Got a new 2 us TM..

[saltbranch]

Just a quick intro, family of 4 from Tx and proud owners of a very clean (IMHO) new 2 us 1996 2518. I never have seen 1 of these until today, very nice and easy setup.Just wanted to say Hi, prolly will be asking dumb questions down the road here.

[4Kids2Dogs]

Welcome! Congratulations on your purchase. You will love it!! You've sure joined the right forum for any questions about your TM. Sponsoring this forum is the best $12/yr I've ever spent on our TM. There are lots of great folks ready to share their experiences. After your initial 30 days, take advantage of the sponsorship option for full board access. Happy camping! :new_bdays

[rumbleweed]

Welcome and there are no dumb questions here. You will find a family of very polite, helpful and most of all knowledgeable fellow TM owners. As mentioned earlier this will be the best$12 ever spent.

[Jim&Joan]

Welcome and there are no dumb questions here...

Wish we could say the same for the answers :new_Eyecr

Welcome to the experience. We have enjoyed ours so far.

[jim1954]

I bought a 1997 2720sl couple of months ago. I have learned so much by reading new and old posts. This is a great site. I have redone the interior and fix it up to look good. Now I am touching up the exterior and repainted the rock guard on the front and rear. It been fun working on and learning about it. Can't wait to go traveling. Thanks everyone.

[MariaG]

I bought a 1997 2720sl couple of months ago. I have learned so much by reading new and old posts. This is a great site. I have redone the interior and fix it up to look good. Now I am touching up the exterior and repainted the rock guard on the front and rear. It been fun working on and learning about it. Can't wait to go traveling. Thanks everyone.

I'm getting ready to paint my TM inside and out - any advice? What type of paint did you use, and what type of prep/primer and so on. I'd love to see some pictures!

[saltbranch]

Got it home tonight, the P/O spent some time showing me how to setup/take down. How to light the water heater and how the other systems operate. Everything seems to work great.
Whats the going price for a camper this yr model?
I have been looking at Pop ups going from 2500-4k in the yr ranges from 1994-01, based off that I feel I got a pretty fair deal @ 2800.00. Just curiuos...as I have never seen 1 of these until I bought 1 the same day I saw it :D

[B_and_D]

If it's in good shape, that sounds like a really smokin' deal.

Do you know how old the tires are? If they are over 3 years old, they should be replaced.

We bought our 1997 seven years ago, in 2003. The tires looked new (they still had the little hairs that you see on new tires), but I believe that they were original. We had a blowout the summer after we bought it. Check the dates on the inside of the tires, if they are more than three years, old, save yourself some grief and go buy 3 new ones. Check the posts on tire suggestions to see what's been working well for the board members.

You may also want to do the wheel-well retrofit that changes the square wheel-well into a more rounded one and can save some damage in the event of a blowout. The newer TM's have them already, but the older ones can benefit from a retrofit. I'm really glad that we did ours before we had our blowout, it can make the difference between a small amount of damage and something that takes out your lower cabinets. We've had another one since then and have switched to 8-ply tires. So far, so good.

There's a lot of good info here, and IMHO it's worth the $12 to join. There are lots of people with many different years of TM's to help other owners.

[Wavery]

Got it home tonight, the P/O spent some time showing me how to setup/take down. How to light the water heater and how the other systems operate. Everything seems to work great.
Whats the going price for a camper this yr model?
I have been looking at Pop ups going from 2500-4k in the yr ranges from 1994-01, based off that I feel I got a pretty fair deal @ 2800.00. Just curiuos...as I have never seen 1 of these until I bought 1 the same day I saw it :D

There are a lot of people that would probably give you twice what you paid for it if it's in ~decent condition.

I second the tire suggestion (<$300 for 14") along with getting the wheel bearings repacked (<$100)right away and have the brakes checked at the same time. Even if you have to replace the entire brake assemblies (including drums) it would be under $400.

I'd also check the date on the battery and put in a new one if it's 3+ years old (~$100). If it were me, I'd buy the biggest, best quality battery that I could find and be done with it...

If you put another $1000 in that thing, you still got a smokin deal.

[saltbranch]

The tires are 6months old judging by the reciept that the P/O gave me. The bearings have the "buddy bearing" setup like a boat trailer where you grease them with grease gun. I need to get a better spare tire for sure.
I started reading about the wheel well retro fit last night, putting that on my to do list along with checking the brakes out.
Sounds like it was a pretty fair deal, thanks for the info.
We are headed to a local campground in Rockport this weekend about 25 miles away, cant wait!