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Old 01-29-2020, 12:34 PM   #1
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New Rockwood Roo Purchase!

Just picked up an '04 Roo 232, so far I am very impressed with it. I know these are really light campers to begin with but I was still very happy with how it easy it towed. Is it even worth it to get a WD hitch w/ sway control?

Found a couple little things, some water damage above the door, but the dealer said they had already re-sealed the camper, the wood is still solid, you can just see that the paper started to curl a bit. Then the front bunk end has some de-lamination on the bottom, and you can see the plywood started to come apart too. Seems like that is a common problem on most hybrids.

Any parts available to fix it with, or just take off the covers, replace the the plywood and recover and reseal everything?

Other than that, seems like everything is in working order, though I haven't had a chance to go through everything with a fine tooth comb.
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Old 01-29-2020, 12:43 PM   #2
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Welcome to the forum its a great place to get your questions answered
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Old 01-29-2020, 02:35 PM   #3
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Quote:
Originally Posted by wave_crusher View Post
Just picked up an '04 Roo 232, so far I am very impressed with it. I know these are really light campers to begin with but I was still very happy with how it easy it towed. Is it even worth it to get a WD hitch w/ sway control?

Found a couple little things, some water damage above the door, but the dealer said they had already re-sealed the camper, the wood is still solid, you can just see that the paper started to curl a bit. Then the front bunk end has some de-lamination on the bottom, and you can see the plywood started to come apart too. Seems like that is a common problem on most hybrids.

Any parts available to fix it with, or just take off the covers, replace the the plywood and recover and reseal everything?

Other than that, seems like everything is in working order, though I haven't had a chance to go through everything with a fine tooth comb.
Welcome to FRF!
Since you didn't provide any tow vehicle info nor have that in your profile, can't specifically say whether you NEED a WDH with sway control.
BUT unless you have a 3/4 or 1 ton truck's, YES you need a WDH with sway control.
The bunk door issues are due to lack of owner maintenance. I owned a Roo 23SS for 10 years and NEVER had such problems. But I was always checking door seals and door frame sealant.
Seriously doubt that FR will have bunk doors for a 16 year old Roo, but it's worth a try. If they do, be warned that unless you get your dealer to help out, shipping will be very high.
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Old 01-29-2020, 03:13 PM   #4
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Welcome to FRF!
Since you didn't provide any tow vehicle info nor have that in your profile, can't specifically say whether you NEED a WDH with sway control.
BUT unless you have a 3/4 or 1 ton truck's, YES you need a WDH with sway control.
The bunk door issues are due to lack of owner maintenance. I owned a Roo 23SS for 10 years and NEVER had such problems. But I was always checking door seals and door frame sealant.
Seriously doubt that FR will have bunk doors for a 16 year old Roo, but it's worth a try. If they do, be warned that unless you get your dealer to help out, shipping will be very high.
Sorry, I was going to add it, but forgot. I will mostly be towing with an '06 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4wd. 4.7L. Towing Capacity: 6,500lbs; GVWR 6,150lbs

Would also occasionally tow it with a 1996 Chevrolet K1500, 5.7L. Towing: 7,500lbs, GVRW 7,100lbs.

I figured a WD hitch would be necessary to tow it safely, however i'm not sure how often i'd even be towing it. Right now, the plan is it is going to be parked out at a lake lot and left there for the majority of the time. Though I would like to be able to tow it across state safely. Towed it home without one and didn't have any issues.

I figured that bunk door issues were maintenance related, and just looking through the forum, looks like a common on. Doesn't really seem to be a consensus on it, a lot of the info I found is 10+ year old, but seems like either I fix it myself, or bandaid it (which wont solve anything).
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Old 01-29-2020, 03:23 PM   #5
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If you look at the Towing section, of your vehicle's owners manual, you should see a minimum trailer weight requiring a WDH.
My 23SS was similar in size and weight. My Avalanche's owner's manual clearly indicated that a WDH was required.
Do you have a brake controller because that's required by law.
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Old 01-29-2020, 04:03 PM   #6
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If you look at the Towing section, of your vehicle's owners manual, you should see a minimum trailer weight requiring a WDH.
My 23SS was similar in size and weight. My Avalanche's owner's manual clearly indicated that a WDH was required.
Do you have a brake controller because that's required by law.
Less than 4,000lbs on a class 3 or 4 hitch is not going to require a Weight Distribution hitch. Plus the tongue weight is something like 350lbs, the hitch on both of my vehicles are Class IV; tongue weight of 650lbs, without WD.

