| |
Rockwood |
The
Competition |
1.
Stability |
 Rockwood
is owned by Forest River Inc. - Berkshire Hathaway, (a Warren Buffett
company) and is debt free. They are the strongest RV manufacturer
out there because of their financial backing and are known for quality.
This is important for your warranty, for parts to be available and the
value of your coach not plummeting after they go out of business. |
2009 Stats - Many manufactures are on the brink of closing or
have already failed.
Fleetwood - Recently filed Chapter 11.
Weekend Warrior - Bank assignee is selling corporate assets.
Pilgrim - Indefinitely closes plants.
Keystone - To layoff 15% of workforce.
Jayco - Released 20% of workforce.
Monaco Coach (R-Vision) - Recently filed Bankruptcy.
Country Coach - In Chapter 11
Sundowner Trailers - Closes Elkhart operations.
Travel Supreme - Ceases operations.
National RV - Files for chapter 11 bankruptcy |
2.
Sand Pads |
The crank down jacks have sand pads so the camper won't
sink in the mud or sand. This eliminates the need to bring blocks
of wood. |
Need to put a block of wood under each stabilizer for them to work
correctly in soft ground. |
3.
Steps |
 The
entry step is slip resistant. |
Some pop ups don't have a step and those that do, most
are painted metal that is slippery when wet |
4.
Lift System |
The power lift system has aircraft rated cables. There is one
cable that goes back to the lifter post and one nut to adjust.
This lifter system has a life time warranty. |
They have 5 cables going back and all have separate
adjust to get out of balance. Call up there service center and ask
how long of a wait to readjust the cables for your popup. It's time
consuming and expensive. |
5.
Power Lift |
 To
raise and lower the roof just push a button. It also has a manual
over ride. |
crank up is standard. It's more effort for sure to
setup and take a while longer. |
6.
Floor |
The floor is a one piece floor with an asphalt undercoat to seal it from
moisture and debris. The wheel wells are ABS plastic that won't
rust. The floor has a 25 year warranty on it. |
The wheel wells are made out of something that can rust
and their floor won't have near the quality or warranty a Rockwood has. |
7.
E-Z Lube Axles |
Rockwood uses E-Z Lube axles for easy maintenance. Sometimes
people call these bearing buddies as well. |
Instead of taking off a rubber seal and greasing one
spot, you need to repack the bearings which is a much bigger job. |
8.
Roof |
 One
Piece Vacuum bonded laminated roof has no seems. Rockwood
laminates steel bars into the roof to support the weight on an optional
air conditioner and/ or bike rack. |
A lot of tent campers have a seem going down the middle
or two seems going across which can lead to leaks, moisture, & mildew
down the road. They also aren't built to hold an Air Conditioner. |
9.
Lift Posts |
 Rockwood
uses 3 stage lifter double arm posts to provide you with more roof
support. They also come with 2 support brackets for additional
support. |
The 2 stage single post have more sway and less support.
This is important when the wind picks up and you think those lifters are
going to snap. |
10.
Tent Material |
 The
tent material has a 5 year warranty. It's also sectioned into 5
separate pieces so if a branch tears a spot, it can be removed for
repair saving you labor and shipping expenses. The material is
highly UV resistant, color fast, mildew resistant and can withstand cold
crack down to -30 degrees. It's easily cleaned and 5 times more
resistant to abrasion. The window material by the beds is ultra
breathable fabric. The windows are double stitched and are sewn
with 4 layers of binding to prevent leakage. |
Some tout "we have breathable material". When they
use breathable material for the entire canvas it makes it almost
impossible to keep clean, it's not as water proof, insulates less and
rips easier. Most campers don't sectionalize the canvas so if you
get a tear it's more expensive to repair. |
11.
Bed Ends & Rain flaps |
 Rain
Flaps is a second flap all the way around the unit that the water runs
off of to keep the water from wicking under toward your bed.
