Just returned from our first weekend in our new KZ Coyote Lite CL232SS.  We were all very pleased with the trailer.  The three of us found the trailer plenty roomy.  We spent most of our time this past weekend  in and around our trailer familiarizing ourselves with it, but typically we are out and about when we camp, so a trailer this size will be just fine for us.

Coyote Lite Front

Here we are at Toby’s RV Park in Arcadia, Florida.  Our Golden Retriever (Sandy) is keeping an eye out for any strangers… so she can lick ‘em to death!  She likes to meet new people, and this park had plenty of them.

The TT set up very nicely.  The ground was fairly level so we didn’t need to spend much time leveling the TT after we got it pulled in.  Lowered the jacks, hooked up the water, power, and sewer, turned on the gas, power out the slide, and we were set.  All that took about 15 minutes.  Compare that to the time it took to set up our old p’up (at least 1 hour) and we’re already way ahead of the game.

I was pleasantly surprised as to how roomy the TT was.  The slide-out allows for just the right amount of room at the center of the TT so working in the kitchen was not difficult.  However, while the seating around the dining table is more than ample, the dining table is not.

Dining Area

Three of us ate here with just enough room for our silverware, dishes and cups.  More than three would be tight.  But we decided that we’d pick up a couple TV trays and keep them in the TT.  That way when Emily has a friend along (which is pretty often), they can hang out in their bunk room and eat while Laura and I eat at the table.  When the weather cooperates, eating outside is preferable!

The bulk storage area in this TT is tremendous!  First, you have the pass-thru in the front of the trailer.  The pass through is connected to a large area that is located under the bed (inside).  To get to this entire area, you can open the pass-thru door on the front right and left sides of the trailer, or lift the bed inside the trailer.  The bed is hinged and has hydraulic lifting rods attached, so lifting the bed is a breeze to gain access to the storage underneath.  Then, underneath the seats around the dining table is nearly all storage.  Between these two areas we had no problem finding places to store all our stuff and still have plenty of room left over.

Bedroom

The bed is okay.  It is a new mattress, so it is firm enough, but it has a seam that goes around the mattress that is quite hard and uncomfortable on arms and feet.  A foam mattress topper will take care of that problem, and we’ll have one on there for the next camping trip.  But hey… coming from a p’up bed, sleeping on this was like sleeping on a cloud!  Ample storage around the bed; the closets on both sides are equipped with a hanger rod, and they are coming out soon.  I will put shelves in there; when we camp, we never bring anything along to hang up.  Shelves will be much more efficient.  The shelves above the bed are a nice size.  I keep the First Aid kit up there, an extra flashlight, stuff like that.  My wife keeps an extra blanket rolled up above her so she can reach up and pull it out if it gets chilly.  Both Laura and I were satisfied overall with the bedroom area.  Just a couple of minor personal touches and we’ll be all set here

Kitchen

The kitchen is well equipped.  Gas oven and stove top, electric microwave, gas/electric refrigerator & freezer, and a large, two-sided sink.  Only problem here is the lack of counter top space.  It was difficult to cook with little space to have your fixin’s out on the counter.  Fortunately the sink has covers that give more counter top space, and the dining room table is directly behind you for even more room.  The oven is going to take some getting used to.  It is small, and figuring out cooking times, etc. has been a challenge.  We tried some chocolate-chip cookies one evening and found that they were slightly done on top while the bottom was burnt to a crisp.  A few more times using it and we’ll have it figured out.  Just to the lower-left of the microwave is the built-in stereo system.  We had the stereo playing nearly all weekend.  We really enjoyed having music playing  just loud enough to hear it but not so loud you couldn’t talk.  Subconsciously I think the music really made a huge difference; we really enjoyed hanging out listening to (and occasionally singing along to) the songs that were played.

Bunk Beds

The bunk bed area is great for kids.  The lower bunk is roomy and has its own window to look out of.  The upper bunk is a bit tight… good for smaller kids.  No ladder was included with the TT, so building one might be a good idea.  Emily found it easy to jump up into the upper bunk by putting a foot on a small table to the right (just behind the dining room seat cushion in this picture).  The green curtain can be pulled across for privacy in the back room.  Just behind the curtain (not visible in this picture) are two cabinets built onto the wall.  Nice extra storage area.  We keep games, paper, extra towels / washcloths, toilet paper, etc.. in there.

