# New Outback 18rs



## castalos

I've been browsing websites for a few months looking for the "perfect" unit for my family:myself, 6'2" husband & 2 young boys.

We want a queen bed that we don't have to make up from a dinette & bunks. Before I came across the 18RS, the shortest I could find was the Outback 21RS at 22'1". We're downsizing from at 31.5' fifth wheel with a 4 bunkhouse room. After 3 years of "camping" in it, we realized we weren't where we wanted to be. We don't want to be in RV parks, we want to be in Forest Service Campgrounds and 31.5' is just too big for most of them. We'd love to be down around 20', but have yet to find anything in that size that fits our requirements.

UNTIL.... the Outback 18RS. While I haven't seen a floor plan (does anyone have one?) it appears that for 20' it's got everything we want (fixed queen bed - on a rear slide) - bunks for the kids (assuming we can add a second above the first).

But I still have lots of questions! Maybe some of you that own the 21/23RS models might be able to tell better since you can compare to your unit.

Here is where I saw pictures:
http://tinyurl.com/y8pp5x

My questions:
1) They obviously removed the dinette & sofa and turned it into a full width dinette area. The table itself doesn't look wide enough to span between the two seats to make a bed. Perhaps it's two jacknife sofa's that turn down into one large bed in the back? We'd probably never use that (having to crawl over it from the queen slide to get to the bathroom at night would be ackward), but it would be nice to be able to jack one of them and use it for a buddy friend that comes along.

2) Does the kitchen area (sink, microwave, countertop, etc.) look the same as the 21/23RS? More or less space?

3) Does the bathroom look the same? Does anyone know if a regular tub (instead of a step tub) is an option in the Outbacks - the boys still bathe, but having the step in the tub makes it too small.

4) So where did they squeeze out 2'2" - strictly in the sofa/dinette area?

Any speculations are welcome and if anyone sees one of these - any Canadians on this forum? It appears they shipped to Canada first?

ps. Someone mentioned something about a the price of $21,300 being high. Remember, that's CAN. So the US starting price should be about $18,900.

Thanks,
Coleen


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## Crawfish

I haven't seen any floorplans yet, but here are some picture of it if that helps.

Outback 18RS

Leon


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## castalos

Crawfish said:


> I haven't seen any floorplans yet, but here are some picture of it if that helps.
> 
> Outback 18RS
> 
> Leon


Yeah, that's the same place I saw the pictures. Maybe it's the ONLY one available?

I'm surprised that they have a unit out of production, but haven't updated their marketing brochure on the web to the 2007 models yet.

-Coleen


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## skippershe

Hi Coleen!









Welcome to Outbackers









I know what you mean about your TT being too long to fit in the "woodsier" campgrounds. I'm finding that out for myself. I long to camp in the mountains with pines and redwoods and it can't happen around in a 28 footer!

If you view the floor plans for the 21rs and 23rs on Keystone's website, you can see where they lost the length for the 18rs. Lack of sofa and dinette running fore and aft on either side, and replacing with the width wide dinette instead. There must be a way for the dinette to make into a bed, it would be totally ridiculous if you couldn't









Here is the link: http://keystone-outback.com/index.html?page=floorplans#

Take care and happy hunting!
Dawn


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## castalos

skippershe said:


> If you view the floor plans for the 21rs and 23rs on Keystone's website, you can see where they lost the length for the 18rs. Lack of sofa and dinette running fore and aft on either side, and replacing with the width wide dinette instead.


I think you're right. After doing a print of the 21RS floorplan and measuring with a good ole ruler this is what I concluded:

The dinette width on the 21RS is about 3'5"
The sofa space on the 21RS is about 5'7" (that side shows shorter than the dinette side)
So if you subtract the two, you're shorter by 2'2" which takes the 21RS' 22'1" down to 19'11" (which is within 1" of what they say the 18RS is - not bad for a good ole ruler).

So that means the rest of the unit should be about the same as the 21RS. I can't wait to see one of these. I'd love to know if that bunk folds up and if there is a bicycle storage door like the 21RS (although we could always put bikes in the bed of the PU)

-Coleen


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## z-family




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## California Jim

Aaaawwwww. It's a cute little fella


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## mswalt

Coleen,

One of our members is an Outback dealer----Coachlight RV Sales-----why not PM him and ask for information? I bet he can help you out.

Mark


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## kmcfetters

That thing is cool! I still love our 25rss---It's big enough but not too small- we can get around pretty good....but if they had a 18 fter when we first bought our hybrid I think I would of bought it.


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## nonny

It says it has a sofa and dinette in the written description. The left has the sofa. I'm guessing the right has a narrow bench. You must take the table down for walking space.


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## HootBob

1. I would think the sofa just open enough to allow who ever is sleeping in the queen bed enough room to get past the open couch
2. As for the kitchen area it looks the same as the 21RS minus the TV shelf
3 The bathroom looks pretty much the same as for a full tub not sure how the plumbing runs on it
4 Not sure how they did it

Don


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## castalos

I emailed Keystone about this unit asking for a floorplan & answers to my question and this is what I received back:

The floorplan layout I was sent is here:
18RS floorplan

It doesn't completely mesh with the photos as I think the refrigerator is between the sofa & bathroom, not between the bathroom & the bunk.

