Roof Ripping Ketsone

[garlicpapa]

So we bought a 2015 Keystone Raptor 300MP in August 2014.About 2 months ago I'm up on the roof and and see a foot long rip on both sides of the forward A/C unit .Contacted my dealer Sky River in Paso Robles Ca (who has been great so far) sent them pics and they forwarded them to Keystone. Keystone has authorized a heat weld repair. Anyone ever heard of this. I want the whole roof replaced. It also has some screws starting to pop up from under the roof membrane. Advice please. Any contacts at Keystone?
Thanks,

[dcg9381]

Again, an etenabond repair will not fix this issue until the underlying lack of adhesion is addressed.

If I was 2 months out of warranty, I'd carefully work with my dealer to submit this to Keystone. I'd want to review what they submitted. Keystone will assume it's a "lack of maintenance" - your dealer needs to indicate that the roof issue is due to a lack of adhesion and no lack of maintenance / leaks are indicated at the front of that cap. Keystone has approved partial repairs out of warranty, if I recall correctly, but it's highly dependent upon how the dealer submits it.


If I had to pay for this repair out of pocket, a new roof for a 37' RV runs between $6500-9000 here. You can straight deck over, add 1/8 luanan to the existing OSB, or replace the OSB with ply.

The budget repair that will work - or at least has worked in other circumstances is to peel back all the TPO that was not bonded. Cut it, then put a new piece in overlapping the rear. This isn't as good as a 1-piece roof, but it will solve the problem. Eternabond the edge if you want a little extra insurance.

PM me if you want references to this happening to other Keystone RVs that are <2 years old.

[bid_time]

Seeing as it is out of warranty I guess your pretty lucky they are doing anything. I think I would ask them about doing an Eternabond repair instead.

[SuperdutyII]

Mile High wrote:
If it was a defect that caused the rips, you should be getting a new roof and don't settle for less. As said, a repair like that will devalue it and make it hard to sell.

Completely agree!

[SuperdutyII]

rehless wrote:
We have a m2012 Montana Mountaineer by Keystone. Pain in he ass from the get go. Purchased new. No more Keystone products...ever.

We completely understand. Been there, done that. Never Again.

[rehless]

We have a m2012 Montana Mountaineer by Keystone. Pain in he ass from the get go. Purchased new. No more Keystone products...ever.

[dcg9381]

Class actions are generally good for the attorneys, but not so good for the members of the class. Plus for class action, you need a LOT of members.
If you'd like a referral to an attorney that has handled the issue for other people, I can refer you to those people.

Eternabond tape is a good temporary solution. That's what I did with mine. However, that roof is still going to come up and the problem won't be solved until you address the adhesion issue. Keystone should know exactly what this is - goodness knows there are enough RVs with this issue that I've run into.

Doesn't Good Sam have a consumer advocacy thing that you can write for help?


Here's another example. My understanding is that the repair was really bad and that's what triggered litigation:
LINK

[Mile_High]

If it was a defect that caused the rips, you should be getting a new roof and don't settle for less. As said, a repair like that will devalue it and make it hard to sell.

[allen8106]

I think you would be better off repairing it with Eternabond tape. I've never had to use it but hear it works as good or better than the original membrane and is about the best repair going.

[rexlion]

A class action filing would get their attention. Talk to your attorney.

[dcg9381]

garlicpapa wrote:
So we bought a 2015 Keystone Raptor 300MP in August 2014.About 2 months ago I'm up on the roof and and see a foot long rip on both sides of the forward A/C unit .Contacted my dealer Sky River in Paso Robles Ca (who has been great so far) sent them pics and they forwarded them to Keystone. Keystone has authorized a heat weld repair. Anyone ever heard of this. I want the whole roof replaced. It also has some screws starting to pop up from under the roof membrane. Advice please. Any contacts at Keystone?
Thanks,

Garlic, you can see photos of mine over on the Keystone Forum. They didn't glue the roofing material down very well, it balloons up and cuts itself on the AC frame.


98% chance that's EXACTLY what's happening to yours.

Roof material manufacturers (as I understand it, haven't actually seen docs) recommend new material (wood) to apply adhesive. Keystone will not authorize replacment of the roof deck and as it's MDF, it may or may not get pulled up when they remove the roof. There are a few really bad repairs documented on the internet where the new roof looks like oatmeal because the MDF came apart... And at least 2 of those people had to sue for relief. Keystone's warranty excludes "cosmetic" issues - meaning a roof that doesn't leak but looks horrible.

I've seen Keystone do "partial" roofs before on RVs that were out of warranty (just barely) and had this issue. Other than the fact that you've got a roof patch, these have seemed to hold well.

Never heard of a plastic weld repair on EPDM or TPO. HOWEVER, if they don't secure that roof down, it's going to balloon again. I put a go-pro up on mine, towed it, and had the dealer send the video to Keystone. It's important that they fix how it got cut.

I think a patched roof, partial roof, or roof repair that looks bad is a drop in value.

I see screws (nails) under my roof too. Unless really bad, I wouldn't mess with them. Your warranty will not address them.

Keystone does not provide end customer support, you have to work with the dealer to work with them...

Keystone SHOULD know exactly what this is. I was told that several were done at my dealer and the facts of where it was cut mean it's the material coming up to the AC unit. They have to address the adhesion issue.. Plastic welding cuts is going to do nothing for you if they dont get it glued down.

[garlicpapa]

That just it. I don't how long it's been ripped, how much rain water got in there and how far the water traveled.

[mabynack]

I just built a training program for the military on heat welding fabric. It's pretty dependent on the people operating the equipment and the equipment itself. The military uses it as a last resort for fabric shelters in the field. If done by an experienced person with quality equipment, it can be almost as durable as the material itself. If the welder is set too cold, it won't adhere. If it's set too warm it will melt the material or make it brittle.

The manufacturers use big, industrial welders and have people who do the welding every day for 8 hours a day. They can make some great welds.

The military guys in the field using a little heat gun have a big problem getting the welds to adhere.

I would also be concerned about any moisture that has gotten under the roofing material. Unless they dry it completely, they'll just be sealing it in and the wood will rot.

Good luck. I hit a low hanging limb with my Keystone and had to have the whole roof replaced. Fortunately they decided to replace the whole roof and not try to patch it.

[SuperdutyII]

Welcome to Keystone quality. I would demand replacement rather than repair.