Just purchased a 2509s

[cliffslocal]

We just purchased a 2509s and pick it up next Saturday. I have learned a lot from this forum but there are a few questions I can't seem to find an answer for. We are coming from a 2015 Jayco Jayfeather x19H HTT that we loved and was very well built but wanted to get away from the tent bunk ends.

My Questions:
-Can I safely walk on the roof to do maintenance, my Jayco had cross supports and was very solid.

-Can I put a receiver hitch on the rear bumper for bikes. On my Jayco I could not as it was not strong enough.

-Do most people put a slide topper over the slide

-Where do most people put the charge controller for solar?

- It has the outside kitchen and both max air vents. Not sure if the solid kitchen counter tops are standard or an option but we have those as well. Not sure of any other options that we have. Are there others?

-I purchased 2 6Volt batteries, are there any special considerations for hooking those up or just connect them in series and all is good. I have two Noco battery boxes.

I think thats it for now, we are super excited for new adventures in this. We used our Jayco about 8-10 times a year throughout the Southwest hitting most national parks. I am hoping the quality is similar to our Jayco.

[bikendan]

The Rockwood is an ultralight, just like your Jayco. So the bumper is just as weak.

The only way to make it safe, is to have a receiver welded and braced to the frame. But this mod will void your frame warranty if you have future issues.

[jking46]

1. Yes
2. Many do...including me

That's all I can answer. And from what I have seen, Rockwood quality is better than Jayco. When we were looking for our current unit, the assembly quality of most Jaycos was not good. Jayco has a pretty good reputation but I think they have slipped a lot in recent years.

[rockfordroo]

Originally Posted by cliffslocal

We just purchased a 2509s and pick it up next Saturday. I have learned a lot from this forum but there are a few questions I can't seem to find an answer for. We are coming from a 2015 Jayco Jayfeather x19H HTT that we loved and was very well built but wanted to get away from the tent bunk ends.

My Questions:

-Can I put a receiver hitch on the rear bumper for bikes. On my Jayco I could not as it was not strong enough.

Don't just bolt a receiver to your bumper. See post #2 for what I had put on my Roo 19 and post #12 for what I had put on my Mini Lite 2503S. There are some other options in the thread, too.

http://www.forestriverforums.com/for...oo-107358.html

I didn't worry about warranty. Starting my 4th season with it on my Mini Lite this year. YMMV (your mileage may vary).

I only carry 2 bikes on a Thule 990XT platform rack. Note that most racks (including mine) say they are not rated for RV use. However I've been using mine for over 6 years now, including 3 yrs on my Roo and 3 yrs on my Mini Lite, as well as on the back of various cars and TV's. Again, YMMV.

Swagman makes some racks that are rated for RV use.

[67L48]

Originally Posted by cliffslocal

-Can I safely walk on the roof to do maintenance, my Jayco had cross supports and was very solid.

That really depends on you! The roof will support you, but whether or not you can walk safely is question of your balance, coordination, etc.

Originally Posted by cliffslocal

-Can I put a receiver hitch on the rear bumper for bikes. On my Jayco I could not as it was not strong enough.

You can do it, but you'll destroy your bumper and might lose your bike rack half way down the road. There are other ways that help to tie the bumper to the frame. You can search here, as there are quite a few threads asking this with various solutions posted.

Originally Posted by cliffslocal

-Do most people put a slide topper over the slide

I wouldn't say "most people," but certainly a lot do. It's a bit polarizing and there are lots of pros and cons for slide toppers. Generally, it has a lot to do with where you camp. Search here for slide toppers and you can follow the debate. It is a factory option and I wish my trailer had one. I'm not sure if I'll ever get around to putting one on myself, though.

Originally Posted by cliffslocal

-Where do most people put the charge controller for solar?

I'll defer to others, as I have no experience. I'll just parrot what I've read elsewhere: trailers are wired for Zamp and Zamp uses a reverse polarity wiring from every other brand. So, if you want to use non-Zamp, you need to overcome the reversed wiring.

Originally Posted by cliffslocal

- It has the outside kitchen and both max air vents. Not sure if the solid kitchen counter tops are standard or an option but we have those as well. Not sure of any other options that we have. Are there others?

Yes, there are about 14 factory options available on that trailer. I'll try to list them from memory: Oyster color, rear ladder, power tongue jack, power awning with lights, wood look floor, maple cabinets, slide topper, gas oven, stainless steel appliances, refrigerator wood panel, 2nd Maxxair vent, thermopane windows, heated tanks, free-standing table and chairs, and sharks with lasers on their heads. I may have missed one or two.

