Is there a QUALITY Travel Trailer still built?

[bbaley]

I have new Keystone Cougar TT and I am sick of it.
There is nothing about it that doesn't scream "I am going to break or fall apart in a few more miles"

I previously had an R-Vision which was built 300% better than this,
and previous to that a Fleetwood Tent Trailer - also built really really well.

Sadly, even though made in my home state, this thing just stinks.
Everything is flimsy, half completed junk work done by some guy who didn't care late on Friday afternoon, and components chosen to save pennies.

Is there anything in the functional world of travel trailers (e.g. not Airstream) that isn't complete JUNK ?

I am ready to trade.

[OBSPowerstroke]

bbaley wrote:
I have new Keystone Cougar TT and I am sick of it.
There is nothing about it that doesn't scream "I am going to break or fall apart in a few more miles"

Sadly, even though made in my home state, this thing just stinks.
Everything is flimsy, half completed junk work done by some guy who didn't care late on Friday afternoon, and components chosen to save pennies.

Is there anything in the functional world of travel trailers (e.g. not Airstream) that isn't complete JUNK ?

I am ready to trade.

I'm right there with you on the frustration with the build quality of travel trailers; I have sunk well over $10K into my trailer in the six years I've owned it to keep it on the road and in good shape. That's over half the price I paid for it new! As of right now, it's sitting in Boise awaiting my return this weekend to fix a leaf spring that busted on my trip home from Utah last weekend and I am having a limit switch problem with the furnace causing it to cycle the burner every 5 minutes when it's in use.

After the breakdown last weekend, I was ready to patch it back up and find something new, but anything built stronger tends to be much bigger, and I'd actually like to go slightly smaller with a new trailer due to where we like to camp.

If Northwood or Outdoor RV made a floor plan I liked in a smaller trailer, that's probably who I'd go with, although I've heard good things about Open Range and that Oliver RV another poster suggested looks well built and I really like the 23.5' floor plan. Some good friends of mine that I camp with own a Lance 1575 and it seems to be pretty well built, too.

You're not the first person I've heard complain about Cougar travel trailers. Some people I camp with once or twice a year had a brand new Cougar rear kitchen layout that looked awesome inside, but they had roof leaks and faulty plumbing that flooded the entire trailer their first trip out. The problems kept coming, so they bailed on it within a year and changed to the Lance 2285. I haven't seen their new trailer yet, but I've heard they have had much better luck with it and are quite happy.

[bbaley]

colliehauler wrote:
Didn't expect it to last forever did you? Sometimes you have to cut your losses and move on. Just did that with a Wildwood.

nope. not forever. I was just hoping longer than 11.5 months.
and the list of stuff that it was shipped with wrong or we found in the first trip until now.

- wall seams peeling.
- at least 10 pieces of trim that fell off (with no help)
- three cabinet doors with joints that failed
- four cabinet doors with poorly installed hinges or failed
- bad stove grate (bent/warped)
- improperly installed lighting fixtures and vent covers
- forgotten seal on shower door
- OSB/ply sheet under queen bed cracked/flexed
- hinge on OSB/Ply sheet under queen bed installed poorly
- bad/faulty toilet (being replaced)
- all outdoor hatch covers leaked in rain had to be resealed
- 2 outdoor hatch doors had poor border seals and filled with water
- 2 latch cover locks had to be replaced
- 1 main door lock/latch had to be replaced
- handle on the gray water tank valve broke off 2nd time
- two pieces of window valence/trim fell off (without help)
- untold number of screws in interior that were stripped on installation causing additional problems.

thats the short list.

[bbaley]

eubank wrote:

ROBERTSUNRUS wrote:


🙂 Hi, "not functional" for over eleven years and still going strong.

Oh, I am so glad that I found this thread! This means that we have to get rid of our 49 year old Airstream quick! It's not functional!

🙂
Lynn

Ok, Ok 🙂
I should say comparatively functional for US"

We have an Airstream dealer right down the street - and as far as I can tell we walked through every model they make currently.

Not having popouts and various other design reasons make them feel and seem way to cramped and they layouts don't seem to lend themselves well to anyone other than a couple (2 persons who sleep in same bed) and a weasel sized dog, let alone having occasional kids along.

Jealous of the quality and form, not so much on the "function" (for us)

Now... 5 years down the road... okay. maybe 🙂

[cruz-in]

2012Coleman wrote:
Check out the Evergreen Element look impressive to me.

Unfortunately stopped building Elements this year...

[PenMan]

We have been very happy with our 2013 Open Range. The only problem we had under warranty was a propane regulator that didn't work and Open Range replaced it. We have been out of warranty for a year now (they have 2 year warranties) and had a cabinet loosen up which I fixed. I do have a piece of rubber molding on the exterior that has come loose but I will also fix that myself. They are not cheap but my family has had many different RV's (brands and types) and so far I like the Open Range the best. Brands we have owned include Winnebago, Holiday Rambler, Lance TC, Rockwood Roo and our current Open Range.

