bit the bullet - rockwood lite weight signature RLF8299BS

riverss · 02-20-2016, 09:10 PM

This is our first 5th wheel and after owning two motor homes it is quite a change. the first mh i bought used from a friend. (we are still friends) the second was a used late model (then) from a dealer and the process was absolutely a joy from the start to the end. this time was a complete new story an i pity a newbe. I love the product. I totally understand that there will be hiccups and Murphy will pop in with his laws . But i have to ask is it because it is not a high end MH or do all middle of the road r/vs treated the same? yes the 8299 is IMO a bit above middle of the road but. OK i know some of you that are reading this are thinking WHAT is he talking about? to start we showed up at the sales office at the agreed time to start the process after we had a short tour of this particular model the day before. we were sure that it was what we (DW & I) wanted and it fit my tow vehicle. we were told that we would have to wait because the the sales person's previous appointment had just showed up 3 hours late. we had just driven 75+ mi one way we waited. 1/2 hour later we were told that we could go look by our selves at the R/V WE went and looked but not knowing how stuff worked we just looked. 2 hours later we finally had the sales person there. information was exchanged, prices were agreed to. etc. we set a pick up date 2 weeks out. a couple of days later i get a call and am told by the sales person that the B&W 16K Patriot hitch is not compatible with the Reese Companion king pin that is standard on this R/V and i have to get a different hitch. I inform the sales person that Reese makes an adapter for this particular hitch and gave the sales person the p/n. i call B&W and Reese to confirm that it is all good and told yes i could use my hitch it only applied to the hitch that mounted into the goose neck receiver about it was a rotational torque thing. at this time i am about ready to throw in the towel. then i get a call from the sales person and the hitch guy is on the phone. he tells me no B&W hitches and i told him what B&W & Reese told me and they can order the part from e-trailer or the deal was off. Two days later i get a call from the sales person that the proper adapter has arrived and i can come in and get my R/V. I asked if all was good and told yes. we would be there at 9 am on the original delivery date. we get there and am told that there is still some paper work that needed to be taken care of. I will only say that the financial institution that i have is a major one and the finance person should have known their procedures and did not. we are told that we can do a pre delivery walk through with the delivery guy so that the day is not a complete wast. the dock that the R/V is parked in is narrow and the slides cannot be extended. not good. we did a Quickie and went home thinking that we would get the full delivery deal the next day. boy was i wrong.the 2nd battery was not installed. the delivery guy did his best to distract us and show the trivial things lights radios no he did not demonstrate the TV's , A/C, awnings, steps,and i have no clue as to the rest but will for sure. now the hitch guys come out and install the wedge for the B&W Patriot 16K hitch. and hook up recheck lockup but do not check to see if the distance from the cab to the R/V will allow a 90 deg turn as advertised. my hitch is located in the most forward (closest to the cab) position. I will make this assessment latter .now while i am checking the hitch and putting up the tailgate i notice there is not a vent on the curb side of the Battery compartment. open the door and the battery sits there in an unvented box. I had the 2nd battery installed on the opposite side of the original to not use the available floor space of the front compartment where the battery s are . after a but we got that installed properly.late afternoon 75+miles to go and this old man is worn out. I am not given any driving instructions etc etc am told to check the trailer brake bias abd set it to what i think best. ok ugh. off we go after two stop test in the parking lot solo. heading home at last. oops i remember that there was no test to check if the breakaway switch worked or not. finding a spot on the road i pulled over and (you guessed it) the lanyard was still coiled up in a nice little loop. i did attache it off we go. i had intended to head to the CAT scales to weigh the whole thing having weighed the truck solo but this ole hoss headed to the stables. has enough for one day. I am an old guy and learned patience but have also learned when and where to do battle. Do not miss understand me. We LOVE the Rockwood 8299BS. I do now know that the BS also stands for B**L S**T. It is a shame that such a capable product is shown such disrespect.

5picker · 02-20-2016, 09:38 PM

Riverss, congratulations on your 8299BS.

We have the Flagstaff sister, 8529IKBS. We took delivery in October and only got out a few times before we had to put to bed for winter.

I'm sorry you had such a poor experience buying and taking delivery and hopefully you won't experience the same treatment should you have a problem but from the sounds of it I suspect you will. A good dealer is as important as any part of the buying process.

We shopped several dealers before we settled on the one we ordered from and we're so glad we did. Our dealer spent hours going over everything during our PDI.

We believe this floorplan is just about perfect for us. We really like it.

Enjoy your new 5th wheel.

KathyEd · 02-20-2016, 10:06 PM

Sounds like you had a poor excuse of a dealer! I hope the rest of your RV experience improves. We finally got a delivery date of our 8299bs in March. It was supposed to be before March 1st but it is now the 23rd. (Ordered the part of January). I'm pretty anxious to pick her up. Glad you like the model. I'm looking forward to the new camping season.

riverss · 02-20-2016, 10:22 PM

thanks Kathy Ed & 5picker i am sure that there will be other fun days at the dealer i too looked at the Flagstaff and really liked it but had already vested too much time in the Rockwood and i gave them the benefit of the doubt. Love the R/V but not the rest hope it will work out and will be OK.all to do over i would not do it and found another dealer. i just thought i had a rookie (used car) sales person but looks as though it was deeper than that.

jgourlie · 02-21-2016, 01:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by riverss

thanks Kathy Ed & 5picker i am sure that there will be other fun days at the dealer i too looked at the Flagstaff and really liked it but had already vested too much time in the Rockwood and i gave them the benefit of the doubt. Love the R/V but not the rest hope it will work out and will be OK.all to do over i would not do it and found another dealer. i just thought i had a rookie (used car) sales person but looks as though it was deeper than that.

