Buying a Shamrock 233S this week!

[packwriter2002]

Hello
We'll officially be tying the knot on Tuesday. We have a Ford F-150 that came without a hitch so we added one for our old hybrid. I believe our truck pulls 7,200 or 7,300 pounds - something like that. I called the outfit who put on our hitch and he says it has 6,000 pounds weight carrying, 8,000 pounds weight distribution and 900-pound tongue weight. It's all Greek to me, but we should be find, correct? The Shamrock has a "ship" weight of 5,060 pounds and tongue weight is 708. I know "stuff" obviously adds to the weight. For you who are smarter than myself, should we be OK? Thanks for your input.

[007matman]

What does the sticker say? Should be inside the door.

I think you're going to be pushing it if all you did is install a hitch.

[packwriter2002]

What should I look for? It's about 90 minutes away from us, so I can't look instantly. We normally don't haul water - and when we do, it's only from the entrance of the campground to the site. We do have two of the 20-pound propane tanks and we opted for the second battery.

[007matman]

The payload sticker will look like this

https://images.app.goo.gl/LZHX2hfe5a4BnSmE7

Here is a link to trailer life's towing guide. Widely referred to as the towing Bible.

http://www.trailerlife.com/trailer-towing-guides/

[007matman]

You may be ok.. you just need to look at the numbers.

You don't list your F150 specs so it's hard to tell for sure. Not coming with a tow package is kinda big deal I think.

[bikendan]

Unfortunately you haven't given enough information about your truck, for us to give you useful feedback.
And when you say "hitch", do you mean the truck's hitch RECEIVER or a hitch that slides into the receiver?
If you mean the truck's hitch receiver, that means your F150 doesn't have the factory tow package. So no wiring for a brake controller, no 7-pin connector wiring, no rear end ratio for heavy towing, no tow/haul button on shifter and no aux transmission cooler.
And you're committing a common newbie mistake by using fantasy website/brochure "dry" weights. NO trailer weighs those numbers when it leaves the factory. Those numbers are based on a stripped down version of the trailer.
PLEASE hold off on the purchase since it's quite obvious that you don't have enough information to make a informed decision. Post the specs on your truck and answer some of our questions. The payload sticker is on your truck's driver's door, not the trailer.

[Mr. Dan]

Originally Posted by 007matman

What does the sticker say? Should be inside the door.

I think you're going to be pushing it if all you did is install a hitch.

When 007 asked about your sticker, he was talking about the sticker inside your TRUCK door... not a sticker on the trailer. Is the truck also 90 minutes away?




Oops... I didn't read bikendan's last sentence.

[frank4711]

waiting on that sticker

[bikendan]

Originally Posted by frank4711

waiting on that sticker

It's only been 3 hours since they posted.
Give them some time. We've thrown a lot at them, to absorb.
From their 1st post, it sounds like their F150 doesn't have the factory tow package, since it appears they had a hitch receiver added. That means they need a bunch of other stuff installed, before they can tow that trailer.
But hopefully they meant a WDH.

[packwriter2002]

Thanks, all
Trying to hit as much as I can here before the kids get up and we start our day. No, the truck didn't have a towing package. It tows 7,100 pounds.
Our prior camper is a Dutchmen Aerolite - essentially the same as the 233 in terms of weight at 4,800 pounds and design with the three bunks - so we put on the brake control, etc., when the hitch was installed. So you don't have to scroll up for the first post, the hitch had 6,000 pounds weight carrying, 8,000 pounds weight distribution and 900-pound tongue. The Dutchmen was 4,800 pounds with hitch weight of 620. It pulled great. This as you know is a little over 5,000 with hitch weight of 708. Both campers had the two propane tanks; we opted for the second battery on the Shamrock, so that's obviously tacking on more weight.

[packwriter2002]

For Bikendan ...
You're right, no tow package. We had it all added - the 7-pin connector, etc. It has the tow button on the shifter. It just didn't some with a hitch of any sort. We bought it used.
And we're not newbies. This is our third camper. We're just stepping up a bit in the weights.

[CaptnJohn]

Before stepping up again on a camper best step up on a truck.

[007matman]

You're probably ok as long as you don't max out the payload numbers (this is on the sticker I was referring to earlier) on the truck.

Agreed with others though that you'll want to consider jumping up a bit on the truck next time. Especially if you're hauling long distance or in hilly/mountain areas. Some of those long sloping hills can be an issue too.

[packwriter2002]

Thanks, Matman.
Yes, we'd like to visit Montana when the kids are a bit bigger and we are aware that will be too much for the truck. As it is now, here in Wisconsin, we maybe go a couple hours but it's not exactly the Rocky Mountains in this neck of the woods. We don't pack too much. A lot of weekend trips so a few days of clothes and food and we're good to go.
(Truck is out of town so the sticker is not available. Looking at the Ford site, it's 7,100-pound towing capacity for the 3.5L V6.)

[007matman]

Some of the worst hills for me when towing with my Escalade were in Missouri believe it or not. Wisconsin and Minnesota, Iowa, Illinois, etc probably isn't too bad. You can have some good sized hills but they're typically short and there is always a downhill.

Watch those tranny and engine temps. If you don't have good gauges invest in an OBD reader you can connect to your smartphone.