RE: I FINALLY ordered mine! (Long)

got woody? · Sep 28, 2003, 07:05 PM

The year long search has ended. We found our camper!

First off, a HUGE thank you to all those on this board, and those who came before, for an incredible amount of guidance. I literally started at ZERO on the knowledge scale, and thanks to what I learned here, I bought with confidence.

Next, a note on dealers. We are truly blessed where we live to have a great selection to choose from. Close to 10 dealers selling Pop Ups within a 60 mile range. I want to thank Tim5055 and Wynot for pointing out that the closest dealer may not always have the best reputation/service after the sale.

Tim, I really wanted to buy from Restless Wheels in Manassas, VA but I found Charlie s Camping Center in Randallstown, MD much easier to get to, had good comments from board members, and was $1,300 better on price.

Many people have commented to the fact that after all the " which PU is best" discussions, and endless spreadsheets of side-by-side comparisons, you end up just knowing the right one when you see it.

I saw the 03.5 Coleman Utah CP at two different RV shows and knew right away it was the one.

Now, I do have to pop over to PUX and let Chuck scold me for buying one whose fridge is not accessible top down, but I love it anyway!

We have two small kids, one more round of potty training to go, and wanted something that would accomodate our family for many years. No climbing to get into the bunks was the wifes one request, and the openness of the floorplan afforded by the slide-out dinette is awesome.

Bought a Prodigy, and sway control as well. Already have the DeWalt 24v drill from toolking.com. Researching best price on a BAL leveler. Came with the show special from Coleman of canopy w/screen room, sunshade, and cross bars for the Yakima rack all for $60. Added A/C to give us options for muggy Mid-Atlantic camping and trips to Fort Wilderness.

Well, as you can tell, I m pumped. On top of all that, it s my birthday. This is one present I really can t wait to open up!

See you around the campfire, and THANKS! again

JemJen24 · Mar 02, 2003, 10:52 AM

got woody?CONGRATS!!!!!!!!!!!!!

and most importantly...

HAPPYYYYYY BIRTTTHHHDAAYYY TOOOOOO YOUUUUUUUUUUUUU (singing)

What a birthday present! Did you take that year of researching to start stocking up on items you would need for the camper? If not, don t worry, the people on this board will lead you in the right direction.

Enjoy that Pop up and post some pics soon!

Jennifer

Tim5055 · Mar 02, 2003, 11:06 AM

got woody?Jim,

Congradulations! I m glad I could help in some small way.

While I found the best price at Restless Wheels prices and " deals" change. You saved money and are happy with the dealer, that s what counts.

Now that you have the pop up you need to sign up for the rally this summer - you could be #30.

Good luck

got woody? · Mar 02, 2003, 11:10 AM

got woody?Would you believe I m already there? I signed up the first week. felt confident we d have the camper by then. Still working on stringing the cash together for a new truck though. Should have one in a few weeks.

If there are still folks heading to Ramblin Pines in April, we may try there as our first outing. i read some posts on the old board but have not heard much chatter on this one about that trip.

RamblingWreck · Mar 02, 2003, 12:12 PM

got woody?Jim,

Happy Birthday and congratulations on your popup! Call your dealer back and ask him to order the BAL Leveler for you. Mine had never heard of one, he had to look it up in a catalog. He is getting me one for $65. You maybe able to negoitate an even better price with yours.

Our Children have their spring break from April 18 - 27, 2003. We were thinking about heading down to Maryland to Point Lookout SP. Upon further investigation we learned that they don t really open for business until May 1. So what s Ramblin Pines like?

You mentioned you are looking for a truck. I have a 99 GMC Sierra XLT with extended cab (what s known as a Louisiana Cadiliac in some parts of the country). It s a 3 door model, opposing doors on passenger side and a driver s door. They now make them with 4 doors and if I had it to do over again I would have waited a year for the 4th door.

My brother has a 99 Ford P/U with crew cab (you guessed it, a Louisiana Lincoln). While my GMC rides a tad bit better those 4 real doors are really nice.

We both use tool boxes in the beds for trunks. They work well.

IMO a P/U in snow country needs to have 4x4 capability. The back end is just too light and that s where all the torque ends up if it s not 4x4. When you start to lose traction the back end tries to pass the front and you end up going down the highway sideways. Not fun!

tlhdoc · Mar 02, 2003, 12:22 PM

got woody?Congratulations on the new trailer. I hope you have a great time with it. You will not regret getting the CP. We have both the cassette potty and a porta potty and the cassette is much nicer. If you are interested in a BAL leveler shop around on prices. I got one from camping world last week for $53.64, including shipping. If you are interested in camping with a group check out COTOC. We have several group trips this year. Happy Camping.

LoveOurBayside · Mar 02, 2003, 06:22 PM

got woody?Contgratulations and Happy Birthday! We kind of jumped into ours because DH really wanted to get it for my birthday and in some ways I wish we had waited and thought it through a little more like you did.

There IS a group of us going to Rambling Pines in late April but at least some of them are not here anymore. Look under " Campers and Company" on the PUX board. It would be great to have you join us.

