Our new 2019 315RLS Cougar

[7Iron]

After 6 months of looking and defining requirements, we picked up our Cougar 315RLS this past week.

We initially purchased (down payment made) a Montana High Country 372RD without seeing one, and when we were able to physically see one, we decided that it was too big (40ft and 13k dry)....going from a 29ft TT to this giant was a step too big.

I have a F350 6.7 LB 4x4 CB SRW and the 372 would push the upper limits of my TV, so we narrowed down to the Montana HC 305 or the Cougar 315. The 315 was selected primarily for two reasons (1.5ft more living space, dinette slide on our campsite side and refrig access in tow config) The big downside with the 315 is less available payload [5.2k axles vs 6K) and smaller bath.

The 315 had a spec dry wt of 10,562 lbs without 2nd AC and a published pin wt 1995. The actual wt (dry/empty) was 10,740 with pin of 2120.

After loading out normal TT gear the wt is now 11,520 w/pin of 2440 and was very close (within 20lbs) to my Wt & Balance spreadsheet calculator (see previous posts).

I have plenty of available TV cargo available (515 lbs) but only 1050 5er cargo available. Unfortunately, the 1050 has to be inside the 5er as the basement is full.

Doubly unfortunate is that the bedroom fwd closet and bedroom chest of drawers are nearly empty...and 88% of the wt put in these areas gets transferred to the pin/TV. The panty, hutch and refrig also have tons of space left and very little of this wt is transferred to the pin/TV.

I may need to re-engineer my loadout plan and shift basement stuff to inside...to optimize the available 5er and TV available cargo and axle ratings

What is remarkable is the significant difference in the TV handling compared to the TT.

The overall rig length only grew by 6 inches, and the living area grew by 10 ft in length and nearly 3 ft in width (2 additional slides) --- 60% more sq ft (208 vs 333).

And the pivoting point of the tow is 2.75 ft shorter (closer to TV) with the 5er.

The real bummer is that it is nearly 2 foot taller and I can't get it under the live oak tree in front of my house....

I think we are going to love the new rig!!

[tech740]

Enjoy the new rig. That’s is awesome information. Others will find that very helpful when they are looking to make changes.

[5J's]

Congrats on the Cougar, I hear lots of good reviews on them.

[Canonman]

Congrats on the new rig. Don't know about your game 7iron but I added one of these to my bag. Happy to loan it to you for that pesky live oak problem if needed:)

[Tbos]

Enjoy your new rig.

[Gegrad]

Enjoy the new trailer!

[Preyou]

Congratulates on the new camper. We got our first 315RLS in August 2018. On October 10, Michael decided to come to Panama City and totaled it. It was never used. Got our replacement on Jan 3, 2019.
It has had it's issues. Water leak at right rear (lights recaulked--see if that works), window shades fall down (not installed properly. Reinstalled), shower not caulked (caulked), Refrigerator temp swinging (checked and found no problem. I discovered the center strip between the double doors is not operating. Going back to dealer for adjustment), very poor mattress (gave us refund and we bought our own), DVD player not working (Man'f did not install properly. Corrected), oven difficult to light (told it takes 5-10 tries to light. This what the factory to dealer)
Trailer pulls great and sets up easily. Very comfortable.

[7Iron]

OMGosh,

I am thinking maybe you aren't supposed to have a 315RLS...;-)

What month is the Mfg date of the 315?

You are the 5th member of this forum with a 315 (that I know of)....what TV do you have? I think that I will post another thread wrt the clearance between the the TV bed and the 5er.

Mine is only about 4-5 inches. I have a 2018 F350 and they are taller than previous years by about 2-3 inches. The dealer say my clearance is fine , but I am not yet comfortable with that answer.

thanks for sharing, stay in touch , I will

dg

[7Iron]

"...Refrigerator temp swinging (checked and found no problem. I discovered the center strip between the double doors is not operating. Going back to dealer for adjustment),....

