Cracked Front Panel

[Glass Guy]

Has anyone noticed the front panel under the over hang and near the front storage compartment door cracked. Just went out to get the Montana ready for a quick weekend camping trip and noticed three or four cracks. Two of the cracks go from the bottom of the storage door down and the third one is about 6 inches to the right and about 8 to 12 inches long. I can't believe they would use such a thin piece of plastic in that area.any suggestions on were to find a replacement panel. Roman

[DarMar]

Roman: When we had our 2003 model we had severe cracking in that area plus the area underneath the overhang. Our unit had been in the shop one winter day, then we went to pick it up from the dealers outside storage a day or two after and a soon as we hooked up and went to pull away everything just snapped. At that time our rig was 2.5 years old. The dealer guessed it started with overtight scews and then small cracking that went unnoticed. They also claimed that Keystone changed the type of plastic used in later years and replaced our panels with a more flexible type. I would suggest that you hook up and do a pull test and then check those cracks again.

[Exnavydiver]

No idea where to get a new panel but I would suggest drilling "stop crack" holes at the very ends of each crack. usually done with a 1/4 inch drill bit or smaller. That should stop them from growing for the time being. You can then put a small bit of white silicone caulk in the holes to preserve the weather proofing... Dave

[Jolu]

A friend from Canada had this problem along with the kitchen vinyl cracking. The cause was when the temps went down to about 40 degrees below zero. Dealers in his area had most of their units do the same thing.
He went to Home Depot and bought something and replaced the plastic. I am not sure what he used.

On Edit: I forgot to mention his unit was a Bighorn.