NHTSA Complaint #10256680 — 2008 KEYSTONE COUGAR

WE CURRENTLY OWN A 2008 29 SAB KEYSTONE COUGAR 5TH WHEEL TRAVEL TRAILER. KEYSTONE ISN'T RECOGNIZING A HEATING SYSTEM PROBLEM WITHIN OUR UNIT, SUBURBAN SF-30F MODEL FURNACE. I DON'T BELIEVE THE PROBLEM IS WITHIN THE FURNACE, YET. HISTORY IS FOLLOWING: FRONT FLOOR REGISTERS PRODUCE 20 TO 0 CFMS, BACK RV REGISTERS PRODUCE 80 TO OVER 150 CFMS. TEMPERATURE DIFFERENCE ARE UNSAFE, WITH THERMOSTAT PLACEMENT AT THE FRONT OF THE RV. IT COULD BE A DUCTING PROBLEM WITHIN THE UNIT OR PROBLEM WITH THE FURNACE ITSELF. OUR DEALER, A LOCAL HVAC COMPANY AS WELL AS DUCT LAYOUT SPECIALIST FROM INSCO. INC. HAVE FOUND PROBLEMS. ALL CFM MEASUREMENTS HAVE BEEN RECORDED BY TWO PROFESSIONALS IN THE HVAC INDUSTRY AS WELL AS OUR DEALER, CRESTVIEW RV. WE AND OUR DEALER CONTACED KEYSTONE REQUESTING REMEDIES THAT WILL NOT VOID WARRANTIES, KEYSTONE REPEATEDLY STATES OUR UNIT IS WORKING TO MANUFACTURER SPECS, EVEN THOUGH THE DEALER AS ACKNOLEDGED THERE PROBLEMS. UPON REQUESTING SPECS FOR OUR UNIT KEYSTONE STATES THEY DO NOT HAVE THEM. THIS IS EXTREMELY HARD TO BELIEVE. OUR 2008 RV HAS BEEN IN SERVICE OVER 60 DAYS FOR THE SAME PROBLEM. KEYSTONE SUGGESTED CLOSING REGISTERS TO FORCE MORE HEAT ELSEWHERE, THE SUBURBAN WEBSITE DOCUMENTATION CLEARLY STATES THAT THIS MAY DAMAGE THE FURNACE. SUGGESTION TWO OF KEYSTONE: TURN ON THE HEATER AND LET IT RUN, THEN DO TEMPERATURE READINGS IN EACH ROOM. CRESTVIEW DID THIS ON 1/27/09, OURSIDE TEMPS 29 TO 31 DEGREES. FINDINGS SUPPORT OUR CLAIMS, ROOM TEMPERATURES CONTAINING REGISTERS: FRONT BEDROOM 57 DEG, FRONT BATH 54 DEG, LIVING ROOM 69 DEG, REAR BATH 91 DEG. THERMOSTAT SET AT 70 DEGREES, THE HEATER DID NOT SHUT OFF ALL NIGHT.TTHE SEALED COMBUSTION CHAMBER IS NOT GOING TO TOLERATE THESE CONTINUTED EXTREMES AND WILL CRACK. APPARENTLY KEYSTONE BELIEVES THIS IS WITHIN SPECS AS THEY STATED FOLLOWING THE TESTS. NO VISIBLE DAMAGES CAN BE RECORDED, BUT CONTINUED KEYSTONE'S "NORMAL SPEC" USE COULD CAUSE FIRE, CARBON MONOXIDE POISONING OR DEATH. *TR