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,

[work2fish]

lonetow wrote:

We are getting that same front tomorrow in NM, calling for 28 for a low but at 7500ft elevation I always expect a hard freeze when they say 28.
My Lance manual says after the winterization procedure, turn the pump off, crack a water faucet to relieve pressure then close. No need to leave them open.

OK, great. Thanks for the information and stay warm! 🙂

[lonetow]

work2fish wrote:
Thanks, everybody. I am pretty excited to try out the camper, but as I mentioned this will have to wait as Colorado is expecting a sudden winter storm of 2-3 days of sub-freezing temperatures.

Seeing that the weather is going to turn cold, I am looking at putting some RV antifreeze in the water system. The previous owner was very good about doing this even though he didn't use the camper much. He installed a "Camco RV Pump Converter Winterizing Kit" which seems to make the process at bit easier. To be extra cautious, I'm going to go ahead and leave the furnace running @ 40 degrees or so with all the storage compartments open during the next couple of evenings as well.

I have one question though: When I pull the antifreeze through the system via the winterizing kit, i.e. by turning on each faucet in turn and letting antifreeze run through, do I then leave the faucets open or doesn't it matter since there is antifreeze in the system anyway?

We are getting that same front tomorrow in NM, calling for 28 for a low but at 7500ft elevation I always expect a hard freeze when they say 28.
My Lance manual says after the winterization procedure, turn the pump off, crack a water faucet to relieve pressure then close. No need to leave them open.

[work2fish]

Thanks, everybody. I am pretty excited to try out the camper, but as I mentioned this will have to wait as Colorado is expecting a sudden winter storm of 2-3 days of sub-freezing temperatures.

Seeing that the weather is going to turn cold, I am looking at putting some RV antifreeze in the water system. The previous owner was very good about doing this even though he didn't use the camper much. He installed a "Camco RV Pump Converter Winterizing Kit" which seems to make the process at bit easier. To be extra cautious, I'm going to go ahead and leave the furnace running @ 40 degrees or so with all the storage compartments open during the next couple of evenings as well.

I have one question though: When I pull the antifreeze through the system via the winterizing kit, i.e. by turning on each faucet in turn and letting antifreeze run through, do I then leave the faucets open or doesn't it matter since there is antifreeze in the system anyway?

[monkey44]

This thread is a perfect example of a guy who came here to get info "BEFORE" he bought a camper. And got what he needed after doing the proper homework and listening to folks on here.

Be nice if everyone could / would do that ... Congrats on the TC. You're gonna love it ...

[dadwolf2]

Mike,
Great find on that nice looking Northstar.

If you are thinking about loading/unloading frequently you may want to look into electric jacks.

Mike

[jimh406]

Congratulations, it looks like a great combination.

[work2fish]

Hi folks,

After a couple of months of searching and nailing down what I thought would work best for me, I picked up a used (2007) Northstar 850SC today. It was owned by a guy who barely used it and left it stored under a roof for its lifetime and so it was in very good shape.

I learned how precise a person needs to be to load a camper and we had to make some adjustments, but I was happy to bring it home today:



Thanks to everyone who contributed to this thread and to dadwolf2 for the PMs.

I asked the previous owner to fill the water heater, water tanks and propane so that I could see that everything was working as expected before I purchased the camper. As it turns out, Colorado is expecting a bunch of snow and colder temps and so it looks like I am going to learn about winterizing in the next couple of days! My maiden voyage will have to wait.

Thanks again,
Mike

[work2fish]

Gr8life wrote:
I am not trying to spend other people's money, but the 2014 Palomino Soft Sides have many improvements over earlier models: Electric lift, Higher side walls that allow use without raising roof, one piece door which eliminates the troublesome two piece units. and a few smaller things. At only $10-12 thousand new, it is nice to be the first owner instead of the second or third.

Those are good points, thanks for sharing them. As it turns out, the shorter dinette bed length is a deal-break for for me, or did they lengthen those? My son is getting taller and I want to make sure he fits there for some time to come. I am at 6' myself.

Gr8life wrote:
Works2fish; You may want to start a new thread if you have decided on another brand. Some people might skip over this one since it has Palomino in the title.

Good idea, I changed the title of the thread to something more generic.

[work2fish]

billtex wrote:
You sound like me 10-12 yrs ago! I'll tell yoou our experience.

Thanks for those great responses. I am still going back and forth on a hardside versus popup.

[Gr8life]

Works2fish; You may want to start a new thread if you have decided on another brand. Some people might skip over this one since it has Palomino in the title.

[Gr8life]

I am not trying to spend other people's money, but the 2014 Palomino Soft Sides have many improvements over earlier models: Electric lift, Higher side walls that allow use without raising roof, one piece door which eliminates the troublesome two piece units. and a few smaller things. At only $10-12 thousand new, it is nice to be the first owner instead of the second or third.

[Old_Days]

Hello,We own a 2011 palomino real lite 1603 it is real close to a bronco 1500, I would make some kind of frame so it would not slide side to side and a good rubber mat.If you take care of the roof it will not leak. Plus use torklift tie downs.You will be find.

[d-mac1]

I don't have either a soft side or a hard side truck camper yet, but have a line on a used 2010 SS 1500 Bronco. Hence why I'm reading this thread.

I've been told that a ss vents alot better than a hs because of all the windows. To the extent this is true, you might want to consider an A/C on a hs, but that will make clearance a bigger issue. Then again, we don't live in TX or AZ, so how many nights do you need A/C where you intend to go? If in the mountains, probably never. If elsewhere, the answer could be different.

I've got a nice fiver, but looking for something much cheaper that I can take off-road and use as shelter/sleeping spot/bathroom/occasional shower when out dirt biking or exploring solo. I don't want a leaker though. Do you guys think a 2010 Palomino would hold up to some off road use? I'm not talking extreme 4x4...just rough, sometimes kinda steep roads in various camp spots in the woods (that there is no way to get my fiver anywhere close to).

I've got an 09 Ram 2500 with air bags.

Thanks.

[dadwolf2]

Mike,

Check out the PM I sent