What to Look for When Buying a Vintage Camper
Guest post by Shannon Berg, @shastashenanigans
Thinking about buying a vintage camper? Looking for a project, but not quite sure what to look for? Here are some things we have learned along the way…
Cost
Keep it low. Remember, it is going to take quite a bit of dough to get this project where you want it. We purchased our 1972 Shasta contact for $2500 and it was about 80% done. Our second purchase was a 1976 Shasta camper for $600 with only about 20% done. We got our first camper on craigslist and our second one on Facebook marketplace.
Title
Does it have a title? Our first camper did not have one, so we took a huge chance and wrote a handwritten letter to the original owner. We went to the DMV, gave them the VIN and got the last known address. I couldn’t believe it when we got a call from the original owner who helped us get a replacement title and mailed it to us. Our other plan was to go to a weigh station, have it weighed as a “homemade trailer” and get a new title for it. However, we would have lost our “Shasta” name on the title. We got very lucky. Our second trailer had a clean title, so it was really easy to transfer over. Keep in mind when buying a camper if it has no title, it is a lot more expensive to buy a new title and tags rather than transferring one. Maybe use that as a negotiating tool for price of purchase.
Good Bones
Take a good, long look. Look for mold, rotting wood, water damage, and rust. Get low. Check out the undercarriage. Both of our campers that we purchased needed new hubs and leaf springs. Also, both needed new tongues. The first camper didn’t have a pin, and the second one had a broken coupler latch. We had to use heavy duty zip ties to trailer them home after purchase. We held our breath on every bump! Ask if there are any leaks. Make sure floor is in good condition and ask if roof has been sealed.
Join a bunch of facebook groups. Ask a lot of questions. If you find a good one, go for it! Remember, you can always re-sell it if you feel like you are in over your head. Good luck!
Original article by Shannon Berg, @shastashenanigans.
