I guess campers are designed to self destruct at some point.

[Bad Water Bill]

How many folks have any idea how to hitch up or handle a camper before they purchase it and head for the highway?

There are several things your dealer should explain to you and make sure you fully understand the reasons AND the consequences if you fail to do so.

[xtphreak]

Huh, I'm staying four days a week out of state on my job, in a 1988 motorhome just like the one I had back in 1995 when I got laid off at Savannah River Site.
The only difference is one I had in '95 was brown and said Winnebago Super Chief, this one is beige & says Itasca (by Winnebago) Suncruiser.
Steel tube frame, steel floor joists, fiberglass skin bonded to insulation, "basement model" with pass-through storage underneath.
31 foot, rear queen bedroom.
Plenty of storage, 4kw onan, had two air conditioning units, but the old units only had a 30 amp service, so you have a selector switch where you can run the front or the back but not both @ the same time
I bought a 35 ft 50 amp pigtail for a hundred bucks off Amazon, din rail mounted breakers, and rewired it one afternoon so that I could run each AC unit off of its own 20 amp breaker @ the same time, plus plenty for microwave, coffee maker, etc.
Basically the 50 amp pigtail is a 240v 4 wire (3-6ga 1-8ga), so I have two 50 amp 110 volt feeds. Just like a house panel, I have one AC on each 110v leg.
The park had the 50 amp outlet already for the newer units, only if I'm boondocking on the Onan will I be limited to one AC.
Not too bad work on, had a few issues & fixed them, totally comfortable.
The converter breakers were cooked after 27 yrs, so I pulled the old buss bar and refit 5 din rail breakers. Fit perfectly horizontal vs. vertical!!
I need to work on the LP furnace before it gets cold again this year, but with the park I'm staying in, electricity is included in the rent so I can always run a couple of space heaters if I need to.
The engine had just been replaced with a crate 454 less than a thousand miles on it, I really lucked out on the deal.
The moral of this story is, not all older campers are bad, and not all campers are bad to work on.

[Plate plinker]

Having built both wood frame units and laminated aluminum from with fiberglass sides I can tell you I would not touch a wood framed rv. They are cheap cheap cheap and as you might guess lower quality workers build those IMO.

The dealers do not seem to mention that the roof should be inspected yearly and resealed if necessary. That caulk stuff is "special" so it does not harden with time supposedly.

Tackleberry41 you can PM if you need advice.

[Baja_Traveler]

For the past year and a half I've been spending weekdays living in an 18' travel trailer while on a job in Los Angeles. Mine has held up just fine (Four Winds) with only one issue - a leaking fitting on the toilet that was easily fixed. Luckily it happened on a dry summer weekend, so the frame dried out quick with no visible damage or rot. I actually like it - way better than throwing money at a crappy hotel, and the money my company is giving me to stay up here has paid off the trailer in full. I bought it used for $8k and it was only used a few weekends a year so looked like new. I think one thing that has helped the longevity of my trailer is that I have never used the shower in it, instead using the facility here in the RV park. Less moisture in the unit to cause havoc...

[xtphreak]

The absolute best thing to seal the roof with is Eternabond sealing tape. check the RV forums and you'll read about it.
I've got a one piece aluminum roof, I sealed all the seams with Alumibond tape, it's like the real aluminum HVAC tape, but thicker and with a micro polymer sealant / adhesive.
Expensive, but I don't think I'll ever have any problem with leaks.

[AZ-JIM]

Mine sure has been a PITA the last couple years, but for a popup that is stored outside in the AZ climate, and being 15 years old it's not in too bad shape. I can't afford a new one so I keep doing minor repairs as needed. And yeah, water system repairs....."fun".....

az-jim

[jcwit]

Largely its not really up to me, it is a woman being dealt with. They tend to be fickle. Her set in stone habits is what keeps her from staying in the house for any length of time, and her husband. She can't sleep in the same room with him due to his snoring, he can't live near a cemetery as the dead people complain. I offered this or that, nope she was gonna get a camper.

