1992 or 1993 Sunline Coach 39 Foot Travel Trailer.

ralphroberts · 04-14-2017, 09:06 PM

Hello everybody,

I have the opportunity to purchase a huge Sunline trailer for next to nothing. The gentleman is claiming that it is a 1993 - 40 foot Sunline, bumper pull, dual axle trailer. The Bedroom is on the tongue. The bathroom is near the rear. The middle has the living room, kitchen dining combo. It only has a single 15,000 BTU rooftop air conditioning unit. It does not have any slide outs. Has anyone heard of a 39 or 40 foot model? I have found information on a 35 foot Sunline in 1992. Does the measurement of the tongue get included in the length or not?

We are newbies. We are planning to reside in one for a few years taking a job opportunity elsewhere while completing college at 40 years of age.

Looking to do do a full renovation and modernize while utilizing light (real wood) paneling, aluminium, LED lighting, spray insulation, solar panels and remove all the holding tanks and all of the MDF and glue board. It will be a 100% park / camp site model. We are not "off the grid" type people just yet, LOL !

I just would like to know if a 39 - 40 foot model was ever offered before I drive 3 hours during the holiday to see and possibly purchase this trailer the gentleman is claiming to be a 40 by 8 Sunline Coach Model. Any information would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance,
Ralph Roberts
New Bern, North Carolina

vcrt · 04-15-2017, 06:24 AM

Sunline Fan will give you a definitive answer when he reads this, but having owned a 92 and looked through the brochures of this time period, I can't say I remember seeing anything that long. In 1993, there was a 30'7" model and yes, in 1992, a 35'4" model (all measurements include the tongue).

One thing that looks odd to me in your photo (although it's a litlle blurry) is how the siding seems to go from a stripe at the rear to a solid white as it goes to the front. I don't know why this would be, just curious.
Rich

vcrt · 04-15-2017, 06:29 AM

Looking back at the photo again, the front doesn't have the same angle near the roof as the trailers of that time had, maybe someone joined two different campers somewhere near the middle to make one long rig?
Rich

**JohnB** · 04-15-2017, 08:34 AM

Hi,

Yes SunlineFan may be able to help if this was a special camper build. I too looked in the 91,92 and 93 brochures and can only find a 35 1/2 foot camper rear bumper to tow ball.

That is not to say they never made a 40 footer or maybe the seller did not exactly measure the unit and guessed or rounded it up

But I agree with vcrt, something does not look right for being a "total" Sunline.

Quote:

Originally Posted by vcrt

, maybe someone joined two different campers somewhere near the middle to make one long rig?
Rich

The back of the camper, yes that looks just like one of the older Sunlines including the doors and the siding striping. But after the red siding stripping stops, the entire camper build changes. You can also see the yellowing of the entry doors are different. Sun damage happens on the doors over time and some door brands held up better then others. The back door is more yellow tinted then the front. This is not normal if both doors are the same age from the same brand door.

As odd as it sounds, it does look like 2 different campers where joined to make one. The seller may have only found the brand name Sunline and used that to sell the trailer.

All this may not be a deterrent to you buying the trailer, but there is one thing to make sure of. That is, if you want to tow this down the road. Does it have a clear title and what does the title say it is? If you want to just pick it up and figure out how to transport by means of maybe loading it on a flat bed and hauling it, then having a title may not be such a big deal.

Not to complicate things, if it is a camper with a title and even if it does not have licence plates on it, this may help if there is any kind of zoning in the area you are wanting to set this up as. It's a camper, not a house. If you want to tow it down the highway as a camper and put licence plates on it, then a clear title would most likely be a mandate. Point, check your local state and town regulations to make sure it will not mess up your plans.

I know some folks who bought a large 5th wheel, parked it on the property and and lived out of it while they built their house. Then later sold the 5th wheel. This all worked as it was a camper. Again every state and local township may have different rules regarding this. When we built our new house, I was looking at the zoning rules and we could of lived out of our camper if needed for a certain length of time, but I had to submit a permit and I had to deal with the solid waste in an approved manner. Meaning I had to go to a dump station frequently or have an approved septic system already installed. As far as fire insurance etc, my camper would be covered under our RV insurance policy. Something to thing through on your idea after to totally rebuild it, would you insure it and what company would write that kind of insurance?

Hope this all helps.

If you do get it and it is a Sunline, it would be great if you could share some on this as we slowly over time put all the pieces of the company and the specials they built back together.

