# New 28F RL-S 5th Wheel



## Bob G (Aug 22, 2004)

We pick up our new 28F RL-S 5th Wheel on Monday







. It's going to be a looooong weekend for sure







. The interior is Sydney Jasmine. We traded a 2001 Keystone Cougar 281efs so we know the reputation of Keystone RV. The Cougar was nice but when my wife walked into the Outback at the South Bend RV show in August, it was love at first site







. The off white cabinets were the biggest selling point. No more oak! 
Bob


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## hatcityhosehauler (Feb 13, 2004)

Well, let me be the first to welcome you to Outbackers.com

The folks here are a great bunch, and will eagerly share any info they have, as well as learn from any experience you wish to offer.

Congrats on the new 5'er, and good luck with it.

Tim


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## GlenninTexas (Aug 11, 2004)

Welcome Bob,

I have a 28Frl-S as well. Same deal the white cabinets were the hook line and sinker for my wife.
Question for you. Is your Ford a shortbed or long bed. If shortbed, you'll need the slider hitch at some point to get into tigher places.


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## vdub (Jun 19, 2004)

Alright! Another 5! There seems to be shortages of 5's. I have the same one.


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## mary1 (Sep 19, 2004)

Congrats, I envy you, we have ordered the same one, but the Sydney Fawn. Our dealer had one in but didn't have the oven, so we opted to order.  Outback is one of the first ones we looked at but thought we better check out the rest, I couldn't even find one that was close in liking, unless I was to spend an extra $10 grand.
I see you are from Michigan how far from Port Huron Mi, we live across the river near Sarnia, On. Well have fun before the snow flies!!

p.s. We have a Ford 350 cc 4x4 diesel short box ordered, anyone that reads this is it really necessary to get the superslide hitch, our dealer told us 90% of the time we won't ever use unless we are really into a tight situation. But I feel with our luck we might encounter those times more too often, any info would be appreciated thanks, this is our very first time owning an rv.


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## Y-Guy (Jan 30, 2004)

Welcome aboard Bob, congrats on the new setup. I think that speaks very high to the Outbacks to see somebody come from the Cougar line.


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## GlenninTexas (Aug 11, 2004)

I bought the Reese super slide with the optional removable bars so I could get reasonably quick acces to my entire bed when not towing.

I had to use the slide once when bacvking into a site the was a sharp angle and downhill from the road. At home I also have a sharp angle to get the rig turned around and backed into my storage spot and I can do that without using the slide, so I had thought I'd really nevver need the slide. I was real lucky I noticed that the front of the trailer was actually touching my cab, another couple of seconds and I would have had some serious damage. I think it was due to the downhill aspect of the trailer that required the extra space.

Regards, Glenn

PS, I've posteed a picture of my 5th wheel in the new gallery.


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## summergames84 (Mar 6, 2004)

Welcome to Outbackers! We have the 28RLS, not the 5er, but still close! Enjoy, we love ours.


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## vdub (Jun 19, 2004)

I love my SuperGlide. It's not totally necessary, but I simply never ever have to worry about how tight a turn I'm making. It just makes life easier. I have the 16k which is now available at http://www.bigdiscountrv.com/fifthwheel_pullrite.htm for $1330. The universal mounting kit is only $187. The universal kit doesn't leave you a completely smooth bed, but will fit almost any rig made if you happen to change tow vehicles.


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## Bob G (Aug 22, 2004)

*12 hours to go.......It's been a long weekend!







*


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## vdub (Jun 19, 2004)

Bob G said:


> *12 hours to go.......It's been a long weekend!
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Alright! Another 5! Hey, I'm as excited as you.







Post pics!


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## Bob G (Aug 22, 2004)

We got it home this afternoon. Everything looks great! i will post some pictures tomorrow. Thanks to all for the information on the Outbacks.
Bob


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## vdub (Jun 19, 2004)

Great! Tow OK? Little bigger than you expected once it was all hooked up? Looking for tree branches and low underpasses?









I guess one word of caution. When you did the PDI with the dealer, you were having to absorb a lot of material in a hurry up, plus you were excited and probably not looking as closely as you would have liked.

Now that you have it home, you are going through every cabinet and drawer, pulling on this, pushing on that, giving it a good going over and trying to remember everything you were told by the dealer. You will, undoubtly find some stuff that is discouraging. At least, that was my experience. I started making a list of warranty items and by the time I got up to 15 or so, I was pretty unhappy and stayed that way for several weeks. But after the first trip, after looking at what is really important (the frame, good welds btw), and after reviewing my list of discrepancies, I'm finding that most are so minor as to not even warrant mentioning. I will ask the dealer to fix a few things, if it's convenient for me, and if I don't think I can do a better job than he would spend the time on it to do.

It's a pretty good rig. I think half the fun is doing the modifications that make it your own -- the way you like it and want it to be. You will find many tips on this forum. All the mods don't have to be done during the first season, so don't make your rig a burden on your time -- enjoy it. Have fun!


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## Bob G (Aug 22, 2004)

vdub said:


> Great! Tow OK? Little bigger than you expected once it was all hooked up? Looking for tree branches and low underpasses?
> 
> 
> 
> ...


It towed great







. No it's not bigger than I expected. The Outback is 5" shorter than our old Cougar. 
I did find several items when we did the PDI and the service manager fixed them before we left. Nothing major. This is our 4th 5th wheel so most of the walk through was the same as the others.
I did find the step going into the bedroom was loose







. One of the screws missed it's mark so I will take care of that tomorrow.
Everyone who looked at our Outback today just could not believe the storage and how nice the off white cabinets and dark floor looked







. 
Bob


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## vdub (Jun 19, 2004)

4th? Wow! You're certainly not new this stuff then. I'll bet you can tell most of us few new tricks. Looking forward to your posts on the forum. Be sure and tell us what mods you do.

I have a loose step as well, but haven't done anything about it. I think I'll put a piano hinge on the back and see if I can make a little storage space there. I only had one screw in the step.

Welcome to the forum and keep us posted. Congratulations on the new 5!


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## Balki14 (Oct 13, 2004)

We are seriously looking to move up to the new Sydney 5th as well from our 21RS. I see that people are talking about the Sydney Fawn and another type. Are you talking colors or different types of Sydney rigs?

Also, what kind of price are we talking. We looked at some here and they are in the mid to high 20"s....


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## Bob G (Aug 22, 2004)

Balki14 said:


> We are seriously looking to move up to the new Sydney 5th as well from our 21RS. I see that people are talking about the Sydney Fawn and another type. Are you talking colors or different types of Sydney rigs?
> 
> Also, what kind of price are we talking. We looked at some here and they are in the mid to high 20"s....
> [snapback]16281[/snapback]​


Sydney Jasmine is on e of 3 interior colors. All the units have the same options. As for the price, the "Show Price" was $24,995 (or close to that). We paid less than that. It depends on the trade in, how many units the dealer has sold and the transportation costs... We waited almost 2 months after the South Bend, IN show for the best price....and it was worth the wait. Buying from a dealer in Elkhart, IN help save some on the transportation cost because the Outback factory is only 15 miles from the dealer. It might be worth the drive to Elkhart. If you need our dealer information, let me know and I will give you the phone number.
Bob


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## Y-Guy (Jan 30, 2004)

I read in Trailer Life that Indiana is now collecting 6% sales tax on all RV sales, no exceptions. Some states will deduct the tax paid in Indiana and some will require you to pay the difference. Just an FYI if anyone missed that. I know some in California would go to the factory to pick up their units then stay out of CA for 90 days and pay no sales tax... not anymore.


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## vdub (Jun 19, 2004)

Y-guy is correct. The boyz in IN are getting greeding and charging sales tax on everything made in the state no matter where it is sold. Kind of a rip off.

I have a 28F RLS Sydney. The Sydney has every possible option. It comes in 3 different interiors; Jasmine, Fawn, and Desert Rose. I think I have Fawn, but not sure. It looks exactly like the pictures in the brochure, but the Fawn and Jasmine are pretty much alike.

Just this afternoon, I went to the Keystone site and looked at all their rigs. The Sydney is still the best of the lot in my book. I paid a show price of $24,925 for mine.

My rig pulls real nice. I had a TT previous to this and there is no comparison when pulling a 5. No sway, you don't have to hang on to the steering wheel when meeting a semi, just a pleasure to tow. I have never actually measured it, but I would guess I have about 26' of trailer behind the bumper of my pickup and I have a shortbed.

You may want to look at a previous post of mine where I talk about my GVWR. I am fine on the GCWR, but when the 5 is fully loaded and my pickup is fully loaded, I am setting right on my GVWR of 8,800. I would feel better having a couple hundred pounds of margin. I can get that by simply being careful where I load stuff, but would rather not have to worry about it.


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## Bob G (Aug 22, 2004)

vdub said:


> Y-guy is correct. The boyz in IN are getting greeding and charging sales tax on everything made in the state no matter where it is sold. Kind of a rip off.
> 
> I have a 28F RLS Sydney. The Sydney has every possible option. It comes in 3 different interiors; Jasmine, Fawn, and Desert Rose. I think I have Fawn, but not sure. It looks exactly like the pictures in the brochure, but the Fawn and Jasmine are pretty much alike.
> [snapback]16286[/snapback]​


Indiana collects sales tax on units SOLD and DELIVERED in Indiana, not sold in other states. If your unit is delivered to another state, you pay that states sales tax. Our Outback was delivered to Michigan so we paid MI tax.

We have the Jasmine interior and it is nothing like the Fawn. The chairs are much darker and the fabric material is differant. The only thing that is the same is the carpet.
Bob


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## vdub (Jun 19, 2004)

Trailer Life just reported the tax thing. It is a recent change and may not even be in effect yet. I'll try to dig out the article tonight. I wouldn't be surprised if the law isn't challenged in court by the other states.

I have never seen any interior other than what I have in my rig, so going strictly off the brochure and color swabs they have pictured. So which one is pictured in the '04 brochure? That's the interior I have.


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## GlenninTexas (Aug 11, 2004)

The Jasimine has a swirly leaf pattern with dark-brown/rust with brown fabric.

Desert Rose is plum/rose colored fabric and swede brown color trim.

Fawn is lighter brown with a random leaf pattern fabric.


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## Bob G (Aug 22, 2004)

vdub said:


> Trailer Life just reported the tax thing. It is a recent change and may not even be in effect yet. I'll try to dig out the article tonight. I wouldn't be surprised if the law isn't challenged in court by the other states.
> 
> I have never seen any interior other than what I have in my rig, so going strictly off the brochure and color swabs they have pictured. So which one is pictured in the '04 brochure? That's the interior I have.
> [snapback]16301[/snapback]​


It went into effect in June of this year. As for it being challanged by other states, I doubt it. You pay sales tax on clothes and such so why not an RV? Most states won't make you pay both state sales tax so I would not worry about it. Did not stop us from buying in Indiana.
Bob


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## Balki14 (Oct 13, 2004)

I would think that sales tax on anything you buy in any state would be a normality. But, back to the 5th wheel discussion.

We have heard from folks who have purchased the 5th wheel for as little as 21K. Does that jive with anything that you all may have experienced. We are wanting to trade our 21RS which is practically brand new with all of the options. It has been used 6 times and has less than 1000 mile sonthe axles from us.

So, if anyone has the name of a good dealwe (someone mentioned Elkhart) it would be greatly appreciated. I am in Manassas Va so a drive within say 500 - 750 miles is very doable.

thanks,


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## Bob G (Aug 22, 2004)

Balki14 said:


> I would think that sales tax on anything you buy in any state would be a normality. But, back to the 5th wheel discussion.
> 
> We have heard from folks who have purchased the 5th wheel for as little as 21K. Does that jive with anything that you all may have experienced. We are wanting to trade our 21RS which is practically brand new with all of the options. It has been used 6 times and has less than 1000 mile sonthe axles from us.
> 
> ...


Give Todd Cornell at Tiara RV a call. 574.266.2136
They are located just north of the toll road on Cassopolis St. in Elkhart. 
Bob


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