What I took apart, at a shop it would be headed for the junk yard. Nothing I cant fix, but will be a bit obvious I did, I have no intention of using the same flimsy paneling. I have some of that silicone roof coating in the garage, I'll seal the leaks. But I saw no way to get the cabinets out of it without destroying them, there were screws from the back side, only way they could be put in is if there was no metal skin on it. I have no idea who taught them to put the carpet in, wraps around the edge of the flooring, between the wall frame and deck. But the deck has to come up anyways, fortunately in the front over the 5th wheel part. They didn't put down the deck then the wall frame on top.

Its built to be used a while, then disposed of and you buy another one. Jayco is supposed to be a better brand, guess it really means not quite as poorly built as others.

Metal skin????? That's old school to say the least! Jayco's are built approx. a mile and a half from my front door.

You try to build a camping trailer the old way and have it hold up going down the kind of roads we have here in the Northern states and the roof not leak, or the water lines not leak. Be glad the gas lines are leaking.

[Bogart]

Huh, I'm staying four days a week out of state on my job, in a 1988 motorhome just like the one I had back in 1995 when I got laid off at Savannah River Site.
The only difference is one I had in '95 was brown and said Winnebago Super Chief, this one is beige & says Itasca (by Winnebago) Suncruiser.
Steel tube frame, steel floor joists, fiberglass skin bonded to insulation, "basement model" with pass-through storage underneath.
31 foot, rear queen bedroom.
Plenty of storage, 4kw onan, had two air conditioning units, but the old units only had a 30 amp service, so you have a selector switch where you can run the front or the back but not both @ the same time
I bought a 35 ft 50 amp pigtail for a hundred bucks off Amazon, din rail mounted breakers, and rewired it one afternoon so that I could run each AC unit off of its own 20 amp breaker @ the same time, plus plenty for microwave, coffee maker, etc.
Basically the 50 amp pigtail is a 240v 4 wire (3-6ga 1-8ga), so I have two 50 amp 110 volt feeds. Just like a house panel, I have one AC on each 110v leg.
The park had the 50 amp outlet already for the newer units, only if I'm boondocking on the Onan will I be limited to one AC.
Not too bad work on, had a few issues & fixed them, totally comfortable.
The converter breakers were cooked after 27 yrs, so I pulled the old buss bar and refit 5 din rail breakers. Fit perfectly horizontal vs. vertical!!
I need to work on the LP furnace before it gets cold again this year, but with the park I'm staying in, electricity is included in the rent so I can always run a couple of space heaters if I need to.
The engine had just been replaced with a crate 454 less than a thousand miles on it, I really lucked out on the deal.
The moral of this story is, not all older campers are bad, and not all campers are bad to work on.

There is a huge difference between a camper and a motor home. Motor homes are much better built because they are an actual vehicle

[Frank46]

I had a travel trailer many years ago. Had it on a lot in one of those summer places up in the poconos. Every summer I'd go up there and get it ready for the wife and kids. When they came back the complaints started. this don't work or that don't work. Finally after about 6 years or so sold the lot and trailer to my sister in law. Every summer would seal the roof, doors, joints had to replace the propane fridge with an electric one and the list goes on. Frank

[Plate plinker]

Sounds right frank I did QC for a year and can tell you everything they use is the cheapest junk money can buy stoves furnace you name cheap cheap cheap.

My advice is to buy a stripped down shell and build it up inside yourself.

Install real plumbing, cooktop, water fixtures, actual receptacles not the fire hazards the industry uses.


The Ac units are okay I'll give them that.

[MT Gianni]

I have a 19 yr old 5th wheel we bought 10 years ago to live in while we waited a month to close on a house. Little or minimal problems, it gets drained when not in use. I would have to scrap it if the refrigerator went out as it would cost more than the trailer did. I do most repairs around the house and have done minimal on this. It has worked well for us.

