Getting Started w/ 2306

[wtjimbo]

Hello, I have been following this forum for the past year in anticipation of buying a Rockwood soon. This is my first post after recently signing up. After extensive research I am planning on buying a 2015/16 2306. So my first question is what additional necessities does a trailer owner need to purchase along with a trailer? My family and I are completely new to the whole trailer scene and I have no idea what else I NEED to buy to be ready to camp. We live in southern California and are planning on doing camping in full hook up sites but would also like to do some dry camping. I have my eye on a dealership in central California that seems to have a large parts department. I am hoping to get everything I need in one stop. I know I will need a WDH and a brake controller, which this dealer does. Can anyone give me a list of necessities I will need to go from driving off the lot to a full hook up site? And maybe a rough estimate of what those will cost? Thanks for any input and I'm glad to be part of the forum.

JD

[LittlePM]

Welcome to the forum. A BIG necessity is a surge guard, it will protect your RV and your wallet

[Klbrown53]

I do use a surge guard now. It is a very good ideal. I also use a volt meter plugged into a standard outlet inside the trailer to monitor incoming voltage. The sewer hose that came with our Rockwood was very light duty so I replaced it with heavy duty. Also remember that the sewer dump at your campsite may not be close to where your sewer outlet is so you may need either an extra long hose or a extension. The first time that happened to me I was able to use the light duty one Rockwood provided as an extension to reach to sewer dump and later purchased a 2nd heavy duty hose. I also use a clear plastic elbow so I can see what kind of "stuff" I am flushing out of my black water tank. My dealer gave me a kit with sewer hose, water hose, one pair of plastic gloves and a bag of black tank treatment packs. I use a second inlet water hose for black water tank flush to keep my clean water hose away from my sewer tank flush connection. That is one for fresh water inlet and one for black tank wash. You will need some sort of blocks for your stabilizer feet. I purchased 2 packs of the plastic variety from camper world. In fact, most everything I mention here can be purchased at camper world. Caution, there may be a better price someplace else. Even though your trailer should come with a water filter we purchased a brita filter picture to filter our drinking water a second time. After last years camping we removed our factory water filter which was inside the trailer and now use an inline filter hooked to the water hose outside the trailer.

Always make sure your hot water heater has water in it before you turn the electric switch on. You will fry your heating element if you do not. Voice of experience.

Memorize or take pictures of where your valve handles should be to winterize and dewinterize.

Watch your tires. Most if not all Rockwood trailers come from the factory with cheap tires that are prone to blow. Monitor their pressure before and during every trip. Get them off as quick as you can. When I replaced ours I also replaced the cheap rubber valves with metal valves and went from 6 ply rated to 8 ply rated tires. I now use a TPMS on all four tires that shows pressure and temp. Also has an alarm threshold if any one of them loose pressure.

My dealer did not set up my WDH correctly nor did they sell me the correct tongue weight hitch based on the tongue weight of our trailer. My trailer manual showed tongue weight at 983 pounds and I weighed it at close to 1200 pounds. The hitch they put on was rated at max of 1000 pounds. 6 months later after I talked to the factory and got the complete owners manual from Equalizer I challenged my dealer and they gave me a replacement hitch. I changed it myself and made an adjustment so that it was set up correctly. Make sure the dealer has it set up correctly and challenge them if they do not. I trusted them to set mine up correctly so I had to learn about WDH setup to get it right. Owners manual for Equalizer brand hitch showed no more than 1/2 inch rise on the front and no more than 1 inch drop on the rear. When they set it up the front end rose 1 1/2 inches and the back squatted 2 1/2 inches.

I remember someone posted a check list of setting up and breaking camp. If you cannot find one then develop your own.

A lot of info here. But, I know I did not hit everything here. There are folks on here that have been RVing a lot longer than me. I have learned more from others on here than I have learned on my own.

Good luck and happy camping.

Ken and Ellen Brown




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[rockfordroo]

Take a look at this thread that's currently running:

http://www.forestriverforums.com/for...t-n-87303.html

[Klbrown53]

Rockfordroo,

Good thread.......


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[kandl]

to the forum. Rockfordroo's link to the prep details is spot on. The rest is up to you. Get out there and do that RV thing and along the way you'll discover what works best for ya.

[mbCik]

I would have the dealer install a vent cover and fantastic fan. I wish I would have done that when I made the purchase.

Also:

EMS surge protector
Sewer hose
Potable water hose
Anderson levelers
Digital voltmeter
Small toolbox with assorted tools
30 amp to 15 amp plug
Sink cover
Good tire pressure gauge

[DNBINFV]

Originally Posted by Klbrown53

Memorize or take pictures of where your valve handles should be to winterize and dewinterize.

Since you're from So Calif, you won't need to winterize unless you live in the mountains or snowy areas. We've had some type of RV since 1979 and never had to do it.


If you need a list I have my camping excel spreadsheet I'd be willing to email to you.

[wtjimbo]

Thank you all for your help and input. Combined everyone pretty much answered all my questions. I'll let you all know once we are trailer owners!

[jhoppmann]

One item to note is to make sure your tow vehicle is adequate. Myself and 1 other member here started out with Tacoma's and 2306's and both of us went to full-size trucks within 2 trips.

[bikendan]

Hope the Central California dealer is NOT Best RV!
If it is, be warned.
Checkout reviews of them. After we went shopping there, we quickly realized that they are only interested in the sale.