Corner wraps to keep crawling bugs and mosquitoes out. Permanently
attached tent ends so kids can't roll out and keeps the mattress dry if
you are putting up your camper in the rain. |
Most Pop Ups have just the one flap that tucks under the
wood leading to water wicking under the bed and on to there chip board.
There ends aren't permanently fastened to the end. |
13.
Door |
 One
Piece Door and comes with a travel door that stores neatly outside,
under the plywood, under the bed. The door also makes into a
screen door. |
Two piece door |
14.
Heated Mattress |
 Thermostatically
controlled and thicker mattress |
Not heated, 1" thinner, and usually a foam pad.
Fine for kids but means you sink to hit the board underneath if you're a
normal size adult. |
| 15. Furnace |
The furnace is 20,000 BTU which is bigger than the industry standard |
16,000 BTU is more common |
16.
Bed Construction |
 The
beds are made of exterior grade plywood. The rafter poles are
white powder coated. |
Raw Aluminum rafter poles oxidizes over time
leaving dark marks on the inside of your tent. That chip board
only held together by glue and when exposed to the elements and
moisture, it fails. I had a guy tell me he was playing with his
kid and his kid went straight through that chip board in his popup. |
| 17. Fantastic Fan |
 This
10 blade Create a breeze fantastic fan pushes over 900 cubic feet of air per minute.
The benefit is it can replace all the air in your RV in under 2 minutes
and it will save you from having to use your Air Conditioner as much. |
This fan it what you see in most coaches and can push about 25-30 cubic
feet of air per minute. It gets stuffy in there with out good air
flow. |
18.
Water Filtration |
Rockwood has a residential water filtration system that
filters all your water (std. with hot water heater) - both sinks, shower, outside shower, all your
water. This is great because that means you can fill up at the RV
site or maybe at a gas station when you get close to your destination.
That will save over 300 lbs of unneeded weight and you'll know your
drinking filtered water. |
Most tent campers don't have a water filter. |
19.
Water |
 Rockwood
installs the water tanks below the floor to maximize your inside
storage. Rockwood also has a electric water pump |
Still the pump style faucet and less storage since they
put the fresh water tank above the floor. |
| 20. Cooking |
 Three
burner stove on the inside and an Outside Grill. They also come
with a table that attaches right next to the grill. |
Usually a two burner stove inside and sometimes comes
with an outside two burner. |
21.
Drawers |
Rockwood uses solid wood drawers with metal guides. There's no
plastic to break. |
Usually no guides, the drawers are particle board, and
have plastic pieces to them. |
| 22. Fridge |
 Rockwoods
are 2.5 cubic foot and 4.0 cubic foot for the Rockwood High Walls |
1.9 Cubic foot Fridge or ice box is standard |
| Rockwood
High Wall Tent Campers have
everything list above plus the following |
| 23. Suspension |
 Rockwood's
torsion axles are maintenance free and give independent suspension for a
smoother ride down the road. |
Spring suspension is standard out there. |
24.
Bunk Fan Light |
 This
Bunk Light Fan is great offering reading light and a has two speeds.
It also attaches two ways so you can blow out or down on you while
you're sleeping. |
not available |
25.
Sink |
double sink in the Kitchen |
single sink |
26.
Tongue Jack |
 power
tongue jack with manual override |
manual crank handle |
27.
Lights |
 Soft
Lighted Floor |
not available usually |
28.
Shower |
Solid Shower wall with 12 gal black tank capacity. It works like a
normal travel trailer of fifth wheel. |
Walls aren't solid. It has just a curtain. The
black tank is 6 gallon. It's usually a manual cassette you take
out and empty. |
| 29. Stereo system |
Stereo outside speaker and inside speakers that you control if inside,
outside or all speakers are on. Don't miss the game when you're
cooking outside |
If they have a stereo, it has just inside speakers. |
| 30.
Air Conditioner |
We option all our Rockwood high walls with a 13,500 BTU Air Conditioner
which is more than enough to keep you cool on those hot summer days. |
Most campers out there don't even have this option
available since they don't have braces inside the roof to hold the
weight. |