If you mean that the strip does not close [meaning that it "points" to the back, or the wide dimension does not become parallel with the doors] nor does mine, and during the walk through , I noticed it [subconsciously] and because of your comment wrt to center strip, I now think that it is not closing properly.

I will check with the other 3 owners and see what they say....I will try and get a video made today for clarity of the "pointing or parallel" description that I used.

dg:facepalm:

[sourdough]

Keeo the comments/observations coming. I'm going to go look at the 315RLS and 344MKS in the next day or two. I'm very interested to hear of some of these issues.

[Salt Life]

OMGosh,

Mine is only about 4-5 inches. I have a 2018 F350 and they are taller than previous years by about 2-3 inches. The dealer say my clearance is fine , but I am not yet comfortable with that answer.

thanks for sharing, stay in touch , I will

dg

Nice buy. We're looking to upgrade from our Copper Canyon.

As far as clearance, is your trailer completely level when hooked to your TV? You may need to make hitch and tongue adjustments...

Now, as far as issues, most new trailers, including motorhomes have them. Manufacturers can't keep up with the growing demand as Rving is extremely popular.

Ran into a guy last month who has a Grand Design Motor Suite 5er that has a laundry list of issues. The inside was soaked, carpet and all after traveling in the rain. Also saw water running down the walls while sitting when it rained. And that was the start of about 30+ issues. Can u say lemon........

[7Iron]

Congrats on the new rig. Don't know about your game 7iron but I added one of these to my bag. Happy to loan it to you for that pesky live oak problem if needed:)

Canonman,

I think that I need to borrow your McCullogh, this is the old Live Oak in front of our house.

The old TT was 10' 4" (shown in pic) and the new 315 is 13' 4"....it does not look like I have the 3 foot clearance that I need???

:facepalm::banghead:

[7Iron]

It is very difficult to scale because of linear perspective ....but I think the scale is uniform at the yellow and red vertical lines . i.e all boxes vertically along that plane are about 21.6 inches. Boxes to the left will be less than 21.6 and boxes to the right will be more than 21.6.

BTW the TT is in the same position in both pics below

If my assumption of 21.6 is close, then I have something around 37.5 inches.

one box at 21.6, one @ 10.5 and one @ 5.5.

Wow is this close....and if I am wrong, I have to backup and turn the rear of the 5er to left (as looking at pic) to go around the corner.....The tree in front of my neighbor's is much lower than mine, so I must go on the side street.

Shall we create a pool.....a buck to enter with a vote : 1. I will make it or 2. I won't. and the correct guessers split the pot....

[Tbos]

Wow, that tree on the street looks like it’ll be close too.

[JRTJH]

What I will "put a substantial wager on" is that, if you tow the trailer under that tree every weekend, once out, once in (total 8 "encounters monthly), you won't make it through the camping season without a scrape on the trailer, either the left side or the right side. That's just too close and it's very difficult to "stay in the middle" every time..... So, my bet is: The tree will win at least once this summer......

[7Iron]

For all of the 315 owners:

The attached spreadsheet will calculate your ESTIMATED pin wt if you enter the wt and location of all your cargo.

You do not need to add the 2nd AC, Battery, Spare tire, and propane, as these are included in the base dry wt in cell B3. Both pin wt and GVW are actual weights from my purchased 315 and the only cargo (other than the options above) was the owner’s manuals.

You will need to clear my cargo wt and location (ft from rear) and enter your own. Notice that the model is extremely precise [that does not mean ACCURATE] . i.e. Precise= that a reduction of 3 inches of the basement storage location (from 24.50 ft to 24.25) at 587 lbs will reduce the pin wt by 6 lbs.

After entering your wt and loc and weight verification, enter your baseline in B52 you can get a sense of "what ifs" by altering your load out plan. You will see the 6 lbs as described above as an example.

There are two pictures [plan and side views] that have been scaled [pretty close] to provide feet from rear for different locations in the 315.

