Warranty issues--is the dealer correct?

[David and Jo-Anna]

Had our Big Sky in to fix several warranty issues, and the dealer did not or was not able to fix several of them. Instead, he offerred some explanations that I wanted to run by fellow MOC members to see if the dealer is correct.

1. We inadvertently let the galley tank fill to the point that we could see water rising up to the bottom of the sink drain. No problem I thought--I just went out and drained the galley tank. But a little while later, we noticed that the bottom of the cupboard area below the sink was wet, so we put it on the list of items for the dealer to check. The dealer's response was that "water was backing up and coming out of ventline position right next to the sink behind the access door." His solution--don't let the galley tank get filled, because if it does, the water will leak out of this "ventline position." We're new to this, but I didn't think that water should leak out of any vent whenever the galley tank got filled. We have the 340RLQ, which should have the same sink setup as the 3400. Is the dealer correct that this happens whenever the galley tank fills all the way up?

2. The plastic sheeting/lining on the inside of the glass in many of the overhead cupboards was bubbling up. The dealer called the factory and was told to simply remove the plastic backing. The tech who did the work put in a note saying that this plastic sheeting was safety backing, and he ran it by all the management people at the dealership before pulling the sheeting off. Question--is this sheeting really for safety purposes, and if so, is there a problem in just removing it altogether like Keystone said to do?

3. We have the new Big Sky latches on the closet doors in the bedroom. Even when we latch them, we find that one or both of the doors will come open about one third of the time when we are traveling down the road. Asked the dealer to check this as well. His answer--the latches are working properly, and this is something I just have to expect. And that I should cut a piece of wood and lay it in the closet door track when we are in motion if I want to be sure to keep the doors from opening. Is that the only/proper solution for this problem?

4. Our entry door rubs against the underside of the power awning when the awning is extended. The dealer said that the awning was installed too low and that it would be a major project to raise the awning higher--could result in leaving holes in the side of the rig. They are talking to Keystone about what to do--dealer is saying I may have to take the rig back to the factory to repair this. At the North East Rally, I mentioned this problem to the dealer from Pocono RV who was at the Rally. He said that Keystone was aware of this problem with some early Big Skys and had fixed the problem in newer units by mounting the awning higher. So two questions. First, is it a big problem to fix an awning that is mounted too low? Second, is anyone else with earlier model Big Skys experiencing this problem (mine is a 2007 340RLQ, serial number 103), and are those with later model units not experiencing this problem?

[Verle and Sue]

Hi David and Jo-Anna. Obviously we haven't had our Big Sky very long yet, but . . .
1. If the galley tank gets too full, the water has to go somewhere and I suppose there has to be a vent somewhere because even our stick house has to have the "drain lines vented".
2. I know Karen also had trouble with the plastic on the back of the cabinet doors bubbling and her dealer replaced all of hers. Ours is bubbled at the bottom where it goes over the "nails/brads" holding the glass in place, but since it doesn't show through to the "good side" we are ignoring it. I thought it was just a dark layer to keep the stuff inside the cabinet from showing through (many people on here have added pieces of pretty paper to the inside of these glass panels for this purpose). It does make sense that it MIGHT be a safety thing, as if they break, the pieces MIGHT stick to the sticky plastic, but I don't know this for a fact).
3. On the closet door, Big Sky has gone back to the clear plastic "mirrored closet door latches". I was disappointed because I find the clear ones extremely hard to open and was going to try to find replacements like yours. But now, maybe I won't!!!
4. Our entry door corner also rubs the awning UNLESS after letting it out all the way, we retract it just enough to clear the door when it's open. We retract it basically until the short part that hangs down is STRAIGHT down from the tube. This tightens up the awning just enough to make it clear the open door.

I know this didn't answer the warrantee question, but it's our thoughts on these issues. Hopefully someone else will have more concrete answers. Sue and Verle C

[kwolff7]

Hi David and Jo-Anna

Yes, out backing on the cupboard doors was bubbling and the dealer ordered new door and replaced them while we were there. As I said on an earlier post, we might not have liked the way they looked with the bubbling but would proabaly not have had them replaced. The dealer felt it was a problem and where they were bubbling the backing would continue to pull away from the glass. The backing is protective and would keep the glass from shattering. Also we stopped at a dealership in Billings Montana and the knowledgeable salesman who had worked in service 7 years became a rv salesman told us when the units come in the backing is bubbling, they just pull it off. He was shocked that they had replaced ours. I must say ours are all perfect because they took each door down and painstakingly pulled the original backing off and put on new. It took them almost a day to do so and I am sure it was charged back to the factory as warranty work.

I don't know what the new latches are..........we have the tight plastic ones that are almost impossible to open. Our problem is the drawer to the sofa comes open going down the road unless we tie it down. The dealer in Billings told us to put a door latch on it.

We have the 2008 and our entry door does not hit the electric awning when it is open. I just checked and there is about 4 inches between the door and the awning.

It will be interesting to see how they handle some of our warranty issues. John has fixed some of the things already, but we cannot get the leak stopped from the shower. We have a large rubbermaid container that we are using and I noticed it was half full of water a couple hours ago.

[bsmeaton]

David and Jo-Anna,

I would say the water backup is not a factory problem.

