New member

bmoore · 02-02-2015, 02:16 AM

Hello I just recently joined the forums to research a very likely purchase of a new trailer.

I have had three 5th wheel trailers with one being a forest river product. I am currently using a 34 foot Avion travel trailer.

Unlike many campers, my wife and I are downsizing. I went from a 38 feet triple slide to the 34 Avion no slide. Now we are looking towards smaller yet. I am serious about the Roo 21bd.

I know it will be an adjustment a hybrid but has any member gone from a travel to hybrid and been happy? I don't want another monster sized trailer. Towing is not the issue I just want a "camping trip not a 2nd home luxury experience.

I don't think the canvas sleeping is going to be a problem for me as I have backpacked the Pacific Northwest when I was younger but my wife is struggling with the idea of the rain, noise and extra fuse that is inherent to a hybrid. I am very worried about leaking. I have spent a considerable amount of time reading hybrid posts and I am more worried about the leaks when stored than anything. Delamination is a four letter word to me. I am comfortable about PUGS and running the A/C to drown out the noise but there are so many posts about leaks around the bunks when closed I am second guessing this choice.

Any tips or guidance would be appriciated. I know people post more bad than good but there must be 100's of posts about the water leaks.

Thank you.

ChibullsAN · 02-02-2015, 07:16 AM

I did the best i could when I got my 21dk to carefully go over each seal. I added more foam seal where I thought I needed it. Seemed to have worked. I do notice a small water spot on the vinyl after its been closed for awhile though, so I didn't get all the spots. I think the way I am going to solve any remaining water leak is to add a rain gutter above each door. I'm handy so it isn't a big deal to me, all though I would think after 10 years of making the hybrid, the designer would recognize their issues and rectify them. I digress, we also had a pin hole leak in a seam when open, but this is normal when a thread hole is larger than normal or the thread in that particular hole didn't swell up as it should. In this case I went out after it rained and found the area and added clear silicone to the area of the leak and haven't had a problem since. (You also can't tell I did it, as I hid the silicone in the seam).

We love our roo and love that we can tow a 29' trailer in a 21' package. Suits us just fine. Good luck with your decision.

sponge · 02-02-2015, 09:53 AM

I can't for the life of me understand why these do not have a rain gutter? There are gutters above slides.

I would expect slides to have a much higher percentage of water leaks but it certainly doesn't seem to be the case. I have been following various forums for over a year and replies to leaking posts seem to run about 50/50 on leaking closed ends. That certainly gives pause when dropping 20k...though there are sure benefits if you are willing to roll the dice. It just seems so fixable in how the are manfactured. I never hear about toy hauler ramps leaking and they open the same way.

**bikendan** · 02-02-2015, 10:48 AM

they used to have rain gutters over the bunk ends, but for some reason, they stopped a few model years ago.
my '07 Roo 23SS has them over both bunk ends.

Cowracer · 02-02-2015, 11:54 AM

Plenty of people downsize. I came from a 31 foot class A to a pop up to a hybrid.

One of the appeals of the hybrid was the canvas bed area. It just 'feels' more like camping to me. Call it a connection to the outdoors or whatever, but I just like it. I have slept in the bunk end bed in some rather wicked rainfall without an issue, though lightning can get interesting as the canvas lets quite a bit of light in.

Don't let the leak thing scare you. Some have leaks. Most do not. I have not had a single issue with them. Those with leaks tend to be very vocal about them (rightly so...) but many without leaks never seem to post, "I'm Good".

Here's a link to a poll I created once upon a time. You will see that less that about 2/3rds of the respondents either had a no leaks, or a minor one that corrected itself.

http://www.forestriverforums.com/for...hem-44200.html

Tim

vinmaker · 02-02-2015, 12:38 PM

I enjoy my HW pop up very much.

Just had to plug that!

The only item that certain people mention with Hybrids are a bed areas. The mattress folds and there is an area towards the cabin that does not lie flat. Some people find it uncomfortable. Other than that, the hybrids offer you a lot of space in a compact package.

Good luck with your shopping. That is so much fun.

Vin.

1beachbum · 02-02-2015, 07:40 PM

My wife and I have been very happy with our hybrid. The hybrid camper is much nicer than the tent we used to use. We have not noticed the beds being uneven and we have not experienced any significant leaks. Bed noise has also not been a problem. If I notice it is raining I go back to sleep. We enjoy being outside when we are camping and have plenty of room inside for those rainy days. Good luck with your shopping.

