When our daughter, Katie, was very young, we bought a pop-top camper from Tom Raper’s in Indiana. For a few years it was great. It was light, had a good capacity, good accommodations, but raising it and lowering it was a pain. Add another child to it and it was not so great.

So we sold it and bought a 1975 Argosy camper from someone that Rachel works with. Argosy campers are the cousin to Airstream (all aluminum, shiny silver) campers. It was just a 22-foot camper, and it was old, but with some work, it was good for a while – just old, and not very accommodating (but we did not have to crank it up!).

This year, we were facing more repairs on a 35 year-old camper, or the option to buy used or new. Used was the best route based on cost, but once we started looking at the used models, we found there was a lot of wear on them, and the new models were not all that much more (more, but not outrageous). So we kept looking.

A couple weekends ago, we spent an entire day in Cincinnati looking at new models: price, capacity, weight, accommodations, looks, and price (again). We started in Mason, then Batavia, then out near Jungle Jim’s. We really liked some “toy haulers” but while they had lots of room, they were not cheap, and not as comfy. Rachel had to attend a conference near Jungle Jim’s, so the kids and I went to the Covington Convention center as they were having an RV show. We did not find what we wanted, but found a model that sounded good.

That Monday, Rachel drove all the way to Walton, KY to look at, and put money down on a model that sounded good. After that, I got on my bargain-busting hat, and found some other dealers with a better deal (a couple grand less). We ended up at Holman GMC and RV in Batavia (a place we had previously stopped at, looking for a smaller model). They gave us a great deal, and while the price was way over what we hoped for in used, it was way lower than retail for a brand new, fully warranted model.

We bought the unit two weekends ago, and due to a misunderstanding with the saleswoman, we were not able to pick up the unit this past Saturday as we had hoped. Instead, Rachel and I had to take off work tonight to get the camper. BUT WE GOT IT! Sadly, had to add another $700 for a hitch receiver and sway control – GAG!!! So much for $500 being the price! We thought that was too much.

Anyhow, here is the Avalanche picking up the camper today. Yeah! Thank goodness for 10-year RV payments! Makes it almost bearable. We are two weeks from Jekyll Island, GA so timing is excellent. Now if I can persuade Rachel to sell the Argosy…. she gets SO attached to things! At least the trucks are all fixed (for now).

Photos below taken by dealer (Holman GMC and RV in Batavia, OH):