Time spent looking for an egg

[Borrego Dave]

It seems to me that lately there has been a number of new members looking to buy an egg and are finding it a bit hard finding out that it's not a weekend venture. I haven't ever seen this in one post so I thought starting this thread may help so folks could let newbies know how long we all looked before finding the perfect one and distance traveled to get it. Think it would be good info for them as our molded trailers are not as easy to find like a sticky is.

I looked for a year for mine and luckily only had to travel 80 miles away.

[mary and bob]

We seem to mostly rely on the "dumb luck" method of acquiring things. Found our Uhaul 20 miles away on a route I originally drove to work. However at the time of the find I had retired and Mary drove by the little RV place where the Uhaul had been brought in to be sold. She stopped and looked and 2 days later we owned it. The Casita we bought 6 months ago belonged to friends we camped with. We had told them if they ever decided to sell it we would be interested. It was never advertised for sale publicly. Had to drive 3 hours to get it. Similar circumstances with our other two campers, we were in the right place at the right time.

[Thinh]

..My 1300Trillium was bought by me within 3 hours of posting and just 15 miles away. That was on Sunday, banks were closed and I gotto get cash in hand which was borrowed from....friend. At the same time, I believe a woman on her way from 200miles away and I...beat that....

[Cathy P.]

In our case, we live about 2 hours from the center of the US so, we are equally far from just about every place. We were going to buy new but as time goes on, I am losing confidence in that decision seeing all the problems that I would rather someone else have to deal with when it comes to some of the new units.

We can't go to any rallies since my husband has to work weekends and they usually cancel their holidays and just pay double - ever hear about places where the amount of money you make doesn't improve your life? this is one - and we can't even trust they won't cancel vacation. Junk food manufacturer.

We are just really limited. Right now, there are two units, Casitas within a couple of hours drive, one is almost brand new with new price tag and the other is older but overpriced for what it is and that is in the fiberglass market, not NADA.

So, I now have one eye on the fiberglass molded and one on stick with the possibility of purchasing an EggCamper not having seen one. Life is too short to wait and wait.

[Bob Miller]

Yep, for some reason they are seldom close. Here's a little Hx of my RV purchases over the past 10 years, I live in Riverside, CA, 50 miles east of L.A. Distances were round trip. Note: Some were bought for personal use, 2 for s.o.'s , 2 for family members and 1 to repair and flip as it was a very good deal.


1. Portland OR, 2000 miles (eBay)
2. Las Vegas, 580 miles (eBay)
3. Riverside, CA (was parked on street w/ for sale sign posted three blocks away)
4. Santa Paula, CA , 270 miles (ebay)
5. Phoenix, AZ 650 miles (Craiglist) (Sold from under me before I got there)
6. Santa Fe Springs, CA 130 miles (Craigslist)
7. Livermore, CA 950 miles (Craigslist)
8. Thousand Oaks, CA 240 miles (Craigslist)
9. Jurupa Valley, CA 22 miles (Craigslist)
10. Riverside, CA 2 blocks (spotted while taking a walk, Wasn't for sale until I asked)


FWIW: All of the units I bought from Craigslist ads were bought on the 1st day the ad ran. You snooze - you looze


My next one is an early 70's European FGRV, about 5 miles from me, that the owner doesn't know he is selling to me yet! But I am working on it. LOL

[The Minimalist]

The Little Joe was about 7 hours away, and that was just to look. Fortunately, it was just what we wanted and I had the cash in hand to make the deal. We had a wonderful opportunity to see how the trailer towed, particularly in the high cross winds around Fort Worth at the time.

We had been looking for about a year, during which time we considered lots of options and were pretty certain what we wanted in terms of size and features, though not settled on a particular make or model. When we saw what looked right, we jumped. Time lost is a lost trailer, the way I understand it.

Let's face it; the search is part of the adventure. .............and I have to ask, "If you don't like travel, why do you want a trailer?".

Good luck and happy trails to all you searchers.

[monB]

I had been looking for a good 8 months when I found mine, but when I saw it, knew immediately, it was MINE! Went from St Louis, MO to the far SW side of Montana to get it, a touch over 3,257 miles round trip (came back through Denver, not recommended).

Due to medical issues, both in my old dogs and then myself, I haven't been able to take it anywhere...darn!!! (another note: 65 year old women should not carry 75 pound dogs on a regular basis)

Mon

[frank_a]

My wife and I backpacked into the Colorado Rockies 41 years ago this coming summer. Our love of hiking, mountain climbing and camping was part of the attraction we felt.

