New Member from PA

[JackTyniec]

After 30+ years of towing Sunlines and Jayco's, we bought a new 2018 Cougar 32 RLI TT in April and have enjoyed it very much. The layout is an improvement from our previous 2014 Jayco 318 RETS. Have had a couple of minor issues but all covered under warranty. It's a heavy unit at 8400 lbs. and 1160 lb. hitch weight but our 2007 Nissan Armada is handling it fine. Have taken several trips this year to Cape Cod, Catskills & PA Amish Country. Leaving for Florida in late January.

[Logan X]

Welcome to the forum from California.

[14george]

Welcome to the fourm congrats from Wv love the lay out

[DOWva]

Congrats hope you guys enjoy your new cougar as much as we enjoy ours.

[Chris P]

Welcome to the forum from New Jersey,

[Gegrad]

Welcome from North Carolina.

[Dan53]

Welcome from Lower Milford Twp. (“Suburban” Coopersburg). Enjoy!!

Dan

[Troutbound1]

Welcome to the forum from Bushkill,Pike County Pa

[WNY Bullet]

Welcome from Western NY!

[PARAPTOR]

:wlcm: to The Forum From Western PA

Congrats on your new Cougar !! Enjoy :dance:

Good move!! get out of town, Head South where it is warmer than PA

Be Safe and Happy Camping :camping:

[5J's]

Welcome to the forum from SE Texas. Congrats on your new set up. Check your weights it seems to me that you may be over weight.

[flybouy]

Your truck is to small, your trailer tires are going to blow up, you need to buy a $3,000 hitch, don't even think about calling your dealer for warranty work, and your mattress will break your back. :banghead:

Now that that's out of the way we can get back to Welcome and enjoy your new camper! If you don't understand my first comment you will after reading the forum! :lol:

[PARAPTOR]

flybouy, I seen your heads up, the recent snow storm must have come through you area :eek::eek:

[flybouy]

No snow here (other than on top of my head :lol:). Just reflecting on some general observations. Not pointing any fingers as I've been on the "weight police" squad myself. :facepalm::facepalm:

[maccam1]

Hope you enjoy your 32rli,as I do mine
Maybe I'll run into you in the Amish country
Do several trips there a year

[JackTyniec]

Your truck is to small, your trailer tires are going to blow up, you need to buy a $3,000 hitch, don't even think about calling your dealer for warranty work, and your mattress will break your back. :banghead:

Now that that's out of the way we can get back to Welcome and enjoy your new camper! If you don't understand my first comment you will after reading the forum! :lol:

I understand that my TV is marginal for the application but has worked fine in about 2k miles of travel so far & for 4 years with a similar weight Jayco. The trip to FL will tell the tale. I keep the tires up at the recommended 80 psi & drive conservatively; usually 55 or so. As for warranty work, I've had a couple of minor problems and got reimbursed by Keystone within a couple of weeks. Bought my Cougar in TN but my local dealer carries Outback & Laredo, so did some warranty work recently. I'm not having any problems with the warranty. As for the mattress, I agree that it's marginal, but we got a 3-inch mattress topper and are sleeping comfortably.
Jack

[Timcharlie]

Welcome from another Pa member. Good information on this site.

Tim

[tacoma238ml]

Welcome from

Fredericksburg Va

[sourdough]

I understand that my TV is marginal for the application but has worked fine in about 2k miles of travel so far & for 4 years with a similar weight Jayco. The trip to FL will tell the tale. I keep the tires up at the recommended 80 psi & drive conservatively; usually 55 or so. As for warranty work, I've had a couple of minor problems and got reimbursed by Keystone within a couple of weeks. Bought my Cougar in TN but my local dealer carries Outback & Laredo, so did some warranty work recently. I'm not having any problems with the warranty. As for the mattress, I agree that it's marginal, but we got a 3-inch mattress topper and are sleeping comfortably.
Jack


I had not seen this post for some reason. Flybouy is right. Your initial post said the trailer was an 8400 lb. unit; that is incorrect. It is a 10,500 lb. unit. Maximum trailer weight for your Armada is 9000 lbs. IF you have the optional tow package. Maximum tongue weight is 900 lbs. (the dry tongue weight exceeds this by almost 300 lbs. - 1165) Maximum gcwr is 14,800 lbs. All listed weights are with the optional tow package. That trailer is too much for your vehicle - by an appreciable margin.
All that is not taking into account an almost 37' trailer being towed behind an Armada....

