First TC purchase, please advise

[work2fish]

Hi Folks,

You have a great forum here. I am a middle-aged geezer who, at 51 and still camping in tents, has decided I need to be a bit more comfortable for these old bones and back.

I've been spending the past few weeks reading as much as I can and have learned a lot. Last summer, I traded in my F-150 and bought a new to me one ton truck in preparation for a truck camper at some point.

I found one for sale, a 2013 Palomino Bronco B-1251 SB that has never been used, and from what I can determine it looks like a pretty good deal. However, I know nothing about what to look for. I've read enough to know that Palomino may not be the best brand in terms of fit and finish/quality, but I just don't have $20K lying around to invest in something that I'm not even sure I will have the time to use very often.

The camper appears to have the main features I am looking for: inside wet bath, popup, lightweight, etc. I am planning to take a look at the camper on Saturday morning and am wondering what I should be looking for? What would you say are the limitations of the Palomino Bronco versus the other popup camper lines? Since it looks like this model does not have a grey water tank, does that mean the 7 gal black water tank holds both? How well does that work and does it severely limit the length of time spent camping before needing to visit the dump station?

Thanks in advance for any help or advice you can provide,

[sljohnson1938]

get the Hallmark.

[805gregg]

Don't buy junk, hard to resale

[Redsky]

Most campers are used very little. People doing extended camping for a month or more tend to have trailers or motorhomes. That makes a used camper a very good deal as it has depreciated but there is little to wear out. With age the house battery is probably in need of replacement and any exterior caulking or weather stripping should be replaced but that is about it. With an older camper if there has been water intrusion it should be easier to spot or smell.

7 gallon tank for grey and black water will be a limitation. My wife and I find with our 13 gallon grey and 19 gallon black tanks and not taking showers that the grey water tank is what usually determines when we need to hit a dump station.

[RWDIII]

TomG2 wrote:
RDWIII;

Have you weighed your Bronco? How did it compare with the sticker?

The sticker is dead on,its the stuff you put in that adds up
I am 7400 most times,once when I took the genny,lots of firewood and plenty of tools,air compresser I topped out at 7780:)

[work2fish]

RWDIII wrote:
My Bronco was made in AUG 2012 and is a 2013 model
I believe the model change is July.
one way to tell is the 2013's have LED lights.

What are they asking for it?

OK, I can check the lights. They are asking $8500, it has never been used. There is also an unused 2007 Hallmark for sale here, $18,950. That is quite an age and price difference and it makes me wonder if it is really worth it.

[TomG2]

RDWIII;

Have you weighed your Bronco? How did it compare with the sticker?

[RWDIII]

My Bronco was made in AUG 2012 and is a 2013 model
I believe the model change is July.
one way to tell is the 2013's have LED lights.

[Old_Days]

Hello, I would like to explain tucking in the canvas you lower the roof down till there is about 4 inches left then you just go around and tuck it in I use a 2 step stool. That is how we get in side also. We own a 2011 so that looks a lot like the one I have. Being in Colorado you do have a lot more choices then I have. With the camper and tiedowns I have $6700.00 invested so I am happy. Good luck with your search. PS GO BRONCOS

[whizbang]

Maybe you found a good one?

I'm on my third camper. So, I've had some experience.

Back in spring of 2010 I talked myself into buying a Bronco. When I finally saw one, I was so unimpressed that I bought something else.

[work2fish]

MKish wrote:
It'll be a little more challenging to tuck in when it's on the Ford. 🙂

It looks quite clean which is always nice. Maybe if you get it perfectly level (on the jacks) and then test the door it'll be informative but I don't know. Some people say the split door is bad because it leaks sometimes, but others say it's worth it to not have a mouse-hole for an entrance.

Good point. I would need a broom handle or other blunt object to tuck in the canvas. Also, he did not attach the door when I went in, so I had to duck. I didn't think about the leveling aspect wrt closing the door, thanks for pointing that out. He also mentioned that it was wired for electric jacks.

All in all, it really didn't seem that bad and it was very clean. He mentioned that he has not had too many calls and we've got more snow coming next week so maybe I will want to take another look and try more stuff out.

[MKish]

It'll be a little more challenging to tuck in when it's on the Ford. 🙂

It looks quite clean which is always nice. Maybe if you get it perfectly level (on the jacks) and then test the door it'll be informative but I don't know. Some people say the split door is bad because it leaks sometimes, but others say it's worth it to not have a mouse-hole for an entrance.

[work2fish]

Well, just got back from taking my first look at the camper. I did not notice the problems with fit and finish that were mentioned. I opened and closed all the drawers and they seemed fine. With the exception of a couple of screws on the outside near the canvas top, the screws I looked at inside were good. The outlets and other stuff mounted on the walls were square and I didn't notice any problems with the canvas or corners. There was no evidence of leaking, either.

The one problem I did notice was the door not closing easily, the owner claimed that this did not happen once the camper was on the truck. I had him open and close the top and it seemed fine, it was really not that big of a bother to tuck in the canvas around the edges as we closed it down. So overall, it appeared to be in good shape.

If I take another look, I would like to try all the appliances and such, but there is snow on the ground here and I did not want to inconvenience the guy too much at this point until I was sure I was ready to pull the trigger. He said it was purchased by theoutpostrv.com and it had a manufacture date of July 2012 (doesn't that mean it is a 2012?).

Here are some photos:








Thanks for all the help. I was much better informed and knew what to look for!

[RWDIII]

Buy the 2014 with electric top and LEDlight
I went from a Funfinder trailer to a Bronco 800
The Bronco was put together a lot better than the Funfinder
The Bronco has good appliences and I can 4 wheel.
Check out my posts on Death Valley and Anza Borrego
The Palomino is about $1500 cheaper in ARIZ than Co
PM me and I will give you specifics















s

[mgann]

Northstar---Northstar---Northstar, end of story.

[Gr8life]

The 2014's are different, and better. Since they now have a one piece door, the exhaust fan can now be used to suck the canvas in, which makes lowering the top a piece of cake. Yes, I purchased a Palomino, so I might be prejudiced. Others own other brands, so they are probably prejudiced too. Forest River now owns Palomino and they are making improvements in both design and construction. They are still designed with price in mind, no question about that. Comparing a two year old model to this year's is not always 100% accurate. Give me two hours and I suspect I can find blemishes in the most expensive models.