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Old 10-11-2013, 01:46 PM   #1
richfaa
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15 mins with a service tech report

We did get a call back from Keystone in reference to our 15 mins with a service tech at the rally

Our service tech was Brad. We did not have serious issues but he took everything down and promised to get back to us. Our most serious issue was the Compartment door struts pulling out of the door. It was my opinion that Keystone did not have a proper fix for the problem. Brad said he would see if Keystone was doing anything different since we purchased our 2013 3402 Big Sky in May of 2012.

He reported back that they now put adhesive on the metal plate that attaches to the door . We had guessed that as we saw what looked like adhesive on some newer units at the rally.
That fix does not work as reported by MOC members on this forum. They said I could take it to a dealer and have that fix done on my Montana or wait till there was a better fix. Our choice was to wait. We have already used adhesive on two failed struts and thus far they have held.

Brad was true to his word on investigating the problem and reporting back to us.
 
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Old 10-11-2013, 02:58 PM   #2
bigskyjimmy
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One of mine already Ripped out so I just put Gorilla glue behind the plate and replaced all the screws and put gorilla glue on the threads as well with bigger screws and never had a problem with any of them after that....We are also careful not to pull on them too hard
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Old 10-11-2013, 03:02 PM   #3
perfect5th
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I had a similar issue on my 3150RL. I change the door struts to a lighter resistance shock which put less stress on the door frame. The shock length and lbs is stamped on the shock. I found them at a local RV store.
Some Auto parts stores have the too?
Good luck.
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Old 10-11-2013, 03:14 PM   #4
richfaa
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We did exactly the same thing bigskyjimmy on the two that failed and so far so good.We also added additional screws. We do keep close eye on them and check the ones that have not yet failed on a regular basis. It is not a Keystone only issue as we have seen the same problem on SOB's.
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Old 10-12-2013, 03:24 AM   #5
Tom S.
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Quote:
quote:Originally posted by perfect5th

I had a similar issue on my 3150RL. I change the door struts to a lighter resistance shock which put less stress on the door frame. The shock length and lbs is stamped on the shock. I found them at a local RV store.
Some Auto parts stores have the too?
Good luck.
That, along with the adhesive aounds like the best fix. I don't need the struts to open the doors, just hold them in place once open.
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Old 10-12-2013, 03:34 AM   #6
richfaa
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the adhesive is the only practical and quick fix available now. IMO the compartment doors are not sturdy enough. There is little behind the plates that support the struts for the short screws to bit into. The wood appears to be a soft wood. What is needed and what we suggested is a stronger supporting material inside the compartment door, harder wood or better yet a metal plate. The OEM screws work loose and the strut fails. The glue fix will be but temporary.
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Old 10-12-2013, 04:14 AM   #7
jlb27537
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I think the doors are Lippert. Thus other brands will have the same issue.

I need to check mine. A backup metal plate with the shock bracket glued to it should be a good fix?

Jim
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Old 10-12-2013, 06:17 AM   #8
richfaa
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The weak point is that the plate or plates have still got to be attached to the compartment door. The compartment door is not sturdy enough .There is nothing for the screws to bite into and stay secure. Glue attaches the plate to the surface of the compartment door which is a vinyl or composite material.
IMO the door material may not be sturdy over the long run to support the strut. There is one post with pictures showing that fix and the subsequent failure on this forum.
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Old 10-12-2013, 08:19 AM   #9
bigskyjimmy
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I guess we are Lucky to have the struts at all, Some SOB's do not even have them and when they see mine they think that is a Nice touch I always hated the old little catch that held them up before(like the one still on the front compartment) I think I still have Scabs on my head from the old Montana doors falling on my Nogen when the catch slipped,they just need a little "tweeking" to make them stand up to everyday use,also when I first bought mine I was not use to them and I would open and shut them too hard Now it is Nice and Easy does it
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Old 10-12-2013, 09:14 AM   #10
Irlpguy
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Quote:
quote:Originally posted by bigskyjimmy

I guess we are Lucky to have the struts at all, Some SOB's do not even have them and when they see mine they think that is a Nice touch I always hated the old little catch that held them up before(like the one still on the front compartment) I think I still have Scabs on my head from the old ones falling on my Nogen,they just need a little "tweeking" to make them stand up to everyday use,also when I first bought mine I was not use to them and I would open and shut them too hard Now it is Nice and Easy does it
I think you are right Jimmy, I always thought that slamming these doors would be as bad or worse than the strut lifting the doors weight as they are not heavy. Nice and easy on mine as well and I made sure none of the screws were loose.



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Old 10-12-2013, 11:51 AM   #11
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Seems dumb to me that they call that type of locks "Slam Locks". Just asking for trouble.
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Old 10-13-2013, 03:56 PM   #12
bethandkevin
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Bigger screws, deeper threads, mine have lasted well over a year now and I would not say I use them any differently because they failed previously. Still tight as a drum.
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Old 10-14-2013, 02:48 PM   #13
rohrmann
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Had the same problem on our 2012 3402RL. After searching other sites, including other brands, ended up getting some 2" X 1/8" thick aluminum from Lowes, #10 X 1/4" RH machine screws (to screw into threaded holes I tapped into the aluminum to attach the strut brackets to the aluminum), and some #10 X 1/2" Stainless RH sheet metal screws to attach the assemblies to the doors. I cut the aluminum into 8" pieces, mounted the brackets centered on the pieces (had to radius the top edge to fit the curve of the door trim), and attached the plates to the door with 8 of the stainless 1/2" screws, 4 at either end. These haven't loosened since doing this fix, and it's been at least 6 months, and we are full timers. I think why this works is I've spread the torque on the brackets, twisting up and down when opening and closing the doors, over a much larger area. Also the screws I used are 100% better than the flimsy little screws they had the brackets attached to the door with. [/URL][/img]
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