Took the camper for its maiden voyage this weekend and thought I would share my experience and impressions so far, in hopes that it will help someone else - the way I've been helped by this board...
We went to a local KOA for the first trip bc it was close and had full hookups. I'm towing with a Tacoma, and have been a little apprehensive from the get-go about how it would handle the weight. I have to say that it does a very admirable job of towing. With the Prodigy brake controller and the WD hitch, I was comfortable. Take-off is a good bit slower than normal, but that can be expected with a 4K pound trailer behind you. Towing mirrors are a must. I bought the universal CIPA brand from Amazon for $18/ea. I also ordered a wide-angle lense for the passenger side, which is MUCH better than the standard one. The mirrors were recommended by the guys on a Tacoma board and they were right - simple to attach, and pretty stable even at highway speeds.
As for the camper itself - wow. We couldn't be more pleased. (Keep in mind that we've been in a 1999 pop-up for the last 5 years, so part of my excitement should probably be tempered with that...) Rockwood really put a lot of thought into this trailer and it shows. Things we LOVE - electric awning, built-in LED awning lights, electric tongue jack (I love it, wife probably doesn't even know it's there), the portable TV mount, surround sound system, the large storage tray under the couch, and of course, the Murphy bed. Everything works together great. One thing we really liked, and didn't realize until we used it - the different "zones" for the surround sound. What that allowed us to do last night was to lay in bed - with our daughter asleep in her bunk - and watch the basketball game without disturbing her. We muted the TV itself, and only turned on the two speakers over our bed (Zone 1). It worked perfect.
We loved the grill that came with it, along with the small "prep table" that hangs beside the grill. Both are good quality and work well.
I read some folks complaining about the lack of storage space, but we found there to be PLENTY. In fact, we haven't even filled every space...
Few minor complaints (if you can call them that) - the toilet seat is noisy, as many have pointed out. The ladder for the bunks is a poor design as it arrives from the factory. It is basically useless and I'm actually surprised the product liability lawyers for FR let it go out... It basically just leans against the rail of the top bunk, and could VERY easily slide off to the side or the feet could slide out. Neither would not be good for the child climbing it. I saw another member here who had added hooks, so I copied that idea. I also had to trim the bottom corners just a little, else they would dig into the floor covering. It works great now.
We love the full-extension drawer slides, but two of them (one under the sink, and the one under the couch) seem to be slightly out of adjustment. You have to slam them fairly hard to get them to "latch" (if that makes sense). I looked around them to see if there was an adjustment, but I didn't see anything. Does anyone have any advice on that?
A few pictures.
I used an old workout mat to line the exterior storage compartments. When I put my WD hitch and bars in there the first time, I realized they could easily damage the flooring.
All set up (wife has some kind of picture app that does this):
Linear Mode
