Bought first Camper

[BOSS]

Hello all, I picked up a 1991 Dutchmen Camper, pretty cheap, and am looking forward to using it with my family!! It has had a leak in the past, as my wife's family has owned it for many many years. Her grandpa did not catch the leak, and when he found it, they had to rebuild the whole back bedroom, and that was all at that time. I will likely tear into it, as time permits, as my wife has many childhood memories in this camper, and I want to bring her back to her previous glory, and make those memories with our 4 kids!! I just get concerned with older campers, as the research I have done, shows that most issues creep up, and by the time it is found, it is always worse than one would expect?? Anyway, I am looking forward to spending some time on here, and making great memories with the family!!

[franktafl]

Originally Posted by BOSS

Hello all, I picked up a 1991 Dutchmen Camper, pretty cheap, and am looking forward to using it with my family!! It has had a leak in the past, as my wife's family has owned it for many many years. Her grandpa did not catch the leak, and when he found it, they had to rebuild the whole back bedroom, and that was all at that time. I will likely tear into it, as time permits, as my wife has many childhood memories in this camper, and I want to bring her back to her previous glory, and make those memories with our 4 kids!! I just get concerned with older campers, as the research I have done, shows that most issues creep up, and by the time it is found, it is always worse than one would expect?? Anyway, I am looking forward to spending some time on here, and making great memories with the family!!

Congrats on the new old camper, hope it will bring you many years of happiness and fond memories. This site is full of folks that can help with issues so ask away, welcome to the forum and good luck!

[BOSS]

Originally Posted by franktafl

Congrats on the new old camper, hope it will bring you many years of happiness and fond memories. This site is full of folks that can help with issues so ask away, welcome to the forum and good luck!

Thanks, I will likely be looking into verifying that the camper is structurally sound, and does not leak. There are some spots that indicate past leaks, that the owner pointed out, but I am crazy about making sure my stuff is up to par, especially stuff like this, whether it was cheep or not, not will have to ensure that it is well sealed and ready to roll!!

[Hwanjwcole]

Best to you and yours. Happy travels

[BOSS]

Originally Posted by Hwanjwcole

Best to you and yours. Happy travels

Thank you!! Same to you!!

[wahoonc]

Welcome to the forums!

Sounds like you have a project ahead of you. It can be done!

I hope you have somewhere out of the weather to park it, or at the very least an overhead shelter, it makes working on things a lot easier.

Aaron

[BOSS]

Originally Posted by wahoonc

Welcome to the forums!

Sounds like you have a project ahead of you. It can be done!

I hope you have somewhere out of the weather to park it, or at the very least an overhead shelter, it makes working on things a lot easier.

Aaron

It is somewhat of a project, but I expected that for the price. I do not have anywhere under a roof yet, but will work on getting something together for that at some point. Thanks for the welcome, and I live very close to a recycle center, if it is too bad of shape.

[1l243]

It's sentimental, that's good, you can do the work yourself, that's good. But if the damage is severe that is bad. Keep a open mind don't get sucked into a project that is a bottomless money pit. There are plenty of nice used trailers out there that don't need any work that you and your family can make new memories in.
Sorry for throwing shade on your project. Hope it works out.

PS. Store your trailer under a hard cover out of the weather and they will last alot longer.

[BOSS]

Originally Posted by 1l243

It's sentimental, that's good, you can do the work yourself, that's good. But if the damage is severe that is bad. Keep a open mind don't get sucked into a project that is a bottomless money pit. There are plenty of nice used trailers out there that don't need any work that you and your family can make new memories in.
Sorry for throwing shade on your project. Hope it works out.

PS. Store your trailer under a hard cover out of the weather and they will last alot longer.

It’s all good, I believe it will workout!! I still haven’t brought it home, but it has been raining a lot, and I went to try to find some wetness inside the camper, could not find any, the previous owner thinks he had it sealed up pretty good. I went around pushing on the walls, then feel solid. Looks like a little infiltration up front, but I hope to fix that up nice!!