In this blog, we’ll do a 5-Year long-term ownership review of my 2020 Keystone Bullet 243BHS travel trailer. I have over 600 nights of use with the trailer, and will cover likes, dislikes, and upgrades. I hope this will help you understand what it truly costs to own a travel trailer and whether RVing is right for you. Later, I’ll let you know if I’d do it all over again.
I took delivery of my 2020 Keystone Bullet 243BHS travel trailer in early June 2019. The 2020 models had just come out, and my specific unit’s manufacturing date was May 22, 2019. I was looking for something larger than the R-Pod 179 I owned, and the 243BHS seemed to check all the boxes. However, as with my R-Pod, I soon encountered a break-in period and several warranty issues. Unlike the R-Pod, the Keystone was structurally sound, and the main problems I experienced were component failures. Let’s look at the good, the bad, and the upgrades.
The Good
Remembering that my travel trailer was built pre-pandemic, the structure on the Keystone has always been a strong point. The trailer has never felt flimsy or underbuilt. The frame has been solid. The floor, walls, and roof have been stellar and without issue, and the cabinetry is still very solid.
One item to be aware of is that I was one of the first owners to have the Hyperdeck composite subfloor, as opposed to the Luan wood/Styrofoam sandwich material used by Keystone before this. I didn’t know I had the Hyperdeck subfloor until a full year into ownership. A significant leak issue in the cargo bay, which I’ll address later, brought the subfloor materials to light and saved my trailer from a complete teardown.
Another item that has held up well is the roof. I have never had an issue in over 600 nights. I have had a few extreme rain events while staying in the trailer while in Florida. We recently went through what was probably one of the loudest and heaviest rains I have ever been in, and the trailer roof and seals never leaked. The common TPO roof material has held up well with five years of use and storage and is fairly easy to clean.
Many people have had significant issues with their slides. The slide on my Keystone Bullet with the tensioned cable system has never failed to operate in five years, and countless times pulling in and pushing out the slide. I had a horrible experience with the slide during my short ownership experience on a recent trailer, so I don’t take this for granted.
I must admit that I love the layout of the 243BHS, including the position of the kitchen, bunks, dinette, and bathroom. Unfortunately, Keystone discontinued this model a few years ago, so this ideal layout is no longer available. For me, it is plenty large with the slide out and has a great view of the TV from anywhere in the main cabin, including the dinette and bunks, as well as when doing dishes.
Speaking of the dinette, it is well positioned, and the table has the proper height to eat and work from. I’ll talk about upgrades in a moment, but putting better foam in the dinette seats was a great choice.
The 2020 Keystone Bullet 243BHS has an unloaded weight of 5,000 lbs., making it very towable by a ½ ton pickup truck like my 2017 Toyota Tundra. I have towed this trailer for almost 20,000 miles with the Tundra, and it has been a good towing experience. With the 5.7L V8 Tundra, I never have an issue with enough power or torque to pull the RV, although I do have to consider tongue weight and keep the trailer as light as possible so as not to exceed the Tundra’s payload capacity.
Storage is abundant in the Keystone Bullet, with plenty of pantry and underbelly storage for any trip. I never come close to maxing out storage in the RV, given my need to keep tongue weight to a minimum, yet even with a larger truck, I think one could put about as much in the storage areas as desired.
Let’s turn to the sober realities I’ve dealt with in my five years of ownership of the 243BHS. At this point, I have had every item with the word Dometic on the item breakdown, fail, need a part replaced, or have the entire unit replaced. It has been disappointing how this has happened, and my opinion of this company has deteriorated over the years. Instead of chronological order, I’ll list these issues from most disruptive to least disruptive.
The Bad
Dometic 300 Toilet
I am now using my fourth Dometic 300 plastic toilet. The earlier units had a critical flaw, which allowed waste fluid to accumulate between the inner and outer bowls. This issue is supposed to be fixed now. This would mean sewage would sit in the outer bowl while using the RV, causing a huge odor and sanitation problem. This destroyed many days of a more extended trip I was on a few years ago until I realized what the problem was and how to fix it. I have a video on the subject if you are interested: Click Here. I have no mercy toward Dometic or Keystone for allowing this horrible product to be used for so long. It has been such an issue that I now carry an extra toilet! It ruined many people’s camping trips.
