My Camper Progression

[certified106]

I thought I would post photos of my camper progressions since we have been married so here it is. (We tent camped before the first popup but I couldn't find any pictures)

Dutchmen Pop Up: I actually liked this camper and I sold it to my buddy who is still camping in it.



06 Starcraft 18rb: As much as I thought I would like this camper it was a nightmare that I was happy to get rid of! I will say we still had tons of enjoyable camping trips but good riddance.



2010 Jayco 19BH: We absolutely love this one so far and wish that we had bought it sooner!

[villain2000]

My camper progression begins with a 19bh. We skipped the pop-up step. We love ours, too. Why was your Starcraft hybrid such a PITA?

[dg1971]

certified106, you are pretty much like 75.5% of the people on JOF....started out in a tent, progressed to a pop-up, then a larger trailer. In a few more years there may be a motorhome in your future.

As far as the 75.5%, that is an uncertified figure....just figured it looked about right.

[Rustic Eagle]

certified106,

Nice camper progression, in what seems to be a short period of time.

Bob

[certified106]

Originally Posted by villain2000

My camper progression begins with a 19bh. We skipped the pop-up step. We love ours, too. Why was your Starcraft hybrid such a PITA?

I wish I had started with a 19BH as my first camper. I am impressed with how they manage to fit all the amenities into a 19 foot camper and still make it feel spacious for it's size.

As far as why I hated the Starcraft there are quite a few reasons but the main ones were....

1) I was sick of dealing with the leaking front bunk. I had replaced the seals and done everything else by the book including taking i to the dealer and letting them try to fix it but nothing worked. Every time I pulled in the rain water would drive back in to the lower channel build up and run over the channel into the camper. I even tried taping the bunk doors shut when I was pulling in the rain and that helped some but water would still eventually find it's way in. The last straw was a 6 hour drive to a campsite and when we got there the whole camper was about flooded.

2) I was meticulous about the maintenance on the camper but this spring I inadvertently discovered the the whole underside of the camper was soaked. To make a long story short after probably 12 hours of trying to find a leak I got a moisture meter and started probing the floor of the camper from the bottom side and found the area that was the wettest was around the water heater. I eventually found that they had cut the water heater hole larger than needed and there were gaps on the corners of the water heater that couldn't be seen with removing the trim piece. Water had been leaking into that camper from the day I bought it unbeknownst to me and I just happened to find it when I was running some new speaker wires under the camper and drilled through the floor.

While I know that there are quite a few Starcraft's out there and most of them are fine I think I got a lemon on money and was just tired of working on it nonstop.

[certified106]

Originally Posted by Rustic Eagle

certified106,

Nice camper progression, in what seems to be a short period of time.

Bob

Thanks, I had the Dutchmen pop up for about 4 years, the Starcraft for 3 years, and this is the first year with the Jayco.

[wiscampsin]

Same progression here, tent -> popup -> hybrid -> TT. Good memories with all but sure do enjoy the amenities that each step up had.

[Denise]

Tent ---> pop-up ---> 5'er ---> truck camper ---> 17' fiberglass tt ---> 29' tt

[musclecarman]

I have the 19BH and bought it for the same reasons ( all the amenities in a 19 foot camper). I had a small toy hauler before it, but got tired of folding bunks up and down every time I needed to use them. Now I just put the motorcycle in the back of the truck and hook up the Jayco.

Originally Posted by certified106

I wish I had started with a 19BH as my first
camper. I am impressed with how they manage to fit all the amenities into a 19 foot camper and still make it feel spacious for it's size.

As far as why I hated the Starcraft there are quite a few reasons but the main ones were....

1) I was sick of dealing with the leaking front bunk. I had replaced the seals and done everything else by the book including taking i to the dealer and letting them try to fix it but nothing worked. Every time I pulled in the rain water would drive back in to the lower channel build up and run over the channel into the camper. I even tried taping the bunk doors shut when I was pulling in the rain and that helped some but water would still eventually find it's way in. The last straw was a 6 hour drive to a campsite and when we got there the whole camper was about flooded.

2) I was meticulous about the maintenance on the camper but this spring I inadvertently discovered the the whole underside of the camper was soaked. To make a long story short after probably 12 hours of trying to find a leak I got a moisture meter and started probing the floor of the camper from the bottom side and found the area that was the wettest was around the water heater. I eventually found that they had cut the water heater hole larger than needed and there were gaps on the corners of the water heater that couldn't be seen with removing the trim piece. Water had been leaking into that camper from the day I bought it unbeknownst to me and I just happened to find it when I was running some new speaker wires under the camper and drilled through the floor.

While I know that there are quite a few Starcraft's out there and most of them are fine I think I got a lemon on money and was just tired of working on it nonstop.

[Moving Target]

Originally Posted by certified106

I thought I would post photos of my camper progressions since we have been married so here it is. (We tent camped before the first popup but I couldn't find any pictures)

Dutchmen Pop Up: I actually liked this camper and I sold it to my buddy who is still camping in it.



06 Starcraft 18rb: As much as I thought I would like this camper it was a nightmare that I was happy to get rid of! I will say we still had tons of enjoyable camping trips but good riddance.



2010 Jayco 19BH: We absolutely love this one so far and wish that we had bought it sooner!

Love your pictures!!
My progression was extremely short!!! I have a Jayco 23'FB that I bought in June 11. We had a HUGE fire here in AZ that destroyed 69,000 acres in a blink. Needless to say we were evacuated for 5 days. After the 3rd day of Hotel hopping, I hopped right to the RV dealership for my "Moving Target". And I LOVE this sweetie!!
Kathie:hihi:

[NACSKINS]

I wanted a HTT for a while after we sold our PU. After all i have read im glad we went from PU to TT.