Cougar 26RBS first road trip

[TimC]

I’ve actually been back for a couple weeks now from my first trip with the new Cougar. The trip was 2 weeks long and stretched from Madison, WI to the Florida Keys with a few short stops along the way. Thought I would share my thoughts on the Cougar just in case it’s helpful to anyone, to maybe spark some fun discussion, and because I’m a bit bored at the moment.

I have to say, the quality of the rig is definitely better than my previous camper, but I agree with comments I’ve seen here before. There’s just some things that make you shake your head. Like, why couldn’t they get that right? Things like trim coming off, cabinet door hinges not properly adjusted so metal from the hinge is tearing up the door, wires not fully connected etc. Basically just a bunch of small annoying things. Nothing worth submitting for warranty I don’t think, but just seems like those are some things they should get right. The biggest annoyance though was the saw dust. Seemed like every time we moved the rig we had piles of saw dust all over the floor. Even had more once we got home after 4,000 miles of driving. Curious if anyone else experienced that, and if so when does the saw dust stop falling out of every crack and crevice? Seems a little cleanup wouldn’t be too difficult at the manufacturer. Oh well, not a major problem just annoying.

Aside from those “issues” we loved it. I was shocked at how comfortable the bed was. I actually thought about ordering a new mattress to have by the time we got the rig, but glad I didn’t now. I’m sure this isn’t the only good floor plan Cougar has, but we thought the 26RBS was great. Lots of space once the slide is out. “Travel mode” isn’t too bad either. When we parking lot camped (Cracker Barrel rocks) we avoided having to go outside to the other door for bathroom access by using the iN·Command system to run the slide out just enough to get through. Then once back to the bedroom ran the slide back in. We’re new to slides, so if this is a dumb thing to do for some reason someone please tell me.

If anyone read my “new member” post you might remember I’m towing this with an F150. We put around 4,000 miles of towing on this trip and the F150 towed it amazingly in my opinion. I had no problems with sway (might have to do with the Propride), no problems stopping, and had plenty of pulling power. I know people like to give the ecoboost crap, but I think it’s spectacular for towing. However, I’ve never towed with a 3/4 or 1 ton yet so maybe I’m full of crap. I was very happy with the performance though.

Those who read my new member post (if there are any) might also remember (but probably not) that I said if I couldn’t make the payload work I’d get a bigger truck. Well, I lied. I can make it work, but I just snatched up a Super Duty today. Happened to stumble across one actually on a lot. F350 Lariat. Someone custom ordered it and backed out when it arrived, and happened to be almost exactly what I was looking at every time I decided to run through the builder on Ford’s website. So I decided to abandon my plan to keep the F150 for a few more years and trade it for the F350. Now I really need you all to tell me what you fill your truck beds with. I’ll have 3,600 lbs of payload now… what more should I bring camping?

If any of you are still reading this… you must be as bored as I am tonight lol. Serious question though for anyone who has the big front window. Any suggestions for temporarily insulating that a bit better on cold nights? Got a bit chilly by the head of the bed those nights we were out in below freezing temps.

Here’s a pic of the new truck. Picking it up Wednesday.

[jasin1]

Nice looking truck!

Where did you stay in the keys?..how far back did you make reservations?

The sawdust is annoying but just keep vacuuming…and you can use a piece of duct wrap bubble wrap…( reflective foil). They sell small pieces in Home Depot

[JRTJH]

Our Cougar is a 2014 model. We took delivery in May, 2013. That makes it almost 9 years old (in about 3 months). We still find sawdust occasionally. Just about 3 months ago I was cleaning out the space under the refrigerator, in front of the furnace, and there was a piece or ROMEX about 2' long, 4 or 5 screws, a half row of staples and about 2 cups of sawdust pushed back behind and under the mylar duct runs. I'd almost bet that after towing a couple of trips, there'll be more sawdust right where all that was cleaned out of the spaces.....

[sourdough]

Congrats on the trip and it being fun! Bout my bedtime but I like reading happy tales.

