Looking at 2010 Forest River Palomino P Series

[marciegoltz]

Looking at 2010 Forest River Palomino P Series Pop Up to purchase, thoughts? Price is below $5,000

I've been looking for over a year and most of the time I see late 1990s-early 2000s at or below the $5,000 mark. This one has all the boxes checked for what I want AC, heat, frig, sink, stove, only 12 ft., and canvass looks good as does the general aspects of the camper - visually anyway. Any words of warning or wisdom? Thanks! It would e my first camper!

 

[Dave2514g]

Check everywhere for signs of water intrusion or damage. Use your feet on every square inch of the floor to feel for soft spots. Press all along the roof to look for the same. Check all the seams for signs of water intrusion. Crawl under and inspect the flooring for rot.
Try every appliance on every source it should run on (120VAC, 12VDC, propane) if something doesn't work, but isn't a deal breaker it could help you lower the purchase price. Set the trailer up and down fully to ensure everything folds up and down with no issues and nothing is missing.
Also worth mentioning, set money aside for a new battery and tires as both items likely will be needed.

Another final note that's important to mention: ensure that your tow vehicle can handle both the weight of the trailer, and the payload of the tongue weight plus passengers and gear before pulling the trigger on any purchase.

 

[marciegoltz]

Check everywhere for signs of water intrusion or damage. Use your feet on every square inch of the floor to feel for soft spots. Press all along the roof to look for the same. Check all the seams for signs of water intrusion. Crawl under and inspect the flooring for rot.
Try every appliance on every source it should run on (120VAC, 12VDC, propane) if something doesn't work, but isn't a deal breaker it could help you lower the purchase price. Set the trailer up and down fully to ensure everything folds up and down with no issues and nothing is missing.
Also worth mentioning, set money aside for a new battery and tires as both items likely will be needed.

Another final note that's important to mention: ensure that your tow vehicle can handle both the weight of the trailer, and the payload of the tongue weight plus passengers and gear before pulling the trigger on any purchase.

Dave,
Thank you so much for all the wonderful advice! Unfortunately, the seller is showing the camper today to someone else before I can get there so it might not happen for me after all, but I will save your suggestions for sure.
Best,
Marcie

 

[jmkay1]

Dave2514g pretty much said it all. Just wanted to stress to even go inside the cabinets and feel around the floor and do the same underneath the camper. Don't forget to look under the eves of the camper roof (best if done while in the half raised half lowered position) so you can see and feel the wood there without the canvas in the way. Also wanted to stress to raise/lower the roof yourself so you know the lift works smoothly etc. Don't go up with rose colored glasses. Act like you are an home inspector ( I even went with a clipboard, a checklist and flashlight) when I went to look at my new to me popup. Don't go by what the seller says but only by what your eyes and hands tell you. If your state requires camper inspections have it inspected by your trusted state inspector/dealer even if the inspection sticker shows to be recent. You never know if someone got paid off to put that sticker on. (Found that out the hard way myself). Lastly you may also want to check up on your HOA/or even city rules in regards to campers and their storage. Don't want to get your camper home and get a nasty gram on your door. Finding storage solutions last minute can be down right costly or impossible. Just wanted to point that out as it's not something people think about.

 

[marciegoltz]

Dave2514g pretty much said it all. Just wanted to stress to even go inside the cabinets and feel around the floor and do the same underneath the camper. Don't forget to look under the eves of the camper roof (best if done while in the half raised half lowered position) so you can see and feel the wood there without the canvas in the way. Also wanted to stress to raise/lower the roof yourself so you know the lift works smoothly etc. Don't go up with rose colored glasses. Act like you are an home inspector ( I even went with a clipboard, a checklist and flashlight) when I went to look at my new to me popup. Don't go by what the seller says but only by what your eyes and hands tell you. If your state requires camper inspections have it inspected by your trusted state inspector/dealer even if the inspection sticker shows to be recent. You never know if someone got paid off to put that sticker on. (Found that out the hard way myself). Lastly you may also want to check up on your HOA/or even city rules in regards to campers and their storage. Don't want to get your camper home and get a nasty gram on your door. Finding storage solutions last minute can be down right costly or impossible. Just wanted to point that out as it's not something people think about.

Thank you too! I have clients that have land 30 min. away that will hold the camper for me if needed and my downsizer home has no HOA so I should be good on that! I unfortunately din't get this one, but am hopefully something better will come along.

 

[jmkay1]

unfortunately din't get this one, but am hopefully something better will come along.

Something else will come around. 7 years ago when I was looking I’ve lost quite a few because I wasn’t fast enough, turned a lot more down as well. It is a long, frustrating, and even costly process just remember the early bird gets the worm so sometimes you just have to make something work to see a camper.

 

[Dave2514g]

Don't get discouraged that you lost out on this one. Be patient, and take your time looking to make sure there are no surprises that you would have noticed if you hadn't rushed into buying something. Good luck in the search.