boholady
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Post by boholady on Sept 22, 2015 14:54:00 GMT -8
We are searching for our first vintage trailer. I came across this one on craigslist. She says it has been restored on the inside and is asking $3000 for it. We went to take a look today. There "was" a leak that she says has been fixed. There are spots that have some water damage. How hard will that be to fix? Also, the ceiling has been replaced with metal. I thought it was strange. We know very little about these trailers. Our budget is $5000. Is that not enough to find one that won't require a significant amount of work?
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boholady
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Post by boholady on Sept 22, 2015 14:56:57 GMT -8
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diymom
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enthralled with my 1969 Terry, problem is it keeps me awake at night planning
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1969 terry 18'
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Post by diymom on Sept 22, 2015 18:46:35 GMT -8
My gut says run away fast.
That ceiling has no business being there, that back panel is clearly covering up water damage, the "renovated inside" means they did crazy stuff to cover up problems. 3 grand is away too much for something that hasn't had any real repairs to it... I had a 5k budget and I bought something for 2200 and spent the rest getting it home, resealing and repairing...and I'm going to really overhaul it in a few years from the outside in.
You are going to have some extensive repairs not to mention removing the ridiculous "renovations".
You can find better trailers for 3grand.
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boholady
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Post by boholady on Sept 22, 2015 20:12:15 GMT -8
When I saw it in person I got that exact same feeling. So I'm glad to have it validated. I thought maybe I was being too picky considering my low budget. The ceiling was definitely strange and there was most certainly water damage. I'll keep looking.
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diymom
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enthralled with my 1969 Terry, problem is it keeps me awake at night planning
Posts: 323
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1969 terry 18'
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Post by diymom on Sept 22, 2015 21:03:23 GMT -8
5 grand is a reasonable budget, but you will need to do some things to a trailer at that price. You will need to do at least some of these... paint, add propane, fix major systems, New tires, register, upgrade the water tank, add an appliance or two, repair some rot, reseal windows/rails, vents, replace or repack bearings and many more small things....
Make sure the bones are good, that is all that really matters, everything else is simple stuff.
That said, there are many threads from the pro's on here that give you great advice about searching for a trailer and what to bring with you when you are inspecting a potential candidate.
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Post by vikx on Sept 22, 2015 21:10:46 GMT -8
I totally agree that this is a HUGE PASS. We call it lipstick on a pig...
5K is a decent budget if you are willing to do a little work and enjoy the more boxy 60s trailers.
Do a little research here on the site. We have lots of advice and enjoy helping.
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mountainsounds
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1957 Rainbow & 1955 Starfire
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Post by mountainsounds on Sept 22, 2015 22:56:45 GMT -8
Me three! The metal ceiling seems to be covering the internal wood? At least I sort of hope that's what's going on. I don't see coorregated on the outside. Yikes. It cld be ok under there but somehow I doubt it.
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Post by vintagebruce on Sept 23, 2015 6:42:20 GMT -8
Good advice from those above. IMHO once you get to a 1978 or "newer" camper, it is going to get to be more difficult to sell it for more than $5K, if you decide to look for a canned ham or next gen mid-60's model later on down the road, no matter how much you finally invest in it. Mid 70's and newer are not as scarce as the 60's and 50's campers are, so the resale is still "flat" Have a bit of patience. You are right on the verge of the end of the camping season in some areas. Soon people are going to start looking out into the back yard and realize they did not go camping even once this year in their vintage camper, remember the amount of snow they had to shovel off the roof and time spent winterizing in the past, and some "Bargains" will start showing up as soon as the first winter storms get predicted. Of course in many spots the next two months will be ideal camping weather, like around the Memphis area. I have driven to the Memphis area to buy a vintage camper, and believe there are some good buys showing up in that vicinity on a pretty regular basis. When you check the Memphis CL RV list click on check surrounding areas, type in vintage in the search box and hit search. Hopefully you will be within driving distance of something better than this one. Northern Arkansas seems to produce an occasional "keeper". There is no known (to me) reason why anyone should put galvanized corrugated tin roofing on the inside ceiling of a cute Serro Scotty camper. In fact, if you are REAL Adventurous and willing to drive a bit, this one was only posted/updated 21 hours ago...original posting 3 days ago. memphis.craigslist.org/rvs/5234025777.html |
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diymom
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enthralled with my 1969 Terry, problem is it keeps me awake at night planning
Posts: 323
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1969 terry 18'
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Post by diymom on Sept 23, 2015 8:54:38 GMT -8
Yes, camping off season will produce cheaper trailers.
It will give you more time to add to your budget if you can.
Keep us posted on other trailers you look into.
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