Sawdust? Don't know if/when it stops. You might get it out of spots you see quite often but then open up something and poof there's more. I have one overhead light that I've pulled and dumped sawdust and it's back again...just the nature of the beast.

I'm glad the mattress worked. We had one in a Cougar that was the "top of the line" (2014), much thicker than what you normally find and was comfortable for maybe 30 nights before we changed it. Hoping yours continues to work for you.

The upgrade in trucks is a good thing, no matter what size trailer you pull. A 1/2 ton (I loved them and wouldn't change for years) does have some limitations you only realize after you move up. As far as things to take with that payload; I don't know what you carry. In the bed I carry 2 bottle jacks, 2 compressors (12v and 120v) plus hoses, ice chest, Blackstone 22" griddle, 20lb. propane tank (empty), tool box, ground mats etc. Make what you want of it but you can throw in some "stuff". You should always be wary of weight though since it's easy to just keep throwing things in....and you shouldn't.

Have fun.

[wiredgeorge]

I pulled up the carpet and installed luxury vinyl tiles in place of the carpet. Underneath was linoleum. The lino was covered with saw dust and the carpet laid right over the top. Why bother take the time to sweep. I have a 2002 and still get some sawdust in my light fixtures which falls from the closed space above. You would think in 20 years it would have settled all down by now.

[flybouy]

Sawdust, well I'll bet if you look under the cabinets or in the attic of your S & B home you'll see it there to. If you could pic it up and shake it the sawdust would show itself as well. For the front window a roll of foil bubble insulation & vecro is my recommendation as well.

In my truck bed (covered with a fiberglass cap) I have a large plastic "tote style" storage/ tool box. Inside is a torque wrench, hydraulic bottle jack, Dewalt 20 V impact gun with a set of sockets for lug nuts. Also Dewalt 1/2" 20 V drill with drill bit set and nut driver attachments. Spare batteries and charger. Of course various wrenches and hand tools. A socket set including sockets for the trailer ball, water heater anode and electrode.

I also have some basic electrical items such as a VOM, test light, various connectors and a few lengths of various wire sizes and connectors. A set of long, heavy duty jumper cables. I'm sure I'm forgetting some stuff but that’s the crux of it. On longer trips I'll throw the trailer's original spare tire on the steel rim in the bed. It's older than the spare on the camper but as a "second spare" I figure if I have a double blow out it may get me off the road. Everything (less the tire) weights about 150 lbs.

[TimC]

Originally Posted by jasin1

Nice looking truck!

Where did you stay in the keys?..how far back did you make reservations?

We stayed at Sunshine Key RV resort. It’s not too far past 7 mile bridge. If you look at it on Google maps satellite view it looks basically like a big parking lot. But, it was actually very nice. There’s really no barrier between sites, but I’ve found that’s not so bad since the campers become the barriers. One thing I really liked about this place is that the sites are huge. We had two vehicles on the site and could’ve fit more. The place was pretty relaxed about the rules too which seems pretty rare in FL, especially the keys. But, just like every other place in the keys it was incredibly spendy, about $200 per night. We stayed there because it was the first place we found availability after checking with almost every place in the keys. We booked only about a month in advance, so that probably played into our difficulties in finding a place. There’s quite a few places we’re excluded from though due to our dogs. We have two 80lb dogs and one is a pitbull so there’s quite a few that won’t allow us.

We’ve also stayed at Boyd’s in Key West in the past which was pretty nice. They have some dog restrictions also, but we didn’t travel with the dogs on that trip. In 2020 we stayed in a gated community on Cudjoe Key called Venture Out. That was a pretty nice place as well on a bunch of canals. They allowed our dogs. Unfortunately had to cut our trip short that year because our dog found a fish hook and got it stuck in his tongue. Closest vet that would see us was Miami… that was a fun one. Planning a trip down there? I’ve been to the keys quite a few times. I love it there.

