All Windjammer Owners

[youroo]

Originally Posted by ShastaJammer

Still figuring out the forums. I posted this on another forum and received a good reply, but I'm not sure if they cross-populate or not so I'll post on the WJ forum. We just had our first snow and we plan on using our 2015 Rockwood Windjammer 3006wk at least twice during the winter. Is it best to winterize while sitting, de-winterize to use, then winterize again and repeat until completely done for the winter? Storage is all outdoors without power. I anticipate one month between winter trips. We can get into single digit temps. Thanks in advance.

Winterize 100% or worry all winter! Youroo! !

[MCTroy]

Winterize. It Doesn't take long to do. By pass the water heater. We use an air compressor and blow out the lines. Leave the water filter out so you don't have to bother with that. Add some antifreeze to the drains and you are done. Much quicker than finding and fixing a leak in the plumbing. Enjoy your trailer.

[ShastaJammer]

A lesson learned during my first time winterizing our Windjammer 3006wk. Temps were dropping to 21 degrees sooner than I anticipated so I decided to give it a try. I used the anti-freeze method, but realized I did not have the proper attachment for the outside anti-freeze inlet, nor a separate suction hose on the water pump. I found the water pump and lines in the access door under the storage cabinets.

From this forum I learned to drain and bypass the water-heater, open the FW drain and empty the hot/cold lines behind the rear step. I removed the water filter (in same compartment as water pump) and shut off suction from FW tank.

As I stared into the compartment wondering how I was going to pump the anti-freeze throughout the lines I decided to un-hook the line connected to the outside anti-freeze inlet from inside the compartment. Make sense? The other end was already connected to the intake side of the pump. With the FW tank valve closed I inserted the hose into the anti-freeze bottle. The line was not long enough so I poured it into a pot and suctioned from there. With the filter removed I filled the canister with anti-freeze then turned on the water pump and anti-freeze flowed through the lines. I opened and closed each sink, indoor shower, toilet and outdoor shower as the anti-freeze flowed out. I added a little extra down each drain for the p-traps.

It's a long way around but, in a bind, it seemed to work. I will purchase a correct connection going forward, however. ~SJ

[youroo]

Originally Posted by ShastaJammer

A lesson learned during my first time winterizing our Windjammer 3006wk. Temps were dropping to 21 degrees sooner than I anticipated so I decided to give it a try. I used the anti-freeze method, but realized I did not have the proper attachment for the outside anti-freeze inlet, nor a separate suction hose on the water pump. I found the water pump and lines in the access door under the storage cabinets.

From this forum I learned to drain and bypass the water-heater, open the FW drain and empty the hot/cold lines behind the rear step. I removed the water filter (in same compartment as water pump) and shut off suction from FW tank.

As I stared into the compartment wondering how I was going to pump the anti-freeze throughout the lines I decided to un-hook the line connected to the outside anti-freeze inlet from inside the compartment. Make sense? The other end was already connected to the intake side of the pump. With the FW tank valve closed I inserted the hose into the anti-freeze bottle. The line was not long enough so I poured it into a pot and suctioned from there. With the filter removed I filled the canister with anti-freeze then turned on the water pump and anti-freeze flowed through the lines. I opened and closed each sink, indoor shower, toilet and outdoor shower as the anti-freeze flowed out. I added a little extra down each drain for the p-traps.

It's a long way around but, in a bind, it seemed to work. I will purchase a correct connection going forward, however. ~SJ

SJ,thanks for the update on your Winterizing your unit! Youroo! !

[dkkirkland]

I would say yes to winterize in between. I would not chance any pipes freezing. You do not have to have electric to run antifreeze through your system, you can use water pump from battery to pump it through. We did that the first year we winterized. We are still camping right now but plan on winterizing in another week. If we were going to pull out of storage to camp again, would still winterize now and again when we put it up. The only issue with having to winterize constantly is removing and replacing that inside water filter and taking anode rod out of water heater plus flipping bypass valve for water heater. The rest is pretty easy.

