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Old 11-01-2017, 09:45 PM   #1
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Considering purchase of Roo 24WS

Hi all! My name is Amanda, and I'm new here! My husband and I have been looking at upgrading to a nice RV from our current situation and are considering purchasing a new Rockwood Roo 24WS in the near future. It looks to be a perfect compromise for us. However, this past weekend we went to an RV show (none of the RV's we looked at were Forrest River), and were shocked to see the poor workmanship and finishes on the units. In one unit, the shower was pulling away from the wall, taking the wall paper with it! On a few others the fake-wood stickers on the cabinetry was peeling. These were brand new units, from big name manufacturers. I am wondering if this is an industry wide thing? I am hoping to get out to see a new 24WS in person tomorrow, about an hour from my house. I just don't want to throw a ton of money into something that will be constantly falling apart. We camp a lot, about 4-6 days per month almost all year, every where from low desert, to the mountains at about 7500 ft, and I want something solid that will last a long time! I would love some input from owners of the 24WS, or the previous 23WS. Really hoping to hear good reports!! Thank You!
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Old 11-01-2017, 10:04 PM   #2
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Considering purchase of Roo 24WS

Hi from Southern California. We just purchased our third Forest River RV and this weekend will be our first trip out with it. Not too familiar with the model you are referring to. We’ve owned multiple brands but find ourselves coming back to this brand. We also camp at least 1 weekend a month so we get loads of use out of our RV. Go with what works for your situation and have fun with it.
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Old 11-01-2017, 10:25 PM   #3
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I have a 23ws for the last 2 seasons, I love it, we just don't have much trouble with it, I think the build quality us fine, we just use it and don't think about it. If plan to check out a 24ws in person, you better prepare yourself mentally, you will be happy with the build quality and you will be tempted to buy it. Lol
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Old 11-01-2017, 10:56 PM   #4
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I have a 23ws for the last 2 seasons, I love it, we just don't have much trouble with it, I think the build quality us fine, we just use it and don't think about it. If plan to check out a 24ws in person, you better prepare yourself mentally, you will be happy with the build quality and you will be tempted to buy it. Lol
Haha! No doubt! Fortunately (or, maybe unfortunately) the dealership it's at has an F rating with the BBB, and terrible Yelp and Google reviews, so we won't be purchasing from them, but it's the only dealership within 150 miles with one in stock! I hope it's not terrible manners to go look with no intention of buying. I just really want to see one in person before spending so much. I'll be careful not to take too much time with a sales person.
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Old 11-01-2017, 11:12 PM   #5
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We have a 23ss shamrock and love it.
Build quality is subject industry wide and if you are somewhat handy it helps. There is a lot of good help and information here saved me a couple of times and all I had do was ask.
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Old 11-02-2017, 12:06 AM   #6
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Since you live in Arizona, you'll definitely need Popup Gizmos and Reflectix.
Also upgrade to the 15k a/c.

We found our dealer choices and their prices, on the West Coast, to be very disappointing.

We ended up driving to Chicago and back for our new Roo.
FR found us local dealers that were willing to do the warranty work.
We saved over $4k, even after trip costs.
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Old 11-02-2017, 01:02 AM   #7
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Originally Posted by bikendan View Post
Since you live in Arizona, you'll definitely need Popup Gizmos and Reflectix.
Also upgrade to the 15k a/c.

We found our dealer choices and their prices, on the West Coast, to be very disappointing.

We ended up driving to Chicago and back for our new Roo.
FR found us local dealers that were willing to do the warranty work.
We saved over $4k, even after trip costs.
Ok, where do you install the feflectix?

The dealer options here are pretty lacking. I was looking into RVwholesalers, not sure I want to load my brood up for a road trip to Chicago to pick one up!
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Old 11-02-2017, 02:12 AM   #8
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You will find that "quality" is lacking in RVs compared to automobiles. With that being said, I believe the Rockwood/flagstaff lines are the best built Forest River travel trailer lines from what I have seen. I was pleasantly surprised with my 2017 23IKSS.
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Old 11-02-2017, 03:33 AM   #9
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Ok, where do you install the feflectix?

