Keystone Outback 324CG RV Owners Review - - Fulltime RV family life VLOG
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 11 ต.ค. 2024
- This is our review of our Keystone Outback 324CG Toy Hauler as a fulltime RV family. This will give you a looong video on the good and bad of our trailer from the perspective of full time owners. Please be sure to subscribe and feel free to ask questions. - Fulltime RV family life VLOG
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Nice video. We have a 2006 Outback Sydney Edition 31RQS. One of the things we like is roof vents in our trailer. We installed Fantastic fans in them to help with the air flow. We have two sets of bunk beds in the back and a queen bed in front. I also installed a small pressure tank under the TV cabinet and put foam pipe insulation on the lines. It eliminates a lot of the water pump noise, especially at night.( Kids are grown now though!) I noticed the thing about the control panel behind the lower cabinet door. Our grandson just found that! I put 12 volt fans in the bunks too for the kids. Ran the power from the lights to them. We also would like outlets by the bed on a nightstand, etc. I use a CPAP and have to step over the cord as the outlet is in front of the bed. The manufactures are getting better about this. We've replaced 12 volt lights with LED. Much better lighting and more efficient. I also tell people that are looking at buying a trailer to sit on the toilet and make sure there is "enough room" for them. Along the same lines with your bathroom sink. We have the same trouble with cleaning the outside of our shower too. We've got lots of outside storage, but a lot of new trailers don't. Good luck full-timing!
Great to hear from you! Thanks for sharing and following us!
Thank you SIR, for the info. Very thorough and educational. The husband was very helpful!
After work today looking at a new version of this Rv. Looked before, but final day, will decide if I’ll purchase. Thank you for your video, more things to think about. Moving out of a 26’ into a 37’ if I purchase today. And some slide outs, that I welcome. I’ll add more later. Thanks
Hey guys! Thanks for the very in-depth (and humorous) review of the 324CG. You provided quite a bit of insight for my wife and me as first-time RV buyers. We were looking pretty hard at the 324CG as "the one" but in the end the new shiny 2018 332fk won the day. We won't be full-timers like y'all, but we plan to use it quite a bit. Who knows....maybe we'll do a video similar to yours. :)
Your comments of things to look for, the good/bad/ugly, and so on were invaluable to us for our search. You'll be happy to hear that many of the gripes you had with the 2015 model have been rectified in 2018. There's still a certain amount of "why did they do that???" but from what I can see, that's pretty much across the board for RV builders.
Anyway, thanks for the info and laughs!
First of all, nice video with good humor and well thought out. It took a few minutes to get started, but it was cute. We're waiting for your external review now! We just bought (upgraded from a '04 Cougar 293BHS) 'arrr' new '16 324CG last weekend and though we love it, we quickly discovered some issues. There are some interesting changes since your model, which appears to be a '15?
In 'arrrs' (hehe) there's not a 2nd AC (optional, but non-ducted), no Fantastic-Fans, or Rest & Read. It seems they did away with some big ticket items to bring newer technology, which we do enjoy so far. The In-Command digital control is pretty awesome and lockable, along with electric stabilizers. And being a professional geek, having control of nearly everything electrical via a touchpad and/or app is pretty freaking amazing. Also not having switch panels all over the place is clean looking
Things I've fixed on the first night we camped: (I don't think they PDI'd my rig properly, even though they had it several days)
-Windows frame screw fasteners were all needing a few turns. Some were 1/16 backed out and obviously not secure.
-Windows turn knobs were not straight when windows is closed, which interfered with complete coverage of the window shade. Also, screws not secured on the turn knobs either.
-Screens were not affixed properly
-Hot water was dripping from under the sink's PEX to faucet connection.
-Replaced the AC vents with ones that close to direct cold air where it's needed
-Sealed area between ceiling and AC ducting with thick waterproofing tape
-Interior door knobs were all loose
Things I shouldn't fix and are going in for warranty:
-Bathroom door springs itself open from bent door hinges
-Front and rear doors are not keyed the same, both sets of keys only open one door
-Deadbolt (depending on leveling) will work on one door but not the other. It changes.
-Broken strut for lift-up King bed storage (it came that way)
-Rear bedroom heat register only secured on one side and will bind on room slide at the foot of the bed
-Vertical finishing strip on wall tapers off to a full 1" variance. It's obvious next to the bathroom door and kills my OCD!