Oyster color, ladder, power jack & awning, and oven are very common options. I saw very few trailers that didn't have these. Refrigerator panel is also common. Maple cabinets, heated tanks, and wood look floor were on about half of the trailers I saw. I only saw a handful of trailers that had toppers and 2nd vent.

Originally Posted by cliffslocal

-I purchased 2 6Volt batteries, are there any special considerations for hooking those up or just connect them in series and all is good. I have two Noco battery boxes.

Check out the 12 Volt Side of Life for lots of good info about battery systems.

Good luck.

[cliffslocal]

That really depends on you! The roof will support you, but whether or not you can walk safely is question of your balance, coordination, etc.

Yeah, no guarantees haha.

You can do it, but you'll destroy your bumper and might lose your bike rack half way down the road. There are other ways that help to tie the bumper to the frame. You can search here, as there are quite a few threads asking this with various solutions posted.

Same issue as Jayco, will keep them in truck.

I wouldn't say "most people," but certainly a lot do. It's a bit polarizing and there are lots of pros and cons for slide toppers. Generally, it has a lot to do with where you camp. Search here for slide toppers and you can follow the debate. It is a factory option and I wish my trailer had one. I'm not sure if I'll ever get around to putting one on myself, though.

Ill have to investigate to see what the cons are, seems like short of ripping off while driving only pros.

I'll defer to others, as I have no experience. I'll just parrot what I've read elsewhere: trailers are wired for Zamp and Zamp uses a reverse polarity wiring from every other brand. So, if you want to use non-Zamp, you need to overcome the reversed wiring.

Yeah, ill just run a new line.

Yes, there are about 14 factory options available on that trailer. I'll try to list them from memory: Oyster color, rear ladder, power tongue jack, power awning with lights, wood look floor, maple cabinets, slide topper, gas oven, stainless steel appliances, refrigerator wood panel, 2nd Maxxair vent, thermopane windows, heated tanks, free-standing table and chairs, and sharks with lasers on their heads. I may have missed one or two.

Thanks, I guess i have everything but stainless and the slide topper. Already have sharks with lasers

[UT_Grandpa]

Many questions have been answered. Here are a few tips from us:

1. The bottom bunk in the back will hinge up and you can get two bikes and some moving blankets to pad them. Mounting to the rear bumper is a no-no. Much too thin if you travel any roads with bumps in them. If I do a bumper mount I will weld a mount from the frame (bolted to the frame not welded on) and back to a standard receiver hitch allowing a bike rack or a storage rack.

2. We chose to not install a solar controller but take our two panels, lean them on some buckets in the sun, run a cable between the two panels (a "Y" connector) and the solar controller. We used a Renogy Rover 20 Amp MPPT Solar Charge Controller and then we put a fused cable from the batteries to an Anderson Powerpole connector thus bypassing a lot of wire using the ZAMP jack. We chose to put the panels in the sun, not the trailer. The panels travel inside the trailer when moving.

3. We installed a slide cover after having to sweep the pinecones and leaves off the slide before bringing it in. It can flap in high winds. We plan to throw a strap over it and hook it to the ground to add a little down pressure to it.

4. We use two 12V batteries and connected the positive from the TT to one battery and the negative from the TT to the other. This balances the load across the two batteries.

5. Other things we have done: Added a wireless indoor/outdoor thermometer, bought two TV tables, a water pressure regulator (must have), a 15 Amp AC plug to 30 Amp receptacle adaptor, a power protection monitor (not just a surge protector), rugs for inside the door and the bottom of the stairs, a collapsible broom, a light blanket to tie the dinette cushions together if made into a bed, a water filler hose (valve and short section of
clear tubing to shove down the filler opening, Command hooks for towels in the bathroom and to hang wet suits and towels on. We purchased and use a clear sewer hose 45 degree adaptor so you can tell when the Goo is gone. Gloves and bleach/water spray for cleanup of the sewer stuff. We bought two sets of "Lego" blocks for levelling and have used them all a couple of times. After a few trips I bought an adaptor for a cordless drill to the stabilizer jacks to save a lot of cranking. Additionally we purchased some X-Chocks to stop the back and forth movement.

6. When you use your outside grill, line with bottom with aluminum foil so make cleanup a ton faster.

Enjoy your TT. Ours is in the shop for a few warranty items that we discovered on the first trip but didn't want to tie up the TT last summer waiting for parts and repair. Our TT is a 2018 "Flat Front" model. We looked at the new model but decided it really didn't add anything we had to have.

[cliffslocal]

2. We chose to not install a solar controller but take our two panels, lean them on some buckets in the sun, run a cable between the two panels (a "Y" connector) and the solar controller. We used a Renogy Rover 20 Amp MPPT Solar Charge Controller and then we put a fused cable from the batteries to an Anderson Powerpole connector thus bypassing a lot of wire using the ZAMP jack. We chose to put the panels in the sun, not the trailer. The panels travel inside the trailer when moving.

