Poor Manufacturing Quality

[clockmanjim]

I purchased a 2015 Rockwood Roo 21DK at the end of July of this Year for the main purpose of taking a 4 week vacation out west in September. In August, even before I took my trip, I had the unit in for service. Torn mattress, shower wall was coming unglued from structure & the front bunk leaked soaking the bunk. The bunk leak was fixed & the shower wall was glued and held in place with masking tape. That fix lasted until I hit the first bump. I could live with that, but what happened on my trip was inexcusable. 1st, the night before we were to leave, the locking mechanism on the left rear bunk broke. I managed to work around that, but it was a pain through the whole trip. 2nd, while driving on I-90 on North Dakota, my wife noticed the window was loose. I pulled over and found that the plastic arm attached to the metal brackets had broken ( my wife noticed and we had discussed the fact that the windows did not seal properly with the dealer in August when we had it in for service, they told us that they were sealed and working fine. Lucky for me, I had some blue painters tape in the truck and taped it closed. 3rd, the outside refrigerator is a great feature, but when it was plugged in it kept causing the GFI to trip, didn't use the frig for anything but storage. 4th, my wife noticed that the shower wall wasn't sealed to the wall properly and on the initial service call the dealer glued it in place. my wife put masking tape on it to hold it in place & that failed to work. She used the shower one morning and we found that there is a leak somewhere in the system. While cleaning up the puddles of water, I noticed that one of the walls was missing the molding. 5th, also while cleaning up the floor, I found a couple of wiring nuts laying around that I had not noticed earlier. Not sure what they belong to. 6th, In Wyoming, I happened to notice that the window on the dinette ( drivers side ) side of the trailer was beginning to flap. So out came the painters tape to save the day.

I always check to make sure things that are suppose to be tight are tight. It seems to very day I had to tighten the bolts on the tongue brackets on my E2 hitch, I think they should use a nyloc locking nut instead of the standard ones.

We made it home safely & I called the dealer to make a service appointment & due to employee turnover rate, had to start from scratch with information regarding my trailer ( not sure what happened to the original service order for parts that were to be obtained while I was gone ). When I talked to the service manager and described the problems, he indicated that he wasn't at all surprised.

Anyway, my point is that I love the features of my trailer, but the manufacturing of the trailer is pure crap. I remember the day when Rockwood was a respected name, perhaps that went away when Forest River took them over. It will be interesting how they handle replacing two windows, a bunk locking mechanism, and a shower wall.

Venting is good for the soul.
Jim Miller

[jking46]

Man, what a pita. If it's any consolation, I don't think any of the laundry list of problems are super serious and should be an easy fix. Probably will depend on the competence of the dealership. We have been fortunate in that we have had only a couple minor issues and we have a good servicing dealer. Hopefully your issues will be fixed asap and you can get back out again. Good luck.

[dogevans]

I am concerned too. Purchased a 2016 21BD and have had a few problems.
Traded in a 2011 21ss because I got tired dealing with slide out issues.

Problems so far with the 21BD:

1. Passenger side skirting fell off 300 miles after leaving the dealer. The
manufacture sent me materials to fix the problem.
2. Light switch in bathroom came loose from wall. Was installed against
electrical cord inside the wall, causing switch to push out from wall. I
glued a small plastic panel to the wall and reinstalled the switch.
3. Shower leaked water through the walls. I caulked the fasteners attaching
the wall panels.
4. Plastic part attaching support poles on one tent end broke.
5. Bike rack is useless, the two fixed bike mounts are too close together.
6. No regulation of volume between inside and outside speakers.

Clearly there was no quality control used by the manufacture and dealer
on the unit I purchased. Having purchased the unit 600 miles from home,
and dealing with the dealer, I have solved the problems by myself, to my
satisfaction.

I will admit that the workmanship and materials of this unit (my fourth camper) are not as good as my first ones. But I like the layout of the new one so much more.

Hope more campers will respond with their problems so we can help each
other out.

[RooVader]

Sorry to hear you are both having so many issues. My dk was purchased in June and has been pretty flawless in 40 nights of camping...it is crazy how much different two identical units can be as far as quality.

