# Thinking Of Changing To A Cougar Xlite 29bhs



## fredr (Jun 26, 2006)

We currently have a 26RS Outback with some soft spots in the floor and are considering changing to Cougar Xlite 29BHS. Does anyone know about this cousin of the Outback. Floor plan, it seems, is similar to the 31RQS. Quality wise seems on the same level of Outback. Are there any drawbacks???? I hate to defect, but would still be in the Keystone family at least.

Pam


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## campmg (Dec 24, 2005)

Are you towing it with the Expedition?


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## fredr (Jun 26, 2006)

campmg said:


> Are you towing it with the Expedition?










Sorry, forget to mention we upgraded our tow vehicle to a V10 Ford Excursion.


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## jetjane (Feb 8, 2007)

Our last 5er was a Cougar. I'm not sure what differences there would be from the CougarXlite though but I thought I'd chime in anyway.

Our Cougar's cupboard doors were terribly crooked and looked like they were installed by a drunken blind guy.







They were fixed no problem but when we wanted to upgrade from 2 bunks to 4, the new Cougar's door were the same way. One of the 1st things we checked in the Sydney was how straight the cupboard doors were and were pleased to find the over fit and finish was much better than the Cougars we saw. However, now we have a delamination problem with the Sydney cupboard frames instead.







We had a small leak in the rear garage that was easily fixed. Other than that, we didn't have any problems. One thing though is the difference between the furnace ducting in a Cougar than from an OB (at least the Sydneys). In the Cougar it is like tin foil covered flexible dryer ducting, full of kinks. My Sydney has the sheet metal, non-flexible kind which is better but really, neither one manages to get much heat up to the front bedroom.







All in all, there is some give and take with both so I would have to say they are about the same overall quality. Hope this helps.


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## BoaterDan (Jul 1, 2005)

jetjane said:


> Our last 5er was a Cougar. I'm not sure what differences there would be from the CougarXlite though but I thought I'd chime in anyway.
> 
> Our Cougar's cupboard doors were terribly crooked and looked like they were installed by a drunken blind guy.
> 
> ...


Gilligan must move between plants becuase my cupboards were horrible.

My furnace will turn the front bedroom into a sauna.

I looked at Cougars and Outbacks at the same time. Each had some nice features the other lacked. The rear garage and slid-out bumper bike rack on the Cougars were nice, for example. I think they're both made by the same company and compete in the same space, so quality and stuff like that is going to be roughly the same.


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## WACOUGAR (Dec 20, 2006)

We have a Cougar, but have not seen the Cougar XLite. We love our Cougar. We have not had any problems with fit and finish. In fact, in comparison to the other brands we looked at, it was quite a bit nicer than the others. (We decided against the Outback due to the fact that we didn't want the white interior--just us and we didn't like the bathroom door situation with the front queen walk around bed).

Anyway, we have had the Cougar for about a year and have been very happy with it. You might want to check RV.net under the travel trailer forum as there is a thread about these trailers right now.

Have fun looking.

Kelly


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## GoVols (Oct 7, 2005)

Funny you should ask about that model as I just recently ran across it as well. I would eventually like to move to a walk-around queen floor plan. The small size of the gray water tank (28 gallons) on this model was a big turn-off for me. Much of our camping is in parks without sewer, and a smaller gray tank than the 40 gallon I have now would be a negative in my book.


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## Markh1 (Sep 11, 2005)

fredr said:


> We currently have a 26RS Outback with some soft spots in the floor and are considering changing to Cougar Xlite 29BHS. Does anyone know about this cousin of the Outback. Floor plan, it seems, is similar to the 31RQS. Quality wise seems on the same level of Outback. Are there any drawbacks???? I hate to defect, but would still be in the Keystone family at least.
> 
> Pam


Don't know about the Cougar, but I am interested in your statement about soft spots in the floor.

We also have a 2003 26RS which has developed a soft soft around the vent outside the bathroom door. The "spot" extends from bathroom wall almost to stove/oven, about 2 foot square. Have you ever had anyone determine the cause or a possible fix?

I have been poking around and found that the floor itself is a sandwich of foam and thin plywood and aluminium. I have been trying to figure out how to attack from underneath and add a support, but the black tank would have to be removed. The problem is not bothering me that much yet, but I don't want the issue to affect the resale of the trailer (otherwise in mint condition)

Any info would be appreciated.

Thanks.


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## skippershe (May 22, 2006)

You might send a PM to DuaneEllison...He just purchased a Cougar Xlite 29BHS last week.

I met him at the dealer for their walk through (pdi) and the Cougar was really nice inside. My favorite features were the full sized bathtub and the day/night shades.

Hopefully Duane will see this thread and respond









Good luck!


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## fredr (Jun 26, 2006)

Markh1 said:


> We currently have a 26RS Outback with some soft spots in the floor and are considering changing to Cougar Xlite 29BHS. Does anyone know about this cousin of the Outback. Floor plan, it seems, is similar to the 31RQS. Quality wise seems on the same level of Outback. Are there any drawbacks???? I hate to defect, but would still be in the Keystone family at least.
> 
> Pam


Don't know about the Cougar, but I am interested in your statement about soft spots in the floor.

