Newbie Looking to buy a Rockwood Windjammer

[jeff64]

As to the what's in barns? Has a lot to do with what you're farming. If you've been around a dairy farm, or any other type of animals, straw from oats or wheat is bedding for the animals, hay is food . Hay is also more expensive if you're buying bales for just that reason. Food for livestock

[NMWildcat]

Originally Posted by nomad297

The other advantage of straw over hay is straw is a much better insulator than hay since the stalks are hollow/tubular. Hay is generally not hollow because it has been harvested before the stalks have died and dried out. Hay is more like grass where straw is more like bamboo in structure.

There are a few farmers on here who can probably explain it much more accurately than I can.

Bruce

I think you explained it fairly well. What is determined to be straw vs hay (food) depends on what part of the country you are in and what is available. And yes, bales of bedding material are usually much cheaper than hay.
As far as mice, I can't really say one attracts mice more than the other. We find mice anywhere warmth and protection is provided. Even if you used metal or wood skirting for winter protection, it there are mice around, they will use the protection you provide
As far as the R value, I think it is a toss up and depends on size and density of the bale. I had a friend who built his house with straw bales as insulation. I remember they had to be made from a certain straw and baled with a specific density or tightness, but don't remember the specifics. And yes, he is still fighting rodent intrusion

[grangalo1812]

Originally Posted by Capt. Mike

We had a 2014 Rockwood Windjammer with the front kitchen. It was my wife's favorite trailer of all that we have had. I believe the front kitchen model was called a 3006. She has often said she wished we still had it.

As far as problems, we pulled that trailer all over the US, from Arizona to Florida, West Virginia to Wyoming, and had no more problems with it than one would expect. Blew one tire once (before we went to higher rated tires), but other than that, no major problems.

As far as hay bales stacked around it as skirting, I think that would help keep it warm. Ours had tank heater pads, but it did not have a fireplace - fireplaces weren't offered until 2015 models.

By the way, you may not have seen one, but I'm pretty sure Flagstaff also made a front kitchen model. Whatever Rockwood made, there was usually a comparable Flagstaff model, with different interior colors and patterns.

If you can find one, and it is reasonably priced and in pretty good shape, it might be a safe bet to get it for "full time" living in the midwest for a while.

Good luck...

Hi! Out of subject, but since we own similar Windjammer, have you figured out how to open the front cap of the big outside light between the two slideouts? Could not find a way to remove the plastic cap to clean the inside... Tks!

[jeff64]

Originally Posted by grangalo1812

Hi! Out of subject, but since we own similar Windjammer, have you figured out how to open the front cap of the big outside light between the two slideouts? Could not find a way to remove the plastic cap to clean the inside... Tks!

Since its oval shaped, you will slip a small screwdriver at the bottom between the lens and shellac it should pry/lift off the lens. Theresa a tab there, hard to see

[ncebeemer]

Originally Posted by grangalo1812

Hi! Out of subject, but since we own similar Windjammer, have you figured out how to open the front cap of the big outside light between the two slideouts? Could not find a way to remove the plastic cap to clean the inside... Tks!

I hadn't ever needed to change bulb or clean before. I googled the question and another forum suggested "squeezing" the fixture to remove lens. I squeezed and squeezed with no luck. I took a dime and put it between lens and fixture, about an inch from top center and pressed up and it came loose. The lens has a tab top dead center and two on the bottom edge about an inch or so from the ends. Replacement was reversing the action, bottom tabs in first, then squeezing the top down to pop in the upper tab. Not a lot of force is needed. be gentle with the tabs, they don.t look to sturdy. Good luck

[ProfChuck]

We also have a Windjammer 3008w that was made in Nov. 2012 (2013 model). Like others, we love it and still have it. In 2015 we remodeled our house and used the Windjammer as our temporary living quarters. Remodeling lasted 6 months from June 11, to December 11 (yep, to the day). It served us very well, although in the last two months, Nov. & Dec. we went through a lot of propane keeping the furnace going (Michigan). We also at one point, had a 12 inch snowfall to make things even more fun. I did get one of those heated hoses for water. Didn't like it much because it had a funny taste to the water. Company said it was just the newness of the hose. Only used it a couple nights. We had full hookups from the house and I ran a special line to the septic system. I didn't put anything around the outside of the bottom of the TT, but, that may be a good idea if you are expecting a lot of cold weather. For us, it got down into the low 20's a few times. I worried about the freezing, but, we never really had any problems with it. Things were tight, but, we made it. We both had full-time jobs, along with a dog, and had to treat it like an apartment. Not only did it save a lot of money on rent, but, we moved it from our storage barn and used that for the furniture, saving about $1200 a month furniture storage, too. I was truly amazed at how well it worked as a "house" during the remodel. 3 years ago I had to repair and strengthen the kitchen drawers under the the cabinet by the stove by the water heater and furnace. The staples they used had pulled out and the drawers didn't close right. Otherwise, only the AC was replaced a couple years ago, and the water pump. Everything else has worked beautifully the whole time. We did put the Endurance tires on it upgrading to load range E which have worked very well and I changed out most of the string blinds for regular Top down/Bottom up cordless cellular shades. Regular maintenance is the key and we also store it indoors when not camping. Bathroom dome started to seep a bit of water, (not a leak) so the caulk was removed and replaced with Durabond tape. Holding fine so far. Also no leaks since we have owned it. You will love it.

[grangalo1812]

Originally Posted by ncebeemer

I hadn't ever needed to change bulb or clean before. I googled the question and another forum suggested "squeezing" the fixture to remove lens. I squeezed and squeezed with no luck. I took a dime and put it between lens and fixture, about an inch from top center and pressed up and it came loose. The lens has a tab top dead center and two on the bottom edge about an inch or so from the ends. Replacement was reversing the action, bottom tabs in first, then squeezing the top down to pop in the upper tab. Not a lot of force is needed. be gentle with the tabs, they don.t look to sturdy. Good luck

Thank you for the info. On the front lens not far from the front door, there are 2 tabs but on the back one between the slides, there are none...Will try again the squeezing part.