This is a repetitious question, but I want some advice of experienced owners and I think this is the right place.My wife and I will be upgrading our camping rig in the next year from a 24' Grey Wolf to one of the following:Outback (Keystone) 326RLJayco 330RSTSReflection (Grand Design) 315RLTSAll 3 are the same length and roughly the same weight.It all boils down to "little" things, such as minor details- such as:Bed size - we prefer a queen size - Outback only offers a king sizeCabinet placement and amount of storage for clothes - the Reflection is the clear winner.Warranty length - Outback is 1 yr, Jayco is 2 yrs, Reflection is 3 yrs.Reputation of build quality.Availability of dealers in the Memphis,TN area.Note that all of the above are travel trailers. We will using a GMC Sierra w/ Duramax diesel to pull it, so power required or weight of the trailer will not be an issue. Fifth wheels are out due to both of us having knee issues and the fewer steps the better.We are both still fairly new to this game and could use some good recommendations from any of you RV'ers who have been at this longer than us. Your advice and ideas are welcome.

My choice would be 1.Grand Design2. Jayco3. Keystone there seems to be a lot of warranty issue brought here about them

No experience with the Grand Design or the Jayco. But, before settling, take a look at the Keystone Outback 298RE.We've had ours for over 3 years now. The basic floor plan has not changed in 5 years now. No problems at all with it at all, except for stupid things I've done myself (like turning on the water heater with no water in it, and forgetting to remove caned cola from the fridge and they exploded when temperatures got to -20 below zero (F). Tows wonderful, perfect for 2 people, Queen bed, with slide out closet, rear living room with opposing slides and outside camp stove and sink. Ours came with a free standing table and chairs. We removed them and the 2 rocker chairs and replaced everything on that slide with a household style full 3 seater recliner couch. I put wheels on it, can turn it facing the rear window when the slides are out. Also, everything is accessible when the slides are pulled in. We often use the camper with all slides in. Especially in the winter to help reduce the space to heat when we winter camp. We put a second television in the bed room, so don't need to depend on the one in the living room when slides are in.We love this camper. If we ever lost it, I'd get another one just like it. Your model has a larger slide which includes the kitchen, mine does not. Yours has a King bed in the slide, ours has the closet in the slide with a Queen bed walk around. Ours has a corner cabinet right by the door, yours has a cabinet by the refrigerator. Some differences, but still worth your time to take a look at the 298RE.

I agree with Colo Native. Grand Design by far has the best customer service of the 3. Will get you parts within 24hrs if emergency. They were just bought out by Winnebago late last year. Their quality is also good. Real wood cabinets, higher rated tires, thoughtful deigns.Jayco was also bought out mid 2106 (not sure by whom).On the Keystone look how the slide moves in and out. If using a cable a lot of reported problems by Keystone owners.

bailer6334 wrote:...On the Keystone look how the slide moves in and out. If using a cable a lot of reported problems by Keystone owners.I'm just giving my experience and information about the camper I actually own here. But, my Outback has real wood cabinets (not particle board covered with wood looking wall paper like some of the lower end Keystone campers have) and the slides are on a gear and track system (whatever that's called).

Whichever one doesn't have cable driven slide mechanism would be my choice. I'm partial to simple rack and pinion slide mechanism. Cables stretch and can be a pita to adjust or repair. Hydraulics can leak and solenoids can stick. Wife crawls around inside and I crawl around underneath. When we agree, we take it home. Beyond that, they're all pretty nice and they're all thrown together like bird's nests to get them to the lot asap.

Outback vs Jayco vs Reflection | Good Sam Community

Camper_G
Explorer
Feb 14, 2017
Congratulations, nice choice. Happy camping!
csjag1
Explorer
Feb 14, 2017
Well after all concerns, we placed an order for a new GD 315RLTS. It should be delivered to our dealer next week. My wife is chomping at the bit for it to come in so we can take it for a "test weekend". It will be pulled by our new Chevy Silverado HD2500 High Country w/Duramax diesel.
This set-up should last us a long time.

Thanks for all of your responses and suggestions.
IndyCamp
Explorer
Jan 17, 2017
We looked at that same Grand Design Reflection trailer this past weekend at the Indy RV Expo.

It is a NICE trailer, and will probably be our next one. It was far more impressive than trailers with similar floor plans from other manufacturers.