The reflectix insulation is a good idea for the front window. Not sure why that didn’t cross my mind. I have a big roll of it in my garage.

All the comments on the sawdust surprises me. I had my old camper for 8 years and never found any saw dust (other than the saw dust I created with my mods). Seems weird to me. But, I suppose I’ll survive.

[TimC]

Originally Posted by sourdough

I'm glad the mattress worked. We had one in a Cougar that was the "top of the line" (2014), much thicker than what you normally find and was comfortable for maybe 30 nights before we changed it. Hoping yours continues to work for you.

The mattress we got with our cougar is actually pretty thin. I haven’t measured but I’d guess 6”, so I was very surprised it was comfortable. But, I guess we’ll see how long it lasts.

Originally Posted by sourdough

The upgrade in trucks is a good thing, no matter what size trailer you pull. A 1/2 ton (I loved them and wouldn't change for years) does have some limitations you only realize after you move up.

I thought the F150 towed very well, so I’m looking forward to seeing what the F350 is like.

[Marinerjoe]

Originally Posted by TimC

The mattress we got with our cougar is actually pretty thin. I haven’t measured but I’d guess 6”, so I was very surprised it was comfortable. But, I guess we’ll see how long it lasts.

I thought the F150 towed very well, so I’m looking forward to seeing what the F350 is like.

Congratulations Tim! We likewise have a 26RBS, and have pulled it with a F150 3.5 EcoBoost to Florida (but from Virginia) and are preparing to do it again soon.

Unlike you, we were not impressed with the stock mattress, and last week replaced it with a Sleep Number. We had a queen on our previous camper and decided to go with another for this one.

I have had a Platinum F350 6.7 SRW on order since October, and finally got a build week back in January. The bad news is that week pushed from 14 February to 21 February and is now 28 February. I’ll get it eventually.

Something for you to think about. Your 350 will likely have a 3” receiver. As will mine. I’m torn between getting a 3” to 2” adapter, or bite the bullet and get a 3” ball mount shank for my Andersen hitch. Not having that extra play because of the adapter is very appealing. Your thoughts?

[jxnbbl]

We are new to all of this with a whole 18 months or ownership but 12k miles under our belts. Our first trip turning point was the keys from NH. Anyways the saw dust in our new Bullet use to collect in the lights a well as the floor. It finally diminished, but that was after about 8k miles and we got a new trailer...started all over again.

We have a similar experience with our trailers both are just the standard mattress in contrast to much more expensive ones at home. For some reason my wife and I both agree we were surprised how comfortable we are in the trailer and actually sleep better on the road than at home! (probably less to think about most of the tie)

[{tpc}]

For pulling from WI to the keys, how long did it take to get down there or did you stop along the way? This is on my bucket list of camping things to do, and I think I can manage to get to Florida, but it seems like it would take forever to get to the keys. Just wondering how much time you put aside for such a trip.

[TimC]

Originally Posted by Marinerjoe

Congratulations Tim! We likewise have a 26RBS, and have pulled it with a F150 3.5 EcoBoost to Florida (but from Virginia) and are preparing to do it again soon.

Thanks! How’s your experience been with the F150?

Originally Posted by Marinerjoe

I have had a Platinum F350 6.7 SRW on order since October, and finally got a build week back in January. The bad news is that week pushed from 14 February to 21 February and is now 28 February. I’ll get it eventually.

That’s frustrating. It was a similar situation with my Cougar. Ordered last June with an initial delivery date of September and it kept getting delayed. Finally got it in December. I hope you get your truck soon.

I just got really lucky with my F350. It’s pretty hard to find those on a dealer lot lately, I just happened to take a look at the exact right time. I don’t actually have the truck yet because we need to find a time where both the wife and I can get there to sign the paperwork (hopefully Wednesday). But, it is on the lot and they have moved it back behind their building and marked it as sold. I actually got to do a pretty good test drive of it the other day. I was surprised that the ride quality was not much different than our F150.

