Cougar Dealer Recommendations

[itat]

DW and I are thinking about upgrading to a 5th wheel and we’re looking seriously at the Cougar Half Ton 30RLS. I would appreciate some recommendations for dealers:

1. in Ontario, Canada, and
2. wholesalers or large volume dealers in the north east - OH, MI, NY

Thanks in advance.

[JRTJH]

I don't know how rigid your decision on the Half Ton 30RLS is, but you might want to look at the Cougar 315 RLS. It's about 2 feet longer, within 1000 pounds of the same GVW, similar pin weights and a SIGNIFICANTLY better arrangement for the bedroom. In the Cougar Half Ton, there's about 4' of headroom on each side of the bed. Limited floorspace with "standup headroom" all at the very foot of the bed (maybe 18"). The Cougar 315RLS has a "walk around bed with full height headroom. For anything more than a few days at a time, a much nicer living arrangement. Then there's making the bed on your knees in the Half Ton vs being able to walk around the bed.... As we get older, we've realized that what worked OK for us with our XLite has become an issue we wish we'd have considered.....

Then there's the "sandwich floor" in the Half Ton vs the "full thickness plywood floor" in the Cougar....

You may "have your mind made up" but if not, take a look at the smaller Cougars, same basic features as the Half Ton models with improved livability and not that much extra weight.

[itat]

Thanks for the feedback. We did look at the 315RLS and really like the better bedroom with the bed slide. The problem is I think it would be at the limit for my 2016 F-250 XLT 4x4 crew cab with the 6.2L gas engine. The truck has a sticker payload of 2621# and a max. trailer weight of around 12,100#. The brochure pin weight of the 315RLS is 1995# (450# more than the 30RLS) which says to me the real world number will be around 2300#. With a likely loaded weight of 11,500# or more IMO you really should have a diesel engine to pull it.

Our current TT is a Forest River Rockwood Signature and we’ve been very happy with the quality. They have a new model 5er that has a bed slide with a brochure pin weight of 1637#, so likely 1900 - 2000# loaded to camp, but we really prefer the floorplan of the 30RLS and 315RLS. The bedroom in the 30RLS is about the same as our TT but with the added wardrobe slide.

19359

The 2019 Cougars don’t have the big step up for the bed, its only about 3” now, and the pass through is much taller now, too. The previous version was a deal breaker for us but the new step is not a problem. From what I’ve read recently, both the half ton and mid profile Cougars now use a single piece “Dyna Span” OSB subfloor. I don’t know if that’s different from the “sandwich floor” structure you noted. Here is a recent video of a Cougar factory tour.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5XAvrkxrBHA&feature=youtu.be

[itat]

Does anybody who owns a newer Cougar 315RLS have actual loaded weights for the trailer and the pinbox?

[maccam1]

Itat,I have a 2018 cougar ht 32rli,it has the same floor plan as the 30rli your looking at,bedroom has king bed with slide out,the only thing it is missing is the pantry in the kitchen.its a great unit,very roomy
And has plenty of storage.i tow it with a Silverado 1500,with no problems whatsoever.
Check it out,let me know what you think

[itat]

Itat,I have a 2018 cougar ht 32rli,it has the same floor plan as the 30rli your looking at,bedroom has king bed with slide out,the only thing it is missing is the pantry in the kitchen.its a great unit,very roomy
And has plenty of storage.i tow it with a Silverado 1500,with no problems whatsoever.
Check it out,let me know what you think

Thanks for the reply, maccam1. The 32RLI is a TT. I want to move to a 5er because I have a bad back and a 5er will (I hope!) be much easier to connect and disconnect than having to deal with the heavy bars on my 12K Equal-i-zer WDH. Also, the cramped radius shower is a no-go for my back. Our current TT has what Rockwood called a “Garden Shower” - a large garden tub with shower. Many manufacturers use that same radius shower enclosure. If I’m going to spend a lot of money to change trailers, a rectangular shower is a must have for me.