graphics and keystone

[Rich_Mar]

Well this went just as I expected. I just got off the phone to keystone about my failing graphics. They started peeling and cracking when the fiver was only four years old and now it's 7. I've called about every year since to complain hoping I would get a different answer. But no, same thing "out of warranty". I have found some graphics on ebay for less than $100. Has anyone bought these and applied them and how have they lasted? I am talking the nose graphics only.

[cummins2014]

rsgs wrote:
People in the industry call these '7 year' graphics for a reason. They have a 'shelf life' and if stored outdoors, often won't last that long. That's the primary reason why when I brought my brand new coach home, I dragged out the ladder and started peeling every last one of them off (easy to do when new!). That coach is now 14 years old and the exterior looks as good as the day I bought it.

It makes sense for sure, and if I would have had a little more experience with all those graphics on my Montana fifth wheel, I would have done the same. I would do it now, but I would never get the shadows removed, and its it would be pretty expensive to paint over all of them.

I am going to make an attempt to remove ,and paint some of them. In the beginning like you did, just add a few painted ones to break up all that white, live ,and learn 🙂

[rsgs]

People in the industry call these '7 year' graphics for a reason. They have a 'shelf life' and if stored outdoors, often won't last that long. That's the primary reason why when I brought my brand new coach home, I dragged out the ladder and started peeling every last one of them off (easy to do when new!). That coach is now 14 years old and the exterior looks as good as the day I bought it.

[cummins2014]

BB_TX wrote:

cummins2014 wrote:


Well, you dressed it up a bit, but anyway you look at it , its a very time consuming job, and I don't know anyone that enjoys standing on a ladder or whatever device removing graphics . To each his own

But 1 1/2 day’s work buys 5-6 more years of looking near new again. Certainly better than old, faded, peeling decals. And better than plain white cap.

I believe you missed my point, I feel the same about the looks

I am saying its a time consuming job whether it be 1*1/2 days for whatever you did, to an entire fifth wheel , to anywhere in-between .

All I am saying I don't want fool someone into thinking its a quick ,and easy job, its just not . There is nothing to like other then the results.

[topjimmy]

You got that right! I take pride in my things and I would do it in a heartbeat but yep it would not be fun but heck pick a few nice days grab a few beers crank up the tunes and make the best out of it and be rewarded by the results 😉

[BB_TX]

cummins2014 wrote:


Well, you dressed it up a bit, but anyway you look at it , its a very time consuming job, and I don't know anyone that enjoys standing on a ladder or whatever device removing graphics . To each his own

But 1 1/2 day’s work buys 5-6 more years of looking near new again. Certainly better than old, faded, peeling decals. And better than plain white cap.

[cummins2014]

BB_TX wrote:

bpounds wrote:
Thanks for this thread. Subscribing.

Pleased to see the selection of decals on eBay. Now to figure out an efficient way to remove the old ones.
..............

I removed the decals on the front and rear caps of my Montana. The large MONTANA decals came off relatively easy with a heat gun and plastic scraper. But left on most of the adhesive. But 3M adhesive remover took that off fairly easily.

Mountains and “swooshes” were a different matter. Would break apart in very small pieces with the heat gun and scraper. Bought a 3M eraser wheel and used my strong corded gear driven 3/8 drill motor and those decals came off fairly easily. But still a lot of work as that is a lot of decal. Advantage of the eraser wheel as that a lot of the adhesive balled up with the decal leaving less adhesive to have to remove with adhesive remover.

Side decals still look good at 11 years.

Well, you dressed it up a bit, but anyway you look at it , its a very time consuming job, and I don't know anyone that enjoys standing on a ladder or whatever device removing graphics . To each his own

[dryfly]

Has anyone ever looked into truck wraps as a alternative solution to replacing the decals on the front cap of a fifth wheel?? Would not necessarily have to be a duplication of the factory graphics but just something to cover up the cap.

[BB_TX]

bpounds wrote:
Thanks for this thread. Subscribing.

Pleased to see the selection of decals on eBay. Now to figure out an efficient way to remove the old ones.
..............

I removed the decals on the front and rear caps of my Montana. The large MONTANA decals came off relatively easy with a heat gun and plastic scraper. But left on most of the adhesive. But 3M adhesive remover took that off fairly easily.

Mountains and “swooshes” were a different matter. Would break apart in very small pieces with the heat gun and scraper. Bought a 3M eraser wheel and used my strong corded gear driven 3/8 drill motor and those decals came off fairly easily. But still a lot of work as that is a lot of decal. Advantage of the eraser wheel as that a lot of the adhesive balled up with the decal leaving less adhesive to have to remove with adhesive remover.

Side decals still look good at 11 years.

[cummins2014]

Ralph Cramden wrote:

topjimmy wrote:
Yep fair enough at least they are trying to use better ones than my 2012 Monty where they did start to peal in a few spots and all the thousands of perforated holes on the newer Graphics to let them breath is a start and I have never seen any bad reports about the newer graphics on the Montana Forum from Folks that live in Arizona Etc.. where the heat is brutal on them but we will see, Now Faded gel coat on the front Caps THAT is a different story and folks are still having problems with that on the front cap unless they have full body paint

Ralph Cramden wrote:

topjimmy wrote:
Montana started putting new improved graphics in 2015 which have thousands of little holes to let them "breath" and are way better looking and durable than the old Big Mountain scene of old

Report back what they look like in 2020 or 2021. Keystone and other manufacturers use the cheapest graphics that can be had, supplied by the lowest bidder, just like all the other cheap junk they use. That's why a year or two later the same design can usually not be obtained, and if they can they're super expensive because they are custom ordering them. You may think they improved their graphics, personally I highly doubt it. They're not using top of the line 3M or Oracal vinyl, not even close. They use some Chinese knockoff vinyl that has a low resistance to UV. Even the good stuff has a limited life...10 to 12 years max.

