Had this exact model for several years. While it was fun camping with the kids, I absolutely dreaded breakdown camp day. Lots of work in my opinion. To make matters worse, if it was wet with dew on departure morning, I had to “pop” it back up when I got home. Travel trailer life was better. Sorry Josh, not trying dissuade anyone, that was just my experience.
That plus my wife's request for a bathroom led us to a travel trailer. Also, like our pop-up we were getting old and cranky. When we were younger and the boys were little it was great for us. When we got it the pop-up was a huge upgrade from the tent. Have a lot of fond memories of our time in the pop-up with our son's. Oh, Josh calls it a baby hammock! 😂
No. Between the AC and cutting Reflectix panels for the bunk ends, it stayed nice and cool. I also purchased the pop up gizmos that go on top of the bunks, but never used them. It stayed cool enough without them. This was camping in GA and SC during summer months.
@@BC-te9ow that's awesome cause we have been concerned about buying this model of pop up but was worried about it not staying cool enough in the summer especially in Florida. Your the only person that has answered my question on this !
We have an A/C on ours and we camped in WY when it was 97*. The air helped for sure but the air doesn't exactly stay inside even when it's zipped up. It might be tough in August in FL. Never tried it.
I checked the price before I commented and although I appreciate All of the trouble you go through showing us the highs and lows 😂 and how well equipped and nice these really are, I’m just not on board. For the money I think several of the smaller campers you’ve been showing lately are still my own personal preference. As a grandmother of 4 extremely active little blessings, 2 boys and 2 girls, we have to have a bathroom with a door, a bigger fridge and just more floor space. Luckily y’all have campers that check all the boxes. But that outside kitchen was super nice. Thanks for all of your hard work and honesty.
Hey Josh! GREAT presentation as always, we love your wit and your wisdom. We starting as most do in a tent, went on to bigger and better. Popup, fifth wheel, and now back to popup. As Geriatric Juveniles we enjoy the outdoors, indoors. We have the HW296, I like the captured gray water, black water set up. Hard walls on the area is OK, however curtain would be lighter, and cooler in heat of action, if you get my drift. After 45 years of marriage, THER ARE NO SECRETS IN THE BATHROOM! Not a fan of roof racks on pups, leak hazard. Also noted placement of water heater in the slide, not a fan, leak hazard. We really liked the outdoor kitchen setup. I am so glad to see you rested, and much warmer. Keep up the good fight Brother. You are the best that I have seen doing the PR reviews for any company. Your honesty is refreshing, your knowledge impeccable, and your willingness to go the extra mile is astounding. Bless you and yours.
Leaks around unmaintained roof racks (or overloaded / improperly used and stressed) are a common thing I've noticed on popups. That's some solid input. TY :)
@@JoshtheRVNerd I agree Josh, with all things, proper inspection, and maintenence are the key to longevity with any RV. Overloading is the biggest abuse we observe in our travels. Our unit is a 2009, looks like the day we bought it. I removed the graphics a few years ago, and had them painted on. Updated and upgraded lighting, and other things including a new efficient A/C system. Thanks Brother, we hope to meet you someday, as real people are hard to come by.
While these seem well executed, personally I prefer rockwood's A frame highwalls, specifically the A214HW. If you don't need the sleeping capacity a pop up has its really nice to have the hardsides so you can go into national and state parks in bear country. It's also a lot more comfortable in the spring and fall.
Our first camper was a pop up! Pop ups hold a special place in our hearts. Glad we upgraded to a travel trailer but we have a lot of memories in a popup.
OK Josh.... Every time I see a pop-up... I always think of family camping when I was a kid... 3 brothers crammed into the larger bed and mom and dad in the smaller one... It was crazy at times, but definitely fun... The camper has a lot more bells and whistles, I do like the full outside kitchen, and having an actual fridge instead of loading up the coolers has to be so much easier to set up and take down... I like the full sized entry door... And the fact that this one has holding tanks... I could see that being very useful...
Hey Chuck I grew up with a popup and when the time came I bought the Rockwood highwall 277, the outdoor kitchen is the best because it allows you to keep the heat outside during warmer months and the detachable grill is quick and easy to hook up. The counters are full height inside and the double sink inside is great for washing dishes, I would recommend a highwall over a standard popup anyday I am 6'5" so I enjoy the extra height.
