A 5000 mile, one month journey, to pick up a Shasta Compact

I just arrived home from my 5000 mile round trip to pick up the Shasta Compact I bought in Grand Junction, CO. A few positives:

1. I'm buying all my campers in the desert. Grand Junction gets 9 inches of rain a year. Here in NC we can get 9 inches in a bad week. A vintage camper killer.
2. People occasionally are honest. I bought from one of them. He said he would arrange for new tires, bearings packed and wiring harness replaced. It all was done when I arrived. Cheap, too.
3. The West is the Best! I love Utah and Colorado.

Two negatives:

1. I must have been crazy to load up the truck with pre cut lumber for repairs, Dewalt cordless tools, camping supplies then drive 2000 miles in three days to get there.
2. Also, I must have been crazy thinking I could tow a camper that had been used as a doll house for 15 years all the way home to NC.

I got away with murder.

After a week in Grand Junction doing repairs my wife flew out to join me for the "camping" part of the trip. See photo one for the map. I repaired the stove and gas line, the drain faucet, etc. Tightened the frame bolts, Replaced one piece of the skirt that was rotten, and cleaned, cleaned, cleaned. All in the campground. People thought I was crazy.

We travelled for two weeks throughout CO and UT…not a single problem with the camper.

I dropped my wife at the Amarillo Airport (she had to fly back for work) and then I drove the rest of the way home…not a single problem with the camper.

Funny quotes from people along the way:
"You taking that thing to a museum?"
"It's so cute…but you don't actually sleep in it?"
"Why did they put a table in it that takes up half the floor space?" (Got me on that one.)
"It's sort of like a tent with wheels."
"Why come so far for an old camper? You can't throw a stick without hitting one!" (Not in NC, buddy!)

What a great trip. My wife says I passed through blizzards, a huge desert and empty plains stretching to the horizon to get a 10 foot camper. Crazy, I know, but a month to remember.

The last photo is the camper in our driveway. Not bad for a camper that was bought new in Grand Junction and was never more than 500 miles from home.