Raptor 361LEV?

[grtoutdoors]

Hi Everyone,

Great community you have going here. We have been in the market for a toyhauler for the last few months - this will be our first toyhauler. We have done all the usual stuff:
-> Talking to people who already own them in the campgrounds we visit;
-> checking out all the dealers (both Keystone and Heartland: also looking at the cyclone).

But when we found this forum we were like Yaaa - finally a wide audience of people who should have had experience with Keystone and hopefully the Raptor 361LEV.

So what we are looking for is people's experience with this Unit. What is the good, the bad, and the ugly? What would you do differently if anything?
What sort of changes have you had to make to the unit? Anything we should consider but might not have thought of? Any experiences would be super valuable and we would enjoy the feedback.

In the end, we just want to make a super informed decision. This is a big ticket item ... so what to give ourselves the best chance for success.

Thanks in advance ... hopefully we start a good thread here so that as others consider purchasing this unit - they can get lots of good insight as well.

Cheers,
C

[Festus2]

First, welcome to the forum and good luck in your hunt for a Toyhauler. Secondly, if you were to look through the posts in this Toyhauler category, you should be able to find numerous posts about toyhaulers in general as well as some specific posts relating to the Raptor. Several of our members already own Raptors - not sure about the 361LEV tho.
You might also consider doing a search on Raptors on this forum which should turn up more posts and comments.
Be prepared to find a wide range of comments ..."good, bad, and ugly" when you browse or do a search.

[grtoutdoors]

Thanks Festus2.

Ya - we have searched around the site. Lots of various experience with Raptors but trying to find some people who actually own the LEV model. We found a GREAT checklist to go through the coach when we purchases that - that alone was a huge find.

Anyways, thats for piping in :).

Anyone else?

C

[BigCajun]

I bought the 361LEV last October with high hopes as I always wanted a Raptor. The Good: We really liked the exterior high gloss, floorplan, enclosed bath, outside frig, 12 ft garage that can be easily converted to living area with the supplied rug. Also the wireless remote operation is awesome. The generator works great. :D The Bad: 1. A/C will not keep up. I retaped all the ducts and the connections at the discharge (I was putting lots of air in the attic) and it still will not keep up. I added a unit to the bedroom which helps the bedroom but not the rest of the coach. This unit is NOT insulated very well. 2. CO2 detector goes off when generator is running. Front slide pulls a draft of exhaust in. Keystone will not adjust it and recommends a Genturi at my cost. 3. The floor is has many creeks and you can see the movement when someone walks. This is not rot or anything like that. Just not enough support. 4. ladder is cheap and dangerous with plastic holding the rungs on 5. no sewer hose compartment :( Accessories added include the strut stabilizer which take out about 75% of the movement when others are walking around the coach. Also added a sewer hose storage pipe.
Overall, I would probably give a grade of C considering the cost of this unit.:eek:

[grtoutdoors]

Thanks for all the feedback. After even more research we have found even more varying opinions about this unit. It seems as though one either loves it or hates it. I guess it is like buying a car (you can get a lemon) ... but it seems as though far more can go wrong with a coach.

Anyone else have one of these units and would like to chime in?



I bought the 361LEV last October with high hopes as I always wanted a Raptor. The Good: We really liked the exterior high gloss, floorplan, enclosed bath, outside frig, 12 ft garage that can be easily converted to living area with the supplied rug. Also the wireless remote operation is awesome. The generator works great. :D The Bad: 1. A/C will not keep up. I retaped all the ducts and the connections at the discharge (I was putting lots of air in the attic) and it still will not keep up. I added a unit to the bedroom which helps the bedroom but not the rest of the coach. This unit is NOT insulated very well. 2. CO2 detector goes off when generator is running. Front slide pulls a draft of exhaust in. Keystone will not adjust it and recommends a Genturi at my cost. 3. The floor is has many creeks and you can see the movement when someone walks. This is not rot or anything like that. Just not enough support. 4. ladder is cheap and dangerous with plastic holding the rungs on 5. no sewer hose compartment :( Accessories added include the strut stabilizer which take out about 75% of the movement when others are walking around the coach. Also added a sewer hose storage pipe.
Overall, I would probably give a grade of C considering the cost of this unit.:eek:

[Floridatex]