Dometic A/C
My Dometic A/C worked for about 18 months, then stopped cooling in the middle of a long, hot Florida trip. We had to leave the RV in the afternoons to cool off. I tried cleaning the A/C to no avail. After the trip, we had my local dealer get a replacement unit, given the unit had a two-year warranty. They were successful, and a Dometic Evolution model A/C was installed in place of the OEM broken unit. The new A/C has been stellar since installation and has the added benefit of running on a 20-amp circuit plugged in at my garage (with no other draws from the trailer).
Dometic Fridge
Like the A/C, we lost the Dometic fridge early in the RV’s life. This time, it was just before a long trip, and we isolated the problem to the control board. We dodged a bullet and got a replacement board in a few days. We had it installed right before the trip. The fridge has worked well ever since this board replacement.
Dometic Furnace
More recently, while on a more extended trip during the winter, our Dometic furnace failed. This was scary, as the forecast was for below-freezing temps, and we couldn’t get the furnace to light. After watching many YouTube videos researching the issue, the problem pointed to the sail switch failing. Unfortunately, Keystone didn’t provide a way to access the sail switch easily, so we had to fully remove the furnace to replace the sail switch. I have a full video on the subject that is worth watching, even if you haven’t had a similar issue: Click Here.
Dometic Water Heater
This past winter, we had the control board fail on the Dometic water heater. Mind you that this was after about 600 nights of use, and I can’t fault Dometic for this, as we have used the unit extensively over the past five years. Once we diagnosed the issue, replacing the control board was a straightforward fix. We recently published a comprehensive process video where we diagnosed the issue and replaced the control board: Click Here.
Dometic Thermostat
Besides the Dometic 300 toilet, I can’t think of a product that has flustered more people than the Dometic CT Thermostat. It is touch-sensitive, yet you shouldn’t really push the buttons hard, or you’ll wear out the touch pads behind the faceplate. I’ve put out a couple of videos on the product and what you can do to ensure it works properly: Click Here.
Slam Latch Door
I did an entire video on detecting and fixing a leak in your RV[1], and the dreaded Keystone slam latch cargo door was the subject and reason for the problem. While Keystone did help most customers who had the issue, it was still a significant defect that caused water leaks into the cargo area, damaging the floor and causing nightmares for customers. Fortunately, I had the Hyperdeck subfloor that was not damaged by the leak.
Furrion Oven
I have had issues with my Furrion oven not wanting to stay lit after lighting it. I’ve tried about everything and had my dealer look at it a couple of times. I can light the oven, and sometimes it stays on, but other times, it will go out on its own while warming up or cooking at the desired temperature. There doesn’t seem to be rhyme or reason for the issue and I have learned to live with the problem. I’ll probably replace the oven at some point, but not for now. The stove top seems to usually work fine; it is just the oven that sometimes goes out on its own.
Black Tank Flush
In five years, we had the black tank flush clog up once, which affected a multi-month trip. Apparently, debris got into the black tank flush line and clogged the nozzle inside the black tank. It was a bummer having to empty the tanks multiple times without being able to flush them properly, and we lost tank capacity over time. After the long trip, I had my dealer replace the flush nozzle, and we haven’t had the issue again.
Window Shades
I have restrung every window shade in the Keystone Bullet in the past five years. The use of the shades, moving them up and down, apparently frays the cording until the compression shades no longer function properly. At this point, you have to restring the shade. It isn’t too difficult a task, and we have made videos about restringing the small and larger shades[2], yet it is a pain to deal with when out on a trip. Basically, the compression shades in most RVs aren’t made for regular use.
Let’s turn now to upgrades.
The Upgrades
There are several upgrades I have done to my RV, all of which I heartily recommend. The first is to upgrade the quality of foam in the dinette cushions. As previously mentioned, I have used my trailer for over 600 nights, working many days from the dinette. It is essential to have quality foam in the dinette cushions if you plan to use the unit more than a few times a year. We upgraded to Lux foam from the Foam Factory early in the RV’s life, and it has been stellar in terms of long-term performance. This is likely the first thing I would do to any RV I would purchase.