[mzmaris]

Hi, I am in the process of selling my house and seriously considering buying a 2017 Windjammer 3008W Ultra Lite, diamond. For the most part it will be parked under a shade in the So Cal desert where summers can get up to 120. So I would get 2 A/C's and 50amps.
When I travel I would pull it with a 2016 F150.
I read the recent article about RF topping the recall list. But it seems most people on RF forum don't see it as a big deal.
Do you have any suggestions or concerns I should be aware of before I talk to the dealer?

[D_B Travelers]

Originally Posted by mzmaris

Hi, I am in the process of selling my house and seriously considering buying a 2017 Windjammer 3008W Ultra Lite, diamond. For the most part it will be parked under a shade in the So Cal desert where summers can get up to 120. So I would get 2 A/C's and 50amps.
When I travel I would pull it with a 2016 F150.
I read the recent article about RF topping the recall list. But it seems most people on RF forum don't see it as a big deal.
Do you have any suggestions or concerns I should be aware of before I talk to the dealer?

I think FR Windjammer owners are concerned, but the recent recall article by Greg Gerber listed the number of recalls by manufacturer, not the percentage. With Forest River being one of the largest, or THE largest, manufacturer and producing thousands of RVs per month, I believe the percentage is in line with most others. That there is concern over recalls in the RV industry is well discussed in this forum, and many other places. If you have not purchased an RV before, then do your homework, look at weight that you are asking the F150 to pull, do a very through dealer pre-sale walk through, and just watch for advice in this and other travel-related forums for your own education. It can be fun, but it can be a disaster if you do not do your homework. That said, we love RVing, and will be buying a new fifth wheel in a couple of months, despite the current issues.

[mzmaris]

I am new to forums ! But not owning an RV. When my sons were preteen I had a 17ft Salem. My now grown son has a 38 ft toy hauler. We have been camping and offroading for years. But this is the first time I will live full time in a trailer.
I have been researching RVs online for a few months and the WJ seems to fit my needs.

[D_B Travelers]

Originally Posted by mzmaris

I am new to forums ! But not owning an RV. When my sons were preteen I had a 17ft Salem. My now grown son has a 38 ft toy hauler. We have been camping and offroading for years. But this is the first time I will live full time in a trailer.
I have been researching RVs online for a few months and the WJ seems to fit my needs.

We bought our 3001w new in 2014 and have probably camped 150 nights in it so far. I pulled it, up until April of this year, with a GMC 5.3 1500 with no problems. Up and down mountains in WY, OR, CO, and other places and it held 50 MPH just fine. Could have gone faster if I wanted to buy the gas! We have had almost no issues with the WJ, and most of those were a DIY fix requiring no down time. Best of luck with your trailer!

[Swift]

We bought our WJ 3001W new in October of 2015 and immediately began full-timing. We liked most of the WindJammer line but chose ours for the king-sized bed and layout. It has served us well though we had to take it back to the factory this summer to replace the entire floor assembly under warranty. We traveled around Texas last winter and spring, then toured the east coast, Niagara Falls and returned through the midwest on return to Texas. We have done no boondocking, always staying at full hookup parks. We are a retired couple plus a small dog and the trailer is perfect for our needs. Good luck!

[D_B Travelers]

Swift, what happened to your floors? I have a 2014 WJ 3001w also.

[MCTroy]

We had a 2015 WJ and love it. Very few problems and nothing serious. The only faults have been under tagged tires and a poor surround system. I haven't heard of anyone not loving their WJ. Our friends have been very impressed with the detail and quality of our trailer. Good luck and enjoy your trailer!

[Swift]

The floor delaminated in the kitchen. There was no leakage, it just started sagging. We ran into another couple whose Rockwood did the same thing a year earlier. When I sent a picture of the sag with a straightedge they knew exactly what happened though they didn't say how often it happens. They replaced our laminate floor deck with 3/8" plywood so it won't happen again.

[ShastaJammer]

Mzmaris,

We have a WJ 3006wk and we love it. No issues so far. We pull our 34 footer with a Ram 3500. I'm not sure the length of the one you're interested in, but I too would check the towing capacity on the F-150. Towing on flat smooth roads is one thing, but towing through winding mountains roads and in windy weather is another. Also, get a comprehensive walk around. You may want to video it for later reference. Good luck!

