Laredo 314re appears to be in 'transition'

steveh326 · 02-29-2016, 05:55 AM

this is frustrating... wife and I have settled on 314re for our next travel trailer. the 314re seems to be in transition mode. some of the new features I really like, and some, not so much. Some of the changes are mere inconveniences, like the cabinet doors over the couch opening UP instead of out (with no struts to hold the doors open, so you only have one hand free)while others are significant, like windows in the back wall instead of solid wall with storage cabinets, and a full height pantry in the kitchen where countertops used to be. Some units appear to have pass thru storage (a must-have for me, how would you reach items stored 8' away without it?) while others are missing the curb side door. The unit we looked at also had an outside storage door in the bedroom slide (I really liked this extra storage) while no pictures anywhere show it. The floorplan on the keystone site continues to show overhead cabinets over the recliners, yet there are zero units out there that have them.

Last Saturday my wife and I drove 2 hours to nearest dealer with a Laredo 314re in stock, that's when I discovered the differences. Pictures did not match the unit at all. We will most likely end up ordering one from our local keystone dealer, I just hate laying out this kind of $$ for a 'suprise' package and not knowing exactly how what we will be getting.

Sorry for venting, thanks for listening.

Mike484 · 02-29-2016, 07:20 AM

Manufacturer reserves the right to make any changes at any time. Best to always see the unit before purchasing to make sure they have not made any changes that you are anaware of. If you are ordering from the factory, it is still best to see a unit that is in stock and make sure everything you want is in writing on your order form.

Tbos · 03-02-2016, 02:27 PM

Good luck. Hope you are able to get all options you want.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk

**sourdough** · 03-02-2016, 04:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mike484

Manufacturer reserves the right to make any changes at any time. Best to always see the unit before purchasing to make sure they have not made any changes that you are anaware of. If you are ordering from the factory, it is still best to see a unit that is in stock and make sure everything you want is in writing on your order form.

x2 on what he said! RV manufacturers make changes on the fly. If your particular unit is in a transition of some kind be SURE you define exactly what it is you expect. Keystone might be able to help you out but more than likely not.

bexparza · 03-03-2016, 04:25 AM

My wife and I bought a 314RE in 2015. I really love it. The cabinet doors over the couch and queen bed were probably changed to eliminate a slight sag that the long doors had. Not sure about the other changes that have been made though. I would suggest that you make sure you get the 314RE with a grey nose cap. We have had a horrible time with our brown nose cap fading. With a lot of really hard work I have been able to keep up with it though. I believe that's why Keystone went to Grey. Good Luck.

steveh326 · 03-03-2016, 12:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bexparza

My wife and I bought a 314RE in 2015. I really love it. The cabinet doors over the couch and queen bed were probably changed to eliminate a slight sag that the long doors had. Not sure about the other changes that have been made though. I would suggest that you make sure you get the 314RE with a grey nose cap. We have had a horrible time with our brown nose cap fading. With a lot of really hard work I have been able to keep up with it though. I believe that's why Keystone went to Grey. Good Luck.

glad to hear you like yours, the 314re floorplan seems just about perfect for my wife and I. I had read about some fading issues on the cap on Laredo and cougars. the cap seems to be one of those things in transition... your 2015 is brown, at some point they switched to gray, now the newest ones seem to be black. Hopefully they have it worked out now. don't really care about the doors opening up instead of out, except you have to use one hand to hold them up while you use your other hand to put stuff in/out of the cabinets. when they hinged them up they needed to add struts to hold the doors open... just one of those little things, not the end of the world. I do prefer the back wall with storage and no windows on yours over the 2016 mods. rarely much to look at behind us that would be worth giving up that storage for !

denverpilot · 03-04-2016, 04:13 PM

^^ interesting. Our 312RE (fiver version) had the upward swinging doors above the sofa in 2014. Wonder if they used up the stock of the sideways swinging hinges on the 314REs and then switched those.

dwdlt · 03-09-2016, 12:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bexparza

My wife and I bought a 314RE in 2015. I really love it. The cabinet doors over the couch and queen bed were probably changed to eliminate a slight sag that the long doors had. Not sure about the other changes that have been made though. I would suggest that you make sure you get the 314RE with a grey nose cap. We have had a horrible time with our brown nose cap fading. With a lot of really hard work I have been able to keep up with it though. I believe that's why Keystone went to Grey. Good Luck.

We bought a new 314RE, and we are supposed to take delivery of it this coming Monday. Wife and I looked at several, and in my opinion, it has the best floor plan for us. Any specific comments or pointers (things to look for) on the PDI?