-Bedroom window shade isn't level when closed and off by 1.5". Again... OCD
My Gripes aside from the things you pointed out:
-No day/night shades. Only sheer white day shades which show obvious silhouettes from the dark outside if interior lights are on. Changing for instance and body contours are quite obvious.
-2nd AC isn't plumbed for ducting, so it'll only service the bedroom.
-iRV stereo isn't BlueRay?! C'Mon! (also super cheap napkin thin speakers).
-Kitchen hood isn't ducted to the outside... It's just an oversized carbon filter that blows your humid/hot stove air and carbon monoxide back into the living area (Doesn't Keystone warn about humidity and breathing in gas?! What were they thinking?) I bet it was cheaper to not vent outside.
-No heating in the garage. Also AC tends to be strongest there since it's the end of the short run.
-Axles are reversed raising the floor making landing my motorcycle impossible without cludgie add-ons which take up space.
-No light outside over the rear man door.
-Flimsy thin wood for the King bed with under-powered struts
-Carpet in the one single-tiny-external storage. Isn't this the logical place for all the utility connections?
On the docket to be installed/upgraded:
-Hard wired 50 amp power conditioner/surge suppressor
-AC for rear bedroom
-Maxxair vent covers/fans
-Replace man door windows with clear tinted glass
-Build ramp door extensions
-Day/night shades
-Upgrade all speakers and add 12v subwoofer
-Awning over rear bedroom wall
-Window awnings and slide toppers
-Cyclone gray/black tank roof exhaust thingies
-Collapsable ladder (replace current one)
-Stove cover
-Dual LP quick connect adapters under outdoor kitchen
-Extend kitchen top shelf in cabinet (add shelving to garage cabinets)
-Universal remote for iRV and Sansui
-Flag pole attachment to ladder
GovG33k,
Thanks so much for your lengthy comment, we appreciate the time you took to share with us and others! I must start off by saying that the "arrr" comment had us laughing out loud!! :) We may make sure to include some of your gripes in our outside review to best help our viewers.
I am very shocked by the removal of the 2nd AC, that seems like a poor decision by Keystone. Although if you lived in more mild climates, this may not be as much of an issue. Our 2nd AC only services the bedroom as well, although I find it flows fairly easily into the dinette area. This is only a problem when it turns off the main AC causing the garage room to get too hot. We don't use the rest and read as much as we thought we would. It's just as loud as a slide, and found that it moves more easily without weight on the top part of the bed, which is challenging since the button is under the middle cabinet.
I'm glad they made the command station lockable! That would ease our peace of mind when having guests with kids over! Man O Man, electric stabilizer sounds amazing! We use the reflectix in both bedrooms, so we don't worry too much about the blinds. We do that for heat though, and have to find somewhere to store them during the day, so I'd only recommend it if heat is a problem. We couldn't find a TT with the day and night shades, I wonder if its only in motorhomes?
I couldn't have said it better myself regarding the vent hood!! I was shocked to learn that as well! We like the carpet in the external storage to keep everything from moving around, but we also have our attached rear cargo deck that we installed to hold all of our utility connections. Here's a link in case you haven't seen it: cestlaviethree.com/2016/05/14/rear-cargo-deck-install/
We'll be posting our July 4th video next, followed by the outside review! We're so glad you're looking forward to it and thanks again for commenting!
Hey guys, watched your review as we are thinking about getting this model so we can have the space for our dogs when we are at work. My question is, we see in the video you have a washer dryer combo in the utility space. How do you have water hook up to it and also drain and vent for dryer?
Great video. This is the most informative video on this or really ANY RV I've seen yet. This is one of the models we are looking at. Thanks again and enjoy the open road!
Thanks so much for the wonderful comment! We appreciate it and were hoping it would be of help to those on their RV search. We wanted a non-salesman review when we were RV hunting, so we decided to offer this video to those in the same position we were.
Hi, what year is this model, maybe you can update that in the title? Good review, I agree with you about the options, I currently own an 08' outback kargoroo 28krs I like many features but reviewing other newer models for consideration! Thanks so much! Outbacks have great storage. I'm glad your pointing out a few shortcomings in your unit, positive things! How much pass through room is there when the dining slide is in, access to bathroom, refrigerator if your at a rest stop to use the bathroom and grab a snack? I haven't seen one review showing that! Thanks so much! BTW, we're in Florida too. *The hidden space behind showers, there's an attachment "tool" to suck out dryer vents might work well.