I am in now way worried about breaking something, or tearing a hitch off. I was thinking more of ease of towing it. The sway control would be something that I would think would be good, no matter the actual weight, the camper is still a big sail and has a lot of surface area to move an sway around.
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Old 01-29-2020, 04:14 PM   #7
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Welcome to the forum! Keep an eye on engine temps on that 4.7. The valve seats in the heads are prone to falling out if the head temp gets too hot. My wife and I both had WJ's with the 4.7 (hers was an HO), she dropped a seat at 192k or so, mine dropped at 309k. I had replaced the t-stat with a 180 degree one, we both always ran full synthetic oil. We both have WK2's now, hers with the 3.6, mine with the 5.7.
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Old 01-29-2020, 04:24 PM   #8
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Originally Posted by wave_crusher View Post
Less than 4,000lbs on a class 3 or 4 hitch is not going to require a Weight Distribution hitch. Plus the tongue weight is something like 350lbs, the hitch on both of my vehicles are Class IV; tongue weight of 650lbs, without WD.

I am in now way worried about breaking something, or tearing a hitch off. I was thinking more of ease of towing it. The sway control would be something that I would think would be good, no matter the actual weight, the camper is still a big sail and has a lot of surface area to move an sway around.
You're using fictional "dry" weights unless you actually went to a scale.
Dry weights are fictional because they are based on a stripped down version of the trailer.
No battery, no propane, no options, no water and no cargo.
Loaded for camping, it'll easily exceed those numbers.
But if it's going to be parked on a lot and not on the road loaded, you can get by without one for now.
IMHO, I've been on 7 different Hybrid forums since 2004. Almost no owners pulled a hybrid the size of yours, without a WDH, unless had a 3/4 or 1 ton truck.
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and Zoe the Wonder Dog(R.I.P.)
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Old 01-30-2020, 08:51 AM   #9
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Originally Posted by Doppleganger View Post
Welcome to the forum! Keep an eye on engine temps on that 4.7. The valve seats in the heads are prone to falling out if the head temp gets too hot. My wife and I both had WJ's with the 4.7 (hers was an HO), she dropped a seat at 192k or so, mine dropped at 309k. I had replaced the t-stat with a 180 degree one, we both always ran full synthetic oil. We both have WK2's now, hers with the 3.6, mine with the 5.7.
Yep, heard that a lot about the early 4.7s; biggest issue with overheating is lack of oil changes causing sludge buildup. I used to do oil changes at 3,000 miles; but she's got 227k on the clock, and ever since 200k i've been doing oil changes at 2,500 miles. Good quality synthetic oil and either mobile 1 or pure one filters.

How does your WK2 compare to the WK with towing? Heard very good things about the 3.6 pentastar.
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Old 01-30-2020, 08:58 AM   #10
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Originally Posted by bikendan View Post
You're using fictional "dry" weights unless you actually went to a scale.
Dry weights are fictional because they are based on a stripped down version of the trailer.
No battery, no propane, no options, no water and no cargo.
Loaded for camping, it'll easily exceed those numbers.
But if it's going to be parked on a lot and not on the road loaded, you can get by without one for now.
IMHO, I've been on 7 different Hybrid forums since 2004. Almost no owners pulled a hybrid the size of yours, without a WDH, unless had a 3/4 or 1 ton truck.
I appreciate the input, but I do know the difference between dry weight, and actual net weight. This may be my first camper, but it is not my first rodeo with towing, let alone towing large weights.

Even if I don't tow it much, I think i'll get another WD hitch just to have it. I used to have one off a 2006 Trail Light Trail Sport which would have been perfect, but go figure I decided to sell it after it collected dust for 2 years. Which was about 4 months ago

I believe i'd need something with the same bars. 600lb bars, V-5? I believe what what that other one was rated.
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Old 01-30-2020, 11:17 PM   #11
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WD Hitch w/sway bars

My experience, always use a WDH and sway bars for trailer towing. It makes little difference what your TV is - you still have wind and Semi passing that tend to want to pull you in toward them when passing. Look at some of the videos of people loosing it while towing. When I picked up my trailer from not the best, honest dealer, I went about 3 miles and was all over the road. Back to the dealer for the proper hitch and sway bars (which had been on the trailer from previous owner) but dealer took off to sell separately and said I could pull with a plain ball hitch.
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Old 02-24-2020, 10:21 AM   #12
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Picked up a new WD hitch w/ sway control.

Also just replaced the front bunk end. Cost $500 total, don't think that was bad at all. And considering how much the IPP was, i'm still money ahead. The old bunk end was in really bad shape. Whole bottom was water logged, and a weld on the the frame had broke so the frame needed repair.
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