Traded in our old fifth wheel, bought a cougar

[partsman01]

So had a 2004 wilderness lite 245RK and although in good shape, wife kept on about a newer one, so got a 2010 KEYSTONE COUGAR 1/2 TON 244RLS, supposed to be ready in two weeks.

[bucky]

Sounds to me like the shop at the dealership has no clue what they are doing. Trailer brake parts are available everywhere.
Run Forest Run.

[partsman01]

Well they have taken a long time and it is not ready, had to replace both axles as they were obsolete and the backing plates would not match up, so they ordered a new set be made up in Prince George.

I have missed a lot of camping we had booked, so asked for more off price, so far they have only given us 300.00 in store and a 300.00 gas card, so also asked if other deficiencies were done.

[partsman01]

Well they are having trouble getting brakes that will fit, so sounds like the are looking at another set of axles.
I believe they were that axle that started with A the girl said, yet had dexter brake drums, can’t match bolt pattern on backing plates, or something???

[Njmurvin]

Carefully inspect the roof. At 13 years old, depending on where/how it was stored, the roof could be near its end-of-life. Look particularly around the edges near the rear where it is more prone to being dragged against tree limbs, leaf gutters, etc. (don't ask how I know to look for this 🙂 ).

[StirCrazy]

make sure your picky when you do the PDI, My cougar was a well-built 5th but there were a lot of the finishing details that were missed, like stain on board edges that are visible when you start looking. also, because it is so dry hear all the raised panel doors would rattle and you could see they shrunk a bit so they had to touch up the stain around the edges of the panel and use strips of silicone on the back of all the doors so they wouldn't rattle. just look at everything, spend some time opening every door, looking inside cupboards, at the ceiling and so on..

[partsman01]

Happy till she gets another notion, we had been looking at campers for the truck and then out of the blue she comes up with this one.
Not sure how much wood in these ones, they have I guess aluminum frame and fibreglass panels, our other three had aluminum skin and wood construction.

[corvettekent]

So, you traded in a 19-year-old 5th wheel and got a 13-year-old 5th wheel? How much did the dealer make on this trade? I hope that your wife is happy now.

[partsman01]

On the last picture you can see a back up camera, anyone ever had one?
We have no idea about it and the day we first looked at it the sales guy did not realise it was there, It was covered and i pulled it up and out of its cover, so not sure what brand or if one can get a screen to hook to it.
Not sure it is even factory.

[cptqueeg]

Looks great!. Have fun and good luck w it.

[partsman01]

Moderator edit to re-size pictures to forum recommended limit of 640px maximum width.

[phillyg]

QCMan wrote:
......Make sure the PDI is the most thorough you have ever seen. Talking to other Cougar owners it seems some units are sale ready when they hit the lot and some are not even close. Hold your payment until you are satisfied that the unit has been fully prepped and is ready for use......

Ditto. A good PDI should take about three hours.

[QCMan]

Sounds like you are going into a nice unit. Make sure the PDI is the most thorough you have ever seen. Talking to other Cougar owners it seems some units are sale ready when they hit the lot and some are not even close. Hold your payment until you are satisfied that the unit has been fully prepped and is ready for use. It seems that when a Cougar is fully functional it is a very nice unit. I will surely say that about mine. Others, not so much. Get everything that needs fixing taken care of before you take delivery. Good luck with your new unit!