[Downwindtracke1]

When you ask that question the most telling statement I've ever heard on it came from a partsman at Fraserway RV. Fraserway sorta owns Adventurer. I'm repairing a '99 Adventurer by Slumber Queen camper for hunting. I mentioned that I was impressed with the quality, but it was made locally in Abbotford BC, and I wondered about the new Yakima,Wash. ones.

"They Don't Pay Them Very Much"

[colliehauler]

Didn't expect it to last forever did you? Sometimes you have to cut your losses and move on. Just did that with a Wildwood.

[Twain]

Feel your pain.

Our Passport is cheap, but we knew that going in and it has had only minor issues the 6 years we've used it. Still does the job. Now we are shopping for it's replacement because we want more room. The kids are a lot larger and there's two dogs, one being large himself.

We are looking at another Passport, and Grand Design Imagine, and an Open Range Light (which is not light). Three different price points and three different levels of expectations.

Compared to our Passport, the new Passport has some improvements, but also some items have been cheapened or removed so it's on the bottom of the list. It's on the list mainly due to price. The Imagine line is new so there's no history out there to help with decision making, but its looks to be much closer to the OR than the Passport. Hoping Grand Design is a good company. The OR only has the price tag going against it and we really like the open ranges. But at their prices it better work.

We are revisiting them today for a more thorough inspection.

[myredracer]

bbaley wrote:
I have new Keystone Cougar TT and I am sick of it.
There is nothing about it that doesn't scream "I am going to break or fall apart in a few more miles"

Friends of ours have one of those too, a 2014. Poorly built IMO. The drawers and cabinet doors were all falling apart . They took it to the dealer and they botched the repairs. I spent a couple of days last summer repairing this for them plus the dinette seating that was falling apart. One of the cabinet doors had the 2 parts of the roller catch about an inch apart and the door would not stay closed. Sloppy, sloppy work. Saw the same TT at the last RV show here with cab. doors that were almost falling off and the dealer didn't even bother to fix it up for the show.

Met a couple in a CG last summer with the same TT and it had a bad roof leak from day 1. The dealer tried to fix it and couldn't so it got sent to the factory. The factory ended making it worse.

I looked at Keystone Bullet on display at CW and noticed that the axles and tires are loaded almost to their max. ratings. They seem to go for bling and the important stuff is built on the cheap and the least substantial.

Keystone was bought by Thor Industries some years ago. Our 2014 KZ TT was one of last built by the original company and got bought out by Thor in 2014. I would not by another KZ in part because of that. Thor does not have the best of reputations. Some Keystone owners love their TTs and have had minimal or no issues tho.

There aren't TTs made that you can really call excellent quality except for maybe Airstream. Nash and OutdoorsRV (both owned by Northwood) have a decent reputation and that's what I would look at if buying a new TT. If you are in Portland, La Grande is not too far away where they are made and you could go to the factory and look at how they are built. Would save $$ due to low delivery cost to a dealer in Portland too! At least they're not built by Amish craftsmen. Besides which brand to buy, look into the dealer "quality" too. They can be pretty bad as we have learned with 2 of them. Unless issues are major, you're usually better off to fix things yourself.

[eubank]

ROBERTSUNRUS wrote:


🙂 Hi, "not functional" for over eleven years and still going strong.

Oh, I am so glad that I found this thread! This means that we have to get rid of our 49 year old Airstream quick! It's not functional!

🙂
Lynn

[Moosetags]

Quality travel trailers are out there, but they are expensive. We have had two Airstream 25 footers over the last ten years. We are retired and spend a lot of time out in the trailer (1,700+ nights/150,000 miles towed). We had our first Airstream for eight years. We replaced it a couple of years ago with a new Airstream of the same floor plan. We did a lot of shopping, but could not find another brand travel trailer to our liking.

Airstreams are expensive. Our 2015 went for $69,000. Our 2005 traded for more than half of what we had paid for it new. You don't get that kind of return with a car.

Airstreams are not perfect and do have issues, but are about a good as you are going get.

Brian

[Dick_B]

IMHO the best made trailer manufacturers are no longer in business; couldn't compete with the deal hungry buyers.

[nomad_297]

Rockwood Windjammers are very well built. I am positive of this, but cannot comment on the other Rockwood travel trailers.

Bruce

[Hannibal]

We looked at a 2016 Cougar. When I saw the cable driven slide mechanism, I decided against it. We're about to pick up our ordered 2017 Jayco Jayflight 28RLS. Fingers are crossed on the craftsmanship but I'm confident about the rack and pinion slide mechanism. They're all thrown together in a hurry.

[2012Coleman]

Check out the Evergreen Element look impressive to me.