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RV review: Keystone Cougar 23MLE - new small fifth wheel

Tony Barthel

Today’s RV review is of the new Keystone Cougar 23MLE, a small fifth wheel that has a similar floor plan to the company’s own very popular 22MLS.

A few years ago there were a few good choices in smaller fifth wheels and I get a lot of input from readers asking about good, small fifth wheels. There have been a few choices thus far but this new Cougar really is a good choice. Why?

Keystone advantages

I have written in the past that Keystone has an Innovation Lab which really has addressed things that affect the long-term experience of an RV owner.

Cougar certifies their trailers for 0°-100°F camping so they’re well insulated and designed for those temperature extremes. Many campers are concerned about being able to camp all four seasons and, depending on where you camp, this would work.

Speaking of seasons, Cougar’s warranty also covers full time use. You might wonder how many campers would live full time in a trailer of this size but I lived in my own trailer with my wife for almost five months while we house shopped and traveled all over the place.

On the subject of seasons one of the seasons many RV companies don’t talk about is allergy season. Any of us who suffer from pollen allergies can attest to this being a legitimate season. To that end, another Keystone advantage is their Blade Pure air conditioning system.

The company has developed their own air handling vents and air intake for the air conditioning which incorporates a residential air filter to help alleviate those airborne annoyances. I also like that Keystone utilized a standard-size air filter so you can just replace this at any hardware store.

This is also the first time I’ve seen an RV with floor-mounted furnace vents that made sense. There are new vents in the floor of this RV that are not wide open grates of foot hurting torture. Instead, they’re flat vents that even a pet can walk on.

Bonus? Keystone indicates that they also provide better air flow.

And speaking of the floor this one features the company’s HyperDeck flooring which is a man-made laminate product that uses materials that aren’t damaged by water. Again, another plus.

There are a lot of features like this incorporated into the Cougar line and I think this is definitely a brand whose products I like quite a bit.

I also like that the whole trailer now rides on Goodyear Endurance tires. We got to speak with Goodyear for this podcast episode and I truly do believe their trailer tires are the best available, period.

Highlights

This is a relatively short fifth wheel at a total overall length of 27 feet, 11 inches. In many ways it has the same floor plan as Cougar’s own 22MLS which was a trailer I like so much it was on our short list of units to consider before we bought our own Rockwood.

Downstairs there’s a rear kitchen with the counter extending the entire width of the trailer. On the road side is the stove and oven and, thank you Keystone, this one sports the larger 22” oven.

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Choice

There are a number of choices you get to make if this is the rig for you. Choice is good.

You can get this with a 10 cubic foot 12 volt refrigerator but you also have the option to have them build-in the traditional propane-electric RV gas absorption refrigerator.

There are theater seats on the road side in the slide room but you can also get a trifold couch instead, thereby increasing the number of guests you can accommodate.

Over on the camp side there is a booth dinette with a “Dream dinette” wall-mounted table but you can also have a free-standing table and chairs. The booth dinette does have the advantage of having storage under the benches, though, and is another place where you can accommodate guests if you choose to.

Further, the booth dinette incorporates a cubby under the seat nearest the entry door which is the perfect spot for shoes or even pet bowls.

Surprising space

There is a surprising amount of storage in this RV, especially given the overall length.

Over the kitchen counter top there are cabinets, of course, but also a fair number of drawers and cabinets below the countertop.

There’s also a pantry on the bulkhead wall at the front of the living space along with a bit more cabinet space and a bit of additional counter top - perhaps just the right place for something like a coffee maker, if that’s your choice.

Something new for 2023 Cougar models is a revised wardrobe slide which now features drawers on one side and hanging space on the other, thereby raising the height of the hanging storage and also increasing the size of the drawers. Nice!

More pluses

Since this is a fifth wheel you can tow a trailer behind it in some jurisdictions and this fifth wheel is equipped with a trailer hitch and four-pin wiring harness.

I also like all the windows on the camp side of this RV which directly flies in the face of a trend toward eliminating windows on the camp side. I know they’re expensive but, by gosh, they’re worth it.

Oh, and while we’re thinking windows there’s even one in the door and Keystone includes a shade. The word is that they’re going to get the supplier to mount that shade such that you can raise it from the bottom rather than lower it from the top. This lets you peek at who’s out there like Gladys Kravitz.

Boondocking and travel access

You wouldn’t think a fifth wheel would have great travel access, but this one nails that as well. You can easily use the entire upper deck with both slides in. Further, you can get to everything you might need on the lower deck with that slide in as well. That is not something you expect in a fifth wheel.

The only thing blocked by the slide is the stove, but that’s okay. You can get to to the fridge and the bathroom and the dinette or table and chairs you’ve chosen is there on the camp side waiting to be utilized.

I also have shared that I think Keystone is probably at the forefront of offering solar to such a vast number of customers.

All Keystone products come with at least 200 watts of solar on the roof and you can upgrade that to 400 watts. That SolarFlex 400i package, as it’s called, includes a 3,000 watt inverter. Keystone has also partnered with a battery provider and you can get name brand batteries installed by the dealer and covered under Keystone’s warranty.

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Conclusions

I really, really like this package. I think there’s a lot of very usable living space in an RV that’s not tremendously large. Further there is a very good amount of storage as well and the number of things Keystone is working on to better the RV experience does make a difference.

The only area where Keystone and I don’t get along on this is in the naming convention. Keystone calls this model a “Cougar Half Ton” and I think that designation is disingenuous. Half ton trucks come in such a tremendous array of capabilities that to imply that this is towable by a half-ton pickup is on the borderline of being dangerous.

Yes, there are half-ton trucks that can tow this. No, I don’t think most can. You can learn more on this towing resource which I wish more RVers would look at as it truly can be life saving.

But, other than that, this is a great package of very usable features and I betcha that they’re going to sell the absolute daylights out of this thing.

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