Hello fellow campers-
I needed some advice. Our family has been tent camping for over 10 years and think we are ready to move up to a camper. I have 6 boys all under 15 and we have looked at so many models-- My wife and I have narrowed our search down to this one ROO 233S to sleep all our family of 8-- It seems to be really nice but we have no idea of the quality vs the Jayco model that is very similar-- We also have researched the prices-- wow-- what a huge difference-- we have seen them brand new all the way down to 18K online-- and at our local dealership here in MD they are asking 23K and say there is not much wiggle room-- as soon as I brought up that I could get it in another area for 5K less they said that those will not service the unit and that they will give the best customer service-- how much is that REALLY worth? I need some advice and ideas-- I have also read in a book about purchasing any RV that most dealers will accept 25% off MSRP and maybe then some depending on time of the year--- so help- thanks
We purchased a new 233S last October and love it! The prices you are being quoted seem high. How far will you travel to save money? We drove from AZ to the Chicago area to get ours (but, we have family there, so we made it a vacation). We saved a bunch by doing so.
The 233S has a ton of floor space and has 3 queen(ish) beds, a jack-knife couch that can sleep two smaller (not overly comfortably, though) adults, and a few young children on the dinette. We have four large dogs (100+/- lbs each) and have plenty of room. The downsides are the lack of counter space and external storage. In fairness, I don't think many (any?) hybrids have a lot of externally accessed storage space.
We considered the Jayco vs the Roo, and ultimately decided the Roo was better for us. As far as quality goes, I think they are pretty similarly built.
Good luck in your search/research! We had a lot of fun looking at various units and coming to our ultimate decision and purchase. A concern we had with purchasing from a dealer halfway across the country was how warranty issues would be handled. The few minor issues we've had have been handled without issue by a local Forest River recommended shop.
I've posted pics of our unit on this and other forums, but if you have questions or want to see how something specific looks or works, feel free to ask!
mister_d wrote: What if you used to live in a different state but moved to Maryland, do you think they'd avoid servicing your HTT then?
Actually, dealers can refuse if they want to and often put people who did not buy from them at the end of the line; especially if its warranty work. Just a few searches on this forum will show how common the practice is.
OP, the $23K is a huge premium for an $18K trailer. Was it the sales guy saying they wouldn't service or the service managers? Every sales guy I know says this, but sometimes when I asked the service manager, he said he could care less.
Check around for independent service shops who will do warranty work. Also, some RV dealers in our area are happy to work on any model of trailer (again - especially once its out of warranty).
Talk to people who use the RVW service regarding their "Service Network". How well does it work? How convenient is it? Same thing with RVDirect.
* This post was
edited 03/17/12 07:33am by Triguy *
2012 Shamrock 233S, P3, Equal-i-zer
2008 Toyota Sequoia 5.7L 4WD
Regarding local warranty work when the camper is purchased elsewhere:
Although a local dealer CAN refuse to honor a warranty repair, common sense says that if the manufacturer is telling a customer to go there, isn't it in their best interest to show good faith in the product that the local dealer sells? By acting childish, the local dealer will destroy any possibility of gaining the FUTURE business of that owner (at least it would turn me away forever). After all, warranty work is still money in the pocket of the local dealer, whether they got the initial sale or not.
Like Mister D said, how will the local dealer know you did not recently move from somewhere else? The logic does not add up when you think about it. My experience has been a good one regarding the few warranty issues I've had. The dealer I purchased from in Illinois has facilitated taking care of getting my things fixed or replaced.
