New Member searching for answers

[Kuda22]

Hello everyone. I am new to the world of camping and have had 3 campers in less than 2 years. I was drawn into the world of camping by some friends and started off with a small toy hauler. I have upgraded to a Montana High Country 381TH, 5th wheel toy hauler. I had some bad issues with my first one and it was replaced with my current hauler. I love the floor plan, love the space and love the freedom of being able to travel the country when I can. I recently made a trip from Texas to Florida with my motorcycle in the garage. To make a long story short, the subfloor beneath my rear tire caved in. Has anyone else had any issues with the subfloor or "D" rings in their toy haulers?

[DQDick]

Welcome to the forum! I can't help you with your current question since we've never owned a toy hauler, but I'm sure someone will be along soon who has experience to answer your question. This is the first time I've seen that question on the forum, however.

[Mikendebbie]

Please post the year model.

[AZ Traveler]

Carlos,

Welcome to the forum! I'm with Dick, have not heard of this issue before.

[JDDilly]

We have a 2020 381th and have put about 5000 miles on it carrying a golf cart in the garage and have had no issues.

[wed]

Sorry make sure check with your dealer and the factory

[Kuda22]

Good afternoon everyone and thank you for you comments.

My unit is a 2020 Montana High Country 381TH that was purchased in Ma on Nov 2, 2020. I have traveled from Ma to TX and then from TX to Ma. I did not have an issue toying my motorcycle in the garage from Ma to Tx but I did have a problem from Tx to Florida. The subfloor underneath my rear motorcycle tire failed and caved in.

I have been in contact with Keystone RV and they will not cover it under warranty because, according to their Service team, I tied down my motorcycle too tightly.

In my research, from Keystone and online, the subflooring is made by 19/32nds of an inch OSB which is greater than a 1/2 inch but less than 5/8ths inch. There are only 3 joists that support the entire camper and are spaced out just under 20 inches apart. Had to make several calls to Keystone RV for answers regarding the weight capacity of the garage, which in 1500 lbs and I have yet received an answer to the weight tolerance of the "D" rings and if they are secured to the frame or just into the subfloor.

I will keep you posted as the saga continues.

[Kuda22]

JDDilly - If you don't mind, what is the weight of your golf cart? What is the spacing of the wheels on center and what is the width of your tires?

Thank you in advance.

[Kuda22]

Posted, thank you.

[richfaa]

It was a motorcycle that caused the damage not a golf cart.

[Kuda22]

It was the poor design of the garage floor and not using strong enough material for the subflooring to properly support my motorcycle, which caused the floor to fail and cave in.

[DutchmenSport]

If Keystone ends up not helping you, then you'll need to do a bit of rebuild yourself.

If it were mine, I'd probably cut out the broken area and replace with new. This is how floors are usually patched anyway. Make sure the old new join up together clean and have frame supports. You may have to do some creative re-building in that spot to ensure good support.

Then after fixing the hole, lay a new layer of plywood directly on top of the floor, at least the area where the motorcycle will stand. This will give added support to help distribute the weight and the weight of the tires will not actually be all consolidated over one small spot on the original floor under the plywood.

Unfortunately, I've had to do some re-strengthening in my Montana where things broke down too. But not the floor.

[Kuda22]

Thanks for the information. I have planned on reinforcing any repair work that is done. Sad that I have to pay additionally for a toy hauler that can't haul my toy safely or securely.

[rames14]

Just curious, where is your dealer in all of this. I would have gone straight to my dealer and it would have been taken care of there.

[Kuda22]

I have just recently gotten the dealership that sold me my unit involved. The dealership that my unit is currently located, Camping World of New Port Richey, doesn't seem too interested in advocating for me. After the first Pre-Authorization denial, the dealership recommended filing an insurance claim.

[432bartman]

Kuda22, that sounds like complete nonsense that Keystone won't cover it..........securing your bike too tightly......I would be pissed

[hemiallen]

It seems more likely the subfloor had a knot / soft spot. I've been hanging flooring and walls of ply in my new shops loft and walls, tons of air pockets in the crappy wood they are selling.

I would think the contact area of a street bike has 4x the weight/ sq-in than many load a toyhauler floor with, usually a quad-etc with big tires- still no excuse. Place the tires over a cross strut, or spread the load with a square foot of plywood to spread it out, might help.

Good luck

Allen

[Montana Man]

Keystone should accept responsibility especially if they didn't provide any criteria for latching down various items. Then to just say you did it wrong? What is wrong when they don't say what is right?

What is the bike being tied down?

[mlh]

I can understand both sides of this. Montana should spell out how the camper should be loaded. Yes it has a 1500 pound limit, if it is eventually distributed. They should tell you that. You can’t expect a .53 piece of OSB to support a 1000 pound motorcycle when it’s setting on 4 square inches but again they need to tell you that. If they had you could have parked your bike on 2x12. I’ll bet they never bothered to tell you the OSB was only slightly over a half inch.
Lynwood

[DutchmenSport]

That sounds typical for a Camping World response.