Keystone Travel trailer faulty design

I started my research for a new TT on-line, looking at a lot of information from the manufacturer and the dealer websites. Then once I shortlisted a few preferred models, we went to the dealer to scour over the units. In the process, I found out I didn't really like a few of the features on the model I thought I was going to buy. Conversely, I liked a different manufacturer and model based on checking out the unit in person. The whole process was surprising to me, but proved that checking out each TT at the dealer was essential in getting the unit best suited to us.

Believe me, I will not let any of these 3 items take away from our enjoyment of camping and using this unit. This is my second Keystone Laredo unit and I am comparing it to my first one 2011 297RL which had none of these issues.

My purpose in posting was to see if anyone had any ideas or thoughts about these issues.

I plan on hooking it up to my F-350 and enjoying the hell out of it. As soon as the snow stops, that is :-).

goducks10 wrote:
If you never have a leak or never have to take it back for warranty work then you'll be way ahead. That alone would be a positive. I say pack it up and go camping.

AMEN goducks!!!!

Really sucks you're having these issues as the floor plan is very nice. Maybe once you have a few months of use with it you will find ways to compromise that will hopefully make it more enjoyable. JMO but I wouldn't sweat any of your issues. They are what they are and nothing can be done. We all sometimes make a bad move. It's how we deal with it, is what's important. If you never have a leak or never have to take it back for warranty work then you'll be way ahead. That alone would be a positive. I say pack it up and go camping.

On the heater and door thing, here's a couple of pics.

Not trying to be negative, but even with the a door on previous years, that side of the pass-through is really compromised anyway in order to make space for the furnace. The street side door was pretty darn small. To me, I want and need every cubic inch in the pass-through and would not buy a TT that didn't have full access on each side and nothing taking up space inside. It's something that I would have noticed right away.

The way they have it now, the space in the street side of the pass-through is pretty much unusable. Looking at the floor plan, there really isn't anywhere else they could have put the furnace except for maybe in the pantry. A slide out tray wouldn't work unless it was modified or a custom one.

The applicable gas code would be 2015 NFPA 1192 - maybe someone can look up the new rule to see if it matches what Keystone says. I can see why the rule was changed - to prevent CO from getting inside the unit. But on such a large and expensive TT, it's hard to imagine having only partial usability of the pass-through. I would not install a new door where the old one used to be.

I think this is another case where buyers get attracted to a unit by all the bling (all the slides, the nice looking cabinetry, the colors, the big TV, etc.) and important functional things get overlooked. Our dealer actually told us that lots of bling is intentional by Keystone (a Thor co. which now owns KZ too). If you challenged Keystone they would probably refer to the "subject to change at the manufacturer's whim" rule when they dropped the access door. Keystone might not have re-jigged the design of the TT to put the furnace elsewhere because they were being lazy (plus it might cost them a few $$).

Hate to disagree, but the solution is not to change the hinge to make it continuous, it's to change the location of the water heater. I would not want an access door or window that close to the CO exhaust from HW heater or furnace.

Regarding the slide, our old 2002 Sunnybrook had a "flush floor" slide, so that when it extended it dropped down at the end of the track so that the slide floor was flush with the main floor. The slide on our 2008 Terry has a different mechanism, and the slide floor remains slightly higher than the main floor, just like the one in the pic posted by Old Biscuit. Not a defect, just the way it is made. Yes, you have to careful about chair placement, but the difference is not enough to cause the chair to be unstable or unsafe.

As was noted, you should still get heat circulation with the fold-a-bed out, the air will come up around it. Remember that the furnace fan delivers a fixed CFM of heated air. If you completely block a vent, it just increases the air coming from the others. Having a blocked vent doesn't diminish the amount of heat you get, it just affects the distribution.

The RV industry is just like the marine and other leisure industries, demand for their products is soooo elastic that nobody invests for the long term. Look at the economic climate in 2008...75% of the RV manufacturers that were around in 2008 are not here today. Granted some of those brands and factories are still around and being run by different companies, but the name of the game is to stockpile as much cash in good times so you can weather the downturns.

Why there's no robotics in mfg...the investment in robotics is huge and the plant must operate at capacity to get the ROI...if business slows, I can just lay off half of my Amish workers and cut overhead while still making trailers. I can't lay off 1/2 of a robot.

NHRV wrote:
EB145, Here is the response from Keystone,

The reason that your trailer is different from the pictures that you have is due to a code change that took place recently. There is a new requirement in place that states that “Except for the hinge side of a door incorporating a continuous hinge, there shall be no openings within 9 in. (230 mm) of the edge of the flue gas outlet”. That is the reason that the compartment door next to the water heater had to be removed from that floor plan.

Sounds reasonable ... I guess..... I would like to see the new pamphlets... once they are printed..

NHRV wrote:
EB145, Here is the response from Keystone,

The reason that your trailer is different from the pictures that you have is due to a code change that took place recently. There is a new requirement in place that states that “Except for the hinge side of a door incorporating a continuous hinge, there shall be no openings within 9 in. (230 mm) of the edge of the flue gas outlet”. That is the reason that the compartment door next to the water heater had to be removed from that floor plan.

Ouch.

EB145, Here is the response from Keystone,

The reason that your trailer is different from the pictures that you have is due to a code change that took place recently. There is a new requirement in place that states that “Except for the hinge side of a door incorporating a continuous hinge, there shall be no openings within 9 in. (230 mm) of the edge of the flue gas outlet”. That is the reason that the compartment door next to the water heater had to be removed from that floor plan.

Maybe I can help you one of the problems. The heat duct under the sofa/bed.
I redirected the air flow when I had a similar issue. If you have the clearance it helps quite a bit to move air into the room opposed to into the sofa/bed.
I made mine out of wood in order to fit. It was not a permanent fit, just a 'drop in place' temporary cover, used as needed.

it looked like this cover

Bob