Rockwood 2604 ultra lite issues

[reinbeauke]

Hello everyone.I have had my 2011 2604 for 3 years and have talked about getting rid of it since the day after I brought it home. Bought it basically online. Drove 3+ hours to get it. Should have backed out and come back home with my old unit but here we are. I want to list some of the things that are issues and maybe some of you can give me some tips that will make me enjoy this thing.
1) Water heater issue. Get to camp Friday afternoon. Set up turn on the switch unit fires up and runs its cycle. Continues like this till Saturday afternoon. That's when I usually see the red light telling me it's off. I shut it down , wait , turn it back on and it attempts to light. You can hear it clicking then comes the " boom" as it sounds like it just exploded. Repeats 2 more times. I give up and head outside to switch to electric since FR didn't see fit to put that switch inside for us. Two different dealers have looked at this and say nothing is wrong just a little dirt in there. Spray it out with air hose and charge me$$$ only to get to camp next week and repeat above story.
2) Bathroom has no heat or ac vents in it. Forced to leave the doors open to cool and heat it. This is a cheap short cut the builders do that makes me crazy. I actually reversed the door leading into the living area so it can stay open and not block the tv / entertainment center. This also allows access to bathroom when slide is closed on the road.
3) Cooling fan on the fridge. This thing is so loud. At myrtle beach last summer trying to nap under awning. Couldn't hear the ocean but I heard that stupid fan cycle on and off about every two minutes. Again dealer said" all good- functions as it should" more $$$.
4) Can't stabilize this unit for anything. Constant movement when anyone does more than breath hard . I've tried the jacks fully extended. Half extended on wooden blocks. Tried to take some of the weight off the axle by over extending once. No improvement . If you have a drink on the table and some one walks in the trailer you had better be grabbing that cup or it is spilling over.
5) Hanging space - has none. I'm 6 ft tall. None of my cloths can hang without balling up on the bottom of the cupboard. I have moved the rods up to the ceiling and custom bent hangers to gain every inch possible
That's enough for now. Anyone who has solutions to any of these please enlighten me. I'm ready to throw this thing on Craig's list and take a loss to unload it and go buy a Jay............you know.

[Black]

I had 2 of those a 2011 and a 2013 with the wardroom slide.
Just love it. Nothing bad to say about it...sorry you don't like it.
Trade it in if you hate it that much !
Black

[DaGrinch]

I'm only going to comment on #4 - stabilizing.
Do you use BAL chocks or x-chocks? They will help remedy forward and back motion. Scissor jacks under the frame at the axle helps curb movement as do the Valterra stabilizer under the back bumper and/or frame by the door. Support the steps - that's another way to minimize movement when people go in and out.
The "stabilizers" are not to curb movement in the trailer. They are only there to stabilize (keep level) the trailer once you have leveled it. DO NOT try to lift the trailer with these.
You didn't give much on how you have tried to stop trailer movement other than the OE stabilizers.
The other problems/issues... I'm sure others will comment that have more expertise than I on those.

Larry

[Herk7769]

Odd that no one has been able to help with your water heater.

Try scanning some threads here. Just about every thing that can go wrong with a water heater is covered somewhere.

Some photos of the "gas works" might be helpful. It sounds for sure like a mixture problem. Normally this is "spiders or wasps" in the flue, but there are other causes like corrosion in the jet (replacement is your only option - don't try to stick anything in there or the hole will get too big) or the shutter is mis-adjusted (normally caused by a tech trying that before blowing out the flue).

[ddemme]

We had the exact same issue with our water heater and it took several trips back to the dealer before it was corrected. It turns out that there was a very small recall on igniters that would spark in the wrong place. I'd give suburban a call with your serial number and see what they have to say.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Forest River Forums mobile app

[reinbeauke]

Good info about the recall. I contacted suburban in yr one and got no help from them other than the offer to direct me to a service facility. More concerned about safety issue and it may actually explode or catch fire .

[ddemme]

To keep the bathroom cool, you could leave the vent open with the fan on low. That will pull cool air from the LR and BR. Or, you could easily add an A/C vent or two.
The A/C 'ducts' run the entire length of the camper. Just make a hole that is in-line with the rest of the vents and add a vent cover. For heat, it looks like you have ductwork under the floor. That should be a pretty easy mod, as well.

[ddemme]

Get X-Chocks, they work!

P.S. I just noticed you're in the 'burgh. I'm originally from Moon. Go Pens!!!

[reinbeauke]

Cutting holes in the ceiling and floor is not something I would advise. There is no idea of wiring or support locations. If it were that easy then it should have been done while being built. I often see this on entry level units.
I have all the toys for blocking the wheels. The tires / axles on this unit are too close to put anything between them. I have a BAL locking chock that even in its smallest position can't be used. Never had this with any other unit. This is RV # 11 for me. I' m also a licensed RV salesman so I am very familiar with the workings and use of a TT.

[KyDan]

I'm happy with my 6 yr old Ultra lite. Sorry you hate yours..... what is
the measurement between tires on your unit? I find it hard to imagine
that some sort of wheel block can't be bought that will fit.

As far as your WH is concerned- try another tech. Someone can fix it.
IF it were mine- I'd shut off the gas and watch it try to light just to be
sure the spark is sparking in the right place then go from there.
There are ways to modify the noisy fan on the fridge.
Some have replaced it with a quieter computer fan while others
have put a switch on it to shut it off during annoying times.
Do a search for noisy refrigerator fan. There are lots of discussions about
that one.

Closets are short but I knew that from the walk thru before I bought it....

IF you are truly un-happy with your unit maybe it's time for number 12??
Camping is supposed to be fun. If it's not fun what's the point?
Good Luck!

[jkklops]

had the same thing on my rockwood with the water heater ijust had to move the sparker in a little so it was close to gas port and it stop it. do not understand if you were a rv salesman how you bought this unit off someone and did not know about he bad things

[awellis3]

Originally Posted by reinbeauke

I want to list some of the things that are issues and maybe some of you can give me some tips that will make me enjoy this thing.

Water heater - Basic troubleshooting requires you to discover what changes from the day it works to the day it doesn't. Wind? Debris moving around? If it works once, it should work twice unless conditions are different. As suggested before, see where the igniter is sparking. Is it close to the flame port?
Bathroom - We use a plug-in space heater right before showering to boost up the comfort. In summer, the fan on low, as suggested, to remove excess moisture and draw in cooler air.
Noisy fridge fan - What fridge fan? Did you add one? The converter sits under the fridge and it has a fan. Are you napping inside the TT when you hear this or outside?
Rocking and rolling - The trailer is sitting on its suspension, the suspension is doing its job. Put scissors jacks under the plate that carries the torsion tubes, one on each side, to prevent the suspension from flexing.
Wardrobe - Yup, that's why we have the WS model of the 2604, a nice 4-door wardrobe slide solves that problem.
The 2604 packs a lot of living area in a trailer that is only 29 feet long. To get more, you need to go bigger.

I love my 2604WS,
Teach

[KDHfan]

We did two things to help stabilize our 2306. First, we bought an additional two sets of Lynx Levelers and use them under the stabilizer legs... The less they're extended, the less movement you'll get. You can use wood blocks, but we use levelers to try and cut down on weight. Secondly, we also use lynx levelers under our steps as a support. This had, by far, the biggest effect on the 2306 rocking when someone was climbing the steps in/out.