I would get a quote from the big online dealers (RV Direct and RVW) to see what they can do. We found "George" at House of Camping (Broadview, Illinois) to have the best out the door price. He has been absolutely committed to our satisfaction regarding purchasing from him. We did all of our communication by e-mail or phone to make the order, and he was honest and helpful with what he felt about the various options we wanted. There was never a feeling that he just wanted to push the sale. An honest and sincere salesman goes a long way with me; obviously, he drew us halfway across the country to buy from him. Local dealers were not interested in getting us what we wanted, just to get whatever they had off their lot. Unfortunately for us, the western part of the country is not a good place to get a smoking deal on a camper manufactured in the Midwest.
i also drove to Chicago to get my Roo. i was told by 3 NorCal Roo dealers that they would not do warranty work if i bought from someone else.
Forest River found other local FR dealers that would do the warranty work. one was a FR popup dealer in my hometown. another didn't even sell FR products but did FR warranty work.
never had any problems getting warranty work the entire 2 years of the factory warranty.
Dan- Firefighter, Shawn- Musician/Entrepreneur, Zoe- Faithful Golden Retriever, 2007 Chevrolet Avalanche LS, 2007 Rockwood Roo 23SS w/Equalizer and Prodigy, and 5 Mtn. bikes and 2 Road bikes
mister_d wrote: What if you used to live in a different state but moved to Maryland, do you think they'd avoid servicing your HTT then?
Actually, dealers can refuse if they want to and often put people who did not buy from them at the end of the line; especially if its warranty work. Just a few searches on this forum will show how common the practice is.
OP, the $23K is a huge premium for an $18K trailer. Was it the sales guy saying they wouldn't service or the service managers? Every sales guy I know says this, but sometimes when I asked the service manager, he said he could care less.
Check around for independent service shops who will do warranty work. Also, some RV dealers in our area are happy to work on any model of trailer (again - especially once its out of warranty).
Talk to people who use the RVW service regarding their "Service Network". How well does it work? How convenient is it? Same thing with RVDirect.
A simple search will turn up thousands of posts saying "if a salesman's lips are moving, he's lying." These days I find it very hard to believe that dealers are turning down work.
According to their scare tactics, anyone who is on the road full timing in their new unit will have a very difficult time finding someone to do the work and will have to wait months.
Don't worry about warranty service. RVWholesalers will find a dealer to handle your warranty repairs as will Forest River. Forest River warrants the trailer anyway, not the local dealer. And there are few warranty issues on these in my experience. Don't expect them to constantly align your doors, this ain't a $250,000 motor yacht. And besides, you can fix most things better than the minimum wage "mechanic" they'll assign anyway. (The good mechanics are working on those $250K units.)
I'd walk away completely from a dealer who won't service ANY trailer, especially one who uses it as a threat to not buy from them. Warranty work is profit. Service of any trailer is profit.
By the way my Roo 23SS goes to the local *** Gasp! *** Jayco dealer every spring for wheel bearing service, roof caulking, etc. They did the Dometic refrigerator recall on it a couple of springs ago without blinking. I suspect they know I didn't my my trailer there!
-- Chuck
'06 Roo 23SS behind '07 Expedition out of Cleveland Our Photo pages
We live in Texas and got the best Deal in Oklahoma City...when we did have a warranty issue twice, our local dealership recommended to take it back to Oklahoma City which we did...I am like most, what if I lived in Oklahoma City and moved here why can't they just fix it. But I found that they would not, Forest River can help you get it fixed locally but it really didn't work out in our case. Would I do it again, maybe but it was a hassle to go back each time. Ten hours round trip, or we would stop and stay at at Oklahoma State park in a cabin which added extra to the gas and time. If you have a place within a reasonable driving distance that offers it lower I would think about it, it may or may not be worth the drive.
Offline
, Shawn- Musician/Entrepreneur
, Zoe- Faithful Golden Retriever
, 2007 Chevrolet Avalanche LS, 2007 Rockwood Roo 23SS w/Equalizer and Prodigy, and 5 Mtn. bikes and 2 Road bikes
dealer every spring for wheel bearing service, roof caulking, etc. They did the Dometic refrigerator recall on it a couple of springs ago without blinking. I suspect they know I didn't my my trailer there!
