chris mayer said:
Hello to all, my wife and I are looking to buy a camper for my [ Chevy Silverado Quad cab long BED 2500 HD.] I live in the northern California region and looking for any advice on good campers. I have heard that Lance, Bigfoot, and Arctic are some of the top ones, but I'm not sure if I should buy a new are used. If I buy used what am I looking for don't know much about them, thanks for any support I can get out there and this is my first time to the site. Thank you !!
New vs used is all about the money. If you have the resources to buy new, then by all means do it.
Buying used is a crap shoot day in and day out. Sometimes you get a gem and sometimes you get slammed with problems.
Look at the base of the camper (the part that rests in the truck bed)....wood in good shape or dinged up.
Frame material.....wood or welded aluminum. Looks and feels solid.
Cabinetry drawers and doors work smoothly and hold solid. Entry door closes firm and tight vs sloppy and unsecure. Screen material in good shape. All keys work in their respective slots.
All appliances in good working order......electrical system fully functional. House batteries newer or old corroded piles of junk.
Flooring in good shape and clean. Step around the floor firmly and see if there are any soft spots.
Fabric clean and not worn excessively. All cushions included
Tie down attachments solid and included.
Exterior paint shiny and glossy vs faded and oxidized.
Look inside the exterior refrigerator access panel.....full of cobwebs and dead bugs?....look for clean and non corroded electric terminals.
Propane tanks clean and the connection hose in good shape.
Prior to forking over your money.....fire up the stove, verify the water pump is working, heater working, toilet operates normally, air con (if equipped) puts out cold air, refrigerator working and smells ok.
In exterior compartments should be a water hose and a AC shore power connector and a black water connection hose and fitting.
Plug in the AC shore power cable and verify that the lights and other electrical components do indeed work and verify that when on DC power only, these same components work also on DC power.
Most of these things can be an indicator of how well the camper was maintained over it's life.
It's always a good idea to look at some used units and formulate an idea of what is a clean, serviceable unit and what is not.
It's not unlike buying a used car.....it is dependent on you to determine if the car was well maintained or not.