# Outback History



## Dene (Oct 18, 2006)

Educate Me. 
1.Tell me when Keystone started making the Outbacks. 
2.Did they start out with all of them having a slide-out to the rear?
3.When did they first make one that does not have the rear slide? 
4.Have they always had the whiteish painted interior or did they have the fake wood look to start like 99%of RVs have?

Until we were in a dealership last fall looking at other brands we thought that all Outbacks only had rear slides and would never look at one. I remember seeing one in PA maybe 5 years ago and really liked the idea of the rear slide but it was not going to work for us at this time in our lives. We bought the 26RKS and it is fine but too big for just the two of us. It is the only OB with the single slide to the side so it came home with us.


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## mswalt (Sep 14, 2004)

I'm not an expert on Outbacks but I have stayed at a Hoilday Inn a couple of times.

I believe they were first built in 2002. Some of our members are still using some 02's. Not all of them had the rear slide. Even some of the early ones. I believe Vern, our forum founder, has a 2002 and it has a rear kitchen, no rear slide. And as far as I know, they've always had the off-white interior woodwork.

We had a rally last year in Fredericksburg and out of all of us there, there were no two models alike. All had the off-white interiors. Fabrics were different but you could tell they were all Outbacks.

And, actually, there are different several models with the single side slide. And some without a side slide at all.

Congrats on your choice. I like the rear kitchens. As a matter of fact, my favorite 5er is the rear kitchen model.

Mark


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## W4DRR (May 17, 2005)

I believe also, the earliest Outbacks were Lite-Way, not Keystone.

Bob


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## HootBob (Apr 26, 2004)

W4DRR said:


> I believe also, the earliest Outbacks were Lite-Way, not Keystone.
> 
> Bob


Right Bob
I meet a guy 2 years ago that had a 25RSS and the side slide was a manual pull-out









Don
P.S. Our first Outback an 04 21RS was a Lite Way by Thor ind.


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## Scrib (Jun 28, 2005)

I just saw an "Outback by Lite-Way" a few weeks ago, in San Jose.


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## hatcityhosehauler (Feb 13, 2004)

Ahh, the famous Liteway.

I believe that Liteway was the name Keystone was marketing the Outbacks under originally, in an effort to push the "lightweight" nature of the Outbacks. They dropped the Liteway signature in mid 04 model year, as the '04 we first looked at (built in fall of '03) had the Liteway name, and when ours came in, it had Keystone on the decal.

I'm pretty sure they've always been Keystone.

Tim


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## camping479 (Aug 27, 2003)

Keystone Outback by Liteway by Thor industries owner here









mike


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## 2500Ram (Oct 30, 2005)

camping479 said:


> Keystone Outback by Liteway by Thor industries owner here
> 
> 
> 
> ...


x2 and it still looks brand new, inside and out. No delam issues roof leaks slide leaks what so ever. Running to the garage to knock on a lot of wood









Bill.


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## z-family (Oct 2, 2004)




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## old_tidefan (Nov 23, 2005)

I have seen several Outbacks by Liteway....Other than decals there are few (if any) differences. There is one at the storage facility where I store mine that is in excellent condition and must be 3-4 years old.


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## HTQM (May 31, 2006)

I'm like tidefan, at our storage area there are 3 other OB's. Two of them are by Liteway. With the way the trees surround the storage, the Liteways look better than mine (tree juice).

If I can ever figure out my business card maker on the house pc, I'll make up some cards and leave them on thier doors.

Dave


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## Dene (Oct 18, 2006)

WOW!! I thought I would hit pay dirt if I asked my questions here and I did. Thanks for so much good info. from all of you. The "media page" did give a lot of the history. Also good to know that some of the ones from the beginning are still around and in good use. Good maintainace for anything pays off and really does for any kind of RV. Can't help but wonder how many OB are manufactured each year now that they have over 5 years in the marketplace. I have noticed from this forum the OB appeals to a wide variety of age group. From young families to senior citizens and everyone in between it seems.


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## Lady Di (Oct 28, 2005)

Our '03 is Outback by Liteway.


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## Reverie (Aug 9, 2004)

Our '03 28BHS is interesting because it has marking for all three companies. It is an "Outback by LiteWay" on the front and rear decals, and has a Keystone sticker next to the door. There are also Keystone markings in several other areas.

Reverie


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## LarryTheOutback (Jun 15, 2005)

Here another thread  on the same topic from 2004.

Ed


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## small5 (Sep 12, 2003)

hatcityhosehauler said:


> Ahh, the famous Liteway.
> 
> I believe that Liteway was the name Keystone was marketing the Outbacks under originally, in an effort to push the "lightweight" nature of the Outbacks. They dropped the Liteway signature in mid 04 model year, as the '04 we first looked at (built in fall of '03) had the Liteway name, and when ours came in, it had Keystone on the decal.
> 
> ...


CORRECT! Liteway by Keystone which is owned by the big boy Thor Industries. And yes, 2002 was the beginning.

Thor Industries here in Ohio also have the "AIRSTREAM" line. They're one of the 3 or 4 RV manufactures that market 99% of all the RV's. They just produce them under their subsidiary names like Keystone and etc.


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## Y-Guy (Jan 30, 2004)

Thor is actually a pretty hands off owner of most the lines. Unlike Fleetwood which is very controlling, the Thor lines have a lot of independence. Thor provides capitol dollars as well as purchasing power. One of the key things that Cole Davis did in creating Keystone was he wanted to keep the lines distinctive and separate. Thus you won't see Cougar and Outback with the same floorplans just in different colors. That model was made famous by Fleetwood with the triplets; Terry, Prowler and Wilderness lines. Keystone set about a pretty massive change in the RV towable industry. They have several of the major players just in the Keystone lineup; Montana, Cougar and of course the Outback.


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## NDJollyMon (Aug 22, 2003)

I still have the ORIGINAL OUTBACK 2002 brochure.

It says, LITEWAY, A DIVISION OF KEYSTONE RV COMPANY

The first brochure was not full color.

There were 10 models of OUTBACK trailers introduced in 2002.

3 models had no slides- 25BH, 25FB, 28BH.
3 models had only side slides- 23FB-S, 27RB-S, 28BH-S
4 models had queen bed slides- 20RS, 23RS, 25RS-S, 26RS
*Only one model had both slides- 25RS-S.


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## kevman (Mar 5, 2005)

NDJollyMon said:


> I still have the ORIGINAL OUTBACK 2002 brochure.
> 
> It says, LITEWAY, A DIVISION OF KEYSTONE RV COMPANY
> 
> ...


I guess I have one of the first models built. Mine says Outback by Liteway on the front and was built in March 2002. Other than the decals peeling, it is in awesome shape. I have a manual slide for the side and rear. It is the perfect campler for us. Do the 25rss have electic slides now.


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