John

ralphroberts · 04-15-2017, 12:46 PM

Thank you Rich. The red stripe has been puzzling me as well.
Ralph

ralphroberts · 04-15-2017, 12:56 PM

Thanks John. The trailer already has been pulled 30 miles from its beach park site that it has been located for a number of years. The gentleman said it was a custom model, but even a custom build would have exterior semetry in my opinion. The gentleman says he inherited this trailer and has no idea where the title is. He promised me that if I filed for the missing title, that he would sign anything I needed. It was located in a park all these years in NC, where we reside. We were not going to live in why building. We were going to set it up in a mobile home park or an limited service RV park for extended periods while I finish school. Trying to save money to buy / build a house in a few years.
Thank you, I am glad to have your knowledge.
Ralph

**Sunline Fan** · 04-16-2017, 10:23 PM

Hi Ralph,

I found it on Craigslist here: https://onslow.craigslist.org/rvs/6071267449.html

That's a 1994 T-3570. Not quite 40', but it is 36'9", one of the longest Sunline trailers ever made. They didn't build very many of these "park model" type Sunlines (30-36') in the early '90s. I don't think I've seen one from 1990-1993. They seemed to build a bunch (albeit a small bunch) in 1994-1995, and they seemed to use some leftover parts. So I'm very inclined to say its a 1994 because of the fabric seen on the window valances- it's a 1994 fabric, but could have been carried over into an early 1995 park model.

The white siding on the front looks like a repair. I've seen this before with accident or storm damaged trailers. Or, in this case, it could be a repair after removing an attached three season room addition, or they had painted it all white inside that room. I see it a lot with vintage trailers. The dark thing at the roof line looks like it was something used to attach such a room.

It also looks like the rear bumper is bent, which is concerning- it's not easy to bend a steel tube like that.

It does look like a major project! Personally I'd pass unless you really want to make something custom, but there's not much left right now. You'd spend a lot gathering the components to complete it, and then you have to fix water damage.

Send me a PM with the VIN (if you can get it) and I can confirm the year/model.

vcrt · 04-17-2017, 04:50 AM

I agree with Jon,
Time and money.
Rich

ralphroberts · 04-20-2017, 09:12 PM

Many thanks gentlemen.
The owner / possessor of the trailer does not have a title and acts like he just doesn't want to deal with it. He did admit that it was in a RV park on Atlantic Beach for a very long time. He also said that it had been vandalized. After looking it over, I thought that I might be opening Pandora's Box.

We are Looking for a "park type" trailer as we are not retired yet. We just move for work way too often. I am looking at several "office trailers" that are 8 foot wide by 32 up to 40 foot long. They have the pack a/c unit on one end with overhead ducts. I can move it with my crew cab F-250 diesel and not worry about holding tanks, 12volt / 110volt inverters or generators. This will give me a blank canvas to work on.

I must say, your knowledge about the Sunlines really helped me out. Very impressive. Thank you so much.
Regards,
Ralph Roberts

**JohnB** · 04-20-2017, 10:02 PM

Hi Ralph,

Sorry this did not work out, but it sounds like you have a good solution started.

Thanks for the good comments. Yes, if you want to know about a Sunline, this is the place!

Best of luck to you in your search.

John

Rsanderson73 · 05-20-2017, 11:09 AM

Hello everyone,
I have purchased the 40 ft sun line mentioned in the post above. It is my first rv and me and my wife will be restoring/customizing it. It will need lots of work and I will be posting pics of the process as we go. I would love to get feedback from everyone since this is my first sun line. We start work on it tomorrow. We are excited and can't wait to get started.

**JohnB** · 05-20-2017, 05:41 PM

Hi Rsanderson73,

Welcome to your wife and you to Sunline Owners Club and congrats on your new Sunny!

That Sunline is a very unique one, we will be as curious as you are

Sunline made a special in the one you have acquired. It is interesting to learn about what the company did many years ago. Little by little we keep learning the history as new folks join with their campers and start asking questions about them.

When you start your post, create a new post in the Repair and Maintenance forum just for your restoration. This way all your good work and questions can be in one spot on first rebuild project. These kind of rebuild posts help you and many other fellow campers in the future as they go through it too. We can also link other posts we know of you to your questions as they come up. Pics go a long way in helping explain these kind of things. Before, during and after pics are very welcome!

We are here to help and welcome to the club.

Thanks

John