Elkridge vs Cougar

GASA765

Member
We currently have a Keystone Cougar 327RES. We're considering an Elkridge 34TRSE. Our Cougar is a 2013 and there's a few things that just aren't working for us like roominess etc. The Elkridge we're considering is a 2012.
Is the Elkridge a step up from the Cougar? Can it be used for full time use or is it mostly a vacation type rig?
thanks
 

jimtoo

Moderator
Hi GASA765,

Welcome to the Heartland Owners Forum and to thefamily. We have a great bunch of folks here with lots of information andall willing to share their knowledge when needed.

I'm sure you will get some opinions soon from some of out members.

Enjoy the forum.

Jim M

 

TravelTiger

Founding Texas-West Chapter Leaders-Retired
I can't speak for the year model unit you are looking at, but we have a 2010 ElkRidge.

In July, my husband took a new job that was 3+ hours from our current sticks & bricks, so we opted to use the ER as housing for the time being until we could get our house ready to sell and be sure the job was a "keeper". Before this, we used our ER for vacationing, but we had month-long trips in the summer as well as week long trips other times in the year. We also have made modifications to use our ER during the winter months to go skiing, and took a trip to the Grand Canyon and Las Vegas in June, some of the hottest temps of the year.

What I can tell you is that the ElkRidge was not designed for full-time use, and is not warranted as such. But we've had very good experiences with the unit in mid/range temps, 45*-85*.

Colder and hotter, the unit is not as well insulated as the full-time units, so the ACs (we have 2) can't keep up as well, and/or the furnace runs more frequently.

The tanks are smaller than full-time units, so you are dumping more frequently.

The kitchen sink is on the small side, so washing dishes is a bit of a challenge.

Propane tanks are two 30# units, many full-time rigs have 40# so refilling becomes necessary sooner in the colder months.

Nevertheless, our floorplan works well for us and it has held up very well for 6 mo of continuous use. We are happy with our arrangement right now. :)




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

JWalker

Northeast Region Director-Retired
I believe the Cougar is a mid profile fifth wheel and the Elkridge is a full profile. The noticeable differences to us was the bedroom roominess. Just felt like so much more room, with more headroom. Also a big difference to us was the slideout heights. Mid profile is 5'10" and the Elkridge has 6'5" heights. It doesn't sound like much, but when you are standing in the unit, you eye sight is right around that height. It just felt like the additional height of the slide outs made it seem larger. IMO.


When we were looking to upgrade, it was between the Elkridge and Heartlands Sundance (mid profile). Both fit our budget and both had similar floor plans and build quality. Just came down to preference.


When we were at a RV show a few months earlier, we stood in an Elkridge 34TRSE. Beautiful floorplan. We love the rear entertainment and the rounded steps leading into the bedroom.
http://www.heartlandrvs.com/index.p...ER&i=ER+34TSRE&view=floorplans&fcmd=showfplan


Good of luck and safe travels.
 

GASA765

Member
Thanks all for the replies. We're asking about the full timing because we'll be camp hosting this summer and will only be home for a couple months this year. We head south for winter for warmer weather.
 

cbar405

Member
I would never buy a Cougar, Ekridge is moving in to that category. Having more problems with this 2011 than I ever had with my Hitchhiker or Collins.
 

Shortest Straw

Caught In A Mosh
cbar, I do not think you are giving the brand a fair assessment with your comments. You bought a used rig. Do you know the previous owners or how they took care of it? While you have not really elaborated on any of your issues I do not think you are helping anyone including yourself by blaming Heartland or calling the Elkridge sub-par with the unit you own.

To the OP, when we were researching to find our next rig the Elkridge was one of last two on our list we had to decide on. The Cougar was third but only for a few items that were different than other brands but the lack of roominess was not in its favor. We have a good friend that bought a Cougar last summer and he only had it out once and things started going bad for him. A fender fell off when he got on the interstate after leaving the dealer. That doesn't mean anything its just a story. The Elkridge is a nice rig compared to everything else we have looked at. We just went to a show last weekend and walked through one and still would buy one if it had some of the features our Oakmont does. I would hope that you have enough experience to know that buying used may mean things need to get fixed. A good PDI and some haggling with the dealer to get things fixed should happen before you do purchase it.
 

sengli

Well-known member
When we got back into camping several years ago, we started out with an elkridge as our first new RV. We looked for a year, and almost bought a cougar. It looked nice, but the elkridge had more and better parts in it in the long run. The keystone built unit used a chinese converter, and over all I thought the interior stuff was just plain cheap looking. Plus we got an end of season deal on the elkridge at the time. We had some small plumbing issue's with ours but in the end it was a good unit. I think the bang for the buck was better in the heartland products.
 
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