Which travel trailer?

[Hitsman3]

Wife & I are looking at getting our first TT. Have it narrowed down to a Keystone Cougar 22RBSWE & a Grand Design XLS 22RBE. Of course depending on which dealer your at, the one they sell is so much better quality! Would like to hear your thoughts and opinions as opposed to someone who is trying to make $ off of us. Pros & Cons? Grand Design dealer told us the Cougars are known for Delam, not sure to believe him or not? We live in Washington state & are looking thru Tacoma Rv & Clear Creek Rv.

[FT4NOW]

I dont drink the great quality Kool Aid that Grand Design touts, but I've also owned 2 other Keystone products and would not consider another. If I had to buy a new one now I would still consider another Grand Design, especially if my other option was a Keystone.

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[powerscol]

You will find lots of posts on which is best. While I am having some issues with my 5er I have found in poking around the structure is solid and I have Dexter axles - both a plus.

But here is what is important - which can you live with the best. Bedroom - can you move around, storage for long and short things, Headroom. Bed - mattress can be replaced, but what about things you might need like night stand room for a CPAP or alarm clock. Power outlets - are the where you can use them. Bath and Shower - will the work for you. Storage for towels, TP, and medicines. Fit and trim - look for snag points. Kitchen - Pantry for food, storage for pots and pans, utensils. Stove and fridge access, counter space. Area seating - there will be those days of rain that you might be stuck inside.

Outside - storage pass through - size and placement. Will it hold your stuff - an you get chairs to fit. Battery area - space for 2 batteries (make 2 batteries part of the deal). Awning placement and brand. Actually crawl under and look the belly pan and seams along edge. Can you get to the spare tire? Think about being on the road shoulder and how can you get it out. What kind of latches on exterior compartment. Slam latches can be more durable, but not necessary

Now what about the things you will use at every campground - leveling jacks - sewer and water placement, electric hook up. Is everything easily accessable like the water pump, back of heater, and hot water tank. At some point you will have issues and need access.
Suspension and tires - which is higher rated for cargo capacity?

Do you have a good hitch? Be wary of the free hitch included deals as most are bottom end. You will want to get a good one (separate search) Do you have enough tow vehicle?

Do you have kids and if so where will their stuff go.

Now what I suggest is go back to each unit and just sit and look over what I have mentioned above. If you can get rid of the sales man even better so you can talk. Think together of where all your stuff will go. Have the dealer pull the trim ring on a sealing vent and just look at the materials, construction, and insulation.

Well enough said - have fun, and if you have any concerns - walk away if they cant be resolved.

Hope this helps
Keith

On edit: Check out other RV forms. I know there are several about GD and several about Keystone. Trailer life may have a review and there is always iRV2. Have a great weekend

[Hitsman3]

Powerscol please educate me as this is all new to us. Why the 2 batteries? The cougar comes with 2 while the imagine comes with 1 (27 volt) according to the salesman.

[FT4NOW]

Powerscol please educate me as this is all new to us. Why the 2 batteries? The cougar comes with 2 while the imagine comes with 1 (27 volt) according to the salesman.

It's a 12 volt, but a group 27 battery. The amount of batteries needed depends on the type of camping you will be doing. If always hooked up to electric the extra batteries arent beneficial. If you boondock or also known as dry camp, the extra batteries become an advantage. The whole dry camping and type of battery is a whole topic to discuss by itself. Batteries are provided by the dealer, although it's probably baked into your dealer prep fees. You can always add more batteries if needed.

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[powerscol]

Powerscol please educate me as this is all new to us. Why the 2 batteries? The cougar comes with 2 while the imagine comes with 1 (27 volt) according to the salesman.

FT4NOW gave some good information.

For me I also have a 170 watt solar on the roof, so I can do a lot of non electric camping like many state parks and BLM or Forrest service. A lot of great places to camp. They usually just have water available (not at site) and rest rooms of some sort but no electric for the sites or dump stations. Called dry camping or boon docking. I also Wall Mart camp as a stop for just overnight (where allowed and safe).Check to see what kind of lightning each unit has. Incandescent takes a lot more power than LED. Having enough power means you can have the lights on longer or water pump run longer. If you cold camp running the furnace can really drain a single battery fast - like overnight. Before solar with my old trailer I cold last maybe 3 days in the summer on 1 battery - depending on what the kids did. 2 6volt golf cart battery's in series is even better (another search for you).

BTW - check to see if each unit is solar ready on the roof and consider a solar set up of some kind. I made a 35 watt package work on my 2001 trailer, but went to 170 watts this time - a big improvement. Having solar allows the use of an inverter (on my wish list) 12v to 110 for must have items like your coffee maker or hair dryer. Its limited by the battery's .

Hope the helps

[PEEWEE HENSON]

I'm not a gd owner yet but i do have experience with travel trailers. The biggest improvement to our rig was the two 6volt golf cart batteries (wired to make a 12 volt system) and replacing all the light bulbs with led's. Before that i was lucky to make 1 night and a day before running the generator all day to recharge the battery. Now, 4 days and 4 nights, easy !!!! Be sure your converter is in proper working order

[iproff1]

Powerscol please educate me as this is all new to us. Why the 2 batteries? The cougar comes with 2 while the imagine comes with 1 (27 volt) according to the salesman.

Two batteries cannot give you 27 volts. He does not know what he's talking about.

When we were looking for our first RV we had it narrowed down to a few. Even with the name above the bed issue when I said to the salesman we would be pulling this from Ontario to Florida and across Canada he said we didn't want the Cougar or the Heartland, Reflection would be his first choice. The set up a 297 in their deliver area for us and we spent 2 hours in it. They connected water and electricity and said try it out. I can't remember his other manufacture but I know I have some literature here for them. We went with the Imagine because we felt the 2450RL was not only suited for us but the weight and length meant that I could pull it with and F150 with trailer tow and an EcoBoost engine.

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[Lahooie]

We live in Oregon and had a 2016 Keystone Impact Fuzion 312. Yes, it had delamination issues to the tune of $6240 just to get the sidewall bubble out (all paid for by us, it was out of the 1 year warranty). We now have a 2020 Grand Design Reflection and LOVE it! I feel its manufactured better quality vs. our Keystone and certainly much more upgraded options. GD is also known for having much better customer service for repairs and warranty work etc. Never had a Cougar though so can't really compare models.

[Malco1]

If you get 2 batteries make sure you get 2 6V batteries wired in series, not 2 12V batteries in parallel.