Advice for my first camper and pan american highway trip

[vicmillon]

Hello everyone and thanks for this wonderful forum!!!
This is my first post here, but I been researching in this forum like a year ago...

My name is Victor, Im a chilean living-working-discovering Canada with my grilfriend Caro for a year.
After that year (June 2013) we decided to come back to Chile driving from ALaska on a 40.000 kms and one year trip!

I been doing a lot of research about what vehicle should be the best, and finally we decide to buy a pop up camper and a truck... we think this is the best option...

My first option was a Tacoma and a four wheel camper, but, my girlfriend gave me an ultimatum: shower and bathroom:Wow1:
SO everything change, cause a bigger camper need a bigger truck, and a bigger budget too, at least for a four wheel option..

Anyway... so finally i decide to put my feet on the ground (chilean slang) and be realistic with our budget... That means an older model and not the top brands...

SO I found a pop up for our budget (3.000), looks pretty good
Is this one
http://abbotsford.en.craigslist.ca/rvs/3326074277.html

And basically i need some advice before I purchase this camper, cause this is my first RV ever...

1. Is this a decent camper/brand for the price? I read that company broke years ago...
2. What should I check when I buy a pop up camper
3. What is the most critical spot or part to double check in this camper
4. Any other advice you can give me

Hope to have some tips before i head to Langley to check the camper... any advice is welcome!
Sorry Im posting this the night before, but I been very very busy!

Thanks to everyone and good luck!

Best
Caro and Vic

 

[SLO_F-250]

Welcome Vic!

That camper looks to be a good deal! I owned a 1989 Skamper for 3 years and took it all over and had a blast! Its a very very similar camper construction wise. Most of the older wood framed campers will be similar.

1) There are many of us that run the wood framed campers with no problems. Yea, they are not as durable as the aluminum framed ones (FWC, ATC, Pheonix, Etc) but for the price they are hard to beat.
2) When looking at those wood framed one the most important thing is DRYROT! Make sure there are no evidence of leaks, no "soft spots" etc. Look at the exterior joints, is the caulking sealing still good. Does it smell like mold? Is the roof sagging? Most problems will show in the roof first. You want that thing WATER TIGHT! Most of us on a budget buying older wood framed campers end up digging into the roof. That one again "looks" in good condition.
3) ROOF, Lifting Mechanism, make sure it all works, especially all the plumbing. That one is more complicated with the shower and toilet. LOOK FOR EVIDENCE OF LEAKS.
4) LEAKS LEAKS LEAKS. haha :sombrero: Again, water is the biggest issue for those wood framed ones.

Good Luck! Plan on tweaking them a little bit and fixing a few things just like anything you buy used. Also, for that size of camper and the trip you describe, you WILL want a 3/4 ton truck at a minumum. It says 9ft camper so that might be a long bed model as well. Things to note.

GOOD LUCK! :smiley_drive:
Paul

 

[vicmillon]

Thanks Paul
That was a very complete reply
As you say we have to adjust to our budget, so wood frame is the option.

So basically check for leaks, roof and lifting mechanism...
How do you check the plumbing system??? Should I use the toilet? ajajajajaja

About the truck Im looking for a ´90s 8foot bed truck... 7.3 power stroke or similar diesel engine...

Thanks again for your reply

Best!

 

[sonora]

See if you can have him turn the refrigerator and water heater on and have them cool down and heat up so you can check them upon your arrival. Also turn the funace on and see if that works. turn the lights on to see if they work. Check the mounting points for the jacks for weakness etc. It would be good if you could have it hooked up to water and check for leaks and check the toilet operation.

If any of these things don't check out it is not really a deal breaker but it IS a bargaining chip to lower the price as you will have to fix them. Even if everything checks out ok I would offer maybe $3,100 in cash to him (have it on you in $100's and wave it at him) and see if he takes it. The pictures look good, good luck and let the forum know how it goes!

 

[Stan@FourWheel]

Bring a good flashlight with you !

Then give the camper a really good look over.

Have him start all of the appliances for you (if possible).

Have him put the roof up & down for you to make sure the roof is working properly.

Open every drawer, cabinet, and compartment and look inside for anything that looks unusual.

Looks for stains inside on the ceiling (possible old roof leaks).

Check the pop-up soft side fabric for rips or tears, or mold.

Hop inside the camper, turn the interior lights on, close the camper door, and sit inside for a few minutes ... give it the "Feel Good" test.

Does it smell OK? (No old moldy / musty smells)

It it comfortable for YOU ?

Do you think you will be happy hanging out inside it for hours / days at a time ?


And YES, get the big long bed 3/4 ton truck, you won't regret it !!!

If you put a 9.0' foot long pop-up camper on a 1/2 ton truck, I don't think you will be happy with the way it drives.

Better to do it right the first time and get the heavy duty truck.


Hope this helps.

