Rockwood vs ... - quality, warranty and price

[calnor]

Hey,

Looking to buy my first TT but a fairly concerned with all the posts about issues with new TTs, dealers not covering warranty, etc.

1. Do all (or most) Rockwood Mini Lites have delivery issues?
2. Seems like most dealers won't cover warranty if you didn't buy from them? what happens when taking long trips? if dealer you bought from can't seem to fix issues?
3. Is it possible to go to any RV shop for repairs and have FR cover the fixes? (there are local RV maintenance shops that got excellent reviews vs dealers with lots of complaints)
4. For prior Jayco (and other) TT owners - hows FR vs Jayco (or others)? warranty? dealer "quality"? overall quality?

So, why get an FR vs Jayco? Keystone?

Finally, anyone look into 2504s vs Jay Flight/White Hawk 23MBH? features? tank sizes? space? quality?

Thanks and very much appreciate all the feedback! This community is awesome! ;-)

[bikendan]

FR will reimburse for warranty work at an independent RV shop. as long as you get pre-approval.

[larrys2112]

I have a 2013 Mini Lite 2503S. I've owned it for two and a half years. I had to replace a bad battery last year. They allowed me to swap it out locally and they took care of the charges with the local NAPA store. We love our Rockwood so much we just ordered a larger one.

[LandJ]

I bought a 2502 mini lite, and only had 1 minor problem that was quickly taken care of. I just picked up our second Rockwood, a 2604ws and it seems pretty good so far. i had a minor issue with a blind, but was bale to fix that. I'm having a problem with CO detector and dealer said they would send a new one.

So far, so good....

[calnor]

Thanks guys. Good to hear some of you are getting decent units. Naturally, you get to mostly hear complaints on the forum. Too bad FR doesn't have "community managers" which go on this great forum and try to help with issues people are having. That would have probably improved confidence of all members of this forum

[LandJ]

Originally Posted by calnor

Thanks guys. Good to hear some of you are getting decent units. Naturally, you get to mostly hear complaints on the forum. Too bad FR doesn't have "community managers" which go on this great forum and try to help with issues people are having. That would have probably improved confidence of all members of this forum

Things can and will go wrong as they rumble down the road. Sometimes I think folks have unreasonable expectations on the “robustness” of the systems and the maintenance they may require. Rockwood seems to be a decently built coach, but when you think about all you get for the dollars, they really are quite a bargain, IMO. I have no delusions that a certain amount of "cost cutting" workmanship takes place from time to time as they try to keep up production at the factory. Imagine how much it would cost to source and build a similar coach while also paying someone a livable hourly rate. My trailer company would need to charge much more per unit.



Forums are naturally a place for people to come and complain… the thousands of happy owners that never frequent the forum will never be heard from, and they are the vast majority.

[BooBoo23]

Originally Posted by calnor

Thanks guys. Good to hear some of you are getting decent units. Naturally, you get to mostly hear complaints on the forum. Too bad FR doesn't have "community managers" which go on this great forum and try to help with issues people are having. That would have probably improved confidence of all members of this forum

There are some FR product managers that monitor this forum. BClemons is one of them.

[Stlcaly]

We have had our minilite for 3 years and average 10 weeks on the road each year. Minor issues were handled in a timely manner by our dealer and we replaced a screen door and jackstand while on a trip at a very friendly dealer in Fl. I agree that you are better off staying with your selling dealer for service. Never tried CW for any service, just store purchased items. I read with interest all of the problems on this forum, but I would not hesitate to purchase another Rockwood if I were in the market

[wnelsonfl]

Had my mine for two years/ 20,000 miles. Had a few problems fixed by either local dealer or camping world.
My opinion is that the product is made as good as can be expected. They take a beating out there in the world of dirt roads and pot holed highways.

[pontiacdan45]

We bought our 8289 WS last August from Camping World. In retrospect I'd have to say that we were unprepared for owning our first fifth wheel, having never camped before. We didn't have any issues after delivery and everything worked well in the unit. We've had it back to Camping World and they have been responsive. We really like our unit but we've had to realize that while the design is very good for us, we would need something more substantial be full timers. We looked at a lot of different travel trailers and 5th wheels and this one fit our needs best. Using the selling dealer for service or repairs is a good idea in my opinion.

[RSchleder]

Not sure how many RV's you've owned but please understand, a few "startup issues" is pretty normal when buying a new unit. I've bought 2 new FR Wildcat MAXX units in the past couple of years and they have been extremely reliable. My son's Rockwood has not had a single problem in 4 years. Go for it, you'll be pleased you did!

[robsshots]

