Older campers

[LegoMom3]

Just wondering if anyone here has (or has had) an older camper that you loved and kept fixing it up rather than replace it?

I realize at some point it has to go....but we have an older pop-up that we just love and don't want to part with yet! It has no plumbing other than a sink, so I'm sure that helps not having to deal with black water lines & storage... (Maybe it's the simplicity of the thing we love!)

Eventually I'm sure the canvas will go or some other major fixture will give out and it will not be cost-effective to put the money into it. But for now, we look forward to opening her up every year, cleaning her out and seeing how we can customize or add to the decor!

Am I alone?....

.

 

[BigDaddyRog]

Ive started off with an older camper. Mines a 1999 Coleman Santee that also only had a sink and hot water heater which I couldnt ever see us actually using so I have removed both for more storage and counterspace. Within the first month I had gotten rid of all of the original decor and went with a jungle theme(zebra and chetah print) and covered the original flooring with new wood plank vinyl tiles. Ive had alot of fun redecorating it and as far as Im concerned..we will keep this little pop-up for quite a long time to come. Im also painting the exterior soon and have new graphics for it HOPEFULLY arriving in the mail anyday now. I dont really need a new canvas yet...but it will probably play on my mind once I have it painted to get a new canvas,just so that it all looks brand new.

those olive green curtains have since been replace with this fabric:

And I found some incredibly cheap tiger stripped comforters on clearence at Target. Its really come together nice in a super tacky kinda way.

This is a shot of what I expect the exterior to look like as soon as my graphics arrive...

 

[ftwildernessguy]

I am an older camper and my wife has opted to try to fix me up rather than replace me. My plumbing still works, but it is showing signs of age. I have also lost most of my canvas, so I wear a hat outdoors. This month I plan on having a colonoscopy to check out my black water system.

 

[mrsscooter]

We have a 26ft 1988 Yukon TT.....we absolutely love it. Everything works great (knock on wood) except for the furnace, but we havent really needed that anyway. Its a great floor plan and has everything we want, the interior is near perfect and the best part is, it is paid for. Yes, it is old, but for as old as it is, it looks pretty good. The people we bought it from were an older couple, and the original owners. This is our third season with it, and besides minor things that need fixing, its great. We have tossed around the ideo of getting a newer, "New to us" tt, but our kids are still young, and I didnt want to have new rig and have them trash it, or be afraid for it to get dirty. So, in about five years, when they are older and can be kicked out to a tent, and our truck is paid, then we may get another one! Sorry so long winded.....LOL

As far as a pop up, like BDR and a few friends of ours, they have older units and keep fixin them up. A friend of ours bought a 1989 Coleman pop up and the only things that dont work are the Faucet on the sink and there were a few small holes in the canvas. They only bought it for $100. So, they are on their third season as well, and are loving theres. They were thinking about sending out the canvas to be re patterned and replaced over the winter, which, for the 350.00 it will cost, is still a better deal than buying a new one. We are both heading down to the Fort in October, so if you see an old tt with brown stripes and a new awning, with a blue F250, that would be us!

 

[mrsscooter]

Ive started off with an older camper. Mines a 1999 Coleman Santee that also only had a sink and hot water heater which I couldnt ever see us actually using so I have removed both for more storage and counterspace. Within the first month I had gotten rid of all of the original decor and went with a jungle theme(zebra and chetah print) and covered the original flooring with new wood plank vinyl tiles. Ive had alot of fun redecorating it and as far as Im concerned..we will keep this little pop-up for quite a long time to come. Im also painting the exterior soon and have new graphics for it HOPEFULLY arriving in the mail anyday now. I dont really need a new canvas yet...but it will probably play on my mind once I have it painted to get a new canvas,just so that it all looks brand new.

those olive green curtains have since been replace with this fabric:

And I found some incredibly cheap tiger stripped comforters on clearence at Target. Its really come together nice in a super tacky kinda way.

This is a shot of what I expect the exterior to look like as soon as my graphics arrive...

I love your interior BDR! Did you put it together yourself, or did you have help? It looks great.

 

[auntie]

I am an older camper and my wife has opted to try to fix me up rather than replace me. My plumbing still works, but it is showing signs of age. I have also lost most of my canvas, so I wear a hat outdoors. This month I plan on having a colonoscopy to check out my black water system.

