Well it didnt take long.

[dankent]

Having our first trailer for only a year. we have upgraded. Just sold my 2012 Keystone Sprinter 255RKS, we ordered a 2014 Keystone Cougar 333MKS, we were told we wont see it for about 10 weeks. Wonder if they have a tracking website where you can see its build phases like Chrysler has for their cars.

Cant wait to get it. "bouncey:

[TandE]

At least you lasted a year. I have been really considering upgrading to a bigger TT or 5er and I've only owned mine for 2 and a half months. Congrats on the new trailer and hope the time flies by!

[Javi]

Congrats... my DW is in love with that floor plan, so I expect I will be following suit shortly..."bouncey:

[twstdpear]

It took us a while to figure out exactly what we wanted. We're on our fourth trailer in five years: a 10' popup to a 12' highwall popup to a 3-bunk hybrid to our current Cougar Xlite 28RBS. We had the first for about 15 months, the second for about 10 months, and the hybrid for around 18 months. We got our Cougar back at the beginning of November.

We did get a lot of use out of each unit, camping 30-40 nights a year, mostly just weekends with one week-long trip each year.

[zenbuck]

Kinda glad we went "big" on our first one... :)

[wildflowerz]

We upgraded after only 4 months. We started out with a Forrest River r-pod which we loved but needed more space. Now we have a Keystone Passport 252 bh which is perfect for the dogs with the rear living room. Our next one will be more than 30 ft.

[Terry W.]

Darn sounds like we are all related some way. We got a 12' box pop-up, then a 25' Outback TT 25RS then a bigger truck, then a 30, Sprinter TT 300KBS and yes another bigger truck, Now have a Avalanche 330RE FW & F250 all this is a 4 year time span. I'm finished, for now

[rtltspd]

Thank God for the post my wife and I were sure that we were the only two that changed trailers like most people change their socks. We just recived our Cougar 25rls I just had to have the captain chairs it took 7 long weeks to get here GOOD LUCK.

[ExTowerClimber]

We did the same thing, our first trailer was a very well used 1976 popup for a year, then a 23' hybrid for 2 yrs, a 28ft TT for 18 months, a diesel truck while we had the TT and now a 299RKS.
When we first started looking at trailers we wondered why there were so many 1 and 2 yr old preowned trailers on the lots. Now we know it's people like us that get one, use it and discover what they like/"must have" and get a new trailer.
My wife said I'm not allowed to go to any more outdoor shows where they have trailers on display, she likes our 299RKS and wants to keep it for awhile.

[Kristi]

Just want to extend a big (tx) to everyone who mentioned this in previous posts, when we started shopping, (this is our first TT), we were looking at 21-25 foot trailers, but after lurking on the forum for a bit I kept seeing folks advising to get as big a TT as you can the first time. After using the 2560bh (which is still much smaller then most of the keystones on here) I know we would not have been as happy with anything smaller. Kinda like Goldilocks, it is just right :p

[chris199]

Wow....do I feel better! In the last 18-20 months or so:

Summer of 2011:
* New Passport 19 foot trailer
* New 2012 Tundra 4.6 liter V8

RV show in Feb, 2012 decided to go bigger and in May, 2012:
* New Cougar 29REV
* Traded 4.6 Tundra for 5.7 Tundra

March, 2013:
* Fell in love with floorplan of Palomino Columbus 320RLS 5th wheel but under water on Cougar....need to wait some. Floorplan has good sofa, chairs, and moveable island. Can sleep 6 easy when needed w/out bunks. Don't know much yet about their reputation. (Sorry for maybe being a traitor to Keystone. If they had that floorplan wemd be interested.)

* Great deal on 2013 GMC 3500HD, SLE, Duramax. Traded Tundra for 3500. Now I have the truck....maybe in a year or two a new trailer.

And Wow.....This is an expensive "hobby" but lovin' it!.


Chris


Sent from my DROID3 using Tapatalk 2

[crash]

Yes it is an expensive hobby but we all love it and I wouldnt trade it for anything. We have meet alot of great people out there and hope to meet many many more:D

[chris199]

Couldn't agree more.