I use the outside fridge every time and have never tripped the gfi...that is one thing I would expect to be consistent. I do have mine on a power strip for ease of turning off...not sure if that makes a difference?

How did your locking mechanism break? Just curious so I can watch for issues.

Sorry your Roos are requiring so much work!

[rockfordroo]

6. No regulation of volume between inside and outside speakers.

Not sure why you think this is a "manufacturing issue." All speakers work off the same volume control. It's how it's designed. Nothing to do with FR.

[RooVader]

You can switch the speaker inputs and regulate the volume with the balance...works pretty slick. I usually just turn off the speaker by the tv when I want consistent volume in and out and works well.

[clockmanjim]

RooVader, while closing up the bunk, the canvas wasn't quite tucked in. When my wife closed the handle, the assembly that closes the latch broke away from the pin that went through it.
Jim

ps, it's the triangular shaped piece at the end of the rod

[Old Eeyore]

We picked up a 2016 23IKSS last month and generated a list of problems in short order.

Seriously?
- The inside speakers were wired as Zone 1 Left and Zone 2 Left. (No right channel.)
- The front tenting was not tight in the tracks. The end track cover wasn't even in place. (Hidden by the mattress during the walk-thru.)
- The upper vent for the fridge is 2/3 blocked by a wall panel. (Not sure if this is intentional - but it seems pretty dumb to have a nice big vent mostly blocked.)

What where they thinking?
- TV Antenna hits the radio antenna.
- The rear cargo door only opens halfway - hitting the spare tire.

What were we thinking?
- The sofa is vinyl. The backrest does not stay in place. The pillows do not stay in place. We do not stay in place.
- The dinette seats are vinyl - ditto.

Of course our 2011 21SS wasn't much better and these are not major issues - but - we haven't had anything more than a quick shakedown trip either. . .

Eeyore
2016 Roo 23IKSS / 2011 Tahoe

[Summer2Go]

Your tent end wasn't attached?


Sent from my iPad using Forest River Forums

[Mr Havercamp]

Originally Posted by Summer2Go

Your tent end wasn't attached?


Sent from my iPad using Forest River Forums

Sounds like the dealer never checked the attachment. Its a snap type of molding screwed to the door surface. I have seen them loose before while nosing around at RV dealers.

Eeyore...what fridge vent? The upper exterior?

I don't think it matters if its partially blocked. When you put a fridge in a slide, the fridge has a 12 volt fan that will exhaust out of the top vent because they can't use a roof vent. If you are referring to the exterior vent that's by design. They had to baffle it for the exhaust.

[Old Eeyore]

Correct. On both counts.

The tenting should be an easy fix. I pushed things into place temporarily and they seem to be holding. Just a disappointment that something so important would be missed by both the dealer and myself.

The upper vent is identical to the lower vent that I've seen on most units. Like I said - it may be on purpose - but it sure seems dumb. But I guess they'd have to have two different size vents and the installers would never get it right. (Being sarcastic of course - but I've seen enough 'stupid manufacturer tricks' to discount it completely.) They might save some second-guessing if they'd put a label on the paneling saying that it was there to help control airflow. Maybe it's on the other side. (Oops, there I go again. )

Eeyore

[Phil57]

Originally Posted by Old Eeyore

Correct. On both counts.



The tenting should be an easy fix. I pushed things into place temporarily and they seem to be holding. Just a disappointment that something so important would be missed by both the dealer and myself.



The upper vent is identical to the lower vent that I've seen on most units. Like I said - it may be on purpose - but it sure seems dumb. But I guess they'd have to have two different size vents and the installers would never get it right. (Being sarcastic of course - but I've seen enough 'stupid manufacturer tricks' to discount it completely.) They might save some second-guessing if they'd put a label on the paneling saying that it was there to help control airflow. Maybe it's on the other side. (Oops, there I go again. )



Eeyore

Man you need to start having fun. It seems like all of your issues should be fixed easily by the dealer as long as the dealer is good. Lots of times a bad dealer just compounds the problem.
As for the vent Dometic changed the way they require the install of a slide fridge. The top vent is about 2/3 covered by a baffle. It is there to increase air across the cooling fins. Fridges is the slide can be a little temperamental. We had to deal with ours for a couple of years before they added the larger baffle and added a third fan. It works pretty good now. Is your fridge working as it should?
Remember things on a RV are never going to be perfect. We buy them to enjoy our off time with our family. Stuff is going to break and not work correctly. It's a frack of life no matter what unit you buy. Get it fixed and have fun. Repeat as often as necessary.

