2023 Keystone Arcadia 3550MB: 2 Year Review

It’s hard to believe that the 2025 Tampa RV Show marked TWO YEARS since we bought this rig! With so many to choose from, it can be overwhelming to narrow down choices, especially since some models just get improved every year, and other models, like this one, were a one run and done model.

After living in it full time with our family of 3+pup and traveling all over the country, and in all kinds of weather, we’ve got a little insight. In case this is a model you are looking at, let’s walk you through it.

You can also check out some of the modifications we made to this RV in an earlier blog linked here, Modifications We Made – And LOVE

WHAT WE LOVE I love that this model is 39’6″, which means we are under 40′–a mom requirement since larger rigs mean we can’t camp in many state and national parks, or even some older campgrounds can be a challenge.

It has 2 grey tanks–bathroom and kitchen, a fresh tank, a black tank–and each has a 40 gallon capacity. For our family of 3, we can get about a week on that, if we are conservative with dish washing and showers, and drink from separate containers.

We love the windows all around the living space, giving us lots of natural light and good air flow. We love the bunkroom for our son and the loft above, so he can have separate sleeping and day use spaces. We also love the full-size shower with a bench in the bathroom.

This rig also has an abundance of storage, which means we could spread out our cargo and keep it manageable and underweight.

The outdoor kitchen is right next to the door, so makes it convenient for passing items in and out.

We also loved that this rig was comfortably towable with the F250 we already owned, which meant we didn’t need to buy a new vehicle.

WHAT CHANGES WE’VE MADE We’ve made a lot of changes in two years, if you’ve looked at our modification blogs or reels on our socials. But since we plan for this to be our home for several years, we needed to make it functional for us, whether we were off-grid, or in a resort.

We added a keyless entry, a shoe rack at the door, and labeled all the control panel so it’s legible. We also added washable/reusable air filters to our AC units, and a soft start, for those times we need it for a bit and are on the generator boondocking.

The first thing we did was remove the bedroom and bunkroom doors since they were obtrusive and disrupted air flow, and just replaced them with spring rods and curtains.

We also removed the valance boxes since the Roman shades had a fabric valance already–these two changes removed over 30 pounds in weight! But we added a blind to both the front door and the kitchen window–neither of these spots had blinds for privacy or blocking the sun. We did also cut reflectix for every window since we are in Florida for much of the year.

We recently swapped the large farmhouse dining chairs for smaller/lighter IKEA ones–the original chairs were extremely comfortable for working all day, but when we didn’t need to sit all day, we opted to go for lighter weight.

We removed our glass shower doors after seeing several people have issues with them breaking–at 60 pounds, that was a smart move for us and we don’t mind a shower curtain. We also mounted the soap dispensers in the shower, and a built-in soap dispenser in the sink. Finally, we upgraded our vent fan to a Max-air vent, which helps a lot when it’s just a bit warm, but not enough to need the AC to run.

We swapped our 2 seater-reclining sofa for a sleeper sofa so we can all fit and added a beanbag chair to the living room. Also, we added vented panels in the cabinets above the TV since we keep electronics there, and we added side sconces for lighting. Then we added LED lights around the top of the slides. Finally, we wired a switch in for our Starlink so we no longer have to feed the wire through the slide. Find out more about our Starlink modification and savings here Starlink review and savings

We added a shade to the kitchen bar light to filter the light and make it more task lighting. We also added extra shelves to the pantry and fixed them in place, and added magnetic lights. The sink also has a built in soap dispenser. We also took out the blocking walls and added extra storage under the sink.

We recently took the couch from the bunkroom and added a futon chair and side table to allow our son easier modification for seating/sleeping, since he likes being down where the dog can hang out with him, instead of up in his loft.

In the master closet, we added a center support board to support the weight, as well as a washer-dryer combo, vented. We swapped to flat closet door handles since it’s a close space, and we took the huge headboard off the wall, for weight and dust removal. We swapped the mattress out for a better one from Brooklyn Bedding and have slept amazingly well since. If you are looking for a mattress, check out our savings page for a discount link here Savings Page

Outside, we added a 3-step water filter, added tracks in the garage to keep everything from sliding and organized. In the outdoor kitchen, we removed the cube fridge and propane stove, opting to modify the shelf for our Blackstone grill to be on a slide out table, and it can store our propane fire pit–which we adapted to plug right into the propane port at the kitchen.

We also added an 800-watt solar system and lithium ion battery, which has allowed us to stay off-grid and not have to rely on a generator, unless it was cloudy for a few days or more. Find out more about BJ’s install (he’s a mobile solar installer) here Why We Use Solar

WHAT ISSUES WE’VE HAD
Like with any RV, there will be some issues–either post-production, or just from use. We did have some warranty work to fix from the start with some seal issues on the window and a slide, as well as a sticking slide, but they were fixed and no issues since. We’ve traversed some of the roughest roads that no amount of proper placement can stand up to. (I am looking at you I-95 in South Carolina, I-10 through Mississippi, and I-12 through Kentucky). Not to mention, 2 years of full-time living is the equivalent in time and use to the 10 years part-time use these are built for.

The original tires were an issue and, after a couple of blowouts, we upgraded all four of ours with a higher rating.

The major issues we’d love to see in production are the water heater placement and better cabinet supports.

The water heater is below the pantry, so it takes forever to get to the bathroom–and since it’s tankless, off-grid showers are not happening when it takes at least a gallon of water to get the hot water. And on a hot day, it will scald, even if set low–the only solution from manufacturer is to run hot water at the faucet at the same time to balance it out, but it kills water pressure.

The kitchen cabinet along the back wall and the master closet rack and shelf need mid-point support, even if not loaded down they will strain, or crack on rough roads.

FINAL THOUGHTS ON THE ARCADIA 3550MB

Tweaks we think would make them better (and that we changed on ours already) is the spice drawer being a cabinet, or replacing the wine rack above the stove–not a good place for it unless you don’t cook and want to take them down to store every time you travel. Spices like to jump and get wedged behind the sliders. Also the tilt trash can works better as a slide for better capacity.

One of our major complaints was the price point. This rig was initially listed at $99k, show pricing was at $72k, so with our rollover from our first rig, we ended up financing the $99k (ugh-yes, we know and kick ourselves). Come to find out, with this being only a one run rig, most of them ended up being sold around that $72k mark even without show pricing, so we will take a major loss when we go to sell this. Since we are happy with it, luckily, that is a tomorrow problem!

But we’ve been happy with the overall structure of our rig, and haven’t had issues working with Keystone for warranty work or questions for our RV tech to fix. We know it will continue to be a good home for us as we continue our adventures into our 4th year of full-time RV life! The hope is that this will be our home until we have to downsize to a couple’s camper…or until our RV life chapter is over.

We’ve got walkthrough videos posted on the socials, if you want to check them out!