Rockwood Mini Lite 2504s

[5Campers]

Originally Posted by vanreever

We have taken ours on 3 trips so far and can only find one flaw in the design. The screen door is a pain to close. We bought a handle and wala! Problem solved. Floorplan is perfect. Storage is abundant and it trailers great with my F150 using an E2 wd hitch. Huge props to Forest River on this model.

We picked our new 2504s up last week and when I saw your screen door comment, I have to ask, what handle did you buy? We are noticing the same thing with our screen door, we have the camper perfectly level but the screen door latch needs to be forced shut to stay put.
Otherwise, so far so good, though. Planning to practice with it in the backyard this weekend and go out on a real trip next week.

[Evereddie]

Originally Posted by 5Campers

We picked our new 2504s up last week and when I saw your screen door comment, I have to ask, what handle did you buy? We are noticing the same thing with our screen door, we have the camper perfectly level but the screen door latch needs to be forced shut to stay put.......

It's a common problem. I had to do a little re-aligning to my screen door latch. All good after that. The handle helps you pull the door closed and is available on Amazon. Also campers world.

[vanreever]

Amazon. Fairly easy to mount. I ditched the instructions and did it my own way. Came out good. When I go out to finalize packing for this weekends trip I will take a pic for reference.

[vanreever]

Here is the handle I mounted on the inside to make it easier to close the screen

[Evereddie]

Originally Posted by vanreever

Here is the handle I mounted on the inside to make it easier to close the screen

We first put one in like that, then mounted another bar like that at the top of the screen door because we found 2 other uses for them. First, they make a great tower bar for all of the slightly wet towels you end up with. Second, a towel on the top bar makes a great window shade for the window in the door. It blocks all the light that comes in in the morning when you want to sleep later than the sun comes up.

[5Campers]

Thanks! I'm going to show that to my husband this weekend.

[Skidooman]

We have spent 30 nights in our 2015 2504. It missed a lot of the new improvement we wish we had. Like the door on the slide out to access the storage under the dinette, and the wider bunks. Out bunks are only 24"x72 plenty long for the children but still not a lot of space. We will be upgrading in the next few years because of that mostly.


We have had a few problems, 1 speaker quit working {wire came loose}, trim piece fell off, the latches for the murphy bed screws got loose and stripped out right away, the dealer installed support behind them and bigger screws so it doesn't happen again. I also replaced the water filter with another cartridge from home depot, we have been to 2 camp grounds that had stinky water which wrecked the filter and at $30 a piece, I could get an equal filter cartridge for $20 from home depot and replaceable filters that are equal to the oem filter for $4.50 each.


I tow it with a 2012 Ram 1500 with a 5.7 and 3.55 gears it has plenty of power for the trailer I average about 9 mpg towing at 65 mph. I also use a 4 pt equalizer hitch. It is awesome absolutely no sway or wiggle at all from that trailer even when being passed by semis on a windy day. I would highly recommend that hitch, they are expensive but will add years to your life due to the lack of stress. They make noise even with the silencers but you know it is working then.


The heater works great we camped 4 nights in low 30-40 degree weather last fall and it was warm and cozy in it. The AC works very very well also.


We have also found out that this hobby is very expensive. We just bought a new tow vehicle a new 2015 Ram 2500 in preparation for the 5th wheel we will purchase in the next few years. Hopefully that is the last TV needed until retirement. Happy camping everyone.

[rockfordroo]

We have also found out that this hobby is very expensive.

To steal a phrase: "This isn't a HOBBY. It's a WAY OF LIFE!!!!"

[Cmreading]

Hi, do you know if you have to install the water filter?

[ACTKE2015]

Cmreading...What model year do you have? I have a '15 and it's under the bunk beds. All I had to install was filter cartridge after dewinterizing it. It is in a horrible location and I plan to relocate mine.

[debandi]

On our 2503s the water filter is in the cabinet under the sink in the bathroom. I however, did not install a filter.

[Cmreading]

Hi I have the 2504s. Do I have to put in the water filter is my question

[larrys2112]

You don't have to put a filter in that canister if you don't want to. Just use an inline external filter and you'll be fine. I did away with the canister altogether. I was reading reports of the canisters unscrewing themselves and flooding the camper.

[Cmreading]

Thank you

[voicebugler]

I wish I'd had the same luck with quality on my 2504s as the rest of you. Even the people listing issues have had it easy. Don't take this as a post just to bash FR. I really want to love our trailer and really like the layout, features, etc. My wife and I took delivery of our 2504s in June. We've enjoyed the trailer on several camping trips, but we definitely received what I'd call a lemon and it's been in the shop as much or more than at our house in between trips. Here's a rundown of warranty issues we've had to deal with.

1. Slide quit - turned out to be a fuse that I wasn’t able to locate - fixed

2. Slide not sealed well which allowed TONS of dust into the trailer during travel and was so bad that a pebble was able towork its way under the slide during travel and tore the linoleum at the dealer when sliding it out – more rubber seal added – slide fixed, linoleum will be fixed as soon as hunting season is completed

3.Tub not sealed well, which would allow water damage to occur by water leaking between it and wall – Work in progress

4.Drawers under the dinette continually popping open during travel - One finally tore up the track and the rebuild on the warranty seems to have corrected the issue. The other still needs to go back for the fix that corrected the first.

