I was wondering how many of you have bought your FWC used and what I can expect to pay for something that is relatively problem free. I need something to fit a shortbed Dodge 3/4 ton. Is paying $2,500-3,000 a pipe dream? I'm not concerned about the age of the camper as much as the condition.
A lot of the pricing is in what's in the camper. Go through the lists of standard items and optional items and pricing on those. You really need to be aware of all this stuff and decided what's important to you from the list. A few items, like the sliding front window are hard to do later, the camper's frame tends to be made to match what's initially put into it and changing frame is serious business. It's quite complex to get a screen door if the camper does not have one, you have to replace the entire door! (expensive to buy, expensive to ship) Estimate your cost as initial buy plus fixing it up to fit your camping. And in judging prices count what comes with it. It's more than just basic camper condition. As a result of this don't work on a universal price, judge each camper separately.
I got a 2007 Eagle shell model and it cost over twice what you are dreaming about just for it (and that does not count over 5000 miles to go get it). I might could have done better, but being on the east coast my choices and opportunities were very limited. I was lucky to get the Eagle as it did not get listed where it was seen properly. A shell model means no appliances at all, it did have the fantastic fan on the vent, and the front sliding window, and was equipped with jacks and the Yakima roof rails. The original owner had filled the bottom with a large sleeping platform for his kids, nothing else. It was in excellent shape, but a blank slate for me to equip. That's good in that you can put in just what you want, and bad because of the work and money involved doing that. Several thousand in appliances, propane tanks, water tank, electrical (110v & 12v) with a battery bank and charging, tankless hot water heater (for shower) and so on. I'll probably be over $9,000 by the time I'm done, maybe more, I'm trying not to cut corners I'll later regret. I did save a lot on shipping of all the add on's as I was near FWC when I picked it up so could buy a lot to bring back with me. So not all the gas it took was just going and looking gas cost.
I'd say as you get into the lower levels of price and very old you are going to get into a lot more rebuild or add on unless you are extremely lucky. And you have to watch out for what fits, the campers are not universal size but tend to be built for the size of trucks when they were built, even in the same model name. Prices on campers are set by individual owners, as is their care of their camper. some have inflated imaginations about price, others no clue and practically give them away. Occasionally folks make a killing buying, but that's not the norm. Be informed on what you are buying and practical as to price.
, you either have to be very lucky or look real hard to find a deal , I hope you have some LUCK lol because I put in a ton of time to find it , happy hunting , D
