I've just spent the last half hour reading search results for Zepplin rvs. I think I get it - *you get what you pay for, *check everything after you get it to fix the little things that are overlooked at the plant, *bring the glue gun & stapler in addition to the normal tools, .... I get it. The dealer also mentioned prior difficulties with the bolts in the slide out & how they just fix them as part of standard procedure.
SO! Given all that - for all you former or present Zep owners, "Would you do it again?"
We only camp about 4 weeks outta the year & it its time to upgrade from the Viking pop up to a hard side. We're not looking for all the bells and whistles, just a secure rv that wont fall apart on us. Thanks for sharing!!
We bought our z291 in August 2006, We traded our Coleman popup in as this is our first hardside. I tell you what I have read some scary stuff on these forums about the zeppelin brand, mainly about the slide out. so far we have had no problems with ours I think the earlier models had the real issues and over time Keystone corrected most of there problms at least I hope so. We have only been out 4 times so far with ours but other than a couple of very minor problems that the dealer fixed after our 1st trip we have had no more issues.
Things to watch for
1 weather striping on camper around slideout had to be glued into place it would try to come out with slideout
2 grey water tank sensor was bad showing full with 10 gallons
both of these were fixed by dealer
beware of bike rack reciever on rear bumper. sticker says it can hold 110 lbs ours broke with 100lbs. had local repair shop weld renforcement. cost 32.00
All in all I have not seen another trailer anywhere with a floor plan and storage that compares to our Z291 and I look at a lot of campers in my spare time.
http://www.keystone-camping.com
You might want to check out this forum
What I have noticed on these forums is a lot of people sharing there gripes but rarely do you here someone take the time to sing the prasies.
Hope this helps
Erich, Amanda and the Boys
Erich, Amanda, West and Colt
2003 Ford Expedition
2006 Keystone Zeppelin Z291
Equalizer Sway Control
Voyager brake controler
We bought our Zeppelin 291 in June 2006. We moved up from a Viking Epic pop-up. We used our trailer almost every weekend from Mid June through the beginning of October, with a full week in July. We had six of us and 2 large dogs in there. I have to say we didn't have any problems. I was very happy with the trailer and what it had to offer. We plan to use it, as much as, possible this summer as well. I don't anticipate any problems, but it will definitely post if we do.
Happy camping...Gina
2007 Keystone Zeppelin 291 - family toy
2005 Chevy Silverado 2500HD 4x4 - mom's toy
2005 Pontiac G6 - dad's toy
Mom, Dad
DS 14, 3 DD's 13, 15, 21
1 spoiled camping lab - 3
Are we there yet?
Just another thought, you are going to love how much easier camping is once you get into a full sized camper from a popup. Night and Day different. our last trip to Florida in July is what prompted me and the my wife to start looking at hardsides. We have not regreted it except maybe for the added gas expense. I would say it is worth it.
GFoster - Wow! You packed 'em into that PUp didn't you. Kudos and more go out to you!
I think our 'moment' came on the last day of our 3-week long trip last summer - we had to pack down in the rain. My usually calm hubby nearly came undone. (And it was p-o-u-r-i-n-g!)
We go back and forth with the "we only use it 4 week outta the year" and "could get an inground pool for that price" arguement. But, we live on Long Island. I can go to the Sound, the Ocean and the Bay not to mention the friends that have a pool & love to share it. So - to me, the RV seems the logical choice. And who says the dh has to come on every trip? (He gets a few weeks a year vaca & I'm a teacher - summers off...spring vaca off...I think we may have to go a few times w/o him. To justify the expense, of course!)
Anyway, thanks everyone for you input. I think its the way to go for us. (ooooh I'm sooooo excited! Now to put the PU up for sale...)
We've had our Zep 241 for a year now, season two begins next week.
It's been a great trailer. I had the moulding by the door pop loose, easy fix with a brad gun. Everything else has been great. Yes, it's flimsy here and there - but that's ok with us. It's light, we love the floorplan, and it's quite affordable. We've had a ball.
HOWEVER - I just picked it up from the shop last weekend to have the bearings packed and brakes inspected. The tech at Camping World warned me that the factory does a horrible job greasing the bearings. Sure enough, one of them was burned badly - after less than 2500 miles. So I have that one replaced and the remaining good ones thoroughly cleaned and re-packed. Also had the brakes slightly adjusted.
So I'd definitely recommend getting the bearings looked at, especially if she's new. Other than that, it's a great trailer and I would buy another one. Of course, we'll probably upgrade to a bigger, badder RV when the time comes.
Love the Zeppie!!
John & Jan
Arlington, Texas
2006 Keystone Zeppelin 241 TT
2000 Chevy Silverado 1500 Z71
Timezacomin' wrote: GFoster - Wow! You packed 'em into that PUp didn't you. Kudos and more go out to you!
I think our 'moment' came on the last day of our 3-week long trip last summer - we had to pack down in the rain. My usually calm hubby nearly came undone. (And it was p-o-u-r-i-n-g!)
We go back and forth with the "we only use it 4 week outta the year" and "could get an inground pool for that price" arguement. But, we live on Long Island. I can go to the Sound, the Ocean and the Bay not to mention the friends that have a pool & love to share it. So - to me, the RV seems the logical choice. And who says the dh has to come on every trip? (He gets a few weeks a year vaca & I'm a teacher - summers off...spring vaca off...I think we may have to go a few times w/o him. To justify the expense, of course!)
Anyway, thanks everyone for you input. I think its the way to go for us. (ooooh I'm sooooo excited! Now to put the PU up for sale...)
Yeah it was a bit crowded. We didn't mind too much unless it was raining, there wasn't much for the kids to do in the small pop-up. The taking down in the rain was the pits as well. I have to say labor day weekend last year made the new TT worth it. It poured all weekend. The kids and the dogs had plenty of room, and the DH and I didn't have the urge to kill them all...LOL
Why I am sure there are those who have great experiences with any trailer, and I am sure there are more good than bad stories, however what remains to be said is the problems we do experience if not told would not warn others, give solutions, answer questions and I guess most of all help someone decide which make and model or brand to buy.
What I have experienced has had my trailer down for 5 weeks out of 18 months since its purchase and twice for the same thing. And I speak of slideouts...because when you are camping and want to set up and you cannot get the slideout in or worse, get it out and cannot get it back in....no sorry the manual rewind does not work whent the cables break/come undone or the pulleys pull out from the wall.
The other design flaw with a slideout or at least our make and model z291 is that you cannot use the bathroom with the slide out in, you cannot flush your tanks unless the slideout works, which my last time was the cable broke and I could not get the slideout out and I was back from camping and for over a month I could not clean out my tanks.
I just today put up a page to hear from Keystone owners with problems, especially those with slideout problems. Please visit and e-mail me from this page - http://www.begnal-enterprises.com/keystone-zeppelin-II.htm
I have an 05 291, Yes I have had a few problems but none with slide. All the problems were minor and I am happy with our camper. I have also done a lot of mods as well. Put a curtain in back, put cabinets on shelf behind couch, put a 3/16" bumper on back for bike rack and the list goes on and on.
We had our slide fixed twice this season. Right before our first trip the slide cable broke loose on one side, and we had to have that reattached. This seems to be quite a common problem. Our next problem we had we with the extending and retracting of the slide. It turns out the slide was out of alignment which made our motor overwork, hence the continuous blowing of fuses. It took us 6 fuses to get the slide in before we could take in in for repair. Let me tell you I wasn't happy since it was only about a month since the fist incident. Other than that, we haven't had any problems to speak and we love the camper.
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