[Old Eeyore]

Never had anything that was perfect right out the gate. (Homes, cars, campers, wives. . . ) 'Tis the nature of things. The good news is that most things get sorted out eventually.

To me the real bummer is that some of them wouldn't have happened (like my 1st wife. . .) if someone had just put in a little more thought and effort into what they were doing. Sort of the point of this thread right?

This is the second camper from this dealer and they've been stand-up folks so far so I'm not overly concerned. Just a shame that there's something that needs fixin' so soon.

But then I wouldn't have anything to fix now would I? That's my idea of fun. Fixin' what's broke and knockin' the knot-head who messed up. Well, except maybe if I was the knot-head. . .

Eeyore

[Kyoung]

Does anyone have any soft spots in the floor? I have one near the TV/stereo.

[bikendan]

Originally Posted by Kyoung

Does anyone have any soft spots in the floor? I have one near the TV/stereo.

Which hybrid TT are you talking about and what year?

[Kyoung]

I have a 2014 Roo 23IKSS. I was thinking of cutting along the vinyl floor lines, cutting out the old plywood and replacing it, or am I opening up a can of worms?

[Mr Havercamp]

Originally Posted by Kyoung

I have a 2014 Roo 23IKSS. I was thinking of cutting along the vinyl floor lines, cutting out the old plywood and replacing it, or am I opening up a can of worms?

Can of worms indeed. 2014?

Its not as easy as you think to repair. Its a laminated assembly. 1 1\2" or so aluminum tubes with 1/8" luan underneath, 1/4"plywood on top under the vinyl floor with beaded styrofoam in the center, all glued together using a vacuum press. Usually what happens is in an area of constant traffic such as in front of sinks, entertainment center, entry door etc, the glue bond between the plywood and foam gets loose from the traffic. Over time the foam compresses or comes apart, hence the soft spot.

I would be calling Rockwood, no matter what the warranty status is. This is a factory level problem/repair. It can be tackled yourself but its not easy and a total PITA. That is if it is not the result of something you caused, like a leak from lack of preventative maintenance. In todays world of environmental bs, they are forced to use low VOC and water based adhesives which are not as strong as the ones they replaced.

They could build these floors using better methods and materials but they don't. In this case extruded polystyrene foam and a thicker plywood would be a much better choice, but evidently they weighed structural benefit against cost and weight savings and cost wins everytime it seems.

[Kyoung]

I'm glad you told me this. I think I'm gonna by the dealer and see whet he thinks and Email Rockwood. I'll let you know later what I find out. Thanks again for the info.

[bareftn]

Originally Posted by clockmanjim

RooVader, while closing up the bunk, the canvas wasn't quite tucked in. When my wife closed the handle, the assembly that closes the latch broke away from the pin that went through it.
Jim

ps, it's the triangular shaped piece at the end of the rod

Hello that's to me is not a quality problem seems more like carelessness and not making sure canvas is tucked in. Wow it seems like I and my DW (dam woman) are the only ones that don't have a problem with our roo so far. we have a 2016 23ss we bought in June 2015 and before we bought it we looked at it two times in June then at the end of the month we spent 3 hours going all over it and made a list of problems and when we picked it up we must have been at the dealer for almost four hours . They had water hooked up and under pressure and all three tanks full to check for leaks and we tested everything and when it was all closed up sprayed water around all doors and windows to check for any leaks and so far no problems. I cant wait till spring to get out.

[Mr Havercamp]

Originally Posted by bareftn

Hello that's to me is not a quality problem seems more like carelessness and not making sure canvas is tucked in.

I disagree. Those plastic Rotovise latches are going to be a problem, especially once you have a couple of years of UV exposure. His issue is not isolated. I intend to order one or two to have spare parts on hand. Its not a matter of if one will break, its a matter of when.