Keystone Cougar

[Riverdog]

I'm now looking at the Keystone Cougar 294. Can anyone comment on the quality of the Cougars?

[Riverdog]

I'm now looking at the Keystone Cougar 294. Can anyone comment on the quality of the Cougars?

[ncason]

I have met several Cougar owners who were well pleased. I think you get a lot for your money, but I wanted more headroom in the bedroom. The husband is almost 6'3". So we bought the Cardinal because it had the headroom plus a fully flat floor in the bedroom area.
Nancy

[NLOVNIT]

Riverdog-

We owned a 2004 286EFS 5-r that we were very happy with. It had a rear kitchen w/island & opposing slides. It was quite roomy & we really enjoyed it. I thought it was a good value for the money. Heck, it even had a solid oak panel fridge that even our motorhome doesn't have. If you want, I can send you pics of it. PM me & I'll be glad to forward them to you.

The reason why we traded it in was we originally were looking to get a 5-r that had a bedroom slideout, but that would have mandated us to get a bigger truck. Since we didn't want a bigger truck (we had a 6.1L 2500HD CC 4x4), we ended up trading both for our current motorhome. Now, I see Cougar has a bedroom slide on one of their models.

Bill & Nancy are right, if any in your party are tall, the headroom is tight from about midway on the bed to the headboard. Sitting up in bed isn't a problem, but you can't completely walk around it because of the way the bed is boxed in on the sides. It might be different for a TT, though.

Happy shopping. Keep us posted on what you purchase.

L-

[Riverdog]

NLOVNIT -

Thanks. No need for your pictures because we actually went through a few of the units last weekend. Very nice & seem to be good quality. I ask though because a lot of times things look good on the surface but underneath they can be inferior. Experience with the product seems the best way to find out the real scoop so I appreciate your comments.

Riverdog

[Stylin']

We were looking at the Cougar as well, but were disappointed in the bedroom. After comparing many different brands and models, we decided on the Mountaineer. It's built at the same plant as the Montana, and structurally it's the same as the Montana, but without all the bells and whistles or the Montana price tag. For a full size trailer, it still weighs under 10K, and tows well. We haven't had any second thoughts about our decision. Be aware that there is the potential for problems in any make or model, and the few that turned up in ours were very minor. Did I say we really like ours?

[Riverdog]

Stylin' - if I may ask, what did you not like about the Cougar's bedroom & how does the Mountaineer's bedroom differ. Also, was there a significant price differential between the two? Thanks....Riverdog

[Stylin']

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Riverdog:
Stylin' - if I may ask, what did you not like about the Cougar's bedroom & how does the Mountaineer's bedroom differ. Also, was there a significant price differential between the two? Thanks....Riverdog </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

The easiest way to explain the difference in the two is that the Cougar was a lower profile trailer, whereas the Mountaineer is a high profile. What the exact difference in actual height is, I'm not sure, but the difference can be readily seen if they were parked side by side. The extra height in the Mountaineer directly affects the height in the bedroom, permitting one to stand upright comfortably. Also, the Mountaineer had a bedroom slide, which allowed the bed to be situated side to side, freeing up the entire front which was then utilized as a closet. The Cougar had no slide, so the bed had to be situated front to back. That with the lower ceiling made it feel cramped and difficult to move around in. And if I remember correctly, the Cougar was wood framed, as opposed to aluminum in the Mountaineer, so we felt that the Mountaineer was a better built trailer. I've heard that the Cougar now has a bedroom slide, and that would make the bedroom roomier, but the overall height is probably still lower than the Mountaineer. Ours is an '05 which we bought nearly 2 1/2 yrs ago, so the specifications for both have surely changed, but we didn't want to buy something and end up finding that we should have spent a little more to get something a little better. We like it more each time we take it out, and don't regret our decision one bit. And we don't forsee the need to upgrade. I don't remember what model Cougar we were looking at, but the Mountaineer had so much more to offer that we felt it was well worth the extra money. I'm thinking that it was about $6,000 more. Feel free to PM me if I can answer any more questions. Good luck with your decision.

[Riverdog]

Stylin' - I didn't notice before but I see you are talking from a 5er perspective. I'm looking at the travel trailer as I will be carrying a motorcycle in the back of my pickup. After your comment I did check on the construction & have found that the Cougar is also aluminum framed -- at least the current year model is but I'm not sure if it was a couple of years ago.

I too like the slide out bedroom but in the TT's I've looked at you need a 32' unit to get the slide out. I'm hesitant to go over 30' because a lot of the state & fed parks we go to are older and can only accomodate up to 30'.

Thanks for you input, I appreciate it.

[Stylin']

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Riverdog:
Stylin' - I didn't notice before but I see you are talking from a 5er perspective. I'm looking at the travel trailer as I will be carrying a motorcycle in the back of my pickup. After your comment I did check on the construction & have found that the Cougar is also aluminum framed -- at least the current year model is but I'm not sure if it was a couple of years ago.

I too like the slide out bedroom but in the TT's I've looked at you need a 32' unit to get the slide out. I'm hesitant to go over 30' because a lot of the state & fed parks we go to are older and can only accomodate up to 30'.

Thanks for you input, I appreciate it. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

I apologize for assuming that you were talking about 5th wheels. A comparably sized 5th wheel will take less room (and back up easier) than a TT as a portion of it is over the truck bed. Now if you bought a toyhauler..............! Good luck with your decision.

[diverpike]

We have a keystone springdale, 285 rls 2003 2 slides, one in bedroom, with bed across room, and one full length of living area, 28 feet long, accepted everywhere, very happy with quality an bang for the buck. Also not to heavy to pull. We travel with our two boys 8 and 5 plus dog, we always seem to have enough room on those rany days.

[superduty]

I just picked up an 07 cougar 304BHS last fall. I love it so far, but with the late season purchase I've only used it 4 times. I looked at nearly everything available at the local dealers. I started looking at the mountaineer, in mid summer, but both that and the cougar were too much money. I ordered a Forest River trailer at a different dealership, but due to a lot of drama and sales manager boo-boo I declined it when it came in. I went back to buy the mountaineer or cougar, luckily both were on a very nice sale, but mountaineer I wanted was sold.

The cougar was a very nice second choice for a few thousand less. It tows very nicely. Hopefully I like it for many more years!