Jimandchris · 02-02-2015, 08:20 PM

We too have been pleased with our hybrid after a full season with it. Only a couple of minor issues that I was able to fix myself. It's such a huge step up from our last two popups. We're both in our early 60's and the hybrid is so much easier to set up than the popups were.
Saying that, you still need to decide whether or not you really like the open bunk end idea.
Good luck with your shopping adventure

RCCS · 02-02-2015, 10:18 PM

We don't mind the sound of the rain on the canvas, we camped in a popup camper for 15 years before getting our 23IKSS. The only thing was the first rain fall we had after getting the hybrid we woke up to this pinging sound when the rain drops hit the canvas bunk ends. What it was was raindrops falling directly on top of the canvas right where the bunk end center pole is. I solved that problem by sliding a foam pipe insulation piece over the pipe before our next trip.

thestrangebrew · 02-03-2015, 07:47 PM

My family loves our hybrid. *BUT*, we're coming from tents. We didn't even bother moving to a pop-up as we wanted the space of a trailer but the feel of tent camping that we experienced the last few years together. We've only had ours for about 6 mos and it's only seen about 3 trips so far but we haven't had any problems. We're in CA so rain these days is a rarity and we haven't camped in any, but I think as long as you follow the manufacturer's instructions for sealing the canvas, I think you'll most likely be fine. Good luck with your decision!

Aussiecat · 02-03-2015, 08:52 PM

We came down from a 32ft bunk house to a 23SS and absolutely love it, we're now camping and we enjoy the tent ends, raining or not. We're in our mid sixties and we look forward to camping more now than we did before.

Sent from my iPad using Forest River Forums

RooVader · 02-15-2015, 12:10 PM

Did you get any further on your purchase consideration of a 21BD? I haven't heard of any owners of that model but it seems like a great option.

jmh1007 · 02-15-2015, 01:16 PM

Welcome from Missouri. We looked at the 23ss but ended up with the 233s. We wanted the extra bed. I can't wait to camp in ours. Patiently waiting for Spring!

bmoore · 02-15-2015, 10:11 PM

Well we have not gone ANY further. As I spoke to my wife about it the very truth finally came out. She stated that she would not be comfortable sleeping under the canvas. She felt that safety from animal such as bears was an issue. She was also worried about the canvas being easy for a stranger to enter a hybrid. So with that statement I feel that my days of sleeping under canvas that isn't staked down is never going to happen.

I do appriciate all the info from this site. I was really looking forward to going back to a camping roots. Under canvas again.

**bikendan** · 02-16-2015, 12:09 AM

Bmoore, sounds like your wife is looking for an excuse not to get a hybrid.
because any RV is pretty easy to get into, by a stranger or a bear.

how often do you camp in bear country? Because in the 10 years I've been on various RV forums, only one major campground in the country, has proven to have a permanent ban on soft-sided RV's, due to bear activity. That's Fishing Bridge in Yellowstone.

No one has been able to come up with another campground with such a ban, in those 10 years.

You might research for any such incident, with a hybrid, because I've never heard or read of such a thing happening.

Big Rig · 02-16-2015, 05:54 AM

We have gone full circle. We started in a popup Went to a slide on truck camper and then to a small 5th wheel then to a huge fifth wheel then back to a popup and then a hybrid and now back to a small 5th wheel. We were happy in the Hybrid it was just the set up time.

Sent from my iPad using Forest River Forums

sponge · 02-16-2015, 08:14 AM

My wife was pretty set against the canvas as well. She changed her mind when we started to compare it against hard sided models of similar length and weight. I didn't want to go larger and she liked the space a hybrid gives.

Time will tell how it all works out but I definitely understand both of you needing to feel comfortable.

Sent from my iPhone using Forest River Forums

MommaHuffman · 02-16-2015, 01:37 PM

Like Bikendan I too have an older model hybrid, 07 Roo 233 (has three tip out bunks). I bought it used last year. It does show past leaks but so far since I've had it, it has not leaked. There are rain gutters above the three bunks. I can't imagine for the life of me why they would stop putting them on. Makes perfect sense. There are lots of different hybrids out there. I was looking at them at our annual RV show here in Hershey this past October and some models do have the rain gutters. Something to look at when making your selection. Good luck! BTW, we LOVE our Roo!

You may also like: