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Thread: Travel trailer wanted

  1. #11
    Join Date
    Jan 2009
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    Huntsville
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    Deep South - Georgia, Louisiana, Tennessee, Mississippi and Texas
    Our first camper was a pop-up.

    Our biggest gripe was that we usually "boondock" camp (no hook-ups). That means no AC. In times of the year with high humidity, and just from your breath inside the camper, condensation forms on the canvas roof over the beds. Every time someone rolls over at night it jostles the camper and it "rains" on your face from droplets falling off the canvas roof.

    The second gripe was the amount of time it took to set it up and take it down. It's not a huge deal, but it sure is nice to arrive on-site and just climb into your bed and go to sleep, without having to go through a house-building exercise.

    I agree the #1 thing to look for when buying a camper is water damage. If you see any, walk away. It's always worse than it appears at first glance. When you inspect the camper, believe your nose. If you walk in and it smells like mold and mildew, walk away. If the outside of the camper has any "bubbles" in the surface of the walls (delamination), walk away. Inside the camper, push gently on the walls all around the camper where the wall meets the ceiling. If anything feels soft, or makes a "crunchy" sound, walk away. If any part of the floor feels soft or makes a "crunchy" sound when you step on it, walk away. Water damage is what kills campers. I recommend storing a camper under covered storage if at all possible.

    The #2 thing is to ask to see every single amenity in the camper working. The fridge should have been turned on 24 hours in advance to give it time to cool. Sadly if the fridge is a 2-way or 3-way (gas/12V/120V) you generally can't tell if each one works if the fridge is already cold. But when you fire it up on gas it should light off when you turn it off and turn it on. Once it's already cold you can't easily tell if the 12V/120V are working or not. Anything that is not working should be deducted from the "Blue Book" value.

    The #3 thing to check is the date codes on the tires. Camper tires almost never tread out - they age out. Tires are good for about 10 years max. Google to learn how to find and read tire date codes. When we bought our first motor home the front 2 tires were 4 years old, the back 4 were 10 years old, and the spare was 19 years old (original). Over $2K for new tires all the way around.

    One last thing: If the camper has a generator, make sure it will run for at least 30 minutes without problem. Start it when you begin your inspection and let it run throughout your inspection. When we bought our RV we tested the generator only to find when we got home that it would only run about 20 minutes and then shut down. It's $500 to have anyone touch an RV generator.

    Steve
    Steve Sheldon
    Commander
    4th Louisiana Delta Rifles
    NRA Certified Muzzleloading Instructor

  2. #12
    Join Date
    May 2017
    Location
    Pennsylvanian-The Land Of Taxs
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    After Ryan reads all this he's going to give up on campers for life.
    ​I forgot about getting rained on in the middle of the night.
    Last edited by Ron The Old Reb; 02-24-2021 at 02:40 PM.
    Ron S.
    Formerly 6587V
    NRA Benefactor-Life
    Of all the things that I have lost it's my mind I miss the most.
    Great Grandson of William Gibson ( Canal boat builder ) ( 1862 Militia South Mountain )
    ( Co. C 116 Infantry, 106th Pennsylvania Regiment, Gettysburg
    Rev.22:20 - 1 Thessalonians 4: 16-17 The Best Is yet To Come



  3. #13
    Ibgreen is offline
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    Quote Originally Posted by Maillemaker View Post

    The #3 thing to check is the date codes on the tires. Camper tires almost never tread out - they age out. Tires are good for about 10 years max. Google to learn how to find and read tire date codes. When we bought our first motor home the front 2 tires were 4 years old, the back 4 were 10 years old, and the spare was 19 years old (original). Over $2K for new tires all the way around.
    Steve

    Are you saying that I should replace my spare tire in my 1970 BMW? Can I find another one that says "made in West Germany"?

  4. #14
    Ryan Carlson is offline
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    First Rockbridge Artillery
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    Dont worry Ron, been a scout in tents all my life (comparatively short life) all the problems with campers I seem to be accustom to so I suppose that can be a good thing. I appreciate the run down mailemaker, I figured the top killer for these things would be water damage, as for any older ones, Id want to make sure there isnt any structural frame rust, tire condition like you said, decent suspension and if the bearings and brakes are good, maintenance is one thing but I dont want to hit the first truck stop and see my hub and axles glowing red.
    Ha, made in west germany, a tad bit before my time.

