rockwood 2304s - beware of the BLACK HOLE

flugelboneman · 08-14-2011, 10:45 AM

we are the loving owners of the above trailer.....however something happened to use the other night at 3 am that literally "brought us to our knees". i turned over in our wonderfully comfortable Murphy Bed, which makes this model so desirable. a corner of our comforter caught my glasses, which were at rest on the adjacent night table. my wife heard them bounce off the wall at the head of our bed. we both got up to retrieve them. they were nowhere to be found. remember now, 3 am, still half asleep, i got my trusty flashlight and my wife spotted glasses, at rest at the bottom of the space which holds the murphy bed when it is stored. it is a deep hole with no access. it is wasted space until the murphy bed is put away. could not reach the glasses. then, as i was reaching, straining to retrieve the glasses, i dropped the flashlight. now it is merrily lighting the black hole as it lies beyond our reach. my very patient wife then gets her broom. as i try to snag either lost item, i drop the broom, which now lies beyond my grasp. of course, now the coat hanger comes out. i am able to rescure the broom, which i eventually use to bring both lost items to the surface. by now it is 4 am and we are both totally exhausted from efforts expended, as you have to stand on your head to operate at the head of the bed. oh yes, while i am conducting the operation, my wife is holding the bed down. she moved to get something and the bed immediately rises with my weight at the head, trapping my arm and almost breaking it. at the last moment my wife reacts to my screams and restores the bed to its operational position. finallly we fall into the bed, ensuring glasses are in the drawer by the bed. when i awakened the following morn, i looked at my wife and remark to her that i had a terrible nighmare about losing my glasses. she looked at me as only a wife can when the husband commits another stupid blunder and tells me it was not a dream. i am sharing this with the forum to warn all other owners of murphy beds of the possibility of impending disaster. happy camping folks.

maggiek · 08-14-2011, 06:43 PM

This is absolutely the best information we have found about the 2304. As well, it is timely because we are trading our ETC 184 on a new 2304 tomorrow. Never having any dealings with this type of bed set up, we never thought about where the "murphy bed" went, other than up against the wall. Now, with this info we will be sure to leave our glasses on the dinette table or in the bedside draw. Anyone know of any other secrets this unit may have that could cause one to have "bad dreams"? Again thanks.

flugelboneman · 08-14-2011, 06:58 PM

Please do not my experience deter you from purchasing this trailer. It is far and away the best use of space in an RV we have seen anywhere. The Murphy bed is a delight to put up and down, taking only seconds. Once up, you have the living space of a 28' trailer. It is also one of the most towable I have encountered. After owning at least a dozen RV's of every configuration, we have found what we consider the panacea. We probably will go from this trailer straight into the rest home, as we will not be giving it up willingly. Of course, any more encounters with the "black hole" could possibly expedite that transition to a rest home.

maggiek · 08-14-2011, 07:54 PM

flugelboneman
We are truely looking forward to our travel with the 2304. The ETC 184 it is replacing, although only a year old, has it's own "charm" but the lack of interior space was brought to light during our last outing when there was no room for "guests" during a rain event. We are new to modern travel trailers becauseits been near 30 years since we've camping, the last trailer we owned was a Coleman pop-up we bought used in 1982. Camping kind of got away from us, but we are embracing the concept with a new vigor caused by retirement and a need to see what is left of this country before the "rats" destroy it. Your experience over the years with other rv's and your like for this one encourages us that we have made the right choice, "black hole" and all. Again thanks for you insight and happy travels.

Campski65 · 08-14-2011, 08:20 PM

You should be in for a treat. We Love our 2304, we got it in July and it has been awesome for us. We love the murphy bed and the bathroom space is amazing. I hope you enjoy your new unit as much as we enjoy ours.

Nigels · 08-14-2011, 08:46 PM

Try contact lenses, the disposable type..let the blackhole just swallow them up

rschoono289 · 08-18-2011, 11:17 AM

flugelboneman

Your writing was a riot to read. We just bought an ETC 181 and have been on first camping trip and concerned about the bed trapping one of us in the black hole... orientation is slightly different than on the 2304 as we lie parallel to the TT front wall. The person closest to the wall might disappear into the black hole.

The 2304 is great layout but might be too much for our gen 1 Tundra to tow. Maggiek what TV will you use with the 2304?

Aylesford · 08-18-2011, 11:33 AM

Might be dear wife disappearing into the black hole. Now I am nervous but have witnesses here Hahaha!

maggiek · 08-19-2011, 03:00 PM

rschoon289
We will be towing with a 2011 RAM 1500 Quad 5.7 with 3:55 gear and all the tow stuff. Nice to see someone else with an ETC. We just traded our 2010 184 ETC on a 2304 on the 15th, but other than bringing the 2304 home we haven't done anything but put the stuff in it and start to clean it. (PDI's aren't what they used to be!!) The short trip from the dealer was quite pleasant and uneventfull, the best kind, uneventfull. The 2304 tracked as advertised without any antsiness (sic) that the 184 ETC demonstrated. Like I say haven't been very far with it yet.
Also, the wife is aware of the blackhole and has now renamed it the "man-cave". I guess that is where I'll be living if I mess up any more often.

rschoono289 · 08-19-2011, 03:51 PM

Maggiek

We use an E2 WDH and havent had any ansyness with towing our ETC 181. I was told by sales that the 2304 is one of the best TT to tow. I guess this is due to high hitch weight due to Murphy/couch combo. Enjoy your travels with the new TT.

