Looking at a 2014 Roo 23ikss -

[cousin_eddie]

Coming from the Pop-Up world, I have a few questions. -
Anyone have any problems with these we should be aware of?
Do the LED awning lights run on battery?
Does the stove run when you are on battery?
How is the heating and air conditioning for the rear bunk?

Camper is in good shape, and we are probably going to pull the trigger, but had a few questions.

Thanks!

Jason \

[bikendan]

Originally Posted by cousin_eddie

Coming from the Pop-Up world, I have a few questions. -
Anyone have any problems with these we should be aware of?
Do the LED awning lights run on battery?
Does the stove run when you are on battery?
How is the heating and air conditioning for the rear bunk?

Camper is in good shape, and we are probably going to pull the trigger, but had a few questions.

Thanks!

Jason \

LED lighting is 12v DC.
Stove is propane, not 12v nor 110v electric. I'm wondering what you think the battery would run on a stove. My popup stove were just propane, like the Roo's.
a/c will be from ceiling ducts, heat from ducts at floor level.

You need to get Popup Gizmos and Reflectix for the tent ends for maintaining temperatures.

[rsdata]

Anyone have any problems with these we should be aware of?

some have problems with the tent ends not sealing against the trailer and letting in rain water when closed for storage... there are threads on how to adjust the locks for a better seal, or you can replace the rubber gasket if necessary

Do the LED awning lights run on battery?
Does the stove run when you are on battery?

inside and outside lights all run on battery, and the stove only needs a propane tank.

How is the heating and air conditioning for the rear bunk?

The best thing about the hybrid is the electric (120VAC only) heated mattresses. No such thing as crawling into a cold bed with it plugged into power. Air movement in the tent ends is important to help combat condensation and cool air movement, but you should have a light/fan combo for each bunk that runs off 12V that helps with that. I almost always have a 20 inch fan running in the trailer with the air directed usually straight up or to the rear to provide better air circulation in the trailer and the bunks with the AC on or off.

[Chuck_S]

These are highly versatile trailers. Unlike many travel trailers that now depend on "residential" type refrigerators and other appliances.

The range and oven are LP and need no power. The water heater and furnace are also LP but they need 12vDC to light and in the case of the furnace run the blower. The refrigerator is LP but needs 12vDC for the logic board. All can get their 12vDC via the converter when on shorepower or directly from the battery. Water heater and refrigerator will also run on straight 120vAC on shorepower.

-- Chuck

[njfishing]

I came out of a pop us as well and the difference is night and day... You'll be very happy come set up and tear down time and the extra room and creature comforts will be appreciated as well...

The bunk ends are the where you want to pay the most attention when shopping. There are seals around them that you need to watch after so when closed you don't get any leaks... If there are any signs of delamination where the fiberglass is separating from the core, soft spots on the floor etc this would indicate a leak and these sorts of repairs are costly.

[cousin_eddie]

Originally Posted by bikendan

LED lighting is 12v DC.
Stove is propane, not 12v nor 110v electric. I'm wondering what you think the battery would run on a stove.

Stove? Nothing I guess. Oven? Electronic ignition, timers, safeties, just off the top of my head. I guess I’m sorry for using the wrong technical word, but I meant oven....

[cousin_eddie]

Thanks for the replies everyone. I’ve had pop ups almost my entire life, but never a travel trailer. Wife would like a bathroom, so that will take some getting used to as well. Our current pop up has two batteries on it, as we both have CPAP masks, this one only has one. With all the 12 loads, I’m thinking a second battery will be coming next spring. Although now with all the 120 volt creature comforts, maybe I can talk her into staying at places with hook ups. :-)

[CNYCamper]

The 23ikss has a total of 2 heat vents, both at the back and one of these is in the bathroom (with 2 slides there's no room to run floor ducting to the front) so it takes awhile for the heat to get distributed. As mentioned, fans help a lot. There are no A/C ducts, of course, in the bunks, but ducts are nearby. As a pop-up person you may already be familiar with PUGS. These help quite a bit.
About half our camping is non electric so I carry 2 Group 24 true deep cycle batteries that I top off daily on the genset. DW uses a CPAP and one daughter who often visits also wears one. These are AC units. I carry a separate battery and inverter in the camper to power these (also topped off daily by the genset).
One nice thing about the 23ikss is you get almost instant hot water in the shower. If the hot water tank were located any closer, it would be in the shower with you.
What took me some time to get used to is the fridge in the slide. As there is no chimney to exhaust hot air through the roof, it exits along the upper side and needs help from a computer type fan stuck back in the coils. The fridge works fine, just has that periodic whirring sound.

[cousin_eddie]

CNYCamper - Never really thought of the fridge exhaust in the bump out, thats a good point.

Both of our CPAP units have the option of a 12 volt power supply, so all I need for them is a cigarette lighter style plug. In the pop up, we made a corded power supply that I an through the canvas directly to the battery. Because the draw on these things is so low (without the heated water running), I’m thinking I should be able to install power outlets in the front and back and just run them through the camper wiring.

With the pop up, we could make it 5 days plus with both CPAP machines running, water pump, lighting, water heater, etc, but minimal use of the furnace. With all the extra stuff running off the battery, I agree I’m going to need a second, but I’ll fool around with that next spring. I’d like to do a “shake down” run with the new unit yet this fall, but it would likely be late enough I’d have power.