  5. #15
    Join Date
    May 2017
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    I figured the top killer for these things would be water
    That's what killed my popup. You pay big bucks for it and they build the frame out of particle board. Then when it gets wet it falls apart. That's what happen to the one I had. When your traveling and it rains or there is a heavy dew during the night. you have to fold it up in the morning so you can get going. The inside of the top gets wet and the particle board falls apart. When I rebuilt it I made the frame out of 3/4 pine and treated it with wood life. So in a way it was a better camper when I sold it then it was when I bought it. I was still happy to see it go.
    Ron S.
    Formerly 6587V
    NRA Benefactor-Life
    Of all the things that I have lost it's my mind I miss the most.
    Great Grandson of William Gibson ( Canal boat builder ) ( 1862 Militia South Mountain )
    ( Co. C 116 Infantry, 106th Pennsylvania Regiment, Gettysburg
    Rev.22:20 - 1 Thessalonians 4: 16-17 The Best Is yet To Come



  6. #16
    Ryan Carlson is offline
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    First Rockbridge Artillery
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    Feb 2021
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    Region:
    Midwest - Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana
    Of course hard side is preferable, just solid enough and road worthy is what I'm looking for, I've also considered converting a box trailer. Fix it up into a makeshift camper, be a bit cheaper.

  7. #17
    JW 5875V is offline
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    Allegheny City Guard
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    Allegheny - Maryland, Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Virginia
    Lots of YouTube stuff on doing one!

    Jim Whitehouse Sr. 5875V

  8. #18
    Dheisey#7003 is offline
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    Apr 2008
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    Royalton, PA
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    Middle Atlantic - New York, Pennsylvania and New Jersey
    My wife and I grew up Rving. Both sets of parents had travel trailers, both Dad's were VERY conscientious about maintaining them. When we got married, we bought a pop up. It was a 1980 Coleman Brandwine. It was 5 years old- no rips, no real wear, just a dent in the side panel that did not damage anything inside. It was an easy fix. We took out the couch that was in it and bought a porta pottie. The only things it did not have was AC and a shower. We used it until our first daughter decided to roll half way out of one of the wings. Yeah, it was hot in the summers, cold in October in Virginia and I never liked to put it down wet. But, I have a huge garage that I used to put it up between trips and let it air. We traded it for an old LaStrada 21' travel trailer. This was the worst camper we ever owned- We replaced the water system (which was pressurized) after it blew out the water heater one night at 2 am. No roof issues, but it was HEAVY. We traded that for a NEW 28' Fireside which we had for 10+ years. The only issue we had was we did not have a surge protector and blew the refrigerator control panel. We sold that when our oldest started driving and bought her a car. I went to sleeping in my truck or tent at Nationals, The wife and I went camping in a nylon tent a couple of years, and then we did other time period reenacting and I bought a 11 x17 Marquis Tent. Of course, I built furniture for it also...nothing worse than sleeping o n the ground. Anyway, my buddy and I got a deal on a 28' Monitor- bad roof, but we hauled it to the range and I put an industrial rubber roof on it. The roof will out last the camper!
    Since our kids are grown, we wanted to travel so, we ordered an new 25; Coachman last year- still waiting on its delivery, COVID had them shut down for a while.
    Oh, my wife and I still reminisce about that tent camper- if they made them the way that Coleman was, we would have bought another!

  9. #19
    Join Date
    May 2017
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    ​The best camper I ever had was one I made myself out of a full size Plymouth Voyager van. It had a Chrysler 318 engine in it. The best engine that Chrysler ever made. I drove that van camper from Prince Edward Inland Nova Scotia to Mexico to the top of Pikes Peak and every state in between but three. What I liked I liked about it you could drive as late as you liked and when you got tired you just puled into a truck stop or Wal-Mart parked it, crawl up in the bunk and go to sleep. I drove that thing for about twenty years. I would still have it if it hadn't rusted out so bad that the radar wouldn't pick it up anymore. For just a husband and wife it's just the thing and a hell of a lot less maintenance and expense. I then built another one but used a Chevy van that time But it wasn't the van the Plymouth was.
    Ron S.
    Formerly 6587V
    NRA Benefactor-Life
    Of all the things that I have lost it's my mind I miss the most.
    Great Grandson of William Gibson ( Canal boat builder ) ( 1862 Militia South Mountain )
    ( Co. C 116 Infantry, 106th Pennsylvania Regiment, Gettysburg
    Rev.22:20 - 1 Thessalonians 4: 16-17 The Best Is yet To Come



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