Cougar 276rls

[Greg Knight]

I am new to buying a new Cougar 276rls this spring and really enjoy it. Only one issue is the oven pilot light is very difficult to get lit and won't stay lit.
I do have a question in regards to the trailer rocking. I see locking chocks between tires and also the front tripod for the pin box. Any recommendations on which would be the best to help stablize the trailer better. I get up in the middle of the night and it wakes up the little lady.

[Festus2]

Welcome to the Forum Greg Knight. You may have noticed that I deleted your duplicate thread that you posted in the New Member Check In section. I am sure you will get a number of responses about your oven pilot light and things you can do to stabilize your RV while parked. Congratulations on your new purchase and we hope you and your wife enjoy your new "toy".

[Greg Knight]

Thank you for responding. I know I messed up my first time.

[Flyguy]

It's hard to keep a trailer from rocking even with the stabilizer jacks down hard, I keep all my wheels chocked and all stabilizer jacks down hard and still get a little bounce from the floor, it's just the nature of the beast, the construction of the frame does not lend itself to a solid floor, the old trailers that did weighed a lot more. My pilot light on the oven can be a little hard to light at times, I think there's an adjustment for the pilot to increase the gas flow but I haven't bothered to find it on mine yet.

[hankpage]

Greg Knight, Welcome .... We have similar units..... what I do is level the trailer, then drop the nose a little bit, bring the rear stabilizers down evenly, then raise the front back to level. This takes out most movement with the wheels chocked. Many claim the Roto-chocks (between axles) work well but I'm too cheap. If this doesn't work ...... make the wife a nice Margarita in the evening and she will sleep like a baby through anything. :D It works for me. ;)

[TexasTraveler]

Like hankpage said, the chocks that fit between your tires will help substantially with trailer movement. I use a set on each side of my Montana and believe they were worth purchasing. As for the nose tripod, I promise it will end up in your garage - forgotten.

One note of caution. The rear stabilizers are just that - stabilizers. They are not designed nor intended to support a lot of weight. Some folks I know jacked up the rear of their trailer with bottle jacks, lowered the stabilizers and then lowered and removed the bottle jacks thinking this would stop all movement.

I guess it might have ... if their trailer hadn't split into two pieces, from side to side right across the center of the trailer. It was a total loss.

I would suggest setting up your trailer and tighten the stabilizers as much as you can and (by hand or small drill motor) then use tire chocks to reduce movement.

[Terrydactile]

I am new to buying a new Cougar 276rls this spring and really enjoy it. Only one issue is the oven pilot light is very difficult to get lit and won't stay lit.
I do have a question in regards to the trailer rocking. I see locking chocks between tires and also the front tripod for the pin box. Any recommendations on which would be the best to help stablize the trailer better. I get up in the middle of the night and it wakes up the little lady.
.
Welcome to the forum. Not knowing your experience with RV gas appliances please do not take offense to the following:D. You might try the following; Since you say your oven pilot is hard to light be sure that you have bled all the air out of the gas lines by lighting a burner on the stove top first. If it won't stay lit be sure that the thermocouple is directly in the pilot flame. Also since you say your RV is new..let the dealer look at it under warranty if all else fails.

On the trailer shaking...Lots of folks say that using Roto chocks between the tires is a big help. Some have installed stabilizer arms such as JT Strong arm stabilizers on the front jacks and say these were the icing on the cake. I have not used either but can clearly see how they would make a difference if the shaking bothers you. You can do a Google search to find info about both items.

Hope I've been of some help.

[Greg Knight]

Thank you for your help. I am taking my Cougar to the shop in the Spring to check out the pilot light. I did indeed use the stove to bleed the lines first.
One other question. If I want to get some fancy aluminum rims for my 276rls is there a place recommended to make sure I get strong enough ones to handle the load versus just going to a tire shop?

[Terrydactile]

Thank you for your help. I am taking my Cougar to the shop in the Spring to check out the pilot light. I did indeed use the stove to bleed the lines first.
One other question. If I want to get some fancy aluminum rims for my 276rls is there a place recommended to make sure I get strong enough ones to handle the load versus just going to a tire shop?

Sorry I have no help for the rims. Maybe someone else can chime in.

[Steersall4]

and any lenth of stay other than weekends the jacks can settle some and so some "snug up" will be needed from time to time.

[Steersall4]

On my Other Cougar I had found fairly plain, full hub caps and installed. BUT it didn't take long I realized why that was a mistake! I had to keep taking them off to check tire pressures and I do that maybe MORE than lot of guys! SO that marked up the paint pretty good. I made it some body else's problem by trading the thing off with them on the wheels. Hub caps? NAA !!

[pokyjoe48]

Just to shake things up a little with Keystone trailer owners...:D For now I own a Cardinal 5th wheel but we're looking at Montanas and we sure like what we're seeing. Anyway, when we first looked at the trailer it didn't have anything other than what it came stock with and oh yeah you could feel her wiggle. I had the dealer put stabilizers on all 4 corners and they stay on the trailer on the landing gear so you don't have anything to store. Just put your jacks down, tighten the wing screws and your done, ready to leave, loosen the wing screws, raise the landing gear and you're ready to roll down the road. I'll never own a trailer again without them. Sure beats dragging a bunch of extra blocks and jack stands along and if you're an old fart like me it keeps you off the ground where sometimes you just can't get up.:( My bride laughs at me when I'm rolling around on the ground tryin to figure out how to get up.:D:eek: Personally I have "JT Stabilizers" on our trailer but there are several manufacures that build them so you need to research. I recommend putting them on all 4 corners.

[Greg Knight]

I read your response about JT Strong stabilizers and found a set that was two years old on Craigs List. The same weekend I went to our local RV show here in Spokane and saw two fifth wheels one of which had them on and the other which did not. I sat in both and found that, with 25 people going in and out of the one with stabilizers on, did not make any movement. As soon as I got home I struck a deal to buy the used set for $115. I downloaded the instructions from JT Strong's website and can't wait to get my Cougar 276rls out of storage to put them on. Thanks for your insight. Amazing odds I could find them on Craigs list the same time as the RV show to witness them in action.