Hi,
My wife and I find ourselves somewhat unexpectedly suddenly considering joining the
fiberglass RV community. Since last summer, we had been preparing ourselves for starting a teardrop build this new year. However, as we got closer to having to "put up or shut up" we found ourselves increasingly unsure whether we were comfortable sinking that much time into a teardrop when we had reservations on whether we'd be fully content with something that small. We had lived out of the back of an Astro van when building our little off-grid cabin, and while we have very fond memories of that we also remembered the hassles of getting dressed in a tiny space, having limited storage for clothes etc. Furthermore, we still look at even some of the very cool teardrop builds and ask 'where exactly does the dog sleep?'.
So, cue fate and the VERY FIRST notification that popped up when she set a Craigslist alert for campers <$7k is for a
U-Haul CT-13 which we've arranged do go see tomorrow. The interior is largely gutted, so we still have a project ahead of us, but that's (hopefully) part of the fun.
So, my quick question for the group is what we should be looking at when inspecting things. For me, the 2 potential show-stoppers would seem to be floor rot (if extensive) and frame condition (I don't think we're up for pulling the shell off and doing frame maintenance right up front). Next would seem to be window/door condition and seals, plus the other misc. entry points. Are there any not-so-obvious things to look for?
My 2nd question is regarding what appears to be a complete lack of any suspension in the
axle. I'm somewhat concerned about this given that
boondocking on forest service roads etc is something we definitely want to do once we get our legs under us. We recently pulled a lightly loaded utility trailer w/ a 3500 lb leaf-spring
axle up to our cabin which is ~8 mi up a road probably similar to a rough forest service road, and it almost shook itself to pieces during the trip. I'm rather concerned that the CT13 might not have been designed for that kind of scenario.
I suspect that the
axle could be replaced by a torsion or leaf-spring axle, but once again that isn't something we'd really want to do up-front.
Sorry for the quick intro with questions, but hopefully this is the first post of many.
thanks
Doug (and Tina)