Also, your awning is too low (at least the arms are mounted too low). Wouldn't accept the answer your getting, nor would I be willing to take it to the factory. I would get approval from Keystone to take it to an authorized Carefree installer to get it put on the correct way, then to a body shop to get any remaining holes re-gell coated. They just screwed up.

[rldriver]

David and Jo-Anna,
1. Not sure what to tell you about this item except I will have to remember not to over fill that tank.

2. I just checked our cupboards and found some minor bubbling on some of the edges. Our lining has a large bead of caulk all the way around it.

3. we have not taken a trip with out the doors sliding open in the bedroom so I am going to try and figure another way to hold them during transport.

4. Our door also rubs and has left a stain/mark on the underside of the awning. My concern is how long will it take to wear through?

Did not solve any of your problems but we are also in the same boat as you. Wish I was in a boat today as it is now over 100 deg but maintaining 78 inside.

Please let us know if you get any satisfaction from Keystone.

Dick

[bsmeaton]

Your's is too low as well Dick.

Here are one of the early protos with the awning correctly installed (side rail up tight to the awning rail - awning rail 3/4" below center of awning tube when fully retracted). Note the spacing between the bedroom window and the awning - won't even mention the porch light.



It's a critical measurement, especially with your raised doors on the 340RLQ. Enventually the door will wear a hole through the awning fabric.

[traveltunes]

Hey guys,

Our unit is #160 and my awning does not touch the light. We have some bubbling on the cabinet doors and I'm afraid if I take it to a dealer they will make it worse, so we are going to leave it alone. I ended up fixing the shower leak myself. Beware of the movement in the bottom of the shower pan putting pressure on the pipes. When my wife took a shower I went out to see where it was leaking exactly and the bottom side of the shower pan was moving over an inch up and down when walking around in it. There is supposed to be foam padding underneath the pan, but when I took a flashlight to it I didn't see any on the front side where the drain was. The dealer in Pendleton a month ago said: go and buy some Great Stuff spray foam and fill it in. I did just that and it stopped the movement of the pan. I also went and bought a new drain and replaced it myself. It has been over 3 weeks now and no water leaks. If you have any scuffs or nicks in the Cherry go to a home improvement store and buy some Minwax stain in Cherry #235 I used it on all the scratches we had from when we bought it and it matched just fine. Get a small rag and not use very much of it, then rub it on the natural way of the wood grain.

Warranty: I contacted Craig Crouch about two weeks ago and still have heard nothing back.
The last time I spoke with him he was more than willing to help me get it in somewhere and get it fixed. I called him back and left a message saying: I was willing to go back to Pendleton for the big issues we were having. He never returned my call. Keystone in Pendleton, OR does not build the Big Sky so I'm afaid they won't know how to fix some of the problems or will mess something up. I'm sad to say that I don't think I will take it back to a dealer because I can't trust them to do anything right. I'm a decent handyman and for most of the small stuff I think I will just fix it myself. As far as anything big, I will be planning a trip to Indiana in the spring to take it back to the factory.
Traveltunes

[richfaa]

Hummm..
Item #1,,We deliberately let our galley tank fill into the sink all the time. One, to check for plumbing leaks and Two..That is how I know the galley tank is full. So My take is that the dealer response to Item Number 1 is BS.

Item # 2..We have never had that problem in our 3400 now 14 months old. Our backing is as we speak, as good as new. My take on that is ..If your backing is bubbling it is defective and I do think it IS a safety device in case of breakage.( a good question for the factory AT THE RALLY)

Item #3. We have never had the problem of our closet doors opening during travel. They are hard to open but I figure that is a good thing..Also we have never broken a latch

Item #4.. does not apply to our 3400.

[Cyrus]

I don't have a 3400 but I broke one of the closet door latches because it was so hard to open, really got tired of fighting it. When I posted about the broken latch someone posted a fix.

Get small ”0 rings” about ¼ to ½ inch outside diameter from car parts store like NAPA. This will hold the latches off of the wood, still latches well but lets the latch rock enough to open rather then flex the plastic. Works great and still holds door latched good.

[snfexpress]

I'm with Rich. BS for what you have expressed. As for the closet latches, the old ones are worthless (they break once they become brittle). We replaced them with ones designed for Fleetwood. They require different holes, but they are more flexible.

To reiterate - the galley tank should be okay to fill up totally (we do, all the time) without leaks. Your dealer is messing with you.

[dsprik]

Ditto on Rich and Michael relative to our 2007 3400...

[vickir]

About the door rubbing on the awning... we had this on our first fifthwheel, and old Wilderness. The previous owner put a caster on the top corner of the door, mounted slightly higher than the door. That way the caster rubs on the awning without tearing or damaging it. The caster was wood and was about an inch wide. I see Camping World has it. They call it an "Awning Door Roller."


David and Jo-Anna, the galley tank should not leak into the cabinet below the sink. None of ours ever have and they've been into the sink numerous times. I wonder if your drain pipe is loose and the water standing there is seeping out. You might not notice a very small leak in normal draining procedures. In my opinion, backing up into the sink is not a factory problem but water leaking when that happens is definitely a factory problem.

On the closet door latches, you might contact Keystone and let them know about this problem. Maybe they'd send you a set of the older style latches.

Steve (using Vicki's logon)