Keystone Cougar

[sbert52]

Interested in a Cougar Fifth Wheel. Have been told good and bad things about them. How good does Keystone stand behind their product?

[Fred1609]

We bought a 327RES in 2011 and other than a few minor issues which the dealer sorted out in quick time, we are very happy with our rig. Remember most of the components such as the stove, refrigerator etc are not made by keystone. The only thing I have a complaint about are the China bomb tires that come on the rigs. Swap them out immediately.

[southwest]

I have a 2015 mountaineer Montana by keystone. Had it 14 months. The following has been replaced: the fridge, the two toilets, a hide a bed mattress, had a recall on axles, a dining chair, a couple of ceiling lights. Overall the dealer has been more than responsive, but Keystone doesn't give the customer the time of day. I called to keystone to ask about items and it was like I was wasting their time. I will not do business with a keystone product again. Also, if the 5th wheel has a dometic fridge expect it not to work. Keystone readily admits problems with it, but keystone will not do anything. I finally had to seek legal advice, then got a different make fridge.

[jacknife]

You must have got a bad fridge
3 yrs no problem. Hope the new one does a better job.

[caissiel]

My Dometic has been great for 7 years full timing. I think the problem with RV fridge is the switch them on/off. I run ours all tje time, when seasonal run them all summer and parked all winter.
Been full timing with Norcold or Dometic for 11 years with no issues. Norcold lasted over 15 years.

[southwest]

Of course there was something wrong with the fridge, but should one have to resort to legal action to get fridge replaced on a brand new unit? I think not. Keystone was not helpful at all. When someone spends a good deal of money for something a company needs to be responsive to the person purchasing the item. We are full-timers too so the fridge is essentially on all the time. Dometic products are unreliable. The Norcold has not been a problem.

[jacknife]

Thousands of people have dometic products and they work just fine. I am sure you can find a defect in any product line reguardless of the brand.

[NLOVNIT]

We had a 2004 286EFS. No issues. It was a good 5-r for the price.

Lori-

[Brian W]

Had a 321RES and never had a problem.

[IC2]

A 327RES was our second choice in 2014. It probably would have been a first choice had the dealer been closer/easier to get to with possible warranty issues. The Montana High Country, though a couple feet longer, that we ended up with is very similar to the Cougar and to date have only had a couple very minor problems - lousy Dometic toilet (now #3) and a sliding closet door track. We've put over 12K on it but did as my choice, replace the China bombs with LT tires though.

[arturob]

we have a 2011 Cougar 322qbs and love it. Bought 2nd hand and have had no problems. It has a dometic fridge that works great. I think some RVs are just lemons. Often see posts where users have nothing but problems and have trouble getting company to honor warranty. Seems to hit all companies and all price ranges. Personally I bought 2nd hand so original owner got to fix problems

[cb1000rider]

Originally Posted by sbert52

Interested in a Cougar Fifth Wheel. Have been told good and bad things about them. How good does Keystone stand behind their product?

Keystone (Thor) is the largest manufacturer of RVs in the USA. They now own the Airstream brand. The Keystone brand has a 1-year warranty, so they'll stand behind it for a year. After that, you're absolutely on your own in most cases.

Some dealers seem to be better at getting warranty approvals done than others - and some have luck after warranty with items that ARE factory issues - such as fading front caps or roofs that come off unrelated to maintenance.

Have a look at their BBB responses - see how they handle consumer complaints yourself and decide if that's adequate or not. Then compare to similar complaints from Momentum or Jayco (both brands cost more).


The reality is that Keystone doesn't make refrigerators or many of the systems in these RVs and moving to a Jayco will likely net you the same Dometic fridge.

I'd say big differences are:
1) How the manufacturer responds to the consumer. Keystone largely says "talk to the dealer, that's your responsiblity". Other manufacturers may provide direct support.
2) How long the factory warranty lasts.
3) Price for about the same RV - features, construction, etc. I think generally Keystone is less expensive.
4) How much the factory pays the dealer for warranty repairs. This gets reflected in how soon your repair gets done and if you get ANY support from a dealer where you didn't happen to purchase your RV. Your dealer will likely tell you that you can get a warranty repair at any keystone dealer, but practically that's not true.


Ask your dealer how long it takes to get in for a "warranty" repair during their busy period. It can easily be 30-90 days. Add a few weeks for parts delivery, a few weeks for shipping - and that's about how long a warranty repair takes. A few of those can consume your warranty....

Figure out what "PDI inspection" means and go through it - don't sign final paperwork until complete. Use the unit as soon as possible, preferably in the not-busy season to get the bugs worked out.

I have a 2015 Carbon 327 (Keystone). Issues covered under warranty
1) All the LED lights failed while on the road, one at a time. Took the dealer weeks to address it.
2) Roof came loose in front. Took 60 days to repair all in.
3) Misc small things - adjustments, cabinets, etc.
4) Frame had some surface rust from being delivered in the winter (salt).

I don't profess this is good or bad.. And most RVs are generally constructed the same way. MOST of them have issues when leaving the dealer - so don't expect to buy your way out of that.