Looking for advice, Thinking of buying need advice.....
Looking for advice, Thinking of buying need advice.....
emcvay |
Apr 5 2017, 08:50 AM
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#1
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Group: Members Posts: 66 Joined: 5-April 17 From: Washington Member No.: 9,497 Favorite Truck Camper(s): Arctic Fox Type and Brand of Truck(s) Owned: Ford F350 Crew cab long box 6.4l 4x4 Type of Tiedowns used: Torklift Truck and Camper Setup: 2010 F350 PS CC LB SRW with AF990 |
Hi All,
First off, thanks for running and maintaining the site! I know how tough that can be (I have a dart forum myself) and appreciate that you've done this as I was looking for a place where I could get some advice and found your site OK, here's the details: I run a portable sawmill business (side business mostly in the spring, summer and fall) and am tired of driving back and forth to my cabin or to a hotel when on a remote job. I've decided I need to get a slide in camper so I can camp out onsite, enjoy the evenings (instead of driving) and save money on fuel not to mention time. I can drive as much as 70 miles each way on a job over a week....so even getting something like 8MPG with a camper and mill in tow would be better than getting 15mpg and driving 140 miles a day.... So after trading in my F150 for a long box F350 crew cab (2010 in great shape with only 32k miles) I went in search of a lighter 8 or 9 foot camper...... Found this 1995 Angler on CL for $1k....owner said it had some 'condensation damage'..... This is the damaged spot. I can put my hand through it without trying. You can clearly see the damage here. One other spot had some minor (what I'd think of as minor in comparison to this major damage) water damage. Owner said she sealed the roof every year and I looked at the roof and it appeared to be sealed without cracks etc....my guess is a leaking window above the seat. I wonder if it can be repaired by cutting out the bad spot and fixing in new plywood? Is it even worth it? |
SidecarFlip |
Apr 7 2017, 10:13 AM
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#2
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Group: Members Posts: 472 Joined: 15-October 16 Member No.: 9,221 Favorite Truck Camper(s): Forest River Palomino SS Type and Brand of Truck(s) Owned: 1997 Ford F350 4x4 LB SRW CC 7.3 diesel Type of Tiedowns used: HappyJac standard Truck and Camper Setup: 1997 Ford F350 4 door 4x4 Crew Cab 7.3 Diesel, Lance 915 loaded, 2015 Palomino SS1500 Loaded |
Weak tie down points are a sure sign of internal rot. What I would do is remove the stock tie down's entirely and run a length of appropriate width angle iron (structural angle) the entire length of the camper and drill holes at the appropriate tie down points, screwing the angle into the lower side of the camper all along the lower edge. That will distribute the pull of the tie down's the entire length and hopefully some of the wood is sound along the bottom edge.
You stand a real good chance of bulling the tiedown out and causing collateral damage. Don't forget to paint the angle iron, it rusts. Sounds to me like a lot of internal (no see em) rot. That is a very intimidating job fixing it. I'd see how the camper works for you before tackling it and / or selling it and buying another.. Now that you know what to look for. If I was buying any used unit, I'd be doing a very through inspection (as you have learned). Most any unit that is stored outside in the weather will have issues somewhere. I keep mine inside unless I'm using it, always, but that isn't practical for most people. Never been a fan of TorqLift tie down's or Fast guns. Way too expensive for the intended use. Go read my thread here or on the Open Roads forum. Interesting comments about securing a camper to a truck and a lot of myths explored. |
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