RV review: Rockwood Signature 8264BHS

Today’s RV review is of a model that’s so new, there’s almost nothing available on it. Except that a lot can be surmised from existing models from the company. What I’m blathering on about is the Rockwood Signature 8264BHS travel trailer.

Essentially this is almost the same floor plan as I’ve seen in some Class A bunk model motorhomes. In fact I would think that the logical competitor to this travel trailer might actually be a Class A motorhome such as the Thor Hurricane 34J that we looked at a while ago. So why would you rather have this instead of a motorhome? I have a few answers.

Rockwood Signature

Rockwood makes a number of lines of trailers from one of the only pop-up lines that remains to more luxurious fifth wheels and travel trailers. The top of the line in Rockwood’s travel trailer range is the Signature series and that’s what we’re looking at here.

I should also let you know that I have had two Rockwood trailers in the past, both of which I managed to total, and have ordered my third and am expecting it some time in December.

I like this brand enough that I started a little Facebook Group to get some of my own questions answered and that group has swelled to over 10,000 members. In fact I have developed enough of a working relationship with Rockwood that we are now brand ambassadors.

If you’re out shopping for one of these know, too, that the Rockwood and Flagstaff brands are identical products with the exception of the decals. So if your local dealer isn’t a Rockwood dealer, they may also carry Flagstaff.

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A towable motorhome

I had mentioned that this has the same floor plan as a lot of bunkhouse motorhomes.

Up front there’s a really nice kitchen with a counter that spans the almost the entire width of the trailer. In fact a friend of mine has the Flagstaff Classic 832CLSB and we have spent several holidays in that kitchen area.

I have mentioned before that some of the cornerstone features I like in these trailers include the fact that Rockwood/Flagstaff actually use a larger 22” oven and thus the recipe I have for pulled pork in an RV oven was prepared in my friend’s camper. I also like the hardwood cabinet faces on Rockwood products along with their use of high-performance ceiling vent fans and other features that play out to be useful over time.

Seating for dining is interesting in how this unit is configured with there being a breakfast bar right at the entrance to the trailer. There’s also a theater seat with a moving/folding table as well so you can easily accommodate four people for meals, but in two different spots.

While those of us who watched Leave it to Beaver reruns growing up might think that a dining table would be a better fit, I think this kind of seating arrangement makes more sense in a modern RV.

While this model is so new they don’t have specs yet for it, I’m going to look at the 8263MBR and make some assumptions, including the fact that this comes with a 12 volt refrigerator.

Sleeping quarters

There is a proper queen-sized bed in a camp-side slide at the back which is opposite a very large slide on the road side. That road-side slide incorporates hanging and cabinet storage in large amounts.

That’s also where you’ll find the bunks which measure 72” X 32”. Those bunks give this trailer a bunch of flexibility.

Let’s say you’re considering a trailer for you and your spouse and you’re both retired and traveling, but you occasionally want to bring grandchildren along. This is a good situation as the bunks don’t detract significantly from the overall floor plan. In fact, when the grands aren’t coming along, this would be a great place to store things.

So this is both a good couples’ camper and then also a good model to choose if you do bring youngsters. Or, heck, with 72” bunks you could bring adults along for that matter.

Good bathroom

In some ways the bathroom on this trailer, which is on the camp side, is comparable to what I’ve seen in some fifth wheels including there being a raised section of the shower that could serve as a seat or for shaving ones legs. Or feet, if you’re a hobbit.

So why not a motorhome?

I had mentioned that this was a very similar floor plan to a lot of motorhomes, but that I would much rather have this than a motorhome. Why? A lot of reasons.

First, having a motorized RV means you need to maintain and license another vehicle. Note that getting service on the chassis portion of a motorhome, such as the engine, transmission, brakes and those bits can be difficult to find in some places.

Let’s take the Thor 34J that I mentioned in the beginning of this story. You might assume that, since it’s based on a Ford chassis, you just saunter into your local Ford dealer to get oil changes or other routine maintenance.

Nope.

When I was selling RVs the closest place to get authorized work on a Ford chassis was a commercial dealer that was almost 120 miles away. Not all Ford dealers have the knowledge or provision to work on commercial chassis. This is complicated further if you get a higher-grade chassis built with a diesel engine.

Of course there are some advantages to large diesel-powered motorhomes but there are enough disadvantages, especially with the recent issues with modern diesel emissions systems, that I’m a bit wary about recommending them.

With a big pickup, and this is no light trailer, you can get those worked at at just about any local dealership for that brand. Independent places, too, seem to have no issues working on pickups whereas motorhomes are a whole different enchilada.

Build quality and features

I have to admit I also really like the way Rockwood and Flagstaff products are built. All the walls are vacuum laminated in the company’s own shops. The roof, too, is vacuum laminated construction.

They use torsion axle suspensions which I do like better than most leaf spring suspensions. There are frameless windows, which require less maintenance, and other qualitative features.

I was a fan of these long before I got to go to the factory and watch them build them. That just reinforced my own experience and that of over 10,000 members of my little group on the Internet.

Tony’s thoughts

Know that this is such a new product that details on it are not very available. Yet.

One of the questions I have is if a dinette is available in place of the theater seats, for example. I know some of you might want that. I also wonder about there being a trifold sofa.

There are also no specifications on tank sizes nor weights, but we can make assumptions (we all know what that means!) based on the 8263MBR, for example. That trailer has an unladen weight of about 7,800 pounds with an overall length of 29’ 11”. There are 54 gallons of fresh water and 40 of black with two 40 gallon gray tanks.

With a trailer of that size and substance you’ll want a larger pickup to haul it - at least a three-quarter ton truck.

There’s a lot to like in this new floor plan that could be a good compromise between a couples’ camper and a bunk model. This is something I get asked frequently by people who do want to occasionally bring grandchildren, or even older children, along with them.