We own a Rockwood 8280 fifth wheel (Signature Ultralite.) I used to sell these things along with Jayco, Keystone and others. Over a period of months I became convinced that the Rockwood offered best value and pretty decent quality in a low-quality industry. Many of the problems with RVs is many of the components are manufactured by one or two suppliers - i.e. Norcold/Dometic for example. Windows, latches, handles, plumbing…unless these items are well made (and many are simply not) you eventually have problems. We've been full-timing in our Rockwood for a little over a year. Not one thing wrong so far, other than a window in the sidewall of our living slide out that disintegrated one night when I closed it. It simply shattered as tempered glass is supposed to do. Took a few phone calls but got a helpful (overworked) service rep at the headquarters to overnite a replacement window to a dealer a short drive from where we were camping. Made an appointment with that dealer - 3,000 miles from where we bought it - and they had the job done in an hour. Lousy install, but it does not leak!
The other part of the biz is service at the dealer level. Very hit and miss. Almost all service guys have learned by doing; no factory training, no industry standards for repair/maintenance work. So that part tends to be a crapshoot. But I was indeed pleasantly surprised by the rapid support from Rockwood, I just had to stay on top of it with follow up calls.
We have traveled from Ohio to WV, to Great Smoky Mountains National Park, to the Grand Canyon, Phoenix/Tucson, on to California and Big Sur; Yosemite; up the coast of Oregon into the Gorge; on to Olympic National Park, from there to the Palouse area of East Washington, and now sitting in Glacier National Park. We will leave here shortly for Denver, then eventually wind up in Florida for the Winter. Not to impress you, but to note that we have put about 10 years worth of "normal" wear and tear RVing into our Rockwood and been essentially trouble-free. Yes some odd fix-its ourselves, but nothing worth a sneeze of concern. To me, that speaks volumes about basic quality. We also found that we could extend the bumper to bumper warranty for a second year for $150. There is a sheet of paper - that's all - that you fill out and send into Forest River with a check. If you don't do that within 30 days of taking delivery you don't get the second year. So we still have about 10 months of warranty left!
One key thing to keep an eye on: the roof and its seams. Ours is separating along the front cap, and I am repairing it next week with basic TPO tape. That tape is stronger than the roofing material and sealant that they install at the factory. I was very surprised to see that white sealant coming up along the seam. They should use a stronger, more pliable material at the factory, IHMO. But it is an easy fix and we will avoid potential water damage.
While in sales, I talked with owners of both Jayco and Rockwood often. While Jayco includes a 2 year warranty in the purchase price, I was very surprised at the enthusiasm and loyalty of the Rockwood owners. Plus, in comparing what you get for you money, we chose the Rockwood over the Jayco offering. No complaints from this owner, and would buy Rockwood again.

[JoeNanMinn]

We bought a Rockwood MiniLite 2503S new spring of 2012. We never had any issues or problems at all with it. I guess we were lucky. We loved it but this year decided to go bigger so we bought a 5th wheel. We sold the MiniLite to our son. I would buy Rockwood again anyday.

[beagle22b07]

I too a puzzled about all the complaints. I purchased a 2015 2104S MiniLite in February of 2015 and so far I'm happy with it. We had it out on 3 week long shake down trips prior to our x-country trip. We are now in day 15 of a 40 day trip from Pittsburgh to Portland to Grand Canyon and back home and so far have not had any problems, not even with tires which was my big concern. Most people I've talked to say your first RV is usually the one you build up from. So may people have told me they've moved up from small TT's like mine to 5ers to motor homes. I had some minor issues on the walk thru, but my local dealer fixed them before I picked it up. There have also been little things that I've just fixed on my own, but also think that just goes with the territory. Everything you own requires attention and maintenance. I would definately recommend Rockwood MiniLites to anyone looking.

[RoyalFrog2]

We have owned two previous brands of RV's but we LOVE our new Rockwood TT and will only buy Forest River products from here on. We were stunned by the awesome service provided at the recent Forest River Owners Group (FROG) International rally in Goshen.

[frisbyh]

Just took our 2015 Rockwood 2604WS on a 4600 mile trip through the Canadian Maritime Providences with Adventure Caravans. Worst blacktop roads I have ever been on. While other units had blown tires, slide problems, broken shower doors, etc, our 2604 had no major issues. Very pleased with Rockwood and this unit.

[nomad297]

Our Rockwood Windjammer 3029W blows away the quality of workmanship of my good friend's Redwood fifth wheel. We had no items to fix at our PDI and we still have had no problems. Our friend's PDI took several hours and resulted in a couple of pages worth of items to fix. He has had it for two years now and he is still maintaining a long list of warranty items -- I guess it's a good thing Redwood has a three year warranty.

While Redwood is touted as "one of the best" RVs out there, I have proof that this is not true. I believe that Rockwood is really one of the best out there.

Bruce

[MCTroy]

We had a Rockwood signature ultra light and liked it. Very solid unit except a leaky front window. Traded it for a Windjammer 3029. We think this will be our last camper because we love it so much! No problems except a poor radio, surround system. That will be replaced soon.

[rmillermtsu]

We are new to Rv'ing with 17 nights camped in four trips. We purchased our new 2016 Forest River Micro Lite 25dks from a local dealer in March 2015. We shopped hard and originally found this unit competitively priced at a dealer about 150 miles from our home. We were advised by a couple of dealers that we would get better service, especially warranty repairs if we got service from the dealer we purchased our unit from. So when we went back to our local dealer, they matched the lower price because as they said, "they did not want another dealer to get all of the profit and they get stuck with all of the headaches." I guess this makes sense in some ways. Immediately after taking delivery, I realized that I needed to quickly educate myself enough so that I could be able to spot problems and be my own service department. During the initial service from the factory, the technician serviced our water system. I remember him telling me when he set up our WD/ AS hitch that the rear of the truck hardly dropped an inch with the weight of the trailer tongue. Little wonder - he did not drain the full gray water and black water tanks (500 lbs of extra weight near the rear bumper). We discovered this when we got home. Now all is forgiven. With a couple of exceptions, we are well satisfied with the quality and design of our new trailer.

[Mark and Kelly]

We just bought the same model as you. Just wondering why you don't believe you could not full time in it. Size? Lightweight? Just curious.... Thanks