Campers, travel trailers, RVs

[Mason66]

Haven’t been on much as of late. Things are crazy af. Finally sold the house, looking for a camper/travel trailer.

HBG and I are gonna travel for a while.

Have had to move out of two houses - with Covid. Covid gone, last day of work is tomorrow.

Bittersweet, but exciting!

The plan is to travel for a while, and then live in the camper while we are building.

Not sure whether I want to go with a much lower-priced camper that we can buy for cheap and fix up the way we want it to be, or buy newer, already fixed up, and just hit the road.

I will say one thing - I’m tired of looking at campers. We have looked at far too many.

May I suggest looking at Copart? They sell RV's and campers an you might be able to get a deal on one that had a light crash.

If you do go there, be wary of water damage from roof leaks.

I don't think a salvage title matters on a unit like that.

 

[Superfly]

May I suggest looking at Copart? They sell RV's and campers an you might be able to get a deal on one that had a light crash.

If you do go there, be wary of water damage from roof leaks.

I don't think a salvage title matters on a unit like that.

We bought one a little a week ago. Thanks, though!

 

[bluesmoke]

May I suggest looking at Copart? They sell RV's and campers an you might be able to get a deal on one that had a light crash.

If you do go there, be wary of water damage from roof leaks.

I don't think a salvage title matters on a unit like that.

A salvage may not matter at all if due to theft and no need for repair. I used to buy my vehicles from a dealer who sold vehicles that became salvage only due to theft. Only problem is it's unlikely you can get a loan on a salvage title vehicle or trailer resale is just as disadvantage as it was an advantage when first buying.

 

[RF667799]

That’s nice!!

Nice looking camper. Bunkhouse campers are handy for extra storage, even without guests or grandkids. I see it will probably have a little over 1000 pounds tongue weight when loaded, so I would want a fairly stout pickup for towing. And a weight distributing hitch for sure.

 

[Lord Tammerlain]

Nice looking camper. Bunkhouse campers are handy for extra storage, even without guests or grandkids. I see it will probably have a little over 1000 pounds tongue weight when loaded, so I would want a fairly stout pickup for towing. And a weight distributing hitch for sure.

You would want a min of a F250 or Ram 2500 to provide enough payload to tow that, carry passengers and gear and remain within the manufacturers rating

 

[Checkerboard Strangler]

I prefer (or....used to prefer) motor coach conversions, you know, like a GM motor coach with the Detroit Diesel in the rear, converted for living quarters.

 

[RF667799]

You would want a min of a F250 or Ram 2500 to provide enough payload to tow that, carry passengers and gear and remain within the manufacturers rating

I would certainly be more comfortable with one of those or a 2500HD Silverado. I pull a 5th wheel now, but my camper before was a hybrid with about 600 pounds tongue weight. Within a couple months of getting it, I traded my 1500 with a V6, for a 1500 with a V8 and towing package.
That truck did fine with that camper on all the 50-75 mile trips we usually made. By the time we took it on a longer 900 mile or so jaunt, I was glad I had the 2500HD by then. Much more relaxing towing experience.

 

[RF667799]

I prefer (or....used to prefer) motor coach conversions, you know, like a GM motor coach with the Detroit Diesel in the rear, converted for living quarters.

The Prevost (sp?) diesel pushers are essentially that chassis I believe. You don't see a lot of them.

 

[Checkerboard Strangler]

The Prevost (sp?) diesel pushers are essentially that chassis I believe. You don't see a lot of them.

I think you're right.
Leon Russell had a Prevost. He'd had a bunch of different ones but Elton John bought him a Prevost and that was the last coach he had, and boy was it a doozy.
Yes, it was a USED model however when Leon took it over it had less than twenty thousand miles on it so it was pretty much new.

 

[RF667799]

I think you're right.
Leon Russell had a Prevost. He'd had a bunch of different ones but Elton John bought him a Prevost and that was the last coach he had, and boy was it a doozy.
Yes, it was a USED model however when Leon took it over it had less than twenty thousand miles on it so it was pretty much new.

Prevost says there isn't an RV family that will wear one out. The motor/transmission should be good for a million miles and the chassis for 5 million.

This thread got me curious, so I looked some used ones up on RV trader. Late models, 2018s and newer start at over a million dollars from what I saw. Being custom built, really the sky can be the limit.
But surprisingly, older ones- mid to late 90s etc- with only 70-100 thousand miles can be had for a shade over 100,000. I know my aunt paid well over that for her Winnebago or Itaska, whatever it is. I know which I would rather have. Those older Prevosts are still really nice coaches, though most of the older ones don't seem to have slide-outs.

 

[Mason66]

A salvage may not matter at all if due to theft and no need for repair. I used to buy my vehicles from a dealer who sold vehicles that became salvage only due to theft. Only problem is it's unlikely you can get a loan on a salvage title vehicle or trailer resale is just as disadvantage as it was an advantage when first buying.

You are right, you can't get a loan which is why you buy them cheap enough.

Recovered thefts are the one type I wouldn't buy. Those get trashed and you don't know what you are getting.

 

[bluesmoke]

Nice looking camper. Bunkhouse campers are handy for extra storage, even without guests or grandkids. I see it will probably have a little over 1000 pounds tongue weight when loaded, so I would want a fairly stout pickup for towing. And a weight distributing hitch for sure.

A dually is best for hauling a travel trailer. But that's rather single purpose benefit for having to run around in just the truck with 2 extra feet of bed length and 13 inches added to each side of the wheel wells. It really does help with sway, which can be a real safety problem.

 

[RF667799]

A dually is best for hauling a travel trailer. But that's rather single purpose benefit for having to run around in just the truck with 2 extra feet of bed length and 13 inches added to each side of the wheel wells. It really does help with sway, which can be a real safety problem.

Yes, so far as towing, generally the more truck the better. Of course, a great deal depends on the trailer size. My Flagstaff 21SS was only about 24 feet from hitch to bumper. My 1/2 ton with tow package had no real problem with it. It is just that when I switched to the 3/4 ton it was even better. I had a good weight distribution hitch with sway control on every truck I pulled it with.
And of course, the 3/4 ton is necessary for my fifth wheel. It isn't a dually, but has the capacity for my trailer. Sway isn't usually a concern with fifth wheel trailers.