There are two dots on the plan view indicating what happened to the dry configuration longitudinal center of gravity (blue) after loading out my 315. It shifted fwd about a foot.

BTW: notice that most (67%) of my cargo wt/mass (and volume) is in the basement and that about half of it is transferred to the pin. [you will need to zero the wt of the Bicycle rack and bikes to follow the math.}

BTW2: Notice the bike rack location is a negative 1.5 ft and that this 95 lbs actually reduces the pin wt by 62 lbs....!!

Notice that I only have 775 lbs of remaining/available cargo, and the basement is full, so I am thinking that this design assumed a lot of boondocking as the only real cargo missing is food (~100-150) so the only way I can utilize all the cargo is in the tanks. I have written to Keystone to find out where the center of each of the 4 tanks are located. I will share when I receive those locations.


Play around with the model and email or msg me and I will give you my 2 cents....

PS: You need to enter your TV allowed pin wt in B50...that is the TV Available cargo [found on the driver side door sticker] minus fuel, passengers , laptops , coffee, tool box, 5er hitch etc. Note: that depending on the MFG some fuel and generally a 150lb driver has been accounted for in the sticker wt....investigate your configuration

[Johnnyfry]

You have certainly done your homework on this rig. That is a good thing: many people just take the salesman’s recommendation that you have “no problem towing this”...they lie! We had a 34 foot Cougar and a Dodge 3500 Cummins, duley and enjoyed towing it over most of the US including Alaska.

[Preyou]

Decided to fix by adding washers to mounting screws for center plate on top in center that moves the center plate. This seems to work. Alternative is to raise the doors with washers under the hinge pin

[sourdough]

Congrats on that trailer. The 315RLS must be pretty popular. We were looking and sort of narrowed out sights on the Cougar 344MKS and the 315. Had looked at a 305RL? High Country but the Cougars just seemed/felt nicer. Went one afternoon to look over the units narrowing the field for DW to look at - left about 3pm. Went back the next morning about 9:30am and....the 315 was nowhere to be found. Had the salesman check and sure enough it had been sold the afternoon before and was in the make ready area...so we went and looked at it. Didn't buy one (of anything)….yet. But....

As a reinforcement to all the conversations that have been posted about repairs/mods/mtce done at a dealership....take note: That 315 was being prepped by a guy that looked no more than 15 years old - MAX! He was trying to do some sort of repair/adjustment on the entry and had the whole thing tore up. Looked like he didn't know one end of a cordless driver from the other with no clue as to how a door operated; and, it appeared his answer to a misaligned door was to just slam the tar out of it over and over. Hope the new owner does a thorough walk thru before they take it off, but I'm hot hopeful. :facepalm:

[Apalinto]

We just got back from the "Maiden Voyage" of our 315RLS. We had a similar issue with our fridge, but it has worked itself out. It does require a little additional force for the left door to set in properly, but it seems to be working fine now. We really like the spacer they provided so the doors stay propped open to allow ventilation when not in use. We sprung a leak in the bathroom water lines (under the vanity sink) which found it's way to the basement. We caught the leak immediately and there was no damage done, but the fittings on those lines were super loose! We hand tightened them and the leak stopped immediately. We had an issue with the elecrtric side of the water heater not working, we read the manual and were directed to locate the toggle switch on the bottom left of the water heater compartment on the outside of the rig and, of course, it was switched off. Our ceiling fan switch in the bathroom wasn't working, I simply tightened the plastic nut on the switch housing and it kicked on, no problems since. We love the convenience of the Phone App for In Command. I wake up, reach for my phone and turn on the furnace. I love the Leveling system, sure makes life easy. We had two 6 volt batteries installed at the dealer in place of the single 12 volt and they are wired for solar trickle charge as standard. We bought a foam mattress topper and placed it on top of the supplied mattress and we slept very well. As I mentioned in an earlier post, we upgraded to a soundbar for the living room TV. We like the motion sensor lighting in the pantry, stairwell and basement. Our rig tows nice behind out Ford F-350 and it is far less stressful (less white knuckle) than our previous 25 foot Bullet Premier TT. One of the best things I did when I got the trailer in the winter was to buy a giant binder and index all my manuals. It sure has made referencing things a lot easier. We are very happy with this unit!

