Today’s RV review is of the Rockwood A-Frame A121FD trailer. This is a “hard-sided” trailer that offers a full complement of amenities in a compact and foldable package.
But first, Rockwood. Both Forest River and Thor offer a variety of choices and a variety of levels of features and build quality. These companies want to appeal to buyers where those buyers want to be, so there are models built for price and models built for more function and feature. Rockwood is at the top of the Forest River family, so it may come as a surprise that they make pop-up trailers at all.
But they do. And they really do build a product with some rather high-end features, even in packages that are smaller and more affordable, like this one.
Hard-sided pop-up trailers
This trailer features an A-frame design where the roof is comprised of two hard sections that fold up like an A-frame cabin, with the space filled in by hard-sided sections. There is also a dormer on the front of the trailer that sits over the dining area, making for even more space inside the unit.
While pop-up trailers with canvas walls might be something that some buyers consider, know that these hard-sided models may be accepted in more campgrounds simply because certain campgrounds don’t permit canvas-sided trailers in bear country. It’s worth it to call around before you ultimately make a buying decision, though.
Rockwood A-Frame A121FD
When I worked at an RV dealership, one of the concerns I heard the most about this style of trailer centered around raising and lowering the top. Several of the Rockwood trailers, including this one, can be optioned with a power actuator. So, raising and lowering the roof is literally as simple as unlatching the catches that hold it in place and then pushing a button.
It is neither heavy nor clumsy. Once the main sections are up, you simply go inside and push the sidewall sections up, and you’re ready to camp. The model I saw did not have the power feature but had gas struts to make the process pretty straightforward.
Plumbing and water
Rockwood calls these high-wall A-frame trailers, so the counter sidewalls are taller than some other folding trailers. That translates into the inside two-burner stove and sink being closer to normal height than you might think.
In the galley, you’ll find a two-burner stove and a sink. There is not a gray tank on this unit, but you can either divert the gray water into a sewer connection if you’re camping in a developed campground or into something like a portable wastewater tote if you’re not.
There is also a water heater aboard, as well as an outdoor shower. Some owners of these bring those shower tents.
Lastly, there’s a cartridge toilet in this, as well. Let’s be very honest—This is not a camper to get if you’re shy around your fellow occupants. That toilet does have a curtain that goes around it, but it’s right there next to the dining table.
In fact, when one of these came in while I was working at the dealership, we had a great time with jokes centered around being able to have dinner and, uh, make room for more in the same seating position.
Popular choice
But there’s a reason this floor plan is one of the more popular in the line, and that’s the twin beds at the back of this trailer. This arrangement makes it possible for two friends to go camping and each have their own bed, of course. There’s also a provision to put a platform in the open space and have a single large bed as well.
Under the bed, you’ll find a few storage drawers and cabinets, and also a “Cool Cat” air conditioning system—essentially a heat pump. What this means is that you can air condition the space when it’s hot outside, but this unit can also double as a heater for the space. However, when it’s really cold, there’s also a propane furnace.
This is not unlike how many modern home air conditioners work, and it makes a lot of sense.
While you might wonder about headroom with the A-frame sloped roof over the twin beds in the back, especially if you use these as two couches in the day, there is a bowed-out skylight back there that actually works to provide headroom when seated on the beds. It also provides additional light during the day, but then there’s a curtain to cover it at night.
More to like
Rockwood has a trunk that spans the width of the front of this trailer with a flip-up lid that provides a pretty decent amount of storage space.
There’s also a full-width rotomolded drawer below that. It can be accessed from either side of the camper and, again, provides a lot of storage. I really like this drawer setup.
Another advantage of this camper is the fact that Rockwood includes racks on the top, which can carry up to 150 pounds. So this would be a great place to haul bicycles or kayaks and that sort of thing.
The fridge in here is a small 12-volt model, and Rockwood includes a 200-watt solar panel. This should be able to keep up with the demands of this smaller fridge, but I would still consider a lithium battery for any towable nowadays.
However, a downside is that it’s difficult to get to this fridge when the top is down (not impossible, though).
If you want to cook outside, and I like doing so, Rockwood includes a flat-top griddle with this trailer that hangs on a rail outside. I have one of these myself, and I really like it.
Four-season camping
If you’re someone who likes camping in colder weather, this might not be the first choice. The tanks are not protected from freezing on these trailers, which are designed to be lightweight. However, they do have furnaces to keep you comfortable in the shoulder seasons. There’s even air conditioning, so they do well even when the temps start to climb.
Choices
I think these folding trailers are a good choice for a lot of campers simply because they don’t extend beyond the roof of the tow vehicle when in tow mode. This means that the list of vehicles that can legitimately tow this is much longer simply because of its light weight, plus the lack of aerodynamic drag on the tow vehicle.
These are also relatively affordable, and they fit into a garage easily.
Now, I can see there will be some readers who look at the placement of the toilet and, like us children who worked at the dealership, might question that positioning. These models do sell well, but there is the A214HW that has a full bathroom with a shower that takes advantage of the dormer space in front.
I had mentioned that Rockwood is at the higher end of the food chain in terms of quality. To that end, know that even these more affordable models still have torsion axle suspensions (I really like that style of suspension) and Goodyear Endurance tires.
Rockwood also does all its own lamination in-house and features man-made substrates, which basically means that water intrusion into the laminate won’t cause it to fail.
I can see these making a lot of sense if you live under an HOA, for example, since you could park the camper in the garage when it’s home. But with how easy it is to set up and the convenient features of this model, hopefully, it won’t be home much.
Also know that this is identical to the Flagstaff Hard Side Pop-Up model T21TBHW, so if there isn’t a Rockwood dealer in your neighborhood but there is one that sells Flagstaff, it’s the same trailer.
[Note: Tony is talking about the Rockwood A-Frame A121FD in the video.]
More about these RV reviews
These RV reviews are written based on information provided by the manufacturers along with our writer’s own research. They are based on information from a single unit and may not reflect your actual experience. Shop your RV and dealership carefully before making a buying decision. They are intended only as a brief overview of the vehicle, not a comprehensive critique, which would require a thorough inspection and/or test drive.
Tony comes to RVtravel.com having worked at an RV dealership and been a lifelong RV enthusiast. He also has written the syndicated Curbside column about cars.
You can also check out Tony and Peggy’s RV podcast.
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