[bikendan]

Originally Posted by cousin_eddie

Stove? Nothing I guess. Oven? Electronic ignition, timers, safeties, just off the top of my head. I guess I’m sorry for using the wrong technical word, but I meant oven....

Some newer stoves come with a knob striker burner lighter. Some higher end ovens have the same thing.
Neither need any electric power.
I would guess that that 2014 would have the burner lighters but you'll probably have to hand light the oven.

[rsdata]

EACH bunk has 12V running to it to power the fan/light combos. You could wire these up to 12 V cig lighter plugs without having to run any additional wires...

[clandsie]

To add to previous replies: Our 23FL similar size and amenities, no island, has a power port in the rear bunk next to 2 USB charging ports. Also a pilot light for the oven that does not have to be lit by hand. We added a 2nd battery. Heated mattresses (120v only) are great.

[mnoland30]

We bought a used 2009 21SS Roo. We love it. The only real issue we've had is the bunk ends delaminated. The rain gutter over the top of the bunk ends only sticks out about 1/4". Not enough. I tore those off and replaced with a flashing that sticks out 1-1/2 inches. Works. Moisture also builds up under the mattress, so make sure you dry that out before you store the trailer. If you boondock, I highly recommend adding solar power to charge your batteries. The heater fan is the biggest load on the batteries, and we avoid that by using sleeping bags at night. The fan wakes me up anyway. The solar power will top off your batteries as a generator won't (unless you run it almost constantly), because it takes time to fully top them off. I bought a cover for mine for winter storage. That helps. Check the caulking on the bunk ends, it tends to crack. When lifting the bunk ends, I use a 6' piece of 1/2" electrical conduit to hold up the bunk while I tuck in all of the fabric. Makes the job much easier. If you run your battery down more than 1/2 way, you shorten the life. We have two golf cart batteries, and it doesn't go down below 80 most days. We can run 3 days even when the solar isn't working. I know because one of the kids kicked the cord loose.

[rockfordroo]

Originally Posted by mnoland30

We bought a used 2009 21SS Roo. We love it. The only real issue we've had is the bunk ends delaminated. The rain gutter over the top of the bunk ends only sticks out about 1/4". Not enough. I tore those off and replaced with a flashing that sticks out 1-1/2 inches. Works. Moisture also builds up under the mattress, so make sure you dry that out before you store the trailer. If you boondock, I highly recommend adding solar power to charge your batteries. The heater fan is the biggest load on the batteries, and we avoid that by using sleeping bags at night. The fan wakes me up anyway. The solar power will top off your batteries as a generator won't (unless you run it almost constantly), because it takes time to fully top them off. I bought a cover for mine for winter storage. That helps. Check the caulking on the bunk ends, it tends to crack. When lifting the bunk ends, I use a 6' piece of 1/2" electrical conduit to hold up the bunk while I tuck in all of the fabric. Makes the job much easier. If you run your battery down more than 1/2 way, you shorten the life. We have two golf cart batteries, and it doesn't go down below 80 most days. We can run 3 days even when the solar isn't working. I know because one of the kids kicked the cord loose.

With the newer Roo's with the tent material permanently attached to the bunk, close the door and windows and turn on the vent fan. It will suck in the fabric for you.

[mnoland30]

Thanks, RockfordRoo. I've read that several times, and tried it with no success. Nice to know it doesn't apply to my old Roo.

[bikendan]

Originally Posted by mnoland30

Thanks, RockfordRoo. I've read that several times, and tried it with no success. Nice to know it doesn't apply to my old Roo.

Yep, doesn't work with the older bungee/snaps tent end design.

[cousin_eddie]

Thanks again for the input everyone! Any cool upgrades or accessories?

[bikendan]

Originally Posted by cousin_eddie

Thanks again for the input everyone! Any cool upgrades or accessories?

Popup Gizmos and Reflectix, inverter for tv/electronic devices, power tongue jack, mattress toppers.

[mnoland30]

I've made so many mod's to mine, I can't remember them all. One of the best was a battery powered striker for the range. Just push the button, and it clicks continuously. On ours, the heater vent blew across the front of the door. I moved it to blow on my feet when sitting on the couch. We boondock, so we took out the microwave for the extra storage space. We put shelves in the closet, because it gave us more storage. Solar is the best. We boondock, and don't need a generator. I carry a 50 gallon water tank in the truck, because with 6 people, the fresh water doesn't last long. I carry a waste tank to pump the grey water into if we are close to a lake where we can't just dump it on the ground. Mine didn't have a battery disconnect, and that is a necessity. Ours didn't have a 12v outlet, so I added one. Now they make them with two USB ports in them. I bought an angled tool box at Harbour Freight, moved the propane forward a bit, and put my batteries in that. There is room for the cheater bar for the WDH, and a few other tools as well. I use a remote thermometer to monitor the refrigerator temperature. I put screens over the exhaust vents to keep the mud daubers out of critical areas. Heated mattresses seem silly to me for summer camping. I plan to replace lumpy mattresses with 5" foam. Warm, and comfortable. I recommend installing an accurate voltmeter so you can monitor your batteries. Letting them go below 50% will ruin them quickly. I upgraded to golf cart batteries, and they are much better than the hybrid batteries that came with it. Have fun.

[rockfordroo]

Originally Posted by mnoland30

Thanks, RockfordRoo. I've read that several times, and tried it with no success. Nice to know it doesn't apply to my old Roo.

I really wrote it for the OP. He's looking at a 2014, which will have the permanently attached tent ends.