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Army Nurse · 04-23-2016, 10:19 AM

So, I dropped off my Montana at my local Keystone dealer in Nashville (Camping World) almost 8 weeks ago. I gave them a 27 item punch list to work on, as we had been living in the unit full time for the last 8 months. After what seemed like a LONG time, they finally got back to me with an update. Surprise! A few of the higher cost items were denied under warranty. At first, I was a bit perturbed that the manufacturer was not standing behind their product. I mean, re-caulking a seam they partially missed during manufacturing and that was not visible from below seems like something that should be covered. As does a poorly bonded finish on the dinette that peels off if you touch it with your finger nail.

After a discussion with the CW service manager (Josh), he suggested I call Keystone to sort it out. According to him, this usually results in more things being covered. So, I called Keystone's warranty line (866-425-4369) and talked to their representative. They were very polite, and immediately approved several more items on my list. The biggest one just needed to be reworded on the claim. All was fine.

The next day, I got a call from Keystone. The representative explained that she had made a mistake, and the caulk would not be covered, as that is a user maintenance item. Here's the rub... I am traveling for work the next four months, and cannot do it myself. In addition, this is where we are getting some water ingress in the unit. My dealer said they could do it for $300, but there is NO way I am paying that much for $0.25 worth of silicone. I politely explained this to the rep, and told her if I was going to have to spend $300 to caulk a seam they left partially undone during manufacturing, I'm going to talk about it on social media. A lot... And, I'm a pretty good writer. Long story short, I received an email the next day, and everything is covered.

The moral of the story is this... Keystone, like any company, is in business to pay the bills. If they paid every claim without question, their costs would skyrocket. So, if they deny your coverage (and you believe it is not justified), call them up. They are reasonable, and a little discussion goes a long way.

So, here I sit, waiting for the dealer to get the approved parts and complete the work. Now, I have a different problem. If the work is completed while I am out of town, I can't come back to pick it up until August. No problem. According to Josh at CW, they'll deliver it to my storage lot near my house (90 miles from Nashville) free of charge. Hmmm... My faith in humanity is restored. Or, at least it will be when my camper shows up in the storage lot.

MaverickBBD · 04-23-2016, 12:15 PM

Isn't the power of social media wonderful sometimes? I always make sure I e mail links to review I post. Both good and bad ones. Especially RV Service Reviews that seems to get their attention.

roothoss1282 · 04-23-2016, 07:30 PM

I guess I would be careful about saying that you lived in it full time for the last 8 months. That right there would be grounds to void the warranty. It says many places that it is not meant to be lived in fulltime at least that is what my warranty says. I just bout a 2016 High Country and was surprised how many times it mentioned it.

Brian W · 04-23-2016, 08:20 PM

Not trying to upset you, but did you inspect the unit at delivery? Did you inspect the unit after delivery as described in the maintenance section of your owners manual?

300 is wildly excessive, yes, for a spot seal. We would have charged you $60.00 as our minimum labor charge is 1/2 hour. Our techs don't work for free. Like anything, the devil is in the details. Warranty should have covered it from the get go IF the write up for the work was done properly.

It's not just Keystone (Thor) that is very specific in how/what they cover in warranty. As previouly mentioned, full time use can void a warranty. Glad it worked out for you.

Army Nurse · 04-24-2016, 08:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by roothoss1282

I guess I would be careful about saying that you lived in it full time for the last 8 months. That right there would be grounds to void the warranty...

That's a good point, and one I see a lot on the various forums. Here's my view on that. The 2015 warranty (Chapter 2, Page 7 of the manual) excludes "Trailers used for business, rental, commercial, residential, or disaster relief purposes, or any purposes other than recreational travel and family camping." I suppose it would depend on your definition of "residential." The trailer was not permanently located on blocks or a foundation, it was moved to a new RV park or campground every 2-3 weeks for the entire 8 months, and we did not receive mail at any of the locations we parked. I think all of that would have us outside the legal definition of residential. It would, however, fit the description of "extended use," which is described and permitted within the manual. I think we're OK.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brian W

Not trying to upset you, but did you inspect the unit at delivery?...

I'm so upset by that!!!

Just kidding.

We did inspect it (it took about 120 minutes for PDI), but I did not peer over the sides from above, and look into the crevices between the gutter and sidewall. (Should have, though.) If I had, I would have caught that there were gaping 3"-4" spans of missing caulk at several locations on all the gutters, as would our service person who was leading us through the process. These are big, complicated things that can have all sorts of things wrong when they come off the line. I don't expect to catch everything myself, nor do I expect the service guy to see it all. I would expect their own factory quality control to catch that, but maybe it was a long day or something else happened. Who knows? The bottom line is that they did stand behind it. For that, I give Keystone the kudos they deserve.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brian W

We would have charged you $60.00 as our minimum labor charge is 1/2 hour....

See, that's reasonable, and I wouldn't have blinked twice at that. I agree, they're in business to pay the bills, so there has to be compensation. $300 from CW was a bit excessive. Now, to be fair, I was talking to a new guy that day, and he is still learning. I'm still working with him, but I run everything through Josh there, as he seems to know what's going on.

Thanks for the comments! I hope this helps anyone else having issues with a claim they think is valid. Again, bottom line, if they deny something you think should be covered, ask again. It can't hurt. That was the point of my original post.