New 2012 233S

[biken201]

We just picked up our new 2012 Roo 233S from House of Camping (Bridgeview, Il.).

We traveled from Arizona to Illinois to purchase our 233S, and our experience with George (and the rest of the staff at House of Camping who assisted us) was great!

We ordered our camper off of the floorplan alone, and were hopeful that it would be what we expected. Needless to say, our expectations were more than met!

For those who are considering purchasing a new 233S, here are some of the changes that were pleasant surprises for us:

The dinette has been changed from being the standard two sided seating to U-shaped. Due to the increased slideout size to accommodate the larger seating/dining area, the small floor cabinet near the front bunk was eliminated. Also eliminated are the cabinets that were above the dinette table/seats. Instead of the cabinets above the dinette, there are now shelves at each corner above the seats.

A mounted 22" television (brand: Konka) is standard and mounted above the couch with an articulating arm. The television is able to be extended from the cabinet, making it easily viewable from the front bunk. Although it has the ability to be angled from side to side, it does not allow it to be angled up or downward.

The canvas bunkends are now permanently attached; no more bungees or snaps. We didn't know that this was being changed until we literally took possession of the trailer. The attached bunk ends was something that had us debating between the Jayco and Forest River model, so the change was a pleasant surprise for us!

I will be spending the day playing with my new "toy" and getting it outfitted for the trip back to AZ. Fortunately, we will have several nights on the road, and a long weekend stay visiting family in Texas on the return trip.

I'll attach pics when I get around to it, and will update this thread with details on how everything is working out.

See you all on the road!

[Triguy]

Congratulations on your new Roo!!

The changes sound great. I've seen pics of the new couch and agree that is nice - especially if there are kids.

The attached bunk-ends sound like a time-saver. Pictures of these would be good when you get around to it.

Enjoy!!

[bikendan]

biken201, glad you got great service from HOC. they might want to setup a Western US sales team!

take some pics of that new canvas attachment and if you can, the hinge/seal area.
i'm suspecting that they have copied Jayco's system from when they went to the fully attached canvas.

i'm glad that i'm not the only one from the West, that was "crazy" enough to drive to Chicago and back to buy a Roo.

[biken201]

I hope these pics work...

The top pic is of the outside attachment at the front bunk. There is no overlap on the lip of the door.

The next pic is of the inside where the canvas attaches. The white strip is screwed to the door, and the canvas appears to be glued into it's "u" shaped groove. I'm guessing the canvas is also held on with the few screws holding the "U" groove strip to the bunk door.

The last pic is of the door hinge area.

Problems so far: I noticed when taking these pics that a section of the tenting is coming loose from the U strip on the front bunk door. We are still on the road, so I will look into it farther once we're home.

Our first night in Texas, we weathered a pretty decent thunder storm. The camper did well! We had some leakage at the canvas seams, but I will attribute that to the seasoning of the seams... I'll post if it is a persistent problem following the seams swelling.

Overall: we love the camper and the quality, and aside from a few minor adjustments, is excellent!

[Triguy]

Thanks for sharing. I like the setup of the new system and it looks like a real time saver.

[biken201]

So far the setup/takedown has been pretty simple. I'll post more pics of the camper when I get more time. Unfortunately our grand adventure with our four pups has concluded... Back to reality...

[UsNC4]

We just picked up our 2012 21ssl in mid july and we still have the snaps and no TV. Would be great to be rid of the snaps for those rainy days for sure. Must be the 2012 1/2 that has these upgrade.

[nole_trainer]

Do you think the attached tent canvas is a good thing or bad? I'm looking at a Shamrock 23ss that is a 1st gen 2012 that I can get almost $2k off an ordered 2012. The dealer called the Shamrock rep while I was setting there because even the salesman didn't know of this change (took a newbie like me armed with forum knowledge to educate him). The Shamrock rep said they made this change mid production, and still might go back to the other system if the new system proves not as good?

If I'm spending $20k, I want the best design possible.

[biken201]

Although we can't speak from experience about the pros/cons of the bungee style tenting, we do like the simplicity of just opening and putting in the stays inside the bunk... I will update with how the design fares as we gain more experience with it. One of the few advantages we liked about the Jayco versus the Roo was the permanently attached bunk ends. It was a pleasant surprise when our new Roo came with the attached bunk ends.

[bikendan]

nole trainer, welcome to this forum and your continuing research.

we have a Roo with the older non-fastened system. though the permanently fastened system seems to be the new way to go, we do prefer the non-fastened system.
this is because the DW prefers sheets and blankets on the beds. so i can stand outside and simply make the outside of the beds, while she stands inside to do the other side.
if we had the other system, she or i would have to get on all fours on the mattress and make the beds that way.
i might be able to unzip the windows to do the outside but it would limit me, if it possible to do that.

we've had no problems in 5 years, with the older bungees/snaps system.
but if you have kids, i can see where the newer system would help relieve any fears of the kids possibly getting out.

[nole_trainer]

Originally Posted by bikendan

nole trainer, welcome to this forum and your continuing research.

we have a Roo with the older non-fastened system. though the permanently fastened system seems to be the new way to go, we do prefer the non-fastened system.
this is because the DW prefers sheets and blankets on the beds. so i can stand outside and simply make the outside of the beds, while she stands inside to do the other side.
if we had the other system, she or i would have to get on all fours on the mattress and make the beds that way.
i might be able to unzip the windows to do the outside but it would limit me, if it possible to do that.

we've had no problems in 5 years, with the older bungees/snaps system.
but if you have kids, i can see where the newer system would help relieve any fears of the kids possibly getting out.

Thanks, love these forums. Funny story my father-in-law told me, they had left their dog in a pop-up one trip as they went hiking, came back to find him wondering around the site. They saw a big gap in the bed where the dog had fallen out I think my boys would just bounce back up....

Going to look at a couple of Jaycos in Orlando in the a.m., it's only a two hour drive and then at least I can say I say the top two brands........

[bikendan]

nole trainer, i posted on your RV.net thread about getting a quote on the Roo 233S or 23SS from RVDirect, since they have a facility in Orlando.
you can use their quote to negotiate with the Shamrock and Jayco dealers.
RVDirect says they'll meet or beat any other dealer's price.

[nole_trainer]

Originally Posted by bikendan

nole trainer, i posted on your RV.net thread about getting a quote on the Roo 233S or 23SS from RVDirect, since they have a facility in Orlando.
you can use their quote to negotiate with the Shamrock and Jayco dealers.
RVDirect says they'll meet or beat any other dealer's price.

Yep, that is where we are headed in the a.m.

[bikendan]

Originally Posted by nole_trainer

Yep, that is where we are headed in the a.m.

that's great, since they sell Jayco and Roo hybrids.