DW is away this weekend. Reagan (9 mo old Yorkie pup) and I are going camping this weekend anyway!

Chris

Sent from my DROID3 using Tapatalk 2

[KevinLacy]

We decided on a Sprinter 324FWBHS and took us 8 weeks....it was worth the wait. We loooooove it. This is our first trailer and I agonized over this for a while vs a TT. I new we would regrete a TT.

[Bigsky3625]

Count us in too! Two years ago bought a 28' TT and was towing with a tired 1997 Suburban. The only towing we did was to the storage lot. I knew right then she was too tired.

Next bought a 2011 2500 Silverado gasser. (Had a friend who was pushing a diesel but I knew better.......)

Towed the TT just fine. Very happy........for now.

On one of our trips a nice couple invited us in to take a look at their Montana..........that was a huge mistake. The wife's eyes lit up....

July of 2012 we stop by a Keystone dealer.......another mistake. Wife falls in love with the 3625re Big Sky.......but we both agreed our current setup is just fine. Did I mention based ony research of the 3625 and our current truck I traded up to a 2012 3500 Silverado? I did in anticipation of curing the look in my wife's eyes as we walked through the Big Sky....

August 2012. On a trip to Kettle Falls with our two dogs and grandson. Get set up and all is well. A little cramped but fun.

This is where I make the mistake. Pull up dealers website......5er is marked down even more. Show wife. Make call.......

Finish our week long trip and pick up our new 5er the following weekend!!

I think we are done. Right?

[Essness]

Love these stories. 2 years ago bought our first toy hauler. Grey Wolf 21RR. Living area converts to accomodate toy. In preparation, we purchased a new Ford Expedition. The exp. Didnt do as well as we had hoped so, last year bought a 2012 Ram 1500 Laramie, decked out withe the entire tow package.
End of May, went to South Carolina for some off road fun and broke the toy:eek: now, if we load the broke toy, we can only head home to WI and abandon our plan to spend the next 5 nights on Hilton Head:(
Fortunate that we found a guy not far off our path that could fix the toy for us while we were in Hilton Head"bouncey:
Thus the need was created for a TH with a seperate garage from the living area. Fast forward 3 weeks and it's done.

[michael]

We decided to camp full time in the 2012 summer bought a 2011 Sprinter brand new in April 2012 the DW never camped before so we opted to buy something to get her feet wet so to say,
And she really enjoyed the RV lifestyle 4.5 months later give or take a few days/weeks,
we took a look at a fiver, And I guess WE all have the RV BUG
I cant think of any better way to spend with family and friends,
Awesome times and memories and smiles.
How ever you camp its money well spent.

[audio1der]

Great stories!
We fell in love with our floorplan the second we saw it, despite being longer than we wanted. However, having read many "quick succession upgrade" stories like this, we knew we'd spend less if we bought big first then going through a couple trade-ups.
Our weak point is our TV but as it spends 90% of its life as a school bus and will do anything we ask it to if we feed it enough, it will do.

[SAABDOCTOR]

AH The rv exersice program:D carry stuff in carry stuf out repeat till the DW is Happy! That is why I say don't buy a truck that fits the current trailer because that can change at any moment just aske me how I know..... No Honey I don't want to go to the rv store!!! oh lord here we go again:eek: Honestly enjoy the new rig"bouncey:

[carl and nigel]

wow reading everyones post in here is pretty neat my wife and I went and looked at campers about a month ago and bought a new 34.8 ft 296rk Laredo pull it with a 2012 f150 we will be going out in it for the first time in 2 wks bought it so max and mr bojangles can go anyplace we go they r 2 westies and r lil fur babies hoping to meet some good friends camping

[crash]

The 2 decks sold us on our Raptor,Really it was the side deck that sold it on the wife:Dso I am happy too:D

[TandE]

Well we ended up trading our hideout for a slightly bigger TT and with slide outs. We ended up with a 2013 cougar 27rbs. I love that it has more room inside than the last and the DW fell in love with the floorplan as soon as she walked in the bedroom door.

