RV REVIEW REVIEW AND PHOTOS BY HOWARD ELMER
2020 Keystone Hideout 186LS Value-priced easy-to-tow travel trailer While RV sales dipped when the pandemic first hit North America earlier this year, RV dealers report that demand for new RVs is now extremely high. This may come as a surprise. But when you consider that RVing is currently one of the few ways a family can get out for a vacation while still maintaining a safe social distance from others—well, now it starts to make sense. I think we won’t see a rebound in vacations involving air travel for quite some time, so camping may just be the best vacation choice for the foreseeable future. Recently I went out to have a look at a very basic family- oriented trailer; exactly the kind of unit that even a new-to-RVing family could easily get into, experience- wise and price-wise. The immediate bonus—get out and enjoy as much of the season as you can. The Hideout name from Keystone is attached to a wide range of trailers, including fifth-wheels. What they have in common is that they are all value-priced. The 186LHS is a new floorplan this year and it’s the one I had a look at. This travel trailer’s most significant feature is a large single slide-out that houses both the dinette and the
fold-out couch. This Hideout measures just under 23-ft long and has a dry weight of 4,066 lb. (max 5,000 lb. loaded) and can sleep six. This length and weight make it easily half-ton towable as well as towable with many midsize trucks. Larger SUVs will also handle this unit. Walking around outside, I see a pass-through storage at the front of the trailer. The large awning is powered and covers a pair of outside speakers. There is also a 110V plug here—all items that lend themselves to a relaxing outside entertainment space. This single axle trailer rides on a Dexter E-Z Lube axle. It supports a full I-beam frame that is powder-coated for corrosion protection. There are crank-down scissor jacks at each corner. The windows are all automotive style radius-cut with tinted glass. Also, on the front sidewall I noted the pre-wired solar panel plug-in. Setting up a solar panel when you are dry camping helps to trickle charge the house battery—giving you more time off-grid. But, looking at the numbers (in terms of a single 12V battery, just one 20 lb. propane bottle and only 27 gal of fresh water), staying outside a campground without services is at most a two-day adventure. The unit has a 30 amp plug-in, and with kids wanting to watch TV and cook microwave popcorn, you’ll need to be plugged in. This is
RV REVIEW
COAST TO COAST FALL MAGAZINE 2020
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