We have a 2000 Jayco Eagle. It's 9 years old now..so I guess it would be considered an older camper. So are the two people who camp in it!
When we bought it the kids were 9 and 13. Now they're 18 and 22 and they don't camp with us anymore. I've thought about trading it in for something newer..and with a floorplan that would work better for just the two of us. Yet...I'm a cheapo. Don't want a payment. It's in good shape. We've had a couple of issues..but nothing we haven't been able to repair ourselves at this point. Inside..it's brand new. We always take our shoes off when going in. I think that saved a lot of wear. Outside it looks pretty good too. There's nothing about it that I can see that would date it as looking old. I painted the frame this year..it was looking a little faded..and that looks brand new now.
The only reason I'd even think of trading it in... is that it has two twin beds, as opposed to a queen size in the bedroom. The kids used to take the bedroom and Bob and I used the sofa bed. We never wanted bunks as the kids were already adult sized when we got it..and figured they wouldn't use bunks for too long. It worked out nicely for a number of years. when my daughter would bring a friend,The teen girls could have the bedroom and we didn't have to deal with having to step over them in the morning to make coffee. Now that it's just us...we need to get a new sofa bed mattress. We try to use the twin beds..but it's weird when you're used to sleeping together. Bob can take the sofa bed for about half the night..then he winds up on one of the twins. We make it work. It was a good quality unit..we paid some $21,000 for it nine years ago. Long paid off..and I figure I've gotten my monies worth and then some. Considering what's happened with the economy....we take comfort in knowing we have a decent camper..and NO LOAN. We're happy with it.

 

[BigDaddyRog]

Auntie....Im thinking that tossing those 2 twin beds and working a queen into there wouldnt be all that hard or expensive. And I bet you'd have alot of fun doing it. Have you given that any thought?

 

[auntie]

Yes, we've thought of it Rog..yet the problem is that there is a floor to ceiling cabinet between the twin beds, which then extends above and over both of them. I'm not sure we want to start ripping that out. Additionaly, under one bed is our outside storage compartment. Under the other bed, is the freshwater tank. Certainly, we could remove that..since we always use city water hook ups. It just hasn't been worth tearing the bedroom apart at this point. I'll try and post a picture so you can see what I mean. Maybe one day, when Bob's got more time on his hands we'll change it. For now..and given the amount of time we've used the camper this year..it's not worth it. A new and better mattress for the sofa bed is a quicker and cheaper option at this point.
Hey..I figure it this way... Lucy and Rickie Ricardo got by with twin beds....and still managed to have little Rickie. If you know what I mean. Where there's a will..there's a way.

 

[des1954]

I am an older camper and my wife has opted to try to fix me up rather than replace me. My plumbing still works, but it is showing signs of age. I have also lost most of my canvas, so I wear a hat outdoors. This month I plan on having a colonoscopy to check out my black water system.

Jim.... I'm sending you a bill for my laptop!! I just spewed diet coke all over it!!!

 

[des1954]

I look at pop-up's & TT's this way...

It cannot be compared in any way to a motorized RV. By that I mean, it's only worth used what someone is willing to pay for it, regardless of what any blue book says.

A tow-behind that's well cared for can last for decades, and give the owner joy that cannot have a price attached to it. If you replace the canvas once or even twice on a pup over a 15-20 year span, you are still $$ ahead. If you love your pup & it serves you well, do your repairs & remodeling & keep on enjoying it. If you bought it new, you lost at least $1500-2000 the moment you signed the papers. Maybe more. So, enjoy it and have fun! If you sell it, the changes and maintenance you've done (or lack thereof) won't amount to much in the end.

 

[BigDaddyRog]

Deb, I agree 100%...there aint a person on the planet who would want MY STYLE incorporated into there life. The money Ive spent Rogerizing my camper is purely for MY enjoyment,and if anything, has DE-VALUED my campers worth....when the mickey flames go on...the only person in the world who would ever want it will be ME!!! LikeI said...I plan to keep this little thing around as long as the wife will allow me to,so I'll update it my way for my enjoyment. When its time to let it go...I'll appologize for making it so hideously tacky!!!

 

[Live4FW]

I look at pop-up's & TT's this way...