Nice video. Thank you. My other half and I will be purchasing the 2017 324cg next month. Your cons and pros will come in very handy. Now we are a little more informed about the trailer and will be prepared to do some modifications and take appropriate measures to eliminate some of the cabinet chipping issues. We will also be full timing for a couple of years to save up for land and such. I will be anxiously waiting for the exterior video. Much Mahalo's. Mike and Aretha.
Mike and Aretha,
Thanks for your comment! I can't wait to hear what you think of the 2017! We've run into some rainy weather, but are hoping to get the exterior video done over the next few days and get that uploaded by next week. Can't wait to hear about your fulltiming experience when it begins!
take out the medicine cabinet and stick a mirror on the wall instead.for more room. and to get back the storage from the medicine cabinet which u had, use or make corner shelves in the corner of the bathroom where you have empty corners.
that's what i did. works great. now i have space to brush my teeth withou hitting my head in that medicine cabinet
Couldn't make it through the first minute! Love him...
Yeah...he is a nut.
Thanks for this video! My husband and I just looked at this trailer today. You gave some great suggestions for us to take a look at in other Rv's too!
You're welcome! Glad it was helpful! Best of luck on your search!
I realize that this video is several months old now, but had a thought while watching. The cabinet with the electric/slide controls... you mentioned how children love that stuff, and I couldn't agree more. They make magnetic cabinet locks, where the cabinet door is always locked, unless you hold the magnetic knob up to the latch area. I had them on my " no-no" cabinets when my son was younger. Loved them.
We have this RV. :) A few differences (we have the fireplace). One complaint I have for this RV is the storage space under the bed in the master. It is REALLY hard to hold the bed up to retrieve the items in storage. The bed is extremely heavy., awkward and I wish they would have added hydraulics to the underside so it is easier to open. You said you didn't have night stands...we used 2 large command hooks and a small basket with small holes to create a place for phones and light items near the bed.
I have the same RV, and the same problem with the bed. I upgraded the hydraulics to 75lbs, and then installed a latch, because the 75lb hydraulic shocks were juts a little too much. It works great now. It was not easy to change out the hydraulic shocks, and it took two people to get the job done.
Did I miss the part where you discussed the washer/dryer? You mentioned the retrofit on the exterior video, but I didn't see anything else about it
No We never did a video on the W/D. It was rather straight forward. We modified the toy hauler vent and ran the hoses along the exterior and tapped into our grey water tanks. When we move we disconnected them.
@@CestLaVieThree , may I ask what brand name / model nbr of W/D? My new 2018 324cg is on the way...looking forward to it!
@@CestLaVieThree i too was wondering about the washer dryer unit, maybe a quick video on it? Thanks
I'm glad you told that the sink stains, I thought that 's what I wanted, not now.
I have a white sink in my home and I have great luck with the Magic Eraser . Give it a try !
Funny y'all mentioned the AC issue. I have a 2017 322BH with the same issue of keeping it cool. My fix was retapping the duct work and the center board on the main AC unit.
Hmmm that is a good idea was it difficult to pull the ceiling down to access the duct work?
C'est La Vie Three actually I pulled down each vents to a video with my phone and taped all spots that the manufacturer missed. Taking the whole ceiling down would be the best but that's a little more than I'd like to do on a 2017 😳
just found your channel and really enjoyed the videos i've seen so far. last fall i purchased a 2012 keystone vantage 32fls. i haven't used it yet but i'm keeping my fingers crossed that it'll be a good trailer. good luck on your channel....hope it does well.
Drew Merkley thanks for the comments and good luck. Here's hoping your trailer stays problem free.
Late comment here... Thanks for sharing, I just bought a 2021 324cg. Is there any chance yours is setup with 2 gray water tanks and one black? I'm confused why I have 2 T handles to bladex valves behind the wheels side by side. Am I to assume one is for gray and one is for black even though they're only 6 inches apart?
Thanks!
