# Why Outback



## BoaterDan (Jul 1, 2005)

I know this isn't the most unbiased place to ask, but a) I'm sure many of you did considerable research and







those of you that have used your Outback for a while may have unique insights.

I'm looking for a quad bunk TT. Several manufacturers seem to make variations on the same basic theme... queen front, quad bunks in rear, counter angling by door, slideout with dinette and sofa. Specifically, I've looked at the Fleetwood 320dbhs and Thor (Dutchmen) 31B-DSL models, and of course the Outback 31RQS. And the Cougar version, forget the model. Outback pricing seems to fall in between those other two.

What I like about the Outback:
- Enclosed/heated underbelly. Does this really help?
- Outside kitchen. How convenient to have the sink out there too!
- Residential look to the shower. Heck, residential look to the whole interior.
- Aluminum frame / fiberglass walls.

What I don't like so much:
- No "door" to bunkhouse, just a curtain.
- Way the head of front queen is in the "cave" between the cabinets.
- Most others bring the overhead cabinets around over the angled sink. Seems a major difference in storage space.
- Some other models make the bunks on one side "oversized" which seems like a good thing as my kids get older.


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## tonka (Feb 14, 2005)

My wife and I saw the outback at a show and sat in the 21 and 25 for about an hour trying to decide on what size we wanted(I WANTED A SMALL MABEY 16').I was thinking about backing into a site after dark.
We met another couple looking and they said always go with the larger and you wont regret having the extra room. So far they were right i dont think i would notice the differnce its eaiser to back than my 12' utility trailer. anyway once we saw the outback we were sold.good luck,







dave


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## Bull Elk (Feb 28, 2005)

BoaterDan,
My wife and I looked at campers over the winter. Early this year my sister-in-law bought a 29fbs and my wife loved it. I had my reservations. I thought it was too bright. After walking through several different brands, the soundness of the Outback started to win me over. I actually also really like the white interior now. Like all campers that I have been around, we see small maintenance issues from time to time, but overall it seems to be one of the best built and thought out campers that I have been in. My sister saw ours and went out and bought her own. This is her forth camper. It is hard to explain, but there is a real good feeling that we seem to get in the Outback that I have not had with past campers that I have been in. Is there things that we would like to see changed, sure. That is why you view this site for all the "mods".
Good Luck with your search - Rich


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## CamperAndy (Aug 26, 2004)

The fully enclosed under belly makes the Outback a 3 1/2 season (not up to a full 4 season design) camper instead of the typical 2 season camper.

As you can see from my signature photo we have traveled (and camped) in the snow with no ill effect.

The White interior also makes it feel so much bigger.


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## camptails (Jan 18, 2005)

We were hooked on the Trail Lite 23 footer (and really planned on purchasing) when we started looking around at an RV show this January. We spent most of the day looking at all kinds of trailers from the ones that require a Mac truck to pull to the lite weights. They all sort of have the same look...beige interior....nothing special. Then we saw the Outback 21 that was set up at the show. My wife said immediately "this is the one" The dark woodgrain floor, white cabinets. slide outs and overall fit and finish sold us. The Outback is unique, we think, among trailers in this class. They are designed for relatively medium sized SUV tow vehicles. A lot of trailers were not possible for us because of the TV needed to tow them. Anyway we decided to buy the 25 even though it is a bit heaver that the 21. We tow it with a Tahoe and have not regreted our decision a bit. Whatever you decide on we hope you enjoy it as much as we do. Good luck!

Ray


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## Fire44 (Mar 6, 2005)

Like the others here, we liked the white interior. It gives the trailer a larger feel. I also liked the rear slide out bed, it gives you more trailer for the length. We were looking for a quad bulk model also until we saw the 27RSDS. We have a daughter who is older and doesn't really like camping that much so the quad bunks became something that we didn't really need and the front queen bedroom gives us a space of our own. Also when it is just me, my wife, and my son we don't have to convert the dinette into a bed.

The other deciding factory was this site. I have learned more about camping here than any where else. None of the other brands have anything like this!!!!!!

I hope you will be joining us in the Outback family....

Gary


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## wercertifyable (Jun 23, 2005)

Dear newbie,

As you can tell from my member status, I am also a newbie. We just purchased a 2003 25 RSS. I must have researched 50 different travel trailers and their manufacturers, and looked at 20 in person. The Outback and Keystone offer some of the best value and style for the money that I have found. Our camping friends and family have all said that they really liked the Outback and would seriously consider buying one as their next TT.


