# Newbie's First Tt Purchase



## Road Warrior (Dec 13, 2009)

Greeting to all! I've been lurking on your site for a while and really appreciate all of the available information here. We are new to camping and have 2 very young girls. I really want to make the right decision on purchasing our first TT. As you know, the choices are mind numbing. I think I have it narrowed down between the Passport 2590BH and the Outback 25RS. Im posting links on both units floorplans. Any pro/cons to either? Thanks in advance.

http://keystone-outback.com/media/floorplans/2010/650/250RS.gif

250RS Specifications
Shipping Weight	5766
Carrying Capacity	1784
Hitch	540
Length	27' 9
Width	8'
Height	10' 11
Fresh Water	43
Waste Water	30

http://www.keystone-passport.com/media/floorplans/2010/650/2590BH.gif

2590BH Specifications
Shipping Weight 4893
Carrying Capacity 2307
Hitch 590
Length 28' 10
Width 8'
Height 10' 7
Fresh Water 30
Waste Water 30
Gray Water 30


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## W5CI (Apr 21, 2009)

Outback of course.


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## mswalt (Sep 14, 2004)

danny285 said:


> Outback of course.


Second that!

Having never owned a Passport or even looking at one, I cannot attest to the benfits of that particular model. Having owned two Outbacks, I can attest to their functionality, their appearance, and that they are well-priced for their durablity and design. Plus, there are several thousand happy Outback owners here on this forum to give you professional advice about them.

I currently am an SOB only because Outback didn't make a model with the features and size that I wanted.

Good luck in your purchase.

And welcome to our forum!

Mark


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## rdvholtwood (Sep 18, 2008)

Welcome to the Outbackers....!!

As a 250RS owner, I think you would be much happier with this Outback. The TT length is about 28' and when opened is somewhere near 35." This gives you the advantage of having a longer TT without having the extra length to tow.

As far as living space, the single slide out king dinette provides for plenty of room!!

What kind of tow vehicle do you have?


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## Nathan (Jan 2, 2007)

rdvholtwood said:


> Welcome to the Outbackers....!!
> 
> As a 250RS owner, I think you would be much happier with this Outback. The TT length is about 28' and when opened is somewhere near 35." This gives you the advantage of having a longer TT without having the extra length to tow.
> 
> ...


X2 The length gained is very nice with the rear slidout bed.

Of course I'd recommend seeing both and finding out which one best fits your needs.


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## Road Warrior (Dec 13, 2009)

Nathan said:


> Welcome to the Outbackers....!!
> 
> As a 250RS owner, I think you would be much happier with this Outback. The TT length is about 28' and when opened is somewhere near 35." This gives you the advantage of having a longer TT without having the extra length to tow.
> 
> ...


X2 The length gained is very nice with the rear slidout bed.

Of course I'd recommend seeing both and finding out which one best fits your needs.
[/quote]

I have a 2002 Tahoe 5.3 LT auto ride. I know it will not be enough of a TV for mountains, but hopefully enough for the Southeast. I also wanted to put in my post that the Passport is made by Keystone.


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## rdvholtwood (Sep 18, 2008)

Road Warrior said:


> Welcome to the Outbackers....!!
> 
> As a 250RS owner, I think you would be much happier with this Outback. The TT length is about 28' and when opened is somewhere near 35." This gives you the advantage of having a longer TT without having the extra length to tow.
> 
> ...


X2 The length gained is very nice with the rear slidout bed.

Of course I'd recommend seeing both and finding out which one best fits your needs.
[/quote]

I have a 2002 Tahoe 5.3 LT auto ride. I know it will not be enough of a TV for mountains, but hopefully enough for the Southeast. I also wanted to put in my post that the Passport is made by Keystone.
[/quote]

I'm not sure if I would want to tow the 250RS with the Tahoe - I think the 250RS is (maybe) over your tow limit (base on your axle ratio?). Wheelbase may be another consideration for either TT?


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## Tangooutback (Apr 16, 2010)

Road Warrior said:


> Welcome to the Outbackers....!!
> 
> As a 250RS owner, I think you would be much happier with this Outback. The TT length is about 28' and when opened is somewhere near 35." This gives you the advantage of having a longer TT without having the extra length to tow.
> 
> ...


X2 The length gained is very nice with the rear slidout bed.

Of course I'd recommend seeing both and finding out which one best fits your needs.
[/quote]

I have a 2002 Tahoe 5.3 LT auto ride. I know it will not be enough of a TV for mountains, but hopefully enough for the Southeast. I also wanted to put in my post that the Passport is made by Keystone.
[/quote]

I towed my 25RSS with a Dodge 1500, V8, 5.2L. Its transmission blew after towing the trailer for less than 800 miles (the vehicle barely had 49K miles when it happened). It did not have an aftermarket transmission cooler. Highest speed with trailer in tow was 60 miles on flat terrain. It costs me 2K to put in a remanufactured trannie. You definitely need to have two things installed on your Tahoe. The first one is an aftermarket transmission cooler (the biggest one you can get). The second is a transmission oil temperature gauge. Without a gauge you are in the blind and if transmission oil rises above 200 degrees your trannie will toast like mine.

I now tow it with an F250 diesel, 7.3L. Life has been great since....


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## Fellers (Aug 16, 2007)

Road Warrior,

We went through a similar comparison when we bought our initial Outback 23RS, and more recently with our Outback 270BH. Paired down the decision mainly between a Passport model and the Outback. Actually the Passport 2590BH is the model we were comparing to the Ouback 270BH since the floor plans were identical.

