Does HW277 have more benefits than HW276?

[Mike91]

Well my dealer and Forest River got me out of my trouble plagued camper and into a nice 2020 Rockwood Premier 2716g. I can't say how happy I am and how FR and my dealer helped me out.

New camper is the same as the old camper except a 2020 with a different AC, from a mid profile to now a low profile AC, and that travel door/step combo.

Here's hoping to a more reliable and happy experience with this camper.

[Mike91]

Here's a pic of the camper home. It's been raining continuous so haven't been able to put it up yet.

New 2020 Rockwood Premier 2716g


Here's the old 2019 Rockwood Premier 2716g


Changes from the 2019 2716g I had are a low profile AC from the standard AC I had.

Magnetic catches for the dinette outside storage doors instead of a clasp.

Different antenna for the radio (old antenna kept coming loose).

Different wood interior drawer and wood door knobs.

Has new grey mattresses instead of older brown mattresses.

Has different brand of outside refrigerator with adjustment knob inside the fridge instead of the back of the fridge.

Has a different travel door that is permanently attached that swings down with built in, 2 steps compared to the removable door and separate, under frame mounted, pull out step.

Different door side graphic that say in large letters Rockwood with little letters, Premier compared to older large letter Premier graphic.

Toilet black tank exterior door now has 2 clasps holding it closed.

That's the only differences I see now but likely others going from a 2019 to a 2020.

[Brandon0512]

Originally Posted by jimmoore13

Stairs SHOULD be near the axle to offer maximum ground clearance. The photos depict my poor, tortured stairs before lifting. I bent them so often that I carried a 6# sledge with me to straighten them after the camper was setup.
After I lifted the camper, I had to remove them, and use a sledge and anvil to straighten them, then I had to reinforce the mounts that had been bent repeatedly before lifting.

They'd even drag in my driveway at the corner of the "Y" where the uphill and parking area meet if I cut the turn too tight. Where the tree shadow is, there is a big gouge in the pavement where I dragged them a couple times. I learned to open the windows of my truck and listen for scraping...and try again.

If the door on the 276 is substantially closer to the axle, that is a significant advantage if you don't want to lift the rig.

I still prefer the 277, but that's definitely a point worth considering.

This is something certainly to consider, although, the new 2020 Highwalls now have stairs that fold into the camper rather than retract under the camper so this would only now be an issue with used 277s.

Mike, I'm glad everything worked out.

[Mike91]

Originally Posted by Brandon0512

This is something certainly to consider, although, the new 2020 Highwalls now have stairs that fold into the camper rather than retract under the camper so this would only now be an issue with used 277s.

Mike, I'm glad everything worked out.

Thanks.

Now having the new combo stair door I can say the stairs are very very nice. Very stable and much safer to use than the pull out step.

You also don't have to worry about your door being forgot under the bunk or at worst a prankster helping it walk away. For me, hanging it under the bunk was a pain in the butt. I don't fit well under the bunk and almost had to sit on my knees to hang it. A big issue since it's muddy and rainy now.

The down side is all dirt or water will flip back into the camper unless you clean it before storing it.

Another is it steals floor space where stuff could had been stored in the door way. Not as much as I thought but it still takes space away.

And finally if you park your camper in your driveway, when it's set up, the stairs can NOT be folded up obviously so your taking another 2' of width which is a problem for me as my truck has little room next to it but our midsize cars are fine. I just park the truck in front of the camper when setup and the cars go beside it.

Since we have had a lot of rain and I mean flash flooding, my yard is mud and standing water. Just to hard to keep the Pop Up in the yard so it's new home is the driveway. Not a big deal as the camper is the same length as my truck, not like the behemoth Jay Flight 26BH I had that required parking in the yard.

[Brandon0512]

Originally Posted by Mike91

Here's a pic of the camper home. It's been raining continuous so haven't been able to put it up yet.

New 2020 Rockwood Premier 2716g


Here's the old 2019 Rockwood Premier 2716g


SNIP

Mike,

The tongue looks shorter, is it just the angle of the picture?

[Mike91]

Originally Posted by Brandon0512

Mike,

The tongue looks shorter, is it just the angle of the picture?

Just an optical illusion. I used a normal lense on the previous camper since it was in a parking lot. The new camper is in my driveway next to the house so I had to use a wide angle lense that gave it a Panoramic type photo. The trailers look identical except the door and AC (new is low pro).

[Mike91]

Amazing how much easier and faster setup goes when the camper is put together right.

Since my travel/1 piece door frame wasn't put in right, it took about 10 minutes to fight to get the door in right on the previous camper.

Since the slide wasn't assembled right, it took around 15 minutes to fight to get the slide out with the previous camper.

Now it takes about 1 minute to get the door in and velcroed and the slide pulls out, and installing cotter pins, in about 20 seconds.

Also since roof is assembled right and installed right, putting the roof down doesn't catch on slide top or anything else. So no pushing and pulling on slide and roof, to get roof to go over the slide like I had to with the previous camper.

Amazing how things work correctly when made correctly!

Since most of the work setting it up is virtually gone now, I'm not second guessing my decision to go with a pop up.

Reminds me of how easy the 2007 Starcraft pop up was to setup. IMO, that Starcraft was high quality in every way next to what's offed now except that terrible aqualon tent that liked to leak at all the bunk seams.

Aqualon is soaked in vinyl so it's very thick, and not elastic like most camper tents, therefore if it stretches for any reason, it opens up the needle holes. Every seam sealers couldn't seal those and bunk tents had to be replaced just waiting for the next leak.

Going camping, hopefully, this week so here's to hoping it will be a positive trip.