Happy Camping !

 

[adam88]

Solid advice from Stan, but would expect nothing less.

 

[vicmillon]

Hey guys!
thanks to everone Stan and Sonora
Im leaving now to Vancouver, wish me luck!!!
and Ill keep you updated when i return!!!

thanks again guys you will be really helpful!!!

 

[vicmillon]

Ok, I just came back and this is the report

The camper is in really good overall condition, I must say that we were surprised how good doest it look for a 1997
It was love at first sight, from the outside to the inside...
We just look each other and smile at the end of the owner "introduction" to the camper...
I made a check list with all the information you gave to me and i did it step by step, but I miss a few things due to my enthusiasm with the camper..
The pros
1. Excellent overall condition 9/10
2. No evidence of mold or smell, I put my nose in every corner, what was very funny, and cannot find anything... There was just one spot on the canvas, but could be another thing...
3 Space, space and space. Its big inside and have a lot of storage for our stuff
4 You can notice than the owners took good care and give love to this camper, Its super clean and doesnt smell weird...
5 We felt in love with her... I took my time to check, see and enjoy the camper... I sit on the couch for a while and look on the future and YES this looks like the one.. it was a nice feeling and my girlfriend felt the same way...
6 We try all the appliances, everything works but the water heater

The cons
1. Water heater. Didnt work. He told me (And i believe him) that he never use it before... but than was working when he bought it a year ago.
He try twice... Like a sat Im a complete noob in this subject so i didnt even try to turn it on... I assume is maybe a maintenance issue (hopefully) Otherwise i ask for your help again what is the worst possible scenario for this issue and the best... and how much can cost...
2 NO battery. Doesnt come with baterry I think i can have one for around 50... i want to try all the lights and appliances again with a battery (It was connected to electricity) and is an item that probably want to buy new and upgrade for a year trip...
3. No tie down system included. (Cab you recomend me one?)
4. The water pump is a little bit noisy, but i dont know if this is normal or what...
5. Pipes outside rusty (The only rust on the camper) should be replaced.

As you can see theres a few things, but like a say we loved it and we want to buy it.
I make him an offer (3000) and he sat yes... So now i need make some research about the water heater system and the tie down, cause we want to pick it up this monday..

What do you think???
What about the water heater....??? can be super expensive?
Water pump.. i imagine they can make some noise... but it works fine...
Any recommendation for the battery? I need to buy one and want to go solar.... i was thinking deep cycle...

Hope to hear from you, as I say i wanna go and pick it up on monday, double check everything, bring it home and make the first trip...

Thanks again to everyone

Caro and Vic

 

[SLO_F-250]

Congrats Vic. Sounds like a good camper.

1) I do not know much about water heaters as I have not owned a camper with one so I cant help you there.
2) Any Deep Cycle battery will work for your application. Some guys spend lots on better batteries, some run (2) 6V golf cart batteries in series to get 12V. Golf cart batteries last a long time. Me, I run two deep cylce battiers from Wal-Mart. About $70 each and have had them over 3 years no problem.
3) Lots of options for tie down systems. If it is like my old skamper look at Happijack for the front two mounting points. http://www.happijac.com/ For the back two you could drill a hole in your bumper and bolt turnbulckes to it and run them up to the rear mounting points. I have heard of one or two people bending the bumpers if they are doing some heavy off roading or have a full on cab over, but again. Personally I would just bolt it to my bumper. Others might have other opinions.
4) All water pumps I have used in RV's are loud. My pump in my camper is loud as well. Im sure you can find something quiet for some $$$.
5) Not sure what the pipe is for or connected too so will leave you to decide.

I think it sounds like a pretty sweet setup. Not a bad price considering the condition and what you are getting. From your description of the trip planned I would recommend solar. I just hooked a setup in my camper and it is nice to not worry about batteries anymore. Check out this thread for more info on that. I would also recommend LED lights. They will save you a lot of power.

Good luck and we REALLY like pictures. :elkgrin:

 

[ExpoMike]

Assuming it's similar to my water heater (Suburban brand, I think the Atwood is similar, they are the two most popular ones), they are a little finicky to get started. Because the pilot light line is very small, it takes a little while to purge any air out of the system. Once I have turned on the propane, I fire up the stove to help get most of the air out of the system. Then when I fire up the water heater for the first time, it might take me 2 minutes of holding the pilot light button down before I can get it to light. Once lit, it works great.

Sounds like you found a nice setup.

 

[Stan@FourWheel]

If the hot water heater is a manual light (not the automatic lighting version), it should fire up.

Those are very simple and not much seems to go wrong with them.

With a little cleaning / dusting off / making sure you have propane going to it ... it should fire up !





.