We also have a 2003 26RS which has developed a soft soft around the vent outside the bathroom door. The "spot" extends from bathroom wall almost to stove/oven, about 2 foot square. Have you ever had anyone determine the cause or a possible fix?

I have been poking around and found that the floor itself is a sandwich of foam and thin plywood and aluminium. I have been trying to figure out how to attack from underneath and add a support, but the black tank would have to be removed. The problem is not bothering me that much yet, but I don't want the issue to affect the resale of the trailer (otherwise in mint condition)

Any info would be appreciated.

Thanks.
[/quote]

I had our local dealer look into it and see if it was covered under warranty. Keystone said it wasn't. No surprise there. But what they told us was that our, 2003 model, has the 'composite' floor which is basically combination of foam and wood board. Our dealer thinks the foam may have collapsed (baring any leaks) and that's why we have the soft spot. If that is the case it shouldn't increase in size. I just wasn't happy with the floor. It squeaked too much.

I'm hoping the Cougar holds out better. But then again with 4 year old triplets they might as well make them out of steel









Fred


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## BoaterDan (Jul 1, 2005)

fredr said:


> But then again with 4 year old triplets
> Fred


Holy crap!


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## DuaneEllison (Feb 26, 2006)

Pam - This is so weird because this is EXACTLY what we just did. We loved our 26RS but it was getting a bit small. Our original idea is that it would be like a gloried tent and we would spend more time outside than in. That was "kinda" true except that we ended up spending more and more time in because of weather and such. The 26RS with three kids (8,6,2) would get small real quick!

Denise and I had a free day with the two oldest in school so we hit our "local" RV dealer just to look, with no real intention of buying anything. The salesman ended up showing us the big brother to the 29BHS (which there was no way we could pull with our TV) and they actually had a 29BHS show up while we were there. Well Denise fell in love with the floor plan and the setup of this trailer. We didn't end up buying it local but instead bought it down at MT (which is where we met Dawn - she did our walk through with us).

We just came back from our maiden voyage in the Cougar (back to Calico - we always seem to go there) and it was WONDERFUL. The extra space was like a breath of fresh air. The main sleeping area was great with all the space to move around (and made making the bed a lot easier) and the electrical outlets on each side. The laundry chute was REALLY cool (laundry was a pain in the 26RS). The bathroom is also a bit bigger and the tub without that shelf is MUCH nicer. I am pretty tall 6'2" and I though the non-bubble would be a problem but without the "shelf/seat" it was actually pretty good. The toilet configuration was also better with more "space" to move around. It was great for the wife and kids though.

The height of the trailer is a bit more than the Outback - so Denise did have some issues with the outside cook station being higher - but she just used a step stool that we use for our son and that worked fine.

I LOVED the storage compartments on the each end. It made it really nice to pack the blocks, water, and sewage stuff near where it needed to be. In the OT I had everyone in one corner and I had to unpack everything to get to anything. I also really liked the stablizers - there are MUCH nicer and easier to use than the ones on the OB.

Okay, so what didn't we like was odd about it???

There are no switches in the bathroom. You turn the light on and off at the light. No problem for adults but a bit of a problem for kids. We ended up leaving the light on during the night. We figure we are going to have to put a night light or something on the electrical outlet so the kids will be good to go.

The storage in the bathroom is a bit odd too. The 26RS had that nice cabinet to put everything in and it was really convenient. However there is a lot of space to install bars and such. Plus I figure I will add shelfs under the sink. (Oh - the sink is nice and large - which is a plus).

The OB had that seat/shelf/step thing in the BH. The 29BHS has a nice large cabinet - but without the set it makes it harder for our 6yo to climb up - but she is still able to do it. The bunks are also higher - give the person below more space and the upper less - but it didn't seem to be a problem with our daughter (the 8 and 2 yo say on the lower ones)

According to the specs the grey and waste tanks are smaller. We don't really dry camp so that isn't really an issue, but if you do that could be important.

The low drawers for the silverware and such is kind of in a bad spot for young kids (like our 2yo) because it is REALLY accessible for them.

The switch for to turn the electric on the water heater is outside in the heater instead of inside like on the OB.

Bottom line though - we LOVE the 29BHS and are VERY happy with it. It tows about the same as the 26RS - but I bought an equalizer to go with so I am sure that helps a lot! The pivot points are obviously a bit different because it is longer - but I am getting used to it already. We are really happy with it and we "think" will be keeping this one for a LONG time.

If there is anything I didn't cover or any questions please don't hesitate to ask!

Duane...


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## BoaterDan (Jul 1, 2005)

DuaneEllison said:


> There are no switches in the bathroom. You turn the light on and off at the light.
> 
> The switch for to turn the electric on the water heater is outside in the heater instead of inside like on the OB.


Sounds like Gilligan has moved over to the design department.


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