New to Forest River, Help with order

[Gofishth]

Hi everyone. I've been camping for over 50 years with every type of RV but have never ordered a new one. I'm in the process of ordering a new Rockwood 2205s for my wife and I. We love the layout for a couple to travel the US. I see there is an option for a rooftop solar prep and another option for a 100 watt solar package with rooftop prep? Has anyone ordered this and what do you think? Thanks so much.

[6CatDaddy]

Good choice on the 2205S.

Sorry, don't know about the solar prep, but that is the model we ordered and I would suggest a couple items we have you may consider.

Get the theater seats, the extra Maxxair fan in the front over the bed ,and a slide topper.

It is a great unit, we love it

[marinerjoe]

Agree - Excellent choice. Another great thing our 2205S came with was the power stabilization jacks. No more going to each corner with the drill to run each one down.

And ditto on the theater seating. That item alone was the reason we traded our 2018 21FBRS in on our 2020 2205S. Ours also came with the slide topper and the extra MaxAir fan over the bed.

Joe

[Dennis878]

Gofishth solar prep is a great option but 100 watt is way to small. Solar prepped only means a wire dropped from the roof to the interior of the trailer somewhere. 100 watt equals small wire! My mini light has it mounted on the side of the trailer and I can access it to upgrade the wires. If you’re only going to use it to charge your one or two batteries it will charge them eventually at 100 watts. If you plan on boondocking at all it won’t keep up with demand. Lots of information out there on wire sizing for solar panels.

[Gofishth]

Thanks for the replies. I have the slide toppers, theater seating, thermopane windows, white exterior, extra maxair fan, and solar prep. I will probably install 400 watts on the roof myself but I didn't know if the solar prep is a box on the roof or a chase or just a cheap wire. I'm always nervous about drilling a bunch of holes in a new roof. I'll be moving my lithium batteries and charger over from my previous unit.

[Forest Ray River]

I just bought a custom ordered 2104 TT (22’) and had the solar plug added to the roof for my 2 170 watt solar panels, yet to be install. Order the ‘roof mount’ and you will also get the side mount. I was very happy to see that! I’m going to run #8 wire down their existing ’holes’ and rerout to where my ‘lithium battery pack, inverter, charge controller, etc will be located. ( under the fold-down couch for the ‘murphy bed’. Good luck!

[flyflotrtim]

Love the 2205 but didnt order the solar prep. We try to camp in the shade and felt solar movable panels would be best to allow use of nearby areas of sunlight.

[eye95]

If you have not ordered it yet, shop around for the best deal, even if it requires travel. Although now is not _the_ best time for getting deals on RVs, many folks report saving 30% or more by finding a dealer willing to deal.

We saved about 25% off MSRP. Fortunately, the dealer offering us the best price was only about 30 minutes away. For more information, there is a thread that asks folks how far they would travel to get a good deal.

[tomkatb]

From my experience in 2018!

My, solar prep, has a sticker on it saying the limit for the wire is 30 amps. Near enough for 3-400 watts. Mine is not hooked up.

100 watts on the best day mounted flat on the roof could give you 25 amps per day. Not a lot. Also does not do much in cloudy weather or in an old campground with trees to cool the rv.

Virtually worthless, however, if you store your rv outside during the winter it might keep the batteries charged. Good thing.

You need to add batteries to suit your plan, whatever. Dealer installed battery in salesman speak, means. “A cheap marine battery to allow the trailer electric brakes to function”. I have 4 golf cart batteries. About 6x the marine battery.

Also think about tire options. Some trailers come with ok tires. Many do not.

The DW loves the convection oven. Never has used the gas one.

A fireplace is a good thing! Resistance heat for that chilly morning when plugged in.

Cell phone booster. Forget WiFi. Got one. Great reception of crappy WiFi in campgrounds.

Love the auto close fantastic fan with cover.

Love the ceiling fan.

USB ports. My rv had one non Apple compatible, wonderful!

Get a twelve volt plug somewhere. Handy. Also will power a small inverter easy.

Need a battery monitor if you think you might boondock. Amazon, BM2 for $30. Vitron for $250. Prevents the 2 am weak up by the DW when the furnace quits!

[jeff64]

If you are ordering it, minimum carpet is a must unless you like trying to get sand out of the cheapo carpet!

[drburns]

I ordered the roof top solar prep, and ended up not using it. It assumed you used the GoPower components, and would have required me to remove the Fridge to get to their wires, so I ended up running mine down the awning arm which was much easier.

Here are some details on my solar instal if it helps - https://diysolarforum.com/threads/rv...atteries.6773/