[53flattie]

Originally Posted by jhoppmann

One item to note is to make sure your tow vehicle is adequate. Myself and 1 other member here started out with Tacoma's and 2306's and both of us went to full-size trucks within 2 trips.

X2.




2015 Rockwood 2306
2015 Tundra CrewMax

[etothepii]

Originally Posted by 53flattie

X2.




2015 Rockwood 2306
2015 Tundra CrewMax

I went from a Nissan Frontier to a F150. Big difference.

[wtjimbo]

So you guys were not happy with the Tacoma? I have an 06 Tundra which is rated the same as the Tacoma's of that year. What type of issues did you have?

In response to the BestRV posts, what type of bad experience did you have? My reason for going there is they have the cheapest price on a 2306 by a significant amount. I don't plan on dealing with them after the purchase since they are 8 hours away. I was just planning on using camping world in Santa Clarita for any warranty/service once the trailer is purchased.

[jhoppmann]

Originally Posted by wtjimbo

So you guys were not happy with the Tacoma? I have an 06 Tundra which is rated the same as the Tacoma's of that year. What type of issues did you have?

Here was my experience with the Tacoma. Mine had the tow package so it had a rating of 6400#, but I don't think that applies to a trailer with a huge frontal area with so much drag.. The Taco has a pretty limited payload capacity, so to try and help I had removed my camper shell, 200lbs of skid plates, and swapped the 33s to 31s. Pretty much removing all the cool stuff...I had an Equalizer WD hitch, Tekonsha brake controller and flip out towing mirrors.

My first trip was from Phoenix (1100') up to the Mogollon Rim which gets up to 8000'. This was last month in AZ with the morning temps being 100*. The Taco complained a bit going up some of the grades. We were in 2nd a few times doing 50 at about 3800 rpms. Not bad but according to the Torque app the trans temps were over 245* (not good). Engine temp only got over 200 once. I was right on the edge of pulling over and letting the trans cool down.

On the flats and even downhill, everything is fine. No bob or sway and the trailer brakes worked great. When we got to a hill is when things weren't so great. Would the Taco have survived with a larger trans cooler and frequent trans fluid changes? Probably, but its the whole riding vs. driving thing. With a full-size I could enjoy the scenery without stressing out looking at Torque every few seconds to see if we need to pull over.

Given that the resale on Tacos was so high, I decided to cash out and move over to a full size. I had intended on just getting a 1/2 ton for the same money, but put some more into the deal and got a 3/4 ton diesel.

The older Tundra's have the same trans as the new Tacos. I would look into getting the Torque app and a OBD dongle and monitor your trans temps. A larger aftermarket trans cooler would probably do wonders.

I had actually asked 53flattie about it on a Tacoma forum and he said pretty much the same thing. Trouble in the hills. Im actually glad I didnt go with a smaller trailer now as I love the 2306 and really love the F250.

[bikendan]

Originally Posted by wtjimbo

So you guys were not happy with the Tacoma? I have an 06 Tundra which is rated the same as the Tacoma's of that year. What type of issues did you have?

In response to the BestRV posts, what type of bad experience did you have? My reason for going there is they have the cheapest price on a 2306 by a significant amount. I don't plan on dealing with them after the purchase since they are 8 hours away. I was just planning on using camping world in Santa Clarita for any warranty/service once the trailer is purchased.

Better check with CW before you assume that they will work on it.

BestRV has a terrible rep, especially regarding service after the sale.
We didn't like their sales tactics so we left and never went back.

[wtjimbo]

That's very surprising to hear since the 2306 is under 4K dry. Even heavily loaded I can't see the trailer getting over 5K. Have you ever weighed your trailer with your gear? You don't think the V8 is going to help take some of the stress of the tranny? I have looked at some transmission coolers but I am nervous about adding in an aftermarket piece and having it fail and ruin the whole transmission out on the highway.

[wtjimbo]

Originally Posted by bikendan

Better check with CW before you assume that they will work on it.

BestRV has a terrible rep, especially regarding service after the sale.
We didn't like their sales tactics so we left and never went back.

So you're saying RV shops will only work on trailers they sell? Even warranty work? I have yet to discuss a trailer place without someone saying how terrible it is. Can you or anyone else give me a good recommendation? I don't mind a far drive as long as I can make it in a day. It is hard to pass on a place that has the exact trailer I am looking for $4k less than the next lowest price I can find.

[PSUFan1]

Originally Posted by wtjimbo

That's very surprising to hear since the 2306 is under 4K dry. Even heavily loaded I can't see the trailer getting over 5K. Have you ever weighed your trailer with your gear? You don't think the V8 is going to help take some of the stress of the tranny? I have looked at some transmission coolers but I am nervous about adding in an aftermarket piece and having it fail and ruin the whole transmission out on the highway.

Do you plan on driving over mountains or just flat lands?

We have the sister trailer 23lb by flagstaff, and pulled it with an i6 gmc envoy with a 5000 tow capacity. It did good on flats but struggled on hills. I did add an aftermarket trans cooler.


2012 Ford F-150 EB Crew FX4 3.73 gears
2012 Flagstaff Micro Lite 23lb

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[bikendan]

Originally Posted by wtjimbo

So you're saying RV shops will only work on trailers they sell? Even warranty work? I have yet to discuss a trailer place without someone saying how terrible it is. Can you or anyone else give me a good recommendation?

Many dealers will refuse to do warranty work on units they didn't sell and the manufacturers can't force them.
Doesn't work like the Auto industry.
FR found us a number of local dealers that would do the work even though we bought from a dealer 2000 miles away.

I simply suggest you check with CW first.