The dealer options here are pretty lacking. I was looking into RVwholesalers, not sure I want to load my brood up for a road trip to Chicago to pick one up!
Reflectix goes in the tent end windows. also helps with temp control.

actually, RVW is in Ohio. we bought from House of Camping, outside of Chicago. made a camping trip out of the return trip.
great family run dealership and actually a little closer than RVW.

RVW will ship or meet you anywhere inbetween, so save on shipping costs.
if we had bought from RVW, we were going to meet in Rawlins, Wyoming. it would have cut the shipping costs in half.
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Old 11-02-2017, 04:27 AM   #10
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We have a 23WS and simply love it. We had it for two years now, and didn't have a problem with it yet.
We bought ours online from Haylett RV in Michigan and they delivered it here in Maine....that's how confident we were with Rockwood. The folks that brought it over didn't leave my property until I was satisfied......
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Old 11-02-2017, 09:11 AM   #11
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I have owned a Shamrock 183 now for 3+ years. Shamrock is the sister line to Roo... both are the same except for the name. As you read thru the Shamrock/Roo sub-forum on here, you will find that the FR camper has some build quality problems like you describe, and dealerships in general treat you terribly once they have your money.

There are some good dealers out there, with RVW being one of them... and there are others. As far as getting your camper fixed after the sale either under warranty or otherwise, many opt for Mobil RV technicians or independent RV repair places that will fix issues either at your place or theirs. The other option if you are a little handy and have some basic tools is to fix your own.

I am an advocate of doing the small things yourself to insure that a dealer does not keep your camper for weeks on end and find that they did not even do the work to your satisfaction when you do pick it up. How do you know what to do to fix those things you ask? Well that is what this forum is all about. You ask a question on here and often you will get 6 or 10 responses in just a few hours. You can also search thru the forums using the search function to see if your question has been answered already.

I love my Shamrock 183, as I came from a tenting then a popup background. It gives the wife and I the most space for the least investment and allows us to occasionally host friends and our grown daughter from time to time as it has 3 bunk ends.

I bought from an outfit called Colerain RV that is a small chain in the Ohio/IN area. The store I used is just south of Indianapolis. They were the only place I could see a model 183 in about 250 miles from me. Once I bought, I have never had to return to them. I had a couple of small issues that I could have taken it back to be rectified, but I chose to just fix them myself. Right now dealerships are being bought out all over the country by an outfit called Camping World. If you read on here long enough there are good and there are terrible Camping World locations... it just depends on the people that are employed at each location. This nation has seen a bumper crop of retirees buying RV's in the last 5-6 years, and the manufacturers are pushing them out of the factory doors as fast as possible to meet demand. This has certainly led to QC issues, from minor to major. Mostly you will read that FR takes care of the major issues for you. Sometimes minor issues not so much but usually because the dealerships drop the ball.

Again, I suggest that you read over the Roo/Shamrock sub-forum. Keep in mind that every year a new model comes out and minor changes happen. Often those changes in the hybrid line are in the tenting area. Up until about 2012 Roos had major issues with the bunks ends not sealing properly and the bunk doors would de-laminate... bulge and rot from the inside out. Then they were redesigned and that problem was all but eliminated. Currently from about 2017 models there seems to be a common tenting issue with leaks where the tent contacts the top and side edges of the bunk door. New caulk sealant seems to take care of that issue. Every model year has issues with screws/sawdust/scraps remaining in the camper recesses even after dealer inspections and delivery. A pain to cleanup but not a deal breaker for me.

Think seriously about looking at your camper choice then contacting one of the mid-west dealers that will work with you on price and delivery. As bikendan points out you can save yourself some serious money and make a vacation out of going to pick it up.

Finally, make sure you have enough tow vehicle to pull the camper to where you are most likely be going with it. That may be the mountains, or in flat lands. One of the costliest mistakes new trailer owners make is listening to a dealer tell them that their Ford Escape will pull an 6,000# trailer. It might be capable, but it will not be safe nor enjoyable. Tell us your tow vehicle and get opinions from owners on this forum first before buying.