Bob-B · 08-19-2011, 09:41 PM

For about $7.95, Wal-Mart has a "picker arm" that is about 3 feet long, has a squeeze handle, and has "fingers" at the end that come together for picking things up. That's a lot cheaper and less painful than a broken arm. Check the "as seen on TV" section of the store.

flugelboneman · 08-21-2011, 07:46 PM

Sorry Schoon, did not notice your query on TV until second read. We tow our 2304 with a 2009 Chevy Trailblazer. Maximum weight is 5200 lbs. Our trailer loaded for travel is 4600 lbs, so we are good to go. With the 300 HP inline six cylinder motor, the Chevy yanks the trailer around very well, up steep grades and down. I will install a tranny cooler before I attempt any of the monster pulls throught the Rockies. We have a 3:55 rear end, but no problem with low end power. I get 12-14 MPG going pretty steadily when towing. I have quite a skookum equalizer hitch system and get no swing or sway. Very slight movement when cube vans or semis pass me going same direction on four lane. After towing many combos, I am quite impressed with this duo.

rschoono289 · 08-21-2011, 08:47 PM

flugelboneman

The 2304 is nice layout and the murphy bed/couch makes all the difference. Your gas milage is excellent with the Trailblazer. We really enjoyed your post, very well written. Enjoy your travels in the 2304 but stay out of the "black hole"!

flugelboneman · 08-21-2011, 09:15 PM

Thank you Roy & Jean. Actually it was very poorly written. I apologize for that. I neglected to edit the piece before I posted it and was horrified at the shoddy manner in which it appeared. I could plead senility, or even drunkeness, but sadly, it was just neglect. I know I got my point across, but will take more care in the future.

Ian Parsons

rschoono289 · 09-07-2011, 09:12 PM

Well it finally happened I fell into the Black Hole!! How scary it was. Hubby was indisposed with the fan on. I was yelling and banging on the outside wall of the Murphy Bed trailer. How dark it was. Not sure what other campers were thinking of the commotion. Anyway I am finally rescued by an arm reaching down and dragged back up onto the mattress. Needless to say I am NOT a happy camper and terrified of falling again. This happened on day 6 of our 3 week vacation to the Maritimes on the East Coast of Canada we return home September 18th and cannot wait to have a good night's sleep in my own bed. Don't think I want a trailer with a Murphy Bed again, they are not safe, accident waiting to happen.

Anyone had a similar experience? We are awaiting a response from Rockwood.

Jean Schoonover

Rockwood Mini Lite ETC181 2010

flugelboneman · 09-07-2011, 11:45 PM

hello jean,

sorry to learn of your fall into the black hole. in spite of our rather testy experience one nite trying to retrieve my glasses, we still love our 2304s with the murphy bed. it only takes a second to put it up and down and we have the spaciousness of a 28' trailer in 23'. don't let it get you down. don't think you could have better rv for the price.

iluvlcy · 09-08-2011, 12:57 AM

We love our 2304s,and we also lost something in the black hole. We remedied it by removing the face board behind sofa,it is just stapled on and put some velcro on it so we can remove it in case we lose something. problem solved. Love the murphy bed!

rschoono289 · 09-08-2011, 11:15 AM

Thanks to both of you for your responses. I will get over this one day and have a few laughs too. Roy was doubled over laughing and tears streaming down his face after I was safely on the bed. We joked with the family about Mother falling down there, they thought it quite funny. Now, if Roy falls down he will have to stay there, no way I could pull him out. We have to keep our sense of humour don't we eh? I had my eye on the 2304S before buying this trailer. I loved the layout and the MB was against the wall with room to walk around the bed. The sofa is something we wish we had. We have no place to sit and relax with just the dinette.

Jean in rainy New Brunswick

phrogpilot73 · 09-14-2013, 09:30 AM

I never thought I'd say "me too". I was aware of the black hole (after reading this thread) and was always careful to not drop anything in. I forgot to brief my wife on the black hole, and last night I found myself (at 2:30 in the morning) trying to use a swiffer wet jet handle (it was curved, and I need the curve to reach), and a set of grilling tongs to recover her cell phone.

flugelboneman · 09-14-2013, 11:01 AM

Ah yes, the black hole. Even today after yea those many days ago, she who shall be obeyed watches me very carefully when we retire for the night. Where are your glasses? (In the drawer dear) Where is your watch? (Safely in the side compartment, my little dove). Put your book where it is safe! (Yes, my sweet). She is very wary of my bumptuousness after having to get up at 3 AM that fateful night to fetch my tools, e.g. broom handle, coat hanger, flashlite etc.

It is reassuring to discover someone who has experience similar fates. Perhaps we can start a club.

You may also like: