Newbie & New Shamrock owner "to be".... :)

[Stickfigure]

Hello,

New to the forum... Tent camper /RV renters moving up to be first time Hybrid owners ! 8>)

We have been pondering the 233 vs. 23ikss like a see-saw ..but after sitting in both and visualizing our typical days at the campsite, decided though we would really love the extra bed....(we only have one DS 11) that island & counter space will spare us a lot of frustration at chow & clean up times. We also liked the wee bit more storage too... So a 2015 23ikss was our final choice. Pick up set for the 25th.

In the meantime we are learning as much as we can about maintenance, ownership & towing. My DH is no stranger to trailering which is a plus, he has trailered enclosed car trailers all over the east coast, so that will help tremendously. We plan on upgrading our TV in the near future (waiting for a lease to end on my vehicle) but for now we plan on towing with our 2012 LR4 which as outfitted, has a max 800 tongue & 8000 weight carrying capacity using WD hitch. (An Equalizer) Though the LR4 has many great pros for towing, like special view cameras and air suspension, the shorter wheel base and expensive maintenance will be our con. So hopefully she will do us good to end the season with. Any input or opinions would be great.?.?

I also would love to hear from 23 ikss owners I have a few questions but any other useless or useful facts would be great !

Do you leave it plugged in at home?
Besides the small shower any other complaints ??
What takes you the most time to do during arrival & set up at a site ??
How do you like the bumper grill??
Awning in the rain? Does it cover well if it's not raining sideways ?
If only opening one bed, which one and why ?

We are very excited to upgrade from our tent and renting RV's at almost 200$ a night!


Loriann

[LouNick]

Congrats and welcome to the forum!


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Lou and Paula

2014 Rockwood 8289WS UltraLite w/Revolution Pinbox Engaged.

2011 F250 Power Stroke Super Duty King Ranch Super Crew Cab w/Reese 16K Hitch

[dado39]

We look a at both an went with the 233s the extra space of the 3rd bed is great also very useable when closed can walk thru the whole camper. We have not used all the storage space yet . putting out bes takes no time at all the hardest part is putting on pugs

[DK-in-SC]

Originally Posted by Stickfigure

Hello,
I also would love to hear from 23 ikss owners I have a few questions but any other useless or useful facts would be great !

Welcome & congratulations! We bought our 2015 23IKSS in June and absolutely love it.

Do you leave it plugged in at home? Ours lives in a storage facility, so no power

Besides the small shower any other complaints ?? We have a slide topper on the couch/dinette side that pools water when it rains. This seems to be a common problem with toppers. Also, the door can be hard to close sometimes. There is a thread on here that talks about that.

What takes you the most time to do during arrival & set up at a site ?? DW trying to decide where she wants it Seriously though, setup is super fast. I take care of the outside stuff while DW takes care of the inside stuff.

How do you like the bumper grill?? When we bought ours, it was already on order from the dealer so we did not get to pick the options. Fortunately it was configured exactly with what we wanted including colors. I would not have ordered the grill but it came with it, and now that I've used it, I'm very glad that we have it. It is certainly not as nice as a Weber Q, but for grilling brats, burgers or chicken, it does just fine. It does have some hot spots so you'll need to keep rotating the food around the grill so everything cooks evenly. I have not tried any large slabs of meat like a London Broil. That might be harder to get good results with the hotspots.

Awning in the rain? Does it cover well if it's not raining sideways ? Yes, it does just fine and you can tilt it to one side or the other to help prevent pooling.

If only opening one bed, which one and why ? We have three kids, so we're always using both end beds and usually the airbed too. If we were going to just open one end, I'd pick the front one because I think it would look better from the inside. I wouldn't want to sit on the couch or dinette and see the bunk end folded up. The bed in back is less noticeable, so keeping it stored wouldn't be as much of an eyesore.

[itat]

Welcome to the forum and congrats on your new Shamrock!

In case you haven't already discovered it, the Rockwood Roo is a twin for the Flagstaff Shamrock and there are more Rockwood dealers around so any comments on the Roo line will apply to your Shamrock.

We have the Roo 23SS but I can respond to some of your questions.

We store ours at my cousin's farm but when we have it at home it's always plugged into a 15A circuit to keep the battery charged. You can run a 13.5K A/C unit on a 15A circuit but nothing else so keep that in mind for driveway camping.

What takes the most time? Your Shamrock will have the permanently attached tenting which will be much faster than the bungee cords on our early 2010 model. So your setup time will be dependant on how much "stuff" you need to unload when you arrive. With our popup we used a dining tent and once we moved to the hybrid we found we could do without it which significantly reduce our camp setup time. You'll quickly establish a routine and everyone should have their assigned tasks to make setup and tear down very efficient.

On the subject of setup and tear down, Forum members say if you have the entry door closed and the ceiling fans on it will help when closing the bunk doors as it creates a bit of a vacuum condition inside which helps keep the tenting away from the bed door seals which is critical.

Download and use a checklist app like "RV Checklist". It will keep you organized and help you to make sure you've done everything you need to before you hit the road.

We never used the bumper grill (on your Shamrock it's probably going to mount on a rail on the side of the trailer, not on the bumper). We use a portable Weber BBQ instead that I put on a collapsable aluminum table. I prefer to not BBQ under the awning (unless it's raining) to avoid the possibility of getting grease on the underside of the awning.

The awning should give you good protection if it's raining vertical. We put the picnic table under the awning and don't bring the dining tent anymore. You can buy shades that extend down from the awning tube when deployed for extra protection from sun and rain.

[Stickfigure]

Thanks for the welcomes! I have to make sure I use the Roo in my searches too thanks !

So glad to hear the awning does its duty, we always get "surprise" storms when we camp ... Lol Wondering if bikes fit under tent ends too ??

I guess being our first trailer we will establish our jobs.. In between the bickering ..lol ...our DS is only 11 but he loves to help so we will have to find an easy job for him.

We will be storing our Shamrock in the back of our property next to a shed, we are building a platform for storage ...There is electric about 50 feet away and we were trying to decide if we should run a line back there to keep it plugged in...

The grill was on the bumper on this one... ??? It was on this arm that swung around.... There was a counter attachment though that went on the side of the camper ...

Thanks for all the feedback !!
So now we need to get a list together of camper necessities and know the ones to not buy at dealer when we pick up.. chock, hosing, etc.

Lori

[itat]

Lori, you are one of the few (only?) on this forum to use a Land Rover as their tow vehicle. If it doesn't do the job, others are using a Mercedes with a diesel engine.

[Stickfigure]

Yes, I didn't notice any other LR4 set ups... we are going to be getting a new TV when my car lease is up... Then I get the LR4 as a daily driver and my husband will have whatever PU he decides on, which will become the main tow vehicle..
I think the Mercedes has a little more muscle then the LR4... HP and torque rated higher... But I love the LR4 and wouldn't trade it

[JWHybrid2B]

I was pulling my 23IKSS with a '04 4Runner V8 and it was a struggle. I averaged btwn 5-8mpg and couldn't go over 60mph. I have since upgraded to a '14 Tundra and Don't even know it's back there. What a difference btwn the two.

[n4uaj]

Of the two bikes we take, 1 will completely fit under the front bunk but the other's handlebars are too high but the back end and seat stay dry.


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