You said the Armada has worked "fine" in the past and you know it is marginal. It's not "marginal", it is overloaded. That would be bad enough on a LWB pickup but on a short wheelbase SUV it's - well, bad decision making. You said you've made basically short trips but your trip to FL in January "will tell the tale". What tale? The tale of the family that took off with a trailer far too large for the tow vehicle knowingly then crashed and burned on the highway along with fellow travelers because you were going to see how far you could go with it? I would suggest you actually THINK through what you are doing. And, I would bet you are still running P rated tires on that Armada....right?

Now, about that mattress. Forget the topper (I know some love them), I've tried them and found that a new premium mattress will absolutely fix that problem. Unlike airbags, new shocks etc. for the Armada.:D

Not to come down too hard but it seems obvious that you aren't aware of the issues you face IMO.

A couple of links you might find informational/helpful:

https://www.rvusa.com/rv-guide/2018-keystone-cougar-half-ton-travel-trailer-floorplan-32rli-tr34962

https://www.nissanusa.com/pdf/techpubs/2007/2007NissanTowingGuide.pdf

[ctbruce]

Welcome to the forum.

[JackTyniec]

I had not seen this post for some reason. Flybouy is right. Your initial post said the trailer was an 8400 lb. unit; that is incorrect. It is a 10,500 lb. unit. Maximum trailer weight for your Armada is 9000 lbs. IF you have the optional tow package. Maximum tongue weight is 900 lbs. (the dry tongue weight exceeds this by almost 300 lbs. - 1165) Maximum gcwr is 14,800 lbs. All listed weights are with the optional tow package. That trailer is too much for your vehicle - by an appreciable margin.
All that is not taking into account an almost 37' trailer being towed behind an Armada....

You said the Armada has worked "fine" in the past and you know it is marginal. It's not "marginal", it is overloaded. That would be bad enough on a LWB pickup but on a short wheelbase SUV it's - well, bad decision making. You said you've made basically short trips but your trip to FL in January "will tell the tale". What tale? The tale of the family that took off with a trailer far too large for the tow vehicle knowingly then crashed and burned on the highway along with fellow travelers because you were going to see how far you could go with it? I would suggest you actually THINK through what you are doing. And, I would bet you are still running P rated tires on that Armada....right?

Now, about that mattress. Forget the topper (I know some love them), I've tried them and found that a new premium mattress will absolutely fix that problem. Unlike airbags, new shocks etc. for the Armada.:D

Not to come down too hard but it seems obvious that you aren't aware of the issues you face IMO.

A couple of links you might find informational/helpful:

https://www.rvusa.com/rv-guide/2018-keystone-cougar-half-ton-travel-trailer-floorplan-32rli-tr34962

https://www.nissanusa.com/pdf/techpubs/2007/2007NissanTowingGuide.pdf
Thanks for your reply and concerns. I agree that I'm running over the recommended hitch weight but I was doing that for 4 years with my prior trailer for over 15k miles. The car is lightly loaded and heavy items (tools mostlY) are in stowed the back of the trailer. We do use a weight distributing hitch and the TV has air bladders in the back suspension as well as the factory supplied tow package. As to trailer weight, the gross weight rating is 10.5k, but I'm running a lot closer to 9k since I run with all water tanks dry. I had no problems on the 600 mi. trip from Lexington, KY or in trips to Cape Cod and elsewhere this year. On the trip from KY in April, we went through the mountains of western PA during light snow & 30 mph gusts. I kept the vehicle at 40-45 mph with my flashers on with no problems at all. Not going to change the vehicle; a pickup won't fit in the garage and that's where we like to keep them. Will be upgrading to a newer Expedition during the next couple of years; its tow rating is 9.3k. Thanks again for your advice and concern. I'll post here if I have problems.