This is a 94-95 Coleman Hatteras by Fleetwood, I saw it for sale on Craigslist. The guy was asking $500, hadn't been used in years, top doesn't go up, etc... I email the guy a lowball $100, knowing it would likely be a big mess. A few weeks later I get an email back $200, we then talk on the phone and he told me to come look at it and see what it's worth. I show up and sure enough the top it dead. Unbeknownst to me, this thing has hard sides, a shower & toilet & a electric over hydraulic lift mechanism. I could only peak in the little door and smell that it wasn't mousey or moldy, no evidence of black rice. I still offer $100, we settle at $150.
I get it home and my sons help me muscle up the top (what a bear) to find out it's missing the tent ends & poles, mattresses & dinette cushions. I call him and leave a message, " where are those items, I'm hoping you have them stored somewhere..." He calls me back apologetically saying, " his wife threw it all out after mice got in it a couple years ago, he had forgot about that, sorry. He offered to give me my money back for my trouble and keep it for nothing, which was very generous. So I ended up getting it for free.
I begin to look up how much they want for replacement tent ends, a crazy $800-900. I'm not looking to spend anywhere near that considering everything else it needs. I come close to scraping it for the trailer frame to sell, but it was in too nice condition, so I figured I'll make do with it.
I decide to take out the end beds and make hard end walls for it.
We are a family of 5, I figure the wife & I could sleep on the dinette full bed, my daughter could sleep on a bed that would go down over the shower/toilet area & my two boys could dome tent it. I'm thinking I could MacGyver an upper bunk over the dinette bed for them, so we could all stay contained.
It would be tight, but we would only be using it for destination trips, not hanging out in. We have a 36' TT that we do that in. This would be to bring somewhere (beach) to not have to spend $200-300 a night in a motel for a place for all of us just to sleep.
I replaced two broken cables (I think someone powered up the top with the one side still locked down,imo). Thankyou youtube guys!
The thing is pretty neat just flip a switch and it goes up / down & the two hard side walls go up and down with the roof.
Here's where I'm at now, end walls 90% done, ordered new mattresses & upholstery fabric, new tires, smoke & co detectors.
I'm going to put about an inch width of Eternabond over the four corners & use the Eternabond / velcro to attach my new little wing walls to the hard side walls.
I get it home and my sons help me muscle up the top (what a bear) to find out it's missing the tent ends & poles, mattresses & dinette cushions. I call him and leave a message, " where are those items, I'm hoping you have them stored somewhere..." He calls me back apologetically saying, " his wife threw it all out after mice got in it a couple years ago, he had forgot about that, sorry. He offered to give me my money back for my trouble and keep it for nothing, which was very generous. So I ended up getting it for free.
I begin to look up how much they want for replacement tent ends, a crazy $800-900. I'm not looking to spend anywhere near that considering everything else it needs. I come close to scraping it for the trailer frame to sell, but it was in too nice condition, so I figured I'll make do with it.
I decide to take out the end beds and make hard end walls for it.
We are a family of 5, I figure the wife & I could sleep on the dinette full bed, my daughter could sleep on a bed that would go down over the shower/toilet area & my two boys could dome tent it. I'm thinking I could MacGyver an upper bunk over the dinette bed for them, so we could all stay contained.
It would be tight, but we would only be using it for destination trips, not hanging out in. We have a 36' TT that we do that in. This would be to bring somewhere (beach) to not have to spend $200-300 a night in a motel for a place for all of us just to sleep.
I replaced two broken cables (I think someone powered up the top with the one side still locked down,imo). Thankyou youtube guys!
The thing is pretty neat just flip a switch and it goes up / down & the two hard side walls go up and down with the roof.
Here's where I'm at now, end walls 90% done, ordered new mattresses & upholstery fabric, new tires, smoke & co detectors.
I'm going to put about an inch width of Eternabond over the four corners & use the Eternabond / velcro to attach my new little wing walls to the hard side walls.
