By Tony Barthel
A while back we looked at a brand-new line for Keystone RV, the Arcadia. At that time the company was very excited about detailing the information on their new fifth wheel and teased a bit about a travel trailer joining the family shortly. Well, that shortly is about to be here, as Keystone announced a new travel trailer in the Arcadia line and it’s pretty nifty. Recently, product manager Dustin Tavernier spoke about some of the new features of this line, including the new travel trailer.
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What’s the big deal?
Keystone has talked a lot about using automotive-grade features and finishes in the Arcadia line, and that extends to the new travel trailer, dubbed the Arcadia 370RL. This trailer is new from the frame up, according to company officials. The Arcadia chassis – which officials call the NGC2 – is proprietary to Keystone. The company describes it as a crawl-space design with a 3-inch-tall channel running the entire length of the frame, like a crawl space in a home. This space is used to route plumbing, electrical and heating ducts without the need to navigate obstructions. In addition, it makes it possible for Keystone to add insulation layers.
Another exterior feature common to both the trailer and the fifth-wheel is the suspension. Both use a new CURT premium suspension system. Tavernier says that Arcadia is the first to use it, and promises that customers will appreciate the quality.
Related to this, a center “hat channel” runs the length of the coach, increasing rigidity for floor-mounted features like a large kitchen island. On top of the NGC2 chassis sits the Keystone’s HyperDeck™ composite floor. Overall, Keystone claims the construction results in a super-rigid structure for travel trailers and fifth wheels. Arcadia is the only Keystone brand to utilize the patented NGC2 chassis at this time – though that could change, of course.
Outside
One of the most notable features of both the fifth wheel and the travel trailer is the nose, which is a painted nose cap but taller at the front than at the bottom.
In an interview with RVBusiness, Tavernier said, “One benefit of this design is that it allows us to create a deeper walk-in front closet, something you don’t see every day in a travel trailer.”
The only other trailer that comes to mind with this type of nose cap design is the Rockwood Mini Lite/Flagstaff Micro Lite series, However, there is no windshield in the Arcadia – and I think that’s a good thing. There are more than a few complaints on a Facebook Group for that brand about broken front windshields.
Inside matters
While interior style and design is subjective, I really like this one – and I’m not a big fan of the trend of all white and/or all gray cabinetry. But they’ve really done a great job with that modern look, to my eyes.
The goal of this travel trailer is to feel almost like a flat fifth wheel. I think they’ve hit their target.
Walking in the door you see a counter with cabinets above at the front of the floor plan that features opposing slides. It really feels open. This is similar to the Arcadia fifth wheel as well as many others.
In the road-side slide room is the refrigerator and a three-burner stove with 22-inch oven. A microwave is overhead in an alcove. Further down, there’s a surprisingly large panty. Then there’s a huge TV and fireplace. The TV can swing up and there’s more storage behind it.
While I had mentioned the white cabinets, there is an accent wood surrounding the slide box and the entertainment center that I think is really tasteful. Keystone hasn’t released specifications thus far. But they talk about the slide boxes being taller than average with the ceiling height being higher than average for a travel trailer. They say this unit feels more like a fifth wheel than a typical travel trailer.
In the center of the space is an island with a stainless steel sink. But what stands out to me on the island is a butcher block counter extension toward the back of the trailer as well as another one on the camp side.
Multipurpose butcher block extension in center
With the free-standing table on the camp side, as well, you could flip up the butcher block extension and have seating for six. You could even use this as a buffet. It both looks great and it’s also a nice amount of flat space that can serve a number of purposes. Little details like this really do play out to being useful in the long haul.
At the back of the trailer is a couch that folds into a bed. Behind that is a large window that extends almost the width of the trailer. The Arcadia line uses a Roman blind-type window covering. I like this better than any others that I’ve seen in any other RV. Again, it’s subjective. But this just looks nice and feels high in quality.
The same fabric that covers the couch is on the theater seats in the camp-side slide which directly face that large TV and fireplace.
Feeling sleepy
The bedroom in this trailer is home to the third slide room that holds the bed. The bed faces “east-west” in this trailer. This means the whole nose cap is the closet and the doors on that closet are hung on a farm-style track. There’s also a bench/hutch on the camp side of the bedroom.
In summary
Keystone has been capturing my attention more than almost any other RV manufacturer lately with their “Innovation Lab.” There are a lot of things I’ve seen coming out of that organization including the HyperDeck flooring, their Blade high-performance air handling system, color-coded wiring that’s consistent from trailer to trailer, and more. I know there’s a lot of malarkey in the marketing of any product, but this seems to actually be pulling off real discernible change.
Final details aren’t available just yet, including tank sizes and more. But, from what I’ve seen, this is going to be a big hit for Keystone. Keystone plans four Arcadia travel trailer floor plans – from 32 to 38 feet in length. MSRP ranges from $35,000 to $55,000.
These RV reviews are written based on information provided by the manufacturers along with our writer’s own research. We receive no money or other financial benefits from these reviews. They are intended only as a brief overview of the vehicle, not a comprehensive critique, which would require a thorough inspection and/or test drive.
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White is an improvement over the prison-gray interiors used by nearly every RV manufacturer in nearly every model for the past few years. However, do any of these designers ever take their company’s RVs on off-pavement camping trips with young children, hikers, fishermen, mountain bikers, or OHV riders? They are going to quickly tire of wiping dirt off those white cabinets.
The reason earth tones were once popular (after the 70s’ orange and yellow craze) for RV interiors was that they tended to get a lot of tracked-in “earth”. That still makes good sense today. The “in” colors on the HGTV decorating shows should not necessarily be the same for RV interior designers because the two are not utilized in the same way. If my RV was completely surrounded by a concrete walk and patio and a half-acre of beautiful, fenced lawn, then yea, give me a white interior. But my RV has NEVER been surrounded by those features and never will be. So give me earth-tone interiors!
“Prison Gray” 😂 Add Barf Brown too.
Did Dustin Tavernier happen to mention if InCommand was to be offered, at least as an option, on either the travel trailer or the 5th wheel versions of the Arcadia? All the photos and videos of the Arcadia 5th wheel that I have seen display only push buttons to control rig functions.
I’ll message him and see.
If you look at the Rockwood/Flagstaff trailers they have both traditional switches and buttons as well as Lippert OneControl via an app so you get something that works for everybody. That’s the ideal circumstance by my eyes.
I agree with you Tony. Grand Design has a multiplex, too, but it’s stuck in the basement passthrough. It has Bluetooth, but who needs to add more data to their cellphone? Meanwhile, the Soviet era buttons and switches take position of pride in the cabin. Jayco is one of the few that equals Keystone’s Cougar.