New Trailer - Many Frustrations

In March 2010, we purchased our second travel trailer. For the previous 9 years, we tent camped and decided to upgrade to a better "living"situtation. After 2 months of searching and internet research, looking at all makes and models, we decided on the Keystone Passport Ultralite. We settled on the 245RB which had a lot of the feature we were looking for in travel trailer. We ended up purchasing from a local dealer in Colorado after looking at all the other brands Keystone made, Bullet, Cougar, Larado, Springdale, etc... We had a great understanding and most of the time, knew more than the sales reps from the dealerships. For those of you who are looking. THOR industries owns several manufacturers of travel trailers including Airstream, Keystone, Cross Roads, KOMFORT, Dutchman and Breckenridge to name a few.

We picked up our new trailer and had a walk through. A lot of the information was the same and some new. The tech walked me through extending and retracting the slide. A lot of popping was heard and I was told it was normal as it was new and would eventually go away. Everything else went fine.

Over Easter, we traveled and pulled the trailer to Central Kansas to see our youngest daughter at college. No major issues. Filled the water tank. Bad idea for pulling long hauls (Wait until you get there). Let the water out to make the load a little lighter, which was fine. First time out, no issue noted.

Memorial day weekend, camped at local forest service campground near Allenspark, CO. Was a little cold, used the heater, drained the battery and decided it was time for dual batteries and the search for a good small generator as well. First major issue when we used the shower. Water leaked all around the bottom of the walls and caulking was not tight. Not bad, but not good for a NEW trailer either. Second issue was also noted under the sink and the plumbing was all "jacked" up.

Now if this looks like a quality product you want to sell, then you better be looking somewhere else. This is what we found when we looked at the plumbing under the sink. The vent was all jacked up and this is the reason why. Yes, it has been fixed once, which then created a bulge in the left side sink. Yes, this how the manufacture installed this. That small piece of 2x4 has a C-clamp to secure the plumbing. The black plumbing is tied into a flexible hose that moves when the slide is extended and retracted.

We took the trailer in for warranty work after Memorial Day. Had it back within the week. However, I had to hound the service manager to get this done. Low and behold, it will be going back again for a second time to fix this same issue.

Third time out, we ended up coming home. One campground was full and the other was so narrow and tight, it wasn't worth the effort to back into small spaces. Had the water tank filled for that trip as well and ended up draining it on the way home.

The weekend of June 12,13, we headed for the Snowy Range of Wyoming. Yes, the weekend was full of some rain and cooler weather.  This when and where we found this......

The fresh water tank had a leak. A brand new trailer, only out on it's third real camping trip and we found the floor and all our rugs completely saturated with water. Upon searching for the source, we decided it was the water tank. The photo on the left is in the water pump space and you can see fresh water stains coming up the wood. The photo on the right is under the bed and includes the bed frame. There appears to be both old stains and fresh water from this trip. Which means this was not the first time the tank leaked, but the first time we noticed it. Needless to say, the photos were taken for proof and evidence. Luckily, we also carried three of our water cans (6 gal. each) and drained the water into these for the weekend. It was then and there, we decided this was not a well built product and Keystone and or the dealer was going to be having to make us happy. As a consumer, I was livid.

This was Saturday morning when we woke up. We decided to leave and head home, unload the trailer and take it to the dealership, who was open on Saturday. We drove home in a downpour all the way. Trailer handled well on the wet roads. However, when we got home, this is what we found.

The bottom of the couch/cover and floor along with the wood you see in the top right corner were literally saturated with water, we rung out a good 2 cups worth. We waited to show the sales manager a the dealership. Luckily, it all has dried, but still worried about the possibility of mold, fungus, and more water.

The sales manager immediately pulled the trailer into the bay and out of the rain. He was concerned as well and began to write up the service order.

It wasn't until three days later, we heard anything from the dealership that was significant. My wife had stopped in, because she wanted to find out what was going on. There was some hesitation on the service manager's part and no one appeared to be open and honest about what had been found. There was a lot of hemming and hawing going on. Needless to say, I stopped in the following day to find the answers. I was told about the water tank leak and shown the photo that was taken and submitted to Keystone for the warranty work. So where's the water tank. I know they have to re-build the bed frame and I was told all the parts were on order. Another tech also showed me where the water had been coming in the trailer, on another trailer in the showroom. I never did see our trailer there.  We were told that it could be up to 2 weeks before the parts come in, but that we could use the trailer and would just have to dry camp. I was told it would be at least the end of the month (June) before it was done.

Well another week went by and I made arrangements to pick up the trailer as the "parts" were not in yet. I don't know how long it takes to get a water tank in or why the dealership doesn't have any instock... They do work on these frequently; Don't They?  The last weekend of the month, we went back to the Snowy's and made the best of it.

The Fourth of July is right around the corner and we have plans to camp again. We had a great weekend this weekend and still find things that make us go, UH? The following photos are of the slide issues we continually have as well. We will be persistent and if need be, demand a new slide be installed... Oh, that might take another month or even two...

As you can see from the photos. The slide has created a massive breach in the siding on the trailer. This is where the water was entering during our first trip home from the Snowy's in Wyoming. We still are not sure where the black marks are coming from. The cable doesn't touch the wall of the slide at all. The cable actually penetrates the rubber seal.

More to come. We have actually started lookin at another Make and Brand altogther today, July 5th.

Please comment on any issue you may have had with your trailer and I would love to share stories.