I really did it!?! A new Coleman 16FB, just for me!

[pwalton]

I'm a handmade craft vendor that goes to various multi-day fairs and festivals. My travel radius was limited (so I could go home each night) ... now I can set up wherever my little heart desires!
I grew up camping "in style". My parents had everything from a pop-up to a 34' Class A. I even lived in that Class A for about six months. Having one to myself, though, is new and exciting.
Pro to buying in winter, the winter price break.
Con to buying in winter, don't really want to go anywhere until spring!

 

[snakebitten]

Welcome Aboard!

It sounds like you have a good plan. Since you mainly bought it for a good nights sleep, make sure you treat yourself to the best mattress you can find. A good nights rest always seems like magic when you wake in your RV.

(And being able to make really good coffee is icing on the cake. So sort that out too and you are golden)

 

[Nate42379]

I'm a handmade craft vendor that goes to various multi-day fairs and festivals. My travel radius was limited (so I could go home each night) ... now I can set up wherever my little heart desires!

I grew up camping "in style". My parents had everything from a pop-up to a 34' Class A. I even lived in that Class A for about six months. Having one to myself, though, is new and exciting.

Pro to buying in winter, the winter price break.

Con to buying in winter, don't really want to go anywhere until spring!

Awesome glad to see another "happy camper".. lol


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[chily3]

Congrats, enjoy for your work and fun also.

 

[pwalton]

Welcome Aboard!

It sounds like you have a good plan. Since you mainly bought it for a good nights sleep, make sure you treat yourself to the best mattress you can find. A good nights rest always seems like magic when you wake in your RV.

(And being able to make really good coffee is icing on the cake. So sort that out too and you are golden)

I'm researching stovetop percolators as we speak! (Most of my overnights will be without benefit of hook up and I'd hate to fire up a generator just to run a coffee maker.)

Thanks for the welcome!

 

[pwalton]

Congrats, enjoy for your work and fun also.

My DH has already stated that he has no interest in going out in it for vacation ... but he likes tent camping. I'm like, dude, we can take a tent just for you!

 

[snakebitten]

I'm researching stovetop percolators as we speak! (Most of my overnights will be without benefit of hook up and I'd hate to fire up a generator just to run a coffee maker.)

Thanks for the welcome!

Please don't take me for a coffee snob (But I probably am), but no need for shore power of any kind if you can come up with a method for boiling water.
Get ya a cheap French Press and FRESH beans and you are golden.

Might need a battery powered small dose grinder, if you don't have the patience for hand grinding. And I don't know why they call it a "French" anything, since it is essentially cowboy-coffee. I suspect it is because you actually do have a method for screening out the grounds from your cup.

The tent comment is hilarious!

 

[pwalton]

Please don't take me for a coffee snob (But I probably am), but no need for shore power of any kind if you can come up with a method for boiling water.
Get ya a cheap French Press and FRESH beans and you are golden.

Might need a battery powered small dose grinder, if you don't have the patience for hand grinding. And I don't know why they call it a "French" anything, since it is essentially cowboy-coffee. I suspect it is because you actually do have a method for screening out the grounds from your cup.

The tent comment is hilarious!

Thank you for your welcoming response!
I am so far from being a coffee snob that coffee snobs are offended that I drink it! Honestly, I was initially planning on doing instant (and just heating the water on the stove) ... then I realized I could do "real" coffee with a stovetop percolator and ground coffee. It'll then also do double duty heating water for other unspeakable instant noodle meals. (There's the insight as to how "high-brow" I am!)

 

[nineoaks]

I have had a 2016 16 FB for about 13 mos now and love it, I did have problem with the reefer but CW fixed it under warranty. Be sure and re-caulk the seams especially in the rear area and this is not covered under warranty, I use self leveling dicor as soon as I got it home, also look at the windows, they are made so they can be put in either way (top or bottom) look at the top weep holes, they should be capped with small plastic caps, mine were missing, the bottom weep holes should be open. CW ordered (under warranty) the missing ones, I used silicone and put them in place so they would not fall out again. (CW did not know about the top holes either until I pointed out that if they remained out water will /can seep in to the inside of the unit. I have made a lot of mods, such as front stabilizers and electric jack (all bought from Harbor Freight) Enjoy the new unit and get the DH a good sleeping bag for his tent. also consider a foam mattress topper for YOUR bed too.

 

[wahoonc]

Hi Pam,
Welcome to the forums. We had a little Coleman just like that. Loved it, but it didn't fit our needs at this time so we traded it in for a Class C. I did quite a few mods on mine, they are detailed in this thread. If you have any questions let me know, I have taken similar trailers completely apart and rebuilt them. One thing to watch out for is where your A/C drains, the drip pan on mine was not installed correctly and it was draining water behind the siding.

Lots of options on the coffee. I use an old Comet stove top percolator or a Melitta single cup drip filter. I have the Comet percolators in every size they make from 4 cup to 14 cup.

Aaron

 

[pwalton]

I have had a 2016 16 FB for about 13 mos now and love it, I did have problem with the reefer but CW fixed it under warranty. Be sure and re-caulk the seams especially in the rear area and this is not covered under warranty, I use self leveling dicor as soon as I got it home, also look at the windows, they are made so they can be put in either way (top or bottom) look at the top weep holes, they should be capped with small plastic caps, mine were missing, the bottom weep holes should be open. CW ordered (under warranty) the missing ones, I used silicone and put them in place so they would not fall out again. (CW did not know about the top holes either until I pointed out that if they remained out water will /can seep in to the inside of the unit. I have made a lot of mods, such as front stabilizers and electric jack (all bought from Harbor Freight) Enjoy the new unit and get the DH a good sleeping bag for his tent. also consider a foam mattress topper for YOUR bed too.

I will definitely look at the windows during the delivery walk-thru with CW. Can you be more specific about the seams that need caulk attention? Water penetration is definitely a bad thing.
I'm interested in front stabilizers as my husband is severely prone to motion sickness and the trailer movement does a number on him. Do you have yours mounted on the trailer or do you just use jacks under the front?
I hadn't considered a new mattress or mattress topper. The mattress on my mom's 1992 Pace Arrow is original! (it's as comfortable as a rock, too!)

 

[pwalton]

Hi Pam,
Welcome to the forums. We had a little Coleman just like that. Loved it, but it didn't fit our needs at this time so we traded it in for a Class C. I did quite a few mods on mine, they are detailed in this thread. If you have any questions let me know, I have taken similar trailers completely apart and rebuilt them. One thing to watch out for is where your A/C drains, the drip pan on mine was not installed correctly and it was draining water behind the siding.

Lots of options on the coffee. I use an old Comet stove top percolator or a Melitta single cup drip filter. I have the Comet percolators in every size they make from 4 cup to 14 cup.

Aaron

Quite the coffee maker collection! But, seriously, a small one of those will do me just fine. Was initially looking at teapots and considering instant crystals ... with the percolator I'll have the option of using instant or grounds!

I did find your mod thread ... when I was still researching the purchase! LOL! I'll need to look at the interior lights yet again, but I think the 2017 models already have LED fixtures ... one item off my list!
Now, to further research:
-front stabilizers
-mounting options for a generator
-options / build for an "in-use" cover for the generator (to act both as sound attenuation and theft deterrent).
-as I'll be using this mostly alone, rear camera that feeds the image to my phone and a bluetooth level that also sends information to my phone.
-leveling and wheel chock options
-and ... probably most importantly ... where in the world do you put the toilet paper?

 

[chily3]

Thank you for your welcoming response!
I am so far from being a coffee snob that coffee snobs are offended that I drink it! Honestly, I was initially planning on doing instant (and just heating the water on the stove) ... then I realized I could do "real" coffee with a stovetop percolator and ground coffee. It'll then also do double duty heating water for other unspeakable instant noodle meals. (There's the insight as to how "high-brow" I am!)

This is what we use and it is perfect.

 

[wahoonc]

Quite the coffee maker collection! But, seriously, a small one of those will do me just fine. Was initially looking at teapots and considering instant crystals ... with the percolator I'll have the option of using instant or grounds!

