erika
Advanced Member
We just bought our very first camper after looking for a year - a 2001 FWC "Hawk" for $6500. We have it on our 2010 Toyota Tundra. We have unfortunately discovered some potentially major issues that the seller did not inform us of, and which were not visible inside their garage when we inspected the camper. It was listed as 'excellent condition'. I'm hoping some of you camper guru's may convince me we didn't get ripped off, and ultimately have some solutions to the issues.
The biggest issue is the seam seal on all the vinyl windows of the pop-up, which apparently never cured. Photos at this link:
. It is a sticky, gooey mess both inside and outside on all 4 window seams. It has tons of dirt, hair and grime stuck to it and is tacky to to the touch, no matter the temperature outside. (The camper was stored in the garage of seller so this was not obvious in dim light, plus it was a cold day). We discovered this problem after we purchased camper and popped up in the sun, when the seam seal started oozing on the exterior seams. It is like sap, it sticks to everything it contacts. The seller said they never seam sealed it themselves, and were unaware of any issue. This is questionable given that the glue is stuck to anything it contacts when camper is closed down (bed cushions have permanent glue lines, top of cabinets sticky all over, etc).
Is there any way to remove this and not damage the vinyl? A solvent (mineral spirits) was only thing that removed glue off top of cabinets. I have used an old credit card to scrape off every seam and get most of the dirt and grime and big gooey chunks removed once it's heated up in the sun. I have tried rubbing alcohol & Goo Gone and it did nothing. I put plastic down on the bed and top of cabinet before closing camper in order to minimize more of a mess. We have also discovered some thin horizontal cracks in the vinyl (where it folds up) that may need some repair.
The other issue I discovered on our first camping trip last week was that the rear door window leaks and possible the door as well. It was raining pretty hard while driving and I discovered a puddle of water near the door, plus dirt and water oozing out of base of window on inside. The door was closed and locked, and the door seal looks mostly ok. I cannot visually see why the door windows is leaking. Hopefully this is easier to remedy than the seam seal issue?
I further discovered that the camper was likely not taken care of correctly as there is some mold near the top of exterior vinyl, and one of the bed cushions and cover had mold and needs to be replaced. The camper was very musty smelling when we inspected it, however they had left it closed up in their garage for 1.5 years so we assumed the smell would go away. It has not, and has been aired out for almost 2 weeks. I am very allergic to mold so this added to my frustration in buying a camper in a condition different than we were aware of. Being new to truck campers, we have since learned we should have inspected it much more thoroughly.
Thankyou for any help!
The biggest issue is the seam seal on all the vinyl windows of the pop-up, which apparently never cured. Photos at this link:
Is there any way to remove this and not damage the vinyl? A solvent (mineral spirits) was only thing that removed glue off top of cabinets. I have used an old credit card to scrape off every seam and get most of the dirt and grime and big gooey chunks removed once it's heated up in the sun. I have tried rubbing alcohol & Goo Gone and it did nothing. I put plastic down on the bed and top of cabinet before closing camper in order to minimize more of a mess. We have also discovered some thin horizontal cracks in the vinyl (where it folds up) that may need some repair.
The other issue I discovered on our first camping trip last week was that the rear door window leaks and possible the door as well. It was raining pretty hard while driving and I discovered a puddle of water near the door, plus dirt and water oozing out of base of window on inside. The door was closed and locked, and the door seal looks mostly ok. I cannot visually see why the door windows is leaking. Hopefully this is easier to remedy than the seam seal issue?
I further discovered that the camper was likely not taken care of correctly as there is some mold near the top of exterior vinyl, and one of the bed cushions and cover had mold and needs to be replaced. The camper was very musty smelling when we inspected it, however they had left it closed up in their garage for 1.5 years so we assumed the smell would go away. It has not, and has been aired out for almost 2 weeks. I am very allergic to mold so this added to my frustration in buying a camper in a condition different than we were aware of. Being new to truck campers, we have since learned we should have inspected it much more thoroughly.
Thankyou for any help!