Any Creek Side 21 KVS Titanium owners out there?

[Zymurgest]

My wife and I finally agreed that the 21KVS-T model would fit our needs for full timing (we're both minimalists to begin with) in another year or so. What we'd really appreciate is someone's day to day experience with living in this unit as a couple. I know that the question is open ended, but I don't want to get mired down in specifics unless absolutely necessary. We've already spent almost 3 years or researching everything that we need to know except for the experiences of actual owners themselves with this particular TT. Our old F-150 will be sold/traded/given away, as a larger ¾ ton truck with super crew cab and 4X4 with long bed seems to be the best wtg for a TV. Also same with our old TT, which weighs only 4250 lbs. wet (no longer need a bunkhouse with an empty nest!), so we'll be getting both vehicles around the same time. Any thoughts, ideas, suggestions, hints, tips, or other positive critiques will be greatly appreciated! Safe, and happy travels!

[ToddConnie]

My wife and I have the titanium and we love it. We’ve only had the one real issue and that was the remote wouldn’t charge so they gave us a new one. Finding the board to reset was the hard part. We also have 2cats. We intend to full time as well but still have a couple years to get there. Would love to answer your questions though

[ToddConnie]

I pull ours with 2018 f150 eco boost. Have no problems at high altitudes here in Colorado

[ToddConnie]

The kitchen is really awesome. Frig. A bit small. Only real problem I see is it’s a monster to wash. Really tall

[campingalan]

Originally Posted by Zymurgest

My wife and I finally agreed that the 21KVS-T model would fit our needs for full timing (we're both minimalists to begin with) in another year or so. What we'd really appreciate is someone's day to day experience with living in this unit as a couple. I know that the question is open ended, but I don't want to get mired down in specifics unless absolutely necessary. We've already spent almost 3 years or researching everything that we need to know except for the experiences of actual owners themselves with this particular TT. Our old F-150 will be sold/traded/given away, as a larger ¾ ton truck with super crew cab and 4X4 with long bed seems to be the best wtg for a TV. Also same with our old TT, which weighs only 4250 lbs. wet (no longer need a bunkhouse with an empty nest!), so we'll be getting both vehicles around the same time. Any thoughts, ideas, suggestions, hints, tips, or other positive critiques will be greatly appreciated! Safe, and happy travels!

Hi there. Checking in to see if you ended up getting a 21KVS. We've finally had our big talk about what kind of RV set up we wanted to pursue. We live in CO. For the next 3-5 years, we'll primarily do 1-2 week trips; mostly focusing on boondocking and national forest or BLM campgrounds. We are upgrading our truck to a 1 ton gasser so that we remove payload and trailer weight capacities.

So, in our talk, we had decided on the 25rds. In the midst of high fiving and such to celebrate that we actually came to a conclusion (our options were tiny 20ft couples trailer to struggle with our Tacoma, a full size truck and a medium sized trailer, or a Class C motorhome), I happened to bring up an anecdote of when I ran into the youtubers, Long Long Honeymoon. They had just left Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park and I stopped to talk to them while they were doing some drone footage along the highway.

They commented that they were really happy their trailer was only 25 ft as they don't think they would have fit with anything larger.

In our talk, and after I brought this up, we revisited some other make/models, but then came back to ORV. We decided on the 21kvs. Like with all floorplans, of course there are some items I don't care for, as much, with that small rig. But, it keeps us more nimble. It is really tempting to say the ole adage "what's a few extra more feet" and shift back to a larger rig.

Anyways, looking to get any experience you had with the 21kvs.

Safe travels!!

[Zymurgest]

We changed our mind on the 21KVS, mostly due to how we want to live, and the rear kitchen of the KVS, which is nicely sized, but the fuse panel is behind a cabinet? Also, we want to go with a composting toilet, which will only fit properly in the 25RDS (or other similarly sized TT). That TT has a better laid out kitchen, and also has a bigger bathroom (which DW likes better), and also a door to the bedroom for privacy, and sound reduction (I sleep late plus I take naps in the afternoon). So all in all, we're going with the slightly bigger TT for needs other than just size alone. While I like the layout, and floor plans of both TT's, the 25RDS-T looks, and feels more like home. Now to wait for the factory to get back into production! Safe, and hoppy travels, from the Boondocking Brewer™!

