91 coleman

[llroden]

Hello All,
New here. I have been shopping on and off for a pop up for awhile. I have found a 91 coleman dynasty. It is in good shape however the tent/canvas is gone. Is this a decent camper? They are asking $300.

Thanks,
LLRoden

[hoppy]

The early Colemans were very good campers.
As a matter of fact, the brand new Colemans still use the same lift system as the one found in that '91 you are looking at. Case in point, it's still working.

 But figure it will cost between $450.00 - $650.00 to replace the canvas. That is a lot of money to put in to an old PU. But if everything on the inside is in good shape, and with a little maintenence and TLC, you should end up with a reliable unit for less than a thousand bucks.

 You can check on line the replacement canvas cost at //www.bearcreekcanvas.com, or //www.canvasreplacements.com. I used Canvas Replacements in the past, and they were excellent. It is real easy to replace the canvas with some simple hand tools and a couple of hours of work.

 Welcome to the forum, and I hope this info is helpful to you.

[austinado16]

Welcome!

Two thoughts:
1) How does the canvas in a '91 get ruined?  I'd do some very thorough investigation; checking for water a mildew damage, and soft floors in the corners inside the cabinets, etc.  You see '80s era campers all the time that have canvas in excellent shape, so it doesn't bode well for your proposed camper and the kind of care/use it's had.

2) Does it have the features you guys want and a size that will be sufficient for years to come?  If it does, and it passes thorough inspection, then it might be worth saving.  If it doesn't, you're probably going to waste money saving it.

I have a formula for buying projects like this on the cheap...and I do it alot with cars and campers, and other stuff.  The item is ultimate worth about X number of dollars in normal nice condition.   Subtract your "good deal" price from X amount of final value, and you can generally see how much time/parts/labor/money it's going to take to bring the item back to usable nice condition.

So if you're spending $300 on what would be a $1,900 camper, you get an idea of what it's going to take to make it a nice camper.

The only cheat for this formula is "How much can you do, and/or are you willing to do during the "restoration" process.  If you're a "do-it-all" kind of guy, then you cut the restoration price in half, or better.  

That being said, our Starcraft Nova was $250 and it's been the best $250 we've ever spent.

[llroden]

Thank you very much for the input.

[rsgault]

I agree with austinado16.  If it is in decent overall shape and just needs a canvas, some TLC and fits your needs I would say it is a good buy.  I paid $900 for an 82 Coleman Redwood that was in pretty good shape.  I replaced the canvas because a lot of the stitching was rotten.  However, I enjoy restoring old cars and boats so this has been a fun project for me.  Good luck if you decide to go for it.  I would be interested if I didn't have too many toys already.