Have a 5er,Want to get a used TC for me.What to watch for?

[wantabe351]

We have a 5th wheel Montana for our Trips and stored on a year round camp site. But I've got a driving urge for simpler camping trips plus wanting to tow our MC with us on some camping trips staying at SP or NP campgrounds..So been looking at TC and reading up on them for past 2yrs, See its a 2nd RV so its going to be used mostly by me or me and my wife for 1wk trips.. Money is a issue and its condition it is too, nothing gross inside or frame rot.. So I'm shopping here in the North east looking to spend 4 to 6k$ on a used 2000 to 2005 TC- which units should I be looking at and what areas of the camper do I watch out for? I also enjoy cold weather camping too! Thanks

[Kayteg1]

TC are rare, although I see lot of $2000 units with the condition you can easy imagine.
I moved to TC from bus conversion, but then we have 3 boys less to take.
IMHO single slide is the best bang for the money, but with the budget finding one that does not need work (they all do) will be hard.
That said it is winter and people are getting desperate before Christmas.
Good luck shopping.

[towpro]

With your truck and the desire to tow a trailer, I would say you can go up to 10', than use a curt hitch extension @ 2' with weight distribution to tow a 7x14 box trailer fine. But I only load one BMW 1200, 2 dirt bikes, or an ATV. this hitch limits you to 8000 lbs tow, 800 lbs tong weight when used at 2' extension. Not sure if it work if your trying to move 1500 lbs of Harley's
there are other more expensive solutions that allow you to tow with longer campers in bed

Good luck finding something on east coast. they are few and far between to start with. Here is where you can start your search. Phila Craigslist couple over in NJ but no telling what they really look like, sellers don't take pictures of rot when advertising. I started with a used one I found on craigs list.

Hate to say it, but on the Right coast the market probably has 10 used motorhomes available for every 1 truck camper. while they both have the same rot problems, you may have better luck finding a clean used smaller motorhome.

[SidecarFlip]

4-6 will get you a marginal unit that probably has issues, especially in the NE. Very few owners keep their units inside during the off season (like I do, mine resides in a heated garage all winter), so outside storage over time takes it's tool on the unit.

The older the unit becomes, the less particular owners become at seal maintenance, so older units tend to have intrusion issues.

Any unit you do look at, lift the mattress and look carefully in the lower front where the walls transition to the cabin over sheet for leakage and / or black stains, a sure sign of intrusion. Look in the cabinets at floor level and the wall to floor transition, again for stains. Sight down the Filon side for ripples that indicate delamination from intrusion and look at the floor covering for lifting or bubbles, a sign of intrusion as well and check the outside for soft spots, all indicative of bad things underneath.

All can be done without disturbing anything and irritating the owner and above all, take anything they state with a grain of salt.

I'd be looking for a unit kept inside in the off season, not stored in the backyard, but youe chances of finding that for less than 4K are slim and none...

But you may get lucky.

Good luck.

[joerg68]

You are in the NE and looking for a 12-17 year old used TC in good shape and for a low price. That may be a bit of a challenge.

On the plus side, your truck will handle most campers just fine - weight should not be an issue.

Your truck is a long bed, so you will want to avoid short bed campers.

You want to pull a trailer, so it will be easier if the camper has little or no rear overhang.

That leaves you with 8' or 8 1/2' campers.

Just the 2 of you will be traveling, so you do not need a "family sized" unit. Only you know if you can do with a standard 8' hardwall camper without slides and with a wet bathroom. We find it is plenty big & comfortable for 2 people, but not everybody does.

Since you like winter camping, you probably do not want a popup camper (although many of them are perfectly comfortable in cold weather).

There are a lot of different camper brands out there. All build good and bad units. Some better than others. The manufacturers with a better reputation may fetch a better price (think, for example, Bigfoot or Northern Lite). But after 15 years, in my opinion, the history of the camper is more important than the original build quality. You need a unit in good condition at a reasonable price more than you need one made by a specific manufacturer.

If you think you are not confident assessing the state of the camper, try to have it looked at by someone who is more knowledgeable.

Don't just look at rot/water intrusion issues. Also make sure that everything works as it should. Let the seller demonstrate all features.

A good used camper may be easier to find out west, or in the NW. There are just many more there.

Do you have a place to store the camper under a roof when not used, or will it be sitting in the open?

[mkasner]

4-6k plan on spending some time replacing wood rot issues (they all leak, don't let anyone tell you that it has never leaked). Truck campers are pretty easy to work on