[campingalan]

Originally Posted by Zymurgest

We changed our mind on the 21KVS, mostly due to how we want to live, and the rear kitchen of the KVS, which is nicely sized, but the fuse panel is behind a cabinet? Also, we want to go with a composting toilet, which will only fit properly in the 25RDS (or other similarly sized TT). That TT has a better laid out kitchen, and also has a bigger bathroom (which DW likes better), and also a door to the bedroom for privacy, and sound reduction (I sleep late plus I take naps in the afternoon). So all in all, we're going with the slightly bigger TT for needs other than just size alone. While I like the layout, and floor plans of both TT's, the 25RDS-T looks, and feels more like home. Now to wait for the factory to get back into production! Safe, and hoppy travels, from the Boondocking Brewer™!

Ok...thank you for the prompt response! I may do a switch in our plan also. Like you, I do like that the 25rds does feel like a home. And, with the slide out, there is a decent opened up area in the kitchen/living room area. Yes...most of my summer emphasis will be to be outside. However, a 2 or 3 day rain storm can change that plan quickly. One can sit down inside comfortably. You can also chose between the dinette or theater/sofa seating. My wife can bring her work with and sit at the dinette.

I made a discovery tonight that the 21kvs is not "slide in" friendly; can't access the dinette, bathroom, or kitchen area with it in. That doesn't sit particularly well with me.

So, we'll see. We do plan to do almost exclusively boondock/national forest camping for the first 3-5 yrs; making the shorter 25ft trailer better. But, 6 more feet and it makes it a trailer we could also use for 1 or 2 months, no problem (after we retire in 3-5 years, we'll do 1-2 month trips to explore certain regions of the country).

[Cumminsfan]

We looked at many different ORV models and settled on the 25RDS. It's longer than we wanted but not by much.
What sold us on it was the kitchen counter space, pantry, lots of other kitchen storage, extra closet in the bedroom, bedroom door, and two seating areas.
We came from a 2013 FM 235 and grew tired of the bedroom privacy curtain and lack of counter space.
We did a month long 3000 mile trip in 2019 and we had plenty of room to not feel cramped when we were stuck inside a few times due to the weather. Plenty of closet space for clothes, as well as room for all our food.

We had zero problems finding places to stay regarding the length.
I would suggest a diesel though as our 25RDS tops out at 9600 lbs and 1350 lbs for tongue weight. Towing in the high elevations with a 6.4 Hemi was a struggle too many times.

[campingalan]

Originally Posted by Cumminsfan

We looked at many different ORV models and settled on the 25RDS. It's longer than we wanted but not by much.
What sold us on it was the kitchen counter space, pantry, lots of other kitchen storage, extra closet in the bedroom, bedroom door, and two seating areas.
We came from a 2013 FM 235 and grew tired of the bedroom privacy curtain and lack of counter space.
We did a month long 3000 mile trip in 2019 and we had plenty of room to not feel cramped when we were stuck inside a few times due to the weather. Plenty of closet space for clothes, as well as room for all our food.

We had zero problems finding places to stay regarding the length.
I would suggest a diesel though as our 25RDS tops out at 9600 lbs and 1350 lbs for tongue weight. Towing in the high elevations with a 6.4 Hemi was a struggle too many times.

Good evening to you! Thank you very much for your input! Bleh...yes, we are going back and forth and are pretty much split on the model.....21kvs vs 25rds. As always, pluses and minuses for everything. My biggest hang up with the 21kvs is the lack of access with the slide closed and not having a second seating area. Then again, we are outside except for our winter trips. That is awesome about the long trip in your rig. A rig that size would answer our 1-2 wk trips for the next 3-5 years, as well as 1-2 month trips after that point when I retire.

Good words for the tow vehicle too! I will probably mitigate that and do the new 7.3l gas from Ford plus get the 4.30 gearing. We had a 454 powered old suburban; I'm definitely familiar with the high rpm mountain climbs.

We'll be talking to the closest dealer to us, Holiday RV in CO, on Tuesday to get an idea of planned orders for these 2 rigs.

Have a good one!

[rragpaoa]

Originally Posted by campingalan

Good evening to you! Thank you very much for your input! Bleh...yes, we are going back and forth and are pretty much split on the model.....21kvs vs 25rds. As always, pluses and minuses for everything. My biggest hang up with the 21kvs is the lack of access with the slide closed and not having a second seating area. Then again, we are outside except for our winter trips. That is awesome about the long trip in your rig. A rig that size would answer our 1-2 wk trips for the next 3-5 years, as well as 1-2 month trips after that point when I retire.

Good words for the tow vehicle too! I will probably mitigate that and do the new 7.3l gas from Ford plus get the 4.30 gearing. We had a 454 powered old suburban; I'm definitely familiar with the high rpm mountain climbs.

We'll be talking to the closest dealer to us, Holiday RV in CO, on Tuesday to get an idea of planned orders for these 2 rigs.

Have a good one!

Chiming in too. We were on the same boat as you. The key from your post is that you are minimalists. We are coming from a Lance 2465 which was a 25ft floorplan with 30' overall length. We mostly boondock, national forest, BLM. We found that we were limited going into national parks/forest campsites due to size. ORV was top on our list for a replacement. We wanted to go smaller for sure, so we were looking at the 21KVS due to the large kitchen, and the 24RLS due to the extra seating and bigger capacity tanks and heater, but it was only a little more than a foot shorter in overall length than the Lance. After researching for months, we ended up getting the 2021 22FQS in Titanium. It was only a foot longer than the 21KVS, has plenty of kitchen counter space, has the bigger tank and heating capacity than the 21KVS, larger bathroom in the rear (more privacy) and also has a bigger queen bed. Decent access when the slides are in, lots of floor and kitchen space, and can be pulled with a 1/2 ton (we pulled it fine with a RAM 1500 Ecodiesel, but since bought a new Ford 3/4 ton superduty since I gave my Ram to my dad).

For extra seating, we went with 2 of these: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1
My wife is surprised on how comfortable they are and she prefers this over the sofa on the Lance. Folds and stores away nicely as well. She loved it so much, we bought two more for the house!

It's a lot easier to navigate the 22FQS on BLM and Forest roads, as well as campsites. So far, we haven't had any issues on finding campsites whereas the 30' was hard to navigate tighter roads. the 25RLS is 31 feet, so that could limit you.
No regrets on our decision.

[Cumminsfan]

Good choice on the 7.3. It's much better than our 2018 Ram 6.4 even with the 4.10 gears.

One other thing that turned us off about the 21KVS was no range hood vent. Only the high ceiling fan in the kitchen.
Other owners could chime in about that. Maybe it's not a big deal. We cook all the time in our TT and very rarely go out so the range fan gets used a lot.

[campingalan]

Originally Posted by rragpaoa

Chiming in too. We were on the same boat as you. The key from your post is that you are minimalists. We are coming from a Lance 2465 which was a 25ft floorplan with 30' overall length. We mostly boondock, national forest, BLM. We found that we were limited going into national parks/forest campsites due to size. ORV was top on our list for a replacement. We wanted to go smaller for sure, so we were looking at the 21KVS due to the large kitchen, and the 24RLS due to the extra seating and bigger capacity tanks and heater, but it was only a little more than a foot shorter in overall length than the Lance. After researching for months, we ended up getting the 2021 22FQS in Titanium. It was only a foot longer than the 21KVS, has plenty of kitchen counter space, has the bigger tank and heating capacity than the 21KVS, larger bathroom in the rear (more privacy) and also has a bigger queen bed. Decent access when the slides are in, lots of floor and kitchen space, and can be pulled with a 1/2 ton (we pulled it fine with a RAM 1500 Ecodiesel, but since bought a new Ford 3/4 ton superduty since I gave my Ram to my dad).

For extra seating, we went with 2 of these: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1
My wife is surprised on how comfortable they are and she prefers this over the sofa on the Lance. Folds and stores away nicely as well. She loved it so much, we bought two more for the house!

It's a lot easier to navigate the 22FQS on BLM and Forest roads, as well as campsites. So far, we haven't had any issues on finding campsites whereas the 30' was hard to navigate tighter roads. the 25RLS is 31 feet, so that could limit you.
No regrets on our decision.

Good evening to you! Thank you very much for your input too! I will check the 22 FQS out. I know my wife really latched on to the 21KVS for its superb kitchen. And, she likes the rectangular shower better to have at least 1 access of stretch out reach. And I am well aware of the happy wife term hehehe. I'm struggling a bit with the lack of access with the slide in, except for the bedroom. And, I'm not bullish on center baths on these small trailers as they seem to pretty much take up any semblance of an open space.

That is great input about the national forest and BLM access too; thank you! For this coming camping season, I see that being almost the only way to go. The woods should always be open, regardless of pandemic. And, I foresee continuing primarily boondocking for the next 3-5 yrs. After we retire then, we'll push it out to 1-2 month trips and mostly focus on touristy things in specific regions of the country. It is pretty much like a national park where I live; so we'll return home for 1-2 months to enjoy our area too. Then push out on the next journey for some months. Anyways....thank you for that size comparisons for the larger 30 or 32 ft rigs. This decision will probably cost me 2 rigs, one for these short trips now and then trade it in on a bigger one for the longer trips. But, it would be a shame to get sized out some of the incredible backcountry places we have here.