Just between the dining room seat and the bunk beds are two thin cabinet doors, one located low, behind the seat cushion, and the other higher that extends all the way to the ceiling.  This is the pantry area for the TT.  The upper one we use mostly for can goods, cooking oil, spices, etc., etc, etc… the normal stuff you’d find in a pantry.  The lower cabinet we use for storing cutting boards, the sink covers, etc.  Not a whole lot of room in the pantry closet, and because the pantry is ‘thin’, its difficult to reach stuff that’s behind items close to the front.  Sounds like a good reason for a modification here!

The bathroom was great.  We only managed a picture of the sink area, so I’ll get one of the shower area later.  A good amount of room under the sink for towels, cleaning supplies, etc., and the sink is a nice size for washing up, and brushing teeth.  The shower was adequate.  I, being the biggest of the three of us, had no problem moving around in there as I took a shower.  My only wish would probably be to change the straight bar used to hold the shower curtain to one that curves out.  That way the shower curtain wouldn’t be right up against you when taking a shower.  This is a very easy fix… possibly another future mod!

Bathroom

The shower is surrounded by a nice insert that has room for shampoo bottles, soap bars, and other such items.  The shower head has a rotating knob on the back to quickly shut off the flow when taking showers in areas where waste water management is essential (i.e. boondocking).  The shower head is also connected by a hose, which makes using the shower head a great tool for rinsing out the toilet from time to time.

We were happy with the complete lack of odor from the toilet all weekend.  The bathroom has a crank-open vent in the ceiling, and is equipped with a fan.  This works great for evacuating undesirable odors in a jiffy.  It also works good for keeping the room clear of fog after taking a shower.

Slide Closed

One picture I could not find anywhere when I was shopping around for this TT was an inside photo with the slide in.  So, here is ours with the slide in.  Plenty of room to get inside when packing or unpacking a trip.  Getting to the fridge is easy, using the dining area is easy, getting to the storage under the dining and bed is easy.  Even the bunk area is easily accessible.  The bathroom can be access too, but the door doesn’t open very far.  So if your belly hangs out a few extra inches (like mine), it can be a tight squeeze to get in there.

Sandy relaxed

Sandy made herself right at home in her new digs.  All in all, we were very pleased with the trailer.  We are all looking forward to our next trip, hopefully soon.

The dealership called today to tell us that the trailer arrived.  They are going to give it a good once-over, prep it for us, and have it all ready for us to take delivery tomorrow.  We’ll be heading over early tomorrow and expect to be camping in it by tomorrow afternoon.

Pictures coming soon….

Just got word from the dealer that KZ has shipped our trailer out today, scheduled to arrive at the dealership on Thursday (the 19th).  Plan is to head over Friday morning, do the walk-thru, sign the paperwork, and set it up.  We’re going to take it directly over to a local campground for a couple of days and run it through its paces; give it a good shake-down.  That way if there is any major problems discovered, we can simply leave the TT at the dealers and drive home, otherwise we’ll tow the TT home with us.

I’ll take the camera.  Should have some pictures to show off in just a few more days.

Shortly after writing my last entry we received a call from our dealer stating that KZ expects to have our TT delivered either by the end of this week or early next week.  So now our plans are to take delivery of the TT on Friday, Feb. 20th and stay at a campground local to the RV dealer for a couple of days.  This should give us enough time to give it a good once-over, but of course some things won’t be discovered until we’ve put the TT through its paces and taken it out on several trips.

Personally, I can’t wait to get in there and start scheming about what modifications to make.  I have been spending the last few weeks mulling over a few ideas, such as adding shelves in our wardrobe closets; we’ll never have anything to hang up, so might as well have shelves for folded clothes.  Also, more shelving in the kitchen and pantry cabinets.  And I’m planning on a nifty mount for the television… i just need to do some measuring for where its going to be placed.

I am thinking about adding some organizational features to the outside storage such as clips to hold fishing rods and other such things.  Maybe putting some carpet in the pass-thru storage area so items don’t slide around in there as easily.

As you can see, I’ve been giving it some thought.  Hopefully the next time I write it’ll be with pictures of the new TT!

Last word we received was that our TT could possibly be delivered to our dealership by the end of this week.  They said they need about 1/2 day to prepare the TT for us.  We have an outside chance that we could take delivery this weekend.  Since there is a campground nearby our dealer, we plan on having the trailer set up there and spending the weekend camping with it; it’ll give us a chance to check it out thoroughly and if we find any problems we can simply leave the trailer at the dealership instead of towing it all the way home.

I currently have half of my garage filled with TT items: power cables, hoses, buckets, sewer hose, tow mirrors, dishes & silverware, lamps and flashlights, tools, etc, etc, etc…. items that are all ready to go into the TT right away.  It’ll be nice to get that half of my garage back once we get that stuff out of there!