Three sons later we weren't backpacking anymore, but brought up our boys camping in tents, the last of which was Eureka's Northwoods Lodge. Fast forward a number of years, and the old backs could not handle any more tent floors, or for that matter, cots. I was going to build a teardrop, but found an old Sunline Sunspot (a "stickie") over in Syracuse, about 3 hours away, so went and bought that, knowing nothing about trailers. While this trailer was small and easy to tow, it had what I came to find out was major problems all stickies seem to have. Nevertheless, we liked the trailer idea, but wanted something a tad bigger. We found another Sunline, a 1550, in Utica, and bought that. After a major amount of work, including installing a new hot water heater and AC, we realized there was hidden rot in this sticky too. So we started to look around for the perfect trailer. We didn't need much, just a bed and toilet really, but wanted something that would last us into retirement.

That led me to this very forum. After a lot of investigation, we decided to buy a new Parkliner. Then one came up for sale fairly close to us (NJ) and we snagged it. Unfortunately, and unknown to us at the time, this trailer we bought had been in a minor accident. From what I can gather, they were taking off with the trailer, and neglected to put the hitch pin in. The trailer got loose, ran over a curb, damaged a wheel, and caused some other problems that we have since fixed. Suffice it to say we put a bundle of money we were not expecting into this trailer last year, but it's over, and we're happy campers.

Now we just have to get our 2013 Ford Escape to "see" the trailer brakes. It's always something!

Frank

P.S. With the previous owners not telling us the trailer had this incident, I have no idea how I would have determined that looking at the trailer. On the way home the microwave shelf came tumbling down. I just thought it was faulty construction in terms of support. Then I noticed the spare tire wheel had a large dent in the rim. Then I discovered the hubs did not match. Then I discovered the wastewater tank had a crack in it. This is not the kind of thing we were looking for at the time. In retrospect, we would have been better off just waiting, and buying new. Such is life.

[Island Claire]

We were very fortunate. Our first trailer was a boler and we got there first. When we bought our Trillium it had been on the market for a couple of weeks. The price was high, and the owners were picky about who they would sell it to - apparently some people wanted to use it as a guest room at their house. Buy the time we went to see it, the owners had 2 days to sell it, as they were moving out of town. This gave us bargaining room and we managed to get them down to our price -about $1000 less.
I always say, keep your eyes open for trailers in yards that have not moved in a while and drop a note in the mailbox. The most they will say is no.

[JKeel]

Hello all. I just purchased my 4th Scamp. The 1st one I found 35 miles from home. The 2nd I traveled 550 miles. The 3rd one I found 70 miles from home and this one (hopefully last) I am traveling 490 miles to pick up in the Cumberland Gap mountain area of Tennessee. They are well worth the distance when finding just the right one.

[David Tilston]

I just want to say that Randy in post #3 is one lucky man. I saw the ad that he purchased from. That is one sweet trailer for a good price, and only 15 miles away. He should purchase lottery tickets.

My employer tolerates my trailer obsession, so I have been constantly shopping for the last four years. As a result, I have six trailers, so my post will look a bit like Bob's.

Life Support:
I was about to pull the trigger on a Bigfoot 19 in Edmonton, a 6 hour return trip, when I saw a Trillium 4500 in Saskatchewan for 2/5 the price of the Bigfoot. It was in Maple Creek SK. a 8 hour return trip.

Launch Pad:
This was purchased as a method of ejecting my oldest son who's greatest ambition is to play video games perpetually. Not acceptable. I saw it on kijiji in Ontario, about a 4 hour return trip from where my dad lives, in the summer. He and my brother in law picked it up for me. It was stored at my dad's place for a year before I went out to get it:
http://www.fiberglassrv.com/forums/f...ver-60777.html

Wedding Gift:
This one kinda just happened. The seller did not use the words Trillium, or fiberglass in his ad, so the trailer went unsold for a long time. I only found it because I was searching the kijiji listings from lowest to highest cost. Around $3500 I recognized the picture. It was only a 1 hour return trip, and I talked him down significantly.

The Cantaloupe:
My worst deal. The price seemed good, but by the time I got there it was twilight, and the mosquitoes were horrible. I barely looked at it. I talked him down a bit. This one was also 8 hrs return.

