Rockwood ROO 233 Warning

[johnc_ramsey]

In 2009 I purchased a new Forest River ROO 233 from Arbogast in Troy, OH. The front bed unit had just been upgraded and was new. In 2012 I replaced the same front bed unit because of water damage. Now I have discovered the other two beds have the same type of damage. The unit was kept covered through the winter months and last fall I built a shelter. The camper has been well kept and maintained. My estimated damage is 4000 dollars. Please warn you friends off of hybrids- I understand that some of you are saying "I could have told you so". I could find no other Form that seemed legit to sound off on, so TY

[Hybridhunter]

Years of experience has me thinking Forest River builds a lot of junk. My parents have a rockwood with a slide, and the whole rear wall is failing, we have a well used 2011 Sunset Trails Hybrid, and it is amazingly well built.


***EDIT*** We traded a 1 year old Forest River product that was a POS, and had severe bubbling / water damage after 1 year. I am quite fastidious, and I can say the water damage on our previous unit was construction issue. As is the rear wall failure on my parents rig.

[Rookiecamper]

My 2002 Palomino is still going strong. The one and only leak we had was neither close to nor associated with the canvas or bunk end at all. As was said, it can happen to all types of campers. Leaks are unfortunate, but not inevitable.

[bbq-breath]

Chuck, I avoided the HTTs. I have had several friends up in the NY-Tri State area that had them and lost quite a bit of money on them due to front and rear leaks, delamination in the bunk doors and rotted floors. I opted for a conventional TT after I got rid of my old Jayco PuP.

[Campfire_Time]

bbq-breath wrote:
I am glad someone else sees my issues with hybrids. Great idea...poorly executed!

As said it happens. Sorry to hear it happened to you and the OP. How old was yours? Some of the early ones were known to have issues.

We bought our first HTT in '03, owned it for 10 years and never had an issue. Our current one is in its 2nd season, no leaks. If it was a common problem the forums would be saturated with complaints. Moreover the campgrounds are full of hybrids. If the design was bad, people would have stopped buying them many years ago.

[Mr_Beebo]

I would also mention that there seems to be a stigma that Hybrids are leaky, by nature. I can say without a doubt that an evening stroll thru a typical campground will bring me alongside all sorts of campers showing delamination; 5th wheels, Hi Lows, Toy Haulers, Class As, etc. I suppose the canvas aspect of the Hybrid immediately labels it as the poster child.
FYI, any leaks we have experienced in our 2010 were the direct result of the canvas not being tucked away from the seals properly, and a 3 day monsoon in Florida.

[poppin_fresh]

PAThwacker wrote:
Tons of leaks are caused by owner operator f ups. Simply having a sliver of tent in the seal causes a camper destroying leak.

I totally agree.

I am very careful to double check that there is nothing between the bunk and the seal. I do this by closing the bunk and peeling back each side a little to make sure that no canvas got caught.

I can't count how many times I had the canvas pushed out of the way (I thought) before closing the bunk. After closing and reopening slightly, many times I've found where it had crept back in the way of the seal. Had I not double checked, I would have had a nice entry point for water intrusion.

[SwampMaster]

Thanks for the help guys. I will try calling them tomorrow. Gotta go so I can find my warranty information.
Swamp

[KMP44]

SwampMaster wrote:

I see where some people have actually received new bunk ends from Rockwood or that you can buy new ones. Can someone tell me how to go about filing a claim with Rockwood or at the very least where to buy the new ends. I am a mechanic by trade and I could easily replace them myself if I knew where to get them We only have these two dealers within a days drive of where we live. By the way I have resealed the roof 3x in 5 years with quality sealant since I figure it's cheap insurance. I don't shortcut when it comes to maintenance.

Swamp

You could try Forrest River - Parts & Service Department: 574-534-3167

Plus, each brand has a Parts Manger & a Warranty Administrator. Might be able to plead your case with them. I don't know if they will ship you bunk ends directly or say you have to go through a dealer, but its worth a shot.

[PAThwacker]

Tons of leaks are caused by owner operator f ups. Simply having a sliver of tent in the seal causes a camper destroying leak.

[SwampMaster]

Atreis, Have owned at towed many a camper of the years. I'm pushing 50 and been camping since I was 3 years old. We live in a very rural area(Pop 1100). I have 40 acres w/ the house and 1 neighbor about 100yds away and the next is over a 1/4 mile. A lot of people ask me why I camp when my back yard is better than any campground all I can say is I grew up doing it, so I love it and my wife and kids love it. Not once in almost 30 years of owning a camper have I towed with a vent open.
The Forest River Forums is where I read about this forum. Like I said I love our Roo, but as with all things a certain percentage will have problems. It's not always someone's fault sometimes things fail. Speaking of which, we had a terribly cold and long winter and camper is stored unheated. As a result almost every stripe on the camper has cracked so I'll be looking to replace those also. I look at it as protecting my investment. If I let the trailer go to******I won't get anything for it when I go to buy new.
I do believe it is relevant to the OP since he had water damage on his 2009 front bunk and had to replace it and now he has the same issue on the other beds.
Swamp

[atreis]

Sorry to hear about your trouble and can't say I blame you in terms of trailers. That said there are many others here (myself included) that haven't had such issues.

I've no idea if this is relevant to the OP or others, but as a reminder: Don't tow with vents open. It creates a vacuum inside the trailer, and if it rains water will get sucked through areas that would otherwise normally seal fine.

[ChooChooMan74]

SwampMaster wrote:
OK guys. Yes I am new to the forum. No I am not the same guy that posted this link in the first place. I tried to be clear that I wasn't trying to complain and that I was identifying with the posters issue and that I was looking for a solution. I actually was referred to this forum from another forum that suggested there was a link here on how to replace the bunk end of a Roo. That forum actually has several people that have had issues with bunk leaks and delamination. I also stated that I love my Roo and intend to keep it. I just want to fix it. So no I wasn't griping! I am looking for a solution to my problem and I thought maybe I found a forum where people liked to help other people. Maybe I was wrong? I am a regular on automotive forums on the web and this is he first time I've seen this type of reception. Pretty disappointing.
Swamp

Sorry about the reception. I guess you joined in on the discussion at the wrong time.

As for a soultion on the Roos, you can also take a look at Forest River Forums. There are a lot of talk there on Roos and cousin Shamrocks.

Once again, sorry for the cold welcome. I hope this doesn't cause you not to visit again.

[SwampMaster]

OK guys. Yes I am new to the forum. No I am not the same guy that posted this link in the first place. I tried to be clear that I wasn't trying to complain and that I was identifying with the posters issue and that I was looking for a solution. I actually was referred to this forum from another forum that suggested there was a link here on how to replace the bunk end of a Roo. That forum actually has several people that have had issues with bunk leaks and delamination. I also stated that I love my Roo and intend to keep it. I just want to fix it. So no I wasn't griping! I am looking for a solution to my problem and I thought maybe I found a forum where people liked to help other people. Maybe I was wrong? I am a regular on automotive forums on the web and this is he first time I've seen this type of reception. Pretty disappointing.
Swamp

[Community Alumni]

ChooChooMan74 wrote:
People always join to gripe aabout xyz manufacturer for some odd reason. 1 or 2 posts and they never return.

But I get suspicious when a second brand new person joins to agree with the first. I suspect it's the same person keeping the gripe going.