SHAPPELL FX100I. FIRST GLANCE! (UPDATED)

[DR.SPECKLER]

Huh that zipper will definitely leak water after time in the elements.should have a rain/snow flap over it.i want to pull the trigger on one.but think i may way till guys get some use out of them.im not a fan of the plastic corners either.

[Ice Scratcher]

Not happy about eagle claw taking this company over honestly, seems to be getting quite the Chinese feel overall..

And I know it's just looks, but I don't like the red zippers either..

<°)))>{

[DR.SPECKLER]

Not happy about eagle claw taking this company over honestly, seems to be getting quite the Chinese feel overall..

And I know it's just looks, but I don't like the red zippers either..

<°)))>{

yeah red zippers are not appealing to me.all my shappell shelters being the fx100 and wide house 6500 are shappell brand before eagle claw took over.no problems with them but now you hear about missing parts,tears.im waiting on getting one for now.sled is small and that front zipper is not needed,imo so that zipper is just a leak point maybe wind could get in too.idk

[DLB]

Im going to get one but i think i want the dog leg version or newer one.idk which on is better or what places are selling what model.i will most likely be buying online...

Franks Outdoors in Linwood is having their Shanty Days next month.  Might be worth the drive to get a close up look at one if they have it.  I haven't seen them any place local.

[DR.SPECKLER]

Franks Outdoors in Linwood is having their Shanty Days next month.  Might be worth the drive to get a close up look at one if they have it.  I haven't seen them any place local.

my local family farm and home carries shappell shelters so im waiting for them to get a few..

[TheCrappieFisherman]

Looked closer at mine that i got a few days ago and I have the same UPC as Peccavi18, and looked inside quick and the corner pieces are plastic and the shelter has the rear access. 

Now I'm wondering if i should be worried about these corners and other stuff. Suppose only way to find out is set it up. Didn't really want to be the Guinea pig though

[Peccavi18]

Tubing on the new structure is around .77in and the old tubing is around .71in.

I'll be calling Eagleclaw tomorrow for the missing piece, so I'll be asking about why they went plastic and short tubes, and if they are concerned with the plastic having any issues. Also next time I'm at Home Depot I will be checking to see what EMT conduit pieces they have that could swap to make a possible replacement corner piece. For now I will guinea pig this one out and build it up. If its bad enough I have to sew rain flys over the zipper though I will be moving to another brand.

[OneMoreFish]

my local family farm and home carries shappell shelters so im waiting for them to get a few..

Another place that sells a lot of Shappell shacks is Dunhams. Might be worth taking a look there too.

[3300]

remember the rear window will leak water from rain or melting snow as does the front on any shelter that uses velcro to hold them in. my gander mountain 8x8 and shappell wh6500 and shappell dx3000 all leak at the windows because velcro can not hold out water after enough is on top of the bottom edge of the window(s). they could sew in rain covers that roll up and tie like real tents have/had on the outside and use velcro or magnets to hold in place when unrolled.

there was no reason not to add a rain/wind fly to the rear zipper. that's the side that takes the brunt of the elements. they added it to the front zipper on 1st version of the fx100i and this as you know is the downwind side after we setup. none of the older versions had a rain fly any where. at least they started using it.

the plastic corners should be fine and are under warranty. there's not that much pressure on them.
i know there is a shappell marketing manager that is a member here and should be reading our posts. hopefully it gets back to shappell.

still waiting on wind bars from them.
the red is eagle claws name in red and they are using it to accent areas of the shelter. i don't mind it at all.

[laer0302]

The outside looks super similar, no rain flys over the zippers.

Tube is definitely alittle larger than the old conduit, and to heavy to be aluminum.  Running wiring though these tubes will be much harder, with the male female connections and large bolts holding it together.

Disassembled the old structure and started building the new. The new one takes alot longer to put together.

I am missing a seat riser pole though... gonna call EagleClaw tomorrow hopefully they can send just a single part so I can fully assemble it.

Same thing happened with mine, missing the seat riser. I emailed them and they are sending me a replacement at no cost.

[3300]

Peccavi18, how goes it? anxious to see the dogleg pics if/when you can swing it.

[Peccavi18]

Just got off work and called Eagle Claw, talked to them about a few things. He said in testing they've drilled holes through the corners and put ice anchors in the holes to keep the tent from moving in the wind, and there should be no issue at all with the strength. I also asked if I could drill up through partition in the corner to run wiring and again he said no problem. And if we come up with any issues just to give a call and they'll make it right. The smaller sections of tube came about because they needed an easier way to ship them, and they had had issues with the Emt conduit getting bent so the new tube is thicker and maybe a couple pounds heavier but the new bigger tent adds some weight as well. Overall approx 6-7lbs compared to the first version tent.

[Peccavi18]

The new tubes are much taller and longer than the silver ones.

[mistertwister]

I just got mine today, i got the black powder coated newer version. Everything looks good except I’m missing a seat riser, so I can’t really do anything....I will say that the fabric is good, it will be a huge upgrade from my 10 yr old rover 1! 

[Ice Scratcher]

The new tubes are much taller and longer than the silver ones.

Wow, that's cool at least, that should make it about the perfect Goldilocks size (not too little, not too big, just right)...

<°)))>{

[laer0302]

I just got mine today, i got the black powder coated newer version. Everything looks good except I’m missing a seat riser, so I can’t really do anything....I will say that the fabric is good, it will be a huge upgrade from my 10 yr old rover 1! 

It seems like everyone is having the issue with the missing seat riser. My replacement part should be here tomorrow, Wednesday at the latest.

[DR.SPECKLER]

So anybody have the weight specs on these new model fx100i shacks?

[Peccavi18]

On the phone EagleClaw  said that the silver bar version of the fx100I was right around 41-42 lbs. The Black bar version (new one) adds about six to seven pounds to that for the thicker tube and the larger tent with extras so you're looking at 47-49lbs.

[DR.SPECKLER]

Dang.the one part i liked about the fx100 series was its lightweight features.not really liking it getting heavier for  its size.ill wait on getting one and let the guys field test them this year.i might get one next year.they can do away with that zipper too.

[Peccavi18]

Wow, that's cool at least, that should make it about the perfect Goldilocks size (not too little, not too big, just right)...

<°)))>{

I have mostly 24" rods but two 28" ones. I didnt think I would be able to use in this tent. With this extra lenght they may be tight but I think they will be usable in this version.

[mistertwister]

On the phone EagleClaw  said that the silver bar version of the fx100I was right around 41-42 lbs. The Black bar version (new one) adds about six to seven pounds to that for the thicker tube and the larger tent with extras so you're looking at 47-49lbs.

Thats odd, on my box it says 41lbs but its the black bar version

[DaveSS1]

There is only one true way to find out and that would be to weight it.  I know I weighed my fx100 on a bathroom scale.  Had to balance it on a 5 gallon bucket but it worked, subtract the 2 lbs for the bucket and that should get you the weight.

I was really excited to get the FX100i this year but it appears that all their modifications were for the worse.  Rear access instead of a side door?  heavier in weight than previous model just released?  Not sure I want to spend my money on it now...

[kayl]

I was really excited to get the FX100i this year but it appears that all their modifications were for the worse.  Rear access instead of a side door?  heavier in weight than previous model just released?  Not sure I want to spend my money on it now...

I think I'm glad I got the first version of the 100i :-)

[TheCrappieFisherman]

Rear access instead of a side door?  heavier in weight than previous model just released?

I'll weight mine tonight, hopefully. As far as a side door, they would have had to redesign the whole pole system and I don't think it would be a flip n go anymore.. and probably heavier still. The new otters you have to set up a corner pole for support.  My opinion is in a small one man shelter a side door wouldn't help as your still stepping over stuff.

[matzilla]

The plastic corner pieces wont be a problem at all, they look almost exactly like the Frabill corners....its much cheaper for them to use those over bending the emt. Is the .006ish difference in diameter the difference in painted vs not painted?

It'd be nice if they had an extended wind flap like Frabill but the velcro flap to tub attachment is nice

[laer0302]

Is anyone else having assembly issues with the new version(black powder-coated)? I got my replacement seat riser today that wasn't shipped with it originally and started working on the assembly. First of all, the rear hole that was drilled for the seat rail didn't line up, it was about a half inch too short. One side I was able to get to work by installing the rail to the sled and the seat riser first, then installing the riser with the bolts going in backwards, so the nut is on the outside of the sled, not the inside. It was a tight fit, but I was able to get it to work. The second one I could not get to work that way, I ended up having to drill a new rear mounting hole for the rail.

After the rails were installed, next up was attaching the seat. I attached one side, and then realized that the seat is nearly two inches too long, and there is no way that it will connect to the other side. From what I can tell from the pictures in the manual, the rails are supposed to be installed on the inside of the seat risers. In order to get the seat attached, I had to move one of the rails to the outside of the riser, so it's basically above the edge of the sled now.

Next up is installing the brackets that the poles mount to, I started installing the side with seat rail mounted "incorrectly" first, the side that's over the edge of the sled, and I'm pretty certain that having the seat rail there is going to interfere with flipping the poles over.

I've looked over and re-read the instructions several times, and everything is installed exactly like it's supposed to be according to the manual. I'm going to call them tomorrow, but I'm curious to see if anyone else is having these issues or if it's just me. If it's just me, I might have something screwed up, and might take everything apart and start over.

[TheCrappieFisherman]

Laer0302, or anyone else with the new shelter.. Do your C and D bolts actually have a smooth body above the thread or is the picture wrong? Mine are completely threaded, guessing it won't be a big deal just wanted to check.

So far I haven't had anything missing or issues, unless the bolts are wrong, but I've just started. I'll let you know about the seat laer.

[Peccavi18]

I installed the poles, (even though I am short some of the rubber washers) and put the one seat riser I got in. I was having the exact same problem the seat rails not lining up with the riser, Im also having issues getting the pole frame brackets to line up with the riser. I loosened all the seating bolts and wondered if I installed the riser upside down, nothing was making them line up.   The seat itself seemed wide but didnt think about it since I still dont have the second riser, and everything else wasn't fitting. Really thinking I should have just found someone to sew the missed seam on the silver pole version, and sprayed it with some waterproofer and been done.

[Peccavi18]

Laer0302, or anyone else with the new shelter.. Do your C and D bolts actually have a smooth body above the thread or is the picture wrong? Mine are completely threaded, guessing it won't be a big deal just wanted to check.

Fully threaded, no smooth portions on C or D in my kit.

[laer0302]

Laer0302, or anyone else with the new shelter.. Do your C and D bolts actually have a smooth body above the thread or is the picture wrong? Mine are completely threaded, guessing it won't be a big deal just wanted to check.

So far I haven't had anything missing or issues, unless the bolts are wrong, but I've just started. I'll let you know about the seat laer.

Now that you mention it, I don't think they did. The D bolts definitely don't, all of the C bolts I have installed so can't say for sure, but I'm pretty sure those were threaded completely as well. The A and B bolts did have a partially smooth body though.