Unnamed:
This is my best deal. I went to Red Deer to look at another 1300 that was advertised for $1000. It was so bad that I passed on it. But a 4500 was advertised in Edmonton for $1500, so I pushed on. It was in great shape, but I talked him down anyway. Hard to say how much travel time was spent, but if I had driven just to the 4500, it would have been 6 hours return.

Humpy Dumpty:
Advertised for $350, and about an hour west of Edmonton. I met up with the owner in Edmonton, he seemed motivated to be rid of it and dropped the price to $100 as soon as he met me. No negotiation required. I then went to where the trailer was and picked it up and brought it back to him. We did the paper work and I took it home. Total travel time was about 10 hours, including meeting up with the owner, twice.

[stevebaz]

I live just outside of LA California. I looked for 3 months and every time I saw an ad it was gone. I work so that limits instant access. I was looking for any brand small fiberglass trailer. With over 20 million people in So Cal the access is kinda tough. It didn't take long before the system of finding an ad and going to go see it wasn't going to work for me where I live.

I found listing an ad on this site and saying how far I want to travel and how much I was willing to pay was more fruitful. I was willing to pay more because it was close. Within 3 weeks of posting the ad I had a trailer in my driveway and only traveled 30 miles to get it.

I think that wanting a 13 foot trailer also helped as the turnover rate is much higher. Allot of people get in to a smaller trailer to try out trailer camping at reduced cost and fairly quickly move up to a larger trailer within a couple of years or get out all together. I probably paid a little too much but time is money too and if your going to bargain hunt where I live your going to have a long or lucky wait.

[SouthwestOregon201]

I owned a 1972 Compact II for short weekend outings and some weekend work trips. The owners were about 4 miles from my house. When I saw the unit I liked the idea of the low profile while driving and the fiberglass exterior which seemed to be in better shape, at that age, than the stick built trailers of the same age. As things developed I had to sell that when we moved.


Years later I spotted one in a nearby town and dropped off notes trying to talk to the owner. Finally I got the phone call and made the deal. This trailer was a Compact I and I liked the additional bed area. I rebuilt everything and was happy using it for camping and such.


With a planned trip down to California (600 miles) to pick up an antique door for the house, I noticed an ad for a Compact II with more comfort items for camping. Our original destination was only 35 miles from that unit, so I went to visit it. I had no intention of building a fleet of trailers, or flipping my current trailer, but the addition of brakes, rock guard, new refrigerator, clearance lights and a decent boot on the top, I decided to upgrade.


Now it is becoming a disease. I found a local 1979 Scamp and the owner didn't know what he had and had not advertised the trailer. Even though the trailer has a rounded door it did have a larger body. Everything will be new in this trailer when I finish with it, so someday I will be faced with a choice between the units.


Four trailers, 4, 34, 600, 10 miles invested, but all had to be rebuilt.


Dave Heffner
Roseburg, OR

[Timber Wolf]

I semi-seriously shopped travel trailers for a year and a half before finding my Scamp 16 by word of mouth. I did not know anything about Scamps, and had never seen one before. I did (barely) know about FGRVs in general due to a previous ad for a 13' U-Haul that I researched but did not call on.

My Scamp was about 20 miles from my house sitting in a backyard and not for sale, until enough green was discussed to entice the previous owner to sell. I felt I paid a thousand too much considering the failed axle I had to replace (and that led to new rims/tires, lug nuts, etc.). All in (money wise) now that I know what I have (with new brakes too) and having enjoyed it a year already I am unconcerned about the $1000 too much I may have paid.

As I said in another post, I can get more money (within reason) but I can't get more time with my 11 soon to be 12 year old daughter exploring and camping.

[David Tilston]

That is a good age to be camping. Right on Dad!

[Adrian W]

March or so 2005

Wanted an Egg, only knew about Scamp. Looked it up, gave the factory a call, got a packet in the mail, called & talked & ordered one sight unseen. Some 1,500 miles away.

Then the wait for it to be built.

Did go to the factory before it was built to see one in person.

When it was built in August, we were back at work so my son picked the trailer up. They were living in Minot, ND at the time.

Early Sept, they drove it halfway down from Minot to Loveland, CO & we drove up from Las Cruces. We had a nice visit & saw Rocky Mountain Nat'l Park with them.

Even paying for their fuel & camping fees & one night in a motel for us, I believe it came out less than paying Scamp to deliver the egg.

When we sold the Scamp last summer (20014), the buyer saw the ad on Craigslist & negotiated by phone (voice & texts) and emails with photos from Albuquerque about 325 miles from Las Cruces.

He was not the first to call about it.

