New (soon to be) Roo owner

[deartruc]

Hi all, including Platokidd, recently bought a 2015 Roo 23ikss. Was not interested or even looking to replace my 2010 StarCraft Travelstar 217 rbss which is still in excellent condition and I've done some really cool upgrades (power jack, awning led lights, under cabinet coffee maker(really sad to lose that)). But, my boss was interested in a popup so I started looking for him when I found the Roo. Now I take delivery this Saturday and our first trip will be Columbus weekend. We camp a lot (39days this year) so I hope to get just as much if not more enjoyment with the Roo.

[KMP44]

Congrats on the new Roo!

After 2 seasons with our IKSS, we couldn't be happier. Love the space and the features.

[deartruc]

With two years under your belt, any do's and don'ts suggestions? The StarCraft I had/have until tomorrow has been an excellent camper. Already "Tim Allen'ing" ideas for personalizing/upgrading it. How's the mice situation? (I see your a fellow northeaster so you have to deal with winter storage too).

[sarajane]

New to Forum. After researching hybrids, like the aluminum construction of Roos. Seem to be better put together than all the others. Want something lightweight I can pull with SUV. (I've had small Class A and TT. ) Like the 17, 19, 21DK. Shopping for SUV - any suggestions? Was looking at Chevy Tahoe, but might need something a little bigger to pull the 21DK or 21SS. Thanks. SJ

[KMP44]

Originally Posted by deartruc

With two years under your belt, any do's and don'ts suggestions? The StarCraft I had/have until tomorrow has been an excellent camper. Already "Tim Allen'ing" ideas for personalizing/upgrading it. How's the mice situation? (I see your a fellow northeaster so you have to deal with winter storage too).

Did you get the Roo packed and ready to go for the first trip yet?

As for advice - not too much comes to mind, but I would highly recommend the 2nd year warranty. Download the form from the library here if your dealer didn't give you one. We didn't really have any warranty issues other than some trim work and really minor stuff the first year. We did have it in twice the 2nd year - tire issues, which they warrantied, and the bunk door latches pulled out of the end walls, which the dealer said they have never seen, and they sell a lot of Roos. Anyhow, they took care of everything at n/c. So the $150 was well worth it.

And if you camp in the fall or spring, be prepared to deal with condensation on the tent ends. We never really had much of an issue with our popup, but the hybrid seems to be more prone to that - which makes sense because its sealed up a lot tighter. Keep the tent ends cracked open along with a vent open and maybe a fan on for air flow helps. We also discovered Pop-up Gizmos on this forum. I bought a set for this year. We only use them in cold weather as they are just one more thing to setup/takedown but in the cool weather they are so worth it.

As for mice - they were the nemesis of our popup. We have several hundres acres of farm fields around our house, so they are a constant problem. They nested in the lift mechanism and casued some real trouble. And one year got inside and put a hole in the canvas. I got under the Roo once we brought it home, and was very impressed with how well the underside is sealed. Every plumbing & electrical hole in the floor was caulked. We covered it and kept in the yard last winter. So far so good there (fingers crossed)...

[deartruc]

Getting there. Maiden voyage is pretty local (Odetah in eastern CT). Still mod'ing like crazy. Also, did some of that "do I really want to return it to the dealer for this" work. The door swung into the awning arm. Remounted the strut. The stereo had three of the four speakers wired to the left channel. Rewired that. (noticed it has a sub out so I ordered a subwoofer). Stereo doesn't have a fader, so I ordered one of those too. Yes, cold weather condensation is terrible. We camped in our hybrid StarCraft in April down in Mystic CT and we had freezing rain. Had to run the A/C and the heater at the same time. Don't have that option on the Roo since the A/C and heater are controlled by the same thermostat. We camp from April through to October (except September, I guess its a kids back to school thing). 40 days this year.

[deartruc]

Originally Posted by sarajane

New to Forum. After researching hybrids, like the aluminum construction of Roos. Seem to be better put together than all the others. Want something lightweight I can pull with SUV. (I've had small Class A and TT. ) Like the 17, 19, 21DK. Shopping for SUV - any suggestions? Was looking at Chevy Tahoe, but might need something a little bigger to pull the 21DK or 21SS. Thanks. SJ

Hi sarajane, a lot of towing and tv experience you'll find on these forums. I've only towed this Roo from the dealer to home which was about 30 miles. Wouldn't have expected any problems (towed a similar StarCraft for 5 years and it was 150lbs lighter and 2 ft shorter). The dealer left ALL the tanks full (part of their preinspection. They all are behind the campers wheels. May not have been as critical (even though the owners manual said to avoid towing with black and grey water full) if we had our stuff in it to counter balance. But since it was so tail heavy it swayed like crazy. The tv has sway control so that kicked in and shut down the engine.

But enough of me, Tahoe's should have np towing any of your picks. If your looking to buy, just make sure you get the tow package in any tv you choose. That gives you the plusses (like sway control), bigger battery, bigger alternator, tranny and may power steering cooler, prewired, and hitch.