Rockwood 2604WS. Advice?

[david1438]

Hello all, from the north Georgia mountains!  Tired of just lurking on the forum and decided I should join in the discussion!  My wife and I have been RVing a few years now and are ready to move up from our little RPod.  We love the Rockwood 2604WS.  Absolutely love the floor plan and this particular TT punches all our wish list items.  Seems I can get a 2017 or 2018 for the same money (which seems odd...)  My tow vehicle will be a 2010 Ford F150/Regular Cab/4x4/5.4L.  It's rated up to 8600 lbs towing.  The Rockwell dry weight is just shy of 6000.  The dealer assures me we'll have no problem. 

The Rockwoods seem to have a good reputation, as TT go.  Anyone have any input on Rockwoods in general or the 2604WS specifically?
Anyone else towing a 2604 with a 1/2 ton truck?

Regards!
David

 

[RedandSilver]

Welcome to the forum.

You need to know that it is very rare that a new RV of any kind will not have issues and need warrantee work done to it.

You also need to know that MOST salesmen will tell you whatever they think you want to hear - and will make them a sale.

You should NEVER even look at Dry Weight.  It's useless.  ALWAYS use GVWR - Gross Vehicle Weight Rating as it's way more likely
that weight will be achieved and dry weight will never be achieved unless it's the first time you bring it home.

You need to look on your truck's drivers door for the weight rating for YOUR unit. Not all F150's are the same.

I'm not saying that it won't work - but you need to check out all the numbers and don't rely on a Salesman to do it.  It's your life on the line.

 

[Cant Wait]

We had a 2011 2604 without the wardrobe slide. The only issue we had during the 1 year we had it was a couple of small leaks around the shower enclosure that I fixed myself with a bit of caulk.  I towed it with an 08 Dodge Dakota that was rated to tow 7000lbs.  I made 1 trip into the Catskill mountains in New York with no real issue on the hills.  The only reason we traded was because we found our full timing unit shown below.

 

[david1438]

Thanks so much for the input!  I'm convinced my truck can pull this rig on the flat but I'm concerned about mountains.  Glad to hear you had no issue.
Sounds like I should caulk my shower from the get-go! 

 

[Cant Wait]

David before going to the mess of caulking the shower surround, just turn the shower on and have the DW outside looking for leaks.  This leak issue was back in 2011 and I'm sure it;s been solved.

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

The dealer assures me we'll have no problem. 

You probably wouldn't believe how many stories we see here that begin with that phrase...  :

Forget the dry weight - you aren't towing an empty trailer. Use the trailer GVWR as your estimated weight, about 7500 lbs for the 2604WS. That plus passengers, gear & hitch in/on the truck will get you up near the 8600 mark. You should still be OK on both tow weight and payload (truck CCC), but it's not a slam-dunk. Your truck will be heavily loaded and will ride and handle accordingly.

 

[touchracing]

Recently I was looking real hard at the 2604 and the larger 2902.  Loved everything about them except for the rubber torsion axle suspension.  That was a deal breaker for me.  I prefer the good old fashion leaf springs.

 

[captaindomon]

We just took delivery of our new Rockwood Mini Lite 2504S about a month ago. We love it! A few minor problems: One of the stove burner sparkers doesn't work, part on order; small leak on fresh water supply line to toilet, fixed by dealer in 24 hours; Fridge door wood veneer wasn't attached well enough, fixed that one myself. So nothing major yet. Biggest problem so far is towing it across my muddy front lawn to get it to the RV pad. Need to fix that with more cement next year...

 

[Jweb98]

We bought our 2604ws last December. Great floor plan with a few changes to suit us. We removed the 2 booths and table and moved the recliners to that space. We bought a small table and 2 chairs from Amazon and put them in front of the rear window. We also added a small freezer just inside the rear door. We pull it with a 1500 Silverado. No problems towing at all.

 

[Cant Wait]

touchracing;  We had 2 Rockwoods (one for 4 years, and the other for 1 year) with the torsion axle suspension and loved them, it's the nearest thing to 4 wheel independent suspension system you can get, and no issues what so ever.

 

[david1438]

We bought our 2604ws last December. Great floor plan with a few changes to suit us. We removed the 2 booths and table and moved the recliners to that space. We bought a small table and 2 chairs from Amazon and put them in front of the rear window. We also added a small freezer just inside the rear door. We pull it with a 1500 Silverado. No problems towing at all.

We were talking about doing the same thing about moving the chairs to the slide and putting a table in the back.  Your reply is confirmation that it's not a weird idea! 

 

[david1438]

All,
I really appreciate all the feedback!  A lot to think about.  We keep looking but always come back to the Rockwood 2604.  Overall, it seems to have a good reputation and there is simply no other floor plan that comes close to being near "perfect" for us.  Love all the bells and whistles this unit offers too.  Anyone used the "winterizing inlet" yet?  The idea of simplifying the winterizing process almost sold us all by itself!

 

[david1438]

Recently I was looking real hard at the 2604 and the larger 2902.  Loved everything about them except for the rubber torsion axle suspension.  That was a deal breaker for me.  I prefer the good old fashion leaf springs.

The torsion axle suspension is a selling point for me.  From what I've read, it seems a great idea.  Smoother ride should mean less stress on the box and accompanying stress on joints, cabinets, etc?