Shakedown Cruise

One purpose of the shakedown cruise is to bounce around on the roads a bit and see if anything comes loose.  It seems to have passed the test but I'll check every nut and bolt I can get to (especially the trailer-mounting bolts) and make sure they are tight.

As you can see I mounted the kayak (another CLC product I built about 10 years ago) on the camper.  That's a 17 foot kayak--makes the camper look kind of small.   I drove it around the block two or three times making adjustments until I felt it was safe.  Then I took a deep breath and drove it out on the open road.  Drove a couple miles to a filling station (needed gas anyway) and re-checked everything.  I also got all the interested looks and compliments I was hoping for.  🙋

I then drove north a bit on the highway and got it up to 65 MPH.  Seemed very stable.  Will I drive it with kayak on a several-hundred mile trip?  I'll have to think about it for a while, but I don't think it will be a problem.