Cougar 28rbswe vs...?

[skiahh]

Hi All - we're looking at (and almost ready to buy) our first TT. We've looked in the past, so have some frame of reference, but for various reasons, have deferred the purchase.

We've found a floor plan we like in the Cougar 28RBS and I've got a couple of questions for the assembled wisdom found here, if you'll indulge me. I did search and either didn't come up with the right search terms or these questions haven't been posed, so, without further ado...

1. I suspect the Arctic Fox is considered a "better" TT; that is higher quality. My questions is, is it worth the price premium? There is an AF floor plan we like, too, that is very similar. At this size, I'm not sure how far off the beaten path we'll go, but we will not be exclusively using RV parks.

2. Is there any difference between the east and west coast versions of the Cougars? The east coasters get the XLite while the Western Edition drops the XLite and adds WE.

3. Should I be concerned about taking the Cougar off the beaten path if it is an XLite type TT?

4. What does the designation "1/2 ton" mean on a trailer?

5. And finally, I've read tons of the buying guides, but haven't run across any advice on making an offer on a prior year model leftover. Since we're halfway through 2016, and this particular TT is a 2015, what is your advice on negotiating?

That's probably my quota of questions for now. Thank you in advance!

[skiahh]

handye9 wrote:
How far is "off the beaten path"? A narrow, winding, tree lined road, would be like playing bumper cars with a 30+ foot trailer. Up and down inclines, the rear of the trailer would be dragging.

The designation "1/2 ton" is marketing hype. The tow vehicle manufacturers (GM, Ford, Toyota, Nissan, etc) all make various configurations of they're half ton, 3/4 ton, one ton, etc, tow vehicles. One vehicle doesn't necessarrly have the same capabilities as the next one. Same goes for 3/4 and one ton trucks. If the RV can be towed by any one 1/2 ton, the marketing folks will say it is half ton towable, even though, there could be a lot of 1/2 tons, that are nowhere near that capability.

Each tow vehicle / trailer combination, should be individually matched, while considering "ALL" of the users payload requirements. Everything (including cargo, aftermarket accessories, pets, WD hitch and trailer tongue weight) and everybody, in or on the tow vehicle, eats up payload and tow capacity, pound for pound.

That's my point, exactly. We'll wind up taking it where we can, but not playing "bumper cars", as you put it. I'll save the tent for that. But I can imagine there are some dirt roads that would offer adequate access to dry camping areas out there. At least, i hope so.

OK, I had a hunch that the half ton meant it could be towed with one. I've got a 3/4 diesel, so no big deal there.

[BillB800si]

DallasSteve wrote:
I'm confused by the part about "we're halfway through 2016."

============================
Well not quite.
All new orders coming out now will be 2016 models. The RV guys usually change over to the next year models starting around the end of May. So if someone had ordered a new unit say in April and their delivery was in June it's probably a 2016 titled.

Kind of like the way the auto companies keep jumping forward with their new models.
Happy trails,

[BillB800si]

Nice looking floor plan for a family.
Mentions queen size bed. Is it a RV queen (60x72 inches or a residential queen at 60x80". Big difference if you're tall.

Keystone's Cougar lites (and some other Keystone model trailers)are now coming out with a non-walk on roof. No ladder option available due to the roof not reinforced enough to walk on safely. This was a deciding factor on us not buying a new Cougar (bought a Rockwood 3029W instead).
Happy trails,

[DallasSteve]

I'm confused by the part about "we're halfway through 2016."

[handye9]

How far is "off the beaten path"? A narrow, winding, tree lined road, would be like playing bumper cars with a 30+ foot trailer. Up and down inclines, the rear of the trailer would be dragging.

The designation "1/2 ton" is marketing hype. The tow vehicle manufacturers (GM, Ford, Toyota, Nissan, etc) all make various configurations of they're half ton, 3/4 ton, one ton, etc, tow vehicles. One vehicle doesn't necessarrly have the same capabilities as the next one. Same goes for 3/4 and one ton trucks. If the RV can be towed by any one 1/2 ton, the marketing folks will say it is half ton towable, even though, there could be a lot of 1/2 tons, that are nowhere near that capability.

Each tow vehicle / trailer combination, should be individually matched, while considering "ALL" of the users payload requirements. Everything (including cargo, aftermarket accessories, pets, WD hitch and trailer tongue weight) and everybody, in or on the tow vehicle, eats up payload and tow capacity, pound for pound.

[path1]

skiahh wrote:
1. I suspect the Arctic Fox is considered a "better" TT; that is higher quality. My questions is, is it worth the price premium? There is an AF floor plan we like, too, that is very similar. At this size, I'm not sure how far off the beaten path we'll go, but we will not be exclusively using RV parks.

We had a hard time with that question also. We're still finding little things that makes A/F a better deal at least for us. (And we're still finding things that I question)

Don't know about east coast dealers but here is one example of "after the sale" service.

When at daughters house her dog ate one end of the end cap on the slide out. Just something to crunch on I guess. Anyways ordered a new end cap ($19.00) from a dealer that we knew we were going to be driving by in our travels. We either traveled to fast or part was slow to arrive. When the part did arrive at the first dealer he called and said part was in. By that time we were way past dealers location and he called another dealer that we would be passing by. First dealer sent part to the other dealer. We just stopped in the second dealer and pick up part as we passed by. Both dealers knew I was only going to buy the part, I was going to put on part myself. So they were not going to get any labor money. Of course we paid the shipping one dealer to the next. But was happy they took care of us. We've owned several RV's and overall haven't been to happy with "after the sale" service. But A/F and their dealers came thru for us. Unlike Fleetwood that took 3 months to get a little part and then wrong color.

Wife found a slightly used unit that she fell in love with that SHE eventually had me drag home. I had a hard time even buying used at the prices they get! And the new prices make me wonder when a 30 year loan is going to be available 🙂

But that's me. So far "price premium" to us means you pay more in the beginning but get more when you sale, so kind of a wash IMO.