palomino stampede owners let me hear from you.

[gjacobs12]

Hi. I'm a newbie here. My wife and I are looking at a Palomino Stampede s-238. We love the look and the options. What I want to know from all Palomino owner is the good the bad and the ugly. What problems have you had if any and what you tow with. I'm looking for as much information as I can get. Thanks for your input.

[bikendan]

taco-stampeder wrote:
I camped twice and it got into the 50s and 40s overnight. I noticed sweat under the mattresses. Is this normal. I have heard that reflectix under the mattresses can cure this. Any recommendations?

this is common for mattresses with fabric bottoms.
all reflectix did was cause the condensation between it and the mattress, instead of the door and the mattress.
what you need is to allow for some air movement underneath, like with a wool blanket.

[taco-stampeder]

I camped twice and it got into the 50s and 40s overnight. I noticed sweat under the mattresses. Is this normal. I have heard that reflectix under the mattresses can cure this. Any recommendations?

[Limoges_Camper]

I have the Dutchmen Cub equivalent: a 1006 23-BH. Very close to the Stampede 23-BH. 🙂

[tmac00]

We have the 23-BH for past 3 seasons. Bought new, issues were minor (to me).
Edging on some rounded counters pulled away, wooden skin on fridge fell out (lucky did not damage floor or break a toe!), dvd did not work (rec'd new stereo unit), one wall near pantry came loose (weak stapling).
All good now. Pulled it out west last year, 10,700 kms (6,600 miles) no problem. Camped in 90 deg F to 15 deg F. Bunk ends condensation bit of an issue in real cold. Electric mattresses are magic. Overall probably camped 70 or so nights.
Tow with Avalanche 5.3, do not know it is there. Have weight distribution and Tekonsha brake control.
Good luck and enjoy.

[taco-stampeder]

Changed from a 2009 Flagstaff 625D popup to the Palomino Stampede S238. We love the extra room and the microwave and the windows. I have had to repair the drawer bottoms. I put an extra bar next to the door for ez entry. I love it except the mattresses aren't as good as the PUP. Going camping tomorrow. I can't wait!

[taco-stampeder]

Changed from a 2009 Flagstaff 625D popup to the Palomino Stampede S238. We love the extra room and the microwave and the windows. I have had to repair the drawer bottoms. I put an extra bar next to the door for ez entry. I love it except the mattresses aren't as good as the PUP. Going camping tomorrow. I can't wait!

[PAThwacker]

taco-stampeder wrote:
We recently purchased a 2010 Stampede s238. We had a Flagstaff 625D popup. We love all the extra room and looking out the windows. The first time we camped in September the temperature dropped to 42 overnight the first night. It was not a plug in site and the furnace really killed the battery. I bought a second battery for the second night, (cold 40, windy, rainy) and killed the both batteries. We will always have a plug in site from now on.
The con is that the mattresses in the 625D were heated and more comfortable than the Stampede. We bought mattress pads to remedy that. Two more nights camping this weekend at a plug in site.

I had a 625D and those mattresses were innerspring heated and foldable. Our current starcraft had 4" foam and I added 3" memory foam with gel. It took two memory foam and pugs to keep my dw happy. She missed the pups beds

[taco-stampeder]

We recently purchased a 2010 Stampede s238. We had a Flagstaff 625D popup. We love all the extra room and looking out the windows. The first time we camped in September the temperature dropped to 42 overnight the first night. It was not a plug in site and the furnace really killed the battery. I bought a second battery for the second night, (cold 40, windy, rainy) and killed the both batteries. We will always have a plug in site from now on.
The con is that the mattresses in the 625D were heated and more comfortable than the Stampede. We bought mattress pads to remedy that. Two more nights camping this weekend at a plug in site.

[cyber-vanner]

Also, forgot to mention, I broke the dinette table on the first trip out, while putting weight on it to climb into front bunk (dinette was setup for a lower bunk at the time) After the trip, I went to Lowe's and purchased a piece of solid wood, cut it the same shape, varnished it, and then transferred the table legs to the new one. MUCH stronger and lighter than the original table

[cyber-vanner]

I have a 2002 S17 that I purchased in 2008 and have loved it. I have had to fix a few things that weren't up to my standards, and upgraded things too. Here's my list:

Repairs:
- 12volt electrical system was a disaster: poor grounds, too small wiring, and crimp-on connectors meant lights flickered like a disco hall when water pump operated, and voltage drop was unacceptable. I purchased #8 wire and some neutral buss bars from hardware store, and pulled new + and - feeds to battery
-capacitor blew in AC unit, purchased replacement from local appliance shop
- cabinet door underneath stove fell apart. repaired with wood glue
- dinette bench seat near front door came loose. Repaired with a small piece of 1x2 lumber, and some framing screws
- vinyl covering to bathroom door peeling off. Have yet to repair
- oven door broke on stove earlier this season ( I was using oven to store dishes in while in transit, dishes fell out and damaged door). Have yet to repair
- small crack has developed in shower tub. I purchased some West System epoxy to fix it, but have yet to get to actually repair it.
- shower faucet would leak when on shower mode. Replaced with new one from Camping World
-replaced tires at beginning of the season with new Maxxis tires (wore tread off old ones!)
-propane tank cover fell apart, never replaced it.

