Crack in Sidewall by Bedroom Slide

laknox wrote:

Tumbleweed79 wrote:

laknox wrote:

FLY 4 FUN wrote:
For sure I feel for you, but there are only a few rv's designed and shipped with bumper mount bike/cargo racks. The rest are clearly placarded against modifying in any way.

I doubt your cargo rack had anything to do with the crack, but now the dealer and manufacturer have every right to deny your claim as you voided the structural warranty.

I am truly sorry you are getting the run-around, but they play the game to win!

Daryll

If there was no drilling or welding on the frame, they have a =very= weak case.

Lyle

I agree! My friend took pictures of a Honda Prius with a bike rack on the back and sent it to them... He said maybe Keystone needs to get together with Honda to figure out how to make a frame that won't crack from a bike rack. Also, there was NO PLACARD anywhere. It only stated it in the owner's manual, which I cannot even read until I have bought the thing! By that time I had already moved the cargo platform over from our other trailer.

Also, the very fact that other manufacturers INSTALL cargo platforms on the back show that it can be done without destroying the integrity of "Frame Camber". As a matter of fact it may be a safety net so that nothing else can be put on the back bumper without TRULY modifying it.

Since you have now posted a picture, they're going to say that you installed a "cargo rack" with a capacity of up to X hundred lbs. The fact that you never put anything but bikes on it will get lost in the shuffle. Had you taken the rack off before taking it in, we would still likely be having this conversation, as that's the way the mfrs all work, but you'd have a much stronger position. I agree that by them bending over and keeping you happy would sell a lot more RVs than them putting you through this. The mfrs just don't seem to get the power of the Internet and how bloody =fast= and =far= this kind of stuff can spread. And don't be afraid to spread it around, either. Good luck, is all I can say.

Lyle

Lyle, your point is well taken. I agree with you...they will keep shuffling their feet until they get what they want. The cargo rack has a capacity of approximately 400 lbs. If they take this stance, then they have specs of what their bumper can hold, then they could be asked to show how much extra weight it takes to create unequal "camber" or to break, crack, tweak, bend, or deform their bumper. Again, they are stating that their bumpers are capable of carrying enough weight to damage their own frame. That is like Remington stating our firearm receiver can handle the hottest load you can put in it, but our barrels will explode. The one without the other is meaningless. Who needs a bumper when you have a broken frame?

As well, they have now implicated Lippert if indeed there is a cracked weld, frame, or structure, by stating the "camber" is out of wack or whatever. Lippert will do everything in its power to show that Keystone is wrong so that Lippert is not liable, for Keystone's cracked or broken structure. To state that Lippert's frame was off camber will, in my opinion, cause Lippert to prove their frame was not faulty or broken due to 400 lbs. I am SURE that in testing and then listing capacities they take it to the extreme and then back off for a huge margin of safety. If testing documentation shows that the testing phase was a mere 200 lbs or so from the safety margin listed then that would create a huge legal liability. Like any manufacturer, they likely test until it breaks, write that number down, and then set a "safe" limit for their product based on that number. Why would you make a car that could only handle "skinny" people and then say the frame broke because you put "fat" people in it. The tires were fine, the struts were fine, the seats were fine, but the frame broke because it was right at the edge of the safety margin.

The bottom line: We won't know exactly what is wrong until the dealer repairs. YET, Keystone is stating they WON'T fix it BECAUSE OF DAMAGE OR LOSS CAUSED BY...cargo platform. Yet, when I asked them point blank. "Are you stating that the cargo platform on the rear bumper caused the damage/loss/crack to the front of the unit?" They refuse to answer that question. It has been two weeks of emails averaging one a day. In my opinion, if it goes all the way to court then Keystone has to prove that my cargo platform broke their frame/structure. In order to do that they would need to produce these testing specifications that I mentioned. I don't think they want to do that...but again, I am just a consumer...what does my opinion count for? :)