The quest began as the result of many hours of contemplation over completely fixing up the old truck or finding a new one. All of that contemplating came about as a result of purchasing the 5th wheel camper.
The "need" for a camper started because of the tent collapse fiasco (see Earlier Post) and the high temps last summer that made tent camping not much of an option. (Cherilyn had sold her horses last year, along with some horse equipment and wanted to put the money toward something fun.) Cherilyn had originally thought of getting a pop up camper with an AC unit and I have to admit I was not very sold on the idea. She had done some looking around on the net and found that there were some deals to be had and decided to look more seriously. The day we brought Krystene to the airport after her Christmas visit, we stopped at a dealer to look at some used pop ups. While there, we looked at some trailers and I began to see the possibilities. :) I was more sold on a trailer than a pop up. The interesting thing we discovered was there was not a huge price jump to a trailer from a pop up. So, we decided to look for a great deal on a 5th wheel but first, we needed a hitch in the truck in order to pull the camper. We searched for and found a great deal on a hitch.
Our search for the camper continued on the net and during our travels to deliver puppies and pick up the kids after their visit with their dad. A couple of weeks past and we found what we were looking for.
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| '98 Coachmen Catalina |
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| full pop out |
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| living space |
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| 4 piece bath |
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| kitchen came with an upgraded fridge, gas range and oven, and a microwave |
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| the 5th wheel is 25' long |
Now, we thought we might want to do some body work to the truck since it did have some rust and the paint was peeling in many places. We found out that some paint shops did not want to mess with anything with rust, others said they wanted $7500 to restore the paint and body (OUTRAGEOUS) and so we thought we would see if we could find used parts in good shape. In the course of our search for parts we ran across someone who actually gave us a more reasonable quote for all the work. ($4500) We thought we would consider that but we had to bring the truck in to our mechanic to have a steering stabilizer bar installed and have him look around one more time for any mechanical issues. The bar was installed and the mechanic noticed a couple of minor issues. He said it was not a huge deal as long as our trips were only 300 miles or so. Any long trips would have to wait while we figured out the issues and had the appropriate repairs completed. This information would lead to a search for a newer vehicle. We could fix the truck we had or spend about the same amount of money and get a newer vehicle, one with less miles and what would be a very important convenience, the extra doors on the quad cab.
Here is what we began with:
The old truck:
- 1997 Dodge Ram 2500 Club Cab, long bed. 5 speed manual transmission V6 Cummins Turbo Diesel
- Miles - 299099
- only 2 doors which makes it hard to get anyone in and out of the back
We began our search.
Did you know that there are not very many used trucks in an "affordable" price range out there? One day we ran across what looked to be a really good deal. I called the dealer and was assured that the truck, for what it was, was in good shape. The pictures showed some body issues but at the listed price, it was not a problem. I was assured the truck ran well and the AC was in working condition. We decided to make the two hour drive that afternoon. Fortunately it was a Friday and getting back late would not be a big deal for the kids. (Note that I mentioned that there were not many trucks available, thus the two hour drive.) The truck turned out to be a dud. First thing, check engine light on, next, E brake does not work, power window on the drivers side does not work which means I cannot adjust the mirror since it is not power. All this and we have only turned the truck on. We drove it anyway, after all, we did drive two hours to see it. Upon driving we discovered the AC does NOT work and the manual transmission does not like 3rd gear. I would not have given two grand for that thing. We went home! UGH! What a colossal waste of time, energy and gas. Once again proving, if it seems too good to be true, it probably is too good to be true!
Thinking that we might not be able to get a new truck, we were nearly consigned to living with the one we had and doing a little at a time to fix it up and hoping that perhaps next year we might find what we were looking for. Then, last week while I was driving to deliver a puppy in Arkansas, I passed a little lot with vehicles for sale and spotted what I thought was a good deal. I could only make out part of the price in the window and I thought it was a long bed. It was dark when I came back through so I could not see the truck to confirm anything that night. The lot was only about 40 minutes from the house and on the same route to our vet. The next day I asked Cherilyn to check with Lori to see if she was headed to the vet and if she was, could she stop and look at the truck I saw. She was headed there and she was able to stop. It was a good price, she said it was a long bed and it had the Cummins diesel. She gave me the phone number and I made a call. This really was sounding too good to be true again but since it was relatively close, we jumped in the van and headed out to see it. Turned out to be a worth while trip. We negotiated a little and got a better price, put a deposit down on the truck and picked it up today.
The "New" Truck:
- 2001 Dodge Ram 2500 Quad Cab, long bed, V6 Cummins Turbo Diesel automatic transmission
- Miles - 199,133
- Quad Cab = 4 doors :)
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| no major paint issues |
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| 4 doors! :) |
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| clean interior |
Next on the to do list - get the 5th wheel hitch taken out of the old truck and put into the new one and clean up and sell the old truck. Cherilyn has already listed the old truck on Craigslist and had two inquiries.
Anyone want to go camping with us? :)
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