I have to agree with the person who said something about 4 wheel drive. My husband has been kicking himself all winter for getting a RW drive truck. At the time, we didn t want to go the extra money after just buying the camper and we said, " It really doesn t snow that much in Maryland" . Of course, Mother Nature had to call us on it this winter.

I can t remember what I paid for the BAL leveler, but I got it from Camping World and it was the best deal I could find, mostly because of the $1 shipping.

Now s the time to keep staring at the brochure and making your lists and checking them twice [

] When do you expect delivery?

Danusmom · Mar 02, 2003, 10:20 PM

got woody?Congratulations on the purchase of your new " toy" [

]! And, Happy Birthday, Jim.

BTW, I have a lot of family & some friends living in & around Silver Spring/DC. My grandparents use to (now deceased) live near Georgia Ave. & Dale Dr. With both sets of grandparents deceased, we don t visit MD much anymore. When my son gets older, I d love to take him down there to visit the traditional DC " stuff" & take him over to Rehoboth Beach.

Anyway, congratulations, again, on your PU. Happy camping!

Peace be with you all.

got woody? · Mar 03, 2003, 08:49 AM

got woody?Thanks for the kind thoughts folks. A few answers:

Never thought to check with Charlie s on the BAL -- Their catalog is the generic one that every other dealer uses and just puts their name on the cover. The price listed is $73 but I ll check w/them to see if they can do better.

I hope to pick it up on Sat the 8th. My buddy down the street tows his boat with a GMC Yukon Denali so I think he can help me get the PU home.

A sign goes in the minivan today (after a good bath). Anyone looking for a 96 Dodge Grand Caravan with under 100K, dual sliders, 3L V6, ABS, CD etc? $4800 obo

As for the truck, we had fallen in lust with the GMC Envoy XL - 4WD seats seven very comfortably, class III hitch receiver standard etc but I seem to have slightly overstepped initial budget estimates when I stepped up to the Utah...

So now we are looking one or two years used at an Expedition or Durango. We will go 4WD on whatever we end up with. With all the snow lately, many of the good used trucks got snapped up, but I ve got a few leads.

In response to Danusmom who has been to Silver Spring, the int. of Georgia and Dale is about 2 minutes from my house. We are just inside the beltway off Colesville near Sligo Creek. You folks in Ontario following me so far?

That s about it from here, back to shopping. Suezy, any more of those roll-top tables left?

whippetwrun · Mar 03, 2003, 02:24 PM

got woody?Congratulations on the new PU! Charlie s is a great place to buy from! We got our Mesa from them. It s been nearly a year since we bought and I can still call them and get a fast, pleasant response!

On a side note - we moved from Woodmoor (Colesville and University) a little over a year ago to Harford County. Part of me misses it, but then part is also glad to by out of all the traffic[

]. Don t know if you like Greek food, but there s a good Greek restaurant over in Wheaton - Aleko s Taverna (I think). It is across from Ferdinand s. Also check out the surplus store for camping gear in the strip mall off of Veirs Mill Rd, if you haven t been there already. There is also a great chicken place (I think it s Cuban) in the same strip mall.

Anyway, enjoy the PU![

] And ya may want to edit your " searching for a PU. . ." in the classifieds![

]

got woody? · Mar 03, 2003, 05:45 PM

got woody?

QuoteAnd ya may want to edit your " searching for a PU. . ." in the classifieds!

What, you dont think I can handle TWO?[8D]

Thanks, I forgot all about that post.

wynot · Mar 07, 2003, 01:58 PM

got woody?Congratulations -

Look forward to getting with ya. Gotta go with MAPCE group (we do awesome rallys).

Understand about the TV. Just a thought, you might want to sit back and think about that a little bit. We really liked the TrailBlazer/Envoy, but when we got a away from it and really thought about it, we realized that we couldn t fit our dog crate with two dogs, our daughter, and our NECESSARY stuff without always having to pack really neatly. Since you have 2 kids, you got even more fun.

We ended up moving from a 2000 Ford Windstar to a slightly used 2000 Chevy Tahoe and haven t looked back. Gets the same or better fuel mileage, and has a lot more capability, and is a lot more comfortable. And of course, is wider and in our opinion, rides even better than the TrailBlazer. Can you tell that we LOVE the Tahoe? Drives like a dream, accelerates like a scalded cat and tows effortlessly. And with the level control in it, it sits perfectly level when towing.

I will tell you something that we have noticed regarding your two possible options. Tahoes seem to get better fuel economy than the Expeditions, and far greater than Durangos. I like the looks of all three, and the new Expedition, which would break the bank looks nice with the fold down third seat. Durangos are based on a smaller chassis than the Expedition or Tahoe, so that could be a factor. Plus DRLs are nice safety features on the GMs. Tahoe s third seats are easily removed, and then carried in one hand.

Good luck with whatever you decide.

Camping Coxes · Mar 07, 2003, 04:21 PM

got woody?Way to go. In my not-so-humble opinion, the Utah is the best Coleman model there is. That s what we were planning to get until I found a good deal on a used Sun Ridge model, so we got that instead. I think you ll be very happy, especially since you have kids going along for many years.

News: