# Newly Purchased 21Rs



## MattFromPA (Aug 31, 2011)

I purchased a 2005 Outback 21RS last week and we are getting ready to take it out for Labor Day weekend! My wife and I camped for ten years in a pop-up but with having two kids in the last two years we just outgrew it. The 21RS was a good choice given my tow vehicle is a Grand Cherokee and we didn't want to buy a larger SUV right now. I've been 'getting to know' the RV's systems this week, since our pop-up didn't have nearly the amenities. So far everything has checked out. We'll be camping dry but taking some water, mainly to wash the kids. We can live without air conditioning but its great that everything else works on 12V and propane (other than the microwave). Heading to Catoctin Mountain Park in MD, and odds are we'll need the run the furnace at night.

Any suggestions/tips about Outbacks and the 21RS specifically? I had a 2 hour tow home with it so I feel comfortable enough with how it handles. Of course it was empty so I expect some adjustments after we transfer our gear from the pop-up and I add 20 gallons or so of water.

We'd been looking for a deal on a 21RS for almost two years. Its a little older than I'd ideally want, but it was half of what a local dealer wanted for a 2008 21RS.


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## thefulminator (Aug 8, 2007)

Here are my recommendations.

When you level front to back, make the tongue just a little high for a few reasons. This will keep the water in the shower running to the back wall of the shower and not running over the front lip and onto the floor. It also keeps that rain running to the back of the rear slide so you have less chance of leaks into the trailer. The rain/AC condensation will also run to the back of the trailer on not drip in front of your bike door and front storage door (water heater on your year). There is nothing like getting a shower when trying to access one of your doors.

When you have the trailer parked, be sure the rear stabilizers are down. The 21RS is a little light in the front end when the waste tanks are empty. If the rear slide is out and a couple people walk to the back of the trailer, the tongue can raise off the ground so your trailer pops a wheelie.

Never load the rear slide more than about 50 pounds (per phone conversation with Keystone) when it is in unless you have a brace under it. The roof rails are not made to hold substantial weight and are only there to guide the rear slide into the trailer.

I am assuming you have the one piece propane tank cover that uses rubber tie downs. Buy a couple extra tie downs (see the repair parts thread in outback maintenance forum) because you will have one break eventually.

If you live were it is cold, be sure to drain all the water out of the coiled hose in your outdoor kitchen when you winterize. The vinyl hose will split if it freezes. Repair parts thread again if you need a replacement.

Check to see if you have mildew in the outdoor kitchen. If you do, check the seals. I recommend sticking a sta-dri pouch in there during the winter if there have been problems.


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## pintoplumber (Nov 4, 2007)

Matt we have an 05 21rs. The black tank dumps terribly slow. So much so I put a camera down to see what's wrong. The outlet to the black tank is on the passenger side facing rear. So for dumping the black tank it helps to elevate the drivers side and the tongue for dumping. Dennis in Lititz PA


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## MattFromPA (Aug 31, 2011)

Thanks so much for the advice! Having had a pop-up I'm in the habit of always putting all the stabilizer jacks down. Good to know about not loading down the rear slide - that wouldn't have occured to me. I did consider drainage when I brought the trailer home and parked it, the tongue is up a little bit. Discovered a leak right away in the 'wardrobe' that is immediately to the right when you walk in - but some careful application of silicone sealant on the roof and around the awning brackets took care of that. We'll be covering the camper off-season, don't think the previous owner bothered.


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## thefulminator (Aug 8, 2007)

Be careful with leaks at that location and the same spot on the other side of the trailer. Leaks there are suspected of causing the infamous front cap delaminations you will see all over this forum.


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## ED_RN (Jun 25, 2006)

Might want to consider investing in a small generator if you normally camp where you need to run the furnance at night without an electric hookup. The furance blower is the biggest drain on the battery. You don't need anything big if you aren't going to run the A/C but might need to run it a couple of hours during the day to recharge the batteries.In an emergency you can hook up to the tow vechicle and run the engine to recharge. Normally you will know if the batteries get low because the propane alarm will go off.