This seems like a lot of stuff, but bear in mind, my camper has had extensive use, and I have high quality standards. Overall, I think RV manufacturers have a long way to go when it comes to fit & finish quality, I think my Stampede is one of the better ones. Here's some of the mods and upgrades I have done to mine:

-Replaced 12-volt deep cycle with 2 6-volt golf car batteries
- Installed a TriMetric 2020 battery / charging monitor on panel above radio
- Replaced the cheap CD player with a Pioneer CD car stereo (with remote)I found a deal on this radio at Target for $69
- replaced the cheap paper speakers with some nice polypropylene 2-2way HiFi speakers ( speakers were incorrectly wired at old stereo, so I had to re-wire connections)
- Installed removable shelves in narrow wardrobe closet beside galley
- Installed LED nite lights that run off of 12 volt battery on inside, and beside entry door outside
- replaced incandescent lights with Thin-Lite florescent lamps I bought on E-bay
- added both lighter plug sockets, and Anderson PowerPole 12-volt sockets.
- added exterior Anderson PowerPole connection above holding tank dump pipe for running macerator pump.
-purchased reflectix and cut to fit in bunk windows. Purchased "popupgizmos" covers for bunk tops

As you can see, most of the mods I've done have been to make boondocking in this camper more comfortable. I frequently use this camper at places that don't have hookups. One of these places is at the yacht club I crew at. They allow camping, but don't have plug-in connections. I am down there for about 4 weekends in the fall, and 4 weekends in the spring for regattas. The wife and I also like taking it up into the Shenandoah national forest where many of the campgrounds don't have electrical hookups. One of the things I really like about this camper is the 30 gallon holding tanks...you can go a good while before filling them up.

I tow my S17 with a Chevy Astro van, and it yanks it down the road like it's not even back there! The independent rear torsion axle makes it handle really nicely

[r3rjr]

We have 3,000 mi. On our 2009 s-17. Just a few little fixes, but love the design and ease of towing with our 04 Kia Sedona.
Did many mods to make use of space and organization. Most expensive repair was new tires.

[PAThwacker]

I went to hershey last weekend in hopes of finding an s-23 bh. Went to the palomino area and found palomino solaire htt. S-23bh was discontinued and i wont be getting another htt.

[benatk]

I had (or have, waiting on the insurance company to decide) a Palomino Stampede M-17. There were only 3 things I found that I didn't like about it.

1. The end bunks are easy to set up, but a pain in the backside to put back up.
2. When you are driving in the rain, around the front bunk has a tendancy to leak.
3. The bathroom was to small. I would use the bathhouse most of the time.

I've had pop-up, regular travel trailers and a hybrid. I am hoping to downsize to a teardrop. All have good and bad points about them. Just make sure that the bunks aren't a problem for you and the bathroom fits.

Ben

[gjacobs12]

bikendan wrote:

gjacobs12 wrote:

drenjoey wrote:
I do have a question: What do you have as vehicle to tow a S-238 ?

We don't have a tow vehicle for the camper. We will buy a tow vehicle that can handle the s238. Right now we camp in a Viking pop up and pull with a 2007 Honda Odyssey. Going to an s238 would require us to purchase a new (to us) tow vehicle which is what we want to do. Looking at an expedition XL with a tow package. Tow rating is at 9200 lbs. The numbers work for the expy nd towing the s238.

that's an excellent choice for a tow vehicle, for the 238.

That's what I thought as well. Would like a truck, but the new tow vehicle will be the wife's primary vehicle and she just doesn't want to drive a truck everyday so I started looking at full size SUVs. The expy was the one my wife like the best, and had the best ratings regarding towing, longevity, and lowered maintenance costs over all the others...that were in my price range. The wife and I are taking it slow, though. We want to pay cash for a tow vehicle and have a good down payment for the RV, so we may be a year away before were ready to buy. Gives me plenty of time to research other companies that have similar floor plans to the s238.