Thanks

Dale

Tbos · 03-09-2016, 03:56 PM

Dale,
Do a search for PDI and you should be able to find a thread with a link. Enjoy and have fun.

dwdlt · 03-11-2016, 04:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tbos

Dale,
Do a search for PDI and you should be able to find a thread with a link. Enjoy and have fun.

Thanks. I did the search and found one. Plus after reading several reviews, and threads on this forum, I have a solid list of things to look for during the inspection.

JimDogs · 03-14-2016, 08:51 AM

The missus and I just picked up a new old stock 2015 314RE and are excited to transfer everything from the Cougar. Well, most everything...

I will miss having the room on the tongue for the second battery and my Tongue Cargo Rack, it is where my twin Honda eu2000 gennies would ride. But all the space and amenities inside will help ease that pain!

JimDogs · 03-14-2016, 04:38 PM

I just stopped with the change over from the Cougar to the Laredo and I realized that there is only ONE baggage door on the curbside! There is not a baggage door on the street side! Does anyone know if that is something I can order and install? I'm way to round to be climbing into the storage bay! One doesn't realize how deep 8 feet is until you have to crawl into that space.

dwdlt · 03-15-2016, 10:01 AM

Yesterday evening, the wife and I took delivery of the new 314RE. During the PDI, I requested that every system be cranked up, and that every drawer be opened. The dealership took there time with us and answered all of our questions.

I went over the trailer very well. To the point that I got on the roof and looked around, and crawled underneath of it as well....

The only thing we found that was not correct was some loose sealant around the top front edge.....It looked like they missed about a 2 inch spot while sealing it. They repaired that, and I guess we are good to go....

We are going to take it out for test run at the lake we go to this weekend, and use the time to get everything all setup...

So far, I am VERY impressed with the trailer

**sourdough** · 03-15-2016, 02:47 PM

dwdlt

Sounds like the pdi went well. Keep an eye on that area on the top front edge. You didn't say exactly where it was but the seal between the front cap and the roof can be problematic at times.

Tbos · 03-15-2016, 03:13 PM

dwdlt, sounds like you PDI went well. Enjoy.

dwdlt · 03-16-2016, 03:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sourdough

dwdlt

Sounds like the pdi went well. Keep an eye on that area on the top front edge. You didn't say exactly where it was but the seal between the front cap and the roof can be problematic at times.

Thanks for the pointer on that top cap. I'll definitely keep an eye on that. The area that I found was on the left front corner of the trailer about a foot down from the top. The decals were raised up and bubbled a little right near the seam, and you could see where the sealant was not in the crease in that area.

Very small area, but to me, you only need a small area for water and moisture to get in. The Dealership took care of that on the spot.

steveh326 · 03-16-2016, 05:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JimDogs

I just stopped with the change over from the Cougar to the Laredo and I realized that there is only ONE baggage door on the curbside! There is not a baggage door on the street side! Does anyone know if that is something I can order and install? I'm way to round to be climbing into the storage bay! One doesn't realize how deep 8 feet is until you have to crawl into that space.

yep that's one of the things that seemed to be in 'transition' and prompted my original post. some units had the pass thru and others didn't, I could not find any rhyme or reason to it being there or not. how in the heck does Keystone expect someone to get to something 8' away in a tunnel? I don't think it would be hard to add the streetside door. Dealer may be able to order one for you or I did find a company on the net selling baggage doors made to whatever size you wanted.

enjoy your new camper, I am jealous !

JimDogs · 03-16-2016, 07:41 AM

Thanks for the info and help. I have a letter into Keystone to see if I can order one that is used on the "different" Laredo's. Other than that I am pretty stoked to get out this weekend!

wayfun · 03-25-2016, 08:01 PM

After reading through this thread I looked at photos of the new 322RL and compared them to my 2015 version. I saw several changes and I can't say that any of them created a more usable trailer.

- Outside street side storage door missing
- Lamp table between the recliners is missing
- Only two table chairs instead of our 4 (dealer may have failed to photograph them)
- The toilet is positioned differently (not better in my opinion)
- The fridge is hinged on the opposite side which would be real inconvenient while cooking
- Medicine cabinet is hinged on the opposite side so that it opens on the far side if you are standing in the door

After seeing this I checked photos on another dealer site and found the fridge door and medicine cabinet were like mine and it had 4 chairs. I can't imagine what they were thinking when they eliminated the outside storage door.

Dennis

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