Posts about our Keystone Cougar 276RLSWE Fifth Wheel Trailer
This video details how I diagnosed and repaired an inoperative main slideout room on our 2011 Keystone Cougar. The slide mechanism had worked perfectly since new, but we arrived at a new campsite the other day, and it would not go out! All I could hear was a whirring noise when I pushed the open … Read more
In this video, I replace multiple worn OEM suspension parts on our Keystone Cougar fifth-wheel trailer. They get swapped out with heavier-duty replacements from Lippert Components (LCI). First, the OEM Trail Air EquaFlex equalizer gets upgraded to the beefier LCI Road Armor EQ. Next, the regular bolts are replaced with greaseable bolts along with bronze … Read more
One of the most asked questions I get as a full-time RVer is “Why did you choose a fifth-wheel trailer instead of a motorhome?” Rather than constantly rewriting the same answer over and over again, I thought I would consolidate my reasons into a blog post to share. When buying our RV we checked out … Read more
In this video, I update you on how ten of my recent repairs to our RV are making out. Did the work, or didn’t they? First and foremost, the rotted slideout floor repair and the cracked waste tanks, along with many other minor ones. Our Keystone Cougar fifth wheel is nearing the 9-year-old mark, and … Read more
In this video, I give you a look at the underbelly area of our 2011 Keystone Cougar 276RLS trailer. I show you two large square sections that I have cut out of the Coroplast plastic underbelly cover. To make working on my RV sewer and plumbing easier, I have cut out the two sections. I … Read more
A few weeks ago while I was testing my RV holding tank capacities, I discovered two small cracks. One of the cracks is in the black waste tank and the other in my shower grey tank. Both are located right at the top of the tank at the rounded corners near my waste valves. I … Read more
Sometime during the last couple weeks of our winter snowbird travels the Keystone Cougar’s built in black tank flushing system gave up the ghost. I hook up the hose to the sewer flush inlet connection, turn on the water, and nothing happens. Something must be plugged. I tried a thorough cleaning of the back tank using … Read more
Last year I noticed the shelf area on our Cougar fifth wheel’s passenger side storage bay was sagging a bit. On closer inspection, I discovered the particle bottom sunken on one end. The long staples that held it in place had come loose. I do carry a tool box in that location. I guessed that it’s … Read more
After our extended snowbird trip down south I like to go over our Cougar fifth wheel trailer with a fine tooth comb looking for defects. This spring I discovered a small leak in one corner of the slide out room. Luckily it hadn’t had a chance to progress too far. Still, though, it had weakened a small … Read more
We have owned our 2011 Keystone Cougar model 276RLSWE since it was brand spanking new. After traveling in it for 18 months, I published a full review. Now, after living in the rig as full-time RVers for six years, I thought it was a good time for a return visit. We have tons more RVing experience, … Read more
For a little while now I’ve noticed water dripping from the RV water heater’s outside access panel. Not completely abnormal since the units pressure relief valve does this on occasion. But, recently the flow increased from the odd drips to a constant dribble. I knew something must be up. After some investigation, I pinpointed the … Read more
Our 2011 Keystone Cougar trailer came with a manual slide style thermostat controlling the RV furnace and the air conditioner and fan. It was a total pain to find an exact temperature with, and the range between turning on and off was too broad. We were ending up too cold then too hot all the time. So, … Read more
“Hey the ice cubes have turned to water!” my wife Anne exclaimed. Oh oh, did we forget to turn the RV fridge on? Nope, the indicator lights were on, but the freezer temperature had risen dramatically. I grabbed my handy-dandy infrared temperature gun and checked. The verdict: freezer back wall = 34F and fridge top shelf … Read more
The See Level II Tank Monitor Well, I finally bit the bullet and laid out some hard earned cash on a new RV tank level monitor called the SeeLevel II from a company called Garnet Instruments. The hefty price tag of $280 bucks Canadian (less in USD) had always held me back from this upgrade. … Read more
Improvements to our Home on Wheels Last spring I detailed 20 RV upgrades I had done to our 2011 Keystone Cougar fifth wheel trailer to make our RVing life a little more enjoyable. Well, I have been a busy boy since then and I’m back again with another 20. Many of these upgrades are designed … Read more