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## RDS (Jul 20, 2011)

My Wife and I upgraded from a popup last year as well. Are 21RS is a 04. You guys will love it! Look at the mod section. You will want to flip the hinges around on the door under the stove, turn the fold down drawer front into a real drawer, turn the step up to the queen bed into a storage box. These are just a few things to improve a already great camper.

The Catoctin mountains are great, we tented there 5 years ago.


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## kobuyashi (Sep 30, 2009)

MattFromPA said:


> Thanks so much for the advice! Having had a pop-up I'm in the habit of always putting all the stabilizer jacks down. Good to know about not loading down the rear slide - that wouldn't have occured to me. I did consider drainage when I brought the trailer home and parked it, the tongue is up a little bit. Discovered a leak right away in the 'wardrobe' that is immediately to the right when you walk in - but some careful application of silicone sealant on the roof and around the awning brackets took care of that. We'll be covering the camper off-season, don't think the previous owner bothered.


I just started to deal with this first hand. Got back from two weekends at Mirror Lake and started cleaning the camper out. Saw a bit of darker trim by the door. Pulled at it and it came off. The bottom 6 inches of the wardrobe was soft to the touch. Pulled the water heater and the vinyl floor and pushed my thumb through the floor. Soaked through. Have to replace a large section of the floor and rebuild the lower portion of the wardrobe. I like that stuff though. I'm also going to relocate the gas line for the water heater to build a small cubby hole to take advantage of the space. 
I do love the 21RS. Just gotta keep your eye on things like that before they get out of hand but that can happen with any trailer.


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## RDS (Jul 20, 2011)

kobuyashi said:


> Thanks so much for the advice! Having had a pop-up I'm in the habit of always putting all the stabilizer jacks down. Good to know about not loading down the rear slide - that wouldn't have occured to me. I did consider drainage when I brought the trailer home and parked it, the tongue is up a little bit. Discovered a leak right away in the 'wardrobe' that is immediately to the right when you walk in - but some careful application of silicone sealant on the roof and around the awning brackets took care of that. We'll be covering the camper off-season, don't think the previous owner bothered.


I just started to deal with this first hand. Got back from two weekends at Mirror Lake and started cleaning the camper out. Saw a bit of darker trim by the door. Pulled at it and it came off. The bottom 6 inches of the wardrobe was soft to the touch. Pulled the water heater and the vinyl floor and pushed my thumb through the floor. Soaked through. Have to replace a large section of the floor and rebuild the lower portion of the wardrobe. I like that stuff though. I'm also going to relocate the gas line for the water heater to build a small cubby hole to take advantage of the space. 
I do love the 21RS. Just gotta keep your eye on things like that before they get out of hand but that can happen with any trailer.
[/quote]

Not to get off track, but... Did you locate source of leak???


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## huntr70 (Jul 8, 2005)

MattFromPA said:


> some careful application of silicone sealant on the roof and around the awning brackets took care of that.


If you used silicone anywhere on the rubber roof, you'll want to pull it off when cured and use Dicor self-leveling sealant.

Silicone will cure and come right off the rubber roof. Dicor is specially made to stick to it.

Silicone is fine for everywhere else on the camper.


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## MattFromPA (Aug 31, 2011)

huntr70 said:


> some careful application of silicone sealant on the roof and around the awning brackets took care of that.


If you used silicone anywhere on the rubber roof, you'll want to pull it off when cured and use Dicor self-leveling sealant.

Silicone will cure and come right off the rubber roof. Dicor is specially made to stick to it.

Silicone is fine for everywhere else on the camper.
[/quote]

I had no idea, thanks. As it happens we fixed the leak the day before Irene blew through our area (no damage just wind and rain) and it held up just fine.


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