TopJimmy.....my daughter in law is a self employeed graphic artist and consultant and has every piece of equipment imaginable when it comes to producing all sorts of advertising media, decals, etc. She just camo'd a pair of new front loader Redi Mix concrete trucks....Even the best material that can be had is limited to its lifespan from UV and the elements in general and 10 years is pushing the envelope even with 3M and Oracal which are the best. The RV manufacturers are not using the best and if by chance they are both make different grades of material. All they (the rv manufacturer)cares about is if it lasts beyond the warranty so they're off the hook.

I agree, the only good way is full body paint, and thats pricey, but if one wants to keep an RV for a long period of time,thats the answer to having it look good.

[cummins2014]

ScottG wrote:
Problem is, even if you find the graphics at a reasonable price, they will go bad again.
Faced with the same dilema on out last TT, I removed the faded stickers and had the front cap professionaly painted with a two part epoxy paint. Cost was $800 but I never had to worry about fading again. The front looked fantastic for the rest of the time we had it.

Thats what I am considering, good friend of mine spends a month or so with his fifth wheel in Mexico, was told but have forgotten where he goes, plan on doing the same with him in a year or so.

Anyway, he had the bed of his truck repainted down there, had some damage.( 2013 Ford ) It looked great, and the price was ridiculously low compared to here. He has seen some higher end motorhomes ,fifth wheels custom painted down there, and he said they look awesome. May give that a shot. No plans to get rid of the fifth wheel quite yet.

[Ralph_Cramden]

topjimmy wrote:
Yep fair enough at least they are trying to use better ones than my 2012 Monty where they did start to peal in a few spots and all the thousands of perforated holes on the newer Graphics to let them breath is a start and I have never seen any bad reports about the newer graphics on the Montana Forum from Folks that live in Arizona Etc.. where the heat is brutal on them but we will see, Now Faded gel coat on the front Caps THAT is a different story and folks are still having problems with that on the front cap unless they have full body paint

Ralph Cramden wrote:

topjimmy wrote:
Montana started putting new improved graphics in 2015 which have thousands of little holes to let them "breath" and are way better looking and durable than the old Big Mountain scene of old

Report back what they look like in 2020 or 2021. Keystone and other manufacturers use the cheapest graphics that can be had, supplied by the lowest bidder, just like all the other cheap junk they use. That's why a year or two later the same design can usually not be obtained, and if they can they're super expensive because they are custom ordering them. You may think they improved their graphics, personally I highly doubt it. They're not using top of the line 3M or Oracal vinyl, not even close. They use some Chinese knockoff vinyl that has a low resistance to UV. Even the good stuff has a limited life...10 to 12 years max.

TopJimmy.....my daughter in law is a self employeed graphic artist and consultant and has every piece of equipment imaginable when it comes to producing all sorts of advertising media, decals, etc. She just camo'd a pair of new front loader Redi Mix concrete trucks....Even the best material that can be had is limited to its lifespan from UV and the elements in general and 10 years is pushing the envelope even with 3M and Oracal which are the best. The RV manufacturers are not using the best and if by chance they are both make different grades of material. All they (the rv manufacturer)cares about is if it lasts beyond the warranty so they're off the hook.

[cummins2014]

bpounds wrote:
Thanks for this thread. Subscribing.

Pleased to see the selection of decals on eBay. Now to figure out an efficient way to remove the old ones.

As for whether Keystone improved the decal quality, ours was built in 2010. The 2 sides that face the sun, south and east facing in our storage spot, are peeling badly. North and west, which includes the front cap, look almost like new. None really faded, just peeling. We are in sunny So Cal. This does seem better than some from earlier model years.

Considering the age of mine ( 2008 ) they have held up pretty good, the front was the worst, the past 2-3 years the sides have started to peel, I have just kept cleaning them on the edges until they got too bad ,then replaced one here ,and there, having the full set Keystone sent me.

As far as removing IMO there is no real good way , heat gun, and adhesive remover. Sometimes the graphic ,and adhesive comes off pretty good other times the adhesive remains, and it still requires some work with the adhesive remover. 3M adhesive remover has worked the best for me, but goo gone or similar also works, which I have used. Some say WD40 also works.

[ScottG]

Problem is, even if you find the graphics at a reasonable price, they will go bad again.
Faced with the same dilema on out last TT, I removed the faded stickers and had the front cap professionaly painted with a two part epoxy paint. Cost was $800 but I never had to worry about fading again. The front looked fantastic for the rest of the time we had it.

[bpounds]

Thanks for this thread. Subscribing.

Pleased to see the selection of decals on eBay. Now to figure out an efficient way to remove the old ones.

As for whether Keystone improved the decal quality, ours was built in 2010. The 2 sides that face the sun, south and east facing in our storage spot, are peeling badly. North and west, which includes the front cap, look almost like new. None really faded, just peeling. We are in sunny So Cal. This does seem better than some from earlier model years.