Good luck and as we get on into the winter months, I think you will find that you will find the camper you want at a good price somewhere. It is a buyers market this time of year, more so then in the spring and summer.
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Old 11-02-2017, 09:39 AM   #12
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We just finished our 5th season with our Roo. We had planned to buy a 23SS until the 23IKSS came out right before we bought. Either way, both nice floor plans. We are super happy with the Roo. Its been relatively trouble free and we've used it 30+ nights a year and towed it thousands of miles.


In the quest to make RV's light weight and low cost, you will see some questionable material choices and sloppy workmanship. Quality also varies from one trailer to the next, even if they are the same model. So look over your potential purchase very closely before you sign or hand over the $$.


And for sure - if a dealer has a bad reputation, do not do business with them. We have dealt with 2 dealers - one on each end of the spectrum and it makes all the difference in the world to have a competent, ethical dealer to work with. Lowest price isn't always the best deal in the end, nor is dealing with a local dealer if they don't deal fairly and offer good service after the sale.


And for sure, purchase the 2nd year warranty from FR. That gives you another year to work out any issues that arise. We had very few problems, and after the first season we dropped the Roo at the dealer with a list of 12 items, all minor workmanship type things. No questions asked, they got all items approved by FR, fixed everything, and had it back to us in a couple weeks. That's where a good dealer pays off. They cleaned up all the little things the factory missed - and some of the things like some loose trim didn't occur until well after we took delivery. Either the factory did a pretty good job initially or the dealer had thoroughly gone through things as soon as they received it in, as we didn't find any issues when we looked at it on the lot.
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Old 11-02-2017, 12:00 PM   #13
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And for sure, purchase the 2nd year warranty from FR. That gives you another year to work out any issues that arise.
KMP, FR dropped the 2nd year factory warranty back in June.
It is no longer offered for any of their lines.

Dynamax does offer their own 2nd year factory warranty for some of their models.
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Old 11-02-2017, 12:22 PM   #14
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rsdata- I've spending a bit of time reading forums on the Roo, as well as the other unit we are considering. From what I'm reading, the Roo seems to be a better quality unit, plus I like it more! We aren't terribly handy people, but we're not afraid to ask and get our hands dirty, plus I have family around who would do anything we asked. I just would be careful not to ask too much! Our tow vehicle is a 2005 Ford Excursion, diesel 6.0, so no worries as far as towing capacity goes! (We've made that mistake before too...)

KMP44- I really wish we had a reputable dealer around here that sold the Roos. We get a lot of Snow birds here, so I'm a little surprised there aren't more. As I said, one has a terrible reputation, and the other has a good BBB rating, but lots of horrible reviews. We will likely do most repairs ourselves, or ask my amazing Uncle to help, just to keep away from the repair shops. We will definitely get the second year warranty in case something major crops up, or something we won't touch, like electrical or structural, etc.
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Old 11-02-2017, 12:37 PM   #15
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We have the Shamrock 23 WS, just ended our second season and have pulled it over 9000 miles in that time. We love it and have not had any major issues with it. Minor ones, yes... easy fixes and definitely nothing that stops us from using it.

And as bikendan stated, FR no longer offers the second year warrenty.
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Old 11-02-2017, 12:39 PM   #16
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And as bikendan stated, FR no longer offers the second year warrenty.
I saw that after I replied. Hopefully we'd have everything worked out by the end of the first year.
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Old 11-02-2017, 12:49 PM   #17
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Another vote for RVWholesalers. You'll save a good bit of money even having it delivered. They have a very comprehensive list of dealers and independent repair shops they work with, so you're not on your own getting warranty like you will be with many non-local dealers.
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Old 11-02-2017, 01:10 PM   #18
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I'll put in the second plug for Colerain in indy. Really good sales experience, and their service dept. is also good. I realize you would probably never use it due to your location, but I'm only an hour away and I have.

Your main question is about quality. We used our 23ikss for nearly 4 full seasons with only one thing breaking...the on board water filter. I made a few upgrades, such as changing out the cheap faucets, but it was a great unit. Just perform the routine maintenance, fix anything that breaks, and they should last for years.
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Old 11-02-2017, 04:30 PM   #19
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So, turns out that dealership does not have one in stock after all. Beginning to see why their ratings are so bad...
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Old 11-02-2017, 05:16 PM   #20
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Is there a Shamrock dealer near you? They are the same camper, made on the same line, color schemes are different.
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