Old PU

[Yvette]

First post.  :W  I have been a tent camper for years and love it. Ive been considering a Popup (or teardrop, or similar small camper) for a few years now. Well, my BF stumbled upon an old popup. Hes given it a once over and all he noticed wrong (hes a mechanic) is that a cable is broken. According to him its an ugly 70s era "Venture Windser". Now I have googled until I am blue. Only hit Ive gotten was a Craigslist ad from MN.

Does anyone have any info on this mystery brand/manufacture/model?

I havent seen the PU yet. It has a sink and fridge and is clean, just ugly. (I can handle ugly). Its been a number of years since its been used and its not been used by its current owners at all. Are there certain things we should be sure to inspect before handing over cash? (like i said, hes a mechanic, its been given a thorough once over already.)


Thank you so much foryour help.

[wavery]

Welcome to PUT!!!

I sure wouldn't recommend handing over very much cash. A 30+ year-old PU may be a lot more costly to get operational and maintain than it is worth.

As for the broken cable, you may want to consider replacing all of the cables. There is a good chance that if one broke, all of them may be on the verge.

If you can give us more info about the PU, we may be able to help you establish it's value.

I'd bet that there are a lot of late model PUs on the market for the price that you may well have to put into that one (if it hasn't been maintained). Sometimes, it's a false economy by getting something cheap. On the other hand, if you are getting it for $500 and it has been well maintained and everything is working, it could be a good deal.

[Yvette]

Thanks Wavery. Asking price on it is 350$if that makes a difference.
What is the average cost of a cable? Is the replacement something that we could do ourselves or would it require a dealership?
And since I found my notes, it also has surge brakes. No clue on heating. None of the netting appears to be in bad condition, there arent any tears.

Great point on the cost of maintaining and getting operational. Thats something I need to keep in mind for sure!

[tlhdoc]

Welcome to PUT!
 
It could be a nice camper.  Sense your boy friend is a mechanic he should be able to replace the busted lift cable.  Good luck finding more information on this PU.

[Miller Tyme]

Venture at one time was a stand alone pop-up manufacturer. IIRC, they were bought by Starcraft in the late '70's.
 
 My first rig was a '74 Venture "Cadbury"-12 ft. box, heater, icebox, sink, and 3 burner cooktop. Paid $500 for it in 1999, sold it 2 years later for $450. Only repairs---busted cable, and re-sealed roof.
 
 The lift cable was about $15  from my local dealer. It was for a Starcraft, but fit my rig as the 2 makes were almost identical during those model years.

[sheains20]

I do not know much about that brand name but I have vintage 1970 trailer and I love it.  It does not have all the bells and whistles that the newer pups have but it does have character.  As for the money aspect you can spend as much or as little as you choose.  The parts are usually affordable but some can be difficult to find.

[lwbfl]

Sounds like a deal to me if you like it and will use it!  I have a '71 or '75 (some confusion between the tag and title) Bethany Citation and love it!  I bought it and remodeled it for nearly nothing.  This winter I plan on changing the floor plan to add a few more items.  I still won't have nearly as much invested as a newer used model, and I basically built it like I wanted it!  Check my webshots for some pics.