is the repair procedure to fix your crack at the slide out corner .. some dealerships can do this repair while others either don’t have the people to do the work or don’t wanna tie up a service bay ..

https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/tsbs/20...09261-0001.pdf

** If you don’t get your issue properly repaired and just cover the crack the issue will absolutely continue to get worse and worse.. you will need bigger and bigger covers to cover the crack

** and sooner or later due to the wall studs moving the slide out will bind up and damage the slide mechanism

YMMV

[RickV]

Originally Posted by ChuckS

This is the repair procedure to fix your crack at the slide out corner .. some dealerships can do this repair while others either don’t have the people to do the work or don’t wanna tie up a service bay ..

https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/tsbs/20...09261-0001.pdf

** If you don’t get your issue properly repaired and just cover the crack the issue will absolutely continue to get worse and worse.. you will need bigger and bigger covers to cover the crack

** and sooner or later due to the wall studs moving the slide out will bind up and damage the slide mechanism

YMMV

All of the above is true. Ask me how I know, especially the last statement. I had to power assist (push in on it) the slide to get it to go in.

[ChuckS]

Originally Posted by RickV

All of the above is true. Ask me how I know, especially the last statement. I had to power assist (push in on it) the slide to get it to go in.

Hope yours was all repaired and no further issues. If the Schwintek slide gives you troubles again with binding, out of time issues and out of sync issues I wouldn’t talk to Lippert about installing the standard rack to replace the inverted rack assy you currently have

[RickV]

Originally Posted by ChuckS

Hope yours was all repaired and no further issues. If the Schwintek slide gives you troubles again with binding, out of time issues and out of sync issues I wouldn’t talk to Lippert about installing the standard rack to replace the inverted rack assy you currently have

If things go according to plan it will not be moved again from where we are with it now.