I was hesitant at first because I wanted an outside kitchen but I have a grill and coolers that will do just fine. :)

And to top it off we picked it up the 18th of this month and the morning of the 19th we headed off to New Mexico for a family reunion and are now in so cal. What a way to test everything to make sure it works on a shakedown right? ;)

[Janniert]

Went tent camping June 2012' something brushed the tent and when my husband pushed on the tent it growled...probably a raccoon, but enough for us. In Late July, we bought a 26' Catalina Santara bunkhouse. No frills, very basic. We thought our grown children would go with us. MISERABLE sleeping conditions. It was hard to be excited about our big purchase. Feeling like two spoiled adults, we traded in in March for a Cougar High Country, absolute opposite of the original TT.
We laughed, who needs a fireplace? We do! We have used it almost every trip. Thanks for your post, we wouldn't have admitted it otherwise.

[dankent]

My wife and I are googling images and planning where things should go based on those images ..... only a few more weeks and it will be here. :) cant wait.


Good read thread this has turned out to be.


:thewave:

[PilotIndy]

My story is similar to everyone else's here as well.. Tent camped as a kid for awhile with my family back in the mid 70's.. Then dad bought a used Apache Pop Up Tent Camper in 81'. (It finally rotted and rusted into nothing around 88' or so.)

Then a few years ago, Dad got back into camping with the purchase of a Jayco Pop Up. My son and I joined him and my nephew and went on some pretty good epic camping adventures with this camper all around the Midwest and Southern States.

Throughout these trips, I learned that if I were to ever purchase my own camper. It would NOT be a pop up. While they are great campers for weekend adventures.. They are not so good for week or two long adventures where you have multiple stops, etc.

I just did not like having to empty the camper out every time we arrived at a camp ground and set up camp. By the time we would get done setting up the camper and campsite, both myself and my father would be dripping in sweat. I'm not a young man, but I am not old either. It would be the same situation when it came time to break camp and move on.. We would spend a few hours just taking down the camper and loading things back into it.

It was also cramped with the four of us.. And this camper was designed to sleep up to 6. In either case, the experiences camping with the Jayco, were not like the ones that I had with the Apache as a kid, camping with my parents and siblings. However, we did not travel around to multiple places back then. We just went one place and camped.

In the middle of June this year, my brother asked if myself and my wife and kids would be interested in joining his wife and daughter on a camping trip down to Patoka Lake, in Patoka, Indiana. He was taking his boat down and they were going to tent camp. (He has quite the setup too!)

I have a tent as well, but my wife has never been camping.. Not even as a kid in her back yard with her brothers. She was not interesting in going unless I would rent a travel trailer. (Even though it was available, Dad's Jayco was out of the question for her.)

Therefore, I rented an well worn and well used Keystone Outback 28' Trailer from a RV rental company in Indianapolis. I do not know the year of manufacture or the model, but would guess it was 10 years old or so. For the age, despite the fact that it was obvious it had some usage upon it. It was in good condition and everything worked. I later found out that the trailer had actually been in a windstorm at one point and was gently laid over on it's side.

That was how the rental company got it, out of an insurance settlement. They fixed the damage on the unit and put it into service as a rental. (I looked the unit over VERY well before I rented it and had I not been told the story behind it. I would never have known. There was no visible damage anywhere.) The good news was that we did get to see some things in this travel trailer that we did not like in the design layout. It gave us insight in things we know we would not want in a trailer.

Overall, this trailer was comfortable and due to how the entire 7 day vacation unfolded, with everyone having a good time. I was able to convince my wife that we should consider our own travel trailer. My son and I really like to camp and now that my wife and daughter have had an opportunity to camp. They have decided that they like it and want to go again.

Thus, we are now looking at the Keystone Hideout 26B as a possible contender for our camping needs. Perhaps, in a week or two, I will be posting on here that I am a proud new owner of a Keystone product. Based on how the Outback has aged, I am hoping that the current trailers being manufactured by Keystone will also age just as graceful and give just as good of service as the trailer we rented.