Frame Failure

[Chip]

Notice movement in front corner, left side, of battery compartment.
Checked inside propane cabinet and notice broken weld. Ugg! Front panels will have to come off to check other welds. Probably an all day job-Won't be cheap. This is my first real breakdown with this Montana.

Called Keystone, this Model year only had a one year warrantee. The new ones only have One Year!.

Chip

[pineranch]

I would ask again, don't think the 1 yr claim is for major structural cracks that they (keystone) has a track record of.
Mike

[camper4]

It's good you found it. I will check mine.
Good luck getting it fixed!

[HamRad]

Chip,
Don't know who you talked with but generally the frame is covered under warranty for much longer than a year. And as indicated Keystone is / has been really good in stepping up and covering all frame related failures. The exception would be if you had done something to the rig to cause the problem. But there are known weak points in some of the units in the area you described.

I'm surprised the person you talked with was not aware of this issue. And by the way as far as I know Montana has always had only a one year warranty period. I don't think the year has ever made a difference.

By all means try contacting Keystone again. Good luck. Dennis

[steves]

Come on keystone.....1 year warranty on a frame failure!

[CORattler]

Agreed! I would expect Keystone to step up to the plate on this one. Ill be watching closely...

quote:Originally posted by steves

Come on keystone.....1 year warranty on a frame failure!

[PapaBeav]

I had frame failure problems repaired by Keystone at no cost to us on our 2006 back in 2010 when it was 4 years old. Just keep pressuring them and they will come through.

[racerjoe]

Is your trailer a year old or a 2007 as in your signature?

[ols1932]

Although it would seem that a frame should be warranteed for a longer time, I think you'll find that one year is the maximum. However they did do some work on ours when the unit was four years old. About three years later we had to have the front end rebuilt by a truck building company. The one year warranty seems to be about the standard.

Orv

[HamRad]

Orv,
The only reason I think this type of thing should be covered for a long time (life of rig) is because we are talking about THE basic item of the trailer. It is steel and should last just about forever; Especially when the overhang area on some models of the Montana are known to have structural issues. I am no legal expert so I can't speak to the warranty issues. It just seems to me that a product such as this that keeps breaking in about the same spot should be fixed by the manufacturer at its expense.

Like you our rig was beyond the 1 year warranty period when the overhang area broke. Keystone, to its credit, stepped up and covered the cost of the fix.

Good luck to Chip, Dennis.

[snfexpress]

Lippert's frame warranty was two years until the crash; then they scaled back to one year.

Similarly, Dometic and Norcold used to be 3 years but are now just one year.

[Chip]

Thanks for the responses.

I would think the main frame should be under a longer warranty. If the basic structure isn't reliable then what do you have?

I go into the shop Thursday. I will contact Keystone again and see if they will help on this.

It will be interesting to see the extent of the problem once they open her up. I have had a lot of experience trouble shooting structure/equipment failures so I will inspect it myself once the Monty is laid bare.

Thanks,
Chip

[pineranch]

Chip,
I had a suspected frame failure and was told by Keystone to have my dealer look it over and contact them. I think the key here is not to make this a self help project but get a Keystone authorized repair facility to check it out. Keystone will most likely authorize them time to disassemble, inspect (take pics) and report what is found. Then they (dealer) will be able to price out the repair with Keystone and all you will need to do is keep the attention level up.
Mike

[richfaa]

Good advise above.. Call Keystone again and mention that you may have the "frame flex" issue. Keystone has been good about correcting frame related problems.

[1retired06]

yup, Lippert is now one year on the frame.

[Chip]

Mike

Good advice. I am going to a Keystone Dealer and it was mentioned to Keystone in my call. Bruce responded good but gave no advice. So I will discuss it with the dealer.

Upon further inspection there is only one weld which completely failed and is allowing a small amount of movement. One guesset also apears to be cracked but not moving. the guesset is only welded on one side.

If no warrantee help I think I will have them weld from inside the propane compartment, and maybe add a guesset.

Chip

[Jim Jarvis]

I have quite a bit of experience with this issue. Two years ago I noticed movement in the front end. My dealer looked it over, got approval from Keystone to fix it. Last year same problem, Keystone paid to repair it again. When I got the Big Sky back it was time to travel to Florida, this past December. Same problem again. Went to the Tampa RV show and spoke with a couple of company reps about my problem. I was encouraged to take my trailer to Indiana, to Keystone, where they promised to fix the problem once and for all. Remember my unit is now 5 years old. It is presently at the factory in Goshn being repaired. When they are done they will ship it back to me in Canada. I cannot say enough good things about Keystone and the service they have provided to me. I can tell you that if a major problem comes up with my truck 4 years out of warranty Ford wouldn't even dream of fixing it without payment.

[MIMF]

Chip, I don't believe Keystone warranties the frame. That would be Lippert. I would be in contact with Lippert and Keystone both. I know many cases where Keystone and Lippert both took care of and corrected many of these issues. However, you may be asked to help in some way such as, to bring the unit back to Goshen at your expense but, they generally cover all other costs. But, I don't know that for sure. Think about options you can offer to help get this repair made and they might do it.

Generally, this type of repair does require the removal of the filon cover from the pin box sleave and down to the landing gear legs. The front bulkhead wall may also have to be removed. Sounds worse than it really is. Then, new welds and gussets and perhaps straps added to make the repair.

Once the repair is done, you may want to consider changing the pin box to an air bag style. Only MHO.

[Chip]

Jim and MIMF

Sounds like my issue exactly. I did get the broken weld fixed. I still may have a very small amount of movement, not sure. It will take a few set-ups to confirm if I still have a problem. If I do I think I will visit Keystone on our trip out west this summer, or prehaps in May if the problem is just as bad as it was.

Chip