[bullfrogeh]

We've been camping every summer since 1968, in a series of truck-campers (3), a tent trailer, stickies (4), and a fifthwheel. Always admired the FG eggs, hoping to find one, since about 1990. Found a '73 Boler 1300, just placed out for sale, one morning in 2013, just 2 km. from home. By noon. it was ours. Joined FGRV and started 'dreaming'. Built a new 'Boler Barn' (with 10 ft. ceilings) this past winter, and expect to now start minor renos, for our next generation and the grandies to use.
Best advice - 'If you stumble on a dream you've been just considering - grab it fast, and get out to explore the entire continent. We've camped (and 'geocached') in 49 states and nine provinces to date, and there's loads more to experience.

[mrmdvo]

I saw my first egg in an LL Bean parking lot and was very intrigued. They showed me the inside with the bed in back and compared it to my Chevy van on which I had put about 40K miles in 3 years or so. A year and a half later, I interrupted our vacation around Lake Champlain to look inside another one. That's when the bug struck. Went on this site off and on until I found someone selling one in the Boston area. Unfortunately, it was a weekend, I couldn't communicate with the seller on the site as I had not registered, but did find his ad on Craigslist. Went there the next day, Sunday, looked it over, and bought it then and there. He had done a bit of work on it, including a new axle, brakes, tires, floor++. Interior is almost original, toilet had been removed to make a dinette, while I made more space for storage there. Sold my van a short while later and am pleased to be part of the egg community.

[Letitia]

There is a similar 8 page thread on this topic...not sure how to link to it but for example, I posted this:
How We Found Our Eggcamper
I came across an article about small campers, which led me to this Forum. I learned a lot about fiberglass campers from reading information and advice from members, and I knew that there were only a few brands with enough interior height for my 6'4" husband....Eggcamper being one brand. So I set about searching ads on this Forum and also CraigsList. Low and behold an ad popped up on CL for a 2011 Eggcamper about a 4-hour drive away....from an RV dealer. Then the ad disappeared. Assumed we had missed out. Then a few days later, the same ad reappeared. Then disappeared. About a week later, the ad was back. This time I decided to call the dealer...yes, he said they had the Eggcamper sitting right there. I was skeptical. 😕 But hopeful. We said we'd drive up on Saturday to take a look. Called back Friday to see if it was still there....yes, they said. Called again Saturday before leaving home...called again from the road. Boy, I sure did not trust that ad!! Pulled into the lot and there sat the Eggcamper! 😄
My husband and I sat inside and discussed making the purchase. A two minute discussion! In the cabinet, we found a 3-ring binder with the original sale contract and the first buyer's name.....which I googled and found out that he was a member!! So we quickly read all his posts to see if there were any red flags, but all seemed fine. We gave the Dealer a check and they let us drive it away😍. Later I emailed Raymond C, the original owner, to tell him we had purchased his camper! He was very nice....said they traded it in for something bigger. So that's how we lucked into our Eggcamper!
__________________
Letitia
2011 Eggcamper

[Evergreengirl]

We'd been RVing for quite awhile, first with a little Toyota Dolphin mini-motorhome, then a 24' Class C, then a 32' Class A. We had serious 2-foot-itis! The big rig was nice (especially for long trips), but we got tired of the terrible gas mileage, the seemingly never-ending repairs, towing a car, and not being able to get into the kind of campgrounds we liked best because we were too big. We'd seen the small FG trailers around and always thought they were pretty appealing so after selling our big rig we began looking for one with no specific brand in mind at first, but eventually narrowing our search down to a Bigfoot. We probably looked for 3 months or so. We looked at one quite near home but it had some serious issues. We looked at another up in B. C., also pretty close to home, but it also had some issues. Finally we spotted one down near Corvallis, OR and made the trip to take a look at it, about a 700 mile round trip journey. We took enough cash so that if we had to pay full price we could, but ended up getting it for a bit less than the sellers' asking price.

We've discovered some things wrong with our trailer, but have been fixing things and making improvements as we go along. Although we'd had plenty of experience with the camping/Rv lifestyle I really wish we'd discovered this website before we bought our trailer. I think we would have learned a lot about what sort of problems or warning signs to look out for and maybe we could have avoided a few problems.

When actively shopping, we scanned Craigslist and the Fiberglass RVs For Sale websites several times a day (didn't know about this site yet or we'd have been doing the same here). I think it pays to be patient and keep looking until you find the trailer that really speaks to you.