[7Iron]

Decided to fix by adding washers to mounting screws for center plate on top in center that moves the center plate. This seems to work. Alternative is to raise the doors with washers under the hinge pin

Preyou,

That is exactly what I thought would fix the issue, the door is about 3/16 low relative to the upper slide control. I think that I will try to raise the door with plastic washers??

Thanks

dg

[JackTyniec]

After 6 months of looking and defining requirements, we picked up our Cougar 315RLS this past week.

We initially purchased (down payment made) a Montana High Country 372RD without seeing one, and when we were able to physically see one, we decided that it was too big (40ft and 13k dry)....going from a 29ft TT to this giant was a step too big.

I have a F350 6.7 LB 4x4 CB SRW and the 372 would push the upper limits of my TV, so we narrowed down to the Montana HC 305 or the Cougar 315. The 315 was selected primarily for two reasons (1.5ft more living space, dinette slide on our campsite side and refrig access in tow config) The big downside with the 315 is less available payload [5.2k axles vs 6K) and smaller bath.

The 315 had a spec dry wt of 10,562 lbs without 2nd AC and a published pin wt 1995. The actual wt (dry/empty) was 10,740 with pin of 2120.

After loading out normal TT gear the wt is now 11,520 w/pin of 2440 and was very close (within 20lbs) to my Wt & Balance spreadsheet calculator (see previous posts).

I have plenty of available TV cargo available (515 lbs) but only 1050 5er cargo available. Unfortunately, the 1050 has to be inside the 5er as the basement is full.

Doubly unfortunate is that the bedroom fwd closet and bedroom chest of drawers are nearly empty...and 88% of the wt put in these areas gets transferred to the pin/TV. The panty, hutch and refrig also have tons of space left and very little of this wt is transferred to the pin/TV.

I may need to re-engineer my loadout plan and shift basement stuff to inside...to optimize the available 5er and TV available cargo and axle ratings

What is remarkable is the significant difference in the TV handling compared to the TT.

The overall rig length only grew by 6 inches, and the living area grew by 10 ft in length and nearly 3 ft in width (2 additional slides) --- 60% more sq ft (208 vs 333).

And the pivoting point of the tow is 2.75 ft shorter (closer to TV) with the 5er.

The real bummer is that it is nearly 2 foot taller and I can't get it under the live oak tree in front of my house....

I think we are going to love the new rig!!

Good luck with your new rig. We have a Cougar 32 RLI TT. One thing we did to help balance the load is to move some heavier items from the TV and TT to the cargo carrier in the back and it helps. I don't know if your 5er comes with that but you may be able to add it on.

[turbo]

We just got back from the "Maiden Voyage" of our 315RLS. Our rig tows nice behind out Ford F-350 and it is far less stressful (less white knuckle) than our previous 25 foot Bullet Premier TT. One of the best things I did when I got the trailer in the winter was to buy a giant binder and index all my manuals. It sure has made referencing things a lot easier. We are very happy with this unit!

HI there - just bought a 2019 F350 (diesel, 4x4, SRW, full cab, short box) and am seriously looking at buying the 2109 Cougar 315rls. As some have noted, the 350 sits about 3 inches higher than my old F150. Any issues as a result of this height? You have the same combo that Im looking at so really interested in hearing your level of satisfaction, plus what hitch are you using (researching the various slider hitches at the moment). Thanks in advance.
Turbo

[Apalinto]