Originally Posted by Marinerjoe

Something for you to think about. Your 350 will likely have a 3” receiver. As will mine. I’m torn between getting a 3” to 2” adapter, or bite the bullet and get a 3” ball mount shank for my Andersen hitch. Not having that extra play because of the adapter is very appealing. Your thoughts?

I did think of that but haven’t put too much research into it yet. My initial thought was I’d just get the proper sized shank. I have the Propride hitch so I was going to see if they offer any sort of discounts for trading in an old shank. But I figure worst case scenario I’m out a few hundred bucks which seems worth it to me to have the right equipment. I do plan to do a bit of reading on the adapters, but haven’t gotten there yet. It’ll likely be a few months before I get my rig back out on the road so I have some time to figure it out.

[jasin1]

[QUOTE=TimC;486412]Thanks! How’s your experience been with the F150?


That’s frustrating. It was a similar situation with my Cougar. Ordered last June with an initial delivery date of September and it kept getting delayed. Finally got it in December. I hope you get your truck soon.

I just got really lucky with my F350. It’s pretty hard to find those on a dealer lot lately, I just happened to take a look at the exact right time. I don’t actually have the truck yet because we need to find a time where both the wife and I can get there to sign the paperwork (hopefully Wednesday). But, it is on the lot and they have moved it back behind their building and marked it as sold. I actually got to do a pretty good test drive of it the other day. I was surprised that the ride quality was not much different than our F150. Quote

————————————————-


Do yourself a favor and go tomorrow to the dealer…..they can and will sell that truck right out from under you…and it wouldn’t take that much more money to do that. The manager might make an extra $500 and you lose the truck

Maybe go next put a deposit with that vin # on the receipt

Although until you sign they can do anything they want

In September my son and I purchased a new SeaDoo rxt300 pwc…we went to the dealer …looked at it ran the paperwork for my son..agreed on the price got approved ..went outside to pick out the trailer and when we came back in the manager was selling the unit we agreed on…he said “ you shouldn’t have walked outside” or something to that effect…..my salesman was new and I guess had less seniority…the manager was a real piece of work…we ended up driving to another state to buy a new one…jet skis were just as hard as trucks to find

I watched on YouTube where a person ordered a brand new vette and the person paid a deposit and had the vin …they had it shipped to a dealer from the factory closer to their home…the receiving dealer decided to sell it and make a couple of bucks

[TimC]

Originally Posted by {tpc}

For pulling from WI to the keys, how long did it take to get down there or did you stop along the way? This is on my bucket list of camping things to do, and I think I can manage to get to Florida, but it seems like it would take forever to get to the keys. Just wondering how much time you put aside for such a trip.

It is a pretty long haul for sure. I’ve done the drive quite a few times now, both with and without a travel trailer. We used to take only a week off work so we’d try to get to the keys as fast as we could. The last couple years we’ve taken two weeks off. So we would spend the first week getting there and the second week in the keys. But, either way we did it we’d have to get back as quick as we could.

When we just head straight there we do stop along the way, but just for an overnight. When we do this we have everything packed and ready to go ahead of time so I can just hook up the rig when I get from home from work on Friday. We generally end up on the road (from Madison, WI area) around 5PM and will drive until 10 or 11 and overnight in a Cracker Barrel somewhere between Champaign, IL and Effingham, IL. Cracker Barrels seem to all open later now (7am) so we won’t bother waiting for breakfast. We’ll hit the road usually around 5:30am and then find one to stop at for breakfast around 7 (gotta give them some support for letting me sleep in their parking lot so much ). Usually we’ll do about 16 hrs of driving and make it to northern FL Saturday night. It’s still another 8 hours or so from there to Key West, so usually on Sunday we’ll again hit the road really early and arrive to our destination in the keys sometime Sunday evening.

