The New Addition: Finding a Camper

After searching on Craigslist for eons, we finally found the starter camper of our dreams. Turns out, it's a 1986 Starcraft Starmaster, and it checked all our boxes in it's vintage glory.

Under 1,500 pounds
We planned to tow the camper with our Honda CRV, but we didn't know if it even could. We just knew we wanted a camper. With a quick jaunt around the internets, we found our max tow weight.  It limited our camper search a bit, but we found most small soft-top pop-up campers were under our 1,500 lbs restriction.

Good canvas condition with no mildew
What the inside looked like wasn't a priority, especially since we plan to update it, but the outside condition was super important. If I believe everything the internet tells me, and I do here, canvas replacement runs about $800 to $1,000- that's just for the canvas and doesn't include shipping and time for installation. Replacing the canvas didn't seem like a worthwhile investment when you can just find a camper with good canvas for a bit more money. We could work with a few small rips, but mildew was a no-no.

Sleeps at least 5
Sleeps 5 = room for the two of us, our dog, and two buddies. Perfect.

Working refrigerator, sink, and stove
A camper without these things is just a tent on wheels. If we were going to buy a camper, we wanted it to be a tiny house on wheels.

Title
Campers need state registration, which means a title is required. Everyone hates the DMV, and not having the title would mean more time there. Also, if an owner didn't hang onto the title, it's likely they didn't take good care of the camper either.

This Starcraft camper had it all, and then some. It came with the original owner's manual  (which should come in handy) and amazing storage with a 3 drawer dresser, storage under both couches, and a wardrobe + vanity combo. To boot, it also has newish tires, a bike rack, and a full propane tank. They even threw in a french press for camp coffee.

We bought the camper from its original owners, and we could tell they took loving care of it. They happily shared camper memories over the 24 years, and much needed cleaning and maintenance advice. They had a lot of history with the camper, but were excited to pass it on to us. As we were pulling away, they stood in the driveway for a long time, likely saying good-bye to their camper memories just as we're saying hello to ours.