It's unfortunate that these stories seem to happen quite often...there is definitely something to be said for finding a Great dealership, otherwise it can be quite miserable purchasing and getting started with a new trailer.

Looks like you are on the road and good to go now....Happy Camping

jtatum65 · 02-22-2016, 02:48 PM

Sounds like you bought from Camping World, thats the kinda BS they pull. Sorry to hear your troubles though.

Also I see you pull with the same TV. I just bought a 2016 RAM 2500 6.4 hemi myself 2 weeks ago. Just wondering if yours rides as rough as mine does?

KathyEd · 02-22-2016, 03:06 PM

I'm curious too in your tow vehicle. We have a 2014 2500 Ram 6.4 hemi. Does great with our 8289ws. Hopefully will do the same with the 8299bs.

CaptnJohn · 02-22-2016, 03:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jtatum65

Sounds like you bought from Camping World, thats the kinda BS they pull. Sorry to hear your troubles though.

Also I see you pull with the same TV. I just bought a 2016 RAM 2500 6.4 hemi myself 2 weeks ago. Just wondering if yours rides as rough as mine does?

Certainly not the Camping World where I buy. Great service. Had completed a PDI before I came to do one and still took 3 hours. Maybe he bought it from your dealer in a bad mood?

riverss · 02-22-2016, 03:25 PM

I have had my Ram 7 mo now it did ride like a buckboard with the high air pressure in the tires but i aired down to 50 psi both front and back wow what a difference. I had the dealer(after several heart to heart talks) reset the TPMS to 45 psi now i have no warning lights on . I have the 2 WD 3:73 to 1 and not the 4:10 to 1 rear end and really think it will do OK with the weight around 11k#. No i did not buy from CW but from another "puppy mill" here in N Texas. I expect they are all about the same. thanks and if you need info on reseting the TPMS let me know i had to get the info the tech .

jtatum65 · 02-22-2016, 03:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by riverss

I have had my Ram 7 mo now it did ride like a buckboard with the high air pressure in the tires but i aired down to 50 psi both front and back wow what a difference. I had the dealer(after several heart to heart talks) reset the TPMS to 45 psi now i have no warning lights on . I have the 2 WD 3:73 to 1 and not the 4:10 to 1 rear end and really think it will do OK with the weight around 11k#. No i did not buy from CW but from another "puppy mill" here in N Texas. I expect they are all about the same. thanks and if you need info on reseting the TPMS let me know i had to get the info the tech .

Yea I read on ramzforums.com to lower the tire pressure to 60-65lbs for unloaded/light loaded applications and they recommended reinflating to 80lbs on the rear when towing the FW. Also they stated that most Ram dealers refuse to change the TPMS settings, but I will see what they tell me.

riverss · 02-22-2016, 04:05 PM

Tpms reset

TPMS3.pdf

riverss · 02-22-2016, 04:06 PM

ooops

jtatum65 · 02-22-2016, 04:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by riverss

Tpms reset

Attachment 100167

Ok got it thanks! I contacted my Ram dealer today and have to take the truck in to replace the reclining lever on the passenger seat and asked about lowering the TPMS settings, they told me ok no problem. We'll see! Did you get the 5th prep package in your truck? I did mine and love it!!! I'm averaging 15.5mpg at this time and hope it gets better with break-in.

Thanks again for the TPMS info!

riverss · 02-22-2016, 06:19 PM

yesbut with out the pucks

jtatum65 · 02-22-2016, 06:25 PM

Oh so you had 5th wheel rails installed. I wants to avoid that so I can have the flat is the bed to use when hauling plywood and lumber

riverss · 02-22-2016, 06:58 PM

got my plans changed. was going to use the B&W Companion with the installed goosneck hitch. the Rockwood comes with the Reese Revolution (sidewinder) and the B&W companion hitch that attaches to the goose-neck receptacle can not be used with the Revolution so i was forced to decide did i want to have to install rails and use the B&W Patriot with the Reese king Box orrrrr. I really liked the clearance and convenience of not having to set and release a slide and knowing me i would put the cab into the cap one day. give a little and get a little o i can still use the goose-neck trailer i just remove the top part of the 5th wheel hitch and hook up i do not have to take the whole thing out.

jtatum65 · 02-24-2016, 01:14 PM

Had the truck in the dealer for warranty issues and asked them to lower the TPMS settings to 50psi and the tires to 55psi. WOW what a difference!!!!

Thanks for the info!

riverss · 02-24-2016, 10:26 PM

yahoooo different truck now. i went to the tire mfg web site and downloaded the chart for the psi =lbs load rating and have that for my reference. i run the lowest (with in reason) pressure that i can because of the heat build up when running on hot pavement.

jtatum65 · 02-25-2016, 08:24 AM

Yes much better ride. Just to verify, you running the Firestone Transforce AT tire correct? If so could you share that tire chart, I am not finding it on Firestones website. Probably not looking in the right place.

Thanks!!

riverss · 02-25-2016, 01:21 PM

http://commercial.firestone.com/cont...s_web_2014.pdf
look on page 6 of 9 I have the Firestone LT 275/70 R 18.
these are my stats 2015 RAM
GVW + 2 PPL + 1/2 TANK FUEL = 6780 LBS
STEERING AXLE = 3840 LBS
DRIVE AXLE = 2940 LBS
GAWR F = 5500 LBS @60 PSI
GAWR R = 6500 LBS @ 80 PSI
COMBINED WT OF CARGO + PEOPLE
NEVER EXCEED = 3543 LBS
LT275/70R18 SINGLE PSI RATING
35 40 45 50 55 60 65 70 75 80
2070 2270 2470 2680 2840 3020 3195 3360 3530 3640

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