5.Murphy bed won’t stay latched during travel – one of the two latches

6.Soft spot in floor in kitchen area – has been reinforced with steel crossmembers to correct - fixed

7. Screen in small slide window won’tseat all the way down – bent window frame – on order

8. Front Door leaked at window –poorly sealed – has been corrected

9. Faucet in kitchen sink was loose – corrected

10. Fascia above slide was bowed and coming loose – fixed

11. Trim on top bunk cut wrong and was badly bowed – fixed

12. DVDs skip and won’t play past about chapter 10 – new DVD player on order

13. Refer – Caps on the door tops popping off during travel – the door panels inserts were cut incorrectly, allowing them to vibrate and bounce during travel – new panels on order

14. Supports holding fresh water tankin place badly bending – the whole support bracket for the tank was bending so badly the tank was likely to end up on the highway. The dealer built an entire new framework to support the tank.

15. Heat pads for holding tanks peeling off – not adhering to the tank – Temp fix, permanent fix is Work in progress

16. Thermostat fell off wall – There were three sets of holes where the panel had stripped previously – finally the panel was reinforced and the thermostat remounted – fixed

17. Landing pads for the dinette table coming loose and falling off – the pads the table sits on to make out a dinette bed were falling off – fixed

18. Wood panels behind the dinette cushions coming loose – jury is out on attempted fix

19. Fresh water tank drain spigot loose– fixed

20. Propane hose internals fell out when unscrewed from propane tank – fixed

21. Propane regulator won’t switch tanks – will be reported to dealer at next visit

22. Exterior trim under door coming off – will be reported to dealer at next visit



Whew, I think that covers it, for now. We purchased the trailer from Camping World in Meridian, ID. The first couple of visits to CW were ill fated attempts to correct issues that were going wrong and our list was getting longer, rather than shorter. We were also stuck in a waiting game of manufacturer approvals for warranty work. I requested an escalated meeting with aservice manager to put pressure on getting work completed. We were 8 weeks into ownership and it seemed like nothing was getting done. I pushed to have the dealer approve fixes since they were the point of purchase and service center, the problems were obvious, and we have a written bumper to bumper warranty on the trailer the requires coverage. I stressed that they could fight it out with the manufacturer on approved repair hours and such on their time, not ours. They agreed and stepped up. Around that same time, Forest River started approving everything without pushback, per the Service Writer at the dealer that we’ve been working with since day 1. I fully understand that not everything on the list is Forest River manufactured, but you can see that a lot is. I was flabbergasted when the issues we’ve been having went as far as guts to the propane hose falling out. What??? How does that happen??? I’m sure those are purchased by the thousands. What are the odds of that hose ending up onour trailer to compound all the issues we’re experiencing? Regardless of who manufactures the components used, they’re all built in to a Forest River product and very reflective oftheir quality control. This is our first new trailer purchase. Our trade in never gave us a single issue, we just wanted to upgrade and go slightly larger, with a slide. It’s been a frustrating process to say the least. I really hope we’re about to see a light at the end of the tunnel. I see several FR products linedup at the service center every time I’m there, which has been pretty frequently. I really hope that others don’t have the extent of problems we have. If they do, FR has some definite quality control issues.



I did lots of research before buying and like this thread, most reported having very few issues with their trailers. I’ve had a really bad case of buyer’s remorse and hope to find things improving. I do have to give credit to CW and FR on the warranty side of things, once the approvals finally startedcoming through. We love the layout, love the feature list, and want to love this trailer.



Fingers crossed.

[debandi]

WOW! That sure is frustrating, all those problems and now that repairs have started I sure hope things get better and you can enjoy your new TT.
By the way... we had one of those propane hoses on our trailer too. Unscrewed it and the insides just flew out. Replaced the hose and everything is good now.

[GaryS502]

Hopefully by now, you are enjoying your 2504s. We bought ours (2015) in December 2014, and have used it five times (13 days). I made a bad decision in buying a V6 Ford F150 as our tow vehicle. The V6 does not have enough power to comfortably pull this trailer. I am in the process of getting a V8. Also, mileage was terrible due to the load on the engine. We had other issues if anyone is interested in reading them.

[GaryS502]

Yikes we had QA issues, but nothing like yours. We had to have the kitchen counter-top and medicine cabinets replaced. There was a bolt too long on the slide, which put a big gash in the floor. It took the dealer four tries to get the problem resolved. The microwave screws were stripped, so it started to come out on the 5th use of the trailer. We have had a battery issue, which is likely the battery not the trailer.

[Lon]

My freshwater tank ended up on the highway at seventy miles per hour I guess I should complement the small electric wires that held when the steel brackets broke dragging the tank and brackets. I got to Waller in the mud during a rainstorm cutting away the debris so I could continue my trip. While laying flat on the asphalt my head was two feet from semis roaring by. I tried to picture the headline in the paper the next day. "His head was crushed like a watermelon". Or would cant elope be better? I never take my Rockwell out without ductape and it was invaluable on this trip. I called Rockwell and they kindly sent me all the replacement parts free of charge. Next time I will not fill my freshwater tank before leaving camp. Go hogs!

[debandi]

We have a few problems with our camper as well, the rear window leaks in a hard rain and we have had to replace a screw that was only half screwed in. We are tied down with a new house now so camping is not an option but, when the time comes we will be going camping even if its only a few miles away LON you've got a good sense of humor! Glad everything turned out all right.