RE: Newbie question; popup purchasing advice

[jawilson]

 RamblingWreck

ORIGINAL:  RamblingWreck
 Your eyes are not playing tricks on you.  Starcraft changed the 3606 floor plan.  If you get your hands on one of their brochures, you will see the two seating areas.  That s the floor plan that was on their website until recently.

Well, that s good news and bad at the same time; the good part is I know I m not going nuts (well, not yet anyway[]) but the bad part is now Starcraft is off my shopping list. That s a shame too.[]

[angelsmom10]

 RamblingWreck

 

ORIGINAL:  RamblingWreck
 
 Jim,
 
 Your eyes are not playing tricks on you.  Starcraft changed the 3606 floor plan.  If you get your hands on one of their brochures, you will see the two seating areas.  That s the floor plan that was on their website until recently.
 
 [] Alas, the original, ergonomic 3606 floor plan was not feasable from an engineering stand point.  There was a conflict with the suspension system and the slide out dinette.  The dinnette had to be moved rearward.  To accomodate the dinette s move, the refigerator cabinet and the cp/shower had to change places.  With the CP/shower by the door, there was no room for the second seating area.  
 
 Like I said before, we were sitting in a Gemini when we decided to go with a Centennial.  The Gemini floor plan really is nice.  Were it not for my claustrophobia we could have lived with it.  I would have gotten the dealer to include some jacks that have some real height for the slideout dinette.
 
 We have ordred an AAR with the 3600 which we will put a port-a-potty in at night.  We believe the AAR will afford us additional protection from insects as well as shade the starboard side of the trailer.
 
 We were considering ordering the 3604 with an AAR when the dealer made us an offer on the 3600.  He accepted my counter offer and the rest is history.
 
 
 

 
 Have you gotten your AAR -- we were told they weren t making them yet and couldn t be ordered when we ordered ours.  I just sent an email to the dealership to see if they were in (they said they were hoping some time in April).
 
 
 

[RamblingWreck]

 angelsmom10
Our dealer had our AAR the day we picked up our trailer.  It s manufacutred by Trim Line (subsidary of Dometic).  As the Centennials are taller than most other popups, I suppose there could be a manufacturing back log for AAR.

[Gone-Camping]

 jawilson
I have spent the better part of the last 2 years looking at campers. Last year all I really wanted was a new PU, but settled for a nice used one to tide me over for a year. But I looked at EVERYTHING that was available in this area, that included the Coleman, Starcraft, Rockwood, Palomino, & Jayco. When it came down to it, I had found a Coleman and Starcraft with the floorplan and amenities that I wanted, and the Starcraft had a much lower price. I also had a tendancy to lean toward this brand, as my first 2 PU s were both Starcrafts. I was close to signing for that Gemini, but then this used unit landed in my lap!
 
 Since then, I ve been re-thinking the whole thing. Since I m going on 50 now, have a couple of disabilities, and really needed to look into something a little less physical in the set-up dept. I ve looked at PU s, Hi-Lo s, Hybrids, TT, 5er, and Class-A s. While I really would like eventually end up in a 5er, it just isn t time for that just yet. I m still a tent camper at heart, and would be lost without a little canvas in my camping adventures, so I settled on a hybrid.
 
 Shopping for the perfect hybrid was as hard as shopping for the perfect PU. They ALL looked so good, and the prices were really comparative. I wanted a unit with a slide-out, but the weight on those kept me really limited. I narrowed the choice down to the Rockwood Roo and the Trail Cruiser C-23B... Pricing, options, and perhaps more important floor plan made the final decision for me, I bought the Trail Cruiser! It s been a long hunt, but I think it s been worthwhile. For once in my life I bought what I wanted, not something that I was steered into!!!
 
 Speaking of which, RVWholesalers emailed me tonight, seems they ll have my delivery date set in stone on Monday....It s getting close!!![]

[luvtacamp]

 jawilson
I ll say this, we looked, shopped, and compared many popups.  We ended up buying a used 97 Dutchman.  It is in excellent condition, in fact everyone of our friends who s seen it thinks it s brand new.  The cabinets, the shower/toliet, privacy curtains, tinted windows, cusions, etc are all as good quailty as we compared with on Colemans, Jayco s, etc.  In fact the wood used for the beds are the better quailty plywood instead of the cheap pressed wood. It cranks wonderfully, honestly I believe we got a great deal.  I m sure it will have future normal wear and tear like any pu.  At least I don t forsee any roof problems like the Coleman s in that year model.  Nothing against Coleman s, our first pu was a small 8 ft Coleman Roanoke.  It doesn t concern me at all if Dutchman doesn t make them anymore.

[Gamecock Camper]

 jawilson
I agree that floorplan and options are probably more important than the brand-name.  Our first camper was a Jayco and our current camper is a Rockwood.  Both are well built and the biggest difference is that the Rockwood is much more solid.  Probably because the Rockwood is 2ft longer and has a slide-out and a front storage trunk..... I m sure that a Jayco, Coleman, Viking, etc... would also have a more solid frame, etc.. with these options.  When I was looking to upgrade, I found the Viking campers to be comparable to the Jaycos in build and material quality.  I also found the Colemans to be well built and a little more expensive than other brands.   I saw well built campers with Coleman, but the pricing was noticably higher when compared to other brands with similar floorplans and options.  I don t think you can really go wrong with any brand.   Keep doing your research and you ll find what YOU will feel is the best camper for you and your family.