The missus and I started looking for campers in Oct. 06 after the wind bent 1 of the support poles on our pop-up. The canvas blowing all nite also convinced us that something else was needed. We wanted a lite weight camper to pull behind our Blazer, which was replaced with a truck about the same time we bought our TM....another story. We were beginning to check out Casitas, Hi-Lo's, Trailmanors, and others online to get ideas. The nearest TM dealers are ~150 miles away, and we were planning a trip to 1 to see what they looked like. Lo and behold, my missus found a TM advertised in the local trader magazine. We went to look at it without knowing much about them. The lady had to get the directions out to work everything.....they hadn't used it for about a year. The unit was filty, musty smelling....the shady side actually turned green from the algae growth....wish I had taken pictures. The TM didn't appeal to the missus, but I saw potential. So, with the wife's reluctant blessing, I went to check it out a second time, and negotiated a deal.
At that time, I was not aware of this forum, so I attacked things the 1st month or so without help. After getting it home, spending a weekend or 2 cleaning it up with Mr. Clean Magic Eraser and Black Streak Remover, it looked brand new again. I had to scrap off a bunch of old caulk from the roof vents, and recaulk. Scraped and recaulked a lot of the roof seems, and will have to more in the future.
All of the appliances worked, except for the oven. The battery was toast. There was a spill/messed up spot on 1 of the dinnette cushions. The outside shower door hinge was busted. There were a couple small dents. The rest of the wear and tear items are what should be expected on any TM after a couple of miles. But we considered ourselves very lucky with our purchase.
We bought the TM for what we thought was an excellent price. Since then we have put another $1400 into it, including:
Water heater bypass, oven repair, 2 batteries, a radio/CD player, lift kit, new 15" wheels and tires, mud flaps, and many other small items that add up to that amount.....right down to the silver ware trays and storage containers.....my wife things I'm anal.
Chap