Noob with some questions about pop ups

[Willham223]

All this is my first post here and I am looking for a short bed pop up camper. In my area I am seeing two pop ups both between 1500 and 2000 dollars. There is a 1996 eagle light and a 2005 bronco pop up. The bronco is supposed to be in like new condition but the power converter and fridge are not working right. Fridge works on lp but not 110. The 1996 is clean but everything works.

I have seen a lot of neg comments about the bronco. Is it that bad that I should pass on it to get a pop up that's ten years older? Im pretty handy and quite sure I can track down the converter problem. A new converter is only about 200 bucks and I could just get a cheap dorm fridge or watch for a used rv model if needed.


Thanks in advance for your help and sorry if this is in the wrong forum.

Bill

[Willham223]

I am looking at the bronco tomorrow. It is a 1250 short bed model. I drive a 2010 Silverado 2500hd quad cab with a 6 1/2 bed so weight should not be an issue. I am pretty excited about this and have my fingers crossed.

[mkirsch]

Depends on the model Bronco if it's "bare bones" or not.

Mine has all the necessities of home, including shower and toilet. You should really have a 3/4 ton truck for the B1500, but the smaller models should work fine on a 1/2 ton with the proper add-ons.

If you can snag the 2005 Bronco for $2000, and it's as nice as they claim, you got a good deal no matter what model it is.

[silversand]

....another way to look at this is:

-if you buy a used pop-up that appears to be in good condition for $1000/$2000 and put absolutely no money into it, if you get to use it for just 2 years (say you discover some part of the camper is in horrific shape, like the structure), and discard it, it cost you just $500/$1000 per year (if you manage to go 3 years, then it only cost you $333/$666 per year.

-we look at it thus: we paid $16,000 for our pop-up brand new, and had originally planned to use it for 10 years (the effective lifespan of a typical 100% wood structure truck camper; however, ours is about 90% aluminum structure and 60:40 fiberglass to wood exterior, including roof structure ratio); so our cost of ownership works out to $1600 per year (or, if we sell it at 10 years at "projected market", it would have cost us only ~~$600 per year out of pocket: assuming we put nothing into the camper but time/sweat, and special post-purchase electrical equipment we can repatriate before selling it).

So concluding, if you just get 2, 3 or even 4 years out of a $1000/$2000 used pop-up in decent shape, and you put not one cent into maintenance (why bother?), it will only cost you $500/$1000 or, best case 4 years of use: $250/$500 per year, then you scrap it (or, sell it for parts for $300), this is fantastic!

*We have been in several Broncos when we were out researching pop-ups, and if you can get one used for a few dollars, and can get 2, 3 or 4 years out of it before scrapping it, then great. A Bronco pop-up that is 10+ years old (in any condition) I would expect to be in the $500 ~ $1200 range ($500 range being a max 1 year usage; $1200 range being max 2~4 years useful life-- before substantial structural repairs need to be done).

[Rbertalotto]

I bought a 1998 Bronco 1200 early this year. It has been a great camper so far. I paid $1500. The PO installed a real toilet system with blackwater tank so it is well equipped.

The Palomino Broncos have stopped depreciating. You could buy that camper, use it for a year or two and sell it for what you paid.

I recently thought about selling the TC and getting a Toy Hauler. I posted my TC in Craig's List at $2500 and received over 20 calls......

[Willham223]

Thanks for the replies. I am leaning towards the bronco. I am checking them both out this weekend.

[RWDIII]

The Bronco pop up is a bare bones camper that can be used on a half ton where weight is an issue.
the fridge,heater and converter are standard RV appliances.
I have done easy four wheelin with mine and am happy
with it.
Welcome to the Forum and Happy trails

[recycler]

the bronco's have had some problems, but what rv hasn't.. decide which one has the best layout for you and look it over well..the fridge may just need the 110v heating element replaced..

[s1214]

I have owned a 1999 Sun-Lite Eagle SB for 11 years that has never had a leak. I did have to rebuild the front jack where the owner before me had an accident. But other than that there has never been any problems with the camper. The book for mine is around $2000.

[d3500ram]

IIRC the Bronco has an external cable lift mechanism(??)... if either have the internal scissor lift system the the following is my canned reply with respect to pop-up campers:

The one thing that I would keep a close eye on pop- ups with the crank- up mechanism on the inside is the mounting plates at the rear of the top portion of the pop- up roof. The easiest way to see what I will describe is to look at it with the roof about 1/2 way raised. Have someone inside to keep it in this position while you inspect so that it does not fall on your head.... Look at it from the outside at the rear. Use a step ladder and push in the fabric from behind and look at the underside where the metal plates attach to the ceiling portion that raises. You will see what looks like plates that are attached to the top roof. There are screws that fasten the metal plates to the wood. Keep an eye on these. If the screws loosen over time they can allow the metal plates to rotate and push up through the metal roof.

I have repaired these as the plates rotated and pushed through the roof. Not all that easy of a fix even though it may look simple- even for an adept DIY'er!