 

[vicmillon]

OK
Looks like the water heater issue is not a big deal...
I was checking on internet and it can be many things, most related to maintenance or long periods of inactivity... plus one guy advice to try for 2 minutes and before that use the propane for a short period to avoid air on the pipes... we didnt do that at all...
This is the heater

image ru


Im not going to buy a battery until i can measure the space for one... so Im going to borrow one from my work :sombrero:
My biggest concern now is the tie down system... and how Im going to transport it from Vancouver to my house in Pemberton...
I dont want to buy a bad cheap system, but i dont know if I have enough time to make a good research to buy the best for the trip..

Somehow Im going to solve this soon!

:smiley_drive:

 

[ExpoMike]

Yep, that looks just about identical to mine. I remember the first time I tried to use it and was having a heck of a time getting the pilot to light. All the air needed to get purged out of the small line. One thing I have had an slight issue with, when I turn the knob to pilot and press down, sometimes it only want to go part way down. I found if I rotate it slightly more, it will allow it to press all the way down. Only about a 1/4" sticks up when you are pressing the pilot setting down. Also you need to put the flame to light near the end of the small tube, up under the vent guard (to the right) not the open area of the big tube on the left.

As a temp way, I used my factory tie down bed points and some ratchet straps to get it home. I had no problems and put in the correct points that Four Wheel Camper recommends for our unit.

Good luck!

 

[freeskier125]

Hey Caro and Vic,

I have a 97 Sun-lite Eagle WT Sportsman, VERY similar to the one you are looking at. It's my first camper as well and I absolutely love it! Went out on a limb and bought it sight unseen from one of those 'need gone in 48 hours' deals on craigslist. Couldn't be happier with its all around performance. I happen to pick mine up awfully cheap, but feel it is worth $2700 the previous owners were originally asking (I just took a moment and thought about its adventures this year alone, and would buy one over and over again )

To ease some of your worries...
-At first my water pump didn't work. Figured I'd buy a new one, but they are ~ $100, so I rebuilt the old one myself and has been going well. Gets used for only a couple minutes each time.
-The rusty pipe on the outside (driver side?) on mine feeds the fridge/stove propane. Definitely worth double checking for leaks before any major use.
-I use 2 Heavy Duty ratchet straps from the front eyelet hooks on the camper down to the frame rails. Unless you too, tend to get a little extreme (angles and/or low g-force situations that give you butterflies in your stomach ) 2 new good quality HD ratchet straps should get you by. I've only have issues when I go beyond what was thought to be physically possible.
-Battery setup depends on what you plan to do. I've played around with my setup and depending on what you consume electrically, for how long will determine how frequently you have to plug into 120v to recharge (or use solar and/or build a quality re-charging system off the trucks existing system)
-Cant help much with the hot water issue. Usually the water is air temperature and is fine for dishes and a quick shower. Nothing beats a nice hot shower though...

Some other things to check out. What's the condition of the screens behind the windows? Mine have been re-sewn on and could use replacement again. Take off the plastic trim around the roof vent, does the wood look dry? Im having issues and will eventually need to refurbish my roof (huge project) because it leaked and spread. Check around the camper and look for cracks in the caulking. Check the lift mechanism, will be used multiple times every day and needs to be in good shape.

Pictures and discussion on modifications, plans, stories of abuse, ect... are in my build thread.
http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/75243-99-Ram-w-97-Sun-Lite

Good luck and happy camping!

-Colin

 

[vicmillon]

Hey guys!
Thanks again for the great info.. we really appreciated all the time you dedicate to write...
to Expomike: Im already make a list of things i want to try with the water heater on monday... Im not worried about the heater because is not going to cost a lot of money to fix (hopefully nothing)
COlin: Yes i saw your post searching for info of the sunlite it appears on google... It was very helpful
The rusty pipes are on passenger side, Im attaching a picture. Planning to change the pipes at the end of this winter.

upload pictures

Im not tending to do some crazy offroad with the camper, my girlfriend is my co-driver and she probably would give me "the look" if Im trying something too risky... (you dont want to deal with that)
For the battery we want to go solar. Im in contact with the guy of adventure americas and he have a single deep cycle battery an a 68w unisolar panel and so far its work great for him... We want to change the light to LED and not planning to use a lot of energy....
The screen behind the windows looks pretty good, doesnt seem burn by sun or ripped, theres no scratches or other things...
I check many spots, especially corners, roof and tricky spots, they all looks pretty good, and didnt smell ...
The lift mechanism was really good going down and ok going up... but I check that the rail need some grease or wd 40, I dont know what the best.... i check your config to help the roof goes up, the 4 gas struts, looks great, do you think can work with just 2???
The crank handle that raise up the roof will probably need to be replaced soon... I read you experienced problem with this item. I found this http://www.canvasreplacements.com/p...d/354?osCsid=d9cfce7b3fcb5b5686c2c336e19b9746

Otherwise I was thinking to bring the original handle to a mechanic and see if he can make a copy...

CHeers!