[Tackleberry41]

It is pretty flimsy construction. The metal skin in front isn't secured to the wood frame in any way. They may have some sort of engineering reason, or just cheaper to not use the extra screws. And you have to love those scotch locks as we always called them the clamp together electrical connectors are everywhere. Yes easier and therefore cheaper, but hardly the best way to do it. Unfortunately it seems anymore cost is the only deciding factor in every business decision anymore. I have seen some mind bogglingly stupid decisions made in some pretty major companies I worked for, it was always about money, never seemed to be any consideration for quality or anything else, and no thought into the long term, just money right now.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

I don't know anything about old campers...but there is one for sale, kinda local to me (Cokato, MN), listed on a facebook garage sale page at about 3 grand. It looks to be just shy of 20' long, but length isn't advertised, but it is about in as perfect condition (inside and out) as a 38 yr old camper can be, according to the posted photos.

For Sale: 1977 Play-Mor Camper.
One owner. Bought new in 1977. Bought a new camper this year and no longer using this one. A great camper for 1977 model. Always under shed during summer and winter.
Sleeps 6. Refrigerator, Stove, Furnace, and Electric brakes all work. Comes with toilet and shower. Also comes with inverter.
Roof does not leak. Comes with 2 LP tanks and spare tire.
Would make a good hunting camper.

[jcwit]

You should try to start up an RV Manufacturing Co. and be in competition with the ones already being built without implementing any cost cutting measures.

Remember, you're up against the big boys who already have the largest share of the market.

And regarding the lack of more screws, every screw makes a hole, which may cause another leak.

What's the date of manufacture of this unit?

[Tackleberry41]

I want to say it an 07 Jayco. Oh I have no illusions that if one tried to build quality campers in the country, you would be out of business pretty quick. Way to many like my mother who love a wal mart economy, always about the price, never the quality. Yes rich people will pay extra, but thats usually just for the status of paying more. Most people won't pay a couple extra grand for a better camper that will last longer. I went thru it trying to build guitars, few would pay extra for the better product. They could get one off a website for 1/2 the cost, yea then go spend the extra money fixing it to be a quality instrument. Even then it wasn't as good, as they took so many short cuts with the wood to build it out of. Like with guns there are some who will pay extra for the better work, but most won't.

But I thought the boat I had was bad, a hole in the water to throw money in, but there is less to go wrong with a boat vs a camper. Ill just stick with a tent.

[Rick Hodges]

Haha.....tents leak too.....but they are a heck of a lot cheaper.

[osteodoc08]

My ex and I bought a Primetime travel trailer. Had it for a few years and was trouble free. We camped in it quite frequently and enjoyed every minute of it. I sold it off after we divorced as I didn't use it near enough to justify keeping it around. I kept it cleaned and kept it on a slight grade to make sure the water ran off. Kept all the seals lubricated and cleaned. Basic maintenance really. Not sure how it would have held up long term. It was aluminum framed.

[1bluehorse]

I own a 1969 Kit Companion, 21 ft. It was bought new by my wife's parents. It is NOT an expensive camp trailer by any means. Just a run of the mill "chevy" type. The only thing I do to it every year or so is seal the roof joints with a "snow seal". Everything in it still works just fine. No leaks, and no water damage anywhere in the thing. Maybe it's because these older models don't have all the "upgrades" that the new stuff has. Kinda like comparing a 69 Ford to a 2015. The 69 will be a lot less aggravating to work on and a whole lot easier.

[historicfirearms]

I bought a 1977 Airstream this summer as a project. It is in decent shape but had a few leaks that I have addressed. On these campers there is an inner and outer skin. The plywood subfloor is samwiched between the walls and the frame. So, if you need to replace any of the plywood, you have to take off the inner wall skin to get everything apart. It's kind of a pita, but if I get another 38 years out of this rebuild, I will be long dead. It's amazing how some of these old airstreams just keep on going. Maintenance on any camper is going to be more than a stationary home. It's just the compromise of having a home that is light enough to tow down the road.

[Plate plinker]

Interesting fact about airstream is they do not use online inspectors. The workers who build them care about the product and it shows.