Hi turbo. First of all, our F-350 is a 2006 so it may not compare to your 19’ new hotness, those rigs are awesome! We have owned our F-350 since new and have left it pretty much stock except for Firestone Ride-Rite airbags that we leave at 10 lbs. since there is minimal sage towing the 315RLS. We have zero concerns over truck height towing the 315. Attached picture shows the clearance (kinda). We use a B&W Companion Hitch (also a 2006) and we love it. We like that it comes apart in two pieces which make it easier for us old guys. We like that the bed is smooth when the hitch is out and we like the option of the gooseneck hitch since it came with a “turn over” ball. There is a lot of good technology out there, some guys are opting for the Andersen 3200/3220 hitches and I hear they are pretty good. If clearance was an issue, I could still raise my entire hitch one more notch. We have had a lot of RVs over the years, tent trailers, toy hauler 5’ers, Class A, and tow behind travel trailers. But we love our 315RLS! Great manageable mid weight unit, loaded with features we love and which cost a lot to buy separately, like the MORryde Steps, the iN-Command with Global Connect (I wake up in the morning, grab my phone and turn on the furnace, ha ha!), the Lippert 4-point leveling, the 300 lb. hitch for my moto, the rear camera prep (I installed the camera system yesterday, it was a snap). We really like the lighting, the storage which is off the chain, the window blinds, the 12 c.f. Refer, 50” 4K Ultra TV and the “Key TV” system. We ordered our 315 with the bedroom AC (which made overall height 13”-5”) and the king bed. If you pick one up and want to compare notes ever, please chat me up on this forum. Good luck turbo. Cheers! http://http://i63.tinypic.com/skxjth.jpghttp://i68.tinypic.com/1zd4s8z.jpg

[Apalinto]

Here is a picture showing the clearance.
http://i63.tinypic.com/skxjth.jpg

[turbo]

Here is a picture showing the clearance.
http://i63.tinypic.com/skxjth.jpg

Much appreciated - safe travels!

[jasin1]

For all of the 315 owners:

The attached spreadsheet will calculate your ESTIMATED pin wt if you enter the wt and location of all your cargo.

You do not need to add the 2nd AC, Battery, Spare tire, and propane, as these are included in the base dry wt in cell B3. Both pin wt and GVW are actual weights from my purchased 315 and the only cargo (other than the options above) was the owner’s manuals.

You will need to clear my cargo wt and location (ft from rear) and enter your own. Notice that the model is extremely precise [that does not mean ACCURATE] . i.e. Precise= that a reduction of 3 inches of the basement storage location (from 24.50 ft to 24.25) at 587 lbs will reduce the pin wt by 6 lbs.

After entering your wt and loc and weight verification, enter your baseline in B52 you can get a sense of "what ifs" by altering your load out plan. You will see the 6 lbs as described above as an example.

There are two pictures [plan and side views] that have been scaled [pretty close] to provide feet from rear for different locations in the 315.

There are two dots on the plan view indicating what happened to the dry configuration longitudinal center of gravity (blue) after loading out my 315. It shifted fwd about a foot.

BTW: notice that most (67%) of my cargo wt/mass (and volume) is in the basement and that about half of it is transferred to the pin. [you will need to zero the wt of the Bicycle rack and bikes to follow the math.}

BTW2: Notice the bike rack location is a negative 1.5 ft and that this 95 lbs actually reduces the pin wt by 62 lbs....!!

Notice that I only have 775 lbs of remaining/available cargo, and the basement is full, so I am thinking that this design assumed a lot of boondocking as the only real cargo missing is food (~100-150) so the only way I can utilize all the cargo is in the tanks. I have written to Keystone to find out where the center of each of the 4 tanks are located. I will share when I receive those locations.


Play around with the model and email or msg me and I will give you my 2 cents....

PS: You need to enter your TV allowed pin wt in B50...that is the TV Available cargo [found on the driver side door sticker] minus fuel, passengers , laptops , coffee, tool box, 5er hitch etc. Note: that depending on the MFG some fuel and generally a 150lb driver has been accounted for in the sticker wt....investigate your configuration
This is awesome.... I appreciate you taking the time to figure this out. You should develop an app with different models. It’s been a real help in figuring out my weight issues

[rhagfo]

After 6 months of looking and defining requirements, we picked up our Cougar 315RLS this past week.

