I bought new in 2005. They still sell the same unit. The Rockwood 1640 and the Flagstaff 176 are the same unit. I paid like 4700 bucks, the least expensive new one now is 10K. I got electric brakes and an air conditioner. The airco was an accident and they shrugged their shoulders and said well you got airco as they accidently put it on. The electric brakes involved giving me the axle off of a 12 box (pre set up for electric brakes) and they only charged me like 300 bucks. The biggest advantage with a small pop up now days is that you can find a spot and you can get places others can't in their travel trailers etc. This size unit can literally go anywhere, anytime, anyplace. And you can pull it with a small SUV like a Jeep Cherokee with the trailer package.
The build quality was excellent. In the 13 years I had it, all I did was grease the bearings and lift system every spring and tighten screws, period.. And I never figured out where all those screws on the floor came from but had em ready for when one would disappear. I went through three sets of tires in 13 years. Never had a blowout. The "Filon" soft top was bulletproof. I towed with a Subaru Forester then a Ram 1500. As an FYI, the best mileage I ever got was with the Ram at a solid 20 mpg in Montana. This trailer is like exactly the same height and width as a Ram1500 and creates some kind of perfect aerodynamic set up for driving through the wind. Just an fyi. One of the mid size pick ups out now would be PERFECTION.
This is a perfect first camper for people NOT into a lot of creature comforts. It works best as a rolling bedroom and was how we used it. One of the best features was the electric mattresses when you had power. It goes well with a small generator. Fridge works fine but you do need power, so... and so does furnace. But all you need is a regular plug. Even my airco would work on that. It wasn't supposed to...
That little cabinet by the door fits a porta potti perfect. Don't skimp on this. Thetford has it down to a science so it is NOT a major mess with some gloves. So, if you have one or two small kids (I'd put up to about 12 years old) and want to camp, this is a good choice. Used ones would be the best buy IF you can find one. Flip the axle for off road dry camping... but even then they are fine irrespective.
Now days, there is a lot to be said for this type of camping. This is a good choice as it has been around forever and Forest River has worked the bugs out of it with improvements over time. YOU should be able to find a site due to its size vs everyone else now days. AND it appears to run around half of the newer "hard side" pop ups with the same space. It's a good choice.
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