The next upgrade was to have my dealer install a power outlet near the dinette. I don’t understand why Keystone wouldn’t have put one here from the factory, but having an outlet near the dinette greatly helps facilitate working from the unit. This is a no-brainer for anyone who works regularly from their dinette.
In the bathroom, we did four smaller upgrades that I would strongly recommend, as each has proven to be a great idea over time. First, we replaced the stock showerhead with an Oxygenics Fury showerhead. This is an excellent choice as it can be dialed to lower or raise water usage and has a range of settings. When at full hookups, you can allow more water to flow, and while needing to curtail water flow, you can slow the usage of water from the showerhead. We made an excellent video showing how it works and even measured the water usage in various settings[3].
We did a pair of bathroom plumbing upgrades that I would do again. The first was to replace the stock bathroom vanity faucet, and the second was to add a cut-off valve to the toilet. The former added a better faucet to the rig, and the latter facilitated the ability to peer into the black tank without turning the water off to the entire RV. Both upgrades have proven themselves over time.
Early on, I had my dealer replace the tiny Keystone bathroom fan with a Maxxair fan above the shower. As with other bathroom upgrades, this also was a great idea. A powerful fan in the RV is essential to create airflow within the rig. I like to cool the RV down on crisp mornings before it gets warm by cracking a window or two and cranking on the bathroom fan. The Maxxair fan can draw plenty of air through the rig and do the job. This, again, is a no-brainer upgrade for me if I were buying a new RV that didn’t have a good fan. Better yet, have your dealer install one before you pick up your new unit.
Finally, I upgraded my RV mattress a bit later, after a few years of ownership of my Keystone Bullet. Unlike many people, I didn’t have any real issues with my original mattress, although it certainly was in no way a great mattress. I recently upgraded to a short queen ZINUS 8-inch foam and spring RV mattress from Amazon. I chose the short queen because, I’m not all that tall, and the original mattress covered the vent at the foot of the bed. It is a better mattress than the original factory mattress, and I probably should have upgraded a while ago. This, too I would recommend to most people.
Do it Again?
So, there is a review of the good, the bad, and the upgrades for the five years I’ve owned and used my 2020 Keystone Bullet 243BHS travel trailer. As I record this, I just picked up my trailer from my local dealer this week for some annual maintenance, reminding me that travel trailers require regular maintenance and money to continue to be enjoyable. Even with regular maintenance, things break down with use and are made for casual use, not the number of nights I’ve put on this rig.
Would I buy this RV again? Yes, but maybe not at current prices. I purchased my 2020 unit in May 2019 for less than $24k new. Yet, most components have broken or have needed repairs. Yet the structure of the RV has been excellent. I liken this to having a house in a great location. You can make changes to the house, but you can’t change the location. Likewise, you can repair or replace components in your RV, but if the underlying structure is faulty, it’s pretty much game over. In the same way, my Keystone Bullet has been outstanding in structure and build quality yet has needed regular repairs and component replacements, all of which are a pain but very doable.
It has facilitated many longer trips and allowed me to work and live remotely, even with the regular maintenance and repairs required – places and experiences no public hotel could replicate. So, the experiences and enjoyment of this RV have surpassed the pain and cost of ownership, but only slightly for the price paid. I consider my ownership experience good overall, yet there were times of incredible frustration with a smelly leaking toilet or a non-working A/C in the heat of Florida that swung the overall ownership experience to be only fair. In a phrase, RV ownership is a “crap shoot.” I am slightly ahead for this unit and plan to keep what I have for a while.
That should do it. All the best in your camping adventures!
As always, thanks to our fans who support our efforts by starting their shopping from our Amazon Storefront and their generous financial support by using the THANKS feature located under each YouTube video ($ within the Heart icon). Your support is greatly appreciated!
RV Water Leak Troubleshooting: https://youtu.be/kcLSU12N59A ↑
How to Restring an RV Window Shade – Step-By-Step: https://youtu.be/IdG-_SXGBkE ↑
Oxygenics Fury RV Showerhead Review & Water Conservation Test: https://youtu.be/ROWssKLxNKs ↑