If you bought it new, you lost at least $1500-2000 the moment you signed the papers. Maybe more. So, enjoy it and have fun! If you sell it, the changes and maintenance you've done (or lack thereof) won't amount to much in the end.

We have been trying to sell our 2006 TT. Just for example. In July "08 it was worth 21.4K - - Now it is worth 16.6K. Best offer I have had for it is 10K!

 

[liv luvs disney]

we have been trying to sell our 2006 tt. Just for example. In july "08 it was worth 21.4k - - now it is worth 16.6k. Best offer i have had for it is 10k!

ouch!!!!!

 

[liv luvs disney]

Deb, I agree 100%...there aint a person on the planet who would want MY STYLE incorporated into there life. The money Ive spent Rogerizing my camper is purely for MY enjoyment,and if anything, has DE-VALUED my campers worth....when the mickey flames go on...the only person in the world who would ever want it will be ME!!! LikeI said...I plan to keep this little thing around as long as the wife will allow me to,so I'll update it my way for my enjoyment. When its time to let it go...I'll appologize for making it so hideously tacky!!!

For the record, I LOVE your Rogerized pup! It actually got me thinking outside the box when shopping for older pups/hybrids, instead of thinking nope, don't like that one. It opens up possibilities for less $ up front.

 

[auntie]

I look at pop-up's & TT's this way...

It cannot be compared in any way to a motorized RV. By that I mean, it's only worth used what someone is willing to pay for it, regardless of what any blue book says.

A tow-behind that's well cared for can last for decades, and give the owner joy that cannot have a price attached to it. If you replace the canvas once or even twice on a pup over a 15-20 year span, you are still $$ ahead. If you love your pup & it serves you well, do your repairs & remodeling & keep on enjoying it. If you bought it new, you lost at least $1500-2000 the moment you signed the papers. Maybe more. So, enjoy it and have fun! If you sell it, the changes and maintenance you've done (or lack thereof) won't amount to much in the end.

You know Deb....you are absolutely right about this. I remember when we purchased our TT. I was worried about getting twin beds. Thinking we might not get as much for it at resale or trade-in. We went back and forth with this. Finally the salesman pretty much said what you did Deb. You have to get what works for YOU and your family. Worry about selling it when the time comes. He was right. Obviously my kids were passed the stage of bunks, and we had no desire to climb over them in the mornnings, when we knew we'd be up first. So we bit the bullet and ordered it with twin beds instead of the Queen bed. It really did serve our family well in that capacity for a least six years. Is it a bit inconvenient now..and would we be more comfortable with a Queen bed, instead of the sofa bed? Sure. Only we don't live in the trailer. We camp in it. We can put up with the slight incovenience in lieu of a big new payment on a camper that will be worth thousands less the minute we drive it off the lot.
I'm going to give some more thought to Rog's idea of re-doing the bedroom for a Queen bed. I wonder if anyone else has ever done that. I'm going to have to research this some. Certainly is something to think about.

 

[ob1quixote]

Oh, you folks and your "new" campers!

I'll be at Ft Wilderness in my 1963 Grumman RV next week! Last time I was at FW, I brought my '74 Jayco PUP. I bought in '91, the PO had installed new canvas a few years earlier. I'm keeping it around for additional camping space, or maybe I'll sell it...

 

[BigDaddyRog]

Oh, you folks and your "new" campers!

I'll be at Ft Wilderness in my 1963 Grumman RV next week! Last time I was at FW, I brought my '74 Jayco PUP. I bought in '91, the PO had installed new canvas a few years earlier. I'm keeping it around for additional camping space, or maybe I'll sell it...

64????.......Ok.....you WIN!!!!!


Liv Luvs Disney...thanks for the compliments!!!! Im glad Ive been usefull for something..."thinking out of the box" is the only thinking Im capable of due tothe fact that my brain came as an "open box clearance special"!!!

 

[LegoMom3]

BigDaddyRog - you have given me a whole new perspective on the possibilities that exist in a camper remodel!!... LOVE your decor!

.

 

[BigDaddyRog]

Thanks!!

 

[kc5grw]

Okay, you folks really need to work on your thread titles. I don't know how many times recently that I've looked at a thread title and automatically I think of something other than what was intended. My first thought upon seeing this thread was that it was referring to the old camper sleeping in the rv, not the old camper that the rv'er sleeps in. I think I'll just go crawl back in my hole now.