So, it’s quite the hike. Doing it this way we basically leave Friday evening and arrive Sunday evening. But, this approach makes for a very long drive day on Saturday. It does factor in getting some sleep though. I did a straight through drive on the way back once (~26 hrs) and will not do that again. I had a little help from my friends who talked me into doing a straight through drive back but they could only each handle about an hour or two of driving so I got stuck with the rest. I almost left them in KY for that one.

This last trip since we had more time, we still left Friday after work. Still got through IL as fast as possible (I’m not a fan of that state). But our Saturday was quite a bit shorter as we ended the day in Athens, GA. Visited some family there for a couple days, then went and visited Tybee Island, GA for a couple days. Had a stop over in Ocala, FL to spend a night on my Aunt’s farm (where I caught a low tree branch and busted up my bathroom vent cover), spent a couple days in Ft Myers to visit my mom, and then finally arrived in the keys the about 9 days after we started the trip. But, we only planned Saturday/Sunday for the trip back which means long drive days again. We did end up leaving Friday night to head home instead of Saturday though. We left during that Nor’easter from a few weeks back. It was supposedly going to whip up some pretty strong winds all the way down to the keys. They called for 40-50 mph gusts Saturday morning. I figured I wasn’t going to cross 7 mile bridge (and many others) in that wind so we bailed early for the second year in a row. It was ok though, I had about 1,500 miles to cry about it on the way home.

So, moral of the story is it’s a long effing trip from WI to the keys and back. Hopefully I answered your question. Figured I’d give you a super long answer, just like the trip to the keys.

It’s worth it though. The keys are awesome.

[TimC]

Originally Posted by jasin1

Do yourself a favor and go tomorrow to the dealer…..they can and will sell that truck right out from under you…and it wouldn’t take that much more money to do that. The manager might make an extra $500 and you lose the truck

In September my son and I purchased a new SeaDoo rxt300 pwc…we went to the dealer …looked at it ran the paperwork for my son..agreed on the price got approved ..went outside to pick out the trailer and when we came back in the manager was selling the unit we agreed on…he said “ you shouldn’t have walked outside” or something to that effect…..my salesman was new and I guess had less seniority…the manager was a real piece of work…we ended up driving to another stare to buy a new one…jet skis were just as hard as trucks to find

That’s a really crappy story. Sounds like a pretty scuzzy place. What a terrible thing for a manager to do, not only to you but to that new employee. Imagine being a new salesman and your boss is stealing sales from you. I’d bet there’s a high level of turnover there.

I’m not too worried about that though. I’ve worked with this dealership in the past and they’ve been good. We also have a printed and signed by me and the dealer agreed upon price and trade in value. Not saying they couldn’t weasel their way out of that and still sell it out from under me but I’ll have to take that risk. My wife works at a hospital so there’s not really much wiggle room for her on the schedule. I need her there to complete the paperwork so we don’t have much of a choice but to wait. I do also have a bit of a reason to believe they were honest about moving it off the selling lot. I didn’t actually see them do that but they had it removed from their website by around 8 last night.

[86GT2r]

Something for you to think about. Your 350 will likely have a 3” receiver. As will mine. I’m torn between getting a 3” to 2” adapter,
My F350 came with the 3” to 2”adapter, it was under the back seat.

[jasin1]

Originally Posted by TimC

That’s a really crappy story. Sounds like a pretty scuzzy place. What a terrible thing for a manager to do, not only to you but to that new employee. Imagine being a new salesman and your boss is stealing sales from you. I’d bet there’s a high level of turnover there.

I’m not too worried about that though. I’ve worked with this dealership in the past and they’ve been good. We also have a printed and signed by me and the dealer agreed upon price and trade in value. Not saying they couldn’t weasel their way out of that and still sell it out from under me but I’ll have to take that risk. My wife works at a hospital so there’s not really much wiggle room for her on the schedule. I need her there to complete the paperwork so we don’t have much of a choice but to wait. I do also have a bit of a reason to believe they were honest about moving it off the selling lot. I didn’t actually see them do that but they had it removed from their website by around 8 last night.

