Re: 2017 Keystone Hideout
The only real issue we had was caught on the PDI - incorrectly installed heater (the exhaust pipe feeding combustion products out was cracked because it was overtightened). A fairly dangerous thing, actually, which should have been caught before it left Keystone, but at least the dealer caught it. The entire unit was replaced by the dealer (I presume under warranty, there was no cost to us).
A few screws tightened here and there, one of the fender skirts notched to not rub on the bracket that holds the steps, one of the taillight assemblies replaced because the tab that notches the red plastic on to the housing was broken.
We removed the bathroom door and cut it down, top and bottom, to get more air circulation (the only ceiling vent is in the bathroom). The spouse had to add "caps," top and bottom, to the hollow door.
The factory didn't do the best job in putting the edge tape on the formica surfaces, so the spouse went through all the horizontal surfaces with an edge trimmer to smooth the edges so they don't catch -that was driving me nuts on the dinette table.
The dealer had added some caulking to areas that Keystone had done a so-so job on and we went through and added some and smoothed some.
Some things that I am not sure are a plus - the awning rolls out with a huge sag in it, leaving a "belly" for water to accumulate. Pushing one of the secondary "arms" on the awning assembly in doesn't really drop one side far enough to drain the "belly." Sure, I don't intend to leave the awning fully extended in a rain/wind storm, but it would be nice on a rainy day to at least get the awning out far enough to shield the door without having to deal with water issues.
Our other (older) trailer had only a tent-like awning that took 2 people with 2 ladders to put up, so it was taken off the trailer a long time ago, so this is our first trailer with an actual awning.
We looked at models with a slide, but one of the things we decided is that adding a slide just adds weight and complexity and moving parts. Sure, the kitchen area is a little tight, but the huge u-shaped dinette at the rear really opens things up, light- and space-wise.
We knew, going in, that cost and weight constraints kept us to a fairly basic model and that the longest stretch we generally spend in the trailer is 2 to MAYBE 3 weeks at a time, with the emphasis on being outside the trailer camping, not living inside like a house.
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2017 Keystone Hideout 21FQWE (no name yet)
2013 Ford F150 5.0 V8, 373 rear, HD tow package (Hank)
1928 Gibson F4 mandolin (Lillian)
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