Puma 356

bentpushrod · 05-12-2013, 09:42 AM

Getting ready to bite the bullet and order a Puma Unleashed 356qlb toy hauler from Labadie RV. This should be quite a step up from our current RV, a '74 Travco 270 class A. The old Travco has served us well, with trips to Sturgis with my Harley strapped down on back. It also gets used every weekend in the summer for camping at local campgrounds. But as a family of five with a dog, it gets pretty cramped, so time for the toy hauler. From the research I've done, the Puma has everything we need, people seem to be happy with them, and you can't beat the price. No dealers around here carry them, so going to buy sight unseen. I've never seen a 356, let alone been in one, so this is a bit of a gamble. Going to get a Reese Goose Box, and will be towing it with my '94 F350 Powerstroke.

pjones1969 · 05-12-2013, 07:23 PM

Cool, post some pics, have you looked at the 351thss? We have a 27sbu right ow, looking for more room also, considered the 356 and 351 as well as some other brands, we're actually really hooked on the Inferno 3410, no one has them in stock where we are

bentpushrod · 05-12-2013, 09:03 PM

I also like the looks of the inferno's. They are out of my budget however. I've seen both the 351 and 356 only in pictures. The closest Puma dealer over 300 miles away from me. The closest dealer to me only carries Keystone lines like Fuzions and Raptors, both again out of my price range. The 356 fits me better than the 351, although it does look nice as well. Used toy haulers are overpriced in my area, and they sell so fast you would really have to move to get one. I live in western North Dakota, and it seems as if half of the USA has moved out here to work in the oil patch, living in campers everywhere. I don't know how they do it, -40 in the winter holed up in a camper.

Poppy94 · 05-12-2013, 10:15 PM

i got a 2011 Puma Unleashed 356QLB and we love it. plenty of room. 5 beds, super slide, sliding glass patio door for a vapor wall. it does not have the pseudo fold up in the wall couches where you park quads in the kitchen. it's got a real vapor wall door with a big garage. it's great! plenty, and i mean plenty of room. you can't touch the ceiling! i don't have to duck in the main bedroom either. as a matter of fact, i gotta keep a 2 step stepladder in there so i can reach the upper cabinet shelves. i'm 6' tall. loaded entertainment center! wow, the list goes on and on. you won't be disappointed! the only drawback that i've found is the horseshoe seating on the kitchen table. but that's the only thing.
but please do this, after you hook up to it, measure the height of the trailer up to the top of the A/C. then, really watch the canopies at the fueling stations/islands. i almost hit a surveillance camera with mine. it was close. my F250 7.3L has zero issues pulling it.

grooveman · 05-13-2013, 02:16 PM

Hey pushrod I responded to your post on the other forum. I don't know if you have already ordered it or not but I bought mine from Western RV in Havre, Montana. GREAT people to deal with. I don't know if they have any in stock right now but you may want to consider them since it's a lot closer.

jlbreaux · 05-13-2013, 03:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bentpushrod

Getting ready to bite the bullet and order a Puma Unleashed 356qlb toy hauler from Labadie RV. This should be quite a step up from our current RV, a '74 Travco 270 class A. The old Travco has served us well, with trips to Sturgis with my Harley strapped down on back. It also gets used every weekend in the summer for camping at local campgrounds. But as a family of five with a dog, it gets pretty cramped, so time for the toy hauler. From the research I've done, the Puma has everything we need, people seem to be happy with them, and you can't beat the price. No dealers around here carry them, so going to buy sight unseen. I've never seen a 356, let alone been in one, so this is a bit of a gamble. Going to get a Reese Goose Box, and will be towing it with my '94 F350 Powerstroke.

We have a 2011, and you will not be disappointed, the 12’ garage has plenty of room. We have already had 2 Heritage Softails and a Fatboy loaded in the garage for a camping/bike trip. The only downside to the 356 I find is the lack of privacy for the “bathroom”. They could have designed it where the shower, sink and toilet could have been in a room itself and not in the master bathroom with a curtain to separate the shower and sink. Also I agree, the U-dinette does suck cat poo. We are having a friend that does custom wood work to build us a table that is smaller and can be easily removed when the slide is in to have easy access to the fridge/sink. I had 2 bumper pull’s before this one and with the wife, daughter, dog another couple and their son there is still plenty of room. Good luck and enjoy!

bentpushrod · 05-13-2013, 04:30 PM

Really nice to hear all the positive comments. I called the dealer in Havre, he's all out at the moment, his next unit is coming in mid June. Sounds like these units are selling quickly from the dealers I've spoken with.