I got mine about 10 months ago. I am using it pretty much full time now. I had a major electrical issue that the dealer and Keystone took care of. The shoreline power cable lost the neutral and took out all of the TV's Micro etc. Not a Keystone made item but a real bummer none the less. I added a small ceiling fan in bedroom (poor man's version of A/C). Added cabinet in bath over head for wife. I love the paint. Prefer the paint over decals. I had to have 12' garage, thus limited choices. I liked the interior finish better than the other brands. I will be adding landing stable bars. It rocks a bit when walking inside. Like the outside frig. My wife and I would have prefered opposing sliders in the living area. Raptor now has a 4014 that does this. I also wanted only one bathroom (I usually clean it) and not "in" the bedroom. I was looking at an Open Range. Price was more than the Raptor and no one had one near me to walk in. Pictures don't quite cut it. My next one will have full length siders (if they ever make one). Just makes for a nicer living space.

[rjsurfer]

I bought the 361LEV last October with high hopes as I always wanted a Raptor. The Good: We really liked the exterior high gloss, floorplan, enclosed bath, outside frig, 12 ft garage that can be easily converted to living area with the supplied rug. Also the wireless remote operation is awesome. The generator works great. :D The Bad: 1. A/C will not keep up. I retaped all the ducts and the connections at the discharge (I was putting lots of air in the attic) and it still will not keep up. I added a unit to the bedroom which helps the bedroom but not the rest of the coach. This unit is NOT insulated very well. 2. CO2 detector goes off when generator is running. Front slide pulls a draft of exhaust in. Keystone will not adjust it and recommends a Genturi at my cost. 3. The floor is has many creeks and you can see the movement when someone walks. This is not rot or anything like that. Just not enough support. 4. ladder is cheap and dangerous with plastic holding the rungs on 5. no sewer hose compartment :( Accessories added include the strut stabilizer which take out about 75% of the movement when others are walking around the coach. Also added a sewer hose storage pipe.
Overall, I would probably give a grade of C considering the cost of this unit.:eek:

It's not that I don't believe you :eek:but if your unit pulls exhaust in from a factory installed generator enough to set off an alarm and Keystone is not doing anything about that someone at Keystone is not getting the message about that issue.

I would run not walk to a lawyer....They would fall all over themselves to get a liability case like that.

I would ignore working through your local dealer, if that's what you have been doing. Or just ask the local service manager if he would put his kids in your camper while you run the generator.

Ron W.

[BigCajun]

Ron,

Thanks for the reply. Since that post and several calls to Keystone, they did agree to adjust the bedroom slide. The seal is much better with little or no draft coming in now. I also found a loose wire crimp connector on the CO2 detector in the bedroom. It seems that the connection would break and the 9volt battery would run dead, causing the unit to alarm.

My propane detector near the front door also went bad. I sent it back to the manufacturer instead of dealing with Keystone. While preparing to install the replacement, I found another loose wire crimp connection which is probably why the detector died in the first place. I installed the new propane detector with new wire crimp connections and all is working fine.

I have also found loose connections on my 12v converter (see other posts). And there is a recall on the automatic transfer switches due to loose lug connections. It seems that the Keystone electricians don't check their connections very weel.

[rjsurfer]

Ron,

Thanks for the reply. Since that post and several calls to Keystone, they did agree to adjust the bedroom slide. The seal is much better with little or no draft coming in now. I also found a loose wire crimp connector on the CO2 detector in the bedroom. It seems that the connection would break and the 9volt battery would run dead, causing the unit to alarm.

My propane detector near the front door also went bad. I sent it back to the manufacturer instead of dealing with Keystone. While preparing to install the replacement, I found another loose wire crimp connection which is probably why the detector died in the first place. I installed the new propane detector with new wire crimp connections and all is working fine.

I have also found loose connections on my 12v converter (see other posts). And there is a recall on the automatic transfer switches due to loose lug connections. It seems that the Keystone electricians don't check their connections very weel.

That's great news their going to take care of the problems, it's a shame you had to go through hoops to get them taken care of...

Especially that exhaust issue, that was a dangerous one.

Ron W.

[BigCajun]

Yes, I had to use the ole' "attorney" scare tactic, but it worked. It's a shame that I had to go there, but that's the world we live in today...