Buying my first Hybrid - maybe

[jcheidler]

I'm looking at a 2000 Sun Lite Koala that is in really nice shape except for the soft floors. I've read about what it takes to fix this and I'm just wandering if $1000 is a good deal for 1 of these. Any input is welcome. Thanks,

[poppin_fresh]

Here is how my recent purchase went down....

I had $3,000 cash to spend on a camper when I started looking. I could find a TON of used popups that I could get for that (or less), but wanted something with a real bathroom due to small kids. I was adamant about paying cash originally so that I didnt have a payment, but after looking at some water damaged units and determining the work needed to fix, I changed my mind.

I now have a small monthly payment, but I have a nice used unit that has zero water damage and I wont have to work on it.

[Buckeye_Chuck]

To me soft floors means "stay away". Like was stated above you never know where the water came in from. The floor may just be one problem. Water leaks are Bad, bad, bad and it's VERY to find the source of the leak. Good luck in whatever you decide to do.

-BC-

[drenjoey]

I'm sure you know you're investing in a project camper (HTT). Some will say $1000 is a lot of money and some will say :"What do you have to lose!
Worst comes to worst, if the floor and walls are rotten, you can make yourself a nice trailer and sell whatever you can save (stove, fridge, heater etc etc) on Craigslist and get a good part of your money back.

That's my opinion.
Dre

[bikendan]

jcheidler wrote:
I was starting to wonder if there were any out there since I didn't see any of these. After reading the forums I'm still on the fence. Some people say you can fix it and others say if the walls have damage to just stay away. I'm going to go over the walls again tomorrow and then decide. I would like to go for it but really don't want to get involved with a huge project. Does anyone have any input on the best way to go with a $1500 dollar budget and don't want a popup?

with a $1500 budget, you're kinda locked into a deal like this. won't find a good hybrid for that little money.
you'll only find projects.

[jcheidler]

I was starting to wonder if there were any out there since I didn't see any of these. After reading the forums I'm still on the fence. Some people say you can fix it and others say if the walls have damage to just stay away. I'm going to go over the walls again tomorrow and then decide. I would like to go for it but really don't want to get involved with a huge project. Does anyone have any input on the best way to go with a $1500 dollar budget and don't want a popup?

[bikendan]

just understand that a 14 year-old hybrid from a company that was only around for a few years and only made hybrids a couple of those, means that you won't have much of any support.
those are extremely rare hybrids, so you won't have many out there that own one, that can help.

a soft floor could be soft from water intrusion from anywhere, roof/walls/bunk ends/bathroom.

[poppin_fresh]

Is it really just the floor? Are you sure it didnt start at the roof and make its way to the floor? That could be a much bigger project.

I looked at a 2001 Roo that had soft bunk ends and a soft floor. I have the skills to fix, but decided that I would rather camp than spend my time rebuilding a camper. If I had more time I might have considered buying an inexpensive camper that needed some work, but that's not a luxury I will probably have for years. 🙂

[mbutts]

If you are extremely handy, have lots of time, and room to work on it, you could possibly turn it into something nice.