Bought an HTT, now what?

[matcartmill]

Back in September of 2016 my wife and rented a nice little Starcraft Launch 15 footer and drove from Kingston, ON to Halifax, NS and Cape Breton, NS. We had a blast so we decided this year that we were gonna buy one. So we did.

I purchased a 2011 Forest River Wolf Pup 17P Extra from a local dealer this afternoon (pick it up in 2 weeks 😞 )

I know the basics of how it all works, but what I don't know is:

Should I be doing anything proactively to ensure the roof doesn't leak?
Tips on prolonging the life of the appliances and water system?
How to store it for the winter / long periods of non-use.

etc.

If there are any tips you guys can give to a new HTT owner, I'd be very grateful.

Thanks a lot!

[jwstrout]

My StarCraft Travel Star 18SD is about 30' long. The front 8ish feet of that is toy deck. So it is rear heavy. The unloaded weight is about 4500 lbs, with a tongue weight of a bit over 500 lbs. Loaded with gear, and ready to go, I'm probably around 6000 lbs, and 600 or so on the tongue. I tow with a big block powered 2500HD. The trailer itself barely puts the rear down onto the factory overloads. So I can get away without using a WD hitch. However, the weight causes the front to porpoise, and it drives me crazy. So I use the WD hitch for that reason.

I recently removed as much lap sealant (caulking) as possible from the roof, and replaced it with Eternabond. I'm hoping it lasts longer, and eliminates the need for constant re-sealing.

As far as winterization goes, I flush the water system with RV anti-freeze, fill the pipes with RV anti-freeze, and dump a bit down the drains as well. I then open up the water heater, and leave the drain plug out. My buddy uses an attachment, and his air compressor to simply blow all of the water out of the system. I may try that this year instead.

I found a cover last year on KSL, (it's similar to Craigslist) which was made for a 21 foot trailer. It worked perfectly to cover the living quarters portion of my trailer.

Other than that, watch the tires, keep the batteries charged, and go have fun. I am new to ownership as well. Although I bought the trailer from a buddy, and have been borrowing it at least once a year since 2012.

Jeff

[matcartmill]

Oasisbob wrote:
Before you sign. Before you take delivery be sure EVERYTHING works correctly. I strongly suggest having it gone over by a no interest qualified service center prior to purchase. The seller will be much more likely to fix things prior to the sale than after. Our Hybrid is 16 years old. We store under cover, wax once a year and always winterize. Also we run a dehumidifier in the winter. Never put it away damp. Have fun with it. Congratulations

Thanks for the info! The dealer is also a service centre and they're going to go over everything. Unfortunately I don't know who else I would take it to, but yes I will be going over everything with a fine toothed comb!

When you say you winterized it, is there anything specifically involved with that other than a good cleaning and flushing the water system?

When storing it under a cover, is there a specific kind of HTT / RV cover that you'd recommend? Sorry for the entirely novice questions, lol. 🙂

[Oasisbob]

Before you sign. Before you take delivery be sure EVERYTHING works correctly. I strongly suggest having it gone over by a no interest qualified service center prior to purchase. The seller will be much more likely to fix things prior to the sale than after. Our Hybrid is 16 years old. We store under cover, wax once a year and always winterize. Also we run a dehumidifier in the winter. Never put it away damp. Have fun with it. Congratulations

[matcartmill]

Great to know. I'll see if I can pick up a used one from Kijiji / Craigslist

[Front_Range]

Mine weighs and measures about the same but the rear of my tv sagged quite a bit. I just added a WDH the other day and I found it money well spent. Now I'm looking at the road and not the stars. LOL

[matcartmill]

Front Range wrote:
Since you've already used one I assume your tv (tow vehicle) is ready to tow your own. You have the brake controller and hitch ready? If not that's the first thing I'd do while you wait. Then get out and use it!

Congrats!

Thanks for the responses so far, everyone! And yes I had a hitch and a brake controller installed when we rented the HTT to take out east. It's been sitting there unused ever since.

When I rented the HTT for the road trip I asked them to rent an anti-sway / weight distort hitch. Should I get one of those for this? It's bigger than the rental and weighs a bit more, too. I'd feel comfortable with one but are they really worth it for a 19fter?

Dry weight is 2600lbs.

[Front_Range]

Since you've already used one I assume your tv (tow vehicle) is ready to tow your own. You have the brake controller and hitch ready? If not that's the first thing I'd do while you wait. Then get out and use it!

Congrats!

[camp-n-family]

First thing I do with every new tt is to put Eternabond tape on all the roof seams. It will be good for years and years.

Make sure to keep the lower track of the pop outs clear of debris to allow water to drain. The only time my old htt leaked was when dirt built up in the corners and water could get over the sill.

[DutchmenSport]

Congrats on your new purchase, and I enjoy your excitement. We all had campers new to us, and I think the first day of ownership is the most exciting, and most bewildering at the same time.

You asked if there are any tips. I can think of only one, and that is: Go camping!

That may sound odd, but it really is the best way to find any area in the camper that may need some special attention. Things may not be broken or in disrepair, but they may need attention. You will only find those things by using the camper.

You can always start by camping in your drive way to get familiar with everything, practice opening it up and taking it down, running all the appliances, and check out all the systems... water, drains, electrical.

The one item you should inspect carefully is the roof, check for cracks in the caulking, and run a bead of RV caulking over any cracks. Other than that, the rest will unearth itself it time. Keep it clean, watch tires constantly for any abnormalities. You might even take several photos of them, so you can compare over time how they wear. Keep them inflated good, keep the battery charged. That's about all you can do. The rest will happen with self-discovery.

I would use it the rest of this summer. Depending upon your travel plans, plan on getting the wheel bearing repacked sometime in the future, just so you have a new baseline of when it was done last.

Good luck. And Happy Camping!