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Old 07-16-2014, 07:53 AM   #1
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Mr Roo/Camping Story

While sitting here in my Roo during a rainstorm, I figure I will write a little post.

After many years of not camping, and wanting to get back into camping, I decided to rent a TT in 2012 to test the waters with the family. We took a week long trip to Hershey Park. It was a success. The family was hooked. Now, time to look for a camper.

Now, being my last TV was a 91 F350 dually, 7.3l w/banks turbo and all I towed was what a single guy needed to go racing when not towing the race car hauler for a friend. Now, I have to learn about all the ratings associated with a TV now that I have the much smaller Jeep Liberty 2.8l diesel.

In a search for a camper, I stopped where a friend and former coworker was working, Albany RV/RV Direct. I was steering away from hybrids, but came across my camper. I figure it would be a good comprise.

After a few trips, I was like "NO MORE HYBRIDS". So, this year, I started with the introduction of the Ram 1500 Diesel, I figured I should start looking for a good matching trailer. I found a few possibilities, but they were at the edge of the limits, and I kinda like the smaller trailers.

That got me thinking. What don't I like about the hybrid? Why do I like about the hybrid? The more I think about it, it was floorplan specific issues. Biggest issue is crawling over the table every time I have to visit the bathroom at night, especially if someone is sleeping there. The other issues have been solved with items like PUGs. Of course, there is always the setting up and putting away in he rain, but nothing is perfect.

As for the likes, I love sleeping in the bunk. I love opening the bunk on a beautiful day and getting fresh air in the camper. I love the camping feeling as when I was a kid, all our family did was tent camp (except in California, we rented a Toyota Dolphin for 2 weeks). The more I thought about it, the more I liked the hybrid.

Knowing what I know now, instead of the 21BH, I would have gotten the 183. But I will hold onto this camper until the Ram 1500 is in the budget. At that time, unless things change, I think our next camper will likely be a 233s. That, in my opinion, would be a good match for the Ram.

Any comments, questions, or opinions, feel free to write. I expect this post to trickle away to forgotten land. But maybe, someone may search, and find my story and opinions helpful.
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Old 07-16-2014, 09:45 AM   #2
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My wife and I went through a very similar thought process when buying our 233s. Looking at all the different floor plans, the 2013 233s had the best one in our opinion. Very spacious when open, and we could still load it and access everything with ease while closed. No crawling over and squeezing past anything. Not sure your jeep will pull it, my Durango barely does and we are looking at the 1500 for next season as well.

We went to the hybrid from the HW276 Popup. We both loved having the open 360 view and the bunk ends where we would feel like we were camping in a tent. I can easily fall asleep under the canvas while raining. It's music to my ears. But popping up and down the trailer was a pain. Particularly when loading and unloading. I also like the ability to get inside the trailer and sit for a few minutes when stopping at a rest stop or accessing food easily at the rest stop. We even stopped at a Wendy's when we first bought it and sat in the parking lot to eat the meal. Kids loved it and I enjoys my new found ability to enjoy the trailer when not actually at the campground.

It seems to always be those little things that make having a trailer better. For everyone, its different. We love having our trailer and still think this was the perfect one out of all the Roo's available.

Hopefully the rain doesn't last too long but enjoy it while it lasts!
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Old 07-19-2014, 06:22 PM   #3
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I enjoyed reading your post. We got back in to camping last summer and the ROO is our first TT. We have the 183 and love it! It meets our needs and was not too overwhelming for us as first time owners. We have always tented and love to sleep in the bunks. The light and fresh air the canvas lets in is wonderful. We are leaving next week end for Searsport, Me for our longest trip yet. This will be the first full week in our ROO. We were lucky enough to get a spot right on the shore! The only problem I see is, who will get the back bunk and have the luxury of waking up to those ocean views every morning?

Enjoy your ROO!
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Old 07-19-2014, 10:39 PM   #4
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We just got our Roo this year. We have a 21ss. It's light weight, my jeep pulls it great and we couldn't pass up the deal on it.
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Old 07-20-2014, 08:33 AM   #5
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Thanks guys for the input. Now I am in a bind. The other half is insiting that our time with the 21BH be short lived. The floorplan is not working for our family. I am guessing that I will have numerous decisions in the coming months, depending on finances and if I change railroads.

@Hockeymom, how big is your family?
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Old 07-20-2014, 08:48 PM   #6
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We just had our 233s Roo at Lake McConaughy we had 6 adults, 2 young kids and a teenager. And we could have had room for one or 2 more. Love our Roo. Loved opening the bunks and having the breeze go thru. I even opened the one by me at night to have the cool breeze.