It will probably be ok but I’d call the salesman often though. Stay in communication …in the past I’ve signed all the paperwork and my wife just stopped by when she had free time and signed her part…they still gave me the vehicle

[Marinerjoe]

Originally Posted by TimC

Thanks! How’s your experience been with the F150?

My 150 pulls it just fine. No problems accelerating or stopping. However, understanding my payload limitations (1,500 before anything like tonneau cover or other cargo), I carry very little in the truck. Rather, I have been loading more in the camper itself, and I try to go aft of the wheels to not add to tongue weight. The additional payload is why I am going with the 350.

That’s frustrating. It was a similar situation with my Cougar. Ordered last June with an initial delivery date of September and it kept getting delayed. Finally got it in December. I hope you get your truck soon.

Thanks. Regarding the camper, we were looking to get bigger and saw this on the lot at a nearby dealer. My only complaint is that they didn’t come with rear ladders, despite what the product brochure stated.

I just got really lucky with my F350. It’s pretty hard to find those on a dealer lot lately, I just happened to take a look at the exact right time. I don’t actually have the truck yet because we need to find a time where both the wife and I can get there to sign the paperwork (hopefully Wednesday). But, it is on the lot and they have moved it back behind their building and marked it as sold. I actually got to do a pretty good test drive of it the other day. I was surprised that the ride quality was not much different than our F150.

Glad to hear about the ride, my wife will be happy to hear. Does it have the 6.7?

[TimC]

Originally Posted by jasin1

It will probably be ok but I’d call the salesman often though. Stay in communication …in the past I’ve signed all the paperwork and my wife just stopped by when she had free time and signed her part…they still gave me the vehicle

Good advice. Definitely will keep in touch with them. We did think about doing what you suggested but due to her schedule for the next couple days it would unfortunately not speed anything up. She works the exact same hours the dealer is open, which is annoying. She only works a weekend every 8 weeks or so and just happened to be yesterday. So that timing was annoying as well. I think this goes down as #firstworldproblems though.

[TimC]

Originally Posted by Marinerjoe

My 150 pulls it just fine. No problems accelerating or stopping. However, understanding my payload limitations (1,500 before anything like tonneau cover or other cargo), I carry very little in the truck. Rather, I have been loading more in the camper itself, and I try to go aft of the wheels to not add to tongue weight. The additional payload is why I am going with the 350.

Same here. I had planned on continuing to play the payload game for a few more years. But finding this 350 on the lot and available that matched almost exactly what I had been pricing out on Ford’s website when I’d get bored I figured I’d jump on it.

Originally Posted by Marinerjoe

Thanks. Regarding the camper, we were looking to get bigger and saw this on the lot at a nearby dealer. My only complaint is that they didn’t come with rear ladders, despite what the product brochure stated.

I was worried about the rear ladder too because I did want one. I heard due to shortages some were shipping without it, but I did get the rear ladder. The 26RBS is about as big as we would want to go anytime soon. It’s got plenty of space for us and still not so big that it becomes a pain to get it into places we like to go.

Originally Posted by Marinerjoe

Glad to hear about the ride, my wife will be happy to hear. Does it have the 6.7?

You’ll probably notice a difference, especially if you haven’t upgraded to a higher load rated tire. But I don’t think it’s bad. Last summer we did put higher load rated tires on the F150 and are running at higher PSI than the stock tires. So we do have a bit stiffer of a ride in the F150 than when it was stock tires. But, it’s not bad and the F350 has a ride very similar to what we have with the higher psi tires on the F150. Definitely not the teeth rattling experience I was expecting. Not bad at all.

My 350 does not have the 6.7. I really like the idea of the diesel torque but I am not a fan of the emissions systems at all. I didn’t want to deal with that so I had always been on the lookout for the 7.3 gas “Godzilla” which the 350 I’m buying has. Seems the general consensus is these will be very reliable engines. Obviously won’t have the torque of a diesel, and I won’t have the exhaust brake which seems awesome, but I think it’ll be a good engine.