Under the Bedroom Slide Out

[Tom S.]

About a month ago, I noticed the plastic panel on the underside of our 06 Montana bedroom slide out was cracked and missing pieces. There is plywood under this panel. I contacted Keystone and was told this was considered a 'cosmetic piece' and not covered by warranty. That reply confused me because I had only asked if the part was available and tips on why it broke and replacing it.

After receiving this not so helpful reply, I contacted my dealer, who has been great. The dealer told me of another Montana owner who had the same problem, and was told the same thing by Keystone. This other person and the dealer were really irate that Keystone had taken this attitude. I understand the piece is cosmetic, and I also understand trailer warranties do not last forever, but if this is a problem experienced by many owners (like the decal issues!) Keystone should step up to the problem.

At any rate, my first attempt to fix this was to put a piece of Formica over it. The old plastic panel is glued to the wood underneath and stapled underneath the inside of edge of the slide out, requiring brute strength to remove. Because this panel would be nearly impossible to position properly without moving it around a bit, I steered away from contact cement (that only gives you one shot) and used liquid nails instead. I also drilled several holes in the Formica and used plastic rosettes to secure the Formica, because holding the panel upside down in place for the time it took the glue to set does not fall within my job classification. Unfortunately this proved to be my downfall, as there was not enough clearance for the rosettes. In fact, there was not enough room for the Formica in one spot where the glue was too thick, so I had to remove the Formica - another brute force task.

Attempt number two was to contact Herculiner, a manufacturer of paint on pick up truck liners. They killed my idea when they informed me that the lining would end up 1/8 thick. If the thin Formica had clearance problems, it was obvious 1/8 thick bed liner would too, and trying to remove that stuff goes way beyond brute force to the plastic explosives or flamethrower stage.

So now I am at attempt number three. It is my plan to sand the wood to remove any glue traces, fill the numerous cracks and places where the glue actually removed some wood with Bondo designed just for this purpose, and after finish sanding, paint it black. That is unless someone has a better idea, which I would LOVE to hear!!!

As a side note, the dealer wants $1,300 to replace the plastic panel with the same part because they would have to remove the slide out. However there is no guarantee it would last any longer than the first one did - or as long for that matter!


If anyone else has had this problem, I would like to hear from you, especially if you have a fix for it!

[Art-n-Marge]

Actually, I think you did a great job describing the problem, communicating your problems with the manufacturer and coming up with options for a fix. I think your plan number three is the best one. It does the job, will probably last longer than the original plastic and by painting it satisfied the cosmetics. The only question which will get answered over time is: will the fix really last longer or be affected by the slide extension and retraction.

btw - I really like your model of monty... a lot.. :-)

[Tom S.]

Thanks Art! Unfortunately, we now have much bigger problems as the trailer came unhooked while pulling.

[Bill-N-Donna]

Tom, what would it hurt to just paint it? It’s not going to get very wet underneath there if any at all. If you match up the color you may not even notice it at all. Wow I just noticed your other posting about the trailer coming apart while driving. Tell us what happened. I hope most of all no one was injured and also that there wasn’t a lot of damage done. I see how that would make the other look like a minor problem.

[01RAMer]

quote:Originally posted by Tom S.

Thanks Art! Unfortunately, we now have much bigger problems as the trailer came unhooked while pulling.

OUCH!!!

[Tom S.]

Yeah, big OUCH!!

[Rondo]

Tom-- How much damage to the fiver and the TV? Did you loose the five completely or did it hang up on the truck bed?

[ChuckD]

We are really hoping for the best. We hope noone was hurt by this. was there a defect in the hitch or kingpin?

[Tom S.]

We have a Reese Signature Series 18k. I hooked up and a friend verified the claw was wrapped around the pin, and I was able to insert the safety pin, so away we went. Trailer came out, hit the bed, wiped out the tailgate and landed on the landing gear. $4400 damage to the truck and a similar amount to the trailer. No injuries though - we were only doing about 10 mph.

I took the truck to the local RV center and a tech and I went over the hitch. It turned out that we were able to figure out what went wrong. It is possible to trip the claw, so it wrapped around the pin but not have the hitch latched into place. There is a flag on the hitch that indicates it is latched, but you aren't supposed to be able to insert the safety pin unless the flag is in the latched position. Turns out that if the hitch isn't quite latched, with the handle sticking out about an inch, the pin will go in, but the flag isn't visible and the hitch is NOT latched. We have towed with this set up from Maine to Alaska and parts between, and never had a problem, but if it had to happen, I'm glad it happened when and where it did. Flag will soon be painted bright green and a Blue Ox bed saver has been ordered.

Thanks for the well wishes. Just one of life's potholes. Important thing is no one was hurt. Besides, everything was insured, although I'll have two deductibles because truck and trailer have different insurers.

[Countryfolks]

We had a problem with our 2005 bedroom slide. The fix was replacing rollers with a slide strip. My question is does the slide strip across the opening rub against the bottom of the slide or on runners? If they say it's cosmetic, it must be runners?

You could get some formica sheets from HD or Lowes and apply it to the bottom after removing the old glue and a light sanding.

[Tom S.]

No it doesn't rub. When they say it's cosmetic, they are talking about the panel itself. It is put there for cosmetic purposes to hide the wood. Formica did not work out.

[Countryfolks]

Formica! D%&%@, you said that in your 1st post, had a senior moment.

[Tom S.]

Happens to all of us!

[MacDR50]

Sorry to hear about the accident. I have the same hitch and will hopefully learn from your unfortunate experience.

[Tom S.]

quote:Originally posted by MacDR50

Sorry to hear about the accident. I have the same hitch and will hopefully learn from your unfortunate experience.

Here's another heads up for you: Check the bolts that hold the side plates to the center piece. I discovered that one of mine was very loose and I was able to tighten two others. They go through an extruded hole that is tapped, but I'm thinking of adding some nuts to jam them and keep them tight.

[richfaa]

Tom.. I am not sure I undestand what you mean by "the flag" On our draw tite hitch which is similar there is a latch and a groove in the locking handle. If that latch is not in the groove it is not securly latched. We insert a lock in the latch to make sure it is latched. The lock will not it through the holes if the latch is not in the handle groove...Is that what you mean???? We do have a bedsaver.

[Tom S.]

Rich, if you look on page 3 of the Reese manual, you will see what they refer to as the flag (I can send you a PDF of the manual if you need it). It is a shiny piece of metal that can be seen to the rear of the hitch handle when the hitch is locked in. As for the pin, if the handle is out about an inch or so, the pin will also go into place but the hitch is NOT locked. That is what happened to me.

[chessera2527]

i have the same issue and i am going to put lexan in its place. the only part i do not know about is how it goes onto the carpet

[mazboy]

For having an '06 I would have figured you would have gone to a service center since they are the only ones who can purchase part. But, the call to Montana sounds weird regardless.


Without pictures I can only guess what is going on but I would have just used black -- wide tape. about 3 inches.
or, something like this: http://www.rhizomebarrier.com/plasti...yABEgL47fD_BwE

[jeffba]

wow reviving an 11 year old thread