Cardinal or Cougar

[Mikeeg]

A good friend of ours is looking into 5th wheels and asked me if I could check with IRV2 members as to which was better trailer Cardinal or Cougar. So I ask the question WHICH is the better 5th wheel? Help me out with this as I'm a MH Guy.

[TXiceman]

Everyone has their preferred manufacturer, so be prepared for a varied response. Personally, I would look at Jayco and Arctic Fox.
Ken

[Larry]

I wouldn't look at either, but of the2 you are asking about, I believe the Cardinal would be much better.
Larry

[Lynnvt]

We have had our Cardinal for 7 years. It has served us well. We are just now moving into a Cameo, just a little better rig. The Cougar is a Keystone product. I have had a few friends who have had big problems with Keystone products and getting satisfaction from the manufacturer. From those experiences we decided not to look at any Keystone products.

[Jody & Jeff]

I have a Cougar fiver for over a year and have NO problems so far.

Just changed the crappy DURO tires that came with it
and put MAXXIS on them.....

Jo

[TEX-CTD]

stayed in a 38' cardinal last summer and loved it. very nice on the inside

isnt a cougar a mid or ,how would u say, lower grade of rv vs the cardinal?

[Mikeeg]

Just trying to find out if the Cardinal is a Higher line trailer then the Cougar.

[NLOVNIT]

We owned a Cougar 5-r for 2 years. If it woulda had a bedroom slide (they didn't offer them in 2004 like they do now), we'd still have it. We had no issues with it & the model we had (not made anymore) had opposing kitchen slides that really opened up the interior. We really liked our Cougar 5-r. A friend of ours just purchased a 2010 Cougar & I was pleasantly surprised by the increase in quality & upgrades.

Cardinals are much heavier than the same length Cougar. A 35ft Cardinal can be over 14,000 GVWR where a 35ft Cougar is just shy of 12,000 GVWR. A quick internet search seems to reveal Cardinals have a list price higher than similar sized/optioned Cougars.

Is one better than the other? Only you can really decide based on what you want & what you're willing to pay. As you can see, there are members in both camps. Just take your time & get the one that best suits your wants/needs.

Lori-

[wa8yxm]

This is totally off topic but every time I read this thread topic I think along these lines

Cardinal: Office within the Catholic Church (Archbishops are normally Cardinals)

Cougar: Relative of the Lion

So I think "Christians v/s Lions" when I read this thread

(Hopefully you are now laughing and have not shorted out your keyboard)

[450Donn]

Cougar is more of the spring/summer weekend trailer. While the Cardinal is more of a 3/4 season fiver for long term or full timers. There is a world of difference between the two. Kind of like looking at a Chevrolet and a Cadillac, both will get you down the road, which one is better suited to your demands.

[RustyJC]

Quote:

Originally Posted by TXiceman Personally, I would look at Jayco and Arctic Fox.

+1

Within the Jayco lineup, the Cougar has always seemed to me to compete against the Jayco Eagle, while the Cardinal is more in the class of the Jayco Designer.

Rusty

[glennwest]

Forest River, manufacturer of Cardinal, will not warrant unit if you tell them it is for full time use. This says a lot abut the confidence they have in their product.

[yogi154]

Hello to All

We have a Cardinal an 05 bought new in 06. No real problems just a couple Nickle, Dime things. I lived in my Cardinal for three months at a Pipe Line job site. Forest River did warrantee work at the site. I told them I was living in it, never had an issue. My dealer left a lot to be deisired a lot of unskilled labor. I wouldn't buy from them again.
My unit is an LE Limited Edition ( Cheaper Model ). Would I buy another Forest River Product ???? I don't think so. We really like the Jayco Designer but with that said we still have our Cardinal . I guess only time will tell.

Happy Camping !!!!

[Charles & Dawn]

Own a Cardinal have looked at Cougar it's a step down from Cardinal...Would I buy another Cardinal yes but at this time we lack a local dealer our old Cardinal dealer decided to retire in this tough economy. But at this time have no desire to get rid of my mostly trouble free Redbird. Very few issues.