Just winterized this camper and put it away till eclipse time next April, came back to this video when I get lonely for our Rockwood camper. Got the lift system re-aligned at the FROG Rally this past summer, Can't wait for season 3.
The comments on set up and break down work intrigue me. Having owned TTs and PUPs it is all a trade off of work. Compact for towing, storage is such a blessing, giving me the camping experience instead of a home and greatly reduced maintenance is wonderful. I truly like my HW Flagstaff version.
We have the 2018 model and I'm sad to see they went cheap and eliminated the fold up hard side and door to the shower/toilet. Like another person stated, it is a chore to set up and take down but overall we really like it and it fits nicely in our garage saving on storage fees.
a couple years ago I was looking at the HW277 and 296 and seen that they no longer had the hard side stall to the wet bath. I wasn't sure if it was changed due to the constraints that Covid-19 caused or not. I wanted to find out so I reached out to Rockwood to see if this was just temporary. I was told that this was not temporary and that they stopped making the hard side surround because of issues of complaints of damage and the costs they incurred fixing those damages. The guy did not elaborate on what kind of damages that they were fixing. I have been trying to do searches to find out if owners have shared their issues but I haven't found anything. I really don't care for the curtain surround. I would rather have the hard sided surround or just the remove the toilet/shower in all and put in more storage space. I absolutely love these two High Wall campers. I just have to decide if I am going to get an older one or the newer ones. It will come down to what type of damages it was causing.
I asked the factory about it. They said it was the #1 thing people broke. there's a proper way to set them up but folks wouldnt do that, break it, then get mad at the factory So now we get that curtain. (╯°□°）╯︵ ┻━┻
Say what you will but pop up camping when we were younger with the kids was a real hoot! We had all kinds of fun and the Jayco pop up was really easy to operate! I think everyone should start with a pop up or tent so as you get older and move up in the camping experience you will appreciate it more! Our pop ups weren’t as fancy as this but fun nonetheless!
Absolutely and well said. I grew up camping with my family in a "nothing to write home about" basic little camper. Some of my favorite memories as a kid are from that podunk little campground It was just about being together. Getting dirty. Having fun. Cooking a marshmallow
I have this unit. Purchased in December but finally got to use it for five days in rehobeth bay area recentlyl. Mine as well only came with one light/fan combo and the "dining" room light. The major annoyance is the overhead lights have to be one to power the units. Would be nice to use the light/fan combo independently when everything is turned off in the middle of the night. Although we do not plan to use the toilet, only the shower, it would of been nice to have the hard walls for the shower. I still do not understand how to fully set up the awning... My dealer did not show me as it was cold/windy in December and I spent an hour or two trying to set it up before I gave up. I had numerous neighboring campsites trying to help but we could not figure it out nor did the instruction help since they were model universal. Towing however was easy! I have a Subaru ascent and it pulled it with no issues, period! Set up is a routine but EASY! We had three adults and two children in this unit and we were not uncomfortable. We had two days of rain and luckily we brought a big lap top to keep us entertained. The cable hook up is in a bad place. We purposely bought something more than what we needed. We did not want to have a lesser camper and wish we spent the extra money. We plan to use this for years to come. We already have a few weekends booked through spring/summer this year. We bought this unit off of your previous videos. Thanks again for all of what you do!
I don't use the toilet in mine so the black water tank is not used, but I do use the grey water tank. I wish the toilet was a cassette toilet instead of tank.
I own this exact model, 2017 - 277 HW, I love this trailer but they took out the full hard wall bathroom and I don't see a reason why it was done. I have four daughters and none of them would be comfortable with that bathroom setup. Rockwood needs to put it back the way the older trailers are built it makes no scene. I also like that they changed the stairs because the pull out steps tend to drag very easily on sidewalk driveway crossings. FYI the cover for the outdoor sink melts if you prop it up on the exhaust and the heat goes on, don't ask me how I know LOL, I just may.
@@JoshtheRVNerd please let Rockwood know that the hard wall sides for the bathroom are a must for privacy, the curtain is nice for keeping the water down but not for you ladies showering!!!