[gectisme]

mzmaris, Welcome to FROG and good luck with your purchase of whatever RV you choose. We have a different model but they seem similar in length and weight. We have been going around the US since June and we are very happy with it. You are absolutely right about the 50amp and 2 AC's. I wish we would have done that from the beginning. It doesn't add that much more to the cost and once you get to high temps with non-shade or high humidity, (what seemed like the whole East Coast this past summer ), the single AC doesn't cut it. I have found the WJ to be a good deal as far as comfort and quality for the price. 3 or 4 issues have been very minor and even the "big" issue didn't keep us from camping. The big issue was a tire blow out, it did some damage to the wheel well but luckily all cosmetic. That might keep us from camping depending if I have to take it in and have the dealer fix it. I am hoping the will ship me the parts and will fix it myself.

[CaptainJustice]

Originally Posted by mzmaris

Hi, I am in the process of selling my house and seriously considering buying a 2017 Windjammer 3008W Ultra Lite, diamond. For the most part it will be parked under a shade in the So Cal desert where summers can get up to 120. So I would get 2 A/C's and 50amps.
When I travel I would pull it with a 2016 F150.
I read the recent article about RF topping the recall list. But it seems most people on RF forum don't see it as a big deal.
Do you have any suggestions or concerns I should be aware of before I talk to the dealer?

You can PULL that with a F-150 but can you STOP it?
If you fill the truck with people and stuff, then put the hitch weight on it, will you be within the numbers the truck can handle?

[D_B Travelers]

Oh boy, here we go...there are about a zillion posts on this and other forums regarding weights. I knew this would come up sooner or later. Mzmaris can do a search and spend a week reading about weights, tow vehicles, etc.
And I agree, pulling isn't the real problem, most of today's engines will pull a WJ; stopping and control definitely are. I hope that Mzmaris has done his homework and understands the limits of his TV so he and his family will be safe while traveling. My 2013 GMC 1500 Ext. Cab was pretty much just under limits when we pulled our WJ, however, I made regular trips to the CAT scales to make sure I knew what I weighed. This link will help you figure out just how much you actually weigh and if you are withing your truck's limits. Look on the door sill for the sticker that tells you exactly what your truck can carry; NOT the sales brochures. This limit affects packing, how many could travel in the TV (only the DW and I in mine), and what extra items we could put in the truck bed. This was a very prominent limitation on traveling for us, so please be very aware of the F150 (or any 1/2 ton) abilities. Do your homework and you will KNOW you are okay and as safe as possible. Still...

[SailorSam20500]

Originally Posted by mzmaris

When I travel I would pull it with a 2016 F150.

As mentioned, truck capacities are probably the biggest issue. Before buying what we did, we were looking at the WJs, really liked the floorplans. Decided that tongue weight for the trailer would put me too close if not over the payload limit of my truck. Depending on which model and options you have on your 150, payload is probably the limiting issue.

All the dealers I talked to loved to quote dry weights. To be safe, I ran all my calculations based on GVW (max legal trailer weight). Assuming you don't exceed the GVW and using 15% of that as tongue weight and what you will have in your truck doesn't exceed the PAYLOAD (on yellow sticker on drivers door). Go for it.

I would also recommend you go with the best WD / anti-sway hitch you can afford. I went with a ProPride.

[dkkirkland]

We have a 2016 3008w and I love my front kitchen. We had some tow issues this past summer but resolved those by tire replacement and hitch adjustment. We had 2 flats while traveling to Grand Canyon and back (over 6000 miles) so replaced other 2 tires. We just winterized and stored ours for the season. We camped about 140 days this year in our WJ and 3 weeks last year when we bought it. Yes I do agree about 2 ACs. We have 2 and back one is also a heat pump so helps to heat, along with fireplace and not using your propane. We are towing with an F150 V.6 ecoboost and had no problem stopping or pulling mountains in Denver. Get an extended warranty if you're worried about your roof. We are very comfortable in out WJ. Wish we had a little more outside storage for lawn chairs etc. I think you'll be very happy with it.

[Swift]

I've seen people pulling WindJammers and similar trailers with half-ton trucks but have not tried it. I have a 2002 Ford Excursion with a 7.3L diesel (same chassis as an F-250) and it does very well handling the trailer. I use an Equalizer hitch and Firestone air bags that keep the rig level and the ride very stable.