sam-HILO
Senior Member
History of trailers owned
When I was growing up our family tent camped. Then My mother bought a truck camper for my dads 1/2 ton truck. She didn't ask my dad. I now realize that with seven of us in the family we were severely over loaded. Two of us slept in a pup tent. Second trip out to thousands islands my dad stopped at sears and bought camper insurance. Dad was pulling into a curbside park and ripped the corner of the camper out. We finished our trip. Then my dad parked it in the yard and let it rot. Many stopped and wanted to buy it. Moral of the story is don't buy an RV unless both parties are in agreement. I also extensively tent camped with the Girl Scouts. My young body could sleep just about anywhere. We got married in 1982. DH never camped a day in his life. We bought a 1966 Apache popup from his brother for $250.00. We had a 1/2 ton pick up truck. The trailer had 1 inch mattress on each bed end. Thought we died and went to heaven with one electrical outlet in the Apache. The add on screen room was full of broken zippers,but it had a rubber floor. My sister worked at a awning/canvas shop and was able to go in evenings and days off to repair it all with Velcro. It served us well for a number of years. The rubber room still got wet on the floor when it rained hard. This is when I realized it was a good idea to pack everything in plastic bins. I passed this along to my sisters family and they used it for a number of years until the canvas fell apart. It is still used as a utility trailer on their country property. Bought a beautiful Palomino hardside camper with canvas bedends. It was used but the 90 yr. old owner had chest pains setting it up. Certainly an upgrade with cupboards and a built in Ref. We used this for 5or 6 years. DH plumbed in a propane heater. Got tired of setting it up and the dripping condensation on our faces when the heater was used. My sister's family still has it and it is in excellent shape. Then we got the HiLo. Fell in love with the interior colors and layout. It is a breeze to tow with our F250. Still taking care of it so it will last many more years. Joined our HiLove NY HiLo owners club and have made many life long friends and memories.
When I was growing up our family tent camped. Then My mother bought a truck camper for my dads 1/2 ton truck. She didn't ask my dad. I now realize that with seven of us in the family we were severely over loaded. Two of us slept in a pup tent. Second trip out to thousands islands my dad stopped at sears and bought camper insurance. Dad was pulling into a curbside park and ripped the corner of the camper out. We finished our trip. Then my dad parked it in the yard and let it rot. Many stopped and wanted to buy it. Moral of the story is don't buy an RV unless both parties are in agreement. I also extensively tent camped with the Girl Scouts. My young body could sleep just about anywhere. We got married in 1982. DH never camped a day in his life. We bought a 1966 Apache popup from his brother for $250.00. We had a 1/2 ton pick up truck. The trailer had 1 inch mattress on each bed end. Thought we died and went to heaven with one electrical outlet in the Apache. The add on screen room was full of broken zippers,but it had a rubber floor. My sister worked at a awning/canvas shop and was able to go in evenings and days off to repair it all with Velcro. It served us well for a number of years. The rubber room still got wet on the floor when it rained hard. This is when I realized it was a good idea to pack everything in plastic bins. I passed this along to my sisters family and they used it for a number of years until the canvas fell apart. It is still used as a utility trailer on their country property. Bought a beautiful Palomino hardside camper with canvas bedends. It was used but the 90 yr. old owner had chest pains setting it up. Certainly an upgrade with cupboards and a built in Ref. We used this for 5or 6 years. DH plumbed in a propane heater. Got tired of setting it up and the dripping condensation on our faces when the heater was used. My sister's family still has it and it is in excellent shape. Then we got the HiLo. Fell in love with the interior colors and layout. It is a breeze to tow with our F250. Still taking care of it so it will last many more years. Joined our HiLove NY HiLo owners club and have made many life long friends and memories.
The t hing rattled and scared me on the highway but it did have a nice old eight track in it. When he passed away we sold it and I bought a slide-in pop-up truck camper and a 97 f150 which was mildly undersized for the camper but I made it work with some upgrades including air-bags. The f-150 was my daily driver. We did one of the nicest trips ever in Colorado one summer where I hit national forest roads and campgrounds and didn't come off them for two weeks-----However the set-up was cramped for gear and I was always worried about the limits of the truck----suspension and brakes. Went back to a large tent and expensive cots but my wife had back and shoulder surgery and the cots were not working for her. Started looking for a vintage Airstream but was always enamored with the hi-lo concept especially after experiencing the high gravity of the C class and truck camper. Hi-lo was much less exspensive and work than a vintage Airstream and we like it A LOT. Nice size- and with the newer truck I forget its back there sometime. I don't think I would like a taller trailer nor a tent camper due to a number of reasons. Rick