We have very good friends that have a Passport and I really like it. Overall they are both great trailer brands and I would probably chose a Passport over many others, but probably not over an Outback. The Outbacks are usually a bit heavier (I guess that's the difference between 'Super Lite' and 'Ultra-Lite') but the Outbacks seem just a touch above in finish and options than that of the Passport. Things like lighting (in storage, outdoor floods, etc), outdoor camp stove WITH the sink (fold down vs pull-out), larger LPG, Fresh and sometimes Gray tanks, larger tires, etc... Many of these individually might not be things to sway a decision one way or the other, but all them together is what usually makes the Outback seem a little more 'finished' or luxurious. Again taking away nothing from the Passport and depending on what you prefer, many of these things you may not notice or care about either. Also I believe many of the differences are reflected in the price difference as well.

If I do have a knock on the Passport, it is one from a recent experience. Many new trailers are now coming out with EZ Flex or Equaflex for their equalizing suspension systems versus the standard equalizer. Our 2010 270BH was one of the first ones for that model year and it did not come with the Equaflex which is the now standard. So this year I modded my 270BH with the EZ Flex (to minimize the jumpiness of the trailer). My good friend liked the idea so much (especially the wet-bolts) that he wanted to do the same to his Passport. Well he cannot, as the Passport has axles that are spread almost 10" further than most TT. So its not a standard equalizer used on many 33" and 35" axle spread TT. The Passports are 42" axle spacing which seems quite unique. Supposedly this is done for better towing purposes to create a wider stance but it also causes the tires to be dragged, or pushed across when backing the TT into tight campsites, more so than usual (since the difference between the tires creates a larger pivot point). I've seen my buddy leave some nice skid marks when cutting back into sites! I think that will wear down the tires significantly, but that could be seen as a nit compared to the possible towing advantage (which I have no experience to comment on).

With regards to floor plans, they are very similar but we chose the 270BH over the 250RS primarily due to how much more space there was with the side slide (we have two big dogs), but that comes at a cost of length (and weight with the 270BH). The dual doors is nice with the 250RS (when the kids sleeping are in the bunk, you can have your own access) and I do miss the fact that a door leads straight to the bathroom. We had that in our 23RS, and now to use the bathroom you go through to the back of the trailer&#8230;. more dirt drags into the camper when the kids or guests use the facilities!

Long and short - I think you could happily camp in style in either but if it came down to a straight comparison I'd probably go for the Outback.

Hope that helps&#8230;


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## thefulminator (Aug 8, 2007)

Don't be surprised if the opinions are a little skewed. It would be like going to a Chevy forum and asking if you should buy a Chevy or the equivalent Buick.


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## PDX_Doug (Nov 16, 2004)

Road Warrior,

Welcome to Outbackers.com! We're glad to have you aboard!









As was mentioned earlier, we do tend to be a little biased towards Outbacks here, but we welcome all comers and will be glad to help any way we can! That is, if you can live with possibly being known as an S.O.B. (stands for owner of *S*ome *O*ther *B*rand).









As far as your question goes, I can't tell you much about the Passport, personal experience wise. But according to Keystones corporate site, it is slightly lower on the brand food chain. Still, they are both built by Keystone, so I would expect similar quality. Just not as many whistles and bells, and probably lower end cabinetry, upholstery, etc.

My advice would be to look them both over very closely, and go from there. And please do not hesitate to ask questions. We like questions!

Happy Trails,
Doug


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## Jelly Donut (Apr 13, 2009)

We my DW and I first started to look at TT, we looked at a Passport. It was the 280BH, we were sold. It was light weight, roomy, nice, but the slide was a 1/2 slide, but that was ok. Plenty of room for a family of 4 w/ 2 dogs. A friend of mine (Joonbee) spoke about this website and the Outback models. So then I started top lurk around this site and found just about every answer to any question I had. We went back to the dealer to move on the Passport, but we decided (Literally on the way to the office to finish to Passport paperwork) to walk into the 250rs. We walked it, so the slide, dinnete and cabinets and all, we decided to buy the Outback instead. I definately would of looked at the Passport 2590BH, if is was out then.

The few things that made the difference to me was the two entry/exit doors, the bike door, the dinette, the rear king bed, the exterior kitchen/sink combo and this website. This Outbacker Community seems to have the answers to everything and if they dont, they will find it. This is just my .02. We love our 250rs!!!!

Good luck with your decision.

Sean


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## Nathan (Jan 2, 2007)

PDX_Doug said:


> Road Warrior,
> 
> Welcome to Outbackers.com! We're glad to have you aboard!
> 
> ...


Doug's right, we welcome all types of RV owners. In fact, I've even heard a rumor that a Moderator may be a SOB. I wonder who that could be......









Good luck with the search!!!


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## Tangooutback (Apr 16, 2010)

> Doug's right, we welcome all types of RV owners. In fact, I've even heard a rumor that a Moderator may be a SOB. I wonder who that could be......
> 
> 
> 
> ...


What does SOB stand for?


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## hautevue (Mar 8, 2009)

Tangooutback said:


> > Doug's right, we welcome all types of RV owners. In fact, I've even heard a rumor that a Moderator may be a SOB. I wonder who that could be......
> >
> >
> >
> ...


Some Other Brand. As in not an Outback..


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## CalifRVers (Oct 16, 2009)

I would wonder how that model Outback does in all weather if you in fact plan to camp all through the seasons. That was a big consideration for us, we want to camp each and every season. Another big factor is layout, how is the layout going to fit your whole family. How is the leg room in the bathroom? My husband is tall, we had to consider whether his knees would fit while sitting on the potty.







Stand in the shower, try everything out in both. Both are nice trailers!

Goodluck!


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