Introducing the Stargazer
It has been a 3 year journey for us to save up for a camper. Owning a home always comes with certain expenses and the last two years, a bad HVAC and a bad pool liner soaked up the camper saving. This year, we made it through and started looking.
Now 2021 has been a strange year to look for a camper. The 2020 Pandemic left a lot of people ready to hit the road and see the world in a camper. There have been shortages of campers, new and used camper prices have skyrocketed, and new camper quality has plummeted. Folks are buying new campers, waiting months on them, and then getting them to find issues that need to be fixed under warranty that require several more months of wait. It is crazy.
We looked a lot. We had simple but challenging to match requirements: 25 foot or less fifth wheel, under $10000, with a bathroom. We saw a lot of fifth wheels. We drove two hours to a dealership to find a beautiful newer fifth wheel only to step inside and find that though it looked perfect, there was no sheeting left under any of the floors -- the linoleum was literally hanging between the crossbeams. Another fifth wheel we found, though we drove two hours to see a 24 footer, was 28 feet, too large and too expensive. A dealer was actually try to sell us a $600 inspection and course to teach us how to use a camper. I could get a house inspected for less!
When I found this camper, it was an hour from work and an hour from home. A lovely couple with kids had spent Covid lockdown remodeling it. He was a contractor, so he knew his stuff. All that was orignal in the interior were the cabinets, all repainted, and the tub. The walls, ceilings, floors, and such has all been redone. There was a new sink, a new toilet, and all reupholstered couch and dinette. The stove, propane furnace, and fridge had been removed. A residential mini fridge was put in that would only run off of 120v. It was a 24 foot 1998 Skyline Nomad Century, practically a one of a kind. The outside had been repainted, but the old aluminum still showed a lot of battle scars. The roof had been resealed. All the walls were taken apart and reinsulated. My wife and I looked over the photos and videos I took and discussed. For the asking price, minus a little negotiation, we expected be very much under budget, and we could afford to make modifications to replace the fridge and stovetop and still come out ahead. So we made an offer and for $3700 we got our deal.
That week was the longest week I have experienced in a long time. The camper was in a different state, so I had to get an inspection done. Between that, making the offer, dropping off the check, getting title and such handled, I made the extra two hour trip 6 times in 5 days. To top it off, my fifth wheel hitch was running late, so I wasn't even sure when I would be able to pick it up.
Finally, things came together and we got to bring it home. It was my first time dealing with a fifth wheel. The sellers were great, helping us hookup and get on the road. It was a 60 mile trek back home. All the way, I got the distinct feeling something wasn't pulling right. I later learned this was chucking caused by the bad original suspension on the camper. No worries -- its an easy fix.
Backing down the step hill that is my driveway was a trick. I have a full 8' bed Super Duty with extended cab, so getting the camper into the drive wasn't bad, but keeping the front end of my truck out of the neighbor's yard was hard. We got it done, got it unhitched, and got it set up.
It turned out that was just the beginning of the adventure. We ordered a fridge (a replacement for a replacement for a replacement for the original fridge) and the stovetop. I started getting all the components together we would need: hoses, pipes, blocks, etc.
The stovetop is in the limbo of Camping World backorder -- 6 weeks to receive, so we got an induction top for the meantime. The refrigerator was too large to fit through the door, and so we ended up removing the door and frame to get it installed. The first set of replacement steps I ordered were too big, even though I measured per the manufacturer's website. So I had to order a different set. The taillights were acting up, and taking them apart, I found them original and corroded, so I rebuilt them with new pigtails and new LED bulbs. I took the opportunity to add a backup camera to make backing easier.
The previous owners closed up the camper tight. Unfortunately this also meant all my fridge vents were sealed, and I had to open them back up again. It took a lot of work in a small space to fit the fridge into an appropriate cabinet with the appropriate ventilation, but it is mostly done now. But the 3-way fridge doesn't work. Propane, I haven't hooked up. The 120/12 volt settings both require 12 volt power. The old 12 volt converter unfortunately is too noisy and send the control board relays flipping instead of latching. A new converter is on the way.
We did get a nice regular queen size mattress and it fit well and worked out well. It takes time to adjust to sleeping in a fifth wheel where the mattress is just on a large flat platform.
Today was our first trip -- the maiden voyage. We filled the water tank last night and it was leaking slightly. Probably a loose pipe clamp. The suspension is getting replaced next week. We're using the fridge as an ice box for now. The electric only hookup here at the state park runs everything quite nicely, only slightly better than the 20 Amp circuit did at home.
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