Back At It New Cougar 22MLS

[troutchasers]

Hello. Reintroduction after about 7 years off the road. Just bought a new 2025 Cougar 22MLS. Owned a big Montana 5th wheel for a dozen years or so. Full timed a few years. We pick up our new TT from the dealer the end of this coming week. If anyone has any inspection suggestions please pass them on. Doing my homework and research, but it’s been a while. Thanks!

 

[ColinB-KEY]

We picked up our Cougar a few months ago. Here’s my list of issues. 1) one of the tires had a small bulge on the side wall. Photo. Most don’t look at tires. 2) Learned our black tank flush did not work, installed backward. Photo. Mine and likely yours is under bath sink high because it has to be above flush connection. Flow is from lower connection out to the elbow connection. See my post for troubleshooting Check all your cabinet doors, some did not align, close evenly. You’re welcome to review my posts on a few things I’ve learned, done. The senior members on this forum are great and always ready to teach us.

 

[Martian-KEY]

Probably not a part of the PDI but something to check later is where the external speakers mount to the angled bezel on the outside of the trailer. The bezel mounted to the side is sealed but there is no seal at the speaker end. Seems to be a many year thing as my 2020 was like that and I know people with 2024 units that are the same. It leads to a little water on the counter inside that defies any attempt to figure where it came from. Found mine while washing and found soapy water drops on the counters. Traced the soap trail and it led to the wires feeding the speakers. Not a hard fix as some butyl rubber can make a good seal between the bezel and the speaker.
The only other issue we had was during the PDI it was discovered that a fitting on the pump was loose. Knock on wood, the unit has been trouble free. Normal upkeep has kept it in fine shape.
Good luck with your new unit!

 

[NH_Bulldog]

I would suggest planning on spending at least 2-3 hours with the trailer BEFORE you finalize any documents.

Be prepared to get on the roof, crawl underneath, walk all around the exterior, try every latch, every door, check every light, make sure that every appliance works, the water works, the drains work, the interior lights, cabinet doors fit and finish, etc. In short, don't be rushed, but take as much time as you need. Identify every issue, document in writing and in photos, then agree to a plan to address them. Don't be afraid to say "I'll come back next week after you have had a chance to take care of these things". Once you drive off the lot, getting it back for a timely repair is next to impossible, and it will be you bending over backwards to try to get them to fix something rather than them getting things done so they can complete the sale.

When we picked up our Cougar a year ago, we spent a good 3 hours there. I had given the dealer a heads-up ahead of time and they had the camper in the shop, hooked up to power and water and a drain line. They had a mechanic's creeper for me to roll around underneath, and a scissor lift to get me on the roof without having to climb a ladder. I checked everything and I mean EVERTHING. What few things I found, they had a tech following behind taking care of them right then and there. Only once we were done and I was either satisfied with the repairs or we had a plan established to address anything remaining, I had them write up a "We Owe" so that it was in writing. Then and only then did I give them the check.

 

[medinapool2]

One of our pass-through door wouldn't stay latched. No adjustments to make them closer only to close tighter. I had to shim both latches closer to the latch. Easy fix but its definitely something to be aware of. Our latch plate was catching the faceplate about half of the time and front door wouldn't latch. Again, no adjustment for it. Found the faceplate isn't symmetrical and only needed to flip it over. Problem fixed. We also had a wire come lose on the stove knobs after our 3rd trip. Again, it was an ez fix but just units being made to fast with minimal quality. Last was our ghost motion detector outside of bathroom. Bought new one on amazon and all better. 2021 Cougar 25RES.

 

[TXiceman]

Aside from the sloppy construction, it is still a poor RV. The tankless water heater is too far from the kitchen and bath in our 2023 unit. I hope you did not get the heat sink front windshield.

The rear blind fell down as there were just two screws into the thin Luan wood. The shower pan is too thin. The recliners are junk and will not stay reclined. The Furrion stove and oven are a joke. You can't bake anything as it takes forever to get to temperature and it was40 degF off.

The SolidStep dumps dirt inside unless you clean them. The trim is always coming loose and needing reattaching. You can't see the red/green indicator on the propane transfer valve unless you cut a hole in the bottle cover and take a photo of it.

The list goes on and on.

 

[ken56]

Congrats on your new trailer. In today's environment it is simply a craps shoot to be trouble free right out of the factory. The industry today is horrible and dealer service work is an agonizing process. You had better be handy yourself to correct minor issues you find after you get it home. Warranty or not you will be denied the use of your rig for 6 or more months if you take it back to the dealer to fix things. Thor Industries owns most brands today and they are the bad guy because they dictate everything to the manufacturers. Shove them out the door is the mandate and they want you to let the dealer take care of any problems. Do so at your own risk. That's the reality of today's RV industry.

 

[Cougar1]

Dealer talked us in to taking our Keystone although it had at least 20 items wrong with it. After we took it back for warranty work they kept it for 6 months repairing and ordering parts. Once we got it back, there was only about 1 month left on warranty. My advice: hire an inspector and don’t sign or take unit until EVERYTHING is fixed.

 

[Randy23LT]

I musta got a good one and have a good dealer. Only several cosmetic issues at PDI and one functional issue needing a part. Only 2 more non functional issues after 4 months of camping. Scheduled warranty work at end of camping season and repairs were done in a week. No real issues after a year of ownership. It does help to be a handyman though