Jeff and Michele... Camp with a 3 kids 19, 16 and 11 and 6 month old puppy.
2015 Rockwood Roo 233s.
Camping in COLORFUL COLORADO....
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Old 07-21-2014, 10:24 AM   #7
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We also have a family of 5 and sleep comfortably in the 233s. With the third bunk available, we don't have to fold out the couch nor drop the dining room table; only if we have "extras" will we need to do that as cropper mentioned. It's only about 1000lbs more then your truck can handle that.
That said...
Don't let the trailer you have get you down. It's camping and even if you are cramped as we were for several years in our popup, it was still very enjoyable. The only time size mattered , was when we were having bad weather and everyone had to be inside, which was not very often. We do miss having our popup which is why we devoted to keeping bunk ends when we decided to upgrade.
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Old 07-21-2014, 06:31 PM   #8
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ChooChooMan74, my family consists of one 15 year old boy, one 13 year old girl and my husband and myself. We got the 183 incase anyone wanted to bring a friend. We did lower the table when my mom came with us. We have lots of room to spare.
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Old 07-30-2014, 12:51 PM   #9
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And I can add that we pull our 233S with a 1/2 ton Suburban without issue, so the RAM you mention should be fine I would expect. As always, just pay attention to cargo so you don't overload yourself, and as everyone else has said, space in the 233S is pretty much a beautiful thing. Even if it ends up just you & the wife..keep the back bunk stored and use one of the other two to hold "luggage/clothes" while you sleep in the third and you will be amazed at how roomy your rig feels.

One final note, just as "MuddauberE" pointed out, it is camping so HAVE FUN! Even a day of camping in the rain is better than a day at work!
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Old 07-30-2014, 02:25 PM   #10
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For several years we tent camped, and "I" love it, TBird (Terri) she didn't like sleeping on the ground or changing in a tent while stepping over the sleeping bags and clothes. So we bought a Popup, it was a Starcraft Centennial 3610, had all the plus's with a slide out, double sink, outside shower, hot water heater, fridge/freezer, microwave, stove & oven, thermostat heat, just no potty.
At one of the "RV" shows, we spotted the ROO 23IKS, it was really nice, but we didn't buy it. This spring we reserved a spot at a State CG, TBird couldn't come as early as I could, so I did a one man set up while being eaten alive by mosquito's It took me 3 hours to back in, level, pop it up, and set everything up... 3 beers too On a trip to town we passed an RV dealership, so we stopped in on our way back. They had a 2009 Flagstaff Shamrock 21SS (Roo's twin). We brought the salesman back to our campsite to get a trade in value of our Starcraft and it was a nice value, plus I talked him down a bit on the Shamrock. I took the paperwork to my Credit Union, and not only did they finance us, but refinanced my new TV at 1/2 the interest I was paying...... all in all, a pretty good weekend camping
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Old 10-26-2014, 02:10 PM   #11
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I have a 2014 Ram 1500 with the 5.7 and just picked up the 2015 233s . Love the floor plan of the 233s so much room. Pulls like a dream behind the Ram. Lost my gas mileage compared to the pop up but was excepted.
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Old 10-27-2014, 09:21 AM   #12
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I often question the clothes/towel storage of floor plans. I prefer the the solaire 213x over the roo 233s.


The solaire has a user friendly front couch slide, TV on a counter vs losing an overhead cabinet in the roo.

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The roo has a bench seat, no front storage, and minuscule kitchen.
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Old 10-27-2014, 09:25 AM   #13
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I can sleep six comfortably in my unit 3400 dry 5000 gvw and could get pulled by the crd.
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Old 10-28-2014, 09:12 AM   #14
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No layout is perfect or just the way we want it find what Weill work best for your use and go from there spend time in them before you buy we went from dealer to dealer multiple times before we made are choice !
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Old 10-28-2014, 03:06 PM   #15
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Mr Roo/Camping Story

I just noticed you are towing a roo 233s with a short wheel base trailblazer/envoy variant. How many passengers, gear, 5.3 or inline 6?


I have a 5.3V8 2008 trailblazer max published tow 6100/real world max 4500.


I tow my hybrid with a k2500 sub 4 seater with max payload 2451lbs.
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Old 10-28-2014, 05:46 PM   #16
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It towed OK with the sabb 4.2. 6cyl but the brake controller sucked could not get it set right so I bought a 2014 sliverado 5.3 with integrated brake controler worked great till the dealer did a recall update on it now the did beeps like crazy saying trailer disconnected then connected might go back to the Saab
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Old 12-14-2014, 05:41 PM   #17
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I have been back and forth trying to decide. I am a woman who has towed a small Popup to camp with my kids for about 10 years. I would consider moving up to a small Roo if I could be more confident that I can drive and back up an actual Trailer! What to do?



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Old 12-14-2014, 07:41 PM   #18
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Just takes a little practice. If you can backup the pup, it's about the same, just harder to see over it
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Old 12-14-2014, 08:21 PM   #19
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You will find the Roo easier to back up.
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Old 12-14-2014, 08:40 PM   #20
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There were things about my roo I loved and some things I wish were different. First, the kitchen was close to non-existent. I guess if you are coming from tent camping or maybe pop up camping it would be ok but we were working our way back down the ladder and found it painful. Second was a need for more / better storage without putting bunks out. Lastly, we live and camp in suburbs so the noise issue was problematic. If I had seen and had the opportunity to buy a 21SS I think I might still have it; We are back in a full hard sided TT (primarily due to #3). Happy shopping to those of you still looking ~ we did find our Roo to be a quality product and had no issues there at all.
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