Thanks, I have a have a 100w Mono Renogy and a morningstar controller (which i keep in a metal box) with quick disconnects and 25' of cable to move with the sun as you do. I like that flexibility. Especially at the beach.

3. We installed a slide cover after having to sweep the pinecones and leaves off the slide before bringing it in. It can flap in high winds. We plan to throw a strap over it and hook it to the ground to add a little down pressure to it.

I think i will get one of these within the year

4. We use two 12V batteries and connected the positive from the TT to one battery and the negative from the TT to the other. This balances the load across the two batteries.

Thanks, I was going to do that again but then I saw it was $20 more a battery for the 6v so I figured id give them a go as I had been wanting to convert for a while. We'll see how it goes.

[Camp4two]

[QUOTE=cliffslocal;1790030]We just purchased a 2509s and pick it up next Saturday. I have learned a lot from this forum but there are a few questions I can't seem to find an answer for. We are coming from a 2015 Jayco Jayfeather x19H HTT that we loved and was very well built but wanted to get away from the tent bunk ends.

-Can I put a receiver hitch on the rear bumper for bikes. On my Jayco I could not as it was not strong enough.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
We have a Swagman 2 bike bumper bike rack on our trailer. Have traveled 2 years and over 14K miles with it an NEVER an issue. Your bumper needs to have a continuous weld across the length of it. Our spare tire is in the front storage compartment.

I modified the bike rack a bit:
1. Added rubber strips on top and bottom of the U bolt clamps to prevent wear on the bumper, movement and dampen some vibration.
2. Added an extra nut and lock washer as jam nut to keep the U bolt clamp tight.
3. Added padding to the rack's upright support bar.
4. Added some reflective strips for safety.

Just be sure you use PLENTY of good quality bungee cords/straps to secure the bikes to the bumper and between the bikes. Depending on your bikes, you may have to turn in the handle bar on the inside bike (away from the trailer exterior wall) for clearance. Be sure at every gas stop to check your bikes.

We have seen many trailers with bumper bike racks.

[bikendan]

[QUOTE=Camp4two;1791852]

Originally Posted by cliffslocal

We just purchased a 2509s and pick it up next Saturday. I have learned a lot from this forum but there are a few questions I can't seem to find an answer for. We are coming from a 2015 Jayco Jayfeather x19H HTT that we loved and was very well built but wanted to get away from the tent bunk ends.

-Can I put a receiver hitch on the rear bumper for bikes. On my Jayco I could not as it was not strong enough.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
We have a Swagman 2 bike bumper bike rack on our trailer. Have traveled 2 years and over 14K miles with it an NEVER an issue. Your bumper needs to have a continuous weld across the length of it. Our spare tire is in the front storage compartment.

I modified the bike rack a bit:
1. Added rubber strips on top and bottom of the U bolt clamps to prevent wear on the bumper, movement and dampen some vibration.
2. Added an extra nut and lock washer as jam nut to keep the U bolt clamp tight.
3. Added padding to the rack's upright support bar.
4. Added some reflective strips for safety.

Just be sure you use PLENTY of good quality bungee cords/straps to secure the bikes to the bumper and between the bikes. Depending on your bikes, you may have to turn in the handle bar on the inside bike (away from the trailer exterior wall) for clearance. Be sure at every gas stop to check your bikes.

We have seen many trailers with bumper bike racks.

Yours is NOT an ultralight, like the OP's trailer.

[Camp4two]

[QUOTE=bikendan;1791883]

Originally Posted by Camp4two

Yours is NOT an ultralight, like the OP's trailer.

Per Swagman's instructions that came with the bike rack, as long as you have a continuous weld bumper your good to go. It's not the type trailer you have, it is the strength of the bumper.

[bikendan]

Ultralight trailers DON'T have continuous weld bumpers.
Since the OP owns a Rockwood, which is an ultralight trailer and the thread is in the Rockwood sub-forum, continuous weld bumpers don't apply.

[cliffslocal]

Originally Posted by bikendan

Ultralight trailers DON'T have continuous weld bumpers.
Since the OP owns a Rockwood, which is an ultralight trailer and the thread is in the Rockwood sub-forum, continuous weld bumpers don't apply.

Just for my edification, on my Jayfeather the bumper was bolted to the frame, on my Rockwood it is welded to the frame. What does continuous weld mean in this context? thanks

[Camp4two]

Continuous weld means a weld bead that goes the entire width of the bumper. Some bumpers are only spot welded.