It is long, heavy, and expensive, however.
sp8gold
Explorer
Jan 17, 2017
Well, we moved out of the Outback 298RE into the 313RLTS Reflection. While not any major issues, just several things that I did not like. I do not have anything good or bad as to dealing with Keystone. The bedroom slide and the extra large closet in the Reflection is a winner. The customer support with Grand Design has been outstanding with the limited items I have had to deal with. Even at 18 months they changed out the Anderson Kant Leak manifold with the new brand.
johndeerefarmer
Explorer III
Jan 14, 2017
The GD "bumper to bumper" warranty is only one year. The three year is a structural warranty.
racecitypat
Explorer
Jan 11, 2017
I have heard of the excellent quality of the Grand Design, and I do know the Outback is of good quality. We had our nightmare of quality issue problems with our Keystone Sprinter when we got it new, but after the fixes, its been good. Which ever you choose, be sure to do a very extensive wall-thru. Make sure everything works before leaving the dealer. And make sure the dealer you choose has a reputable service dept.
ktmrfs
Explorer II
Jan 08, 2017
DutchmenSport wrote:
No experience with the Grand Design or the Jayco. But, before settling, take a look at the Keystone Outback 298RE.

We've had ours for over 3 years now. The basic floor plan has not changed in 5 years now. No problems at all with it at all, except for stupid things I've done myself (like turning on the water heater with no water in it, and forgetting to remove caned cola from the fridge and they exploded when temperatures got to -20 below zero (F). Tows wonderful, perfect for 2 people, Queen bed, with slide out closet, rear living room with opposing slides and outside camp stove and sink.

Ours came with a free standing table and chairs. We removed them and the 2 rocker chairs and replaced everything on that slide with a household style full 3 seater recliner couch. I put wheels on it, can turn it facing the rear window when the slides are out.

Also, everything is accessible when the slides are pulled in. We often use the camper with all slides in. Especially in the winter to help reduce the space to heat when we winter camp. We put a second television in the bed room, so don't need to depend on the one in the living room when slides are in.

We love this camper. If we ever lost it, I'd get another one just like it.

Your model has a larger slide which includes the kitchen, mine does not. Yours has a King bed in the slide, ours has the closet in the slide with a Queen bed walk around. Ours has a corner cabinet right by the door, yours has a cabinet by the refrigerator. Some differences, but still worth your time to take a look at the 298RE.

we've logged over 25K miles in our 2010 295RE. So far ZERO problems. It has held up well, we love the floorplan, typical camping year is usually between 90 and 120 days of use.

For any trailer near this size, A single AC unit is going to be marginal in warm areas, and even worse if your near 100F and hot at night.

One thing we required in ANY trailer we looked at was adequate access with slides in. The 295/298 meet that. many others don't.

By adequate for us that meant bathroom, bedroom, fridge, microwave, dining table, cooktop and pantry.
csjag1
Explorer
Jan 08, 2017
Dutchmem Sport wrote:
298RE has the queen

True, but is has the traditional orientation of the bed being parallel to the frame. The model that I listed on my original post all have the bed on a slide and use the front end cap as a wardrobe along with a small dresser at the foot of the bed on the wall of the bedroom. With a queen bed on the slide, you get a lot of open space to move around in, a a lot more room for the dog.

Thanks for your answers and hope you see what i am referring to.
DB_Family
Explorer
Jan 07, 2017
I have a 2012 Outback 301BQ and have used it for 5 seasons. 80%+ of the time we have 8 people staying in the trailer. I have had only 1 major issue - fading front cap. Outback/Keystone failed to accept any responsibility after their 12 mth warranty for this problem; even though it was due to poor gel coat used during the MFG process. I will be hard press to buy another Keystone product.
DutchmenSport
Explorer
Jan 07, 2017
csjag1 wrote:
We actually looked at the Outback 298RE, ... this one took a back seat. ...

Going back to your original post, sounds like you wanted the queen bed instead of the King. 298RE had the queen.

Also going back to your original post, I suppose I'm trying to convince you that, if you do select the Outback, you will be getting a good camper. Outbacks are not entry level, they are mid-level. In my opinion, well built, although only the 1 year standard warranty.

However, if you do end up selecting the Outback, you can do so with some sense of peace of mind that you're getting a good camper. My experience with mine has been very good, and any dealing I've had with Keystone have always been good too.

As with any camper, (regardless of brand), they are only as good as the owner takes care of them too!

Good luck... but you'll be OK to proceed with Outback with confidence if you choose!

Happy Camping!