skamper 072 ??buy?? help please!

hello all so ive found a skamper and i was looking for some help on what to look for during purchase, or if purchase is even a good idea. im located in so-cal orange county area and ive found a skamper 072s on CL for 1000 but im was able to talk the guy down to 600 flat. ive asked him tons of questions about it and he's txt me back with pictures and answers. the only thing that he stated was bad is the cabnets under the stove had water damage from hanging a wet suit and that the light fixture on the roof had some type of water leak comeing through it. the owner said that the last he knew the fridge and stove with furnace worked fine but he never tested them. he also said the canvas looked good and the windows had no holes but the clear was getting a little foggy or yellow. from the pictures he sent me all the interior looks good except for the cabnets. the camper had been spraypainted a white color (not to fond of, i like the original colors better) and the whole top outside where the bed is, in the front the outside aluminum is all smashed in like the truck hit it or something... do you have any recomendation for me as far as what to look for when purchasing? ive posted some pics to help out or show off!! :Wow1: really excited about possible buy. ok guys lemmie hear your opinions!

Hey Sheep! Welcome to the portal!
Overall that she doesnt look too bad. I think $1000 is too high though. by the pictures you are going to have to do some work. The best think to do would be to go look at it in person. Look on the interior for any water stains; under the bed, corners, under sink, etc. The cabinet doors would be a piece of cake to replace. Next I would look at the dents, especially that front. I think that dent is not structural. The aluminum just wraps around the corner. The structural members are on the side. Look at the jack mounts to make sure they are solid and there is no dryrot around. Look at the roof corners as they crack and cant be replaced. Youll have to do something like I did to mine, or xdbx on this forum has made a mold.

All in all, if there is not too much dryrot and you can talk him down to $600 I say go for it!! Get a few tubes of RV caulk and clean and re-seal the exterior and fix it up.

I would suggest taking a look at my skamper thread. Link in my sig. I bought one in very similar shape. It documents all I did and would be worth your time to read through it before you pull the trigger.

Good luck and keep us posted!!! :sombrero:
Paul

The description of the cabover damage sounded worse than it looks in the pictures. It looks like it's nothing to worry about unless you really want to fix it for cosmetics. You could probably make your own cabinet doors pretty easily--that would really freshen up the look. I spray painted my camper white as well and I like it--especially since the truck is covered with the same paint. It looks like a decent buy to me. I picked mine up for $500 and it didn't have the water issues but it needed a fair bit of cleaning and freshening. It also didn't have a furnace and the fridge didn't look promising--I ditched it. Vinyl floor tiles are a great addition that are cheap and easy and really improve the look.

Have fun!

Thanks alot for the advice guys ill definitly have to pull up all the cushons an d bed and look for dry rot around all the edges of the camper. What would be a big no no or reason for no buy?

sheep1499 said:

Thanks alot for the advice guys ill definitly have to pull up all the cushons an d bed and look for dry rot around all the edges of the camper. What would be a big no no or reason for no buy?

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Well, IMO the big question is how much of a project you want. They are simple and can be repaired. If you dont want to, or have the tools/skills to, fix it up, and clean it up then save your money and get somthing newer and in nicer condition. I bought mine for $700 and have about $700 into the setup. But I have LOTS of hours of work on it. That method is not for everyone.

Look on here. There are plenty of people with older "wood" campers that have rebuit roofs, cab over parts, etc do to dryrot. If you look at it and see extensive rot, make sure you are ready for a project. The main places I would be very concerned is the camper mounting points, roof and cabover.

Go check it out and youll get a good feel for it. If its not too far from where you live, sleep on it.
GOOD LUCK

600 seems like a decent price. Keep us posted if you buy it or not.
I might make the 600 dollar investment just for the good parts to improve mine.

Cool guys!!!! Yeah I have all the tools except for a router but I can awlays buy one, my g/fs grandpa is a carpenter and he's always looking for new projects he's got all the knowledge and tools so together we could probly rebuild the whole thing if needed lol. The only thing I semi lack is the engineering skills and immagination to build an awesome trail rig like slo f-250 has. I think its gonna be a very fun project. Ill keep you guys updated when I look and if ibuy!:victory:

Yep. SLO F-250 hit's the nail on the head, so to speak. Dry rot in roof is a biggie, along with jack mounts. My first pop-up camper purchase was a brand new Skamper back in 1983. By 1989 the roof fell apart, due to rot. I'm currently running a 13 year old Apache that is working okay but I watch for any indication of leaks, especially since mine has to stay outside all year, rain and snow. It looks like this one is stored outside, too, so look close and chose carefully. Good luck.

Cliff

soo bad news guys!!! the seller decided he wanted to take it camping for a summer trip and told me it MIGHT still be for sale when he got back... witch really sucks, i think skamper is the only one in my price range that might fit my lil tacoma bed measures 42" in the wheel base area and 72" with the gate up but 92" with it down... but ive found another in az the only thing is its a 5hour drive for me and the owner cant seem to find out the model for me so i asked them to measure the bed for me and hopefully it will be a tight or snug fit!! here's a pic mabey someone knows the model just by whats based on the paint or windows...

sheep1499 said:

soo bad news guys!!! the seller decided he wanted to take it camping for a summer trip and told me it MIGHT still be for sale when he got back... witch really sucks, i think skamper is the only one in my price range that might fit my lil tacoma bed measures 42" in the wheel base area and 72" with the gate up but 92" with it down... but ive found another in az the only thing is its a 5hour drive for me and the owner cant seem to find out the model for me so i asked them to measure the bed for me and hopefully it will be a tight or snug fit!! here's a pic mabey someone knows the model just by whats based on the paint or windows...

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That sucks! Bummer man! Keep at him for another week and defiantly have him contact you if he changes his mind. Skamper is just an older brand that was bought up or went out of business. There are others that were manufactured in the 80's & 90's. Hallmark, Palamino, and even FWC has some older ones out there that are good deals. Chime in guys on brands im missing. I searched 8 months for mine before I found it and then drove 6 hours to palm springs to snag it! haha My advice would be to search crazedlist.org. Search the RV section of any area you are willing to drive to. I didnt really search by brand name, but typically search popup, pop-up, pop, tent, camper, etc. General stuff and limited the price range. That seemed to narrow it down well. I seem to remember running across a lot of Palamino's. Not sure if they made mid-sized ones though.

The one in the picture looks pretty dang beat up. Might just be the angle, but it looks like the aluminum siding is bent/bowed in areas. Careful of that cause that means structural integrity could be compromised.

GOOD LUCK!