2027 Keystone Cougar260MLE

Keystone publishes three weights for the Cougar 260MLE: a shipping weight of 9,674 lb, a carrying capacity of 2,326 lb and a hitch weight of 1,895 lb. Those are Keystone’s own terms, and this page keeps them. Keystone does not call the first figure dry or unloaded weight, does not say the hitch figure is measured dry, and publishes no GVWR for any Cougar floorplan, so none of the three is renamed here and no loaded rating is worked out from them. The trailer’s own federal weight label, inside the door, is the document that carries its UVW, cargo capacity and GVWR.

Tank capacities are 75 gal fresh, 76 gal gray and 38 gal waste, as Keystone lists them. Fresh water weighs about 8.3 lb per US gallon, so a full fresh tank is roughly 622 lb on the road before anything else is loaded. The tire size Keystone lists is ST235/80R16H; a fifth wheel puts its pin load into the truck bed, so it counts against the truck’s payload rather than its tow rating.

Against the 7 Cougar floorplans profiled here, this one is the 1st by Keystone’s shipping weight, in a range from 9,674 lb (260MLE) to 12,499 lb (360MBI). Every figure in that comparison comes from the same Keystone page type for the same model year, so the comparison inside the series is like for like.

Every number on this page was read on 19 Oct 2026 from Keystone’s own floorplan page for the Cougar 260MLE. That page carries no model year, so the year comes from the roster page that links it, which lists the Cougar floorplans under the heading “2027 Floorplans”. Keystone notes that its website reflects the most recent production run and that features and specifications change during the year.

How the 260MLE differs from the other eleven Cougar fifth wheels. Most distinctive first. Each rank counts only the siblings that publish that field, and a figure most of them share is left out. Not every one of these pages covers the same model years as this one (2027); each figure is the one its own page prints, so a rank compares pages, not one model year.

• Hitch weight as a share of shipping weight, 19.6%: second-largest of twelve, between the 290RLS (19.5%) and the 364BHL (20.5%).
• Length, 30 ft 11 in: third-shortest of twelve, between the 26RKE (30 ft 10 in) and the 29BHL (33 ft 4 in).
• Shipping weight (Keystone’s term), 9,674 lb: fourth-lightest of twelve, between the 26RKE (9,200 lb) and the 290RLS (10,567 lb).
• Carrying capacity (Keystone’s term), 2,326 lb: fourth-smallest of twelve, between the 316RLS (2,108 lb) and the 23MLE (2,330 lb).
• Hitch weight as Keystone lists it, 1,895 lb: fifth-lightest of twelve, between the 320RDS (1,775 lb) and the 316RLS (1,900 lb).
• Sleeping capacity, 4: smallest of twelve, level with the 295RDS and 350LLK; next are the 23MLE, 26RKE and four others (6).

Next to the 26RKE (2026 page), the nearest lighter floorplan by shipping weight, the 260MLE is 474 lb heavier by shipping weight, has 526 lb more carrying capacity, has a hitch weight 180 lb heavier, is 1 in longer, stands 9 in taller, has a fresh tank 21 gal larger, has a grey tank 16 gal larger and sleeps two fewer.

Next to the 290RLS, the nearest heavier floorplan by shipping weight, the 260MLE is 893 lb lighter by shipping weight, has 7 lb less carrying capacity, has a hitch weight 165 lb lighter, is 2 ft 9 in shorter and sleeps two fewer; the two publish the same exterior height, fresh tank and grey tank.

Keystone lists 10 Cougar floorplans for 2027. 7 have a complete Keystone figure set and no existing page here, and are profiled, from 9,674 lb to 12,499 lb shipping weight; the others are catalogued on this page with the reason against each. Keystone publishes shipping weight, carrying capacity and hitch weight for these trailers, and no GVWR.

Closest sibling: the Cougar 295RDS, nearest on the published figures. It differs on 2 of the 5 fields both publish (this plan first): length 30 ft 11 in vs 33 ft 11 in; hitch weight 1,895 lb vs 2,010 lb. They match on sleeps, fresh tank and grey tank.

All 15 Cougar floorplans: Cougar line hub.

8 of the 18 fields this catalogue tracks are published for the 260MLE. Not published: dry weight, GVWR, cargo capacity (CCC), exterior width, interior height, black tank, slide count, axle count, awning, air conditioning.

Sourcing rules: methodology.