Cougar 28SGS

[Julie]

Hello,
My husband and I are looking to buy a new camper, this will be our second camper but our first new one and I would like to find out what people think of the Keystone Cougar xlite 28SGS 5th wheel? We will be pulling it with a 2014 Chevy 3500. Please help us make our decision?
(tx)
Julie

[Boscowtx]

Very nice camper, it was our second choice!

[XLite28SGS]

Hi;
We have a "13" 28SGS.
The Size, Weight & Layout suit the two of us fine. In two + years of camping there have been only a few minor problems that I fixed myself (has not been back to dealer). I rate the quility as Good/Very Good for a unit in this price range. Ours was MSRP (?) just under $40,000.00--Out the door $26,600.00 (no trade).
Your TV will be fine. Here are our weights (CatScale).
Trailer, ready to camp 8700#
Pin wt. (21%) 1820#

Like:
Location of TV/Ent. system. Good viewing from chairs/sofa.
Good kitchen counter space. Like the central kitchen.
Lot of windows/light in seating area.
Bath is adequate for a camper this size. We prefer a self container bath.

Dislikes:
Queen bed is a Camper Queen (60"x75"). Would love to have a full size Queen (60"x80"). "Future Mod".
Would prefer vinyl floor in living area. Very cheeeep carpet.
Our unit only has a 10' awning.

Things I've changed/added;
additional light in bath over vanity.
MaxxAir fan in bath.
Led (warm white) bulbs in most interior lights.
LED step light (amber) on exterior steps.
Battery cutoff switch.
Slideout awnings (toppers).
Hard wired "Progressive" Electric Management System (EMS).

Some of these items my be standard on the newer models.

hope this helps,
Allan:)

[Julie]

Thank you for the input. We were told yesterday that ours will come off the assembly line on August 18th. We are very excited.

[Yosemitebob]

I hope I got this right, but go here and you will see a check list of those items to look for when you pick up your new trailer. It's very helpful.

http://http://www.keystonerv.org/forums/showthread.php?t=5129 (http://www.keystonerv.org/forums/showthread.php?t=5129)

If the link doesn't work it's the "sticky" at the top of the "Keystone Questions" forum

You live in IN, Keystone builds them in IN, you should make arrangements to watch it being built.

[Julie]

Thanks I will print it off and take it with us..

[gearhead]

Pay close attention to the 2 swivel chairs in the back. The straps that are supplied are not enough. Mine bounced against the walls and pulled the curtains down and put a dent in the wall. I eventually got some strapping material from WalMart camping department that is used to chinch down sleeping bags and wrapped that all the way around both chairs to secure them. It took about 15 feet of the strapping. Same size strapping that Keystone supplied. About one inch wide with the plastic snap connectors. Heck go get some of it now.
That 1 ton Chevy won't even know it's back there.
If you don't have a 5th wheel hitch I would recommend using a B&W (Reese) Turnover ball gooseneck hitch with an adapter to whatever 5th hitch you want.. It leaves a nice flat clean bed when it's all removed.

[Bowti]

We looked at a lot of floor plans before selecting ours and love it, and we have never looked back. No problems so far, except for a few small things, Agree with the above post, especially about the rear rocking chairs.

We love the location of the TV with the relationship to the seating area and the windows provide a wonderful view. We are replacing the couch with a reclining loveseat, as the couch is nothing to brag about.

Our Duramax has no clue as to the fact that it is towing something, it just keeps signing along to the oldies as we travel.

Trust me, you are going to love it

[Shepstone]

Hi been reserching this same unit for quite a while first post to the forum. We just picked up our 2015 28sgs last saturday its a beautiful rig with a great floor-plan and perfect size for us. The exit window leaked during a rainstorm we had a few days ago but the dealer fixed it right away that same day, now just have to figure out how to turn on the docking lights with the remote :confused:

http://www.keystoneforums.com/attachments/photobucket/img_140046_0_e5081e3f1d6ad8532c933b69078906d6.jpg (http://s187.photobucket.com/user/Brickman1/media/IMG_0071_zpsd3a1549e.jpg.html) Sorry the pics so big but i dont know how to make it smaller :o

[GmaPaTime]

Very nice... How's that F-250 doing with that trailer?

[Kdjshep]

Julie, we almost bought that rig but went with the Xlite 29RET instead. You have more counter space than me but we love our floor plan. Make sure you get the size AC you want. My sister went to Indiana to pick up her unit and it had the smaller AC which is not enough for Florida camping in the summer.
Don't forget to climb on your roof for inspection of all the seals.
Enjoy

[gearhead]

The first thing I did was replace the tires. Went to Maxxis load range E.

[Julie]

Thanks for the information about the chairs. I will get that taken care of first thing. We have a B&W turnover ball and are using a gooseneck hitch..

[gearhead]

Sounds like you have it under control.
We're heading your way in a couple weeks. Watch the little cars go around in circles at Eldora Speedway in New Weston OH.

[Shepstone]

Very nice... How's that F-250 doing with that trailer?

Sorry We have been away for a while . Truck does fine no problems , plenty of power for a gas engine, the combination truck/trailer seems well balanced for power & weight.

[Tom]

We also have a 28SGS and bought it because we loved the layout. We like it except for one major flaw that I should have foreseen. The R 14 insulation in the ceiling and floor along with the R7 in the walls isn't near enough in hot weather (100+ degrees) even with the 15,000 BTU AC. Ours will only cool down about 20 degrees below the outside temperature which isn't enough once the temperature climbs above 95 degrees.

I was very disappointed to find that there is no insulation at all between the storage area and the bedroom/bathroom floor. I glued 3/4" insulation foam under the floor and also put low E tint on all the windows to try to help the situation, along with spray foam to seal where the electrical and plumbing lines penetrate the floor. Haven't used it again in high heat to know how much this helps. On our last trip we took a portable 8,000 BTU AC along, which was a big help. The window next to the dining table in the slideout makes a good place to vent the portable AC.

Anyone who wants to us a satellite TV system in the living area needs to have a plug installed through the wall of the slideout. We had that done by the dealer prior to picking up the trailer. Otherwise you will have to either put the receiver in the bedroom and run a very long HDMI cable to the living area TV or run a RG6 cable from the bedroom to the receiver in the living area. For sure Keystone dropped the ball with their "satellite prep".

On my next trailer I'm going to pay a lot more attention to the R insulation values and not pay attention to hype like "Polar Package".