Forest River Rockwood Premier 2516G, first camper

[mantis32]

Popped my cherry...just brought home my first camper. I'm sure I'll get better parking this thing up my graded driveway from a small street, but for now...the driving at 65mph (I have a heavy foot, so that's really slow for me) was brutal and may reduce how often I take her out. Driving the thing like I was carrying eggshells was no fun especially when guys lugging their huge boats were flying by me.

I drove up from NJ to Albany, NY to pick her up. Good condition minus some tears from not being careful on takedown and mold/mildew stains on the canvas. Wife and I will see how much of that we can clean off without using harsh chemicals. Seems like the stains are pretty common in the camper scene, so we're not worried about it too much. I can't wait to set her up in our driveway and get personal with it.

 

[shardtke11]

Nice! Congratulations!

 

[Redbird]

Awesome! You'll be a pro in no time. Congratulations on your new camper!

 

[Tin_man]

Not sure what your speed limit is there, but here in Texas it's up to 75mph. My pup pulls just fine at speed limit. It took a little bit for me to get comfortable pulling it at speed limit, but I got used to it and now it's not a huge concern. But don't get me wrong, it's still on my mind. Congrats on the new purchase, and welcome.

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[mantis32]

Not sure what your speed limit is there, but here in Texas it's up to 75mph. My pup pulls just fine at speed limit. It took a little bit for me to get comfortable pulling it at speed limit, but I got used to it and now it's not a huge concern. But don't get me wrong, it's still on my mind. Congrats on the new purchase, and welcome.

Sent from my LGLS991

Highway posted speed limit is 65mph however I treat it as a suggestion and usually drive about 5-10mph faster than the flow of traffic....which for me tends to be around 80mph. The wheels are rated for 85mph however yeah I wasn't comfortable. I'm looking to establish comfort at around 70-75mph when towing the camper.

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Thanks everyone for the congrats.

 

[davido]

Popped my cherry...just brought home my first camper. I'm sure I'll get better parking this thing up my graded driveway from a small street, but for now...the driving at 65mph (I have a heavy foot, so that's really slow for me) was brutal and may reduce how often I take her out. Driving the thing like I was carrying eggshells was no fun especially when guys lugging their huge boats were flying by me.

I drove up from NJ to Albany, NY to pick her up. Good condition minus some tears from not being careful on takedown and mold/mildew stains on the canvas. Wife and I will see how much of that we can clean off without using harsh chemicals. Seems like the stains are pretty common in the camper scene, so we're not worried about it too much. I can't wait to set her up in our driveway and get personal with it.

I have the same pup. We appreciate having a toilet/shower, and like how the slide-out opens up floor space a bit. I kind of wish the gaucho/sofa were adjacent to the cabinet where one might put a TV, as opposed to being adjacent to the galley, where people using the stove or sink are tripping over people sitting on the sofa.

Keep an eye on the sink's flexible drain hose. Ours cracked at about 18 months.

We added a 2nd battery on the tongue, and have a dual-propane setup. This makes the tongue a little on the heavy side. But it tows great. Set-up/take-down is easy.

Enjoy.

 

[mantis32]

Do you know how much weight that adds to the tongue? Do you have any guides that show how to best achieve this. I wouldn't mind a 2nd battery and/or tank.

Yes...love the slideout. Did you buy bedsheets for the sofa for any shorter guests?

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[davido]

My tongue weight with the front storage bin empty is about 420 pounds, if I recall... with the two batteries and two propane tanks. I have to be careful to not overload the front storage bin.

I bought the cheapest fitted sheet sets I could find at walmart. I got cal-king for the forward bunk, queen for the aft bunk, and full for the dinette. The forward bunk's king sheets are too big for it, but it's really not a problem; just tuck them in a little more.

I don't have sheets for the gaucho. if someone has to sleep there, they can use a sleeping bag. Actually even with the sheets we end up using sleeping bags anyway, on top of the sheets. They're just easier to deal with when camping.

 

[mantis32]

My tongue weight with the front storage bin empty is about 420 pounds, if I recall... with the two batteries and two propane tanks. I have to be careful to not overload the front storage bin.

I wasn't aware the front storage bin counts as part of the tongue weight?!

 

[davido]

I wasn't aware the front storage bin counts as part of the tongue weight?!

Anything forward of the trailer's axle adds weight to the tongue. The front storage bin may be 3 to 4 feet aft of the coupler, but it's 5 to 6 feet forward of the axle. Put 10 pounds in there, the tongue will get at least three pounds heavier.

 

[mantis32]

Anything forward of the trailer's axle adds weight to the tongue. The front storage bin may be 3 to 4 feet aft of the coupler, but it's 5 to 6 feet forward of the axle. Put 10 pounds in there, the tongue will get at least three pounds heavier.

Thanks. Good to know

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[mantis32]

Anything forward of the trailer's axle adds weight to the tongue. The front storage bin may be 3 to 4 feet aft of the coupler, but it's 5 to 6 feet forward of the axle. Put 10 pounds in there, the tongue will get at least three pounds heavier.

Thanks... Good to know. makes sense.

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