New to the forum and completely new to RVing

[Camper054]

Hello...

I have had tent camping experience, but not with travel trailers.  I want to buy a pop up camper to start with (probably not everyones best choice).

I have been looking at our Craiglist for about three to four weeks now and found a 2002 Coleman Santa Fe for sale.  It has AC, heater, and a 5-bike rack on the roof, which is our main attraction.  NADA price with AC and heater is about $2000.  From the pictures and email discussion with the owner, the camper looks clean, no rips or leaks, etc. and well kept.  Two issues he mentioned are one with hand crank to lift the pop up.  Sometimes in the middle, the crank seems to slip, but eventually it goes up and stays up.  How easy or difficult to replace the crank lift system?  The other issue he mentioned is the step, which is used to close the door area when the camper is taken down.  He says there is something not right - probably a bent metal or something that is preventing the steps to close.  It closes, but needs some pushing, I guess.

Price asked is $2500 and he will not sell is below.  Being completely new to pop up and travel trailers, I need your help and opinion.  It seems that the Coleman pop up campers are well built and last long if taken care.  Plus not easy to find a camper with 5 bike racks.  What do you all think?

Thanks a lot in advance for your comments. 
MC

 

[SeilerBird]

Looks like a good deal to me. Bear in mind almost every nooby buying their first RV way too small and end up trading it in within a year. With this thing you certainly won't lose much money trading it in.

 

[Camper054]

Thanks so much SeilerBird!  I agree with you - all 'good things are illegal' -!

 

[SpencerPJ]

I agree, looks nice.  Look over the canvas for rips or seams starting to come apart.  Check if it was stored dry, (not put away wet and sat for long periods).  Sniff around for moldy smell.  Make sure AC works and Furnace, etc. Seems like a great little starter.

 

[Rene T]

The tires are something else to look at. Tires that are 8  to 10 years old should be replaced even if they look good on the outside. They go bad from the inside out. Check the manufactures date code on the sidewall.

 

[Prior member]

That is a good price if all is Ok
We have a Coleman pop up.
Check the 12 volt system, and the 120 volt system (120 volt outlets and 12 volt lights)
Check the propane stove. Check that the A/C unit and the heat (which is in the A/C unit) both work
Operate all the zippers, and make sure the door storing system is Ok and you learn how to use it.
  On the lift system, it sounds like it might be that the unit (I forget what it is called) that the crank goes in need internal repair or replaced. When we got ours, it was very hard to crank up, and I oiled all the pulleys and that was all it needed.

Jack L

 

[donn]

The big down side about putting abything on the roof of a tent trqiler is.  Tent trailers have a very thin usually plastic roof.  There is simply nothing to support stuff.  The PO may have added reinforcement, but I would atill be cautious.

 

[Camper054]

OMG!  I am simply amazed with all your responses - extremely helpful!!!  Donn, thanks for the caution regarding putting the bikes on the roof - I will definitely see if I can lighten the weight when putting the bikes - although I am not sure how .

Thanks all again!!!

 

[Rene T]

IMHO I don't think you'll have an issue with the bike racks. All the weight is distributed on the sides and not in the center of the roof. There should be plenty of support on the sides because it's primarily a vertical wall.
I would remove the bikes before trying to crank up the roof.

 

[RVMommaTo6]

Idk about the weight of bikes, but I have a 2001 Jayco pop up that we carry 4 kayaks on, 3 tandems and a single, and have never had an issue with the weight on the roof. It's funny because we have 2 issues with it, a bent metal piece on the step that makes you have to jiggle it in, and the same issue with sometimes you crank it up and it just doesn't move for a minute. We put it down and back up and itll work fine. Weird.

 

[TheBar]

We love our popup and I hope you enjoy yours. It is as close as you can get to tent camping without sleeping on the ground.

Don't put off greasing the lift cables or fixing whatever is causing the slipping gears or you'll have to replace the gears as well as the cables. You may find a lot of RV dealers will not work on popups.

If the bike rack was properly installed it may be ok. Make sure it is tight without rocking or you might not want to trust it.

One thing a lot of people overlook is the title, license, and registration. In some states if the license plate is out of date you pay a penalty for each year it is out of date. In some states the title must be signed over in front of a notary public or you will not be able to register it.

 

[Camper054]

Thank you all, SO VERY MUCH for your thoughtful comments.  Highly appreciated...Best regards to you ALL...happy camping folks.

 

[Jennifer Sidel]

Hi All, i'm new here from NY city. i am very much passionate to take learning from anyone and its motivate me to do the same.

hope it will be good time with you guyz in this community and also help to solve problem.