How far would you go for a Sunline?

O Canada · 01-19-2014, 07:27 PM

Greetings again everyone from Edmonton, Alberta. Thought I would pass on the story of how my T1950 came to be in my possession. Some of you were surprised to find out that the Sunlines were sold this far away. The dealer here, Outback RV, sold them until 2007. Once they sold out, a customer came to the shop and was disappointed they had none. This person was determined to purchase a Sunline so he drove to Indianapolis to pick one up. That's a trip of about 3600 miles return. He used it for a few years and then traded it in at Outback which is where I purchased in 2012. Both John and the paperwork that came with the trailer confirmed that it had originally been shipped to an Indianapolis dealer. Took me awhile to talk with the owner at Outback. He remembers the guy and filled me in on the story.

On another matter, I had posted about a year ago that my Tacoma had a difficult time pulling the 1950. I recently traded it off on a used 2013 Tundra so am expecting a much better towing experience. Happy camping.

**JohnB** · 01-19-2014, 07:51 PM

For the right Sunline, we drove 1,000 miles round trip. The first one was about 700 round trip.

And if we where going to get another one, again for the right Sunny, we could/would double our last one and maybe some more. Odds are high we would not trade ours to a dealer if we were to sell it, so we are heading out empty and camp on the way home several times along the way.

I say we would do it this way as we know the Sunny and have been through the buying process before to know what to too look for. For a 1st time buyer this is harder to do as there are so many unknowns.

Good luck with your new Tundra. You should see and feel quite a difference.

John

Gene · 01-19-2014, 08:04 PM

I "only" went 225 miles each way to get my Sunny.

dtstanton · 01-20-2014, 12:38 PM

We only went 10 or 15 miles to get ours. But then, it came a whole lot farther to get to the TX panhandle in the first place.

Poppy & Nana · 01-20-2014, 01:55 PM

We drove about 200 miles each way for ours....bought the 2499 after Sunline went out of business.....

MOKID · 01-20-2014, 02:49 PM

We live in mid-Missouri and our first Sunline was a 1300 mile round trip to MI and our second Sunline was a 2450 round trip to NY. Both of the trailer's were barely used and were well worth the drive. You don't see many
Sunline's in the mid-west.

bunjin · 01-20-2014, 04:39 PM

I only went 60 miles round trip.....BUT....it was up hill both ways!

tjalmy · 01-20-2014, 05:30 PM

Seems like it was around 420 miles to Marietta, GA from Leesburg, FL. I'd have gone further for this one. Not that it was as advertised "showroom condition". It certainly wasn't. But I did beat him down on the price considerably, and haven't seen a deal like that since.
T

MACK C-85 · 01-20-2014, 05:50 PM

We went about 30 miles round trip, but by the time mdfiregal got done beating down the price, Sunline went belly up two weeks after delivering our trailer. Dealer went belly up three months later! Sorry gang, I guess it's our fault.

dtstanton · 01-20-2014, 05:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dtstanton

We only went 10 or 15 miles to get ours. But then, it came a whole lot farther to get to the TX panhandle in the first place.

.....and now that we know what Sunlines are like, I'm sure we'd go a lot further without hesitation.

j&blytton · 01-20-2014, 06:30 PM

We drove from Indiana to Dadeville, Alabama for our Que. about 1075 miles.

Wannabes · 01-20-2014, 07:34 PM

190 miles, roundtrip, in the heart of Sunline country!

Quote:

.....and now that we know what Sunlines are like, I'm sure we'd go a lot further without hesitation.

Like Dale, we'd go a lot farther to get a nice Sunny!

**Sunline Fan** · 01-21-2014, 12:25 AM

Just over 1200 miles, 602.5 added to the trailer on the way back. But, brand new/leftover Sunlines were a rarity at that point, and to get the model/options I wanted, it was worth the drive.

janepete · 01-21-2014, 07:34 AM

Feeling pretty lucky that the 3 we've had were no more than 280 miles round trip away.

hburkholder · 01-21-2014, 12:41 PM

I didn't go far for out T1950, maybe 10 miles, but interestingly enough I recently got a PT job driving for a local car dealer near Lancaster PA. Sometimes we have trips around the Denver area and I see a lot of older Sunlines sitting around. Some look like they have not been used in years and others appear to be still in use. Haven't seen any for sale though.
I also found out recently a neighbor of mine has a Sunny, and his dad worked for Sunline till they closed. I asked him if he knew about SOC, but he did not. He said he was going to tell his dad about the site, but haven't seen him for a while to ask him if he did.
Thought some of you may enjoy that bit of info.

**JohnB** · 01-21-2014, 07:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hburkholder

I also found out recently a neighbor of mine has a Sunny, and his dad worked for Sunline till they closed. I asked him if he knew about SOC, but he did not. He said he was going to tell his dad about the site, but haven't seen him for a while to ask him if he did.
Thought some of you may enjoy that bit of info.

Thanks and yes, some of us where fortunate enough to interact with Sunline before the closed. My interactions while short lived, about a year and a half but they where a stand up company who showed genuine care towards the customer. I'm sure some of the employees seeing what their hard work has created here on SOC would be an uplift for many.

Having worked at places of employment where the businesses were well established for generations and then go under, well it hurts. My aunt worked at the company I use to work for and she retired after 45 years. I was not so fortunate as the end came about 3 years after she left. Last year the wrecking ball took out the old press company we worked at back in NY. A buddy sent me some pics. Seeing it leveled to a pile of rubble was well, shocking. The flood of good memories poured back and then reality sets in. That was now 32 years ago. I'm sure there are many at Sunline in this same situation.

mainah · 01-23-2014, 08:01 AM

300 miles twice all in the same state once to have a look second to fetch it. Came home with it in a snow storm.

steve59 · 02-28-2014, 05:47 PM

For our first Sunline, we drove approx. 130 miles round trip. And for the second, 2000 Advancer, that was purchased from Two Sisters, it was approx. 640 miles round trip.

Split · 03-01-2014, 06:34 PM

WOW , this is a interesting thread to read the replies.. My 1st classic, a 79 -
15 ft rear dinette, was only a 1/4 mile the next street over.. However it was NOT for sale at the time & guy took ,my # had to wait two months..

Going thru this forum got interested in a 18 ft Gooseneck, & one popped up about 90 miles away.. Drove the next day to purchase, but had to go back two weeks later after another truck got the gooseneck hitch in the bed.
Sort of unique & get many inquiries & compliments. It towed very well on our Fla , three week trip ... Maybe my 1st is the shortest recovery , unless another buyer had their delivered by the seller. !. Came home to a snow storm the next week . !
.......

campin'dude · 03-04-2014, 03:19 PM

We bought our Sunline sight-unseen except for pictures from a dealer in Butler, PA about 2 months after the factory closed. I was going to go get it (330 miles one-way) but I was able to get it delivered to our house through UShip for $350. It would have cost me as much or more to drive there and tow it back.

It was new and didn't come with a warranty, but we knew the quality of a Sunline and thought we shouldn't have any problems... our gamble has paid off. Friends who have bought other brands have had to take their trailers back to the dealer at least once for a list of issues. We had a storage door lock installed wrong that took me 5 minutes to fix. This has been an awesome trailer and we have no desire to replace it anytime soon!