We initially purchased (down payment made) a Montana High Country 372RD without seeing one, and when we were able to physically see one, we decided that it was too big (40ft and 13k dry)....going from a 29ft TT to this giant was a step too big.

I have a F350 6.7 LB 4x4 CB SRW and the 372 would push the upper limits of my TV, so we narrowed down to the Montana HC 305 or the Cougar 315. The 315 was selected primarily for two reasons (1.5ft more living space, dinette slide on our campsite side and refrig access in tow config) The big downside with the 315 is less available payload [5.2k axles vs 6K) and smaller bath.

The 315 had a spec dry wt of 10,562 lbs without 2nd AC and a published pin wt 1995. The actual wt (dry/empty) was 10,740 with pin of 2120.

After loading out normal TT gear the wt is now 11,520 w/pin of 2440 and was very close (within 20lbs) to my Wt & Balance spreadsheet calculator (see previous posts).

I have plenty of available TV cargo available (515 lbs) but only 1050 5er cargo available. Unfortunately, the 1050 has to be inside the 5er as the basement is full.

Doubly unfortunate is that the bedroom fwd closet and bedroom chest of drawers are nearly empty...and 88% of the wt put in these areas gets transferred to the pin/TV. The panty, hutch and refrig also have tons of space left and very little of this wt is transferred to the pin/TV.

I may need to re-engineer my loadout plan and shift basement stuff to inside...to optimize the available 5er and TV available cargo and axle ratings

What is remarkable is the significant difference in the TV handling compared to the TT.

The overall rig length only grew by 6 inches, and the living area grew by 10 ft in length and nearly 3 ft in width (2 additional slides) --- 60% more sq ft (208 vs 333).

And the pivoting point of the tow is 2.75 ft shorter (closer to TV) with the 5er.

The real bummer is that it is nearly 2 foot taller and I can't get it under the live oak tree in front of my house....

I think we are going to love the new rig!!

Sounds like found a good fit for your F350, personally I think the Montana would put you over your weights.
It will be interesting to see how you come out with the last 1,000# placed in the 5er.
I am one that wants to load the 5er, without worrying about where every pound of weight is placed. That is one of the reasons we have a DRW with 14,000# GVWR and 5,411# payload. :D

[MartinG]

Sorry to sound stupid, I'm new, I think we are talking about the four door refrigerator in the 315 rls? We have owned ours now since april of 2019 and have had it in the service department more than we have been able to use it, sad but true. We still like it, but tired of things falling apart. Air conditioners were first, then Refrigerator, and the incommand, and now the hot water heater. The guys at the Columbia Missouri service center know me by first name. Only thing I would change is the bath room, flip the shower around move the toilet, and give me two sinks. Already got rid of that stupid pivot door. Sorry for the book; Martin

[wiredgeorge]

Sorry to sound stupid, I'm new, I think we are talking about the four door refrigerator in the 315 rls? We have owned ours now since april of 2019 and have had it in the service department more than we have been able to use it, sad but true. We still like it, but tired of things falling apart. Air conditioners were first, then Refrigerator, and the incommand, and now the hot water heater. The guys at the Columbia Missouri service center know me by first name. Only thing I would change is the bath room, flip the shower around move the toilet, and give me two sinks. Already got rid of that stupid pivot door. Sorry for the book; Martin

Welcome Martin. Hope you realize the thread you posted to had not had any activity for a year. Start a new post and go to the UserCP tab on each page at the top left in the black band and make a signature with your truck year/make/model and same for your camper. It will make it a lot easier to address questions you may have and it does sound like you will have some. I find the amount of issues you have had are incredible. I have a 2002 Cougar and never experienced any of these sort of issues. In any case, have a great weekend! wg :wlcm: