1994 Hallmark Milner pop up

[AKTank]

Does anybody have any experience with these campers? How are they for a 4x4. I've got a 1999 Ram that gets a fair amount of off highway driving, will this camper hold up to mild offroading? The camper looks to be in good shape in the pictures i've seen. I'll be driving about 3 hours to go see it tomorrow, what are the key points I should look for? Corners and cab over hang for rot. Quality of the canvas sides. Ensuring everything inside work i.e. heater, stove, fridge. What else do I need to check thoroughly? This will be my first pop up purchase and don't want to miss anything.
Its going for a decent price it seems. I'll know more when I see it up close. I'd like peoples opinions. The guy is asking $1800

 

[AKTank]

 

[Overland Hadley]

Looks like a good camper for 1800.

Is it wood framed? If so it will not hold up great to rough off road travel.

 

[1stDeuce]

I have a '94 Ute that looks almost identical, (http://s659.photobucket.com/albums/uu312/LittleBuddy73/Camper/) other than being a little longer, and having the sink and stove reversed. Mine is 8.5', and has a potti-closet in the back on the pass side, but I'm turning it into a pantry.

My truck is an '06 2500 GMC. On the road, it's completely fine. I did some pretty decent offroading over the weekend (Lots of climbing with with rocks, switchbacks, and water diversions, a little mud...) and will say that you can sure tell it's there! 9000 lbs of truck and camper is not terribly "wheelable" in my book, but the truck and camper did just fine anyway. I think my camper is on the order of 1500lbs ready to go. (water, gas, food, stuff...) If you're really wanting to "offroad" and not just travel backroads, fire roads, etc, you are either going to have to go very slowly, or find a light weight FWC or similar unit.

It is a wood frame camper, but I would like to think it's one of the better built units out there. Mine has some dry-rot under the edges where the jacks mount up, so the plywood is soft and the jacks have sunk into the sides. (I think it sat on the jacks A LOT before I got it, which you're not really supposed to do with this style of jack... ) I would look under the bed, as well as in the bins up front to check for rot. Also of course the sides and underside, but from the pictures, your jack mounts are solid, so I bet the rest is too.

I paid $1800 for mine a few months ago, so the price for yours seems good to me. Great if the side plywood isn't rotten, and the soft sides aren't water stained or torn at all!!

If you do intend to go offroad some, I would consider bolting it down, at least in the front. My camper is sitting on a rubber bed mat to bring it up to tailgate height, and turnbuckled in the corners, and I was able to slide it around some in the bed this weekend. And it likes to move forward and push against the front even just traveling on dirt roads. I'll probably toss a 2x4 up front next time I have it out, or add some snubbers to the front edge like the new ones have, so it pushes against the bottom of the front of the box rather than the top rail.

Good luck!
Chris

 

[bat]

I would not be afraid off the wood framing for $1800. I think the key is the rubber mat and bolt it to the floor.

 

[Overland Hadley]

I would not be afraid off the wood framing for $1800.

I agree and I hope I did not scare you off with my post.

Did you buy it?

 

[AKTank]

I just picked it up this afternoon for $1700. The thing is in, what I think, phenomenal condition for being a 1994. Aside from a little bit of mold on the inside of the canvas and some peeling floor and needing some cleaning, the thing looks great. It was dark when I got home so I'll take some good photos of it on the truck and before and after the cleaning.
Does anybody know the best way to clean mold up off the inside of the canvas? The interior fabric is almost like a parachute material.

 

[AKTank]

The offroading won't be too extreme in the truck. Mostly fire breaks, dirt roads, trails etc. Of all the options, what is the best and most preferred method of attaching the camper to the truck?

 

[Overland Hadley]

Congratulations!

 

[docdave]

cudos and good luck, I got a 93 Cuchera recently and it's going fine so far.

 

[1stDeuce]

The offroading won't be too extreme in the truck. Mostly fire breaks, dirt roads, trails etc. Of all the options, what is the best and most preferred method of attaching the camper to the truck?

Hahahaha... "Best" is a pretty vague description... Best for what? Offroad - Bolts, easy in-out - Lots of Happijac and Torklift tie down users out there. Also lots of people like me who didn't care to part with another $3-400 in tie down hardware, so I have tie downs inside the front of the bed, and in the rear I use eye bolts under the bumper. I think I have about $15 total in it. I am sure I'd rip the tie down loops out of the camper way before I pull through the bed or bumper. No brackets sticking out anywhere, only drilled two holes, and for the most part, my camper stays put pretty well. At least as well as any other turnbuckle tie down I bet.

Good luck!
C

 

[AKTank]

I've spent yesterday and today cleaning and fixing small things, resealing the roof, window and door seals, mounted the yakima rack for the canoe and bikes. I should have photos up tomorrow. Does anybody know a good way to clean mold off between the two fabrics of the pop up? i've got the outer canvas, a thin layer of foam and then parachute like material on the inside. Mold has grown on the parachute material so it is not accessible for scrubbing. i've soaked it work mold treatment so it shouldn't keep growing but it is rather unsightly . Anybody have suggestions?

 

[AKTank]

 

[AKTank]

 

[AKTank]