Finally the stars aligned and another Craig's List find made it back home with me. On Sunday, my son and I traveled to South Akron and hitched up a 1984 Coleman Newport. You might be thinking to yourself, why does Dj (don't forget Floatman too!) need another camper? And you would be correct, we really don't need another camper! LOL! But, we do need a hauling trailer and we definitely needed the four pads that complement the dinette area of the 22' Banner. Without them, let's just say sitting on 3/4" plywood and a vertical back rest is very uncomfortable! Not to mention, converting the dinette to sleeping would have all the luxuries of a foreign prison bed!
If you have ever researched upholstery padding, you know that it isn't cheap! The good stuff is a small fortune and then you have to become a seamstress to make the covers. Well, I can sew, but this isn't as simple as putting a button back on a shirt. Finding a set of seat cushions that would fit the size we needed for the Banner was a priority. Another nagging "want" was a trailer that Floatman and I could use to tow supplies up to camp as needed and facilitate trips to H.Depot when we make building additions to the property (steps coming off the deck anyone?). Plus, Floatman, Packmule and I are planning on a doing a inflatible pontoon trip down a class A stocked trout stream in late spring of 2011 and we need a way to haul the pontoons! This pop-up fulfills them all!
The Newport is slightly larger than my Columbia and comes equipped with a 9.5' long box, so naturally the pads for the dinette are longer than we need which works out great. Another benefit is the longer box makes for a longer trailer frame which is really great. The previous owner tried to convince me that all it needed was a new tree and cable hoist system, but once I pried the top off...it was evident that it needed A LOT more than that. I'm very glad that I wasn't purchasing it for camping purposes or the $200 I spent would have been waisted and my hopes at camping dashed. It was a pleasant reminder that the $250 I spent on the Columbia several years ago was money well spent and reinforced what a great deal I got on that one.
It took me and my son about 5 hours to dismantle the popup parts and remove them from the trailer. I meticulously chopped up the pieces into sizes that could be disposed of properly. I have no doubt that the aluminum and steel will be on my tree lawn for only a few minutes. The area's traveling metal recycler is quite efficient when it comes to picking through everyone's trash of valuable scrap. It is a "service" I don't mind as the trash collector usually rejects anything that can't be hidden within a can or bagged.
My hopes are that the parts that I was able to salvage through the tear down and relist on CL will sell, thus lowering the amount of my investment to the point that Floatman and I can say we got the padding and the trailer for free. We'll see, it is the end of the camping season. Many of them may sit in the garage until spring of next year, but that's ok!
Recap:
It's not free, but here is what a $250 1984 Coleman Newport Pop-up Camper gets you:
- (4) perfectly matched seat/backpads for the Banner's dinette/bed area
- (2) 3" foam queen size mattresses for use in the Banner.
- (1) 7' X 9' long utility trailer frame w/brand new tires (I forgot to mention that!)
- (1) Full set of privacy drapes for the Columbia camper (since they were removed due to age)
- (1) Entrance door with door-to-canvas seals that are in perfect condition (I'll swap the door with mine and sell the door on CList) These plastic pieces sell for $30 a side at the RV store!!!!
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