I have a 2017 Flagstaff 823D. It doesn't leak, the cross breeze is phenomenal, the roof is one piece so it's not going to leak, the set up does suck as it takes 90 minutes at least once you're leveled. The slider is awesome but definitely needs supports on them to ensure stability. It fits in our garage. Ours is a fabulous pop up with all the pluses and minuses of a pop up.
I like everything about it except the holding tanks. I love having a cartridge toilet that I can dump in any toilet and don't have to find a dump station.
These hybrids are pretty spiffy. I like the high ceiling and easy towing. I'd have to go with the hardwall enclosure for the bathroom. The mattress looks like a standard RV mattress, do you have any hacks for a better mattress on these?
The challenge of the mattress is since it slides in, and the door attaches to the roof when stored, you have to be very aware of the mattress height so the roof will properly close. Our OEM mattress is 5" thick. It's just about the max thickness you could do. It is tue standard RV king of 70x80.
Pop-ups are awesome when the sun is shining, but when it’s raining the day you set up or leave, it can be hell😬I remember coming home on many a rainy or dewy morning and having to immediately open it back up to eventually dry it out to prevent mold and mildew☹️
Josh, after owning the HW277 for 9 months now and several trips I thought I'd come back and share a little. Overall, we are fairly pleased with it and think we got a good deal from Bish on it. All of my problems have been minor, Rockwood using the smallest cheapest screws in many places that have worked loose. The motor that raises the roof makes a significant "bang" everytime we raise the roof. I always stop when that happens and it goes up the rest of the way fine. It does it everytime! We will be at the Goshen Frog Rally in August and will have it looked at there. As of the last trip we have used everything in the camper. We definitely like the toilet with the black tank and no cassette. We try to avoid using it, but will use it late at night or if the weather turns bad, but we usually will walk to the nearest camp bathroom. If we have non- family friends staying with us, the toilet is by their bed, so we will try to avoid it then. PS, never had the hard side bathroom, the curtain makes one less thing to put up and down, with just family its fine. Maybe we will see you at the Frog Rally? BTW, just got a look at the 2023 model and the only difference I see is the outdoor kitchen has a stove/fridge, not the stove/sink from the 2022 model.
If folks are wondering, we slept very comfortably when the overnight temps dipped to the low 40's. The furnace keeps it toasty and the heated mattresses are great.
@@davenstorm7271 Depends on your definition of cool. You can unzip all the windows for the Ultimate Cross-Breeze experience, but if you don't have a breeze, you can use the air conditioner. Always keep in mind, the a/c is only designed to keep the inside 10-15 degrees cooler than the outside temp. In 2019, we went to Norfolk, VA, in August. Temps hovered between 95 and 100. The a/c ran constantly but kept the inside in the mid-to-upper 80s. When possible, park under trees for shade - it helps.
so as a former pop up owner i like the toilet is not a cassette toilet. i highly doubt i would use the shower unless it would be hard walled. toilet yes. but the curtain i feel would just stick to you half the time your showering. i do love the high ceiling. i also like the travel trailer feel in a pop up. The outside storage would be for outside stuff. i try and keep them separate in my current camper. if my wife didnt demand(lol) an actual bathroom i would still have a pop up.
Well, I thought I'd come back and say while seeing this camper next to us at a KOA in Erie, PA was the prime motivation for considering this model, your videos helped push us over the edge and make the deal. Drove the 200 miles to Coldwater Michigan Saturday, stayed over night in Monroe and brought it home Sunday. By the way it tows so much easier than my 2003 Coachman Clipper!
Very functional as far as cooking and living in it. Perfect for those of us who loved tent camping but are 60 plus now. We want convinces now. . I love the 12 volt refrig. Liked the toilet.
12:40 I'd use it as a stationary dumbwaiter for food prep staging. Prep the food inside. Stick it in the cubbyhole to keep the wind of of it as I grill outside. When the food is done, back into the cubbyhole while I put the grill away. Of course, a mini cold beer holder.
Hey josh! After many hours of watching you I FINALLY found my forever camper and am picking it up next weekend! Can you guess what it is??? I GOTTA GET DOUG IN IT! 🤣. My Ford RaNgEr will finally be feeling the weight behind it 🙈don’t worry BOTH my new camper and rAnGeR are 2022’s and I also have a tow package. DOUG!! GET IN THE HW277 DEATH STAR. Thank you for everything you do to help us, the people, with purchasing a camper josh!
