Shamrock 17 introduction

[anish74]

Greetings folks!

I just purchased a 2011 Forest River Flagstaff Shamrock 17 last week. The trailer looks in good shape barring a few annoyances so far. The seller was the 2nd user and unfortunately did not have all the maintenance records, as he had it for only a year.

The overall condition of the camper looks fine. I had to fix some of the interior/exterior lamps and adjust a few drawers but nothing major (so far)

I got someone to tow it with me through the city & highway, with lots of potholes, red lights & stop signs and did not feel anything wrong. On the highway we drove around 100kmph and also no swaying or untoward behaviour noticed.

The 7-pin connector is ok and the electric brakes seem to respond well. There is some rusting in the wheel nuts & bolts....but nothing that I haven't seen before.

I will be towing it with a Nissan Pathfinder 2019 edition, which is rated to tow up to 6000 lbs. The GWVR of the camper is 3800 lbs and payload capacity of my TV is 1200 lbs. With 2 adults 1 kid and a dog, along with some camping gear, I think I am not going to sweat the TV too much. In any case I will be adding a WDH kit to help reduce some of the sagging in the back of the Nissan, which others in the pathfinder forum have talked about. I also managed to install the Tekonsha P3 proportional brakes controller on the TV and it recognized the hookup..so the brakes are also working along with the lights.

I plan to take a RV trip for the first time ever, to a park in Ontario (8 hours away) which I hope to cover in 2 days worth of driving and a stopover at night.

My question to you gents and ladies is, what are the absolute crucial things, I should verify on the camper before such a long trip for the first time. It could be as simple a suggestion, as emptying the black & grey tanks. Look forward to your responses on this. Thank you in advance

Regards,
Anish

[rsdata]

good for you that you found a trailer to meet your needs...

I would inspect the roof seams for cracking/missing caulk...
I wrote up a post about permanent repairs to this never-ending area of roof leak concerns

https://www.forestriverforums.com/fo...nce-90060.html

Make sure you put a little caulk above the clearance lights as they might leak and allow water to enter the interior.

Many owners have bypassed and/or removed the inboard water filter as they sometimes fail and flood the front area unseen.

The two side ends of the tents are cotton canvas, not the vinyl and will soak thru in a heavy or driving rain and get your bed wet... I apply water-proofing X2 a year to those ends to help.

Make sure you have tire changing tools.

Look at the date codes stamped into the tires... they should be replaced every 5-7 years with no regard to tread depth.

The bunk end doors and below the bunk doors are prone to fiberglass delamination in that era ( pre-2013) of camper... keep and eye out for moisture intrusion in those areas.

[Chuck_S]

Did the tentage change when I wasn't looking? All the tentage in in '06 Roo (2005 construction) is vinyl coated, nothing is going to soak through or come through if rubbed on the inside.

-- Chuck

[rsdata]

All the tentage in in '06 Roo (2005 construction) is vinyl coated, nothing is going to soak through or come through

my Sept 2013 build tents have cotton canvas window sides... the top and outside end are vinyl, but the two zippered sides are canvas

[Chuck_S]

Breathable fabric in the tent ends is a plus. I miss the Sunbrella fabric on my Coleman popup which was all but the roof.

-- Chuck

[GalsofEscape]

when are you going on this trip? i would recommend that if at all possible you camp at a local campground before you go to check everything out and going through the backup and setting up procedure at least once before you go. For me, towing 4 hours would require one stop for gas along the way. My Durango burns 1/4 tank/hour in gas while towing and 4 hours is just to close to running out of gas. i don't think facing a first time set up after traveling 4 hours with a first time enroute gas up would work well with my mental state.