Wow windows—Keystone Arcadia 246SLRK fifth wheel

Recently I got to review the new-for-2024 Keystone Cougar 260MLE fifth wheel at the behest of a friend of mine who’s shopping. A lot of the comments focused around the optional paint scheme on these. More than a few of you wrote to me saying you really like this floor plan, but the lack of camp-side windows is an issue. 

As if Keystone anticipated your request, today’s RV review is of the Keystone Arcadia 246SLRK fifth wheel. This is another new floorplan from the company under their newer Arcadia brand and one that addresses a lot of the issues some of you had with the Cougar that we looked at. 

What’s inside the Keystone Arcadia 246SLRK fifth wheel

From the standpoint of the floor plan, this is very similar to that Cougar in that there’s a slide on the road side that incorporates a theater seat and the refrigerator. This also gives you the choice of either theater seats or a hide-a-bed sofa in that slide room. 

The kitchen here also wraps from the full width of the rear of the trailer through the entire length of the camp side up to the door, but is done very differently. 

Here, the kitchen has an “L”-shaped arrangement and then a break in the counter space and a desk/table arrangement. For those who work from the road, this may be an ideal situation. 

This is a long, flat table-type situation where you could easily seat two people side-by-side. This could also work well as a two-person desk. But wait, there’s more. 

While two of the folding chairs are obvious, there are two more that Keystone includes. So now you actually could seat four people side-by-side. 

I don’t know why, but this gives me state fair vibes where all four are in some weird pie-eating contest. There you all four sit, just waiting for a bell, and then it’s time to polish off lemon meringue pies. Except the catch here is that they didn’t bother putting sugar in the pies so we shall see who eats theirs first. Or at all. 

Enormous window in the Keystone Arcadia 246SLRK

The good thing also is that there’s an enormous window overlooking this table so you could put on that pie-eating show for the rest of the campground. Of course, you could also sit here and get work done, or enjoy a meal while basking in the beauty of the place you’ve chosen to stay for a while. 

This kind of camp-side window coverage seems to be disappearing, so it’s nice to see it in this brand-new floor plan. 

This larger table holds another bit of magic—a televator that supports a 50-inch TV. When it’s time to do something other than read articles on RV Travel (for who knows what reason), you can sit back and enjoy your Three Stooges in big-screen style. 

The boys haven’t looked this good since their shorts first graced the silver screen. Nyuk nyuk nyuk…

Should you have chosen the theater seat option, know that the model Keystone has chosen for you has a large center armrest that incorporates a charging pad. If you have just the right gadget you can set it down here and it will magically get power to keep annoying you with Facebook updates. 

I’m not sure this is my favorite arrangement as it doesn’t seem that the armrest folds up—so it’s always a two-place theater seat. 

Keystone Arcadia 246SLRK

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Kitchen done right

I really like this kitchen. There’s plenty of counter space. and there’s the larger 22” oven along with a microwave. The 12-volt fridge is right there occupying its home in the slide room and readily at hand. 

One of the themes of this trailer has to be cabinet and drawer space. Down here in the kitchen, there is an abundance of drawers and cabinets. This theme extends up to the bathroom and bedroom as well. 

Since we’ve gone upstairs now, know that the forward slant of the nose on these Arcadia models means more cabinets over the bed, which faces longitudinally. You know, north-south. 

There’s also a headboard with USB outlets on it and a household power outlet on either side of the bed. Further, these are among the outlets pre-wired for an inverter or, if you choose that upgrade, wired into an inverter. 

Since this true queen-sized bed faces north-south, it makes room for a closet slide—which continues the theme of lots of storage space. 

Something I didn’t like was the step right at the foot of the bed to accommodate the underlying structure. I would be very, very cognizant of that as I could see doing a face-plant into the wall in the middle of the night if you didn’t remember. 

My wife and I have put motion-activated, battery-operated lights in several places in our house and in our RV just to avoid this string-of-profanity-inducing situations. 

You also don’t want to be carted off to the local ER with a gash on your forehead while the paramedics withhold their laughter at your pink flamingo bunny ear and footie pajamas. 

Keystone key features

I have written many times about features that Keystone offers that really set the company apart. 

Keystone is one of the few companies that tests their RVs in a climate chamber. The company reports that this unit is rated to -4° independently. I’ve written before about other Keystone features but, suffice it to say, I think the company does a really good job with what they do.

The company also uses intentional wiring—so warranty claims are easier to diagnose and less likely to happen. 

This also incorporates the company Blade™ AC ducting that purportedly provides greater airflow but also incorporates a residential-style filtration system. I don’t know why this isn’t more common, but it’s not. 

There are a bunch of other features that I’ve written about in the past, but I do like the way Keystone and their Innovation Lab operate. 

Boondocking and travel access

It’s pretty rare to get a fifth wheel and have it be even moderately accessible with the slides in. But this is another thing I really like about this floor plan. You can pretty much get to everything except the stove with the slides in. Lunch or potty stops are no problem with this rig. 

If boondocking is your thing, Keystone has advantages here too. The basic SolarFlex™ package has been upgraded for 2024 to include a 220-watt solar panel and 30-amp charge controller. From there you can upgrade to larger solar packages direct from the dealer or the factory which include an inverter and more solar panels. 

The way Keystone has implemented this, dealerships can easily upgrade your system even if they don’t have a solid understanding of solar upgrades—and I would argue that most dealerships don’t. 

Final thoughts on the Keystone Arcadia 246SLRK

There are a few more things to take note of, including the fact that the main deck of this rig doesn’t have ducts in the floor for the furnace. Nice. 

There is an outside kitchen in this that features a flat-top griddle and small refrigerator. That flat-top griddle is on an extension where it’s not that gut-challenging to get to the fridge. I still prefer the unit on the Forest River Surveyor Legend 202RBLE that we looked at. 

However, there is no disputing the awning on this thing—it’s enormous! One of the largest awnings I’ve seen. 

Something I really like is the Roman shades in the Arcadia line. To me, these folding cloth shades really have a rich feel, and not so much a cold feel like roller shades. 

However, I wish I had seen this floor plan in person instead of just on Josh’s video. I noticed that there are several interior color patterns in here from the white in the kitchen to the natural wood in the main living space. 

Head-scratcher in the bulkhead of the Keystone Arcadia 246SLRK

One of the things that was a bit of a head-scratcher was the bulkhead of the main living space. There is a bench and some hanging storage here but it doesn’t extend the full width of the space, leaving a big blank wall. Hmmm. 

Having seen other Keystone products at Open House, they seem to have a handle on interior design for 2024, so I shouldn’t worry. But I wonder what this looks like in person. 

Overall, I like this floor plan quite a bit. I will give a nod to the Cougar’s table arrangement but I don’t think that would work here, what with the televator. And that’s what makes this job so fun—nuances and differences and decisions RV companies make that result in a variety of ways of coming up with solutions to the same problem. 

More about these RV reviews

These RV reviews are written based on information provided by the manufacturers along with our writer’s own research. They are based on information from a single unit and may not reflect your actual experience. Shop your RV and dealership carefully before making a buying decision. 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.

Tony comes to RVtravel.com having worked at an RV dealership and been a life long RV enthusiast. He also has written the syndicated Curbside column about cars. He also works closely with a number of RV manufacturers to get an inside look at how things are done and is a brand ambassador for Rockwood Mini Lite with his wife, Peggy.

You can also check out his RV podcast with his wife, Peggy. 

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