I did find your mod thread ... when I was still researching the purchase! LOL! I'll need to look at the interior lights yet again, but I think the 2017 models already have LED fixtures ... one item off my list!
Now, to further research:
-front stabilizers
-mounting options for a generator
-options / build for an "in-use" cover for the generator (to act both as sound attenuation and theft deterrent).
-as I'll be using this mostly alone, rear camera that feeds the image to my phone and a bluetooth level that also sends information to my phone.
-leveling and wheel chock options
-and ... probably most importantly ... where in the world do you put the toilet paper?

We had some sort of thingy sitting on the floor to put the TP on. Might have been a counter top paper towel rack that got repurposed. Never did figure out a good place to put the actual TP holder that came with the trailer. Left it in the drawer for the next guy.

For leveling we used the Lynx Levelers. Put the stick on levels with the marks on them, one mark equals one block. A set of 10 blocks is about $25 or so at WallyMart. You can also buy chocks that will lock into the blocks, but I never bothered.

Aaron

 

[nineoaks]

We had some sort of thingy sitting on the floor to put the TP on. Might have been a counter top paper towel rack that got repurposed. Never did figure out a good place to put the actual TP holder that came with the trailer. Left it in the drawer for the next guy.

For leveling we used the Lynx Levelers. Put the stick on levels with the marks on them, one mark equals one block. A set of 10 blocks is about $25 or so at WallyMart. You can also buy chocks that will lock into the blocks, but I never bothered.

Aaron

We use the BAL Leveler and love it, bought it when we had PUP's . Harbor Freight has the best prices for the stabilizers and electric frame jack, in fact I installed the electric jack before unhooking when I got home on the day of delivery. Check the seams in the rear of the unit, I just automatically re-caulked all the seams. Mine did not have a fan in the vent for the bath room so I installed a powered vortex (about $38.00 )vent there by running from the light about 3" away. quiet fan and price was good plus pulls a lot more air. I did a lot of mods to make it my own. I also enclose the gaping hole under the bed that leads to the lower stowage area underneath that area, that helps keep the bed warmer in winter and cooler in the summer. I put gas struts on all the upper cabinets. I ordered a three of the 10 min tech books on line from Amazon.com (used) which cost me .01 plus $3.99 for shipping, all three list for $29.99 ea. so I got all three for 12.00 lots of good ideas to be had here...
I did install an anti sway bar, (Harbor Freight again) I do not need a WDH hitch as it pulls really good with my F150 PU and using the anti sway bar I notice no sway even with trucks passing.
Good luck with the new unit, If I can be of other assistance let me know

 

[pwalton]

We use the BAL Leveler and love it, bought it when we had PUP's . Harbor Freight has the best prices for the stabilizers and electric frame jack, in fact I installed the electric jack before unhooking when I got home on the day of delivery. Check the seams in the rear of the unit, I just automatically re-caulked all the seams. Mine did not have a fan in the vent for the bath room so I installed a powered vortex (about $38.00 )vent there by running from the light about 3" away. quiet fan and price was good plus pulls a lot more air. I did a lot of mods to make it my own. I also enclose the gaping hole under the bed that leads to the lower stowage area underneath that area, that helps keep the bed warmer in winter and cooler in the summer. I put gas struts on all the upper cabinets. I ordered a three of the 10 min tech books on line from Amazon.com (used) which cost me .01 plus $3.99 for shipping, all three list for $29.99 ea. so I got all three for 12.00 lots of good ideas to be had here...
I did install an anti sway bar, (Harbor Freight again) I do not need a WDH hitch as it pulls really good with my F150 PU and using the anti sway bar I notice no sway even with trucks passing.
Good luck with the new unit, If I can be of other assistance let me know

I just looked up the BAL ... it's now officially on my wish list! Travelling alone is going to pose some challenges and I think that's one product that'll be worth it's weight!

I can't remember whether the 2017 has a fan or not. I looked at the vent. I cranked it open a smidge. I don't remember not seeing a fan. :-/

I liked the idea of magnetic hold opens for the cabinets ... but realized they'll probably look bad. Add to it, I'm short, hold opens of some sort will be necessary. Why couldn't they make the doors side swing?

Seems strange that there's no USB plugs for cell / tablet power. Maybe I do need to get some tech books as it seems like there's some wiring in my future!