As far as tanks are concerned, yeah, definitely comes down to individual use case and preferences, so it's good to have both options. The tanks are more convenient than the cassettes while camping, because you can go longer without emptying them. That said, they're a bit more of a hassle post-camping if you're not doing it at a place with a dump station. I figure on a pop-up like this, the tanks is a good idea, because it's meant for multiple people to be kinda have some comfort and looks to be setup for more than just a weekend trip(especially if you throw on some decent solar panels). Plus with the slide above average height, it's already not built to be super light, so might as well go all in.
That’s a heck of a lot in a pop-up! Personally, I like the onboard tanks, I think they’re a big plus. My only complaint is the decor. I really, really despise the brown cabinets. I’d rather see a gray or something lighter. Other than that, it’s an awesome camper.
When I first started that's about how long it took. Once I did a few and got the flow of the order of operations I got that down to about 10 mins Two people working together well might shave a little time off as well
Oh, you can microwave a hotpocket, type on your laptop and take the browns to the superbowl all at the same time - all behind the curtain. "Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain!" Bwahahahahaha
The “bathroom” is a non-starter. Though it’d be nice if there was someway you could insert panels and make a little room. Also this might be a dumb question, but are there any pop up, or hybrid rvs with North-South beds. East-West is another hard pass for us.
I like it! We had a Jayco, 12 foot box. We loved it and traveled all over the country with it. Kids are grown up and we’re older and wife is spoiled with out 2021 class C so I don’t see pop up anytime soon. It’s cool tho
I had this model (2020) as my first camper. So much fun. Took me about 30 mins to get all setup, and had the best times with it. I’m disappointed they got rid of the hard-sided bathroom. For me that would’ve been a deal-breaker at the time. Having a door and walls was very nice for a bathroom in a popup. To me it just cheapens the camper having a curtain. Why go to all that detail on such a great design and then skimp on a bathroom wall/door. Just my opinion.
LOVE! ❤️❤️❤️ I would prefer cassette toilet. Because 1. I have nightmares of hitting something and ripping the dumps off. 2 no waiting in line at dump station. All the places we camp are OK with us dumping porta potty in reg toilet. But since the companies making high wall pop ups is getting less than ever, I'm not gonna complain. I'll just need to take more meds. 🤪🤪
Nice camper for a pop up. Very nice layout. I would use the bathroom if I were camping alone or it was the middle of the night. Great outside kitchen. Maybe you need to change the name from “baby hammock” to “kitty hammock” or “kitty cloud”. If you take you cat with you, they would love that spot. 😊
I know this is an older video posting, but I think the curtain style bathroom makes perfect sense! Start with -Privacy - there are some basic rv bath etiquette as bd safety concerns, particularly if you are a RV number 2 user verses do the 2 in the campground restroom. You let people know they might want to let the trailer air out a bit before goin in. Also, in terms of specific users, certain adults are shy, and the more comfortable or familiar the restroom the fewer the intestinal issues. Talk about kids, are you really comfortable letting them use the campground restroom on their own, and kids start misbehaving when behind walls where people can’t see them, no so much curtains if you’re having to supervise or assist them. So back to the curtain design. It allows for a bit of ADA or user assisted restroom use, safety and supervision for children use, more elbow room than with a wall, opens out to the corner roof exhaust fan for removing smells, and adequate privacy and more importantly familiarity for that after coffee pit stop or some late night emergency when solo camping.
Pop Ups could get a lease on life. When you don't have a "sail" behind you when towing your gas mileage will go up a great deal particularly if you are using a truck. And, they will go places Hard sides won't. My best mileage on my Ram 1500 ever was pulling my pop up. I got as high as 20 mpg with my Ram 1500 with the 5.7 Hemi. I was always amazed. It wasn't hard side, but the height of the top of it was exactly the same height as my truck bed with a tonneau. The width was also almost identical. Normal driving with the truck was around 16 highway. An engineer said it was likely a function of creating a system that went through the air with a lot less drag, duh... Irrespective, I NEVER got worse mileage than without the pop up and the 5.7. Oh, towing my hard side both the 22 footer and the new 28 footer gives me 9 mpg on a good day...