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## cookie9933 (Feb 26, 2005)

wercertifyable said:


> Dear newbie,
> 
> As you can tell from my member status, I am also a newbie. We just purchased a 2003 25 RSS. I must have researched 50 different travel trailers and their manufacturers, and looked at 20 in person. The Outback and Keystone offer some of the best value and style for the money that I have found. Our camping friends and family have all said that they really liked the Outback and would seriously consider buying one as their next TT.
> [snapback]42767[/snapback]​


 action Welcome,
If I didn't say hello before. Always happy to see another member from Michigan.
Jan


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## tdvffjohn (Mar 10, 2005)

I just wanted to be in this club..................









John


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## BoaterDan (Jul 1, 2005)

I've only been in the Couger line, never a Sydney Outback like the 31RQS. But from the dozens and dozens of pictures I've looked at on the internet, I sense something different... like that shower door in the head. Like I said - it just has a solid, residential feel in the interior.

If it weren't for those few things I mentioned... but then, I guess there is no perfect trailer. The cave bed thing has me most concerned. My wife like to sleep sprawled and it will be hard enough getting her away from the King at home, but in the Outback it seems there could even be a bit of a claustrophobic feel to it.

BTW, talked to a local dealer and he said the interior is now a slightly off-white. Was it pure white before (looks like it in the pictures)? It had my wife sold on the Outback immediately when she saw the interior pictures - that's all she needed to know.
















It also doesn't hurt that I've got Lakeshore RV 3 hours or so away offering deals making the local guys hurt. I'll either drive over there or get one of the locals to make a deal they would never have considered.

Dan
(Yet another newbie from SE Michigan)


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## z-family (Oct 2, 2004)




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## j1mfrog (Jun 6, 2004)

I was going to go with a Trail-lite or Jayco. While looking at those two brands, DW walked into a 26RS. That was the end of the story. She liked it for the looks and feel inside, the price and quality were OK. I've come to realize that you won't get Superior quality from any of the brands in this price range, and I can't afford an airstream. I'm very happy with this decision. In addition to the weekends we get away, we did 4 weeks last summer and we're doing three weeks this summer and haven't had any problems that prevented us from getting away. The four bunk setup is really nice.


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## dak (Jan 17, 2005)

BoaterDan -

My wife and I spent several months looking at every camper on every dealer's lot in town and going to every RV show anywhere nearby. We found several different models we liked, but vdub highly recommended the Outback, so we took a look. I can't really describe it, but we instantly knew it would be an Outback, we just couldn't decide on which floorplan.

The clincher... My parents and some life-long friends of theirs were in town and I took my extremely hard to impress electrical engineer father and his mechanical engineer friend (who used to build Airstream TTs) to look at the 25rss. The only feedback I got was "buy it." So I did. No regrets.

One thing I would recommend... I obviously don't know what kind of experience you have towing or what you're towing with. I've towed before but didn't have any real experience to speak of. The 25rss is well within the limits of my tow vehicle. Many recommend leaving at least a 10% weight/safety margin. The max weight of the 25rss (6000 pounds) is closer to a 30% (6000 / TT's max trailer rating of 8700) margin for my TV. If you're new to towing, I would recommend making sure your TV greatly exceeds the needs of your TT. I'm overly paranoid when it comes to the safety of my daughter, and have been accused of being a slow learner, so knowing the truck is more than capable of handling the TT is comforting.

The other good part of owning an Outback is this site... Even though they let vdub add his thoughts. (Just checking to see if vdub is awake.)

dak


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## BoaterDan (Jul 1, 2005)

z-family said:


> hey Dan Ya might want to get a price from lakeshore then try general rv. We liked lakeshore and got their lowest price then we stopped in general rv just to check. They beat lakeshores price considerably. I don't know if they allways do that but that day we were there they really wanted to sell us a camper!!! We felt that the outbacks are very unique compared to all the other lightweights that we looked at.
> [snapback]42792[/snapback]​


Suh-weet! That's exactly what I intended to do. Actually, already have the call to General in. They didn't have that model in, but the guy's going to check what they have on order and call me back. I'd rather buy closer to home obviously.

As for TV, I've got a 3/4 ton suburban with 4.10 gearing. Had a 1/2 ton then found out the tow capacity range on those things only starts at 5k pounds, which is what I had. So I went looking at smaller ultralights and there was just no way I'd get enough interior room for the 6 of us (and that's before any kids' friends). So traded it back in 1 year later.







Even with 1k pounds of gear I should be at 80% capacity or so with a cushion like you say.

Thanks.


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## BoaterDan (Jul 1, 2005)

... and I'm trying to land a Hensley on ebay too, so it should be smooth sailing.