I have a friend who has this same unit, and wants to sell it to reduce some of his debt. I am looking at it because I have a 4 wheeler and would use this unit to obviously haul it when I go camping. The question I would have, that I am hoping you could answer and shed light, of course would be about the hauler being at the front of the trailer instead of the rear. My 4 wheeler weighs almost 600 lbs, another 4 wheeler at around 360, and I am just trying to figure out if that much weight should be on the tongue on this unit for towing, and on the hitch of my truck to pull it. So, the question is, have you hauled anything in in that section of the RV that was of any significant weight, and how did it tow? Did it load down the tongue a lot?
I can't believe they put those cheap cabinets in this RV, and that they went skimped on the outlets! Sorry about that, but it looks like you guys are doing pretty well in it!
Blessings to your family!
Hey Sam,
We currently have our kid in the toy hauler section. In that room we have 2 IKEA bookshelves filled with books, a toy box, and a washer/dryer combo. I estimate our tongue weight to be around 1150lbs because we probably have close to 800lbs in that room. We run a pretty heavy duty weight distribution system. It's a Husky Center Line Weight Distribution Hitch. I know this pushes the tongue weight limit of the vehicle, but for towing purposes I prefer to keep the weight at the front. Hope this helps, let us know if you have any other questions!
I have the same unit, and have hauled a lot of weight in the garage. We originally used a f-150 to pull the RV, and it did well, however when pulling up hills, it caused the transmission to overheat. Other then that, I never had a problem, but My wife would say otherwise, as I descended down the other side of a mountain, the RV would tend to try and push us. I fixed that problem, by purchasing and upgrading my Pick-up to an f-250.
Could you please send me info about your washer/dryer? Make and model? Thanks! Very cool video!
A lot of your negative comments were centered around the fact that you chose to convert the garage to a bedroom. that's an awesome idea btw.... but just remember, a motorcycle doesn't usually need to jump over your sleeping guests to go pee at night. lol
Great review guys,,,what about a wheel woolie to clean the small area..once again thanks..
New subscriber and gotta say that I love both you guys sense of humor! Made watching the video even more enjoyable. Great ideas and tips as well. Look forward to watching more of your videos! Take care!
Mark Dukes thanks so much, we appreciate the kind words! Sometimes we think we're funnier than we are! ;)
? Is the external back wall feel solid or flexing a little? We are buying a new 2019 and I am a little concerned about it had delaminated in the Texas heat? The sales guy said it was a hung wall not a vacuum bounded wall is this correct?
Can you show me how to light the oven??
We are getting ready to head out full time.... any suggestions for a family friendly fifth wheel?? We are having a hard time finding one that has separate living room and kitchen area and still get either a toy hauler or bunk house plus loft??
You mentioned that the Bar Keepers Friend cleanser is Not "tank friendly" why is that? Ive been using comet for cleaning the toilet in our RV,, but maybe I shouldn't have now.
Shelley :) Bar Keepers Friend uses oxalic acid which kills the bacteria in the tank that breaks down waste, therefore I believe it's bad for your tanks. Comet is acid based with a ph of 3, but I believe it is.
Ok I see what you're saying, thanks guys.
also wanted to share with you....If you go over to RVGEEKS here on youtube,,,,they have a video on "cleaning sink stains" Maybe that would help you with your corian sink. They used Oxy clean with a little bit of water.
Shelley :) Thanks! We have actually seen that video and tried without luck. We have found that Magic Erasers are the only thing that works that is safe for the tanks! LOVE Magic Erasers! :) Thanks for commenting!
👍 Great review and walk through. 💞
Thanks!
just wondering if your main tv comes out on a angel or do you guys have to twist your head in order to watch.
Yes. It does rotate out on an angle. Which is a must given how close the couch is...long movie nights still results in a stiff neck sometimes.
"R" RV..... perfectly understandable southern english!
Amen!
you definitely out kicked your coverage bro. good job
I hear that everyday! -Alan
Try a brush made for a dryer lent vent for your shower. The brushes are long and skinny.
Home depot item 8122614
Genius! Thanks for the idea, we will pick one up.
Thank y'all for theses reviews my wife and I are looking into what we want to buy in the next few years and these reviews are helping me alot
Nice rig!!
You're very nice people and the insides are comfy. But the outside, imho is an eyesore. If you're pulling into a campground late at night in that...it will be about 30 min of positioning the trailer, with lights, or diesel, or the wife giving commands...results in zero sleep. lol
Poor guy
You are wasting my time!