Josh, is this the Coldwater location? I think we may have just bought this very camper, and our picking it up 8/27. We only saw the one light that clips over the bed, but I think in your video we saw one in the pass through storage area. We will be expecting two! Also we will be expecting all the hanging things and our very own zombie killer spatula. Rich is doing well for us so far, will we see you on the 27th?
Pop up TV that most 5th wheels add in would be something to consider out of one of those counters? Not sure why you only see in 5th wheels other than space behind cabinets? 🤔
For a bathroom definitely need hard side. Curtain is just not private enough. Thank you, Josh, for being considerate when you are making these videos. I have been on a few other sites for campers etc., and ready to puke from all the shaky videos that have been put out there. Do you work with any RV or Camper sales in South Carolina?
Sorry rob - i make too many videos. Can you help me with a minute marker please? If you type something like 12:21 then youtube will auto-link to that point in the video
Josh, I commented on your covid build video and came back to this one. Would you object if I had a shirt made for when we go camping in our HW 277? I have in mind an image from this video where you have your fist clinched in front of you and the words DEATH STAR are on the screen. At the top I will put - ITS NOT A CAMPER, IT'S A FULLY OPERATIONAL ......
@@JoshtheRVNerd I've got the shirt designed, I'll order it today, will definitely send along a picture. I haven't searched for your email anywhere yet, I have an image done.
@@bmccall614 i can't put my email out publicly. People don't realize I'm not in sales and I cannot handle that quantity of direct inquiries. There's not a team of people assisting me. Just me by myself doing all this I have various social channel in my video description you can use as a reference!
These models are great for visual privacy from one bed to the other. However, last time I went camping with the in laws they heard my wife and I aggressively folding laundry. We must have folded 3 loads before we found out.
Is Rock-Staff the only entity that does pop-ups anymore? It seems like serious slim pickings these days. That and hybrids, I they they are the only ones left in that category too? I really like this one too. If we stay in the pop-up lane, I totally want a highwall. Just not having to collapse all the countertops is huge! Thank goodness for my Tetris training back in the day! ✅️ LOVE that outdoor kitchen!!!! 99.999999% of our cooking is outside, so the the stove top PLUS the griddle is stellar!!!! ⚪️Neutral on the black tank. I honestly like the self contained nature of it, husband is black tank wary. I grew up on camper camping while he did tent, so I'm more comfortable with it. I want the toilet, so it makes sense I have to deal with the 💩! 🤣🤣 ❓️Is the outdoor shower hot/cold, or cold only? Thanks for showing this, really appreciate it!
Josh. I have a burning question... What is the function of the wheels on top of the dinette wall? We have a 2013 Somerset w/ 2 king beds and toy hauler. It's a beast but this one has me looking twice. Signed, Sandy in Virginia
I'm interested in removing the micro and using that for storage - possibly a small coffee maker, instapot, etc. I wonder how much space there is and if it looks finished with the same sticker wrap on the face as the other cabinetry has. And I presume there's an AC outlet back there that the micro plugs into - anyone know if that assumption is correct?
I have a little ideas like that I’ve been wanting to get done for the last couple years and I just never seem to have the time to get them done. This is an awesome suggestion though. I’ll do my best to try to make it happen and please keep them coming
I think I could handle this one. The wife maybe not so much. The "bathroom" would be emergency/middle of the night only. Does it have a black tank flush? I didn't see it right off on your website. Instead of the outdoor kitchen, I would prefer it to be an additional storage area.
What is the weight limits of the bunks? I have three Leonberger dogs that think they are lap dogs but weigh between 150 and 165 each, and of course they think they have to sleep with us all the time.💤
How come popups dont make a model without pull out beds? Say for a couple or maybe a 2 children, just have a bed on one side and dinette another bed. You wouldn't need those two folding beds.
OMG 🙋💣🚽💥 .I'm not sure about the pop ups . I'd be too scared to try sleeping in fear of my BAZOOKA butt crashing to the ground , but the COMMODE room is hilarious with curtains we can definitely have some fun with all the sounds & smells . 💣🚽💥💥🪠