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## rdowns (Oct 20, 2004)

Dan,
hello, I thought I would reply to this thread though I have little insight on the tt's. I can share with you some of the reasons I chose my fiver.
1) residential cabinets ( I ordered these exact cabinets for my last home)
2) residential hinges- this is a big deal, I am in and out of those cabinets often I want them to hold up, mine are heavy duty 
3) congoleum flooring ( a bonus was a pattern I loved)
4)remote control Carrier ac/furnace- a nice upgrade and a quality brand
5)large water closet- I read complaints from people that there is no room to sit down, I have plenty of room and a little to spare
6)residential fixtures-I have even had people say to me- "I have that light in my house!"They are not the highest quality but they have a substantial look and feel.
7)Outside stove- we carry a grill so now set up under the awning we can have everything we need
I will stop for now because many of the other things may be unique to my floorplan or the fifth wheel. I will add however, that like many we researched a great deal. I had bought a fifth wheel last spring and really liked it ( it was used), I was at the dealers for an accesory and saw it. I couldn't get it out of my head. I planned to upgrade in a few years when my kids were bigger but I decided to break tradition and buy new so I could have that floorplan! I have always bought used. October it was mine. So far we have put over 7000 miles and 40+nights in it and my husband made the comment (when we returned from Yellowstone last week) that the more we use it the more he likes it.
In conclusion (sorry if I have been talking to long), there are options I wish my camper had, but in my price range and length restrictions I haven't found anything I like nearly as much. I have often said that my campere makes me smile








and you should buy one that does the same for you.


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## Reverie (Aug 9, 2004)

My wife and I were rock-solid sold on buying the Jayco JayFlight 29BHS. We had seen one at the show and kept coming back to it as we looked at other brands. In the grand tradition of engineers everywhere we were in the process of over-analyzing every aspect of purchasing the trailer when I read about a used 28 BH for sale at a local dealership, CampingTime RV. I went to look at the used trailer when I saw an Outback for the first time. After walking through it I grabbed a salesman and talked to him at length about it. While the price was slightly higher than other brands the features that sold me were:

The distinctive light hued interior.
The quality of the cabinets.
The outside grill.
The "morgue drawer".
The high number of storage areas.
The bathroom size, look and feel.
The large capacities (water/gray/black/LP).
The overall fit and finish.

It just felt "right" from the moment I walked in. When I got home I told my wife she "had to see the Outback". A week or two later I found a used 28BHS for sale at another CampingTime RV location and went and looked at it. It was used but in great shape. They also had a brand-new 28BHS on the lot. I put a small deposit on the used unit to hold it. My wife went and looked at it the next evening and called me on the way home to tell me "this is the one!".

We have been very, very happy with our choice. Our kids love it, my wife loves it and I love it. Heck, even the dog loves it. Could I ask for more?

Reverie


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## TheBoyds (Jan 1, 2005)

Dan

We had a 26 rs bunk house outback. We looked at the Sidney, but the lack of a bath tub for the kids was an issue.

We went with a Cougar 301 bhs.

It seems to be better build. The cabinets and fit and finish was better than the Fleetwood 320dbhs plus the cost was 8k cheaper.

The Cougar is a step up from the Outback, but the price was the same, that is why we upgraded to the Cougar 301.

If you have any questions let me know.

Brian


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## BoaterDan (Jul 1, 2005)

Hey Brian, please elaborate.

I looked at that Cougar model, and the saleswoman said it was a step up from the Sydney... but I just don't see it. Another dealer said he wouldn't go that far - the sidney comes with more stuff but you can option out the cougar to be about the same.

What things make you say it's a step up, considering...
- doesn't have the enclosed underbelly
- 13.5k btu a/c vs. 15k in the sidney.
- no outside camp kitchen
- I can barely stand up in the tub/shower (not a quality issue, granted)

But I do like the Cougar for:
- rear garage
- bike rack thingy
- bigger bunks one side (if it's still the standard 28" bunks on the "smaller" side, how big are the "oversized" ones?) Seems a nice feature for my growing boys.

It seems more like equal tradeoffs to me rather than one being a step up. What are you seeing that I'm missing?


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## rdowns (Oct 20, 2004)

Both DH and I felt the cougar was much more cheaply made- but it is the #1 selling mid profile fifth wheel, so it obviously appeals to a lot of people. Maybe we just didn't look at any optioned out right. This supports my basic premise that you need to buy what _you_ like - people have different tastes and needs. In my Outback I felt I got a lot of high end features at a reasonable price, those who chose differently no doubt feel the same. Also make sure when comparing prices you are comparing the OTD price, I was shocked at the wide disparity.
Also, we were concerned about the lack of a bathtub for our toddlers, but the rim around the shower is deep enough and we just fill it for a bath. A dealer told us that some people put in a large rubbermaid tub inj the shower for baths, but our method has worked well so far. My monkeys _need_ a bath often when we camp they are so messy


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