One of our goals is to visit all of the national parks too. So, I was also concerned about access to those. However, we have several parks within a few hours of our house. Due to the crowds there, and how far out in advance you should make reservations, I think we'll just plan to camp outside of the parks and travel in for the day. I usually don't know my time off from work until a couple of weeks in advance.

Regardless of the floor plan, I am pretty certain we'd go with the Titanium trim too. I've seen the posts about wants and regrets of getting or not getting that trim level. We're happy with what it offers.

Thank you again!!

EDIT: Yes...i like that 22fqs! Holds plenty of weight, I like the continuous open space in between the kitchen and dinette (I have a german shepherd that goes everywhere with us), the regular full sized bed, the 35k vs 25k heater, and the kitchen still appears really sufficient to me. Ha....I will show this one to my wife!! If I were betting, she may or may not like that corner bathroom as the perception is that the arched showers don't offer as much wingspan than the rectangular. But...I am definitely going to show this one to her.

Also, I'll need to verify when the build dates are for this rig. I don't want to wait until Oct or Nov as some of the other floor plans are.

[campingalan]

Originally Posted by Cumminsfan

Good choice on the 7.3. It's much better than our 2018 Ram 6.4 even with the 4.10 gears.

One other thing that turned us off about the 21KVS was no range hood vent. Only the high ceiling fan in the kitchen.
Other owners could chime in about that. Maybe it's not a big deal. We cook all the time in our TT and very rarely go out so the range fan gets used a lot.

Good evening to you. Ironically, we just got rid of our 1996 454 powered suburban; it had 4.10 gears too. That thing was pretty much a dog when towing anything here in the Rockies. I'm talking like towing a vw bug definitely tapped it out. These modern gassers crush that-- 430hp now vice like 295 back then. Ha...the other travesty is I had a 1 ton ram diesel up to about 2 yrs ago. I ended up trading it for our tacoma and4runner so that we can enjoy the jeep trails in our area. I REALLY wish I still had that rig; it would work perfectly now.

Ok...that is a good note about the range hood; thank you! The way it ends up working is I cook outside and my wife cooks inside. Yes...I can see how a lack of hood can smoke or smell things up!

[rragpaoa]

Originally Posted by campingalan

EDIT: Yes...i like that 22fqs! Holds plenty of weight, I like the continuous open space in between the kitchen and dinette (I have a german shepherd that goes everywhere with us), the regular full sized bed, the 35k vs 25k heater, and the kitchen still appears really sufficient to me. Ha....I will show this one to my wife!! If I were betting, she may or may not like that corner bathroom as the perception is that the arched showers don't offer as much wingspan than the rectangular. But...I am definitely going to show this one to her.

Also, I'll need to verify when the build dates are for this rig. I don't want to wait until Oct or Nov as some of the other floor plans are.

Wow, bringing back very similar memories my wife and I were going through about 6 months ago. We actually ordered a Titanium 21RBS and put a down payment from a dealer in the bay area without even looking at one. We wanted light weight due my 1/2 ton truck and small enough for BLM and national parks/forests and the 21RBS was it. A few weeks later, they had a 21RBS on the lot, but not in Titanium, so what the heck, we decided to drive up there and take a look. Might as well make it a wine country trip while we are at it. Well, we were really trying hard to justify our decision. Really it was the bathroom that was the final deciding factor. The shower, even though they say it was 25% bigger, really was not. Like an earlier poster said, it was just the placing of the controls that made it feel bigger. Wasn't liking the shower curtain either.
There was a 21KVS right next to it. The kitchen was nice, but that midship bathroom just didn't belong. Even with the big kitchen, it felt claustrophobic.
Next on the lot, was the 24RLS. Looked at the 24RLS and 25RDS as well, but then we realized that we sold our Lance 2465 to downsize. Didn't make sense.

Then, we saw a 22FQS in an non Titanium. Fell in love immediately. Lots of counter and storage space, very open floorplan, and the bathroom and shower was indeed bigger. We also like the idea of the bigger capacity tanks. A huge advantage when boondocking. Our Lance had the rectangular shower and honestly it felt smaller than the one in our ORV. Mainly because it was narrow. Our ORV shower had just more elbow room. Think about it, more "circle" space. We constantly bumped our elbows with the narrow shower walls in the Lance.

Because we had a bad experience with that dealer after we tried cancelling our order for the 21RBS, we decided to take our business elsewhere. After searching we found a dealer in Oregon that had a 22FQS Titanium in an "Ordered, Coming Soon" status and we put a down payment on that one. 2 months later, we have been happy campers since