Here is the text of the email:

It's not a bunk unit in the conventional sense. There's a "dresser" with
a top big enough for someone to sleep on, storage above. No
modifications are available to the tub, and I can't add a 2nd bunk.

I don't understand what he means by a "dresser". I've sent a follow-up note asking for more information on that and also more details on the rear dinette area. Size & what the two different sides are. I'll share what I hear.

-Coleen


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## tdvffjohn

The dresser is just that, storage and if its anything like I have seen in a S.O.B. trailer, the top is about a 28 in wide countertop that could be modified for sleeping but they do not advertise it as such.

John


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## Mgonzo2u

The 18RS is really all a small family of 3 or 4 needs.

In So Cal with storage facilities filling up fast and the fees going up even faster, the smaller your TT is in length, the easier it will be to find a storage space at a better rate.


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## 3LEES

Mgonzo2u said:


> The 18RS is really all a small family of 3 or 4 needs.


Our family is three, plus our dog. I could not imagine camping in anything smaller than our 21RS.

Dan


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## daves700

I would think it will find its place in the market and do well. I know that we have a the 21rs and it is a good fit for my family, however if the 18 was out this summer it may be in my driveway.... I enjoy camping in spots that require a smaller camper, but also enjoy pulling into a mega campground for mega enjoyment. However of you want to get into camping and don't have a large TV, this may be a better choice than a hybrid or large pop-up


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## CamperAndy

Coleen said:


> I emailed Keystone about this unit asking for a floorplan & answers to my question and this is what I received back:
> 
> The floorplan layout I was sent is here:
> 18RS floorplan
> 
> It doesn't completely mesh with the photos as I think the refrigerator is between the sofa & bathroom, not between the bathroom & the bunk.
> 
> -Coleen


Look at the photo of the outside of the trailer on the street side. You can see the refrigerator vents nearer to the front of the trailer and thus between the bath and the bunk and not near the middle of the trailer.


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## castalos

CamperAndy said:


> Look at the photo of the outside of the trailer on the street side. You can see the refrigerator vents nearer to the front of the trailer and thus between the bath and the bunk and not near the middle of the trailer.


Humm... I see what you mean. It sure doesn't look like it from the inside picture that shows from the rear towards the bunk. I guess is could be tucked in behind the bathroom before the bunk. Guess we'll just have to wait and see!

-Coleen


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## Moosegut

Just my two cents - that thing is tiny. I understand the desire to downsize but going from a fifth wheel to that is going to be like going from a house to a tiny efficiency apartment. I've had a couple of sailboats and TTs are just like them - a couple of feet makes a HUGE difference. The difference between an 18 and a 21 is night and day. With two boys you'll be "cozy" for the first two trips. After that, you'll be cramped.

Again, my 2 cents.

Scott


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## NJMikeC

Something else that caught my eye is that there is no pantry. That one hurts and I suppose that little storage area in front of the batroom could be used for that.

I could imagine it for like 2 maybe 3 people for hunting, fishing expeditions. Would see to me that it doesn't have the storage space to be comfortable in it for a week. You could make do it just would be that much closer to the inconveniences of pop-up camping.

Mike C


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## castalos

Here is the additional info I got from the manufacturer:

Please ignore the pictures you've seen. The dealer wasn't supposed to
circulate them. That picture you saw was the prototype, 1 of a kind. The
redesign is more of the way I described.

The front has overhead cabinets similar to those in other Outbacks, the
door side has a vertical cab over drawer over cabinet. There is a
"counter" across the front, about the same height as the rest of the
counters in the trailer. It's got a bungee-type cargo net so you can use
the space for storing bulky (light) items. Under this countertop is
storage w/doors.

The sofa is a standard jackknife. The dinette is a standard size 1/2 of
a normal dinette. They do not combine for sleeping. 



Moosegut said:


> Just my two cents - that thing is tiny. I understand the desire to downsize but going from a fifth wheel to that is going to be like going from a house to a tiny efficiency apartment. I've had a couple of sailboats and TTs are just like them - a couple of feet makes a HUGE difference. The difference between an 18 and a 21 is night and day. With two boys you'll be "cozy" for the first two trips. After that, you'll be cramped.


Yeah, you're probably right. And a few other things I noticed that have made it less desirable to me...
1) No windows in bunk area - that would feel really cramped (although the kids might sleep longer!)
2) Loss of pantry as someone else mentioned
3) With the latest update from the manufacturer - the rear dinette area doesn't turn into a bed.
4) Also, 1/2 of the dinette seating is small (something like 40") which is ok with small kids, but I expect mine to grow to 6' and that'd be tight seating unless someone doesn't mind one cheek on the hard flat area (intended for a TV?) and one on the cushion.

If they had kept the rest of the 21RS and just turned the dinette sideways and removed the sofa, I think they would have had a better plan.

I'll still take a look at it when I see one, but I'm back to leaning towards the 21RS (thus the other posts I've made with my questions on it).

Thanks for your input!
-Coleen


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