Poppy94 · 05-13-2013, 11:24 PM

i found mine by accident, or the Good Lord had it there for me, but at the time, there were only 3 other ones listed online in Texas. so i jumped on this one and haven't looked back since. not disappointed at all.

Oaklevel · 05-14-2013, 04:40 AM

We have had our 2013 356QLB almost a year now we Love it. It has only been back to the dealer for a couple of minor things (Curtain, & I had them move the water pump back a few inches) not all Pumas fault.... As mentioned it is big........ (tall) but so far no issues with that.... All the bigger THs are tall though. We have 2 grown sons a daughter in law, & a grandson gives plenty of room........For us the open bathroom is not an issue, & neither is the U shape dinette. The price last year was great we paid out the door taxes everything under 30K.... Probably a little more this year .... We did get to see one at a show before we ordered it from our dealer........ but we had already made up or mind to get one ..... It has more storage than the 351 but does has a greater pin weight.... Pulls like a dream though...........

Good Luck

bentpushrod · 05-14-2013, 06:47 PM

Pulled the trigger today. It's supposed to be delivered to me on May 29th. Ordered the Reese goose box, hope it shows up before the camper. I'm pretty excited to say the least.

Curious what size sheets I need to order for the beds, are they the short queen? Or standard queen. I'm guessing they are the short. The bedroom also has the upgraded Serta mattress if that makes a difference.

ugeesta · 05-14-2013, 06:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bentpushrod

Pulled the trigger today. It's supposed to be delivered to me on May 29th. Ordered the Reese goose box, hope it shows up before the camper. I'm pretty excited to say the least.

Curious what size sheets I need to order for the beds, are they the short queen? Or standard queen. I'm guessing they are the short.

They are short queen.

We actually let our dealer keep the mattress and we put in a real queen instead. It makes for less room at the foot of the bed, but nice to stretch out when lying down.

bentpushrod · 05-14-2013, 07:01 PM

Thanks, good to know. I could probably just use regular queen sheets, and just tuck the extra under. I also like your idea of using a full residential queen, I'll have to see how I like the one that comes with it first.

darj · 05-14-2013, 07:28 PM

Im new here and just bought a 2013 Puma 31bhss from Labadie RV. We dealt with Bob and he was great. Hope your experience is as good as ours was. We picked up the trailer on may 8 and then got a new tow vehicle on May 11. Tow vehicle is used but new to us.

bentpushrod · 05-14-2013, 10:14 PM

Darj,

I've been dealing with Bob as well, really easy to deal with. I was just checking out the camper I believe you purchased, it's still on their website, shows sold. Very nice looking unit.

bentpushrod · 05-29-2013, 08:16 AM

Just talked to the driver bringing me the camper. He's 180 miles away, pretty damn excited! The Reese Goose Box hasn't shown up yet, supposed to be here tomorrow. It better be, as I have no way to hook up without it.

FandRChambers · 05-29-2013, 09:48 AM

I have the 351, bought in January and have been out 3 times. So far we love it. Plenty of room for my family of 5. I bought it pretty much like you. There were no dealers close with one for me to see, so I had to rely on the pictures online. I traveled from VA to Ohio to get my unit.

Welcome to the Puma family...enjoy!

bentpushrod · 06-02-2013, 03:40 PM

Thanks FandR! We have camped the last couple of nights, and love the new camper. A couple of issues though. The slide out hits the kitchen cabinets when retracted, some minor damage on the cabinet. The bedroom door has a scratch from a nail that goes all the way through the wall trim, and the edge of the kitchen counter is messed up in one place.

Other than that we love it. My F350 pulls it just fine, but I definitely know its back there. Gives me the excuse to upgrade to bigger injectors, and a chip.

Poppy94 · 06-03-2013, 06:09 AM

get with the real experts on this forum, but i was thinking you should be able to adjust your slide on the extension/retracting apparatus underneath the slide. mine has jamb nuts that can move around if needed. my slide is about 4" from the cabinet when it is sucked in. you may look it over and see.

Poppy94 · 06-03-2013, 06:10 AM

"get with the real experts", by that i mean someone besides me who's more experienced at this RV stuff than i am. didn't want to offend anyone with that terminology.

grooveman · 06-09-2013, 10:18 PM

Quote:

The bedroom door has a scratch from a nail that goes all the way through the wall trim, and the edge of the kitchen counter is messed up in one place.

Weird.. We had the exact same issue with our bedroom door. A nail stuck out the inside from the trim and scratched the door. We had the dealer replace it under warranty.

As for the slide, mine came real close to the kitchen drawers but didn't hit it. Is it the edge of the table hitting the drawers when it's in?

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