Dimensions of Pass-Through Compartment Door on Mini Lite 2109S or Similar Models?

[F22]

Greetings,

We have custom ordered a 2012 Rockwood Mini-Lite 2109S. We'll be driving cross country to pick it up with our TV. So we will be taking along quite a lot of camping gear.

We would like to buy a couple of those clear bins to carry in our TV, and then to put in the front Pass-through compartment of our new TT. But I don't know the dimensions of the door to that compartment. The height is the most important to know, but the width would be handy too. If anyone owns a late model 2109S, could you do me the favor to measure that opening? Or perhaps a similar model of Mini-Lite. I suspect that several models of Rockwood might possibly have the same door.

Thanks in advance!

[Char_n_Kath]

I would suspect that your pass-thru doors are similar in size to the ones in our 2304, which was built with a pass-thru instead of the murphy bed. They measure 22" wide by 13.5" tall. I happen to have the pics so I know the size for the custom slide drawers I'm planning to build.....someday!!

[F22]

Thanks so much for that info and pictures, Charlie and Kathi! Much appreciated. That kind of looks like it could be the same door as on the 2109S. And I see that your pass-through compartment is deeper to the back than the doors, which is something I also noticed in pictures of that same storage space on the 2109S.

Below is a pic of two different 2109S trailers, one of each side of the TT, that I pulled off the web.


image hosting jpeg

[Char_n_Kath]

You are most welcome for the pics & info. Our prior unit was a 2104, which had the water heater & fresh tank up front & inside the 'pass-thru'. From the pics of the 2109S, I'd guess yours will be similar. The 'pass-thru' on our 2304 is actually not as deep as was in the 2104, as the tank & water heater aren't located in there. What it works out as is a full 'pass-thru' with nothing else in the compartment. If the fresh tank is similarly located in yours, you might just actually have some additional room on the 'door' side as well. That's the location I used to store the side-kick grill.

However yours is built, I know you'll have a great unit & lots of good times!

[F22]

Thanks for that. Here is a pic I pulled off the web of the Pass thru compartment of a 2109S. Is what we see there on the opposite side the water heater? Is this how your 2104 was? Where exactly was the fresh water tank on yours?

Originally Posted by Char_n_Kath

You are most welcome for the pics & info. Our prior unit was a 2104, which had the water heater & fresh tank up front & inside the 'pass-thru'. From the pics of the 2109S, I'd guess yours will be similar. The 'pass-thru' on our 2304 is actually not as deep as was in the 2104, as the tank & water heater aren't located in there. What it works out as is a full 'pass-thru' with nothing else in the compartment. If the fresh tank is similarly located in yours, you might just actually have some additional room on the 'door' side as well. That's the location I used to store the side-kick grill.

However yours is built, I know you'll have a great unit & lots of good times!

[Char_n_Kath]

Yes, what you see on the left in the pic is the water heater. I don't see a fresh tank, which if the pic was of our 2104 it would be in the picture. It was centered in the compartment left-to-right, and the front was about even with as far forward as the 'front' edge of the board that sits by the water heater. You might just have a very large 'pass-thru', as the back of the compartment is probably just what you see in the far left to the side of the water heater.

However, from the pic of the side of the 2109 (showing the slide-out), the water heater location is obvious. Above the compartment door are three 'connections.' One is obviously the fresh fill, and the other two appear to both look like city water connections. The fresh tank in our 2304 is under the floor. I don't know the location in a 2109 and can only guess from the pictures...

[F22]

Thanks for all that info. Much appreciated. I hope the fresh water tank is not too far forward of the axles, as in that case, whatever water one might travel with in the fresh water tank would add somewhat to the tongue weight, depending of course, on how far forward it is located.

It sounds like any water in the fresh water tank of your 2104 would have definitely added to your tongue weight.

[Char_n_Kath]

I never weighed the 2104 to check any change in the tongue weight due to water, so I don't know how the tongue weight was affected. But I did find that as long as my WD hitch was initially adjusted properly, which was with a near-full fresh tank, I had no problems towing from whatever increase/decrease in tongue weight resulted from the volume in the tank. The tank in our 2304 is under the floor, just ahead of the front axle, fyi.

