retreat by keystone

[spep3]

Just a heads up to owners of the Retreat park model trailers. Check your windows on your slide. The back corner one leaks bad. I know of 7 trailers that are like this and the factory does not want to fix them . Just a heads up. I work part time at a dealership and most of the trailers are brand new.It is the small window on the back corner

[JJBIRISH]

spep3

I have no reason to doubt you bought the trailer or had the leak problem… I have no doubt you could be faced with a 25 grand repair issue, and I have no doubt you are having trouble getting it repaired under warranty…

Where I have a problem is at first it would seem to indicate you work for this dealer, but you don’t actually say that… your second post or explanation again indicates that, but doesn’t say that, it does introduce a friend that diagnosed the problem…

I only have the words you posted to go on, my own experience, and have to make some assumptions if those words aren’t clear… and to me they still aren’t…
Do you work for this dealer or another dealer??? I know that many dealers don’t care…
I also know Keystone will deny claims if they can or have reason to, maybe stacking the deck against you…
I do not understand a dealer to continue buying and selling a make or model that they know for sure that 100% of them are going to fail… even those profits can’t be beneficial to him in the long run…

As for Keystone, they had to give you a reason for not accepting the claim on the trailer… they didn’t just say they don’t want to cover it… that is information you never gave, leaving this to assumptions and personal experience…
IMHO the chair skirting being water stained tells me this was a big leak and the floor and carpet had to be noticeably wet…

it would then lead me to think they turned down the $25,000 dollar repair because you ignored the leak or didn’t do enough to protect the trailer from the extent of the damage for 4 months…

in other words they are saying even though the leak was on them, you didn’t do your part which caused the bulk of the damage… I also know how bitter some can be when they believe they were wronged as you do, and I understand that… but it is also a fact here…

again that may or may not be what happened at all… but I have to try to get a complete picture before I could agree or roast Keystone, because I personally have had a very good experience with them, including resolving problems…

I hate to read these things, and I feel sorry for the experience you endured…

if I am full of it here (and with the limited information I have, I could be), I accept that, and would apologize again… but…

[wmoses]

Who really knows what to believe on this issue? For all we know the OP is stating fact as he knows it.

And why would someone come on here to disparage a specific model trailer? Makes little sense. Could be the OP was hoping to warn potential buyers of this potential problem, not looking for grief. All the responses l have seen so far have not disproven his allegations.

That said the claims do beg the question as to why the dealer does not drop the line or at least the model if this problem is true. Surely he can't be a sucker for punishment.

Best anyone interested in this particular model can do is ask the dealer about the issue, inspect closely the models on the lot, and monitor the Keystone forums before buying. One thing that is common to the OP's post and fla-gypsy's post after his visit to the Keystone forum is the apparent lack of satisfaction from the manufacturer when it comes to leak issues. Maybe that is the take-away.

Just my 2 cents.

[spep3]

to JJ Birish. Our dealer for some reason does not care. He hopes you don't see the issues until the warranty is up so they don't have to deal with it. They are all about sales. They have to many warranty issues with other companies also. They the companies don't want to fix the problems so our dealer hopes your year warranty ends and the buyer fights with the companies them selves .

[fla-gypsy]

Since I really dislike bad information I went to the Keystone owners forum which I am a member of and did the research. There is a problem with the Retreat model leaking the last couple of years but it has nothing to do with windows not fitting. Apparently they have a gabled slide out that forces water to run to each end and the design at the corner cannot handle the volume of water that is directed there, allowing some of them to leak. Some dealers have attempted to solve it with mixed results. Keystone's position is the different TT's may have not all leaked for the very same reason and is treating each one as a separate issue. It is disappointing they have taken that position but not really surprising in the RV world. Some owners have figured out how to install a slide awning over the gabled slide out that has stopped the issue.

I, like JJBIRISH would like to know what dealer this is that is selling RV's they absolutely know will leak to unsuspecting customers and why do they continue to bring in a model that is defective if that is the case? Knowingly selling a defective product has liabilities and potential civil penalties. I would also love to hear the dealer managements position on this if the OP would care to share where he works? Frankly I don't think I could work for people who would knowingly pass off a defective product to their customers if that is what they are doing as suggested by the OP.

[JJBIRISH]

I am more skeptical than ever now… you work for this dealer and everyone he has ever sold has leaked… what kind of dealer is it, that would do that to his employee, let alone his customers???

“Keystone does not want to admit their issues and did not want to pay to fix the issue”...
this isn’t earth shaking news for RV mfg. industry, depending on what the issue actually is, it might be contractually an issue the dealer is responsible for… it’s no secret these things are shipped with problems they shouldn’t have…
is the problem really with all of the Retreats or yours??? Why is the dealer selling them knowing they leak??? Better question why is he ordering them knowing this???

Your friend that works in service says a pressure test shows they all leak because they are not designed for proper fit… are you saying it’s the window design of the rough opening is to big???
I mean there seems to be an easy fix before the whole slide rots out…

[fla-gypsy]

spep3 wrote:
To gypsy. I know for fact. We bought a 2012 retreat and had it one summer. The windows leaked so bad that the skirting on my chair was soiled. Also when it was all said and done we had $ 25,000 worth of repairs to fix in a 4 month period of owning the trailer. I work at a place that sells these trailers and I know for FACT that everyone they have sold leak. Keystone does not want to admit their issues and did not want to pay to fix the issue.I have a very good friend that does the repair work there and they did a pressure test on the windows and every one of the windows leaked. He tells me they have not designed the proper window to fit .

That was the service guys informed opinion on what was wrong, the window does not fit? Just as I thought. Attention all Keystone Retreat owners: Your windows do not fit and EVERY Retreat TT leaks.

[colliehauler]

fla-gypsy wrote:
Broad general statements that denigrate entire product lines lack value. Specifics on what to look for to identify the issue and the maintenance required to prevent this situation from occurring would be much more helpful.

Entire product lines have had trouble in the past, remember Jayco with the felt backed TPO roof? The fix was to replace the roof and decking.

[colliehauler]

Thanks for the heads up. I'm planing on buying a park model in the near future.

[spep3]

To gypsy. I know for fact. We bought a 2012 retreat and had it one summer. The windows leaked so bad that the skirting on my chair was soiled. Also when it was all said and done we had $ 25,000 worth of repairs to fix in a 4 month period of owning the trailer. I work at a place that sells these trailers and I know for FACT that everyone they have sold leak. Keystone does not want to admit their issues and did not want to pay to fix the issue.I have a very good friend that does the repair work there and they did a pressure test on the windows and every one of the windows leaked. He tells me they have not designed the proper window to fit .

[JJBIRISH]

Bucky Badger wrote:

JJBIRISH wrote:


you seem to know a lot of retreat owners, seven of them, since they have only been on the market for maybe 5 years… did they all just start leaking… how was it concluded the window was the cause of the leak, and maintaining the seal on the roof or the windows is an owner responsibility anyhow…

at my home base we have three Keystone dealers within an easy drive, I know there are at least 2 Retreats set up in the park but I don’t know the owners…

He did say he worked part time a a dealership:B

And my apologies to the OP, I did miss that…

[Bucky_Badger]

JJBIRISH wrote:


you seem to know a lot of retreat owners, seven of them, since they have only been on the market for maybe 5 years… did they all just start leaking… how was it concluded the window was the cause of the leak, and maintaining the seal on the roof or the windows is an owner responsibility anyhow…

at my home base we have three Keystone dealers within an easy drive, I know there are at least 2 Retreats set up in the park but I don’t know the owners…

He did say he worked part time a a dealership:B

[fla-gypsy]

Broad general statements that denigrate entire product lines lack value. Specifics on what to look for to identify the issue and the maintenance required to prevent this situation from occurring would be much more helpful.

[JJBIRISH]

not to be smart or anything but most of them have 2 or 3 slides, and it’s hard to believe that if they have window problems it would only be on the back corner window…

you seem to know a lot of retreat owners, seven of them, since they have only been on the market for maybe 5 years… did they all just start leaking… how was it concluded the window was the cause of the leak, and maintaining the seal on the roof or the windows is an owner responsibility anyhow…

at my home base we have three Keystone dealers within an easy drive, I know there are at least 2 Retreats set up in the park but I don’t know the owners…