New Roo 183

[Jkrol]

I am taking delivery of a new Roo 183 in 10 days. What are some things I will need for it right away? The things on my list so far are a surge protector and wood blocks for leveling. I'm just wondering what things you all think I will need.

[Drenjoey]

Congrats on your new buy......Don't forget wheel chocks !

Dre

[bikendan]

1. Popup Gizmos

Will you be dry camping or boondocking? If so, get two deepcycle batteries. 6vgolf cart batteries are the best.
Dealer will usually install a cheap marine 12v battery.

[itat]

What's your camping experience and where do you anticipate you'll be camping - full hookups, partial or none? Either way you'll want to have 2 -25' white RV water hoses and at least 15' of sewer hose (RhinoFlex is recommended).

[Jkrol]

Mostly state parks in Wisconsin. We usually get an electric site but no sewer or water hook up. They have RV dump stations. I do have 2 25' water hoses from the pop up that I'm trading in. Does the Roo come with a sewer hose to empty the tanks? We sometimes do off grid camping but usually not for longer than a few days.

[Jkrol]

I have been camping since I was 2 years old. Mostly in pop up campers. I have owned 2 in my adult life. The one I'm trading in has a water heater and shower inside. It also has the cassette style toilet. I'm used to cleaning that out. The HTT is new to me but it has some things in common with the pop up, just bigger.

[MiCamper6]

I believe the dealer has the option of providing a black/gray tank drain hose. Forest River does not provide one. My dealer did with mine though.

[itat]

The dealer often throws in a "starter kit" that includes a cheap sewer hose but I recommend getting a 15' RhinoFlex hose kit. If your dealer sells them ask about getting the RhinoFlex instead of the starter kit.

Do you already have some dog bone adapters for connecting to a 50 amp and 15 amp plug? You might want to consider a spare water pump to use in filling the fresh water tank.

[jking46]

Since you are an experienced camper, you probably have just about everything you need. I would throw in a small basic tool kit, some spare fuses, and a cordless drill for operating the stabilizers. You camp just like we do and we travel pretty light. Most state parks in Indiana are close to a town so we are never far away from most anything we need. I also carry a small air pump to top off the tires if needed. FR typically installs tires that just barely meet the weight requirements of the trailer and underinflation eliminates any safety cushion.

[Summer2Go]

My 2016 183 is almost a year old now. I played with it all summer last year, taking my time exploring every feature of the camper. It is a pretty amazing little unit. I can sleep a lot of people, but still tow with my SUV.


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[itat]

BTW, be sure to download a copy of the PDI Checklist from the Forum Library. Good luck with your new Roo!

[bikendan]

Originally Posted by itat

BTW, be sure to download a copy of the PDI Checklist from the Forum Library. Good luck with your new Roo!

There's a PDI for Hybrids sticky at the top of the Hybrids/Expandables section's home page.

[Archicamper]

Just be sure to take your time and not get rushed the first time you dump you tanks. It's easy to get distracted or sloppy and end up cleaning up a mess. Unfortunately we have probably all been there!

[Jkrol]

I have a 30 to 15 adapter but the dealer said that I get a temporary adapter with the unit too. They do supply a sewer hose but we will see about the quality of that.

I attempted to download the PDI list at the top of the HTT section but it said that I don't have permission to do that. Could it be because I'm viewing from my phone?

[Jkrol]

And another question. These are the wheel chocks that I used for the pop up. Will this work for the HTT until I buy something better?

[Robs1968]

I would suggest x chock they work great on our 21DK you can see then in between the wheels in this picture


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[jking46]

Better get something classier for your classy new camper

[rsdata]

Really not much going on with a 183, no slides or anything too terribly complicated. I bought a Harbor Freight WDH for about $175 on sale out the door that has served me well with my 183, instead of waiting for day of pickup and having to purcahse an overpriced dealer WDH. I put it together using some common sense and when I arrived for pickup of my 183 the tech looked at it and said perfect... less work for me to do to get you out of here.

first thing I did with my 2014 183, was to crawl underneath and after seeing all the exposed wiring under there just waiting for some muffler or road alligator to tear or pull them from what they were hooked to (electric brakes)... I bought wire loom at Harbor Freight, all three sizes they sell, and some zip ties and dressed and covered the exposed wiring and tied it up tight out of harm's way.

Next thing on my list was to get into all of the out of the way places they cover up with light wood panels and remove them to give me more storage space, recognizing that some places had exposed wiring that I cleaned up and screwed down out of the way.

I added a lot of LED puck lights that activate when you open a door to give me better ability to see into dark cabinets, above the sink and the pantry and the rear storage area. I took out all incandescent lamps inside and outside porch lamp and put in LED bulbs. There were only a few.

I bought a tube of recommended caulk at the dealer and went over all body seams to be sure they were all sealed tight.

I looked at the stock tires, and for that light of a camper, I figured that they were NOT undersized and should give me at least a few years and many miles of service, BUT I did invest in a TPMS to monitor pressure and tire temps this year for added piece of mind.

After one year of ownership, I bought several rolls of Eternabond tape and sealed all roof seams, side gutters and front and back roof seams to help eliminate possible roof water access (search forum for eternabond). I would have done this the first year but did not know any better.

X2 on battery drill and dedicated socket for corner stabilizers.

Read thru Roo/Shamrock forums in your spare time and you will get many more ideas.

Good Luck and Great Camping...

[itat]

Originally Posted by Jkrol

And another question. These are the wheel chocks that I used for the pop up. Will this work for the HTT until I buy something better?Attachment 103231

I use 2 of these on each side then add homemade X-Chocks.
Camco 44472 Wheel Chock

[bikendan]

Originally Posted by Jkrol

And another question. These are the wheel chocks that I used for the pop up. Will this work for the HTT until I buy something better?Attachment 103231

You're not serious are you?