BTW - where in southern AZ are you? We make Kartchner Caverns, Tucson area a regular camping location around Thanksgiving time. Also, where are you headed to pick up your 2109S?

[John1]

We just bought a new 2012 1809S Mini Lite travel trailer. The measurements of the passthrough storage in the front of the trailer are
22" x 14" for the inside clearance.

John1

[F22]

I'm in the Phoenix Metro area. We visited the Kartchner Caverns a couple of years ago and took one of the tours -- quite beautiful and amazing! I hadn't looked into campgrounds in that area. I'll check it out sometime. Thanks for the tip.

I special ordered the TT through Wana RV in far Northern Indiana. Their dealership is very close to the Rockwood factory. I shopped very thoroughly. Wana RV beat the price of RV Wholesalers, which I think is the best known of the dealers that sell nationwide, by quite a lot. I don't know if that would always be the case, but it was for me. Wana RV is a family run business, and I'm dealing with the son of the owners (who might be a part owner?). It's a very long drive, about 1850 miles from here, delivery cost was high, and I prefer to inspect it carrefully myself before taking delivery. I saved so much over any price I could get anywhere else, that the trip is justified. Plus, we will take the opportunity to visit various relatives in Kansas on the way home.

Originally Posted by Char_n_Kath

I never weighed the 2104 to check any change in the tongue weight due to water, so I don't know how the tongue weight was affected. But I did find that as long as my WD hitch was initially adjusted properly, which was with a near-full fresh tank, I had no problems towing from whatever increase/decrease in tongue weight resulted from the volume in the tank. The tank in our 2304 is under the floor, just ahead of the front axle, fyi.

BTW - where in southern AZ are you? We make Kartchner Caverns, Tucson area a regular camping location around Thanksgiving time. Also, where are you headed to pick up your 2109S?

[F22]

Thanks so much John1! Much appreciated! The 1809S and the 2109S appear to be close to identical trailers except in the 1809S the bed is sideways, and in the 2109S, it is a walk-around bed. Therefore I suspect it is fairly likely that the two models use the same pass thru compartment doors.

Originally Posted by John1

We just bought a new 2012 1809S Mini Lite travel trailer. The measurements of the passthrough storage in the front of the trailer are
22" x 14" for the inside clearance.

John1

[Char_n_Kath]

Your planned trip sounds reminiscent. I agree with you 100% about the cost/value, etc. of the trip being worth the $$ savings. We purchased from RV Wholesalers & visited relatives on the way there - but in Minnesota! We packed our pickup bed with all the needed supplies for the return trip & had to unload each night we stayed in a hotel & repack the next a.m. Total PITA. The one thing I wasn't able to accomplish, which I wish I had, was a tour of the Forest River factory.

I didn't shop Wana RV, but found RVW to be the only dealer that was able to get Forest River to build a truly customized 2304 for us. Not just ordering with the selection of interiors/options, etc, but they built it with a fixed queen bed and a full pass-thru instead of stock with a murphy bed - which oddly enough is not an option that Forest River offers for the 2304 even though the 2104 and 2306 models do provide the option.

[F22]

Our TV is a Toyota 4Runner SUV. But we have a dog who takes up 2/3 of the back seat, plus her food, dishes, etc. And like you, will take alot of gear for the TT. So we just purchased a used 20 cu ft rooftop cargo carrier to give us a lot of addditional room.

I guess at each motel stop on the way, we will unload the most valuable stuff from the SUV and also from the rooftop carrier, and just leave the-not-so-valuable-to-thieves camping gear in the vehicle. Though I am still concerned about the possibility of break ins to the vehicle -- I've never traveled where we left anything in the vehicle at night, and never traveled with a rooftop carrier, so this is a new experience for us. I don't know how often those rooftop carriers get broken into. We plan to choose our motels very carefully, with an eye towards safety for the vehcile at night, even if the motels cost a bit more.